"A GREAT COMPANY OF THE PRIESTS."
By T.
IN speaking of the early triumphs of the Gospel, the Record says: "And the Word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith." Acts 6:7. This "great company of priests" who became "obedient to the faith" had heard the teachings and seen the works of Christ. But they had hesitated to take their stand. The work of Christ was that of seed sowing. He was planting principles in the minds and hearts of men. And when His work on earth was brought to a seeming close by His crucifixion, there were very few, if any, who were truly "obedient to the faith." At the time of His betrayal even "all the disciples forsook Him and fled." Matt. 26:56. But when time was given for reflection, and after Christ was raised from the dead and the fulfilments of His teachings were clearly seen, then there were thousands who joined themselves to the Master's cause in a single day. And they did not connect with Christ then in a sort of half-hearted way, as many had done during His earthly ministry; but they took hold of the Gospel truth with firmness, and were ready to suffer and even to die for the cause of Christianity. And among them that made up this early church, so full of devotion and consecrated zeal, there was "a great company of the priests." The Master had labored faithfully all through His ministry upon earth, and when He was crucified it seemed, to all human appearances, that His cause was hopelessly crushed. But He had sown good seed, and it was only necessary to wait for it to germinate and begin to grow, and then it could be clearly seen that the harvest would be abundant. The Christian should follow the example of the Lord in seed sowing. We should not be overanxious about results. God will see to it that the results appear in due time if we only give careful heed to the seed sowing. We are apt to think that every one should accept our teachings at once. But we must give men time to reflect, while we go right ahead with our work of seed sowing. If we become too anxious in regard to results we are apt to fall into the snare of seeking to compel men to come into line with us. But such a course as this would be religious persecution. The only perfectly safe thing to do is to carefully study each act and point in connection with Christ's life, and then earnestly seek to follow in His footsteps closely. And as we do this it develops faith, courage, patience and every other Christian virtue. T.