The Light-Keeper's Cry by M. B. VAN KIRK

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 2, 1908

The Light-Keeper's Cry

By M. B. VAN KIRK

M. B. VAN KIRK

“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? harken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” Isa. 55: 1, 2.

“Ho, . . . ye!”—the call of Christ through the prophet Isaiah—a voice heralded through the ages to every human soul. Why this startling cry? There are rocks ahead; shoals on the right hand and on the left. Men, God's creatures, are making continual shipwreck

of life on these rocks and shoals. In his intense anxiety to save these helpless mariners, God sends his Son with the Light-bearer's call, “Ho, ye! ho, ye! ho, ye!”—yes, you!

“Every one that thirsteth.” This message is to you. There is a Living Water which satisfieth. Come to this fountain and drink, drink long and deep. “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” John 7: 37-39.

Only the Spirit of God can satisfy the famished mariner. “Come ye to the waters.” This living water, this cleansing stream, is poured freely. Wealth can not purchase it. Personal influence can not buy it. It is offered without money and without price. O weary, sin-sick soul, this precious gift is for you, weak, degraded man or woman, whose soul cries for help. This living message sent directly from the throne of God, comes to you, also, who feel yourselves above the common plane of humanity. Whether clothed in rags or in costly array, sin needs the same remedy. The call is urgent. “Come ye, buy, and eat.”

He who answers this call receives both water and bread. “I am the living bread.” “I am the bread of life.” God's gift, Christ heralded through the ages, is still offered to man. “For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. . . . The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

“Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?” The bread from God—the living bread—is not sold. Its value is of infinite worth. It cost untold agony. It is the free gift of the Father. Do not think to obtain it by human power or by purchase. Accept, then, the proffered invitation. You who are sinking in sin's dark waters, look up, heed the call. Follow the light. Breakers may threaten, the angry waves may still lash the waters into fury; but the Pilot, who never lost a ship, knows every rock and shoal. He has tested the power of the mighty billows, and is able to guide the storm-tossed voyager into a peaceful haven.

“Harken diligently unto me. . . . Let your soul delight itself in fatness.” Let your life be nourished by this living bread. God would fit man to delight in him. Can you longer withhold your allegiance to the Captain of the Lord's host? Can you longer refuse the proffered gift? “My Spirit shall not always strive with man.” Behold the whirlpool! See the rocks! Look at the wrecks slowly beaten into pieces, or sucked into the maelstrom. There is only one hope: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy [the redemption of man] that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb. 12: 2. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Rev. 3: 21. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Graysville, Tenn.