The great leaders of the business world to-day, with but very, very few exceptions, are giving themselves to the one question of amassing wealth, and thus absorbing themselves in this life, with but very little thought of what may come in the future. The leaders of thought, from the influential professors in the great universities of the whole world down through to the primary teachers in the lowest grades of learning, are educating a race of human beings with but very little thought of God. Indeed, for the most part, they flout the Bible, and do not consider that the question of God is worth taking into account. Consequently, the moral fiber of the world is being eaten out by the acids of unbelief and godlessness, and as a direct consequence every day brings its recital of suicides, murders, riots, and every rebellious activity from every corner of the globe.
The world-famous shrine in the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, at Lourdes, France, where miraculous cures are reported every day. The Bishop of Salford is in the pulpit, addressing a party of pilgrims from Salford, England, who are seeking release from their earthly afflictions. Note the hundreds of crutches, body appliances, and other testimonials that have been left by pilgrims who have been “cured.”
In their greed for wealth, power, and the fleshly desires of this present life, men are rapidly turning our world into a condition of hopelessness, and when the individual gets into trouble or is confronted with perplexities, he is immediately ready to fight; hence our riots and rebellions. Or, lacking the disposition to fight and considering himself alone and helpless, the individual turns himself to the godless solace of a suicide's grave.
To drown out the despairs that are flooding the souls of men, many turn with feverish craze to various forms of amusement, and the amusement craze of this age is one of the most degenerating things that have ever cursed the human race. Fathers and mothers and young boys and girls spend their evenings in the theaters, watching the motion pictures. They see the “movie stars” and hear of the fabulous sums that they are receiving for their work. This inspires many individuals to turn their time to this useless and degenerating business. They give up the thought of the pleasures and the solid hope and comfort that come through serving God in this life and enjoying Him throughout eternity, and turn themselves over to any kind of theatrical acting, regardless of the influence that it may have upon the morals or health of those who view the screen.
Then out of this welter of folly, greed, and abominable sins, men are talking of securing peace, prosperity, and blessedness in this life. But these blessings never come through debasing and degrading channels. Our hope does not lie in this world, and the thoughtful individual must know that God stated the truth when He said, “The wicked are like the troubled sea; for it cannot rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” Isaiah 57:20, 21.
When we view these world conditions, how consoling is the privilege of turning to such wonderful words as the following from the Inspired Book of the infinite God: “The mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but My loving-kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall My covenant of peace be removed, saith Jehovah that hath mercy on thee. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will set thy stones in fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy pinnacles of rubies, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy border of precious stones. And all thy children shall be taught of Jehovah; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they may gather together, but not by Me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall because of thee. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the fire of coals, and bringeth forth a weapon for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness which is of Me, saith Jehovah.” Isaiah 54:9-17.
Isaiah was one of the group of mighty prophets that lived during the intensely wicked days when Israel was preparing itself through its sins for the final overthrow of the nation by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The mighty warnings against sin that were called forth in that time are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. See 1 Corinthians 10:11.
But the warnings of judgment that were called forth by the prophets were all the way through tempered by the rich promises of God's protection for those who would turn away from sin and seek His power to walk in the ways of righteousness. And while the passage quoted above is full of the richest promises, yet observe that in the midst of it God says, “Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the fire of coals, and bringeth forth a weapon for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.”
(Continued on page 15)Page Eight
The Heritage of the Godless
(Continued from page 7)
The waster, even then, was forging his weapons for the destruction of Israel that was rapidly sinning away its day of grace. God could no longer endure the unrighteousness, the oppression, the fraud, and the unspeakable crimes that were being committed; hence, His engines of destruction were at hand to deal with the situation. But in the midst of all the destruction He wishes every one to realize that there is hope; hence, He said to them in that time, and says to us to-day, that though “the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed,” yet “My loving-kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall My covenant of peace be removed, saith Jehovah that hath mercy on thee.”
Then, though we may be “afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted,” yet He tells us that all shall be taught of God, and great shall be our peace; but observe that it is “in righteousness” that we shall be established, for we are moved far from oppression. We are not found among those that are oppressing and robbing men of their rightful belongings. Then how consoling the promise that we shall “not fear,” neither shall “terror” come near us, for “no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.”
The individual who is resting upon these soul-strengthening promises has a foundation that cannot be shaken and a joy that is far beyond anything this world has to offer. And let it ever be born in mind that “this is the heritage of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness which is of Me, saith Jehovah.” Why will men turn away from such a precious “heritage” to the unsatisfying, soul-destroying things that Satan has devised against this age in which we live? T.
