Earlier text: ANGELIC GUARDSTHE TEN VIRGINS.
By Editor
We are now prepared for the application of the parable of the ten virgins of Matt. xxv. “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them; but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil: for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready, went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily, I say unto you, I know you not.” Verses 1-12. In the light of the facts already established, and the points already proved by our investigation thus far, the application of this portion of Scripture will not be difficult. The phrase, kingdom of heaven, is used in different places to signify different things. We believe all are agreed in the present instance in its application to the church. There are then certain events to take place in the church's history, which may be likened to some of the events of an eastern marriage. The adverb, then, by which the parable is introduced, shows that it is at a particular and definite time that this comparison is to be instituted. When is it? We answer, it must be after the events themselves have taken place. No comparison of course can be drawn between the ceremonies of an eastern marriage, and certain events in the history of the church, before those events come to pass. The church therefore must have come down this side of all transactions specified in the parable before the language can have its application, “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened,” &c. Many have condoled their ignorance of the ceremonies and proceedings of an eastern marriage. If we only knew the history of an eastern marriage, they have said, we should then know how to make the application; and so they have hesitated to make any, on account of some imaginary knowledge which they did not possess. But there is no necessity for this. Our Lord has given all necessary particulars. He does not say, “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to an eastern marriage,” and leave us to search up the history of that ancient ceremony, and make the application for ourselves; but he specifies all the particulars to which the history of the church would bear resemblance. They are, the going forth of the virgins; the taking of oil by the wise, and the lack of it with the foolish; the tarrying of the bridegroom, and the slumbering and sleeping of the virgins; the cry at midnight; the arising of the virgins; the departure of the foolish to buy oil; the coming of the bridegroom, and the entrance of those who are ready with him to the marriage; and finally the return of the foolish virgins too late for admittance. Now it would be of no advantage to us, if we had a minute and accurate history of a thousand eastern weddings. The above are all the main particulars to which the experience of the church is to bear a resemblance; and these are all given. We believe these particulars are now all worked out in our history, and that the time has come for the application. If we mistake not, it is as follows: The virgins took their lamps. Thy word, says the Psalmist, is a lamp unto my feet. But a lamp is useless without oil. So the word of God would be but darkness to our path, unless we had faith in the same. The wise virgins took both their lamps and oil in their vessels with their lamps. They went out to meet the bridegroom. Roused by the increasing light on the prophecies which showed the end of all things at hand, the people of God in 1843 and previous, went forth to proclaim and prepare for the coming of the Lord from heaven. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. After 1843 passed, there was a seeming tarry. That year, according to Bible reckoning, extended to the spring of 1844. Before that time passed it was confidently believed that the Lord would come. The cause of that mistake we have already explained, and need not repeat. As the time went by, darkness settled upon the prophecies, and drowsiness upon the people. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh. Midway between this and the tenth day of the seventh month, light came which showed the ending of the 2300 days in the autumn of 1844, instead of the year 1843. Then indeed there was a cry made, as had never been heard before, Behold, the bridegroom cometh. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. No better description could be given of the movement that then took place in the Advent body. All who were so fortunate as to have a personal experience in that work can testify to this. They can also bear witness to the course of the foolish virgins while the cry was going forth. Perhaps the terms, provident and careless, would better express the force of the original words in this instance, than wise and foolish. The provident took oil in their vessels with their lamps; the careless neglected this. Their faith in the word of God was weak, and their understanding darkened as to its fulfillment; and they sought of their brethren such assistance as it was not their province to confer. And while they went to buy the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage. The proclamation was, that on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Lord would come. The day came. The 2300 days ended; and what then? The Lord did not appear in the clouds of heaven as was expected; but he did change his position in the Sanctuary from the holy to the most holy place. Did this move answer to the coming of the bridegroom in the parable? We answer, Yes; for mark, it is not the coming of the Lord to the earth that is referred to, but only his going in to the marriage; and it has already been shown that the marriage takes place before the Lord comes. It is at the change of his ministration in the Sanctuary that one like the Son of man is brought by his angelic attendants near before the Ancient of Days, as seen by Daniel. He appears there to receive a kingdom, power and glory; and this reception of the kingdom, constitutes, as already shown, the marriage of the Lamb. At the appointed time therefore the Bridegroom went in to the marriage; and the cry, Behold the Bridegroom cometh, referring as it did only to this event, was no false alarm. No other event can be pointed