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Signs of the Times, Vol. 13, No. 40.

General Articles

Signs of the Times

Oct 20, 1887

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 20, 1887

General Articles.

By Ellen G. White

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.

(Concluded.)

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

Go into a cellar, and you may well talk of darkness, and say, "I cannot see; I cannot see." But come up into the upper chamber, where the light shines, and you need not be in darkness. Come where Christ is, and you will have light. Talk unbelief, and you will have unbelief; but talk faith, and you will have faith. According to the seed sown will be the harvest. If you talk of Heaven and the eternal reward, your way will become lighter and lighter in the Lord, and your faith will grow, because it is exercised. Fasten your eyes upon Jesus, dear friends, and by beholding you will become assimilated to his image. Do not allow your thoughts to dwell continually upon things of the earth, but place them upon things that are heavenly, and then, wherever you are, you will be a light to the world.
Live the life of faith day by day. Do not become anxious and distressed about the time of trouble, and thus have a time of trouble beforehand. Do not keep thinking, "I am afraid I shall not stand in the great testing day." You are to live for the present, for this day only. To-morrow is not yours. To-day you are to maintain the victory over self. To-day you are to live a life of prayer. To-day you are to fight the good fight of faith. To-day you are to believe that God blesses you. And as you gain the victory over darkness and unbelief, you will meet the requirements of the Master, and will become a blessing to those around you.
From every member of the church a steady light should shine forth before the world, so that they shall not be led to inquire, "What do these people more than others?" Religion is not to be held as a precious treasure, jealously hoarded, and enjoyed only by the possessor. True religion cannot be thus held; for such a spirit is contrary to the gospel. "Freely ye have received, freely give," are the words of the Master. While Christ is dwelling in the heart by his Spirit, it is impossible for the light of his presence to be concealed or to grow dim. On the contrary, it will grow brighter and brighter, as day by day the mists of selfishness and sin that envelop the soul are dispelled by the bright beams of the Sun of righteousness.
Christians may learn a lesson from the faithfulness of the light-house keeper. "A gentleman once visited a light-house that was placed in a very dangerous position to warn men of the perils that threaten them on the trackless sea. The keeper was boasting of the brilliancy of his light, which could be seen ten leagues out at sea, when the visitor said to him: 'You speak with enthusiasm, sir; and that is well. I like to hear men tell what they are sure they know; but what if one of the lights should go out?'"
"Never, never! absurd! impossible!" replied the sensitive watchman, in consternation at the mere supposition of such a thing. "Why, sir," he continued, pointing to the ocean, "yonder where nothing can be seen, there are ships going by to every port in the world. If, to-night, one of my burners should go out, within six months would come a letter, perhaps from India, perhaps from Australia, perhaps from a port I never heard of before,—a letter saying that on such a night, at such an hour, at such a minute, the light at such a point burned low and dim; that the watchman neglected his post, and that vessels were consequently put in jeopardy on the high seas. 'Ah, sir,' and his face shone with the intensity of his thought, 'sometimes in the dark nights, and in the stormy weather, I look out upon the sea and feel as though the eye of the whole world were looking at my light. Go out? Burn dim? That flame flicker low or fail? No, sir, never!'"
"And shall Christians, shining for tempted sinners, allow their light to fail? For, ever out upon life's billowy sea are souls we see not, strange sailors in the dark, passing by, struggling, it may be, amid the surges of temptation. Christ is the great light, and Christians are appointed to reflect that light. The ocean is vast, its dangers are many, and the eyes of far-away voyagers are turned toward the light-house,—the church of Jesus Christ." If the world intervenes between the church and Christ, its light will burn dim, and souls will be lost because of a lack of that light. Shall it not be the language of every heart, What! let the light that is in me go out or burn dim! Never! never!
We are all woven together in the great web of humanity, and God holds us responsible for the influence we exert over others. Throw a pebble into the lake, and a wave is formed, and another, and another; and as they increase, the circle widens, until they reach the very shore. Thus our influence, though apparently insignificant, may continue to extend far beyond our knowledge or control. It is as impossible for us to determine the result as it was for the watchman to see the ships that were scattered upon the sea.
God in his providence does not permit us to know the end from the beginning; but he gives us the light of his word to guide us as we pass along, and bids us to keep our minds stayed upon Jesus. Wherever we are, whatever our employment, our hearts are to be uplifted to God in prayer. This is being instant in prayer. We need not wait until we can bow upon our knees before we pray. On one occasion, when Nehemiah came in before the king, the king asked why he looked so sad, and what request he had to make. But Nehemiah dared not answer at once. Important interests were at stake. The fate of a nation hung upon the impression that should then be made upon the monarch's mind; and Nehemiah darted up a prayer to the God of Heaven, before he dared to answer the king. The result was that he obtained all that he asked or even desired.
This is the course that God would have us pursue under all circumstances. He wants us to be minute-men and women. He wants us to be ready always to give to every man that asketh us a reason of the hope that is within us with meekness and fear. Why with fear? It is with a fear lest we shall not make a right impression upon the mind of the inquirer; with a fear lest self shall not be out of sight, and the truth not be made to appear as it is in Jesus.
I feel an intense desire that our brethren and sisters shall be correct representatives of Jesus. Do not pierce his wounds afresh, and put him to an open shame, by an inconsistent life. Become thoroughly acquainted with the reasons of our faith, and show by word and act that Christ is dwelling in your hearts by faith. May God help you to walk with Jesus. If you do, you will be the light of the world, and in the time of trouble he will say, "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast."

