Earlier text: To the Fields in 1909Duty and Responsibility of Property Owners
By George A. Irwin
IN the plan of salvation, God in love and mercy to fallen humanity has so arranged it that man may co-operate with him in the salvation of his fellow man. In no way is this co-operation more clearly shown to the world and recognized by our Heavenly Father, than by a cheerful and liberal giving of the means with which he has blessed us, to carry forward his work in the earth. If our hearts are right toward God in this matter, we receive a double blessing at his hands: first, in the obtaining, “for it is he who gives us power to get wealth;” and, second, in giving it back to him to be used in spreading a knowledge of his truth in the earth. But while this is true, on the other hand, a wrong use or careless handling of the means entrusted to us is a great sin. In our Saviour’s teachings he kept this thought prominently before his disciples: “Take heed, and beware of covetousness;” and in his warnings for the last days he makes it quite clear that covetousness will be one of the prominent sins that his people must be careful to avoid. Luke 21:34. Satan knows humanity’s7 weakness in this direction, so he says to his angels:— Go, make the possessors of lands and money drunk with cares. If you can make them place their affections upon these things, we shall have them yet. . . . We must keep in our ranks all the means of which we can gain control. The more means the followers of Christ devote to his service, the more will they injure our kingdom by getting our subjects.—“Early Writings,” chapter “Covetousness.” In order to save us from ignorantly falling into Satan’s trap, the Lord has revealed to us his plan, and forewarned us of the danger; yet notwithstanding all this, the following statement is made in “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. I, page 199:— I was shown the awful fact that Satan and his angels have had more to do with the management of the property of God’s professed people, than the Lord has. In searching further to see how this is accomplished, I find the following: “Going security for unbelievers;” “loaning money to dishonest borrowers;” “holding on to our property, intending before we die to make a will, but are suddenly taken away, leaving our affairs in a tangled condition, to be consumed in a course of law;” “to save a little expense and trouble, have wills drawn up by incompetent parties, so that after death they are easily broken.” These are some of the ways by which the devil accomplishes his purpose; but it is more particularly to the last that I wish to call attention at this time. It would be too strong a statement to make, as some do, that “a will is not worth the paper it is written on,” for there are many instances where children regard the good name and wishes of their parents more than a few paltry dollars; but it is a fact that a large majority of the wills that are made in these days can be, and are, broken. Especially is this so when the bequests go to a religious organization. “Not competent,” “mentally incapacitated,” “unduly influenced,” “overpersuaded,” etc.—are the reasons usually adduced why the will should be set aside. In addition to this, technical questions of law arise because the litigator has failed to give the exact corporate name by which the society is known and can be fully identified. In cases where it seems clear that no other manner of securing means to the cause should be adopted, no pains should be spared to obtain legal advice, and have wills drawn up in a manner to stand the test. When contemplating making a will, the first and most important thing is to find out the exact legal name of the society or organization, and the State, county, and city where its headquarters are and its principal business transacted, that you wish to assist. The names by which we know and speak of our organizations and institutions are, in only a few cases, the names by which they are known in the eyes of the law. It is the duty of the minister to call attention to these matters, and instruct the people. I quote a few lines from “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. IV, pages 479, 478:— Many manifest a needless delicacy on this point. They feel that they are stepping upon forbidden ground when they introduce the subject of property to the aged or to invalids in order to learn what disposition they design to make of it. But this duty is just as sacred as the duty to preach the word to save souls. There are aged ones among us who are nearing the close of their probation; but for the want of wide-awake men to secure to the cause of God the means in their possession, it passes into the hands of those who are serving Satan. But how much safer and better it would be for every one to act as executor of the means entrusted to him as steward. I quote again from the same article:— Dying legacies are a miserable substitute for living benevolence. The servants of God should be making their wills every day, in good works and liberal offerings to God.