In the matter of the duty of keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, it is not to be understood that the two can for a moment be separated. The commandments can not be kept acceptably to God except by faith in Jesus Christ; and faith in Christ amounts to nothing—is dead—unless it is manifested, made perfect, in good works; and these good works consist in keeping the commandments of God.
Christ kept the commandments of God: “I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.” John 15:10. By his obedience it is that many must be made righteous. “For as by one man's [Adam's] disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one [Christ] shall many be made righteous.” Rom. 5:19. But these are made righteous only by faith in him, thus having “the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Rom. 3:22, 23.
All have sinned; and “sin is the transgression of the law.” As all have thus transgressed the law, none can attain to righteousness by the law. There is righteousness in the law of God; in fact, the Word says, “All thy commandments are righteousness;” but there is no righteousness there for the transgressor. If righteousness ever comes to one who has transgressed the law, it must come from some source besides the law. And as all, in all the world, have transgressed the law, to whomsoever, in all the world, righteousness shall come, it must be from another source than from the law, and that source is Christ Jesus the Lord.
This is the great argument of Rom. 3:19-31: “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
Then the question comes in, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.” Notice, he had already said that although this righteousness of God is “without the law,” and by faith of Christ, yet it is “witnessed by the law and the prophets.” It is a righteousness that accords with the law; it is a righteousness to which the law can bear witness; it is a righteousness with which the law in its perfect righteousness can find no fault; it is indeed the very righteousness of the law itself; for it is the righteousness of God, and the law is only the law of God.
It is the righteousness of God, which in Christ is wrought out for us by his perfect obedience to the commandments of God, and of which we become partakers by faith in him; for “by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.” Thus we become the children of God by faith in Christ. By faith in him the righteousness of the law is met in us. And we do not make void, but we establish, the law of God, by faith in Christ. In other words, in Christ is found the keeping of the law of God.
This is shown again in Gal. 2:17: “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.” To be found sinners, is to be found transgressors of the law; for “sin is the transgression of the law.” Then since the Lord has set his everlasting “God forbid” against any suggestion that Christ is the minister of the transgression of the law, it follows as certainly that Christ ministers the keeping of the law. The believer in Jesus finds in Christ the keeping of the commandments of God—the law of God. Whosoever therefore professes to be justified by faith in Christ, and yet claims the “liberty” to disregard the law of God in a single point, is deceived. He is only claiming that Christ is the minister of sin, against which the Lord has set his everlasting “God forbid.” Thus faith, justification by faith, establishes the law of God; because faith, the faith of Jesus Christ, is the only means there is by which the keeping of the commandments of God can ever be manifested in the life of anybody in the world.
This is yet further shown in Rom. 8:3-10: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
What was it that the law could not do?
1. The law was ordained to life (Rom. 7:10), but it could not minister life, because “all had sinned,”—transgressed the law,—and “the wages of sin is death.” And this being so, all that the law can possibly minister is death.
2. The law was ordained to justification (Rom. 2:13), but it will justify only the doers of the law: but of all the children of Adam there have been no doers of the law: “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
3. The law was ordained to righteousness (Rom. 10:5), but it can count as righteous only the obedient: and all the world is guilty of disobedience before God.
Therefore, because of man's failure, because of his wrong doings, the law could not minister to him life, it could not justify him, it could not accept him as righteous. So far as man was concerned, the purpose of the law was entirely frustrated.
But mark, “What the law could not do in that it was weak through the sinful flesh,” God sent his Son to do, in the likeness of sinful flesh. What the law could not do, Christ does. The law could not minister life, because by transgression all had incurred its penalty of death; the law could not give justification, because by failure to do it, all had brought themselves under its condemnation; the law could not give righteousness, because all had sinned. But instead of this death, Christ gives life; instead of this condemnation, Christ gives justification; instead of this sin, Christ gives righteousness.
And for what?—That henceforth the law might be despised by us?—Nay, verily! But “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill,” said the holy Son of God. And so “Christ is the end [the object, the aim, the purpose] of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” Rom. 10:4. For of God, Christ Jesus “is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 1:30, 31.
