OUR DUTIES by J. Clarke

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 24, 1861

OUR DUTIES

By J. Clarke

As Christians are alike, as regards keeping the heart, watchfulness and prayer, sobriety, temperance, chastity, virtue, holiness, godliness, obedience to all the ten great moral precepts, in their deep spiritual sense upon the heart; and the faith of Jesus is the same in its requirements, in regenerating, reforming the life, and changing the current of the thoughts, and in remodeling, purifying, and settling the character upon the basis of righteousness and truth, upon Jesus, the way, the truth, the life, the chief corner-stone. But in many relative duties our calls are not alike, nor are our gifts alike, nor is any one to complain of his sphere of duty, for God it is who appoints to us our bounds, and more than Sinai's thunders await him who, Korah-like, would overleap the boundaries of his calling. To one is given grace to conduct his business honestly and nobly, and to command his family, and lead them to God and glory, and by every way daily to reflect the image of Jesus. To the youth it is given to obey, to be useful, and diligent; to the aged, resignation and peace; to the young, sobriety; to the teacher, wisdom; to the apostle, zeal, and wisdom, and power: to the prophet, far-seeing penetration; to the pupil, teachableness; and should the layman complain because he did not have all the light and glory granted to the active messenger, it would be because his pride had mastered his common sense. We are promised grace for our day (circumstances), and strength for our needs, and we must expect this, and all superfluous strength or grace God will not grant for waste, to satisfy curiosity. Just what we need, and no more. God will not give so precious gifts to be abused as mankind abuse his common bounties. Lord, help us to attain to humble devotion and wise zeal, that we may all walk with even step in the way of relative, as well as positive, duty.

J. CLARKE.