The Joint Committee appointed by Parliament to investigate the question of Sunday trading in Great Britain has published its report, in which it emphasizes “the great importance of maintaining the Sunday as a day of rest” on religious and moral grounds, and also for the preservation of the health of the community, and recommends a scale of fines for offenses against any Sunday law. As the report made no mention of Christian observers of the seventh day who would be affected by new legislation, our people assembled in the annual camp-meeting in London took the following action:—
Whereas, The recently published Report of the Joint Committee on Sunday Trading contains no reference to Christian observers of the seventh-day Sabbath, notwithstanding an application on their part for permission to state their case before the Joint Committee, therefore,—
Resolved, That this union conference of the Seventh-day Adventists of the United Kingdom, now in session (August 3-12) at Bowes Park, do hereby respectfully call the attention of His Majesty’s government to the fact that there is a growing body of Christians in this kingdom who observe the seventh-day Sabbath because they are unable to find in the Holy Scriptures any command whatever for the observance of the first day of the week, while, on the other hand, they find clear evidence that the Sabbath of the Lord has never been abrogated.
This conference begs to submit that any legislation which would have the effect of penalizing obedience to the divine law would be contrary to religious freedom, and, therefore, would respectfully ask that, when the Report of the Joint Committee is taken into consideration by His Majesty’s government, this protest may also be borne in mind.
A copy of this resolution was forwarded to each member of the cabinet of His Majesty’s government. Thus a testimony in favor of the Sabbath of the Lord is being borne to men of influence who might not learn of it in any other way.
Paul’s Exclusive Christianity
THE apostle Paul preached an exclusive Christianity. He did not believe that the religion of Jesus Christ was simply one of many good religions; and therefore when he preached among the heathen, he plainly declared that “they are no gods, that are made with hands.” Contrasting his course with that of some of the liberal theologians of to-day, The Western Recorder says that “if Paul had been imbued with the spirit we see in prominent quarters in these days, he would have reasoned with himself in this wise:” —
I see that I have been too extreme in saying that there are no gods made with hands, and that Diana is no real divinity. Just listen to this great cry—“Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” And there are many highly respectable people joining in that cry. There are philosophers and statesmen, as well as many men of prominence in other lines, and certainly their utterances should be treated with respect. After all, there must be something divine in Diana, and while we should not go to the extreme of repudiating Christ and worshiping at Diana’s shrine, neither should we go to the other extreme and say that Diana has no valid claim to worship. I find my old theology is out of date in this Ephesian atmosphere, and it needs to be restated so as to suit these new conditions. What will do very well for Jerusalem, will not do for Ephesus. They didn’t know everything down in Judea, and I have broadened out beyond the old views I held in Jerusalem. I will reconstruct my theology so as to bring Diana in, without leaving Christ out, and will recognize the truth there is in the Diana cult. We should always keep our minds open to new truths, and I find I have been wrong in deciding so absolutely against Diana. So I will take the good elements of the Diana theology and will combine them with the best of the Christ theology, and so will make a theology that is up-to-date, and suited to these changed conditions.
The absurdity of such a course on the part of the apostle Paul seems very apparent; but there was just as much justification for the “New Theology” then as there is now. Jesus is the only Saviour.
The Lord’s Day and the Sabbath
In a recent comment upon Rev. 1:10, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,” Rev. F. B. Meyer, of London, said:—
There is no question as to which day was meant. Already the church was beginning to exchange the first day of the week—the day of resurrection—for the last day, which stood for a finished work.
The apostle John wrote the Revelation at the very close of the first century. According to Mr. Meyer’s statement “the church was beginning” at that time to make the change from the seventh to the first day of the week. In other words, it was more than half a century after the resurrection when the change began to be made, and then it was done by the church. Granting all that Mr. Meyer claims, there is no possible reason why those who prefer the authority of the Word of God to the authority of the church should observe Sunday instead of the Sabbath of the Lord. “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”
Catholic Aldermen and Free Love Saloons
A recent number of The Catholic Citizen, an independent Catholic paper, contained the following editorial note:—
At Milwaukee the past week there came before the board of aldermen a question of granting licenses to eleven notorious saloons, most of which are temples of “free love.” Singular to relate, all of the twelve socialist aldermen voted against licensing these places; and, sad to say, all the Catholic aldermen, except one, voted to license these temples of free love.
