A SPECIAL SERVICE

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 4, 1902

A SPECIAL SERVICE

At the Tabernacle, Sabbath, February 22.

It was deemed fitting that the morning services at the Tabernacle on the Sabbath following the fire at the Sanitarium, should have special reference to the situation which has arisen by reason of that event, and that we should consider the lessons which God has for us in this act of His providence, as they may be gathered from His word.

The Tabernacle was filled to its fullest capacity. The order of the service was as follows:—

DOXOLOGY.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

Short prayer by Elder McCoy, Sanitarium chaplain.

Singing by the choir, hymn number 783:— The Lord is my Shepherd, no want shall I know; I feed in green pastures, safe-folded I rest; He leadeth my soul where the still waters flow, Restores me when wand’ring, redeems when oppressed. Through the valley and shadow of death though I stray, I feed in green pastures, safe-folded I rest; Since thou art my Guardian, no evil I fear; Thy rod shall defend me, thy staff be my stay; No harm can befall, with my Comforter near. In the midst of affliction my table is spread; With blessings unmeasured my cup runneth o’er; With perfume and oil thou anointest my head; O, what shall I ask of thy providence more? Let goodness and mercy, my bountiful God, Still follow my steps till I meet thee above; I seek—by the path which my forefathers trod, Through the land of their sojourn—thy kingdom of love.

Responsive Scripture reading, Psalm 136.

Singing by the congregation, hymn number 62:— The Lord is King! lift up thy voice, O earth, and all ye heavens, rejoice! From world to world the joy shall ring, The Lord omnipotent is King! The Lord is King! child of the dust, The Judge of all the earth is just, Holy and true are all His ways; Let every creature speak His praise. O when His wisdom can mistake, His might decay, His love forsake, Then may His children cease to sing, The Lord omnipotent is King!

Prayer by Elder J. D. Van Horn.

Singing by the congregation, hymn number 51:— God is the refuge of His saints When storms of sharp distress invade; Ere we can offer our complaints, Behold Him present with His aid. Loud may the troubled ocean roar; In sacred peace our souls abide; While every nation, every shore, Trembles, and dreads the swelling tide. Zion enjoys her Monarch’s love, Secure against a threatening hour; Nor can her firm foundation move, Built on His truth, and armed with power.

SHORT DISCOURSE BY W. W. PRESCOTT.

It might seem that we stand to-day in the shadow of a great calamity; and yet I believe that there is light in the shadow. If we inquire after God’s purpose, and are ready to follow His leading, we shall see in this case one more illustration of the assurance that “all things work together for good to them that love God.” And so it seems to me that our chiefest purpose should be to inquire after God’s lesson, to seek after God’s leading, and then, with a renewed consecration, give ourselves unto Him for

a more full accomplishment of His purpose in the future than in the past.

A LARGE BUILDING FORMERLY OCCUPIED BY BATTLE CREEK COLLEGE.—THE NORTH END IS NOW OCCUPIED BY THE AMERICAN MEDICAL MISSIONARY COLLEGE, THE MIDDLE AND SOUTH PORTIONS BEING OCCUPIED BY THE BUSINESS OFFICES OF THE SANITARIUM. THE UPPER FLOORS ARE USED AS DORMITORIES, AND THE BASEMENT OF THE SOUTH END IS BEING FITTED UP FOR TREATMENT ROOMS.

In the olden time, after the house of God had been burned with fire, and the people had spent threescore years and ten in captivity, under the leadership of Ezra the priest and those associated with him they returned to what seemed a desolate place, to the ruins of their former greatness and magnificence; and they rebuilt the house of God. It is said that when the foundations of the house were laid, there were present ancient men who remembered the former house, which was built by Solomon, and that they lifted up their voices and wept; for it seemed in their eyes that the new house was as nothing in comparison with the old. And so the Lord, through the prophet Haggai, addressed these words to His people:—

“Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my Spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. . . . The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.”

The original temple was a place of great outward glory. The interior decorations were a marvel. Millions upon millions of dollars’ worth of pure gold was used in overlaying the inner parts of the temple; and in the most holy place was the ark; and in the ark were the tables of stone with the law of God inscribed upon them, the pot of manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded; but over all, and more than all, was the shekinah glory which oftentimes so filled the inner shrine with glory that the priests were obliged to withdraw from it.

After they returned from the captivity without a king, but under the leadership of a priest, they rebuilt the house; but they had no ark of the covenant to put into it; they had no pot of manna; Aaron’s rod was gone; and never afterward did there appear in this inner shrine that wonderful display of outward glory, the symbol of the presence of God. And yet there came this prophecy, “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former.”

