WONDERFUL and glorious is this scene in the drama portrayed in chapter 10. It comes in as an important afterthought, beginning before the sixth trumpet ceased, and continuing beyond. As it could not well, in the divine plan of revelation, come into the description of the trumpet itself, the vision of chapter 10 comes in at the close of the sixth trumpet as a separate prophecy, even as the sealing work of chapter 7 follows the account of the opening of the sixth seal. The vision of chapter 10 is a prophecy of the great Advent movement of 1830–44, especially the last four years of this period.
Questions on the Text.
What glorious being was shown the prophet?
“And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire.” Verse 1.
What special things are said of him?
“And he had in his hand a little book open; and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth; and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.” Verses 2, 3.
What is said of the seven thunders?
“And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.” Verse 4.
What oath did the angel swear?
“And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and swear by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer.” Verses 5, 6.
What did he say should be finished, and when?
“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets.” Verse 7.
What was John instructed to do?
“And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.” Verse 8.
What instruction did the angel give him?
“And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.” Verse 9.
What was the prophet’s experience?
“And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey; and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.” Verse 10.
What further instruction was given?
“And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” Verse 11.
Note and Comment.
1. A Message of Obscurity.—As before shown in these studies, an angel not only stands for God’s superhuman agencies, but is symbolical of the people which God will use to do His work. God’s spirit messengers always work in harmony with God’s servants in earth. This angel, as has been shown and will be hereafter shown, represents the great Advent movement of 1830–1844. It reached its climax during the last four years, at the close of the three hundred ninety-one years and fifteen days of the sixth seal, which closed Aug. 11, 1840. “Coming down out of heaven” to the earth is indicative of mighty power. Compare Rev. 18:1 with the angels of Revelation 14, who fly in mid heaven but do not come down to the earth. “Arrayed with a cloud” indicates obscurity. The message would not be fully understood. Some parts of its glory and brightness would be hidden from God’s people, but the rainbow, token of God’s mercy, is a symbol of hope. The glory of the message, symbolized by the sun, shines upon the cloud of obscurity and its rain of tears, and paints on its blackness God’s covenant bow. “Pillars of fire” would be indicative of refinement in the furnace of affliction. All this was true of the earthly actors in the great advent work of the period of which we have spoken.
2. A World-wide Message.—The angel placed one foot upon the sea and one upon the land, showing that the message would be sent to all the earth. That was emphatically true of that message. Hundreds of ministers in England and Europe gave the message. It was preached in oriental lands by Joseph Wolfe and others. Ministers of all denominations, the most active and earnest of which was William Miller, preached the message of the near coming of the Lord in America. Some writers tell us that publications on this subject went to every missionary station on the earth. In some instances little children preached the coming of Christ with a power which carried conviction to hearts and with a courage and zeal which threats and imprisonments could neither daunt nor suppress.
3. Seven Thunders.—The seven thunders spoke in response to the great voice of the angelic message. What they said we do not know. John was forbidden to write. Evidently they could not be understood or comprehended. Rather were they not the expression of the complete and varied experiences of God’s children during that time of triumph, persecution, and disappointment?
4. The Importance of the Message is indicated by the awfully solemn manner of its giving.5The mighty angel swears by the everlasting God, the Creator of the heaven and the earth, and the burden is that time shall be no longer; that the closing work of God shall be no longer delayed. Compare with Dan. 12:7.
