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DISAPPOINTMENT

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 7, 1878

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 51, No. 6.

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DISAPPOINTMENT

By C. H. Foster

The greatest disappointment of which I can conceive will be that of those professors of religion who are lukewarm in the service of God. “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matt. 7:22, 23. Solemn thought, to be lost at last, after having entertained the hope of Heaven for years.
Is it possible that I at last shall be among those that come up around the camp of the saints, and have to take up with the sad lamentation: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved”? Jer. 8:20. Yes; if I refuse to obey a single commandment of God, or neglect any part of the remedial system for sin, I shall then hear the Judge say, “Depart.”
There I stand and gaze upon the host of the redeemed, passing through those pearly gates into their respective mansions. I recognize, perhaps, a sister, or father, or mother; they seem to be enraptured with the beauties of the place. I behold with admiration the city of God, the metropolis of the new earth, with its gilded domes, and majestic spires reaching far up toward the azure sky. Then I realize what I have lost; then I say, Why was I not more faithful when on probation? I knew my duty, but I did it not; I am justly condemned. I turn away in despair, and look into the dark grave of the second death, exclaiming in horror: O dismal gulf! I am bound for thee! as I take a long leap into the darkness of eternal unconsciousness.
May a merciful God forbid that this shall be the lot of any of us. Brethren and sisters, let us work while the day lasts, for Jesus has said, “The night cometh, when no man can work.” John 9:4. Not one soul need be disappointed in that great day. The word of God is an infallible guide, and those who follow its teachings strictly cannot possibly meet with any disappointment in the day of final accounts. But how is it that many will be so terribly disappointed in the end? It will be because they have not searched the Scriptures to learn duty, or, if they knew their duty, they failed to do it. C. H. Foster.