In Christ, by faith of Christ, the believer in Jesus finds the keeping of the commandments of God, which is the righteousness of God. Thus the keeping681of the commandments of God is the gift of God: it is the “free gift” of the righteousness of God “which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” And this is the Third Angel's Message: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
Government Power Source: Consent Versus Divine Law
Since 1898 there has been in this nation a systematic repudiation of the truth — the fundamental national principle — that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. For years before this was thus systematically begun, as well as since, we have called attention to the truth that it could not be done without the planting of a despotism; and that in this case it would certainly be a religious as well as a civil despotism. This, because for a generation there has been here the steadily growing National Reform combination, ever insisting that governments do not derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, but only from God. The Outlook has been one of the leading influences in the present national repudiation of the fundamental principle of the nation. And now the Outlook, being called upon by its readers to tell what then is the source of governmental power, answers thus, October 6:—
“Just government rests neither upon the edict of a few strong men nor upon the consent of the many; it rests upon the law of God. No government is just that does not conform to the law of God.” “Just governments rest on conformity with the laws of God.” “Human governments are, or ought to be, attempts to ascertain what these laws are, and to adapt the life of the community to them.” “Righteous democracy is simply one way of ascertaining what are the laws of God, and of conforming the life of the community to them.”
That defines and sanctions all that the papacy ever was. It is exactly what, from the beginning, the National Reform combination has proposed. This change in the fundamental principle of this nation is the very change that the National Reform Association has always advocated. Therefore nothing short of the direct enactment of a positive Sunday law, by this nation, could be more directly the making of the Image of the Beast than is this national repudiation of the fundamental principles of the nation as stated in the Declaration of Independence.
“BEAR ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Thus it is seen that the law of Christ is self-sacrifice to serve others; the spending of self to help others.
And so it is written in another place: “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.”
And again: “Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification.”
And this because “even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.” Rom. 15 : 1-3.
Again: this law is expressed thus: “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” Phil. 2 : 3. When each esteems the other better than himself, it becomes a pleasure to serve the other: it is more of a pleasure to serve the other, by helping him, than it is to serve self.
So in truth each can please himself more, in pleasing his neighbor for his good, by serving and helping him, than he can in seeking to please himself by serving only himself. This is the true Christian joy; because it was “for the joy that was set before him” that Christ “endured the cross, despising the shame” and the reproach which must be, and which were, endured to deliver us from our shame and reproach.
Therefore, again this law of Christ is expressed in the words: “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” Phil. 2 : 4.
And that all may know for certain that this is precisely the law of Christ, and that the observance of it is therefore the keeping of all the law of God,—yea, even the keeping of all the law and the prophets,—Jesus himself spoke for all mankind this law of Christ. And here are the words: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” Matt. 7 : 12.
Notice, it is not, “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do” that to yourself. Nor is it to have them do that to you; but it is “do ye even so to them.”
Thus the knowledge of this law of Christ is the easiest of all knowledge to attain, and the observance of this law is the easiest of all observance, to him who really has the heart to do it. To know what the law of Christ is, all that is required is that I shall simply think of what I would have any man do to me. In this transaction, at this particular moment, what would I choose that that man should do to me, if I were in his place, and all these circumstances applied to me? And whatsoever that may be, I know that that is the thing that it is right for me to do to him just at that moment, in that particular transaction, and in those circumstances. And since it is always perfectly easy for any man to know what he would that another should do to him in given circumstances, it is thus easy for him to know, at any moment, just what is the law of Christ; just what is the law of God; just what is “the whole duty of man.”
And just as easy as it is to know it, just so easy it is to do it, when I have the heart to do it; when I have Christ before me, instead of myself; and when I have his law in my heart, instead of my own self-seeking. But it is plain that this requires the utter emptying of self, and the appearing of Christ in the life; because none of this is the way of self: self will never go that way. That is the way of unselfishness; that is the way of the crucifixion of self; the utter death of self, and the living of Christ.
Therefore immediately following the word, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others,” the sum of all is written: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but emptied himself, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Phil. 2 : 5-8.
Certainly it is true that without the mind of Christ no man can fulfill the law of Christ. Then wherever there is a lack of fulfilling the law of Christ, a lack of esteeming others better than ourselves, a lack of looking on the things of others, it is evident that the cause of the failure is in not having the mind of Christ. And the remedy is to receive and to retain the mind of Christ.
If this law of Christ were fulfilled daily by individuals, by the managers of our Conferences and our institutions, the loud cry of the Third Angel’s Message would shortly fill the earth, the gospel of the kingdom would speedily be preached to all the world, and very soon the end would come. “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
THE DOOR.
By Uriah Smith
The most important and precious doctrines of Christ are stated in the plainest and simplest manner. Thus Christ says of himself, “I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:9.
All know what a door is; no one needs to explain its uses. It is a common object. We have them on every hand. Every dwelling we pass, every room we enter, has its doors. They are what make all places not only convenient, but even habitable. So Christ desires us to acquaint ourselves with him, as a familiar object, and have us understand that he can be found everywhere. As often as we see, or are reminded of, a door or its uses, so often would Christ have us think of him.