THY WILL BE DONE.

We see not, know not. All our way Is night. With Thee alone is day. From out the torrent's troubled drift, Above the storm, our prayers we lift— Thy will be done!
The flesh may fail, the heart may faint, But who are we, to make complaint, Or dare to plead, in times like these, The weakness of our love of ease? Thy will be done!
We take with solemn thankfulness Our burden up, nor ask it less, And count it joy that even we May suffer, serve, or wait for Thee, Whose will be done!
Strike! Thou the Master, we Thy keys, The anthem of the destinies! The minor of Thy loftier strain, Our hearts shall breathe the old refrain— Thy will be done!
—Selected.

WHAT LOVE IS.

By Prof. Henry Drummond

LOVE is patience. Love passive. The normal attitude of love—love waiting to begin, not in a hurry, not petulant, not hasty, calm, composed—waiting to begin when the summons comes, but meantime wearing the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit.
Kindness. Love active. Have you ever noticed how much of Christ's life was spent in doing kind things, in merely doing kind things? Run over it with that in view, and you will find that he spent a great portion of his time simply in making people happy, in doing good turns to people. There is only one thing greater than happiness in the world, and that is holiness; and that is not in our keeping, God reserves that for himself; but what he has put in our power is the happiness of our fellow-creatures, and that is to be secured by our being kind.
Generosity. That is love in competition with others. Whenever you have done a good turn, done a good work, you will find other men doing the same kind of work. Envy them not. Envy is a feeling of ill-will to that man who is in the same line as ourselves; a feeling of ill-will, and we hate ourselves for cherishing it. That will spring up the moment you get to your field, be it in this land or in any other land, unless you have learned generosity—to envy not. And then, after having learned that, you have to learn the other thing, to go into the shade, to hide, and not let your right hand know what your left hand has done.
Humility. Love hiding. "Vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up." And the fifth ingredient is a somewhat strange one to find in this summum bonum.
Courtesy. Love in relation to etiquette. "Love doth not behave itself unseemly." Politeness has been defined as love in trifles. Courtesy has been defined as love in little things. And the secret of politeness is to love. Love cannot behave itself unseemly. You can take the most untutored persons and put them in society, and if they have love as a reservoir in their heart they will not behave themselves unseemly. They simply cannot do it.
Unselfishness. "Love seeketh not her own." Observe: Seeketh not that which is her own. In Britain the Englishman is devoted to his rights. He likes to stand up for his rights, his rights as a man and his rights as an Englishman. And I fancy you have the same kind of patriotism. You stand up for your rights; and every man as an individual or as a citizen feels a sense of property over what he calls his rights. It is the privilege of that man to give up even his rights, if necessary, for the sake of another. "Seeketh not his own." It is easy to give up things that we are not quite certain are our own; but the things that are obviously yours, that are legally yours, that you have earned perhaps by years of labor and sacrifice of trouble or money, to give up those things which are your own, that is the hard thing. And yet the most obvious lesson of the Gospel is that there is no happiness in having and getting, but only in giving. I say, there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving; and half the world is on the wrong scent in the pursuit of happiness. They think it consists in having and getting and in being served by others. It consists in giving and in serving others.
The next ingredient is also a remarkable one:—
Good temper. "Love is not easily provoked." Now, we are often inclined to look upon bad temper as a very harmless infirmity. We speak of it as being a mere infirmity of nature, not a thing to take into very serious account in estimating a man's character, a kind of accident, a matter of temperament, and so on. And yet right here, right in the middle of this analysis of love, Paul plants that thing; and the Bible again and again comes to that little infirmity, as we call it, and makes a good deal of it. It is not a little infirmity to smile at. The peculiarity of ill-temper is that it is the vice of the virtuous. It is the one blot on an otherwise noble character.
