Preparing for the Lord’s Coming
By A. M. Rathbun
Bro. Smith: I feel to thank the Lord for the light of the present truth, and I want to see it rise higher and higher until the Third warning Message is sounded through the whole land, and all are made to tremble under its warning voice. When I look around and see the people rushing on almost to madness, to obtain the riches and honor of this world, dreaming not of what is so soon to befall them, I feel to mourn, and to cry, Lord, have mercy upon them, and bring them to see and realize their condition; but while I am thinking of others, I am often led to ask myself, am I prepared for the coming of the Lord? If he should come to-day in the clouds of heaven, could I look up and say, Lo, this is my God, I have waited for him? I want to know daily and hourly that my ways please God. I believe that we must live so if we are ever the heirs of the kingdom. My daily prayer is that I may be entirely consecrated to God, that my treasure may be in heaven, that I may truly be a pilgrim and stranger on the earth, looking for the blessed city whose builder and maker is God. Yours in hope of eternal life.
A. M. Rathbun.
Markesan, Wis., June 14th, 1858.