to, as the going in of the Bridegroom to the marriage, except the change of ministration in the heavenly Sanctuary. Let this be remembered. Then he who takes the position that Christ has not yet gone in to the marriage, must admit that he has not yet changed his position in the heavenly Sanctuary; and that consequently its cleansing is not now going on. But to admit this, is to demolish the main and central pillar of present truth, and precipitate the whole structure to irrecoverable ruin. Being satisfied that there is no other place for Christ to go in to the marriage, except when he changed his ministration at the end of the 2300 days, we are to remember in connection with this, another fact, namely, that it is when the Bridegroom goes in to the marriage, and not a score or so of years afterwards, that The door is shut. What event can be pointed out by this language? This we must determine in the light of the facts already established. What the marriage of the Lamb is, we know; what the going in of the Bridegroom to the marriage is, we know; and when this took place, we also know. But when he goes in, the door is shut. What is this? Says Christ to the Philadelphia church, [Rev. iii, 7.] speaking of himself, “These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth.” He then tells them in the next verse, that he has set before them an open door. But he shutteth as well as openeth. And from the significant connection of this transaction with the phrase, “He that hath the key of David,” that is, the power to take the throne and government of David, we conclude that it has some connection with that event. The assumption of David's throne is the marriage of the Lamb. He that hath the key of David openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth. When the bridegroom went in to the marriage, the door was shut. At the same time says he to the church of Philadelphia, I have set before thee an open door. From this it is evident that when the door, or when one door, is shut, another is opened. Now if the door that is shut, is, as some have called it, the door of mercy; that is, if there is no more mercy for the human race after it is closed, what is that door which is opened? We understand that by the open and shut doors is simply brought to view the change of ministration in the Sanctuary. The ministration in the first apartment was finished and closed: Christ entered within the veil and the ministration of the most holy opened. But how does this affect the condition of the human race? Much every way; for a consistent faith in Christ involves the necessity of an understanding of his position and of his work; here therefore a restriction must be made. Light enough has been given us in the Word to trace our Saviour through all his characters as Prophet, Priest and King, and we must keep our eye fixed upon him. He says, “I am the way, the truth and the life;” and unless we heed the light which reveals to us his position and work, he witnesses against us when he says, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” To come to him therefore at the present time, and to exercise an effective faith in him, we must have an understanding of his present position. We come to him therefore as our great High Priest, performing his last and special work, pleading his blood before the mercy-seat, beneath which reposes God's righteous law, a violation of which has made his sacrifice and mediation necessary; and as the scene is thus presented before us, we see the necessity of keeping that law in all its requirements. Those who therefore, with the present light on this subject, shall attempt to find in Christ a Saviour, while living in violation of that holy law, or shall seek him as minister in the first apartment of the Sanctuary, will find that he has withdrawn himself from them, and knows them not. That door is shut. But while Christ exercises the office of Priest, he is a mediator between God and man, and those who will come unto him may avail themselves of his mediation. He is Priest in the second apartment as well as the first. If we confess our sins, he is yet “faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” But as surely as Babylon is fallen, and evil men and seducers are waxing worse and worse, and all are being drawn into the absorbing whirlpool of spiritualism, so surely his Spirit and sympathy is withdrawn from them as a body. Some may here call us bigoted and exclusive; but they may as well say the same of the whole plan of salvation, because it contains prescribed conditions with which men must comply, or they can never be saved. It has been claimed by some that the doors of both apartments of the heavenly Sanctuary are now open. This is simply to adopt the absurdity that a ministration is carried on in both apartments at the same time; for the expressions, open, and shut door, as applied to either apartment of the heavenly Sanctuary, must mean simply that the ministration of that apartment is either going on or is finished.189 The going in of the Bridegroom to the marriage, can be located nowhere else but at the change of the ministration in the Sanctuary; and the door that was shut when he went in to the marriage, can only be the door of the first apartment, the ministration of which then and there closed. Again, some have inquired, Can any of those who have been wise virgins be lost? Can any of the foolish be saved? and what of those who were once included in neither class? The only difficulty that can arise here is from allowing the virgins to represent individuals instead of a class. Representing, as we think they do, the latter, we see that an individual may, without difficulty, though belonging at one time to one class, at another, help compose the other. Let us, brethren, who have by faith followed the Bridegroom in to the marriage, see to it that our loins are girt about, and our lights burning, and that we are like unto men who wait for their lord when he will return from the wedding. A SERIES of questions has been proposed by Bro. Bishop, of Corning, N. Y., for our consideration, to which Bro. Pierce, of Vt., has replied. We present this week the two following on DAVID'S THRONE, AND THE DESOLATION OF THE EARTH.
