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Signs of the Times, Vol. 3, No. 39.

THE MISSION OF JOHN

Signs of the Times

Oct 11, 1877

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Oct 11, 1877

THE MISSION OF JOHN.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
The Jews were in a deplorable condition about the time of the birth of John the Baptist. They were under the Roman rule, but, in order to prevent insurrection, they were permitted to have a separate government, which only, however, was virtually a government in name. The Jews bitterly realized that their power and liberty were restricted, and that they were in bondage to a heathen nation. The Romans claimed the right to appoint men to the priesthood, and to remove them from it if they willed to do so. This opened a door to the corruption of the priesthood. Men of corrupt morals, through money and influence, frequently obtained the favor of those in power, and succeeded in attaining to the priesthood. The priests, not being divinely appointed, abused their sacred office, and were unfaithful in their ministrations. The whole country felt their oppression, and was ripe for revolt and dissension.
The pious Jews believed that God would not leave his people in this condition, to be a reproach to the heathen; they earnestly prayed for the coming of Messiah, and trusted that event was near at hand. God had, in time past, raised them up a deliverer when in their distress they had called upon him. They thought, from the predictions of the prophets, that the time appointed, by God for the coming of Messiah had arrived; and they trusted they should soon have, through him, a clear revelation of the divine will; and that their doctrines would be freed from the traditions and needless ceremonies which had confused their faith. The pious, aged Jews waited day and night for the coming Messiah, praying that they might see the Saviour before they died. They longed to see the cloud of ignorance and bigotry dispelled from the minds of the people.
“Zacharias and Elizabeth were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” They were far advanced in years. Zacharias ministered in the holy office of the priesthood. “And it came to pass that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.”
When Zacharias saw the angel of God, he was surprised and troubled. This conscientious, God-fearing man questioned whether he had not himself offended God, and this divine messenger had come to reprove, or in judgment, to condemn him. But the heavenly messenger cheered him with these words:—
“Fear not Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
The angel Gabriel, in these words, enjoined upon Zacharias that the son which should be given him must be reared with strictly temperate habits. This was to insure him physical, mental and moral health; that he might be qualified for the important mission of making a people ready for the Lord. A great work was before the unborn prophet; and, in order for him to have a sound physical constitution, and strong mental and moral power, it was necessary that he should be able to control appetite and passion. He was to lead out as a reformer, and by his abstemious life, and plain dress, was to rebuke the intemperate habits, and sinful extravagance of the people. Their indulgence in luxurious food and wine was sapping their strength, and dulling their moral perceptions, so that sin was not abhorrent to them.
John was to preach reform to the children of Israel, and turn them to the Lord. He had the promise that God would work with him. He was “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Zacharias was as much astonished at the words of the angel as he was at his appearance. He had so humble an opinion of himself that he thought it could not be possible that he was thus to be honored of the Lord. He inquired, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. Zacharias for a moment, forgot the unlimited power of God, that nothing was impossible with him. He did not call to mind the case of Abraham and Sarah, and the fulfilment of the promise of God to them.
Zacharias received a confirmation of the angel’s message: “Behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words which shall be fulfilled in their season.” He was soon made to realize the verity of the divine mission; for the angel had no sooner departed than he was struck dumb.
The particular office of Zacharias was to pray in behalf of the people, for pardon of public and national sins, and to earnestly pray for the coming of the long-expected Saviour whom they believed was to redeem his people. When Zacharias attempted to pray, after the angel had left him, he could not utter a word. The people waited long for the appearance of Zacharias, to learn whether God had given them any visible token of his approbation. They began to fear from his long tarry that God had manifested his displeasure.
When Zacharias came out of the temple, his countenance was shining with the light which the heavenly angel had reflected upon him; but he could not speak to the people. He made signs to them that an angel had appeared to him in the temple, and because of his unbelief he was deprived of the power of speech, until the prediction of the angel should be fulfilled.
Soon after the birth of John, “the tongue of Zacharias was loosed, and he spake and praised God. And fear came on all that dwelt round about them; and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all that heard them, laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be? And the hand of the Lord was with him; and his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel.”