—Id., page 481. The Lord would have his followers dispense their means while they can do it themselves. Some may inquire, “Must we actually dispossess ourselves of everything which we call our own?” We may not be required to do this now; but we must be willing to do so for Christ’s sake. We must acknowledge that our possessions are absolutely his, by using of them freely whenever means is needed to advance his cause. Some close their ears to the calls made for money to be used in sending missionaries to foreign countries, and in publishing the truth and scattering it like autumn leaves all over the world. Such excuse their covetousness by informing you that they have made arrangements to be charitable at death. They have considered the cause of God in their wills. Therefore they live a life of avarice, robbing God in tithes and in offerings, and in their wills return to God but a small portion of that which he has lent them, while a very large proportion is appropriated to relatives who have no interest in the truth. This is the worst kind of robbery. They rob God of his just dues, not only all through life, but also at death. It is utter folly to defer to make a preparation for the future life until nearly the last hour of the present life. It is also a great mistake to defer to answer the claims of God for liberality to his cause until the time comes when you are to shift your stewardship upon others. Those to whom you entrust your talents of means may not do as well with them as you have done. How dare rich men run so great risks! Those who wait till death before they make a disposition of their property, surrender it to death rather than to God. In so doing, many are acting directly contrary to the plan of God plainly stated in his Word. If they would do good, they must seize the present golden moments, and labor with all their might, as if fearful that they may lose the favorable opportunity. Those who neglect known duty by not answering to God’s claims upon them in this life, and who soothe their consciences by calculating on making their bequests at death, will receive no words of commendation from the Master, nor will they receive a reward. They practised no self-denial, but selfishly retained their means as long as they could, yielding it up only when death claimed them. That which many purpose to defer until they are about to die, if they were Christians indeed they would do while they have a strong hold on life. They would devote themselves and their property to God, and, while acting as his stewards, they would have the satisfaction of doing their duty. By becoming their own executors, they could meet the claims of God themselves, instead of shifting the responsibility upon others.—Id., pages 479, 480. There are in our ranks many old and middle-aged people who are the possessors of small homes, and in some instances, other real and personal property upon the income of which they are in a measure dependent for support. Doubtless it is the wish and intent of such persons to have all their means go to the cause at their decease that it may be used to build up and advance the third angel’s message, hence the question arises, How can this property be safeguarded to the cause, and the owners have the benefit of the income during life? Either one of two ways may be followed. First: Convert all property possible into money, and deposit the same with either your local, union, or General Conference, or some one of our regularly organized and recognized institutions as you may elect, taking therefor an annuity bond drawing a reasonable rate of interest, to be paid annually during the lifetime of the possessor. The conditions of these bonds are such that the death of the holder terminates all obligation upon the part of the conference or institution giving the bond, and the means at once becomes a part of the assets of the conference or institution without going through an administrator’s hands or any other process of law. Second: Where the property consists simply of a home that is desired by its owners for a residence during life, then the property can be deeded in fee simple to the conference or institution you elect to have it, said conference or institution giving you in return, without cost, a lease of the premises that will guarantee to you full and peaceable possession during life, you to pay all taxes and assessments that might be imposed upon and be chargeable against the said premises, during the continuance of this lease, from year to year, as the case may be. By strict attention to these three8 methods; namely, annuity bonds, deeds in fee simple, and wills properly made and with certainty in regard to the legal name and place of business of the institution or organization to be assisted, all property belonging to Seventh-day Adventists can be made reasonably secure to the cause. The first two methods are positively safe. All the property we possess belongs to the Lord, but he permits us to hold and control it for a time as his stewards. “It is required of stewards that a man be found faithful,” so let us each as individuals see to it that none of the property that God has entrusted to us falls into the enemy’s hands. Mrs. White’s Visit to Boulder, Colorado
By William C. White
The Eastern Colorado Conference held its annual camp-meeting at Boulder, August 26 to September 5. The meeting was held on the Chautauqua grounds, about two miles southwest of the city. Nearly a thousand of our people were in attendance. Mrs. White and her party reached Boulder Monday evening, August 30, and were entertained during the meeting at the Colorado Sanitarium. Although the camp-meeting was nearly three miles from the sanitarium, the street-cars made it convenient for physicians and teachers, and some of the nurses and helpers, to attend the meeting a part of each day. Many changes had come to the sanitarium and to the conference in the four years since Mrs. White’s last visit. From the sanitarium Dr. H. F. Rand had gone to California, and Elder F. M. Wilcox to Washington, D. C., and the conference had been divided, nearly a half of the territory and a fifth of the membership, forming the Western Colorado Conference. But the work had grown, as was shown by statistics and by the large camp-meeting. The Colorado Sanitarium has had many difficulties to face in recent years, but its work has advanced, and at the time of