THE SWEETS OF SUBMISSION.
By R. F. Cottrell
ThE duty of submitting one to another in the fear of God, and especially of the younger submitting to the elder, is clearly taught in the word of God. 1 Pet. v, 5; Rom. xii, 10; Eph. v, 21; Phil. ii, 3; Heb. xiii, 17. And no one can fully taste of the joys of the truly converted, till they have learned this lesson. This is especially the case at the present time. The Lord is sending forth a message, foretold in the prophetic word, to gather his people—his scattered and bewildered people—into one; that they may be disciplined and prepared for the last great struggle with the powers of darkness, and for translation into the kingdom of God without death. They have had a vast variety of teaching, and have been subject to various surrounding influences. Almost every one has some unscriptural notion, which is considered by the individual as sacred truth, and has been so long considered so, that it is almost out of the power of argument to remove it from the mind. Hence the necessity of the gifts of the Spirit in the church, to correct these erring ones, to cause them to lay aside their selfish preferences and groundless notions, and come into the truth. When a person is fully converted into this message, he receives the gift of prophecy that has accompanied the message from its very rise. He submits himself to be led out of his errors into the truth. He lays down his erroneous notions at the Lord's bidding, and when they cease to be a part of himself, and are so far separated from him that he can view them in the light of scripture and reason, he sees they are not what he thought them, and he has no desire to receive them back. When he views their deformities, he is glad they are gone from him forever. My brother, my sister, young in the truth, if you have not yet learned this lesson of submission, learn it without delay. You do not know the sweet peace and joy it will yield. When once learned, you never will repent it; but if it is not learned, you will not be prepared for a place in the kingdom of God. The Lord has turned your feet into his testimonies through the instrumentality of the preaching of the third message. That message has been sustained and aided and brought to you through the instrumentality of the gift of prophecy; and you are indebted to God, and these his chosen instrumentalities for the light on the commandments which you now enjoy. Do not fear then to venture your all on the message. Do not fear to own the instrumentalities by which you have received so much good. Venture wholly—put all on board, for the vessel is sufficient to carry you safely over. Lay down all the stuff with which you are freighted, and if there is anything worth saving among it, it will not be lost. R. F. Cottrell.