5. The Message and Its Basis.—The message is summed up in the expression, “There shall be time no longer.” Verse 6. The proof of this is presented in verse 7, namely, that in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished the mystery of God, according to the good tidings “which He hath declared unto His servants the prophets.” The time must be that declared in connection with the Gospel by the prophets. The mystery of God is “God manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16) and is plainly declared to be the Gospel (Eph. 6:19). God has declared this Gospel through all His prophets, notably through Isaiah and Daniel. How graphically are the sufferings and glory of Christ set before us in Isaiah 53 and following chapters! So also in Daniel; not only is the Gospel of Christ and His kingdom set forth in declaration, but its power and wisdom is demonstrated in the flesh of Daniel and his companions. Neither in Isaiah nor in the other prophets, save one, is time connected with this Gospel message; but in Daniel’s visions of God time is a prominent feature. We have the “time and times and half a time” (1,260 year-days) of Dan. 7:25; the 2,300 year-days of Dan. 8:14; the former period repeated in Dan. 12:7; and the 1,290 and 1,335 year-days of verses 11, 12. All these periods are connected with the giving of the glad tidings.
The longest of all these periods is the 2,300 prophetic days of Dan. 8:14: “Unto 2,300 days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed” (or justified). The sanctuary in the past was the tabernacle in the wilderness, and the temple in Jerusalem. Both of these were types or shadows of the sanctuary on high, where our great High Priest, Jesus Christ, ministers. See Ex. 25:40, and Hebrews 8 and 9. These days—including and noting in their wonderful sweep the restoration of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, the anointing and crucifixion of the Messiah—carry us forward to the time when, according to the ancient type of sanctuary and temple (Leviticus 16) the High Priest finishes His general mediatorial work once for all, and enters upon the close of His ministrations,—the remembrance of all cases before God, the blotting out of the sins of the faithful of all ages, the cleansing of the records in the sanctuary above and in the lives of the church beneath, the separation of the two classes, righteous and wicked, and the close of mediatorial work for men.
The 2,300 days (years) reach to the beginning of that closing work. They begin at the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem (Dan. 9:25; Ezra 7:7–26), B. C. 457, and reach to A. D. 1844. At the close of that period definite, prophetic time ended; beyond that date there is to be no precise periods nor basis for setting dates for Christ to come. All that reaches beyond that to the great consummation is the undefined, indeterminate “days of the voice of the sounding of the seventh angel.” The sixth trumpet ceased its sounding Aug. 11, 1840. A little period intervened between that and the sounding of the seventh trumpet, covered by the word “quickly” (Rev. 11:14). We surely must conclude that the sounding of the seventh angel began at the very time when the finishing of the mystery of God began, when Christ entered upon His closing work before the ark of God, containing the law, the rule of the judgment. This is also shown to be correct by the fact stated in Rev. 11:19, that when the seventh trumpet sounded, there was seen in God’s temple the ark of His testament, containing His law. The message which the angel of chapter 10 symbolizes is, therefore, a time message; and in this, as in every other respect, it was fulfilled by the givers of the Advent Message in 1840 to 1844.
6. The Little Book.—Rotherham renders from Westcott’s and Hort’s Greek Text a little scroll, “opened,” implying that it had been closed. Now there is but one book among the prophets which declares the Gospel message in connection with time, as there is but one book among the prophets which was ever said to be closed or sealed; this little book opened must refer to that one book. That book is the book of Daniel. We have before seen that the book presented Gospel time messages. This is what is said of its closing: Daniel asked, “O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he [the angel] said, Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white; and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Dan. 12:8–10, 4. The little book in the angel’s hand was the book of Daniel, given to John as the representative of the church in the time of the end.