our visit Dr. J. D. Shively, the medical superintendent, and Elder Meade Mac Guire, the business manager, with a large corps of nurses and helpers, were exceedingly busy, for the institution was full of patients. In her address to the workers at the Colorado Sanitarium, Mrs. White said:— ‘It should be a great satisfaction to you to be in a sanitarium like this, where each one is taught to take part in the work of ministering to others. Let each one seek to do the work as he will wish it had been done when the end of all things shall come. Thus you may have a little heaven here below, and angels of God will work through you to make right impressions upon the minds of those who come as patients and guests to the institution. Christ wants to use you as his servants. Seek to help wherever you can. Cultivate the best dispositions, that the grace of God may rest richly upon you. ‘Young and old may learn to look to God as one who will heal, as one who sympathizes, who understands all their necessities, and who will never make a mistake. Your humanity may lay hold of the divinity of Christ by living faith, and you may learn to carry out in this institution the principles of heaven. This will make you a blessing to all around you. ‘Put away all that would hinder you from reaching the high standard set for you in the Word of God. Do not foster a spirit of jealousy or evil surmising or anything that would grieve the Spirit of God. There are those who have this evil in their natures, but if they retain it, Satan will work through them to spoil the influence of this sanitarium. We can not afford to have any such work carried on here. Every worker must stand on the platform of eternal truth. In manifesting a spirit of jealousy, we reveal a characteristic of Satan. We can not afford to harbor one desire that has its origin in him. ‘We are seeking for the life that measures with the life of God; therefore our natures must be brought into conformity with the will of God. We must so conduct our life-work that we can go to God in confidence and open our hearts to him, telling him our necessities, and believing that he hears, and will give us grace and strength to9 carry out the principles of the Word of God. What we want is heaven, the victor’s crown, an entrance through the gates to the city of God, the right to eat of the tree of life that is in the midst of the paradise of God. We want to see the King in his beauty. Then let us daily keep our eyes fixed upon Christ, the perfection of human character, and laying hold of his divine nature, we shall have the strength of divinity to overcome every evil tendency and desire. ‘Christ came to earth to suffer and to die that we might lay hold on eternal life. He gave himself that we might be partakers of the divine nature, and overcome the corruption that is in the world through lust. The Lord bids us work out our salvation with fear and trembling. If we perfect a Christian character, we must put away from our lives every evil thing. When we are truly converted to God, we shall hate the things that separate us from him. ‘Christ desires to give to all at his coming the crown of life. I pray that we who are gathered here to-day may be among those who at that time will greet him with joy, saying, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us; this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”’ Sabbath, September 4, had been looked forward to as the great day of the meeting; but early in the morning it began to rain, and during the day there was a great downpour. It was estimated that two inches of rain fell in twenty-four hours. Several tents were blown down, and a few were flooded. But most of the tents were on high ground, and many of the campers were in the Chautauqua Assembly cottages. The large congregation, assembled in the great Chautauqua Auditorium, were sheltered from the storm, but the roar of the heavy rain on the roof made it difficult for them to hear the speaker. When meeting time came, the street-cars were unable to run. But a carriage brought Mrs. White to the ground, and she spoke to the people, many of whom left the back seats and stood crowded close to the platform. After reading the seventeenth chapter of John and portions of the first and second chapters of Acts, she said:— ‘My brethren and sisters, we are not half awake. We do not half appreciate the precious time that is passing into eternity. We do not realize the value of the souls for whom Christ gave his precious life. We need to put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness and work in harmony with him, in harmony with his ministers, in harmony with all who truly believe the truth for this time. ‘Many are clinging to their old habits and practises, and some are even denying Christ as Peter did. These lose the blessing that they would have at every step if they would follow on to know the Lord. Let us press together. It is no time now for us to quarrel among ourselves, no time to draw apart. Let us not thus counterwork the work that God is seeking to do for us and through us. We need the cementing power of the Holy Spirit to come upon this people. ‘God has a work for his people to do for the world; and if they will work in harmony with one another and with heaven, he will demonstrate his power in their behalf as he did for his first disciples on the day of Pentecost. Those days in which the disciples prepared themselves by prayer and putting away of all disunion, brought them into such close relation to God that he could work for them and through them in a marvelous manner. To-day God desires to accomplish great things through the faith and works of his believing people. But we need to stand in right relation to God, that