He is “the door of the sheep,” the door of the true fold. The door of a sheepfold is often a very humble affair. It makes no pretension to grandeur or display. But it is just as useful, nevertheless, to give the sheep free access to the fold. So the Lord is willing to condescend to any position, that he may give help, may serve and save his people.
By this subject our minds are thrown back upon the terrible alternative that was thrust upon the world by man’s sin, when he transgressed the law of God, and alienated himself from the true fold of God, and had no power of himself to return. What if there could not have been found one to be a door, or to open a door, back to the fold?—Then never could peace, purity, union with God, salvation, and heaven have been ours.
And while our hearts are filled with gratitude because of this door, let us remember that it is the only door, and not weary ourselves trying to find some other. He who would climb up some other way is a thief and a robber. “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
There is personality in the promise. The Lord Jesus is himself the door. It is not imposing ceremonies, nor elaborate forms, nor high professions, nor the great attainments we have made, nor the achievements we have accomplished, that constitute the door. But it is the Lord himself. He alone provides the blood which cleanses from all sin.
As a door, he is adapted to the work he has undertaken. He unites God and man, and opens the door in both directions. As the Son of man, he opens the door earthward; and as the divine and only begotten Son of God, he opens the door heavenward. He is the one Mediator between God and man. 1 Tim. 2:5.
His words, “I am,” have the same elements of essential existence and eternity of being as the words of Jehovah to Moses. Ex. 3:14. “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.” In this respect the present age is as blessed as any that has passed away. We can still come to the Father through him. Heb. 7:25. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,”
Those who avail themselves of these promises, and use their provisions, are not merely onlookers and careless observers. They do not sit and loiter idly before the door, nor do they stand, like soldiers on guard, pacing before the door; but they enter in, by faith, love, experience, and communion. Those who are invited to enter in are not placed under restrictions, or conditions, as a requisite of receiving the call. It is not, if you can come presenting certain qualifications, as of riches, of rank, of education, of influence, or power, social, political, or military, you can enter in. Oh, no. Not the lords and ladies are spoken of. But it is “any man.” “By me if any man enter in he shall be saved.” Having passed this point, they have one distinguishing characteristic: they have the mark of having “entered.” As to persons, it is general—any man; but as to the essential qualification to a title to the promises, it is those who “enter in.” This excludes character previously acquired as a fitness to enter in. It requires no special degree of feeling, either of grief or joy, as a prerequisite. As an act of acceptance, no other action than that of entering in is called for.
There is every feature about this door to show that it is to be made the most free and most liberal use of. A door may be marked “Private,” and most persons would think themselves restricted from entering it. But a door conspicuously labeled “The Door” is to be used openly and freely by all. When we see a bold sign erected, saying, “This Is the Way,” we have confidence to believe that some one placed it there who knew whereof he affirmed, and we do not expect to be misled by walking therein. The wonderful advertisement by Christ, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” and the special promises to those who walk in that way, and accept of that truth, and receive that life, constitute the most remarkable and liberal invitation that can be imagined. No one ever yet had occasion to say, nor ever will have, “I followed Christ, and found that I had made a mistake. I ‘entered in,’ and was disappointed.” Come along, then, all ye who desire to enter into life.
“Here see the Bread of Life; see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above;
Come to the feast of love—come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.”
Recount the privileges that belong to those who accept these offers, and enter in by the door. They belong alike to all those who enter in.
1. Salvation is assured. “He shall be saved;” saved as much as one can be saved in this present state, and saved eternally hereafter.
2. He is crowned with liberty. “He shall go in and out.” It is no prison door into which he enters. It is a door through which the flock enters, whose shepherd gives them freedom, the full freedom to enter and to have egress at pleasure. He shall “go in and out.” He shall go in, with the opportunity of pleading with the Lord, of hiding in his name as in a strong fortress, sheltered by impregnable defenses, of fellowship. “Our fellowship,” says the apostle, “is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ,” and is for instruction. The word of God, says Paul to Timothy, “is profitable for . . . instruction in righteousness,” and finally, for enjoyment. “Rejoice in the Lord alway,” Paul instructed the Christians at Philippi, then gave it a double emphasis, by adding, “And again I say, Rejoice.”
3. Nourishment. “And find pasture.” Our spiritual food and nourishment is found in Christ, and comes from Christ. Is there anything lacking in this list of privileges to which we have access when we enter in by Christ? To be “saved,” to go “in and out,” and to “find pasture,”—what more could one have? On this verse J. C. Ryle says: “The expression, to go in and out, implies a habit of using familiarly a dwelling, and treating it as a home. It expresses beautifully the habitual communion and happy intercourse with Christ, which a true believer enjoys. The finding pasture implies the satisfaction, comfort, and refreshment of soul, which everyone who uses Christ as his door into heaven shall experience.”