7. Eating of the Little Book.—The eating of a book is indicative of its reception, its absorption, the receiving of its message. Thus the reception of the message Ezekiel was to give was symbolized. Eze. 2:8–10. It was sweet in the mouth, showing the glad reception of the Gospel of the kingdom by the believers in that movement. After being received it was bitter, showing the bitterness of the disappointment of those who were expecting Christ in 1844, and the Master did not come. But did these disappointed ones fulfil prophecy?—They certainly did fulfil this prophecy, didn’t they? They were bitterly disappointed after their message of sweetness and light. Did not the disciples fulfil prophecy when they hailed Christ as King on His entrance to Jerusalem?—They certainly did. Compare Zech. 9:9 with Matt. 21:4–9; Luke 19:36–40. Jesus said that if His disciples should then hold their peace, “the very stones would cry out.” Why?—Because the prophecy must be fulfilled. But Jesus did not enter Jerusalem to take a throne and reign, but to die; and the disciples were disappointed and became a reproach to the scoffers. They thought He was to redeem Israel. Luke 24:21. And so it was in the great Advent Movement. William Miller was right in regard to the time, but wrong in the event to take place at the end of the time. The world needed his message, and to separate the chaff from the wheat, the love-servers from the time-servers and fear-servers, the disappointment was needed. God’s people saw the light, the glory; they felt the power; but they did not clearly see all behind the cloud. Yet over all the bitter disappointments and the dark cloud of obscurity, the rainbow of hope arched the sky; and the message of disappointment was to be made clear by the message to follow, to be given to all nations, God’s everlasting Gospel message, which, when we reach it more fully, we will study. In this message we can see the wonderful fulfilment of the Word of God, even in man’s blindness.
How They Became Convinced
[Believing it would be of interest to our readers, the editor of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES has asked Sabbath-keeping ministers and evangelical workers to tell in a few words the scripture or scriptures, the truths and principles, which constrained them to accept the unpopular truth of the seventh-day Sabbath. These testimonies must not exceed 500 words. Let us hear from all.]
LVII.
The texts and principles which weighed most in constraining me to keep the Sabbath of the Lord I gladly give, hoping that some other soul may see in them the clear, strong light that I did, and experience the same peace and joy in submission. Christ, in answering the tempter, said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matt. 4:4. And God spake all these words: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. . . . The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” Ex. 20:1, 8, 10. “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” Ps. 89:34. “But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Matt. 15:9. “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Rev. 22:14. These, among many other texts presented by H. W. Decker, in our first interview on the Sabbath question at my home in Wisconsin, twenty-eight years ago, seemed to linger, and blend, and brighten in my mind, until all opposing voices were silenced, and I made haste and delayed not to keep His commandment. Ps. 119:59, 60. CHAS. A. SMITH.
College Corner, Ohio.
LVIII.
It was in the spring of 1860, while living in Daviess County, Mo., a preacher came down from Iowa, and presented the subject of the perpetuity of the law and Sabbath to us, which a number of us accepted without delay. The scriptures impressing me most and decidedly were Luke 23:54-56 and Matt. 24:20. Here I saw at once the recognized continuation of the Sabbath for Christians this side of the cross, and when I read Mark 2:27, 28, all the argument for a Sunday Lord’s Day vanished like mist before the rising sun.
I was brought up in the belief of the soon-coming of Christ, heard the preaching in 1843-4, in the State of Indiana. My father was an early settler in that part of the State, and an active worker in the Disciple Church, and would talk these truths of the advent faith and the soon-coming kingdom. As time rolled on the light of the Sanctuary and the Third Angel’s Message unfolded to us, lighting up the way more and more till the present time.
Yankton, S. Dakota. J. H. ROGERS.
The Yoke of Other People’s Needs
By J. H. Jowett, M. A.
WHEN a weary, selfish heart comes to the Saviour, the Saviour meets his need by saying, “Take My yoke upon you.” “But, Lord, he is tired and weary already; another yoke will crush him.” No, no; he has just been carrying himself, and himself only. But strange, too, it is that if he adds another burden, his own burden will become light. That is the mystery of grace, that the burdens of a selfish man are lightened by adding more. “Take My yoke upon you.” And what yoke is that, Lord? “The yoke of other people’s needs—the burden of the blind and the deaf, the lame, and the lepers—put them on to thy shoulders—take My yoke upon thee—increase thy burden, and thy burden shall become light, and instead of weariness thou shalt find rest.”—J. H. Jowett, M. A.
THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION.
Many churches will hear on “Easter Sunday” what they have at no other times in the year, a sermon on the resurrection of Christ Jesus. The subject is then ignored till the yearly church day returns. And yet, there is no subject in connection with our Lord’s work more instructive to the Christian, more full of meaning, than that of the resurrection of our Lord. What, then, is the resurrection? What is its meaning? and what does it mean to us?
