ON OUR GUARD by Mrs. Josie Bryner

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 24, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 24.

ON OUR GUARD.

By Mrs. Josie Bryner

OUT of the depths a poor, struggling soul exclaimed: "O, if I could feel the blessed nearness of the dear Lord's presence; if I could realize that he was so close beside me that no hidden foe could thrust himself between, and no unseen enemy could intervene and separate me from my beloved Saviour, then would my soul rejoice with exceeding joy; then would I feel the perfect security, 'the perfect love that casteth out all fear!'"

And, full of vague longings, the wearied soul fell asleep, and, sleeping, dreamed: And behold the Saviour stood close beside her. She felt the clasp of the dear, nail-scarred hand; she looked upon the thorn-crowned brow, and gazed into the holy countenance beaming with infinite love and tender compassion, and her soul was filled with ecstasy, with exaltation.

"Now I am safe, perfectly safe. No evil can befall me, no temptation can assail me. I see my way clearly."

She was startled by a touch on the arm, and, turning back, she looked full into the mocking, triumphant face of the arch fiend.

Horrified with amazement and alarm, she dropped the Saviour's hand, and gazed spell-bound into the demoniac countenance before her. Then, summoning all her remaining strength, she turned from the tempter and looked for her Saviour, and lo, he was gone!

"O my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" she cried in her bitter anguish. And a voice of infinite sweetness replied: "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, but 'wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.' Wouldst thou meet thy Saviour in the air, leaving the measureless weight of sorrow and grief and wo for other burdened souls to bear? Take up thy cross and follow whithersoever the Lamb leadeth, even through the wild depths of the wilderness, over the dreary, burning waste of the desert, and across the trackless path of the boundless ocean, and the shadow of the blood-stained cross shall follow after thee and hallow thy works. My grace shall be sufficient for thee."

The voice ceased, and the sleeper awoke, full of praise and thanksgiving for the lesson she had learned.

MRS. JOSIE BRYNER.

Jonesboro, Ind.