You know men who are all but perfect, and who would be almost entirely perfect, but you say they are hasty, they are touchy, they are ill-tempered. Now, there is nothing that a Christian has to take more trouble to eradicate forever from his being than ill-temper. It requires the struggle of years, perhaps of a life-time, but it has to be done. It is not to be looked upon as an accident of temperament; but it is a sin, one of the blackest of all the sins. It is the symptom of an unloving nature at bottom; a want of patience, a want of kindness, a want of generosity, a want of humility, a want of courtesy, a want of unselfishness, all are symbolized in one flash of evil temper. It is the revelation of what is inside a man, and therefore the man who has that must have his whole nature sweetened.
It is not enough to deal with the temper. You must go to the root and sweeten the whole nature, and then temper will die away of itself. But how can a man who has not had a victory over that part of his nature have a part with God's people in this world or in the next world? How is it possible? Why, a man with a temper such as I have described would make Heaven miserable for all the people who are in it; and except such a man be born again he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Christ says: "Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea." That is to say, it is the deliberate verdict of the Lord Jesus that it is better not to live than not to love.—Prof. Henry Drummond.

TEN THOUSAND PER CENT.

MR. STUART dropped into the office of his friend, Mr. Morris, in a mood decidedly depressed, occasioned by a failure. It was a little after business hours, but Mr. Morris was still in his office and alone. He laid down his pen and greeted his friend with a cheerful nod and a cheerful, "How are you, Stuart?"
"Sour as an east wind," was the response, as he looked at the beaming countenance of his friend, whom he had known for many years, and whose counsel he had sought many a time, and scarcely ever been disappointed.
There appeared to be a little more than the usual brightness in Mr. Morris's face as he wheeled his chair round and bade his friend be seated in another. Mr. Stuart noticed it and said:—
"What are you up to, Morris? Had some good news, eh?"
"Oh, no, Stuart," he replied, "nothing unusual or new in particular. I was only thinking of a little investment I am just about making."
"I thought so," said Stuart; "and a good one, I'll be bound."
"I think so," was the reply. "What would you say to ten thousand per cent.?"
"Ten thousand per cent.! You are raving."
"Not a bit of it," said Morris. "And the very best of security—a regular royal pledge."
"Now I know you are crazy. Who ever heard of such a thing?"
"Crazy? not a bit of it," said Mr. Morris. "This," wheeling round his chair and laying his hand upon a paper on his desk, "is a check which I have just signed, and intend for a poor missionary whom I know. I have just heard he is sick and in much need. The Scripture says that 'he that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord,' but I was never awakened to the fact of what interest he pays until yesterday, when our clergyman startled me by saying that he had promised ten thousand per cent. I pricked up my ears at the statement, and waited curiously to hear the proof; and there it was, sure enough, in Matthew 19:29: 'And everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting life.' I was struck at the sound of ten thousand per cent., but I figured it out and found it correct. The preacher was very much in earnest as he declared the Lord's dividend. He was as enthusiastic as a stock-broker, only in an infinitely more noble cause. I was very much impressed at the time with the thought, and, in fact, have been ever since. It was in my mind when you came in. Not that I can lay claim for a moment to the spirit of self-sacrifice which the text quoted indicates, but my gift to the poor is a loan to the Lord, and I am not afraid but that I shall reap a good dividend."—Selected.