And yet the Catholic Church poses as the great conserver of the temperance sentiment, and has declared war against socialism!
The Glorious Home Land
By H. E. Quinn
Up to the mansions of bliss above,
Up to the realms of infinite love;
In limitless space, in a glorious clime,
In a radiant region of rapture sublime,
In the spheres of endless, eternal peace,
There the songs of redemption never cease.
No pain, no sorrow, no clouds, no night,
No shadows, but everlasting light;
No tears in the holy land are shed,
But joys ecstatic, supernal instead.
Ear hath not heard, nor can eye behold,
The treasures unseen, the glories untold,
The fathomless ocean of God’s pure love,
The measureless bliss in the courts above.
O desolate hearts, by anguish riven,
Life’s shadows disperse in the light of heaven!
We are redeemed, for the Saviour hath died;
In his likeness we there shall be satisfied,
When hope gives place to glad fruition,
And steadfast faith to sight’s transition;
By the crystal sea on the shining shore,
We’ll chant his praises forevermore,
And join with the angelic blood-washed throng,
In the exultant notes of the glad new song.
— Mrs. H. E. Quinn.
Love Toward God and Man
By Ellen G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE
“A CERTAIN lawyer stood up,” and tempted Christ, “saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.”
In the question, “What is written in the law?” the Saviour referred to the ten commandments communicated to the Israelites at Sinai. Those to whom had been entrusted the sacred oracles had well-nigh lost sight of these precepts. There came a time when Christ saw that Satan was gathering the whole world, as it were, in his grasp. The enemy was working with the intensity with which he had worked in the heavenly courts, when first he refused to yield to the mighty Monarch of the universe. Satan was rapidly leading the world to act counter to God’s law, counter to the principles of righteousness that should have been made their rule of action.
Christ saw that the time had come when Satan’s power over mankind must be broken. Before the fall of man, the Son of God had united with his Father in laying the plan of salvation. God was to be manifested in Christ, “reconciling the world unto himself.” And now, thousands of years later, the fulness of time came for the infinite sacrifice to be made. Divinity was to be communicated to humanity through a divine-human Saviour. The great Life-giver was to purchase the whole world by giving his own life as a ransom.
Christ came, but not in the brightness of his divine glory. He laid aside his royal robe and kingly crown, clothed his divinity with humanity, and came to live upon the earth as a man among men. Had he come in the full power and glory of his divinity, sinners could not have stood in his presence without being destroyed. He came to meet humanity in its most sinful and corrupt form. Thus divine love was manifested toward erring mortals.
The Saviour gained victories over temptation through power imparted from above in answer to prayer. He met the enticements of the enemy with the sword of the Spirit—God’s Word. Again and again he declared, “It is written.” And when the lawyer stood up to question him while he was teaching the people, he drew from the questioner the answer desired, by appealing to the lawyer’s knowledge of God’s Word.
It was to vindicate the just claims of the law of God, and to establish the supreme authority of its divine Author, that Christ came to this earth. The lawyer, while trying to prove that Christ lightly regarded the law given from Sinai, found himself a lawbreaker. Rather than repent, he sought to justify himself by putting another question, “Who is my neighbor?”
By a short story Jesus brought to view the duty of man toward his fellow man and toward God. “A certain man,” he said, “went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.”
Not all who claim to keep God’s law—a law given by One who is full of compassion, long-sufferance, and loving-kindness—reveal a love for their neighbor as great as their love for themselves. Not all reveal, in word and deed, that they comprehend God’s great love for humanity.
“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn; and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.”
Fixing his eyes upon the lawyer, in a glance that seemed to read his soul, the Saviour inquired, “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?”
The lawyer answered, “He that showed mercy on him.” Jesus said, “Go, and do thou likewise.” Show the same tender kindness to those in need. Thus you will give evidence that you keep the whole law.
In giving this lesson, Christ presented the principles of the law of God in a direct, forcible way, showing his hearers that they had neglected to carry out these principles. His words were so definite and pointed that the listeners found no opportunity to cavil or raise objections.
Those who study this lesson aright will see that in order to keep the law it is necessary to have a knowledge of God; for the law is a transcript of his character, and his character is love. Moses prayed, “I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee.” “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.”
The lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor?” The despised Samaritan of whom Jesus told, acted as Jesus would have acted toward the suffering Jew robbed by the wayside and left to perish. He fulfilled the command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” thus showing that he was more righteous than those by whom he was despised. This Samaritan represents Christ. The Saviour stooped from the position of commander in the heavenly courts to become a servant. He clothed his divinity with humanity, that humanity might touch humanity. He was the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, yet he humbled himself. His whole life was one of poverty and self-denial. For our sake he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. He did not live to please himself. His life is the mystery of godliness.
Jesus was the foundation of the Jewish economy, the author of all the laws, statutes, and requirements of his chosen people. How his soul was pained and his heart filled with grief as he saw those who claimed to be the depositaries of truth, mercy, and compassion, so destitute of the love of God!
In the providence of God, the priest and the Levite were brought in contact with a suffering fellow creature, that they might minister to him. Christ is constantly weaving the web of human events. He placed this suffering man where one who had sympathy and compassion would give attention to his needs. The Lord permits suffering and9calamity to come upon men and women to call us out of our selfishness, to awaken in us the attributes of his character,—compassion, tenderness, and love.
Divine love makes its most touching appeals when it calls upon us to manifest the same tender compassion that Christ manifested. He was a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. In all our afflictions he is afflicted. He loves men and women as the purchase of his own blood, and he says to us, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”
(To be concluded)
The Gift of Prophecy
By Stephen N. Haskell
S. N. HASKELL
God has selected one gift as his mouthpiece—“the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord.” 2 Chron. 36: 12. This is illustrated by the relation of Aaron to Moses: “And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.” Ex. 7: 1. Moses was to speak unto Aaron and put words in his mouth, and then God promised to be with Moses’ mouth that he might speak the right words, and with Aaron’s mouth that he might translate correctly into the language of the Egyptians. Ex. 4: 15, 16.
God could not talk with man directly because of sin, but he could talk with his Son, and his Son could send an angel to communicate the message to a prophet, and the prophet could speak to the people. Rev. 1: 1. With all this divine help it is often difficult for the prophet to find words with which to express the message in language that can be understood by the people. When the apostle was caught up into paradise, he “heard unspeakable words, which it is not possible for a man to utter.” 2 Cor. 12: 4, margin. And yet this is God’s method of communicating to the human family.
The prophets of God are called in two ways. First, there are prophets that were ordained prophets and sanctified before they were born. Jer. 1: 5. This is because the conditions that would make them prophets were strictly followed by their parents. There are a few instances in the Bible that illustrate this. When God had a very important work for a prophet to do, angels were sent to give instructions that should be strictly followed by his parents. These being followed, the mold of character was given to the child, so he was ordained a prophet before he was born. Luke 1: 13-15.
Second, there were other men called to be prophets who did not have these qualifications, but they were called to the work to supply a want because of a lack on the part of others. God is never short of instrumentalities to accomplish his work. Amos was such a prophet, for we read that he said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit: and the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go prophesy unto my people Israel.” Amos 7: 14, 15.
There is another consideration that should not be forgotten. Some men are more than prophets. To use the term “prophet” would be to limit their calling. John was more than a prophet. Paul was more than a prophet, for he possessed three gifts,—the gift of an apostleship, the gift of an evangelist, and the gift of prophecy. And yet of Paul it is said, he was as “one born out of due time;” and he claims that he was not worthy to be an apostle because he had persecuted the church of God.
These principles are most clearly laid down in the Bible. Many a prophet has taken the place of some one whom God previously called to prophesy; and then was laid upon him a twofold gift (Luke 19: 24, 25), and in some instances even more than this. When God gave the gospel in its proper setting in the third angel’s message, these principles were restored in the development of the spirit of prophecy. It is no marvel that the work of a prophet is not always appreciated, neither is it a marvel that his work is not comprehended. There are several reasons for this. One is that men are not spiritually minded, and “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Cor. 2: 14. Some of the simplest things in nature can not be comprehended by man, neither can they be explained. Who can explain the growth of the grass, or how the lilies of the field grow?