we may understand his voice when he speaks to us. ‘As a people we have had great light and many privileges, yet we are lacking in advanced spirituality. Every sanitarium, every institution in our ranks, should stand forth as a representative of the living principles of truth. In every department of their work, God’s glory and the advancement of his kingdom should be the first consideration. Our medical institutions should stand where the glory of God can be clearly revealed through them. It used to be so in the beginning of our work, when the sanitarium was first established at Battle Creek. Now we have sanitariums in many places. An important question to be considered is, What kind of men and women shall those be who occupy positions of more or less responsibility in these institutions? They should be those whose daily lives emit the light of truth, who with sanctified tongues speak only those words that will prove a blessing to others. If the work is done that God desires to see accomplished as the result of the establishment of our sanitarium work, we shall see in these institutions workers who give evidence that they are converted. We must have workers wholly surrendered to God. ‘Time is passing, and souls are perishing for lack of the truth. Let the light shine forth from our sanitariums in clear, distinct rays. May the God of Israel impress upon the hearts and minds of our people the sacredness and the importance of the work to be done. If men and women will co-operate with God with all the powers of their being consecrated to him, they will stand as ministers of righteousness to their fellow men. ‘I know the burdens that many of our sanitariums carry, and I am instructed to say to those in positions of responsibility in these institutions, Let every influence be of such a character as will draw with Christ. Then the sick will understand that Christ is there. Let the meek and lowly Jesus be represented, in the dress of the workers, in the words they speak, in the spirit they manifest. ‘The blessing of God is waiting to come in large measure upon the workers in the Colorado Sanitarium. I have seen angels of God hovering, hovering, hovering over the workers there. Let none who are there refuse to be converted. Let none feel too important to come under discipline to God. Let the workers understand that they are responsible to God to see that the best influence is exerted in this institution, that the salvation of God may be revealed. The Lord desires to see each one acting his part intelligently as a laborer together with him, that the light of heaven may come into our institutions, and a wonderful work be done. ‘Instruction was given me in the night season that I must bear a decided message to this people. You greatly need to experience a deeper heart work. It is your privilege to receive more of the Spirit of God, as you engage in fasting and earnest prayer. You need to accept the promises and assurances of God and walk out on them in faith. You need to learn how to present the truths of the Word to those around you in all their binding force and in all their encouragement, that the unconverted may feel the influence of the Spirit of God upon heart and mind and character. ‘May God bless you, my brethren and sisters. My heart is drawn out in tenderness and love for you. You are a large company here. Will you not consecrate yourselves to God? We invite you to come to Jesus, to believe in him, and receive from him the outpouring of his Holy Spirit. He will give you this, if you ask in faith believing. Then work in harmony with him to disseminate truth. If you will seek individually to answer in your lives Christ’s prayer for his disciples, you will follow on to know the Lord. This is not like the fading strength and glory of the setting sun, but like the morning, the rising sun, which is ever increasing in warmth and light and power.’ “Perfect in Form and Substance”
By F. M. W.
THE editor of the Christian Statesman, in its issue of January, 1910, in reviewing an article in the Homiletic Review regarding the decalogue, makes these excellent comments:— To the lawyer who inquired, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said, “What is written in the law? how readest thou?” The lawyer repeated what has always been regarded as the sum of the whole decalogue: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” Jesus approved the answer, and said, “This do, and thou shalt live.” The golden rule, given by our Lord in his sermon on the mount, referred to by the editor of the Review as proof that Jesus went beyond the decalogue in giving positive precepts, is proof to the contrary. His words are, “All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets.” The decalogue of the Old Testament, even though it is given mostly in the form of prohibitions, is found to be perfect both in form and substance. On this anvil every hammer will be broken. This is a plain and candid statement of the position occupied by the ten commandments and of the relationship of our Lord to the decalogue, and as such, we commend it to the consideration of those who would evade the claims of the law of God. The law of the ten commandments is the great standard by which God will judge the world. James 2: 12. As our Christian Statesman writer says: “On this anvil every hammer will be broken.” The life of the Lord Jesus was a perfect expression of the divine law, and only in obedience to that law can the will of the Master be expressed in his disciples. “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” L. D. SANTEE
By L. D. Santee
THIS life has its conflicts and trials,
Imperfect its measure of love;
But faith that will take no denial
Receiveth a strength from above.