WORKERS WITH CHRIST.

MEN may work side by side without necessarily working together. Sometimes one may be so lazy that he gets in the way of his fellows. Sometimes he may go through the motions of their labor, but have none of their interest in accomplishing good work, and as much as possible. He works together with them in the true sense only when he enters into their spirit, shares their knowledge, and intelligently does his best to help them to work faithfully, by doing his own share of the common task thoroughly. These things need to be remembered when we talk about working together with Christ. Too often the words flow glibly from the tongue, when the speaker does not grasp their meaning properly. To be a true worker with him means at least three things. It means to work for the same ends for which he works. He desires to have sinners brought to repentance, to have Christians controlled by mutual love and by an equally real and intense love of God, and to have the integrity and prosperity which naturally are fruits of the gospel pervade the world; and he desires all these that the glory and honor of God may be made impressive, and that God's love of mankind may be appreciated. But no man or woman who labors for anything less or other than these objects—for mere wealth, or social success, or culture, or power of any sort, or even for the name of being a benefactor to the world—is a worker together with him. Young people as they look on into the future and plan for their careers need to remember this, and also that no work pays, in the best sense, which is not that of a true worker with him.
It also means to work on the same principles as his, and with the same spirit. . . . He did the good that lay next to hand, without waiting for opportunities to do great and striking things; and so must we. He submitted to be misunderstood and misrepresented, to be neglected and even abused, to be treated with ingratitude—even by those for whom he had done most; and we must ask no higher degree of appreciation than he received. Working together with him involves profound self-sacrifice now as truly as it did in his case.
It also means accomplishing the same results which he accomplished, that is, the same in kind. Circumstances have altered vastly during the last nineteen hundred years; . . . but the fruits of our work may be, and ought to be, the same in their nature. When, as a consequence of the kindly efforts of any person, it becomes evident that others are supplied with what they have needed physically, are encouraged to pursue worthy instead of base aims in life, and, especially, are led to abandon their sins and to accept God's offered mercy with affectionate gratitude, it is safe to say that he is working together with Christ. And these results are due to the every-day efforts of just such men and women as we are, many of whom we know. They may grow out of our own efforts, if we desire.—Congregationalist.

SUFFERING AND SERVING.

"Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing," not always and only rejoicing, is the law of a Christian life. It is impossible for us to assume that unsuffering attitude so often commended to us; to possess that spirit of unmixed joy so often exalted as the real spirit of Christianity, without forfeiting everything. If we suffer not with Him, how shall we be glorified with Him? The genius of our religion is not the genius of Jove, but the genius of Jesus; not the genius that laughs, and laughs on, while men "sink into the depths, with bubbling groan;" but the genius that plunges into the dark and bloody sea, and with mighty struggle and strong crying and tears goes down beneath those doomed souls, and lifts them up into the bosom of God.
The Christian who has no agony of soul can have no depth of soul; and the Christian that has no depth of soul can have no growth of soul; and the Christian that has no growth of soul can have no joy of soul. Out of the depths—de profundis—in Jesus comes the pain, the growth, the joy. "He that saveth his life shall lose it," and, accordingly, he who refuses to go with Jesus to Gethsemane cannot see him "in the holy mount;" he who is sightless will, after all, be songless. "For if we suffer with him, we shall be glorified together."
Moreover, a Christianity that retains no marks of Calvary is powerless over the world. "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me." When our Christianity ceases to be a "lifted-up" Christianity, it ceases to be a lifting-up Christianity. It is not the light refrain of a laughing song nor the amicable invitation of merry spirits that awakens a world dead in sin, that warns it of danger, and constrains it to seek refuge in God. It is the startling pageant of a church bowed under the cross, the surprising sight of one going forth weeping, bearing the precious seed. It is Paul lifting a manacled hand and answering the feeble sarcasm of the king: "I would to God that, whether with little or with much, not thou only, but also all that hear me this day, might become such as I am, except these bonds." It is Luther, alone in the midst of that brilliant assemblage of frowning ecclesiastics and scornful nobility, exclaiming: "It is neither safe nor expedient to do anything against the conscience. Here I stand; I cannot otherwise. God help me. Amen."
A church that suffers not, serves not. A church that aspires to live in a perpetual holiday must not be surprised to learn that holidays are never harvest days. From the "tears and temptations" of the apostle sprang the churches of Asia, and ever hath "the blood of the martyrs" been "the seed of the church." All glory centers in the cross, because all grace and service go forth from it. They thought Paul mad, because they could not understand the warmth and tearful earnestness of his appeal. Better that the church, in her serious devotion to truth and soberness, should be esteemed mad by the world than that God should compare it to children in the marketplace, who say to their fellows, "We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced." O Lord—
"Safe to the hidden house of thine abiding, Carry the weak knees and the heart that faints. Shield from the scorn and cover from the chiding, Give the world joy, but patience to the saints." —Standard.