Bro. Smith : I wish to submit a few questions for yourself or some of the numerous writers of the Review to answer. 1. If David's throne is in heaven, where is the passage in either the Old or the New Testament that gives us the information? 2. If the earth will be void or desolate 1000 years, from the first resurrection to the second, what nations would be deceived, should the Devil not be found, shut up, and sealed? Reply. 1. This information is not obtained from any one passage of Scripture alone, but from several taken together. We learn from Acts ii, 29, 30, that God had sworn with an oath to David, that of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; i. e., David's throne. And as Jesus himself says, My kingdom is not of this world, we conclude his throne would not be where his kingdom is not. But the most reasonable conclusion is, it will be where his native, present and ultimate residence is. And as the first man Adam is the earth earthy, and as the second man Adam is the Lord from heaven, [1 Cor. xv, 47, compared with verses 21, 22.] we must reasonably conclude his kingdom will be where his residence is, and his throne in the capital of his kingdom, which will be the New Jerusalem. Rev. xxi, 1-3, compared with Zech. xiv, 8-11. 2. All the nations of the earth would doubtless be deceived by Satan if he were not bound. It has been our opinion for years that the chain with which Satan is to be bound will not be a literal one; because if the earth be desolate there will be no need of it. The circumstances of the case, if there be no living inhabitants, will be as effectant a chain to prevent Satan from deceiving the nations, as if he were bound by a real or literal chain. And that the earth will be desolate is evident from many scriptures. Isa. xiii, 9. "Behold the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it." Isa. vi, 11. "Then said I, Lord, how long ? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant; and the houses without man; and the land be utterly desolate." Isa. xxiv, 1. "Behold the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down." Verse 3. "The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled, for the Lord hath spoken this word." Verse 22. "And they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit; (margin, dungeon ;) and shall be shut up in the prison and after many days they shall be visited. (Margin, or found wanting.) This pit, or as the margin has it, dungeon, or prison, in which they are shut up, we have every reason to be lieve, is the grave. And the time they will be visited, or found wanting, is the second resurrection. For those who attain to the first resurrection will not be wanting, but complete and perfect, wanting nothing. And the many days are the 1000 years between the two resurrections. As more positive, clear and explicit evidence, Zeph. i, 2, 3 is introduced. "I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord; I will consume man and beast. I will consume the fowls of heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked. And I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord." Again, the last clause of verse 18, "But the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all that dwell in the land." The destruction of the fishes in verse 3 corresponds with the consequence of the second of the seven last plagues. "Every living soul died in the sea." Rev. xvi, 3. And as a consequence of this fact, the whole class of water-fowls must necessarily perish ; as their means of sustenance is gone. Jeremiah xxv, 32-33, is also strong testimony on this point, though less definite. "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, behold evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered nor buried, they shall be dung upon the ground." We can conceive of no good reason why these are not lamented, gathered, or buried, unless it is because there are none left alive to perform these kind offices. Again, chap. iv, 23-27, gives us a more particular description of things as they will appear after man is utterly destroyed. "I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end." It is not claimed, that the above scriptures prove that every species of living creatures will be utterly destroyed from the whole earth; this is not necessary to our purpose. But it is claimed that they prove the utter destruction of man; and by comparing the above with Isa. xxxiv, we think it is easy to determine very nearly what species of animals at that time will remain alive. The expression, man and beast, in scripture, generally applies to man in the broadest sense, and to such beasts as are domesticated, or useful to man. For instance, as in Jer. xxxvi, 29. Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land and cause to cease from thence man and beast. We do not expect it is possible for an invading army to cut off every species of wild beasts and reptiles, nor the fowls of heaven, but man and such beasts as are usually considered to be spoils to an army of conquest. Again, also as in Eze. xxix, 8. