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SEEK YE THE LORD

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 10, 1876

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 48, No. 7.

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SEEK YE THE LORD.

By O. A. Hegg

“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Isa. 55: 6, 7.
The prophet here exhorts the people to seek the Lord while he may yet be found; while the door of mercy is open; while it is yet called “to-day;” and while Jesus, our mediator, stands in the heavenly sanctuary pleading with the Father in our behalf. He looks forward to the time when the Lord shall say, They shall “call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.” Prov. 1:28. He warns us to decide in time, before it is everlastingly too late. Jesus stands at the door and knocks, and when we hear his voice, we should not harden our hearts.
The time has come when the Lord calls upon the children of men to seek him. The last message of mercy is being proclaimed to a dying world, “and the Spirit and the Bride say, Come.” Here is a general invitation to the world. No one is excepted. If we will forsake our old habits of wrong the Lord will have mercy upon us and will give us pardon for our many sins. God is very impartial. He proclaims the whole world under sin, because we have transgressed his law. No one is excused.
But the greatest sinner will be received into God’s everlasting kingdom if he will only comply with the conditions laid down in the Bible. “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isa. 1:18. “When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he hath robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him; he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.” Eze. 33:14–16. Thus a sinner, however great, has no excuse. The Lord throws out strong inducements to us to forsake sin, and if we will not accept of his proffered mercy it is our own fault. He does not delight in the death of the wicked, but desires them to turn from their way and live.
We must consult God’s holy law, and therein we shall learn his will concerning us. He has hid nothing from us that pertains to our salvation; but we have wandered so long in forbidden paths that the Lord is forced to exclaim: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, my ways.” Isa. 55: 8. Our only hope is to rely upon the love of God, to throw ourselves wholly upon his care and guidance; and He who regardeth even the fall of a sparrow will abundantly care for those who put their trust in him.
The Lord wishes us to return to our allegiance. The sentence of death which has been pronounced upon the race because they have deserted the ranks of King Immanuel has been revoked upon the condition that they return to a life of obedience. We should not be ashamed to own our Lord, although we may say with Job, “I am as one mocked of his neighbor, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him. The just upright man is laughed to scorn.” Job 12:4. But the Lord, ever ready with words of encouragement, says, “Now therefore if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Ex. 19: 5, 6.
Dear brethren and sisters, let us diligently seek the Lord. Let us watch and pray, lest we enter into temptation. The enemy of mankind is increasing his temptations and the number of his agents. The so-called shepherds of the land even join secret societies, organizations calculated to thwart the work of the Lord. They invent excuses for not following the path that the Lord has so plainly marked out for them. It behooves us, as a people, to awake out of our sleep and seek the Lord while he is yet to be found, and it may be we shall be hid in the day of his anger. O. A. Hegg.