The tabernacle built under the direction of Moses in the wilderness, in which this same glory was manifested, and the more permanent house, the temple built by Solomon, in which the glory was again revealed, were prophecies. While they were a present provision for God’s people, they were, at the same time, prophecies of the future, and were setting forth that truth which is the foundation of Christianity,—God’s purpose to manifest His glory in the flesh. These buildings were prophecies of the coming of Him of whom it was said when He did come: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.”

He it was who is spoken of as the outshining of the glory of God. And when He performed His first miracle in Cana of Galilee, it is said that He manifested forth His glory, that glory which does not consist of an outward display which strikes the eye, but that glory which is above every other glory—the glory of character. This prophecy of Haggai, this promise that this latter house should exceed in glory the former house, was a distinct prophecy of the coming of the Son of man, and the manifestation in the flesh, of the glory, the power, and the beauty of God’s character.

Even when He was a child, those who were under the guidance of God’s Spirit perceived this truth. When His parents brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him in the temple, to do for Him according to the law, the devout Simeon recognized it. “And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same

man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him after the custom of the law, then took he Him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” Luke 2:25–32.

WEST HALL.—FORMERLY OCCUPIED AS A DORMITORY OF THE BATTLE CREEK COLLEGE, NOW FILLED WITH SANITARIUM PATIENTS. ACCOMMODATES ABOUT ONE HUNDRED.

This was not because of any outward display or distinction of dress, not because of any halo that surrounded His face, but because, by the Spirit, Simeon perceived that God was manifested in the flesh, and it was revealed to him that in this child was to be seen, by eyes anointed, the glory of the people Israel. And so, when He who was himself the glory of the people, came into His Father’s house, then, although there was no shekinah, no outward brightness to strike the eye, yet the glory of that latter house was greater than the glory of the former house. The true glory of humanity, and the true glory of any undertaking in behalf of humanity, under God, is found in the manifestation of that same godlike character which was revealed in Jesus of Nazareth. It is found in the revelation of God in the flesh, and this is a glory above all outward glory.

Now with reference to our present situation and the outlook: we thank God for the measure of prosperity in the past; we thank God for the revelation of the spirit of true service in this work; we give glory to God for whatever has been accomplished to establish the truths of the kingdom of God in the hearts of men; but whatever measure of prosperity, whatever measure of good has come, may yet be increased, and the glory of the latter house may be greater than that of the former.

It does not make any difference whether we have buildings of the same size, or whether all the same facilities are at once provided. There is something of more importance than these. Proper facilities will be provided. But the great lesson of the hour is that our sufficiency is of God; that He is able to use such instrumentalities and such facilities as He in His providence may supply, to do the very work that He wishes done in the earth; and that He is ready to co-operate with His children in doing great things to His

glory. We should not for a moment lose sight of these fundamental truths. When the friend of Jesus, Lazarus, was dead, and Jesus came to the home of the sisters, He comforted them with hope, and with them went out to the place where Lazarus lay; and then He

said to Martha, as He spoke of removing the stone from the mouth of the tomb, “Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” And then the stone being removed, He called unto the sleeper, and said, “Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth.” This was a manifestation of the glory of God. It was the ministry of life to the dead. Now, whether the person be dead or dying, when new life is manifested, new power comes into the being, strength takes the place of weakness, health the place of sickness, it is the same ministry of life, and by the same power. And in an institution consecrated to this work, consecrated with prayer, consecrated with the spirit of sacrifice, for the express purpose of doing this work for suffering humanity,—it seems to me that in such a place, of all others, it might be said constantly, If thou wilt believe, thou shalt see the glory of God; and that the glory of God will be revealed in the ministry of life, in the restoration of health, and in the bringing of blessing to those who are suffering; and that God will give, as He has given, special wisdom, special guidance, and He himself will witness to His own truth, that His gospel is for suffering humanity, for the restoration of soul, body, and spirit, that every one may be complete in Christ Jesus.

SOUTH HALL.—FORMERLY A DORMITORY OF THE BATTLE CREEK COLLEGE, NOW OCCUPIED BY SANITARIUM PATIENTS, DOCTORS, AND STUDENTS.

Now there is one more thought to which I would like to direct your attention briefly, and that is that the tabernacle built under the direction of Moses, and the temple built by Solomon, were in themselves prophecies of the coming of the Lord, prophecies of the coming to this earth of Him who was to be the Redeemer and Saviour of the world; and that His manifestation in the flesh when He first appeared in the world was, as it were, the beginning of the fulfillment of all prophecy concerning the coming of the Lord. He was here upon the earth during His brief course of life and ministry, and then, after being offered as the sacrifice, He was raised from the dead, and was taken up to sit at the right hand of the Majesty on high, to minister to His Church below. But before He left them, He uttered these prophecies, and these promises:— “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith

unto Him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” John 14:16–23.

