Earlier text: Say the Loving Words NowThe Home of the Saved
By W. A. S.
The Bible opens with a new heaven and a new earth, perfect from the Creator’s hand; with man sinless and having access to the tree of life in the midst of the Eden paradise, out of which flowed a river that spread its life-giving waters through the earth. The Bible closes with a new heaven and a new earth; with man upright and sinless, having right to the tree of life growing in the midst of Eden; with the river of life flowing out from the garden of God, clear as crystal. Between the two scenes spreads out the panorama of six thousand years or more of conflict with sin. It is a story of the fall of man, of the loss of his Eden home, of the curse that marred the earth, of sin and sorrow and death overspreading all. But from the hour when the shadow of sin fell upon the earth, there has been a light shining in the darkness. Amidst the ruin that sin had wrought, there appeared the great Restorer. One inspired writer gives a word-picture of this scene,—Jesus taking man’s place to win back the lost dominion:— ‘Unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus.’ Heb. 2: 5-9. Just where Adam fell and lost his dominion over the earth, we see Jesus, the second Adam, taking man’s place and winning back the lost inheritance. That is how it is that the picture of the new earth and man’s sinless state depicted in the first two chapters of the Bible is repeated in the last two chapters, with even greater fulness of glory. God’s original plan and purpose will be carried out, and this earth, renewed, will be the eternal home of sinless men and women, redeemed by grace. Sin will be found not to have frustrated, but only to have delayed, the purpose of God. And what is six thousand years in working out the divine plan? In our brief span we may divide human history into ancient, medieval, and modern. But in heaven’s life a thousand years is but as “a watch in the night;” and these six watches are to heaven but as one night of grief and of loving ministry in rescuing the lost. It has cost all that heaven had to give. But the infinite Gift was given, and all heaven has wrought at the work. Of the angels it is written, ‘Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?’ Bringing Back the Lost Dominion
Of all the worlds that shine in the heavens, declaring the glory of God, this earth was the one lost world. Its light went out in darkness. It wandered from the fold of God’s perfect creation. The divine Shepherd came to find it and bring it back. And the angels that rejoiced when they saw this earth created—‘when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy’—will again rejoice when the Lord brings back his own,—this earth redeemed from the curse, shining in the bright universe again with the perfection of the glory of God. Christ not only redeems lost men, but he is to redeem this lost earth. ‘The Son of man,’ he said, ‘is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ Luke 19: 10. Not only did man lose his righteousness and his life by sin, but his dominion as well. Originally man had dominion ‘over all the earth.’ Gen. 1: 26. As the psalmist says, ‘Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands.’ Ps. 8: 6. He was prince and ruler of the earth. But when he yielded to Satan’s temptation, he placed himself in the enemy’s power, and Satan became the ‘prince of this world.’ Man’s dominion was lost. But through Christ, this dominion is to be restored. The prophet of old said:— ‘Thou, O Tower of the flock, the Stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.’ Micah 4: 8. The promise of the gospel of salvation is the promise not only of life eternal through faith, but of an eternal inheritance in the earth made new, the fulfilment of the Creator’s plan when he made this world to be the home of man. This was the star of hope that shone before Adam and Eve as they stepped forth from Eden into a dying world. It was the promise to Abraham,— ‘the promise, that he should be the heir of the world.’ Rom. 4: 13. It was not the promise of the world in its present state. For the Lord gave Abraham ‘none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on.’ Acts 7: 5. Abraham himself did not look for the promise to be fulfilled in this sinful earth, but in the earth made new, redeemed from sin. The Scripture says of his hope:— ‘By faith he sojourned in the Land of Promise, as in a strange country: . . . for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.’ Heb. 11: 9, 10. It was in the new earth and the New Jerusalem that Abraham, the father of the faithful, expected to receive the eternal inheritance promised to him and to his seed. And there all the faithful will find their inheritance. ‘If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.’ Gal. 3: 29.7 The psalmist said, ‘The meek shall inherit the earth.’ Ps. 37: 11. Christ repeated it: ‘Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.’ Matt. 5: 5. Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord described the re-creation of this earth to be the home of the saved:— ‘Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.’ Isa. 65: 17-19. The New Earth and the New Jerusalem
