"PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD"
By E. E. A.
Must Meet Him — We Have No Choice in That Matter — Will We Be Prepared? — The Awe-Inspiring Judgment Hour Is Imminent "THEREFORE thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel." Amos 4:12. When the ancient seer penned these words, he undoubtedly beheld God's people of to-day. To a degree, the prediction was fulfilled in his time; but soon all the world is to meet the great God around the Judgment throne. To-day the message, "The hour of His Judgment is come," is due, and the words of the prophet Amos should be heard in all the earth. It is not a question of choice as to whether we shall meet God or not. You, dear reader, must meet Him, and so must I. In His great love, the Lord now calls upon us to prepare to meet Him. All that is necessary to enable us to stand before the King, without shame, has been done for us, and now we are invited to put on the royal robes. First, we must meet God in the Judgment, where our life record will be opened, and the final decision rendered. Nothing will escape that awful tribunal. "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Heb. 4:13. "The Judgment was set, and the books were opened." Dan. 7:10. "The dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." Rev. 20:12. EVERY WORK BROUGHT TO JUDGMENT
Inspiration has emphasized the fact that God will take cognizance of every act human beings have ever done, and of every thought their minds have conceived. Ponder well the words of the wise man: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into Judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Eccl. 12:13, 14. Again, the admonition is given: "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into Judgment." Eccl. 11:9. Many yield to the impulse of the natural heart, and in doing this become slaves to inclination. "When we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death." "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Rom. 7:5; 8:13. There is an infinitely higher law than the desires of the flesh, and it must be obeyed. NO APPEAL FROM THE DECISION
Think of it, dear reader. You have a case to-day pending at the bar of eternal justice. The decision rendered in your case will be irrevocable. From it there can be no appeal. When the sentence is pronounced, it will stand for eternity. Every one of us must stand before that tribunal, and hear the unalterable fiat of the Omnipotent One. O, how solemn, how awful the thought! Whether we are ready or not makes no difference as to the fact. "Solemn are the scenes connected with the closing work of the atonement. Momentous are the interests involved therein. The Judgment is now passing in the sanctuary above. . . . In the awful presence of God our lives are to come up in review. At this time, above all others, it behooves every soul to heed the Saviour's admonition, 'Watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.' Mark 13:33, 35, 36." "Perilous is the condition of those who, growing weary of their watch, turn to the attractions of the world. While the man of business is absorbed in the pursuit of gain, while the pleasure-lover is seeking indulgences, while the daughter of fashion is arranging her adornments,—it may be in that hour the Judge of all the earth will pronounce the sentence, 'Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.'" Think of it, you who are engrossed with the cares of this life, and can not find time to read your Bible or to pray. Think of it, you who are so absorbed in the pursuit of gain that you have but little or no time for the services of the house of God. Think of it, fathers and mothers who are rearing your children upon the ruins of the family altar, now almost if not quite forgotten because you are too busy for family worship. Think of it, I beseech you, you who are too busy to prepare to meet your God. O, some day, and that soon, you will have time—possibly when it is too late. Some day, I repeat, you will have time. Take it now. The fatal hour may strike while the pleasure-lover is seeking indulgence. Do you have time for the theater, for the ballroom, for the moving picture show, for the many forms of worldly pleasure that paralyze the spiritual senses, and unfit one to approach God? Think for a moment of the pleasures that await the righteous—pleasures that will endure to all eternity. "In Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore." Ps. 16:11. O, think of the case you have pending at the bar of justice, and of the eternal consequences involved therein! While the devotee of fashion is arranging her adornment, it may be that the angel of mercy will take its flight, never to return—that the hand will appear upon the wall, slowly but surely tracing her eternal doom. How sad it is to see those who profess to be preparing to meet their God, bowing to the goddess of fashion, and placing their necks under her galling yoke! How much better would it be for all such to return to simplicity of attire, and with godly demeanor reveal the holiness of life that all must possess who see the face of our glorious Redeemer and stand with Him upon Mount Zion! Weighed in the balance and found wanting! O, the unspeakable terror of those words! Then will come forth from the lips of the lost the agonizing cry, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." Jer. 8:20. Thank God, the sun of salvation's day still lingers in the western heavens, though it is now rapidly approaching the horizon, and must soon sink forever from our sight. The sweet voice of mercy is still heard, tenderly pleading with us, entreating us to cast ourselves unreservedly into the arms of infinite love, and that without further delay. PLACING THE MARK OF DELIVERANCE
The angel spoken of in the ninth chapter of Ezekiel, with the writer's inkhorn by his side, is passing through the land, placing the mark of deliverance upon the foreheads of all who have made their peace with God and are victorious over every sinful602thought and passion of the heart. If he should come to you, dear reader, would you be ready? This very hour surrender all to Jesus, accept forgiveness and cleansing at His hand, and commit the keeping of your soul to Him as to a faithful Creator. "Prepare to meet thy God."
E. E. A.