I. What Is the Resurrection?
The word “resurrection” comes from the Latin resurgo—re, “again;” and surgo, “to rise;” to rise again. The Greek word from which “resurrection” is rendered is anastasis, defined as “standing up again.” When Christ was buried He was laid in Joseph’s new tomb. When He was raised from the dead, He stood forth a living Being. The body was put into the grave. The body came forth. “He is not here; for He is risen,” was the word of the angel to those who sought Him at the tomb. No body was left in the grave. It was “this same Jesus,” but when God called Him forth from the tomb, the body of His flesh was changed from mortal to immortal, even as He will transform His children when He calls them from the grave. 1 Cor. 15:51-54.
II. What Does the Resurrection Mean?
It means righteousness and life. Of our Lord it is said: “Whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death; because it was not possible that He should be holden of it.” Acts 2:24. Why could not death hold Him? It had held in its icy embrace earth’s countless millions up to that time; why not this Man?
To better understand the answer to this question, let us ask another, Why did He die? Why does any one die? Surely, it is not the normal condition of the race. God did not create man to die, or He never would have given him the tree of life. Death comes because of sin. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Eze. 18:4. “The wages of sin is death.” Rom. 6:23. “Sin, when it is full grown, bringeth forth death.” James 1:15. From this evidence it will be seen that death is no arbitrary punishment for sin; for God is not vindictive. It is the fruit of transgression. It must follow the perversion, the transgression, of God’s holy, righteous law, the normal law of man’s being, keeping which, he would exist forever. For “in the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.” Prov. 12:28. This is the only power that keeps God’s throne; for “righteousness and justice” are its foundation. Ps. 97:2. It is the only thing that keeps God; for “Jehovah is righteous in all His ways.” Ps. 145:17. Were it possible for righteousness to depart from our God, the throne of universal dominion would crumble, and the universe fall to everlasting wreck. But, praise God, this can not be; for God is essential righteousness, and therefore with Him “is the fountain of life.” Ps. 36:9. And the only reason men die is because of departure from Him and His ways.
But why did Christ, the sinless One, die?—He died for our sins. “Him [Christ] who knew no sin He [the Father] made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Cor. 5:21. This is the secret of His death, the object of “the unspeakable Gift.” All that crucified Him on the cruel cross, all that laid Him in the cold embrace of the grave—more friendly than His own temple—were the sins which the heart of Infinite Love bore, that man might be freed from sin. But having poured out His life on account of the sins of others, having given His life in the hopelessness of that awful moment of agony which wrung from His lips, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me,” man’s price was paid, and, knowing no sin in His own life or purpose, the grave could not hold Him, and He came forth a triumphant Conqueror simply, only, by the power of righteousness. God is righteous; and the resurrection of Jesus demonstrated (“declared,” “determined”) Him “to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Rom. 1:4.
III. What Does the Resurrection Mean to Us?
It is of no interest at all, if we do not love life, life everlasting, fraught with joys unspeakable and full of glory. It is of no importance at all, if the theory based on Satan’s falsehood (Gen. 3:4) is true, that man is immortal, and can not die, and therefore needs no resurrection. But, reader, it is of transcendent importance, and ought to be of all-absorbing interest to every one who knows the truth of God’s Word, and desires a life that parallels the life of God. All is involved in it; and it will cost all to obtain the life.
Here is the expression of one soul who had all of earth that was needed, everything in which man could boast, so far as reputation, prestige, ancestry, and prospect were concerned: “Howbeit what things were gains [plural] to me, these have I counted loss for Christ. Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of mine own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness [to the truth of which the Law bears witness, Rom. 3:22] which is from God by faith; that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming conformed unto His death; if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead.” Phil. 3:9-11.