It is not of old Jerusalem that the prophet is speaking, but of the New Jerusalem, which John saw coming down, with the saints, from God out of heaven. He saw it descending upon the earth at the end of the thousand years, and saw the wicked come forth from their graves to judgment. Then there falls upon the lost the fires of the last day, consuming sin and sinners, and purifying the earth itself from every trace of the curse. It is the day of which Peter wrote—‘wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.’ But, as he adds,—‘nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.’ 2 Peter 3: 13. Out from the dissolved elements of the earth and the atmospheric heavens the Creator’s power calls forth new heavens and a new earth again, the old creation cleansed and renewed in the perfection of the original Eden paradise. It is coming; for John saw it in vision. ‘I saw,’ he says, ‘a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.’ Rev. 21: 1. He saw the city which had come down from heaven—those mansions that Christ is now gone to prepare. It is the New Jerusalem, the holy capital of the eternal kingdom of the saints, where Christ’s own throne is set:— ‘I heard a great voice out of the heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.’ Rev. 21: 3-5. It passes comprehension; but it is true. And the life of the saved in their eternal inheritance is real and tangible. ‘They shall build houses, and inhabit them: and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.’ ‘The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.’ Isa. 65: 21, 25. The whole earth will be as the Eden paradise planted by God in the beginning. And from month to month and from week to week the saved will gather to worship before the glorious throne in the holy city,— ‘for as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.’ Isa. 66: 22, 23. The Glories of the Saints’ Eternal Home
As the first two chapters of the Bible tell of earth’s original perfection, so the last two chapters constitute one psalm of ecstasy over the indescribable glories of the earth made new with its city of light—the walls of jasper, the gates of pearl, the river of life flowing from the throne of the Lamb, clear as crystal, with the widespread tree of life on either side of the river. And supreme above all, Jesus himself, ‘the King in his beauty,’ without whom there would be no glory even in that city foursquare; ‘for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.’ ‘Oh, heaven without my Saviour
Would be no heaven to me;
Dim were the walls of jasper,
Rayless the crystal sea!
‘He gilds earth’s darkest valleys
With light and joy and peace;
Then what must be the radiance
Where sin and death shall cease?’ Next to the loveliness and grace of Christ our Saviour, the glories of this world to come have inspired the sweetest hymns of hope for longing hearts. How often has the spirit been lifted above earth’s trials as we have sung,— ‘O that home of the soul! in my visions and dreams
Its bright, jasper walls I can see,
Till I fancy but thinly the veil intervenes
Between the fair city and me.
‘That unchangeable home is for you and for me,
Where Jesus of Nazareth stands;
The King of all kingdoms forever is he,
And he holdeth our crowns in his hands.
‘O how sweet it will be in that beautiful land,
So free from all sorrow and pain,
With songs on our lips and with harps in our hands,
To meet one another again!’ ‘But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.’ Through the ages, the children of the promise have been journeying toward the city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, and they have confessed themselves pilgrims and strangers in this present world. As they have trod the way of righteousness,—oftentimes a thorny path,—it has been with the shining city ever before their vision. As they have fallen in death, it has been with their eyes upon ‘that day’ when Christ shall come to take his people to the New Jerusalem preparing above. ‘The Lamb there in his beauty
Without a veil is seen,
It were a well-spent journey
Though seven deaths lay between.’ Now earth’s course is nearly run. It is but a little way to the holy city, where the water of life flows clear as crystal from the midst of the throne. The water of life is really there; for the Lord showed it to the prophet John in vision that he might tell us that he saw it. ‘I John saw the holy city,’ he says, ‘and he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal.’ Christ invites every one to share the eternal inheritance, giving assurance of his power to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. And the glories of the holy city invite us to come: ‘The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.’ Rev. 22: 17. ‘He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.’ The Chestnut Blight
By L. L. C.