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee. We understand the same classes or kinds of beasts are cut off in this case as in the other. By an examination of Isa. xxxiv, 11-15, and chap. xiii, 21, 22, we learn there will be left alive but the most ferocious, dolosome, revolting and horrible kinds of beasts, birds and reptiles. It is not difficult to know when earth's desolation will be brought about, as the destruction of man and beast, when applied to the whole earth, is usually in immediate connection with such expressions as the following: The day of the Lord. Isa. xiii, 9. The indignation of the Lord upon all nations. Chap. xxxiv, 2. The day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. Verse 8. The cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. Jer. iv, 26. The great day of the Lord. Zeph. i, 14. A day of wrath, a day of trouble, a day of wasteness and desolation. Zeph. i, 15. Although it must of necessity be a day of wrath as soon as Jesus has done pleading for man, for two reasons; first, because man has no longer an Intercessor, and, second, because all mankind will, at that time, be the most extremely wicked; all but christians being either possessed with familiar spirits, or their adherents; [Rev. xvi, 14;] still the result of man's destruction, at that time, must be a matter of distinguished benevolence on the part of God as taken in connection with the idea of succeeding generations, when we consider without this there must naturally be a race of mortals doomed forever to a hopeless fatality, without any Mediator, without any chance for successful probation, or reasonable hope of eternal life. We learn from the above there will be a chain of events to bring about the destruction of the human race, the most of which are recorded and more definitely described in Rev. xvi, which will effectually prevent Satan from deceiving the nations till the 1000 years are fulfilled. After having the weight of the sins of all God's people put upon his devoted head, by the Son of God at the close of his ministration; and after having taken a vigorous part in exterminating the living wicked, and there being then no more that he can do to injure the fallen race, he must necessarily be not only shut up, but sealed up from any more of his former active employ, of deceiving the nations, to a continuous series of dismal reflections upon his past course and present condition; as well as the most gloomy anticipations of the fearful doom that awaits him, and also every other dreadful conclusion of which the imagination can conceive. To one so watchful in doing all the possible harm he can to the human race, as he has always done, we should suppose it would be the most irksome bondage and imprisonment, by the condition of things to be shut up for 1000 years from the possibility of doing any more harm to that race upon which he had preyed during the ages of the world with such dreadful success. But now the saints being all in heaven, and the wicked all in their graves, effectually prevents any further prosecution of this deception until the cause of this bondage and imprisonment shall be removed by the second resurrection. Politics and Spirituality
When carnal politics creep in, spirituality soon runs out; a violent politician and a spiritual christian are opposite characters. A WISE STEWARD.
By James White
BROTHER —— keeps a few hundred dollars by him in gold, or where he can get it to use, when it is needed. He has many applications to let it out for large interest, but will not let it. Since the "hard times" not a few, and some of them brethren, have tried their best to hire this brother's means to help them out of worldly embarrassments; but they have failed. Steady to his purpose, this brother has kept on the Lord's altar that which he devoutly placed thereon. He has, therefore, had his fives, and tens, ready to hand to the messengers who have called at his door, and besides, having placed about seven hundred dollars in the Office building, and presses, and type, he has been ready during the "hard times" to lend to the Office five hundred more. Now there are scores of brethren among us who hold more property than this brother, who have placed their means in lands, or have put it out at interest. They cannot sell to advantage these times, neither can they call in their money. Preachers labor with them, but they cannot even pay their traveling expenses, to say nothing of their clothes, and their family expenses at home. Satan has arranged matters for these unfaithful servants to suit him, and now exults as the cause of Christ bleeds. It is our solemn conviction that no brother, who is worth two or three thousand dollars, should suffer himself in a position where he cannot put his hand on one or two hundred dollars at any time. J. W. CONDITIONS OF SALVATION. No. 5.