ASKING A BLESSING.

THERE is nothing which is right for us to do but it is also right to ask that God would bless it; and, indeed, there is nothing so little but the frown of God can convert it into the most sad calamity, or his smile exalt it into a most memorable mercy; and there is nothing we can do but its complexion for weal or woe depends entirely on what the Lord will make it. It is said of Matthew Henry, that no journey was undertaken, or any subject or course of sermons entered upon, no book committed to the press, nor any trouble apprehended or felt, without a particular application to the mercy-seat for direction, assistance, and success. It is recorded of Cornelius Winter, that he seldom opened a book, even on general subjects, without a moment's prayer. The late Bishop Heber, on each new incident of his history, on the eve of any undertaking, used to compose a brief prayer, imploring special help and guidance. A late physician of great celebrity used to ascribe much of his success to three maxims of his father's, the last and best of which was, "Always pray for your patients."—Selected.

RELIGIOUSNESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS.

THE fact that religious revivals are not necessarily revivals of righteousness, is becoming every day more apparent. If it is quite possible to be as religious as a Hottentot or a Turk and yet have no Christianity, spurious revivals are what may be expected. A false religion and a false Christ are doubtless among the most efficient means employed by the father of lies to build up his kingdom. In a revival of genuine religion there are conversions to truth, practical as well as theoretical. True conversion is not only a change of heart, but of life—a change from evil practices, habits, and opinions to such as are good, and pure, and upright. The world will not be saved through a church that is unsaved—one that affiliates with, and is actuated by, a spirit of compromise with evil and wrong-doing. In such churches there may be revivals of religion, but not of Christianity. Where there is pride, fashion, worldly conformity, love of pleasure and amusement, indulged in and sanctioned by a church, there will surely be a revival of the same in their religious in-gatherings. On the other hand, where a church is baptized with the Holy Ghost, and moral purity, honesty, truth, and love abound, there will be a revival of the same spirit of power, bringing forth the fruits of righteousness and true holiness.—Selected.

GOD'S LOVE MANIFESTED IN CREATION.

By Frank Hope

THE love of God is the main point of all evangelical work; but the love of God as preached by many ministers is generally confined to the love of God as shown in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ. The idea that the love shown in redemption is so much greater than the love shown in creation has gained such a firm hold upon many Sunday-keepers that God's love in the creation of the world is little thought of. Yet the Bible teaches that "God is love." Therefore every act of God is an outcome of love, and an act of love in itself, whether it be the creation, or the giving of the law, or the plan of salvation.
Creation is an act of love. God created this world for man. Gen. 1:29, 30; Isa. 45:18. He then created man himself. Now God could have had no other motive in the creation of man than to make man happy. Man was not necessary to God, for nothing is necessary to complete the infinite. Thus Eliphaz the Temanite says: "Can a man be profitable unto God?" Neither was God compelled to create man, for God is bound by no law, because God made law; intelligence must go before ideas. If the moral law constrains God, then the law is God, which cannot be, for God is a person. Heb. 1:3. Thus the creation of man was an act of pure love and nothing else. And above all, God created man in his own image. What condescension! Thus David says, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the Son of man, that thou visitest him? for thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands: thou hast put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!" Surely this is wondrous love. And although man by sin has for a time hindered that great work of love, yet eventually it will be accomplished. Rev. 21:1-4.
In Rev. 4:11 we see the four and twenty elders worshiping God and saying, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." Then man must have been also created for the pleasure of God. What is the pleasure of God? David, in speaking of the holy angels, says, "Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure." Ps. 103:21. Paul, speaking of these same beings, says, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14. From which we see that it is the pleasure of God to minister to his creatures; that is, the happiness of man is the pleasure of God. Thus the greater part of the ministry of Christ was in making people happy. But the only place where man can be really happy is in the kingdom of God, or in the original state that God made him. Therefore God's creating man for his own (God's) pleasure means he created man to make him happy. This is what Christ says: "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32); or, in other words, it is the Father's good pleasure to place man in eternal happiness, which was the motive of man's creation. FRANK HOPE.