WHILE, forsooth, the knowledge of means of successful scientific agriculture may be increasing, pests and plagues in the vegetable and animal world seem to be on the increase. One of the most recent is the chestnut blight. An editorial in the Washington Post of April 26, states that Massachusetts has announced that she has given up all hope of saving her chestnut tree area. The State forester is quoted as saying:— “The area of severe infection is already so great, and the proportion of chestnuts that there would be any hope of saving is so small, that the commonwealth would not be justified in making any attempt to stop the disease.” Congress was induced to make a considerable appropriation for cooperation between the Department of Agriculture and the State foresters, and in several States some headway is claimed toward checking the disease. The editor of the Post, however, expressed his opinion that the surrender of Massachusetts to the chestnut blight would be followed by the surrender in other States, and his opinion was that the vast area of chestnut trees in this country is likely to be cut to zero in the next few years. Power of Appetite
By Ellen G. White
(“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. III, pp. 485-489) ONE of the strongest temptations that man has to meet is upon the point of appetite. Between the mind and the body there is a mysterious and wonderful relation. They react upon each other. To keep the body in a healthy condition to develop its strength, that every part of the living machinery may act harmoniously, should be the first study of our life. To neglect the body is to neglect the mind. It cannot be to the glory of God for his children to have sickly bodies or dwarfed minds. To indulge the taste at the expense of health is a wicked abuse of the senses. Those who engage in any species of intemperance, either in eating or drinking, waste their physical energies and weaken moral power. They will feel the retribution which follows the transgression of physical law. The Redeemer of the world knew that the indulgence of appetite would bring physical debility, and so deaden the perceptive organs that sacred and eternal things would not be discerned. Christ knew that the world was given up to gluttony, and that this indulgence would pervert the moral powers. If the indulgence of appetite was so strong upon the race that, in order to break its power, the divine Son of God, in behalf of man, was required to fast nearly six weeks, what a work is before the Christian in order that he may overcome even as Christ overcame! The strength of the temptation to indulge perverted appetite can be measured only by the inexpressible anguish of Christ in that long fast in the wilderness. Christ knew that in order to successfully carry forward the plan of salvation he must commence the work of redeeming man just where the ruin began. Adam fell by the indulgence of appetite. In order to impress upon man his obligations to obey the law of God, Christ began his work of redemption by reforming the physical habits of man. The declension in virtue and the degeneracy of the race are chiefly attributable to the indulgence of perverted appetite. There is a solemn responsibility upon all, especially upon ministers who teach the truth, to overcome upon the point of appetite. Their usefulness would be much greater if they had control of their appetites and passions; and their mental and moral powers would be stronger if they combined physical labor with mental exertion. With strictly temperate habits, and with mental and physical labor combined, they could accomplish a far greater amount of labor, and preserve clearness of mind. If they would pursue such a course, their thoughts and words would flow more freely, their religious exercises would be more energized, and the impressions made upon their hearers would be more marked. Intemperance in eating, even of food of the right quality, will have a prostrating influence upon the system, and will blunt the keener and holier emotions. Strict temperance in eating and drinking is highly essential for the healthy preservation and vigorous exercise of all the functions of the body. Strictly temperate habits, combined with exercise of the muscles as well as of the mind, will preserve both mental and physical vigor, and give power of endurance to those engaged in the ministry, to editors, and to all others whose habits are sedentary. As a people, with all our profession of health reform, we eat too much. Indulgence of appetite is the greatest cause of physical and mental debility, and lies at the foundation of the feebleness which is apparent everywhere. Intemperance commences at our tables, in the use of unhealthful food. After a time, through continued indulgence, the digestive organs become weakened, and the food taken does not satisfy the appetite. Unhealthy conditions are established, and there is a craving for more stimulating food. Tea, coffee, and flesh meats produce an immediate effect. Under the influence of these poisons, the nervous system is excited, and, in some cases, for the time being, the intellect seems to be invigorated and the imagination to be more vivid. Because these stimulants produce for the time being such agreeable results, many conclude that they really need them, and continue their use. But there is always a reaction. The nervous system, having been unduly excited, borrows power for present use from its future resources of strength. All this temporary invigoration of the system is followed by depression. In proportion as these stimulants temporarily invigorate the system, will be the letting down of the power of the excited organs after the stimulus has lost its force. The appetite is educated to crave something stronger, which will have a tendency to keep up and increase the agreeable excitement, until indulgence becomes habit, and there is a continual craving for stronger stimulus, as tobacco, wines, and liquors. The more the appetite is indulged, the more frequent will be its demands, and the more difficult of control. The more debilitated the system becomes, and the less able to do without unnatural stimulus, the more the passion for these things increases, until the will is overborne, and there seems to be no power to deny the unnatural craving for these indulgences. The only safe course is to