By M. E. S.
The question now arises. After having been brought back to an intelligent observance of the entire law of God, does man stand acquitted? Can he take that law, and presenting himself before his Judge, prove his justification from present obedience? Suppose he should never transgress it again, would he be justified in such a case? Do our civil laws acquit on this principle? Suppose one were brought before a magistrate with the charge of murder, and he should show he had killed no one for years, and was at present a peaceable citizen; yet it were clearly proved he had committed murder at some former time; would his present or future obedience release him from the penalty of that law which he had previously broken? It certainly would not. Again, suppose a person, after buying articles for a long time on trust, should read the admonition of Paul, "Owe no man anything," and should begin to pay as he purchased, would present promptness cancel past indebtedness? Do you think any creditor would be satisfied with such a course? and "shall mortal man be more just than God?" No. Jehovah does not permit one to break his law for a part of his life, and then justify him for keeping it the remainder; but he requires perfect obedience through the entire life. "The soul that sinneth (though it be but once) it shall die." A law once broken can never in itself justify any individual. Perfect obedience being required every moment, one could not by becoming obedient atone for any past transgression. We have already seen that "all have sinned," and "therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight." Romans. Thus the law becomes powerless to save, since it pronounces on all, condemnation; "and the commandment which was ordained to life, (had man kept it,) he now finds to be unto death." The law, being perfect, [Ps.] must be immutable; and God at the same time being just, the penalty of the law must be inflicted. Where then is hope for man! There was none, but God in his infinite wisdom devised a plan whereby the sinner might yet hope for salvation. Yes, "God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. v, 8. The Judge accepted a substitute in our behalf. The penalty for our transgressions Christ came and suffered, and now the Father can "be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Chap. iii, 26. Wondrous condescension! that would yield a darling, well-beloved Son, the highest of all his creatures, to give eternal life to a race which had recklessly forfeited it by sin and rebellion. And O, the inconceivable love of him who left the bliss and glory of heaven to become "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," and voluntarily "humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." "Oh, for this love, let rocks and hills
Their lasting silence break!" Give me, Father, grace, more grace to walk in the foot-steps of that suffering life, to possess more of the sweet Spirit of him who was "meek and lowly in heart." We would now ask, Are the merits of his atoning blood to be applied to the whole human family unconditionally? Paul did not say that God might justify all, but only "him which believeth in Jesus." The commission, [Mark xvi, 16.] says, "He that believeth not shall be damned." We have seen also that Jesus says, [Luke xii.] "Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish;" hence the death of Jesus cannot be imputed to all indiscriminately. We have seen that repentance cannot remit sins. Does faith secure pardon? If so, all who possess it must be free from sin. But James ii, 19, says, "the devils believe and tremble," and, [verse 20.] "faith without works (works result from repentance) is dead." A thing that is dead can accomplish nothing, and works cannot now help faith since as we have noticed man is past being justified by the deeds of the law. What then can effect the forgiveness of sin? Paul tells us, [Heb. ix, 22.] "Without shedding of blood there is no remission." Not "the blood of bulls and goats," however, which he declares should not take away sins; but we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ. Heb. x, 10. Since man has nothing to offer for past transgressions, it becomes necessary that the death of Christ should be imputed before he can be acquitted. And now the Apostle further teaches, [Rom. viii, 1.] "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit," (i. e., those who are in and continue in him.) How do we get into Christ? Are we any where taught that we believe or repent into him? We find no such expressions, but says Gal. iii, 27. "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Also I Cor. xii, 