Admitting One’s Mistakes

By Pope

A MAN should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser to-day than he was yesterday.—Pope.

MAKE NO PROVISION FOR THE FLESH.

By William Clift

“But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” Paul’s caveat against providing for luxurious indulgence is as much needed in our own time as in his, where for two years, dwelling in his own hired house, he studied the vices of Rome, and preached Christ. Rome in its glory sat for his picture of the abominations of heathenism, as we find it in the first chapter of Romans. Look at it: “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful; who, knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” What an impeachment of human nature left to the light of worldly wisdom!
We can hardly add a line to this catalogue of the “works of darkness” that are here enumerated. And yet Paul offers no proofs to substantiate his charges. There was little need. Those to whom he wrote were eyewitnesses of these abominations. The philosophers, orators, and poets of Greece and Rome, in the golden age of their literature, make shameless confession of these fleshly lusts, and defend them. Some of the early churches were established in such dissolute society. “Be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Cor. 6:9-11. This is the prevailing type of society in pagan lands to-day, and there are plague-spots in the great cities of Christian lands, hardly less revolting, in sharp contrast with the sincere piety, self-denial, and culture found in our churches. Undeniably, the tendency of human nature is toward this dark abyss of depravity. Paul reprehends this sensual indulgence, and what lies back of it, the making provision to fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
“Flesh,” as used in the Scriptures, has various shades of meaning, and here designates the animal part of man, and “fleshly lusts,” the animal appetites and passions, perverted from their normal use to selfish gratification, “riot and drunkenness, chambering and wantonness.” Making provision to fulfill these lusts is to have forethought and planning to this end. It is to determine to be rich, for the sake of the means of luxurious indulgence. It is to repeat the folly of the rich man in the gospel, who pulled down his barns and built greater, that he might shelter his superabundant goods, saying, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” If we imitate his example, it will be sad to hear, amid the clinking of glasses and the popping of corks, the voice of God saying, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.”
The injunction cautions us against the great peril of making fortunes for our children, so that they may be idle, and form luxurious habits. If we may not make provision for the gratification of these lusts for ourselves, we may not do it for our children. No greater evil can befall them than to have them come to their majority without habits of industry and no purpose in life but to enjoy its pleasures. “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy.” “Labor not to be rich. Cease from thine own wisdom.” . . .
If we may not make provision to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, we ought not to indulge them. “When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee; and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties; for they are deceitful meat.” Prov. 23:1-3.
If we follow Paul’s injunction, we shall not patronize the grocer who deals in intoxicating liquors, and have his bottles smuggled in at the back door, among the wholesome provisions for the family. They sometimes come as gifts, or on extra orders, not given by the head of the house. If we take Paul’s advice, we shall not have to look this kind of a gift-horse in the mouth. Let us not be “ignorant of his [Satan’s] devices.” 2 Cor. 2:11.
We may not furnish a building for the traffic in intoxicating drinks, no matter how solid the foundation, how polished the marble, how square the pressed brick that go into it. It may be the finest building in the city, a very palace of a hotel, worth a million of dollars. It is only so much money invested in making provision for fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. The owner is the partner of the vender, and responsible for all the deeds of darkness that flow from his business.—Rev. William Clift, in S. S. Times.
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