Here is a distinct promise, a distinct prophecy, of the coming of the Lord as the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, to dwell in the hearts of His people. This is, as it were, the second step in the coming of the Lord. After taking away His bodily presence, He promised to come to His people without the personality of the flesh, but in the presence of His own Spirit; and on the day of Pentecost His promise was fulfilled in that remarkable descent of the Holy Spirit, according to the prophecy which said, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.” And thus the true believers have been privileged to know the reality of the truth of the coming of the Lord.

Now we look for the third step in the coming of the Lord. We look for His revelation in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. But before that event takes place, before that glory shines forth as the lightning that shineth from the east even unto the west, there must be an outshining of the glory of God in the experience of His people, world-wide, so that the earth shall be lighted with His glory. This will not be in an outward display, but in the power of His presence, by the Spirit, ruling, conquering in the hearts and lives of men and women, showing forth the great truth of God manifest in the flesh, the glory of God revealed, that all flesh may see it together; in lives consecrated to service; in sacrifice of every other thought and every other plan to this one thing, that the earth shall be lighted with the glory of God shining through humanity; and that in the ministry in behalf of a world suffering physically, suffering spiritually, needy of the restoring power of the gospel of Christ, there shall go forth a message, not simply in words, but a message of light and power, a message of glory, in hearts that reach hearts, in lives that take hold upon lives, in the true revelation of the greatest truth, the crowning truth, of our Christianity,

and that is, God manifest in the flesh. And that shall be the greatest, in fact the only true, preparation for that final revelation of the glory of God in the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

EAST HALL.—FORMERLY OCCUPIED AS A NURSES' DORMITORY. WILL ACCOMMODATE FROM ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY TO TWO HUNDRED PATIENTS. EXTENSIVE BATH ROOMS ARE BEING FITTED UP IN THE BASEMENT.

Now let our second house stand more strongly than did the first for this great truth, God manifest in the flesh. Let truth shine out with greater power than ever, the real truth of Christianity, the giving of ourselves as a living sacrifice to be consumed upon the altar of service. Let this be the stand that we take, and let this be our purpose, and it will be written in the books of heaven, although it may not be written in the records of earth, that the glory of this latter house is greater than the glory of the former.

It is worth noting also, that those who had charge of the work of rebuilding the temple in olden time, did not speak of it as the building of a new house, but simply as a building of the same house. We find in the book of Ezra that when those who opposed the work, asked them concerning it, and what they were doing, they answered, “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up.” Ezra 5:11. Although the house had lain in ruins for seventy years, during their captivity, yet when they came to restore and build it again, they did not speak of it as a new house; they said, We build the house that was built by the great king years ago. It was the same house.

I have thought that the Sanitarium has not gone. God built the Sanitarium, and it will stand. Some of the buildings may be temporarily absent, but the truth for which that word stood, and is standing now almost throughout the wide world, is of God; and that truth lives; and that truth finds its temple not in buildings of stone or of brick, but in the hearts of men and women. As long as we have physicians consecrated to this work, nurses and helpers given to this work, we have the Sanitarium. And more than that, even these outward facilities will be restored; but the main thing is to know that truth in the hearts of those consecrated to it is the essential factor in our work for God. And when we know that experience, our God, in whose hands are all resources, our God, who rules over all these things, will, in His providence, see that proper facilities are supplied, that this truth may be revealed to the best advantage.

I bless God that we can look forward with hope. I bless God for the courage that remains in the hearts of those upon whom this blow would seem to fall with the greatest weight. I bless God that their faces are forward, and that they are looking now not toward ruins, but toward a greater work, which, under God, they purpose to

do. May God’s blessings be with them as, under Him, they seek to carry on this work.

Singing by the congregation, hymn number 709:— Rejoice in God alway; When earth looks heavenly bright, When joy makes glad the livelong day, And peace shuts in the night. Rejoice when care and woe The fainting soul oppress; When tears at wakeful midnight flow, And morn brings heaviness. Rejoice in hope and fear; Rejoice in life and death; Rejoice when threatening storms are near, And comfort languisheth. So, though our path is steep, And many a tempest lowers, Our Father will our footsteps keep, And His dear love be ours.

ADDRESS BY DR. J. H. KELLOGG.

I feel very timid in accepting the invitation to speak here this morning, and shall occupy but a few minutes of your time.

A few months ago, Thanksgiving day, a multitude, perhaps a large proportion of the persons who are in the Tabernacle to-day, gathered at the Sanitarium, in the dining room and the gymnasium, to join with the managers, the helpers, and the patients of the institution—about two thousand in all—in a Thanksgiving dinner. After the dinner, we gathered in the gymnasium and adjoining rooms, and had a little review of the work of the Sanitarium from its inception up to that time. We talked about the small beginning, the little building, and the small number gathered at the dedication, and of the greater number who gathered there on that occasion. Mention was also made of the small building in which the institution began its work, a part of which still stands, while all the rest is in ashes. And as we looked over this great growth, this wonderful development, we all exclaimed in our hearts, with a deep sense of God’s goodness, “What hath God wrought!”