13. "For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body." If then we get into Christ through baptism we could not have been in him previously, (and hence must have been under condemnation, taking the converse of Rom. viii, 1, which would read, There is therefore condemnation to all which are not in Christ Jesus.) Can we see consistency in this arrangement? Why does baptism instead of faith or repentance make us Christ's? Says Paul, [Rom. vi, 3-6.] "Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." We here learn that by being baptized into the likeness of the death and burial of Christ, his death is imputed to us. While he suffered the reality of death, we are only required to pass through its likeness, or figure. Oh, what an easy way to die, to suffer the penalty for transgression. We have only its emblem, while Jesus drank the bitterness of its cup. "Bleeding Jesus! Blessed Saviour!" (Paul uses the terms, buried, and planted, instead of baptized, which sufficiently explains the mode of that ordinance. Nothing is buried or planted without being immersed or entirely covered up.) We can now understand why baptism is the third condition of salvation, the last step in the plan of God which can bring us back to favor with him. This brings us into Christ when he can impute his righteousness to us, and take our unrighteousness upon himself. Remember Christ lived a sinless life, as we have before remarked, he kept all his Father's commandments. Had he not, he could not have a perfect righteousness to impute to us; and the plan of redemption would have proved a failure. He must not only take our sins upon himself and make a sacrifice for them which he did when he bled upon the tree; but he must have a perfectly obedient life to impute to us. Glory to his name! we've a Saviour that is all-sufficient, that "is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him." BEAUTIFULLY PARAPHRASED INTO AN ACROSTIC.
Our Lord and King, who reign'st enthroned on high,
Father of light! mysterious Deity!
Who art the great I AM, the last, the first,
Art righteous, holy, merciful and just,
In realms of glory, scenes where angels sing,
Heaven is the dwelling place of God our King,
Hallowed thy name, which dost all names transcend,
Be thou adored, our great Almighty Friend,
Thy glory shines beyond creation's space,
Named in the book of justice and of grace,
Thy kingdom towers beyond the starry skies;
Kingdom satanic falls, but thine shall rise.
Come let thine empire, O thou Holy One,
Thy great and everlasting will be done!
Will God make known his will, his power display?
Be it the work of mortals to obey.
Done is the great, the wondrous work of love,
On Calvary's cross he died, but reigns above,
Earth bears the record in thy holy word.
As heaven adores thy love, let earth, O Lord;
It shines transcendent in th' eternal skies,
Is praised in heaven—for man the Saviour dies.
In songs immortal angels laud his name
Heaven shouts with joy, and saints his love proclaim,
Give us, O Lord, our food, nor cease to give
Us that food upon which our souls may live!
This be our boon to-day, and days to come,
Day without end in our eternal home:
Our needy souls supply from day to day.
Daily assist and aid us when we pray.
Bread though we ask, yet Lord thy blessing lend,
And make us grateful when thy gifts descend,
Forgive our sins, which in destruction place
Us the vile rebels of a rebel race;
Our follies, faults and trespasses forgive,
Debts which we ne'er can pay, or thou receive;
As we, O Lord, our neighbor's faults o'erlook,
We beg thou'dst blot ours from thy memory's book.
Forgive our enemies, extend thy grace
Our souls to save, e'en Adam's guilty race,
Debtors to thee in gratitude and love,
And in that duty paid by saints above,
Lead us from sin and in thy mercy raise
Us from the tempter and his hellish ways.
Not in our own, but in His name who died,
Into thine ear we pour our every need.
Temptation's fatal charms help us to shun,
But may we conquer through thy conquering Son!
Deliver us from all which can annoy
Us in this world, and may our souls destroy.
From all calamities which men betide,
Evil and death, O turn our feet aside;
For we are mortal worms, and cleave to clay;
Thine 'tis to rule, and mortals' to obey.
Is not thy mercy, Lord forever free?
The whole creation knows no God but thee.
Kingdom and empire in thy presence fall!
The King eternal reigns the King of all,
Power is with thee—to thee be glory given,
And be thy name adored by earth and heaven,
The praise of saints and angels is thine own;
Glory to thee, the everlasting One,
Forever be thy hallowed name adored;
Amen! Hosannah! blessed be the Lord!—Sel.