A door so freely opened, and so easy of access, we need not fear to approach. We have not to climb over some difficult obstruction, nor scale682some dizzy height, to reach the door; because for the very purpose of making the way pleasant and easy, a door was opened through every obstacle, and all private secretaries and middlemen removed.
The work of the Reformation was thus described by Stern, a German statesman: “Thank heaven, Dr. Luther has made the entrance into heaven somewhat shorter, by dismissing a crowd of doorkeepers, and chamberlains, and masters of ceremonies.”
C. H. Spurgeon draws up the following conclusions: “Since Jesus glories that he is the door, let us not hesitate to use him in that capacity. Let us hasten to enter in by him into peace, life, rest, holiness. When we see it written in large characters, ‘THIS IS THE WAY,’ we do not fear that we shall trespass if we follow it. What is a way for but to be followed? What is a door for but to be passed through? Say that a doorway is never passed, and you say that it is useless. Why not brick it up? It would be no honor to the Lord Jesus for sinners to be so in awe of him as never to come to God by him; but he delights in being evermore our way of access.” U. S.
SUN WORSHIP VERSUS SABBATH REFORM.
By S. N. H.
The Sabbath is, and ever will be, the dividing line between the people of God and the world. God designed it thus at the creation. “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever.” “Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. . . . The children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.” Ex. 31:13–17. “I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. . . . And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” Eze. 20:12–20. “The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:28. Such are some of the expressions the Lord uses concerning the Sabbath.
The fourth commandment reads as follows: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Ex. 20:8–11.
A word in the Bible is a complete thought. The ten commandments are called ten words. Deut. 10:4, margin. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matt. 4:4. The Lord’s words, or thoughts, are composed of ideas.
The fourth commandment contains two grand divisions and several ideas, which, taken together, make one complete thought. The first division has in it four ideas: (1) “Remember the Sabbath day;” (2) the purpose,—“to keep it holy;” (3) which day,—“the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God;” (4) how to keep it holy,—“in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.” In order to keep it holy, all our work must be done in six days; and the seventh day we must do no work; this includes our son, daughter, manservant, maidservant, cattle, and stranger, and whoever is within our gates.
The second grand division gives the reason we should keep it holy,—to keep in memory that “in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day;” and because he rested on the seventh day, “the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Thus the Sabbath becomes a memorial of all that God did during the six days. It is to keep in memory God’s creative power, as shown in what he did; for “he hath made his wonderful works to be remembered.” How many of his works?—All that he made in six days. Ps. 111:4.
The apostle Paul gives a definite reason why the works should be remembered. The things that are made declare the invisible things of him since the creation of the world, even his everlasting power and divinity. See Rom. 1:20. The Sabbath calls our thoughts to God, our Creator, through nature, or the works of creation. The work of each day of the creation week was good, even when viewed apart by itself; and it had a relation to what was done on other days: and this relation, as well as the fact of creation, was brought to remembrance by the Sabbath. It was when all was completed, and “everything that he had made” sustained a proper relation to all other things, that the Lord pronounced it “VERY GOOD.”
What did the Lord create the first day?—“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” Gen. 1:3–5.
Light was created on the first day; and it divided the day from the night. Had the sun never been created, there would have been day and night. Day and night were not dependent upon the sun; for there were three days and three nights before the sun was created. The sun was not the light. “The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.” Ps. 74:16.
God made the “lights in the firmament of the heaven” for six purposes: (1) For light-bearers; (2) to divide the day from the night; (3) for signs; (4) for seasons; (5) for days; (6) for years. God made nothing simply for itself. Only the selfish heart of man exists for itself alone. “The sun sheds light to gladden a thousand worlds.” “The Lord made two great light-bearers, the greater light-bearer to govern the day, and the lesser light-bearer to govern the night, together with the stars; and God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth through the day and through the night, to separate between the light and the darkness.”—Spurrell’s Translation. The different purposes for which God created the sun, the moon, and the stars are thus shown in these verses.
After God had created the light, he said, “It is good.” After the sun and moon and stars had been created to become God’s light-bearers, “God saw that it was good.” The sun became a servant to the light. The fourth commandment, which is to keep in memory this work, points, through the first day of creation, to the Creator of the light, rather than to the sun, as the source of light. The sun was a secondary matter. It recognizes the Creator in the light. It is thus that the fourth commandment points directly back to the first day of creation as a memorial of the power of God in creating light.