Is this same desire in your heart, dear soul? You may possess all, if you will count all things but loss,—yield all to Christ—and by faith lay hold of the righteousness which He brings to cover all your sin; by faith count yourself crucified with Him to all sin; by faith lay hold of the power of His resurrection,—power over sin and death, the power of the indwelling Spirit of God. For “if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Rom. 8:10. It is the resurrection life which Christ is waiting, longing to give to every soul,—life that will lift above sin, give power over every sinful habit, and enable the new man gladly, willingly, to obey God.
And then, tho we may die before Christ shall come, the sleep will not be long. If true to Christ, we lay down in earth’s final resting-place clothed in His righteousness, sons of God through Jesus Christ. The grave can not hold us any more than it could Him; and by His grace and His power we come forth to endless immortality.
And this is what the resurrection means to us both here and hereafter.
SOME PRINCIPLES WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION BY THE GENERAL CONFERENCE NOW IN SESSION.
1. It is well to remember that truth and light do not come from mere study, any more than righteousness comes by works. The men who think upon and study to devise plans most are as liable and likely to be led astray as the men who studied to devise works for God have been led astray in the past. Light comes by revelation, and revelation through the study of His revealed will, which is light, and the illumination of His Spirit (in harmony always with His will) in answer to earnest, importunate prayer.
2. It does not take a large “pet scheme” to shut from our minds God’s great plans of work, success, and glory.
3. All fields are not the same. All men are not the same. God directly, nor in His providence, ever made two fields the same, nor cast two men in the same mould. Let the great principles be grasped by God’s servants; let Life work them out and develop their forms as adapted to men and their respective fields.
4. It is well to remember that an old principle is the same tho it be put in new form and new dress by new men. If it is wrong, reject it. Sometimes splendidly good men hold wrong principles.
5. It is glorious to see God’s work go speedily, and it should be a great question as to how this may be accomplished; but there is one question which infinitely transcends this, and that is, “What is right?” “Speedy” work may have to be done all over again, but righteous work never. But righteous work must be done in a righteous way.
6. Righteousness never ignores or tramples on the rights of others because it has the power. He who has all power regards the rights of the lowest as truly, as considerately, as He does the rights of the great.
7. God takes men and things as they are. The tendency of modern physicians in the world is to heroic surgery; the law of God is to bind up and heal.
8. Open, frank, full discussion is better than secret, political, shrewd planning. The latter is characteristic of many modern religious conventions; let it have no place among us.
9. Plans and ideas which will not bear proper and full consideration on all sides are unworthy of any consideration.
10. God’s work is one; His body is one; His life is one. In all these there are different manifestations, but in all there is divine unity. The foot can not say of the hand, “I have no need of thee.” And this is true of every part.
11. Division of responsibility and management is good, but there is danger of carrying it too far. There is a natural division of the hand. To go beyond this, to split the middle finger or the thumb, for instance, because it is too large, would weaken the hand and shorten the blood supply.
12. There are great nerve centers of control in the human body. These centers do not control each other, but each, if normal, is responsible and responsive to the seat of all control, the brain. There are centers of influence and control in God’s work; all, if normal, will work in harmony; but all and each is to be controlled by Him.
13. “Fear God and give glory to Him; . . . and worship Him.”
14. “Love as brethren; be pitiful, be courteous.”
THE UPSPRINGING LIFE.
By S.
The controversy of the ages between Christ and Satan has been reproduced in each individual in the perpetual struggle between Soul and Self. Satan would place himself above God and rule the realm for his own glorification, unapproachable monarch, unyielding tyrant. And Self has set for itself the same object—the “rule or ruin” of the soul of man. Every soul lost through the triumph of Self is a fitting figure, an eloquent and sad object lesson, of what the rule of Satan would have meant in the universe of God. Satan would have trampled upon and exterminated, if he could, that One who was the Source of life itself, and thus have brought death to every creature including himself. The rule of Self over Soul means the same thing and brings the same result in the individual. His purpose was the purpose of death. It meant death in its working out; whereas the purpose of God meant life, eternal life, not only to those then living, but to all who yet should live in the unfolding providence of God.
