THE FOURTH by John Norton Loughborough

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Dec 3, 1902

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 49.

THE FOURTH.

By John Norton Loughborough

More than six hundred years before Christ, the Lord had said of those trusting in Him, “When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Isa. 43:2). More than one hundred years later the three Hebrew children submitted to be placed in the intensely heated fiery furnace rather than worship Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image. They said to the king of Babylon, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.” Dan. 3:17. Great was the astonishment of the king, shortly after casting these worthy men bound into the fiery furnace, to see them loose and walking in the midst of the fire. He said to his counselors, “Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Dan. 3:24, 25.

The record of these three worthies is full of thrilling interest, showing how, through faith, they “quenched the violence of fire.” Heb. 11:34. They trusted in God, and the Fourth—the Son of God—was with them. The precious privilege is granted to us of claiming the presence of this same Fourth; if not in the same demonstration as in the case of these worshipers of the true God, in the manner that will please Him. Has He not said, “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven? For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matt. 18:19, 20.

Those who persevere in meeting together to seek the Lord in earnest prayer and social service, tho their numbers are but few, will surely realize the fulfilment of this promise. I call to mind a very interesting circumstance of this kind which occurred in the State of Michigan. In the year 1854 three devoted women accepted the present truth, their husbands not uniting with them at the time. For three years these three sisters met every Sabbath for prayer and the study of the Scriptures. No matter what the weather they always had their meeting, notwithstanding one of them had to come about two miles. Finally the husband of one of the sisters said, “What do you three women find that is of such interest to you that you meet so regularly every week?” He was told what interesting meetings they had, for “the Lord met with them.” He requested the privilege of meeting with them the next Sabbath, and told the husband of the sister in whose house they met, “You do not know what you are losing. Their meeting was the best meeting I was ever in in my life.” So the next Sabbath this man also met with them, and then the two men said to the women, “Our neighbors have got to know something about this. We are going to send for one of your ministers and have meetings in the school-house.” So they did. A revival was the result. A meeting-house was built, and a church organized that remains to this day, tho many of the first members, and two of the three sisters are sleeping in Jesus. Great was the joy of the three sisters who so perseveringly had sought and obtained the presence of the Fourth.

Different was the position of a professor of religion who told me that in her neighborhood they had discontinued their prayer-meetings, “for,” said she, “there were only three of us that met together.” I said, “Then there were four there.” “Well,” said she, “I was there, and you were not, I think I ought to know.” “Yes,” I said, “You were there and I was not, but did not Christ say, ‘Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them?’ If you three gathered in His name He was there, and that made the four; but you three could not afford to meet Him, because there were no more.” This sister suddenly began to look at matters in a different light, and replied, “We will start our meetings again;” a wise conclusion indeed.

My surprise was still greater, not long since, to hear of a leader of a prayer-meeting who said he could not afford to spend the time to attend a prayer-meeting where only two or three came in. As I heard this I thought to myself, The Lord, who upholds all things by the word of His power must be exceedingly busy, but not so much so but that He has made a standing promise to meet with even two or three. Is it consistent for us to be so busy that we can not be there to welcome the presence of the Fourth? May the Lord help us all to come up to our high privilege of sharing the presence of Him who meets the earnest, praying ones, and “that to bless.”

J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.