There are many statements in the Bible which at first appear to be contradictory simply because the finite mind is unable to comprehend them, and yet experience testifies to their truthfulness. See John 3: 7-11. If some of these simple things in nature can not be comprehended, how much more so will it be with divine things! And yet it is absolutely necessary, if man would understand the workings of God, that he should at first believe,—believe it is God that speaks,—and then the way is prepared to understand what God says. God has not given his people the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. And the apostle Paul exhorts Timothy to “consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.” 2 Tim. 2: 7. Again, “I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.” 1 Cor. 10: 15. And again, the angel Gabriel, when the prophet failed to understand, said, “O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee.” Dan. 10: 11. We are to seek to understand the words of the prophet, to believe that his words are the words of God. Then the mind is in a condition for God to give it understanding. If men would believe God, it would open to their darkened minds floods of light.
Another consideration should be borne in mind, and that is that God does not always reveal everything to his prophet.
This is not always comprehended. When the Shunammite came to Elijah and caught the man of God by the feet, and Gehazi came near to thrust her away, “the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.” 2 Kings 4: 27. This principle has been an occasion of trial to some who believe in the spirit of prophecy, and they have concluded that the prophet made a mistake because he did not see both sides of the same question at once, and so did not comprehend the entire situation until after a further revelation was made to him. So it might be said that Moses made a mistake when there was no mistake. On a certain occasion he reproved the sons of Aaron, saying, “Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded.” Lev. 10: 17, 18. Here it is supposed that Moses made a mistake because Aaron was justified in not eating the sin offering in the holy place. When Aaron explained to Moses how it really was, then “he was content.” Lev. 10: 19, 20. Did Moses make a mistake? He reproved Aaron justly, provided that circumstances were as he saw them or supposed they were, but when further information was conveyed to Moses, he saw that Aaron was justifiable. So in this God was vindicated, and Aaron justified. The same principle will explain the case of Nathan when he said to David, “Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee;” and afterward the Lord appeared to Nathan and sent him with a message to his servant David: “Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?” 2 Samuel 7. When God presented to Nathan the other side of this question, and he saw that because of certain experiences of David he was not a proper person to build the house, then the message was changed. There are many instances in the Bible concerning which, should they happen at the present day, men would say that the prophet contradicted himself, or that some one had influenced him.
There is still another principle which at times makes the words of a prophet appear untrue, what he says not taking place. God reveals what is in the heart to prevent the thing itself from happening. The prophet said to Gehazi, “Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive-yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men servants, and maid servants?” Gehazi had received only two talents of silver and two changes of raiment; but the prophet revealed what was in his heart to obtain from Naaman. 2 Kings 5: 20-27.
Isaiah was sent to Hezekiah, who was10sick unto death, “and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.” But when Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and prayed unto the Lord and besought him that he would let him live, and wept with a great weeping, it came to pass even before “Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.” 2 Kings 20: 1-6; Isa. 38: 1-8. On this occasion God wrought a wonderful miracle to show that he had heard prayer. Did God change his mind? Did God make a mistake? Did the prophet Isaiah contradict himself? There are many instances of like nature that could be cited in the Bible.
The nearer we get to the end, and the closer the relationship we sustain to God, the more we shall see that God is with his people; and he says, “At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.” Jer. 18: 7-10. While it may not be possible for men to change all their habits in an instant, yet it is possible for them to repent of their sins, and God can forgive them because their attitude toward him is changed, and can send them a different message. This will explain many problems connected with the workings of the Spirit of God upon the human family.
The thoughts suggested above are worthy of the most careful study. They lead us to conclude, first, that we should be very careful not to criticize any prophet of the Lord; second, that the principles enunciated by the prophets should be studied that we may be able to understand how God works with the human mind; third, that we should never judge of the workings of God’s Holy Spirit from a human standpoint. “Canst thou by searching find out God?” Can the human reason ever fathom the purposes of God or the manner of his dealings with the human family? As he has dealt in the past, so will he deal even to the end of time. Because men can not comprehend this, they deny the Bible, deny God, and become infidels and atheists and deists; but these are principles which, when studied, will throw great light upon God’s dealings with the human family through the spirit of prophecy.
Oakland, Cal.
GEO. O. STATES
By Geo. O. States
Lessons From Past Experiences — No. 5
GEO. O. STATES
I am positive that any one who has ever made a study of the Testimonies will bear me out in this, that they have always taken the part of the widows, orphans, and oppressed. When those in authority have made mistakes in this matter, the Testimonies have reproved them as plainly as if they had been but lay members.