In the unfolding of that purpose of perpetual love and life this world has made the acquaintance of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God-with-us; and to us “who were dead in trespasses and sins” that purpose has brought life and immortality through the atoning life and sacrifice of the Son of God. In His baptism into death He held the hand of the human race; and when He came forth from the tomb, He held the guarantee of a race’s resurrection from the dead. So “out from among the dead ones” Christ will bring every soul that has, through His strength, “gotten the victory” over Self in the controversy between Self and Soul. That victory symbolizes the final triumph of truth and righteousness over error and iniquity, and is in itself a part of that triumph. It means for the individual what the triumph of Christ means for the universe. It means the setting up of the throne of God in sole sovereignty in the individual heart.
Christ Himself said of His mission, “I am come that ye might have life.” Again: “In Him was life;7and the life was the light of men.” And as death could not hold Him, He came forth from the tomb bringing with Him life for every soul that wills to do the Father’s will. The believer follows Him through the symbol of His sleep, and rises from that symbolic grave to “walk in newness of life.” The same physical life is in the body, but Soul is no longer chained to the chariot wheel of Self to do its bidding and perish with it. God is acknowledged sole Ruler of that realm—the soul is manumitted. Every day lived by such a soul should remind the world of the resurrection of Christ, and preach His power to save from sin and sinning. Our old nature has gone to the tomb in the crucifixion of Self, and now must be made manifest in our lives the saving and vivifying power of the life of Christ in us. We thus become partakers with Christ in the death which He died, “were baptized into His death.” Out of that He came forth triumphant to live eternally to God. So out of the symbolic grave Christ bids us come forth to live to Him for time and eternity, and to preach Him in the new life which He gives us grace and power to live. So let us who have followed our Lord in the likeness of His death, arise with Him, and walk with Him in that newness of life which will preach the resurrection and the power which it gives. Let us “walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us.” Let us also remember these words of Christ Himself: “As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.” He was sent into the world for the salvation of men. He accomplished His purpose by His life among men. Christians are here for the same purpose, to carry forward the same work of salvation. They can not do it if their life is out of harmony with the message of life which they bear. They must subjugate the fleshly mind and accept in its place the mind of Christ; dead continually to the ambitions and lusts of this world, and thus truly “alive unto God in Christ Jesus.” Then the light of God’s truth will shine out in us, and glory come to Him in the sheaves which we will bring with us from the tare-strewn field of this world. “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.” Let us, therefore, arise and walk in that “newness of life” which His life and resurrection have made possible for us.
S.
WORSHIP
By G.
EVERY man is a worshiper of something, is controlled by something to which he, wittingly or unwittingly, is subservient. The image-worshiper makes an image to conform to his idea of a god which in some way it is profitable for him to worship. The worshiper of living creatures imagines that in the creature or creatures of his choice there is some power that can in some way affect his welfare.
In all such worship there is usually a superstitious dread of the ideal deity, and the worship is merely an effort to appease it. The sacrifices given or the reverence accorded to such gods is generally for the purpose of warding off imaginary dangers. The extreme of such superstition is found in devil-worship. And this is perfectly logical, for Satan is the chief worker of evil, and works only to destroy that which God would save. If, therefore, there could be any advantage in worshiping any god solely because of a dread of his power and disposition to do evil, the ideal expedient would be devil-worship.
But there are many people who deem themselves too intelligent or too independent to worship any deity, even the Creator of all things. They are too self-sufficient to acknowledge any superior, excepting that in an official or physical sense they feel compelled to admit the superiority of a fellow-man. Such people, however, are not without their characteristic worship; for they are ardent worshipers of themselves. Their own inclinations—appetites, passions, ambitions—are the recipients of their life sacrifice and devotion. Every energy is directed to the service of self.