But there’s an immortal existence,
Where the ransomed shall shine as the sun,
The carnal mind give no resistance,
And the will of the Father be done. O lead me, dear Lord, for I’m lonely,
I long to be nearer like thee,
To be fashioned like thee, and thee only,
And forever from evil set free;
With thee would I enter life’s portal,
And joy in the soul’s glad release,
Where the ransomed ones, pure and immortal,
Are crowned with the lilies of peace; Where the shadowless sunshine of heaven
Gleams brightly on parent and child,
Where brother and sister are given
White robes that no sin hath defiled,
Where as deep as love’s fathomless ocean
Shall the joys of the saved ever be,
Where the spirit is filled with devotion,
And the soul is from sorrow set free. O, I want the dear lips that are breathless
To speak in the old tones again!
And I want all my loved, pure and deathless,
And ever with them to remain.
And I say to the seasons, “Roll faster,
Through this earth-life so clouded and dim,
And hasten the time when the Master
Shall gather the children to him.” The Transfer of Workers
By Clarence Santee
ONE thing that has been a means of great benefit to this people has been the constant exchange of laborers from North to South, from South to North, East to West, and West to East. It has largely taken away the sectional feeling that will have to be left outside of the gates of the city of God. This feeling is natural to the human heart, and has caused the loss of many souls. It has cost the lives of many missionaries in different parts of the world. They have been regarded as strangers, as interlopers, and as such have been maligned and misused. Our Southern men going to the North have felt the atmosphere, which, even among this waiting people, has said, “We can carry our work without you.” Men from the North, going to the South, have heard the same: “We do not need you; we can carry our own work.” The East and the West have had the same experience. But a loving God has borne with our weaknesses, and has labored on to the desired end. He will have no sectional Seventh-day Adventists. Some may think best to divide and become two churches, or denominations10 —the North and the South; others may draw party lines with all their worldly hatreds and animosities; but this people must be one. God in wisdom has caused a constant exchange of laborers. The warm enthusiasm of the South has mingled with the more formal natures of the North, the venturesome ambition of the West has been modified by, and has modified, the extreme caution of the East; and in this way North, South, East, and West become one, with elements so varied and complete that God can educate them until every grace will shine forth in them. A Peter and a John are necessary, a Paul and a Barnabas, and from these unions there will come forth a people with one mind and one purpose. No North, no South, no West, no East,—all will confess that they are strangers here, waiting for the one home that will give the promised rest,—the home where Christ and God can dwell with them, and where everlasting peace and joy will be shared together. T. E. BOWEN
By T. E. Bowen
Events Between the Close of the Gospel and the Second Coming of Jesus—No. 2
DURING this time of trouble, referred to in the former article, God’s people live upon the earth. While Satan and all his agents are plotting their destruction, and the plagues are falling, and other calamities are filling the earth with desolation, those whose names are “written in the book” must also be tried. The personal coming of Jesus to deliver his waiting people is not at the beginning of this time of trouble such as never was, but at its close. Thus through it all the saints must pass, their experience during this time being described as “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” As Jacob, when he neared his old home, and learned that Esau was coming out against him with an army to avenge himself of the wrong done him years before in stealing the birthright, was driven to God, and pleaded with him until he obtained the assurance of deliverance from his brother, so God’s people are made to realize their own utter unworthiness, and are driven to seek God in agonizing prayer for protection and final deliverance from their enemies. The prophet Isaiah was no doubt describing this time when he wrote: “Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: and they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another.” Isa. 13: 6-8. In “Early Writings,” pages 283, 284, of this time of trial it is written: “Soon I saw the saints suffering great mental anguish. They seemed to be surrounded by the wicked inhabitants of the earth. Every appearance was against them. Some began to fear that God had at last left them to perish by the hand of the wicked. But if their eyes could have been opened, they would have seen themselves surrounded by angels of God. Next came the multitude of the angry wicked, and next a mass of evil angels, hurrying on the wicked to slay the saints. But before they could approach God’s people, the wicked must first pass this company of