This gives no place for sun worship in any form; for the sun is not the light. As there is no form in the light visible to the naked eye, men can not worship it in the form of an idol; and if they had always kept the Sabbath as a memorial of creation, they would have kept in mind the fact that light existed three days before the sun was created, and would have always worshiped God, the Creator of the light, instead of the sun, the servant of the light.
This would exclude all forms of idolatry representing sun worship. In the restitution of the Sabbath, the mind is carried to the Creator of light, who by his word brought into existence that which testified of his character—to him “who commanded, and it stood fast.” Thus the truth brought out by the three angels’ messages carries the mind directly back to the Sabbath commandment and its original design, the commemoration of the mighty works of creation. Everything that reminds us of the sun, like the “sun’s day,” is excluded.
The teaching of the Sabbath reform is in the resetting of the gospel truths by the three angels’ messages. Those who keep God’s commandments will regard the Creator of the light, rather than any memorial of sun worship. S. N. H.
THE SHEPHERD AND HIS FLOCK.
By John Norton Loughborough
“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Heb. 13:20, 21.
There are many texts in the Scriptures in which the Lord beautifully compares his people to sheep, needing and receiving the tender care of the Great Shepherd; but we will notice in this connection a few only: “He is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” Ps. 95:7; 79:13; 100:3. “Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” 77:20. “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel; thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.” 80:1. “Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.” Micah 7:14.
Not only has the Lord called them sheep, but wandering and even lost sheep: “My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place.” Jer. 50:6. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him [Christ] the iniquity of us all.” Isa. 53:6. “I have gone away like a lost sheep; seek thy servant.” Ps. 119:176. “Mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive. . . . Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?” Jer. 13:20.
Some light is shed upon this question in Eze. 34:11–22, 31. The prophet says: “For thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. . . . I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. . . . Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. . . . Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; therefore will I save my flock, and they shall be no more a prey. . . . And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.”
Of those accepting the loving care of the true Shepherd, the apostle Peter says, “Ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:25. Of the tender care of the Great Shepherd we may say, with the psalmist: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.” Ps. 23:1, 2. The manner in which he will do this is stated in these words: “Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his683work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” Isa. 40:10, 11. Again, “Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the islands afar off, and say, He that scattereth Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.” Jer. 31:10.
Of the Lord’s dealing with his flock when oppressed, we read, “As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch.” Amos 3:12. Though the Lord’s people may be surrounded by unbelief, and be subject to oppression, his word comes: “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32.
Most strikingly is the relation of Christ to his flock set forth in John’s record of the Saviour’s teachings: “Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” John 10:7–16.
Of the close relationship between Christ and his flock we read: “He calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice [“leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” 1 Peter 2:21] and a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” John 10:3–5.
In special Testimonies to the Lord’s people at this time we read: “Find the erring, discouraged ones by careful, diligent search, and bring them back to the fold. Christ has said, ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.’ Strive to have a real connection with Christ, and become laborers together with God. ‘Ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.’ Work with self hidden in Jesus, and the Lord will add to the church such as shall be saved. The great, Master Shepherd will give wisdom to the undershepherds, that they may become living, working agent for his use. Let them not seek to exalt themselves but to lift up Jesus; then they may go in and out and find pasture. . . .
“God can not commit his sheep and lambs to the care of a church who make it manifest that they have no aptitude or wisdom to care for the flock of his pasture. . . .
“Sinful and worthless creatures though we are, through a vital connection with Christ we yet may be renewed in knowledge and true holiness, and thus reflect the glory and image of our Creator and Redeemer, and be qualified to care for his sheep and lambs.”—Mrs. E. G. White, in Review and Herald, Oct. 24, 1893. J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
OUR PIONEER MISSIONARY PAPER.
By Allen Moon
WHAT are we doing to advance the work of our pioneer missionary paper, the Signs of the Times? It was started for the sole purpose of preaching a pure gospel, and there is no doubt that the Lord’s hand was and is in this enterprise; but the paper can not preach unless it is in the hands of the people. Many of them are hungry for the truth it contains. Shall we give it to them? The editors and the publishers may put forth every endeavor, and labor to the extent of human endurance, but they alone can not reach the people: they need the aid of every true missionary.
Though all can not stand before the people to proclaim the gospel by word of mouth, yet they may nevertheless be preachers of righteousness. Scatter the Signs; sell it; give it away. Let the people hear the truth for the last days. Another special number is soon to be issued. This will be laden with good things for the people. Let us begin to think how we can help on this good work. Boys, girls, and all may find pleasant and profitable employment—profitable in golden opportunity and rich experience. ALLEN MOON.