touch not, taste not, handle not, tea, coffee, wines, tobacco, opium, and alcoholic drinks. The necessity for the men of this generation to call to their aid the power of the will, strengthened by the grace of God, in order to withstand the temptations of Satan, and resist the least indulgence of perverted appetite is twice as great as it was several generations ago. But the present generation have less power of self-control than had those who lived then. Those who have indulged the appetite for these stimulants have transmitted their depraved appetites and passions to their children, and greater moral power is required to resist intemperance in all its forms. The only perfectly safe course to pursue is to stand firmly on the side of temperance, and not venture in the path of danger. The great end for which Christ endured that long fast in the wilderness was to teach us the necessity of self-denial and temperance. This work should commence at our tables, and should be strictly carried out in all the concerns of life. The Redeemer of the world came from heaven to help man in his weakness, that, in the power which Jesus came to bring him, he might become strong to overcome appetite and passion, and might be victor on every point. Many parents educate the tastes of their children, and form their appetites. They indulge them in eating flesh meats, and in drinking tea and coffee. The highly seasoned flesh meats and the tea and coffee, which some mothers encourage their children to use, prepare the way for them to crave stronger stimulants, as tobacco. The use of tobacco encourages the appetite for liquor; and the use of tobacco and liquor invariably lessens nerve power. Representative Service
By Albert Weeks
The work of God among men is a representative service. Our Lord Jesus Christ set the example of this kind of work. He says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” John 5:19, 30. Absolutely unselfish, the Saviour works for the human race. With his full consent the Father gave him his work. Faithfully he went about that work, seeking not his own will, ease, or comfort, but only the will of the Father, knowing that that will best accomplish the salvation of the human family. And as we accept the instruction of the Lord Jesus Christ and seek to do his will, we are doing the Father’s will also, and honoring his9 name. How careful we ought to be, then, really to represent the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives. The Saviour prayed for his followers: “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.” John 17:18. As actual representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ we accept the call to service. How true are we to that trust? Do we serve the Lord or ourselves? Hear the Saviour pray, “I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” Verses 15-17. Will that prayer be answered in us? Our own will is the pivot upon which our course will turn. Our Lord says, “If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from myself.” John 7:17, A. R. V. On the other hand he says, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” John 5:40. When we seek divine help, the Holy Spirit is sent to our assistance. He comes as the representative of the Lord Jesus Christ, and gives us just the help we need in representative service. The Saviour says of the Spirit, “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak. . . . He shall glorify me: for he shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto you.” John 16:13, 14, A. R. V. Willing to do his will, and seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance and power, we are enabled to be true to the Lord and faithful in his service as his representatives. The Saviour says, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, that will I do. If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive.” “The Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.” John 14:13-17, 26. Thus equipped, what is to hinder our being true representatives of our Lord? Only self and Satan stand in the way. By dying to self the first is removed. “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.” Matt. 16:24, A. R. V. Thus the Saviour tells us how to begin work. And we can defeat Satan by resisting him in the power of the Spirit of God. “Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7, A. R. V. The enemy may lay his plans broad and deep to destroy us, but the power of the Holy Spirit is sufficient. Thus we read, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” Isa. 59:19. Blessed and mighty is the help we get when we seek him with humility of heart and living faith. R. L. THOMPSON
By R. L. Thompson
“We love Him, because he first loved us.” How supremely he loved us! His love to us came of the very essence of his being, for “God is love.” And because he has loved, we can love. There is no sharp bargain sought in the life filled with love. The great sacrifice on Calvary sealed a life that was lived in sublime disregard of gain; it was the crowning proof that Jesus’ life was a sacrifice of love. There is no gain of love, save the sacrifice it makes; and the sacrifice is a gain—not as the world counts gain, but as God, who is love, counts it. How often, when we are moved by love, do we count the little words, acts, and looks that in themselves are trivial as most significant and very precious. Just so we, although we are but worms of the dust, and are in no sense worth the price paid for us, are made of great value to God because he sees under the spell of his own great love. Only let us love enough, and we shall lay down our lives for the object of our love. And so God, being himself love, and loving us supremely, made the great sacrifice of redemption for us. Only thus can the atonement be understood; only thus can we see why God wants us. Just as the life in us comes from God, so the love comes from him also. The love in the sparrow’s breast that inspires the happy care of the tiny birdlets, the love that thrills through the robin’s morning song, is an evidence, a hint, of God’s love. It is in every beating heart, and struggles earnestly for growth and expression. God has blessed us thus. All forgiveness, mercy, and sacrifice of service spring from this, and in proportion to our love is the manifestation of these virtues in our lives. As we approach perfect love, we approach the perfect character of God. The love of God is an altruistic power. It knows no work for self, and no end of work and service for others. By it we have the beautiful paradox of a King of kings, and Lord of lords, who is our servant and helper. Love makes the class lines disappear; even God himself gave his own Son to a life in the flesh common to sinful men. Christian Adversity