In this sinful world we have the true and the false in everything. The false is the counterfeit of the true. As man is a worshiping being by nature, the enemy of righteousness tempts him to indulge in false worship, as in false everything else. And whoever does not give himself to the exercise of true worship is surely led into some phase of false worship. The true motive of worship is love, and therefore the true object of worship is the God of love. There is but one God of love, and He is the Fountain of love. As all love springs from Him, there can be no other god of love. So there can be no other worship actuated by true love than the worship of the God of love; for true love must be received from Him, and He would not impart a spirit of worship that would be directed toward any other god. Nay, He could not impart a spirit of worship of any other god; for one of the things God can not do is to deny Himself.
Being a God of love, the true God is a God of sacrifice in behalf of His creatures. So the God of the Bible “so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And this sacrifice was not made for men after they became worshipers of Him; “but God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” This must needs be so, for after man had sinned and his mind was possessed by the enemy, he never could have returned to the worship of the true God if that sacrifice had not been made for him.
Then the only true worship is the worship of the true God, who created the heavens and the earth, and whose eternal purpose is to have the universe governed by a spirit of love. And the only true worship of Him is worship “in spirit and in truth.” All who worship any other god, or worship the true God in any other way, worship they “know not what.” All worship acceptable to God must be in faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please Him.” The sinner is at enmity with God, and it is only by faith in Jesus Christ that peace is made and acceptable worship made possible.
Acceptable worship must therefore be in a spirit of obedience, for obedience is the prescribed test of love. “If ye love Me, keep My commandments,” is the divine direction. The sinner is estranged from God through disobedience, for “sin is the transgression of the law.” Therefore peace must come through obedience, and in this way has come the possibility of peace to every one. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.” Therefore, as peace was lost to us by the disobedience of Adam, and regained for us by the obedience of Christ, it surely follows that peace can be retained only by continued obedience.
That no worship is acceptable that has not in it the element of obedience is shown by a Scripture contrast. In the first psalm a blessing is pronounced upon the man whose “delight is in the law of the Lord;” but “the ungodly are not so.” The ungodly, such as do not delight in the law of the Lord, “shall not stand in the judgment.” Nor will their worship avail anything, no matter what their profession; for Jesus says to such, “Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Of the same class of professed worshipers of the true God He says, “In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
“Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; . . . worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”
G.
STRANGE CONCEPTIONS.
A CORRESPONDENT, who believes in the observance of any day as a Sabbath, writes:—
“The wealthy can keep every day of the week. The poor man who has a family to support may keep two days, either day, neither day, or a part of two days, and still be saved.”
No one who has a true conception of the nature of God’s requirements and the Sabbath could ever so write. As to how God’s justice and mercy may deal with man’s purpose and ignorance we can not presume to say. But the only safe way for any man to do is to obey explicitly just what God says. He who believes God, who trusts in His knowledge and wisdom, could not do otherwise. He would say: “God’s way is best; I have no desire to walk in any other.” “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” “Ye are My friends if ye do whatsoever I command you.” “Why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” These are the words of Jesus, who was one with the Father, the One by whom the Sabbath was given and the law spoken. Do these words mean anything?
God’s commands are not mere arbitrary words, such as men issue. There is life in the words of God. His commands are filled with life and blessing to the doer by faith. But he who knowingly, willingly sets aside or perverts God’s commands perverts God’s blessing and life to curses and death.
Does God mean what He says? He declares: “The seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah thy God.” Surely it does not mean any day, or a part of two days, but one definite day, the seventh of the weekly cycle.
Neither in the light of the law can the wealthy keep every day. The command is, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Man can not make holy a single thing. However he may keep a day does not make it holy. God only can make anything holy. He has placed His blessing on the seventh day and commands that it be kept what He has made it—holy. And this only can be done by men made holy by the cleansing grace of Jesus Christ. Then the observance of the day will be voluntary, worshipful, beneficial, a “delight.” There can be no other observance acceptable to God. True Sabbath-keeping is possible only through Christ Jesus.