In due time he separated himself from his friends and kindred, and made his home in the wilderness. He denied himself the ordinary comforts of life. His food was simple. His clothing was a garment made of hair-cloth, confined about the waist with a leather girdle. The parents of the prophet John, in a most solemn manner dedicated him to God from his birth.
The life of John, although passed in the wilderness, was not inactive. His separation from society did not make him gloomy and morose, neither was he unreconciled with his lonely life of hardship and privation. It was his choice to deny himself of society, and the so-called luxuries of life. He did not wish to risk the influence of the temptations he would have to meet in society. Pride, envy, jealousy, and corrupt passions seemed to control the hearts and actions of men. John feared that by mingling socially with the people, his character might be molded after the prevailing customs of the Jews; and the sight of his eyes, and the hearing of his ears might pervert his mind so that he would lose that keen sense of the sinfulness of sin, which was ever present with him.
He, however, occasionally left his quiet retreat in the wilderness, and mingled among men. He studied the peculiarities of various minds, that he might learn how to adapt his instruction to the people. He developed wonderful discrimination in reading the characters and thoughts of men. In the wilderness John could more readily deny himself, bring his appetite under control, dress in a natural and simple manner, and devote his time to meditation and prayer. There the book of nature was open before him, with its inexhaustible store of varied instruction, and there was little to distract his attention from God, and the work which he had set himself to do.
His was a high and mighty mission; and it was necessary, for its perfect accomplishment, that he should form a character unbiased by the usual surroundings of men; that his physical, mental, and moral conditions should be of that noble type that would enable him with firmness and integrity to enlighten men, to give a new direction to their thoughts, and to awaken in them the desire to form righteous characters, and to approach the standard of divine perfection. In his communion with nature and with God, the Holy Spirit rested upon him, and kindled in his heart a glowing zeal to do the great work of calling the people to repentance. The privations and hardships of his secluded life fitted him to so control all his powers that he could stand among the people as unmoved mentally by surrounding circumstances as the rocks and mountains of the wilderness that had surrounded him for thirty years.
When the prophet’s work commenced, the state of public affairs was unsettled. Discord and insurrection were prevailing, when the voice of John was first lifted up, like the sound of a trumpet pealing forth from the wilderness, thrilling the hearts of all who heard with a new and strange power. He fearlessly denounced the sins of the people, saying, “Repent ye; for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Multitudes answered the voice of warning, and flocked to the wilderness. They saw in the singular dress and appearance of this prophet, a resemblance to the description of the ancient seers, and the opinion prevailed that he was one of the prophets risen from the dead.
It was the purpose of John to startle and arouse the people, and cause them to tremble because of their great wickedness. In simplicity and plainness he pointed out the errors and crimes of men. A power attended his words, and, reluctant as the people were to hear the denunciation of their unholy lives, they could not resist his words. He flattered none; neither would he receive flattery of any one. His discernment of character, and spiritual sight read the purposes and hearts of those who came to him, and he fearlessly declared to both rich and poor, the honorable and lowly, that, although they might claim to be righteous, without repentance of their sins, and a thorough conversion, they could not enjoy the favor of God, and have part in the kingdom of the Messiah, whose coming he announced.
The people, as if by common consent, came to him repenting, and confessing their sins, and were baptized of him in Jordan. Kings and rulers came to the wilderness to hear the prophet, and were interested, and deeply convicted as he fearlessly pointed out their particular sins. Multitudes of all rank, high and low, rich and poor, submitted to the requirements of the prophet, as necessary in order for them to participate in the kingdom he came to declare. But many, who were convicted because of the plain truths uttered by this faithful prophet, though rejecting the light, became enshrouded in deeper darkness than that which had previously enveloped them, so that they were fully prepared to turn from the evidences attending Jesus, when he should declare himself the true Messiah.
In the spirit and with the power of Elijah, John denounced the corruptions of the Jews, and raised his voice in reproving their prevailing sins. His discourses were plain, pointed, and convincing; and brought many to repent and to be baptized. This was the preparatory work for the ministry of Christ. As John looked forward to that ministry, he appealed to the people, “saying, Repent ye; for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