By B. W. Spire
WITH all the promises in the Bible of peace and prosperity to those who serve God, every Christian must bear testimony to the fact that his pathway is not always bright, and that he often meets with disappointments, adversities, and sorrows. Yea, with many, sorrow seems to be the greater share of their life's experience. Property losses, bodily affliction, death,—why do they come to the Christian? Why is it that some unforeseen disaster comes and sweeps away all my property and I am left destitute? Why is it that I have had this bodily affliction all these years? Why are my loved ones, one by one, taken from me by the cruel hand of death? Why is it? This is the real, burning question that our hearts desire to know as those large, hot tears roll down our cheeks, and we sit in silent meditation and wonder why it all happened. To answer this question satisfactorily to each longing heart does not lie within the power of man. God only, who has given “to all life, and breath, and all things,” knows why; and he has been good enough and wise enough to write out case after case in his Word, giving every form of adversity to which human flesh is heir, and to that Sacred Record we bid you come and study awhile. Man may attempt to answer this question by saying, “You have indeed met with a great loss; but you must make the most of it, for it is only the work of an unkind providence.” But as honest and well meaning as may be the one making this statement, nothing could be farther from a solution of this vital question, nothing could be farther from the real truth. That these adverse experiences that come to the Christian are not the work of an unkind providence, that God is not an unkind God, is abundantly proved by both revelation and personal experience. Listen to a definition of his name: “The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for10 thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Ex. 34:6, 7. John says, “God is love.” Paul says, “Love suffereth long, and is kind.” God says, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.” Jer. 31:3. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13. “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.” 1 John 3:16. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10. With Paul we exclaim, “What shall I more say?” The time would fail us to tell of so great a cloud of witnesses who rise up in testimony that “God is love.” Settle it, therefore, in your heart, dear longing soul, that that love is not only kind, but “love worketh no ill to his neighbor.” Rom. 13:10. Does that seem hard to reconcile with your experience? Then listen: “Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” Heb. 12:6. And this scourging is “for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.” Verse 10. “Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” John 15:2. “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Mal. 3:2, 3. This gives us some light on the reason why some bitter experiences come to us. God in his infinite love and mercy sees that we do not heed the tender wooing of his Spirit, nor listen to his voice as it speaks from his Word or his servants. If allowed to continue as we are, we shall surely be lost. He does not love to chastise us, but as this is often the only means that will bring us to him, it must be permitted to come. How many heartaches, how many tears, how much suffering we should be spared if we would quietly sit at the feet of Jesus and in our secret meditations say, “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth.” But if we will not take time to listen, if we will not heed when we hear, we must not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try us, as though some strange thing happened unto us. 1 Peter 4:12. And again, we are to remember that God says, “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.” Isa. 43:12. “We are made a spectacle [“theater,” margin] unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” 1 Cor. 4:9. The best witness, the one who proves he is a true witness, is the one who bears the test under the scourging of the cross-examination of the opposing side. Satan's charge against God was that if he would touch what Job had, Job would curse God to his face. This was a false charge; for Job was a righteous man, serving God from principle. And although everything he had was taken away,—children and property,—and his wife, influenced by the work of Satan, urged him to “curse God, and die,” the record says, “In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” Job was a true witness; Daniel in the lions’ den was a true witness; John the Baptist in prison and John the Beloved on the lonely Patmos were true witnesses. These, with thousands of others before and since, were faithful actors on the great stage, a spectacle to worlds, to angels, and to men. What joy will be theirs, in the throngs of the innumerable company of angels and intelligences of other worlds, to hear some bear testimony to the fact that it was the patience of Job, or the steadfast purpose of Daniel, or the integrity of John that convinced them that the claims of God are true and Satan's charges false. A witness for the God of heaven! what a privilege! “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.” Matt. 10:32. But whatever has been our experience on this great stage of life, we must bear this testimony with Paul, “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” Rom. 8:28. Whether we need chastising to fit us for the heavenly mansions or are called as witnesses for God, or even if we suffer as a result of our own wrong course, God in his own great love and mercy works it all out for good to those who love him. He forgives the sins, binds up the broken hearts, and helps us find the path of obedience. O amazing love! Let us ever sing,— “Guide us in the path to heaven,
Rugged though that path may be;
Let each bitter cup that's given,
Serve to draw us nearer thee.