I believe that was the sentiment of every heart on that occasion. I believe it was the feeling in the hearts of all there that the Sanitarium was not the work of any man or set of men, but that God had built the work upon this hill, and its representative branches in other parts of the world.

I walked by the ruins this morning, and saw the ashes and smoking embers, and I am glad I was able to say in my heart, “What hath God wrought!” I know God is in it all, because this is God’s work, and not man’s work. And if God built the house, and permitted the house to burn, it is for some good purpose; and the one desire of my heart is to know what that purpose is, and to know what this experience means to me and to the Sanitarium.

We had a helpers’ meeting last night, and we all sought God earnestly to find out what the lesson is; and I believe it is just what has been intimated here this morning, that we must have another house, a better house; not necessarily a larger house, it may be a smaller house, but we must have a better house.

About two or three years ago I stood in Jerusalem, the city that has gone through a score of sieges, and has been wrecked and sacked a score of times; I stood upon the top of a smooth, bare limestone rock, which was once the site of the glorious temple of which you have heard this morning. This rock was worn smooth with the knees and the kisses of the pilgrims of all Christendom. There is nothing there but a bare rock. The whole building, every stone, every pillar, gone, not one left; and all its magnificence and glory, the gold and the silver, and the shekinah too, are all gone, never to be replaced, because

the more glorious temple was manifested in Christ Jesus when He came nineteen hundred years ago,—the real temple, the house not made with hands.

About thirty-six years ago a few men who had faith in the principles of reform, although perhaps they did not realize and appreciate altogether the thing they were undertaking,—as they had not an opportunity to comprehend its real greatness and significance,—started to build a temple of truth upon this little hill, in a small grove of oaks. And God has been building through all these years, until a large work has grown up. Our large main buildings have burned. But I feel thankful in my heart that, although the material temple has been swept away, so that there remains scarcely more than is left of the temple on the top of Mount Moriah, still the real temple stands. There are twenty-five hundred persons whose hearts are enlisted in this work. There are one hundred and twenty doctors whose souls are ablaze with the principles taught in this temple of truth. There are a thousand nurses, a thousand young men and women who have consecrated their lives to the principles that are here represented; and these are all alive. And there are one hundred thousand people, probably more than one hundred thousand, who have visited this institution and its branches, and whose lives have, I trust, been made better and sweeter and more comfortable, whose sufferings have been mitigated, and whose days have been prolonged by the life-giving principles for which those buildings stood. So the temple still lives in the hearts of these thousands of doctors and nurses and patients and others whose lives have been influenced by this work during these past years.

Now that is the real temple. I am glad to know, and to feel and believe in my soul, that the real work of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, the real institution, is not compassed with brick walls. It is not contained in buildings; but it is a work that lives in the hearts of humanity. It is a work that is widespread, that is worldwide in its extent, in its influence upon the hearts and the minds and the characters and the souls and the bodies of men.

In building our new temple of truth, or in extending the building of our temple, the thing that we must have in mind certainly is not simply brick and mortar, but character. Character, my friends, is the thing that has made the Battle Creek Sanitarium what it has been, the character of its principles.

Now I know that this work has not been altogether understood in Battle Creek. Some perhaps have looked upon the poor instruments that God has been using in this work, and have seen their weaknesses and their mistakes and their frailties, and perhaps have judged the work somewhat by them. Now I beg of you, my friends, forget them if you can. Forget them, and think only of the truth that is represented, and see the truth only. Where I have made mistakes that you have recognized, I ask your forgiveness; where I have made mistakes that you have not recognized, I have earnestly asked God to forgive me. I am full of weaknesses and frailties. I know it. I hope that no one will take me as an example of the truth; but I pray God from this time forward, in all my life, so to cover me with truth that nobody can see me any more. O my friends, I want my life to be such a shining out of truth, of Christ revealed in humanity, that nobody can see me. I do not blame you if you have not understood; you could not help but misunderstand with such a poor interpretation. But when we build our new work and reorganize it,—for I feel that the Lord has given us the opportunity now to reorganize and to do better things than ever before,—I pray that God will give us such wisdom that we may put into every foundation stone, into every brick, and into every

part of the structure such Christlike principles and such unsullied truth that those who come here and gaze upon it may ever say, “See what God has wrought.”

Closing hymn, number 737:— “My times are in thy hand;” My God, I wish them there; My life, my friends, my all, I leave Entirely to thy care. “My times are in thy hand,” Whatever they may be; Pleasing or painful, dark or bright, As best may seem to thee. “My times are in thy hand;” Why should I doubt or fear? My Father’s hand will never cause His child a needless tear. “My times are in thy hand;” I’ll always trust in thee, Till I possess the promised land, And all thy glory see.

The benediction was pronounced by W. A. Spicer.