Soon after moving to Battle Creek I formed the acquaintance of an orphan boy about my age whose father had been an active minister in Michigan. After the death of both father and mother the Battle Creek church got homes for him and his sisters with different families in the church. Johnny was not worse than many others of his age, but was a little wayward. The church secured a home for him in a family whose children were grown up, and Brother and Sister — were considered pillars in the church. All thought it an excellent place for the poor orphan. We were surprised in a meeting of the church to have the elder read a Testimony that Brother — was not doing right by Johnny. Brother — got up and with tears confessed that as the Lord had said he had done wrong, he had, but he could not call to mind when nor where, for he had tried to be strict and bring him up as he would his own child. He sat down a few minutes in deep thought, and then arose and said, “Brethren, I see it now; in my anxiety to bring up the child right, I have overdone the matter and been too strict.” He then related different times when he had done so.
Brethren and sisters, I believe there is a lesson for us in this case, and that is that generally the Lord is not going to take the trouble to tell us what we already know. So if we receive a Testimony, we may expect it to point out something we do not know.
About a year ago I was attending a meeting in southern California where the sanitarium work was being talked over, and Brother W. C. White read a statement from a Testimony to the Colorado ministers and sanitarium workers, remarking that while it was given for Colorado, yet the principle would apply to them in their work. I did not know there was such a Testimony, and so went to Sister White and asked her about it. She seemed surprised that I had never seen a copy, and said she would see that I had one for I needed it. On receiving it I read it carefully, and found some things reproving a certain position that I had taken some years before relating to the work in Colorado. It was a great surprise to me, for I had been positive that I was right.
It is very humiliating to the natural heart to learn that we have taken wrong positions. I tell you the Lord blessed me in confessing them, and as far as I could, in correcting them.
I can call to mind many instances where different ones have received Testimonies of reproof and have heeded the counsel, and as a result have grown in the message, while, on the other hand, for over fifty years our track has been strewn with the wrecks of those whom the Lord in mercy has reproved, but who have rejected the reproof given, and have given up the whole truth. There are lessons in these things for us at this time, and I pray that the Lord may help us all to heed them.
Cedaredge, Colo.
The Spirit of Prophecy
By R. C. PORTER
R. C. PORTER
Since the days of Moses the Lord has spoken to his people through the spirit of prophecy. When Moses was called of God to stand in the church as one through whom God would speak to direct his work, he at first made the mistake of manifesting violence against the enemies of Israel. This was shown by his killing an Egyptian who was striving with an Israelite. The Lord did not deprive him of the gift of the Spirit, by which he had called him to the position of leader of Israel under himself; but he was placed in training in the desert in preparation for his work. The care of sheep in the barren land of Midian, where straying ones would need to be searched out and restored to the fold, and tender lambs would be objects of pity in their helplessness, was the school in which Moses was educated for the work for which he had been chosen.
When this preparation was finished, fitting Moses for his work, it was with feelings of deep humility and great reluctance that he accepted the call of God to the work. His deep sense of responsibility is expressed in his earnest plea that the Lord would send some one else to do this work, and release him from this high calling which he felt was too sacred for his hands to touch. The thought of his past failure so grieved him that, not until the assurance of the accompanying presence of Christ, the invisible leader of his people, was urged upon him as his evidence of divine guidance, could he be induced to again take up the work. Although he was “meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth,” yet at the waters of strife, by taking the glory to himself, he went made another mistake which marred his work. The Lord did not leave it with the people to correct his servant upon whom he had placed so great a responsibility, but he took the matter of correcting him into his own hands.
God’s care for those upon whom he has placed the responsibility of the special work of the gift of prophecy is further seen in the case of David. Human hands were not to steady the ark. God would show by these examples that he reserves to himself the right, either11directly or through another prophet, to correct the mistakes of his servants the prophets.
Though Moses erred at the waters of strife, the people had grievously erred and provoked his spirit. The tenderness with which God dealt with the error of his faithful servant when he gave him a view of the land of promise and reminded him of his mistake, is in marked contrast with the spirit of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who were so ready to reprove Moses and Aaron, declaring that they took too much upon themselves. In defiance of the testimony of Moses, they declared that every one of the congregation whom Moses was reproving was holy, and that the Lord was among them. God’s dealing with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram should be a warning to those who, when reproved, are tempted to criticize the instrument through whom the reproof is sent, rather than repent of the sins that, unless repented of, must forever separate them from God. “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” God corrected Moses when he erred, but he did not deprive him of the gift of prophecy, and through Moses he pointed out Joshua, through whom the Lord would continue to lead Israel after his decease.
