Harkening to God

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Dec 15, 1909

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 36, No. 49.

God is love. All that He says to man is spoken in love. Why not, then, listen to His voice, and harken to what He says, no matter in what way He says it? When the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai and spoke His law to Israel, it was not merely to condemn, it was to save; it was not merely that the law might be remembered as a law, but be received by faith as a life; it was not merely that the forth-shining of God’s glory might reveal sin and terrify the sinner, but that that glory might shine into the heart and shine away the darkness and sin.

All this the law did to and for Moses. He not only saw the blinding glory without, but he received it within; and the sin and the condemnation passed away. Israel said, “Let not God speak to us any more.” Moses said, “I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory.” To the one came condemnation and only condemnation; to the other came condemnation and the passing away of condemnation in the light of God’s righteousness. God’s speaking meant condemnation to those who wished to hear God no more. It meant righteousness and life to him who received it into his heart. God is love. He speaks that we may live. How do you receive His Word?