JOHN D. GILLATT by John D. Gillatt

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Mar 21, 1912

JOHN D. GILLATT

By John D. Gillatt

The City Problem --- No. 4

JOHN D. GILLATT

The price of saving others from death is to die to sin and self ourselves; and if our ministry is a daily ministry, as it should be, then our death must likewise be daily. If seed is to sprout, it must be buried—lost from sight. Therefore if “the children of the kingdom” would bear fruit, they must be sown, sown where they can sink out of sight.

Obviously, there is no better field for such a burial than our great cities, with their teeming population literally able to bury from view our small force. For instance, here in our English territory, is London, which could at the same time provide each of our ordained ministers and licentiates from the various parts of the world with an audience of 5,000. Then there is New York, which could supply each of these preachers with approximately 2,500; Paris could supply 2,000 for every one of the same workers, and Berlin about 1,500. In these and other cities we certainly see immense fields with extensive possibilities. Here are whitened fields thick with bending grain. Let us speedily enter and reap the golden harvest of souls.

Some, perhaps, are overawed by the very greatness of our cities, and overwhelmed with a consciousness of our own feebleness and the smallness of our numbers. To such we commend a study of the early experiences of Israel under Joshua.

The Gospels give us, in closing, the story of Christ’s passion, then comes the record of richly successful conquests for Christ and his church. Likewise the Pentateuch concludes with the death of Moses, then follows the narrative of richly successful conquests for God and the armies of Israel,—the ancient book of the Acts of the Apostles. Perhaps the most notable conquest was that which brought Jericho to her abrupt end. Never has city closed itself more determinedly to the entry of this truth or its representatives, for “Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.” Joshua 6:1. Yet, despite this emphatic exclusion and strict isolation, the Lord declared that he had already given the city and its great ones into the hand of his servant.

By his Spirit, God had been striving with the inhabitants, most of whom had hardened their hearts against that inward pleading, and thus had decided their cases. Joshua 2:9, 10. One individual, however, upon the visit of the two spies, confessed the Lord. Rahab’s reception of the divine word into her heart so fully developed her faith (Rom. 10:17; Heb. 11:31) that her house remained standing even though the city walls fell. Having evidently accepted the truth for that time, she was married into a family of Judah, became the mother of Boaz, the great-great-grandmother of King David, and the direct ancestor of the Messiah, whose power had transformed her character. Matt. 1:5.

Israel’s priests were commanded to carry forth the ark, and Israel’s people to follow it. This took place at harvest-time, the time of Jordan’s swelling. Joshua 3:15. The very elements seemed to be against them; and it is noteworthy that when they reached the torrential river, they did not attempt to rush through, depending on the successful passage of their fathers through the Red Sea. No, a personal preparation was necessary, and accordingly they “came to Jordan, . . . and lodged there before they passed over.” Verse 1. During this interval a call for renewed sanctification went forth, couched in most memorable words: “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” Verse 5. After such a spiritual revival, Israel was prepared to stand on Canaan’s shores, and stepped out boldly to Jordan’s brinks. No tide can stand between the sanctified individual and the object of his loftiest desires. “All things are possible.” Mark 9:23. No stormy current can cut him off from success of the highest degree.

For forty long years Israel had been wending a weary way through a trackless wilderness. The tedious journey had sorely tried the testy tempers of the multitude, and they had fallen. A new generation—the last generation of pilgrim wanderers—had been born, and lo, a change was wrought. Celerity now marked their progress, and on the last lap of the homeward journey, we notice they do not content themselves with a moderate pace, but, says the record, “The people hastened and passed over.”

All the first candidates for Canaan had to be immersed, and this immersion was effected by their being hidden beneath the cloud and the walls of the Red Sea waters. 1 Cor. 10:2. All the later candidates were baptized in the passage of the Jordan. Again, the fathers had been circumcised. Naturally, then, the sons were circumcised before Jericho was destroyed before them. Joshua 5. This same chapter shows Joshua in the presence of the heavenly Captain, and the former’s prompt acknowledgment of his superior. Immediately on recognition of the Captain of the Lord’s host, Joshua solicits and awaits orders. Then in the sixth chapter, when Jericho is taken, the course is simple,—great haste, preparation having been made,—and Jericho falls before faith, persistence, order, and an earnestness that brought its possessors out betimes on the eventful morning.

In concluding, let us apply the lessons. It is we who are privileged to reveal the ark (Rev. 11:19), with its enshrined law, to the waiting isles (Isa. 42:4) and to all them that dwell on the earth (Rev. 14:6); for we are living in the antitypical time of harvest (see Matt. 13:39) and the swelling of Jordan (Jer. 12:5). It is for us, then, to follow the sacred ark with all it stands for, we ourselves being sanctified by the truth (John 17:17), thus gaining a personal experience in the things of God. This generation, the last of earth’s pilgrims, is to make haste, like the one of old. Swifter progress and a short work—a cutting short in righteousness—are to characterize our labors. Rom. 9:28.

With such an experience as this, and knowing that our Captain is on the field to lead us till victory shall rest on our banners, we shall not hesitate to surrender the battle to him. Submitted to his leadership, we shall fight in rank, shoulder to shoulder, unity and order prevailing among us; and “being instant in season, and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2), we shall accomplish the work which our Captain has commissioned us to perform.

All the requisites for the accomplishment of this work may be summed up thus: personal godliness, spirituality, and complete surrender to the leadership of Christ. By all means, let us lay hold upon these, that our triumph may be sure. With determination to attain unto this spiritual regeneration, let our prayer be: “Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.” 2 Chron. 14:11.

With such an experience and such a prayer in this world, our testimony in the next will be, “There was not one city too strong for us.” Deut. 2:36. May such be our lot.

London. England.