COUNSEL TO THE LAODICEANS.
By A. S. Hutchins
SAYS the faithful and true Witness, “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. Rev. iii, 18.” When the light first shone out on this subject, it was set home most powerfully by the Spirit of God, to the hearts of those who acknowledged and received its proper application. We felt indeed that we were wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked, and that there must be a speedy reform, a deep and hearty consecration to God. Many were zealous in the work of repentance. The sweet blessing of heaven rested upon the writer and the reader, the speaker and hearer as this subject was contemplated. Confessions were made around the fireside and in the church, attended with deep and solemn feeling. Parents confessed to their children, and children to their parents: brethren confessed their wrongs to each other, wrongs were made right, and wounds were healed. God smiled upon this course, and the cause received a new impetus and moved on gloriously. Praise God! How inexpressibly sweet were those meetings with the dear brethren and sisters who felt the force of the injunction (Joel ii, 12, 13.) “Therefore also now, saith the Lord, Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God.” Our assemblies were indeed “solemn” assemblies. But for a time past I have been led to ask the question, what has become of the counsel to the Laodiceans? Why is there so little said on this subject? and why no more feeling? We ask why? What means the stupor, the calm that has come over the people of God? Brethren and sisters are you getting discouraged? It seems to me some are. O, awake and arouse to action; eternal life is just before the overcomer. Says Jesus, “Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me. To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Are there not promises of the most encouraging nature here for you, who believe the promises of God? Arise therefore and be doing, and the Lord be with thee. “Be ye strong therefore and let not your hands be weak; for your work shall be rewarded.” But some have never half heeded this counsel. Like one partially awakened from his sleep, they were in a measure aroused by its stirring notes of warning; but soon their slumbers seized them again! Such are yet “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked.” And what greatly augments their deplorable situation is, they know it not. Reader, are you of this class? do you not fear lest you will yet be spued out of the mouth of the faithful and true Witness? O, awake and arise, and stand at your post. Now while standing upon the last crumbling sands of time, is the period when you must secure the crown of life. By your means, your prayers and testimonies, you can help spread the light and the truth. But in a little while it will be too late. The famine will be upon the sinner and ungodly. The last opportunity for presenting and urging the claims of truth upon the unconverted will have passed, forever passed. “Behold the days come, saith the Lord that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the North even to the East, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it.” Amos viii, 11, 12. Men care but little about the word of the Lord now; it must be urged upon them, or they will not have eternal life. Upon the remnant rests the responsibility of bearing the last solemn message of mercy to perishing souls. And how can we expect that others will feel the importance of this work if we do not ourselves? And how can we feel its importance if we reject the very message given in mercy to prepare us for the coming struggle, and for final victory? O may the Lord help us to open the door of our heart and give the Saviour a place there. Round Grove, Ills., Aug. 28th, 1857.