mighty, holy angels. This was impossible. . . . It was an hour of fearful, terrible agony to the saints. Day and night they cried unto God for deliverance. To outward appearance, there was no possibility of their escape. . . . Like Jacob, they were wrestling with God. The angels longed to deliver them, but they must wait a little longer; the people of God must drink of the cup, and be baptized with the baptism. . . . God would not suffer his name to be reproached among the heathen. The time had nearly come when he was to manifest his mighty power, and gloriously deliver his saints. For his name’s glory he would deliver every one of those who had patiently waited for him, and whose names were written in the book.” Let it be noted that here is a time when the saints are pleading for Jesus to come and deliver them, when the angels also are anxious to deliver them, showing that no sin is standing against their names, but still the actual coming of Jesus in the cloud has not yet taken place. God’s Everlasting Covenant
God is about to declare his covenant with his people. He desires to pronounce upon those who have patiently waited for him a never-ending blessing. But some who have been faithful unto death in giving the third angel’s message, are in their graves. Then there are Christ’s words that those who pierced him and those who plotted his death, should see him coming in power and great glory. These, also, are in their graves. It is a small thing with God to awaken them. And while upon this point there may be some diversity of opinion as to the time when God brings them forth, may we not quite safely conclude that at some time during this time of “Jacob’s trouble” for the living saints, and just prior to his pronouncing the never-ending blessing upon those who have kept his law, God calls a number from their graves? “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” In the description given of this event in “Great Controversy,” it will be noticed that it is mentioned in connection with the seventh plague. Whether this should be taken as evidence of the time when it occurs, we have nothing to urge, but it would seem that logically this would be the approximate time for this event to take place. We read: “Great hail-stones, every one ‘about the weight of a talent,’ are doing their work of destruction. The proudest cities of the earth are laid low. The lordly palaces, upon which the world’s great men have lavished their wealth in order to glorify themselves, are crumbling to ruin before their eyes. Prison walls are rent asunder, and God’s people, who have been held in bondage for their faith, are set free. Graves are opened, and ‘many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth’ ‘awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.’ All who have died in the faith of the third angel’s message come forth from the tomb glorified, to hear the God’s covenant of peace with those who have kept his law. [Italics ours.] ‘They also which pierced him,’ those that mocked and derided Christ’s dying agonies, and the most violent opposers of his truth and his people, are raised to behold him in his glory, and to see the honor placed upon the loyal and obedient.”—Page 637. God proposes to vindicate his own law and honor his faithful, obedient people before the wicked, who have scorned and hated them. Long have they waited. Amid the crowning deceptions of Satan, even when he assumes to be Christ, and in dazzling glory goes about performing miracles to deceive those who have not the word of God abiding in them, the saints have been loyal to the law of God, honoring the Sabbath of Jehovah before an opposing world. “Their faces, so lately pale, anxious, and haggard, are now aglow with wonder, faith, and love. Their voices rise in triumphant song: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.’ While these words of holy trust ascend to God, the clouds sweep back, and the starry heavens are seen, unspeakably glorious in contrast with the black and angry firmament on either side. The glory of the celestial city streams from the gates ajar. Then there appears against the sky a hand holding two tables of stone folded together. Says the prophet, ‘The heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself.’ Ps. 50:6. That holy law, God’s righteousness, that amid thunder and flame was proclaimed from Sinai as the guide of life, is now revealed to men as the rule of judgment. The hand opens the tables, and there is seen the precepts of the decalogue, traced as with a pen of fire. The words are so plain that all can read them. . . . God’s ten words, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, are presented to the view of all the inhabitants of the earth. . . . The voice of God is heard from heaven, declaring the day and hour of Jesus’ coming, and delivering the everlasting covenant to his people. . . . The Israel of God stand listening, with their eyes fixed upward. . . . And when the blessing is pronounced upon those who have honored God by keeping his Sabbath holy, there is a mighty shout of victory.”—“Great Controversy,” pages 639, 640.