In thy footsteps traced before us,
There we see earth's scorn and frown;
There is suffering ere the glory,
There's a cross before the crown.” The Divine and All-Wise Potter
By H. A. St. John
EVERY Christian should ever, under all circumstances and in all places, regard himself as a lump of living clay in the hands of the divine Potter. See Jer. 18:6. If there is a continual manifestation of self-will, insubordination, impatience, murmuring, doubting, complaining, and such like, there will be a continual hindering and marring of the divine Potter’s work; and those manifestations may become so persistent and continuous that the lump will be cast aside as incorrigible, and that soul be spewed out of the mouth of the Lord, lost forever. Very many will meet this sad fate. Our only safety is to consecrate soul, body, and spirit, without reserve, to the Lord. The divine Potter can then mold and fashion us after the divine image, into vessels of honor. Then we shall not be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of the mind. And then he can prove to the world, in and through us, what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God, and bring us to shine forever in his kingdom of immortal glory. The Sin of Covetousness
By E. HILLIARD
The men who were chosen to be rulers over God’s ancient people, were not only able, pious men, but men who hated covetousness. See Ex. 18:21. Paul says a bishop should not be “greedy of filthy lucre, . . . not covetous.” The Scriptures class a covetous man among thieves, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners. Such can never enter the kingdom of heaven. He who cares more for money than for the success of Christ’s kingdom will make an eternal failure. “God cannot approve of the least degree of covetousness, or selfishness, and he abhors the prayers and exhortations of those who indulge these evil traits.”—“Early Writings,” p. 268. Covetousness is a subtle, dangerous, soul-destroying sin. It withers and dwarfs all the noble qualities of mind. It is a bewitching foe, luring its victims on to a miserable end. “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Tim. 6:10. Brethren, let us, as men of God, flee these things. Let us cultivate a liberal, faithful spirit, supporting the cause of God with our prayers and means. Let us be liberal on earth, and we shall be enriched in heaven. Let us lay up our treasure in heaven, beyond the reach of thieves; for where our treasure is, there our heart will be. Comprehending the Sublimity
By F. D. Starr
The book of Ephesians abounds in superlative expressions, which, if the language were of human origin, might almost be considered extravagant. “Blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places;” “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;” “according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will;” “what is the exceeding greatness of his power;” “according to the working of his mighty power;” “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” These are some of the strenuous or ardent expressions to be found in this epistle. But perhaps as noteworthy an instance as any of this kind is found in Eph. 3:17–19:— “Ye . . . may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” The Latin version gives an additional luster to this remarkable text: “Able to comprehend with all saints what is the latitude and longitude, and sublimity, and profundity, and to know even the love of Christ which passeth all knowledge.” What an expansion of conception this gives to the mind! When we speak of latitude, our minds take a geographical sweep, past continents and over oceans, to the north pole, or to the equally frigid regions of earth’s southern extremity. Longitude takes our thoughts over thousands of leagues of sea and land to the uttermost part of the earth. And think, if you can, of the profundity! “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” Rom. 11:33. “As high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.” Job 11:8, 9. And then the sublimity—the height, the lofty conception! “O the height of Jesus’ love!
Higher than the heaven above,
Deeper than the deepest sea,
Lasting as eternity.”11 Such is the nature of the sublime theme to which attention is called in this epistle. We are to know the unknowable, to think the unthinkable, to see the invisible, to do the impossible. This is not a flight of fancy, this is not a flight of feeling, but a flight of spirituality for those who will soar aloft to the sublime heights where we may “sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Turning the attention in another direction and giving the language an unfathomable profundity of intenseness in the line of self-abnegation, the apostle thus refers to himself: “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” Eph. 3:8. How one can be less than the least of anything is difficult to comprehend, and to be fully understood by Him to whom all nations are counted as “less than nothing, and vanity.” Isa. 40:17. This estimate of himself may be fittingly joined with Paul’s statement in 1 Tim. 1:15: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” What then is the rating that Paul gives himself?—Chief of sinners, least of saints. What was the rating that the proud Pharisee, who thanked God he was not like other men, gave himself, as so many of his modern disciples give themselves?—Least of sinners, chief of saints. The divine rating in either case will be better understood when we remember that “every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Luke 18:14. “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Eph. 3:20, 21.