David accepted the reproof the Lord sent to him through the prophet Nathan, and became a more spiritual channel through which the Lord could send out his word to the people.
When Joshua entered upon his work, the Lord instructed him to “observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.”
God has not changed. He is “the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever.”
The spirit of prophecy has not changed. It still is manifest in reproof, rebuke, exhortation, and instruction in righteousness, “with all long-suffering and doctrine.” The Testimonies borne to this people for the past fifty years have not changed. The same faithfulness in reproof, without respect of persons, is manifested. The same tender solicitude for the individuals reproved is seen. The same mercy and hope for the penitent is presented with all the clearness of former years. First the appeal is made to the individual through the Testimonies. When the individual so far apostatizes that in place of the message sent being used for personal correction and encouragement, it is used to create a spirit of distrust of the instrument through which the message is sent, the Lord forbids that the messages be sent to the individual, and directs that future Testimonies concerning that individual be sent to the church.
This is no new thing. It was the same in the days of Jeremiah. “And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin. Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book. And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I can not go into the house of the Lord: therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the Lord in the ears of the people in the Lord’s house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities. It may be they will present their supplication before the Lord, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the Lord hath pronounced against this people.”
This message was not carried first to the king, but taken directly to the people. It was afterward called for by the king, and read in part before him. “So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king. Now the king sat in the winter-house in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.”
The way in which Jehoiakim was regarded by the Lord for such treatment of the messages sent to the church in that time is plainly stated in Jer. 22:13-19: “Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbor’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; that saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord. But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.”
The first verses of this chapter show that the Lord had first sent his messages to the king. When he had so apostatized as to treat disrespectfully the warnings and entreaties sent, the Lord no longer sent the messages to him, but gave them directly to the church.
This sad illustration of God’s manner of dealing with individuals who mistreat the messages he sends should be a warning to those in our time who have reached a point in their treatment of God’s messages where they are being passed by and the message given directly to the church.
The cry that God’s messenger is growing old will not avail anything before God, who gives the messages to his people. Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when his work closed, and the angels of God bore him tenderly to his burial. Was the word of the Lord through Moses any less the word of the Lord because of his having grown old? John was banished to the Isle of Patmos about A. D. 95. He probably wrote the book of Revelation soon after, and the Gospel of John still later. Was his testimony worthless because he was nearing a hundred years old when he wrote the remarkable unfolding of events given in the book of Revelation or the wonderful testimony of the love of Christ recorded in his Gospel? It was not the revelation of John. It was “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.” To this agree the words of Peter: “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
The Testimonies sent are God’s word, and God is not affected by old age. How we love to linger and meditate upon the last words of Moses, the last words of David, and the last words of John! Why should we slight the last words of God’s messenger to his people in our day? Christ said of one whom God had sent in his day with his message to the people, “Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.” The Jews clung to Moses of old, and rejected both John the Baptist and Christ.
The Testimonies to this people have not changed. Individuals have surrounded themselves with worldly influences and departed from God. The messages of reproof that have come to them have not been received. Great will be their loss if they continue in such a course. The spirit of prophecy still does its appointed work. The test is plain. All can apply it and be assured of the fruit it bears.
Hamilton, Mo.
Shine Just Where You Are
Don’t waste your time in longing
For bright, impossible things;
Don’t sit supinely yearning
For the swiftness of angel wings;
Don’t spurn to be a rushlight,
Because you are not a star;
But brighten some bit of darkness
By shining just where you are.
There is need of the tiniest candle
As well as the garish sun;
The humblest deed is ennobled
When it is worthily done;
You may never be called to brighten
The darkened regions afar;
So fill, for the day, your mission
By shining just where you are.
Just where you are, my brother,
Just where God bids you stand,
Though down in the deepest shadow,
Instead of the sunlit land;
You may carry a brightness with you
That no gloom or darkness can mar,
For the light of a Christlike spirit
Will be shining wherever you are.