Onward and Upward.

ONWARD—ever 'mid the strife, Nobly act thy part in life; Upward—Onward—ever right, Be thou foremost in the fight; Do not languish with despair, Bravely do and boldly dare; The strong in heart shall never fail Thou wilt o'er life's ills prevail.
Fear not though the waves be dark That shall gather round thy bark; Steadfast as the ocean-rock, Stem the tide, receive the shock; Strength will conquer, never fear, Let no doubts disturb thee here; Onward be thy great desire, Soaring upward—higher—higher.
As the eagle upward flies Where the sun in gladness lies, Far above the clouds of day That have dimmed the earthly ray, So mayest thou, with purpose true, And a worthy end in view, Rise above the shades of earth That would check all lofty birth.
Onward, then! Though dark and drear Be the sky above thee here; Thou shalt reach the goal at last, Every toil and danger past; Pause not, then, to mourn or weep, Onward up the rugged steep; Every step will bear thee nigher, Every day still upward higher.
Onward, then, and upward stray, Minding not the thorny way, Heeding not the wayside snares, Pausing not at worldly cares; Gaining courage day by day, Walking in the better way; With a purpose firm and true, Thou shalt gain the end in view.

No Gift in Prayer.

Professors of religion excuse themselves from taking part in the prayer-meeting, because, as they say, they have no gift in prayer. It would seem, from such confession, that if they really felt that they were gifted, so that they might be proud of their prayers, they would pray to be heard of men. The Pharisee, in the parable, was gifted in prayer; but the publican prayed. Should a man see himself in danger of sudden death, he would not be very apt to neglect to call aloud for help because he was not particularly gifted in making his wants known. His voice might be far from musical, and his expressions rude and broken, but the sense of danger and the strong desire for help would cause these things to be utterly forgotten.
The publican felt his pressing need. And when these persons that have no gift in prayer feel theirs, and see themselves in their true light, instead of excusing themselves because they have no gift, they also will cry, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” And being justified by grace, and cherishing a feeling sense of God’s great goodness and their own unworthiness, they could cheerfully pay their vows to the Most High in the presence of all his people; and say, in the language of the Psalmist, “Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.”
Let a person see his lost condition, and he can pray. Let him be truly converted and he can pray and praise in the congregation. The want of a gift originates in the pride of an unconverted heart. When self is humbled, and God exalted, we can glorify God in the use of just such gifts as he has given us.

Moral Courage in Defense of Truth.

By Weaver

There is a marked and wide difference between physical and moral courage. Physical courage is bravery in physical danger, as when one places his life in peril for a fellow, or rushes into deadly conflict, inspired by the spirit and example of comrades, and the strains of martial music. It may be fostered by ignorance and want of reflection, and often culminates in blind desperation. Many a man has become a coward by opening his eyes to his perilous situation. Moral courage is the opposite of blind impulse or passion. This is nurtured by intelligence and strengthened by reflection. Moral courage includes, on the one hand, a comprehensive view of obligations, and on the other a determination to be true to the conscientious conviction, at all hazards. Its possessor needs no other incentives to duty than those which his own mind suggests. The intelligent Christian martyr lays down his life for Christ, not because he is urged on by blind impulse, but because he is controlled by a view that looks beyond the present. In a word, he has moral courage, who, under the pressure of any and every dissuasive motive, is loyal to truth.
The necessity of this virtue becomes apparent by a hasty glance at life, as it is seen in politics and religion.
Men in almost every department of life's service are urged to action by motives, whose originating and vitalizing principle is private, partisan or sectarian selfishness; while emolument and preferment, alike in the Church and the State, often come only to him who can sacrifice on this altar. “We admit,” it is sometimes said, “that your principle is right and your views are correct, but yet, things being as they are, society being what it is, these cannot be regarded as inviolable. Though right, if they are not abandoned altogether, they must be at least partially disregarded.” In fine such is the demand, and the supply must correspond to it, even though the demand be the result of a diseased moral or intellectual state, and a compliance with it be not the cure for the disease, but its perpetuation and aggravation. Hence the ever-recurring requisition, not for him who is clear-headed and right-hearted, but for the “available man.” The story of men's being elected not because of personal worth, but in order to conciliate certain sections and secure their votes, has been a thousand times told. Such is the political market, and he who would sell his wares in it must cater to the demand.
It had been well if nothing analogous to this had ever been known in the history of the church, but no small part of Christ's work is the driving out of the buyers and sellers from the sacred temple. This standard brought him into direct conflict with established customers. The whole bent and force of his life, as well as the principles he maintained, were directly opposed to popular expectation and prejudice. He had continually on the one hand to repel the temptation of worldly gain and honor, and on the other, that of reproach and persecution. They sought to influence him by almost every conceivable motive to disregard his all-pervasive convictions of truth, and pledge himself to pander their national vanity. They said: “Take this course and we are with you, take its opposite and we are against you; do the one and we will crown you, do the other and we will crucify you.” But the tempter came to find nothing in him whereby he might overthrow him. No price could be offered for which Christ would barter away his convictions or lower his standard.
The work so nobly begun, he has committed to all his people, but in an especial sense to his ministers. A soldier, who had borne through many a hard-fought battle, the ensign of his country, as he was falling in death, while scaling the enemy's breast-work, raised it aloft, crying “take it boys, it has not touched the ground!” The standard which Christ bore, he has intrusted to the hands of those, whether laity or clergy, who, in his stead, beseech men to be reconciled to God.
The church or minister that to-day lifts up the Bible standard for the people, needs to be armed with the moral courage of the Master. If the people among whom this standard is to be raised had all accepted it and were in full fellowship with the principles which it represents, it were an easy task to drift in the popular current. But it is quite another thing when this standard is to be elevated, not only among those who already have one of their own, but whose standard is as much lower than it, as that of which man is the author is lower than that of which God is the author. But the truths of the gospel are in hopeless antagonism to the prevailing motives of men. Christianity seeks not simply to put an end to overt acts of sin, but to destroy its seat in the heart, aiming a deadly blow at pride, self-righteousness and selfishness in every form. It teaches men their helplessness, as well as their guilt; that they are equally unable to escape from their bondage, and to implant within themselves that principle, without which they are as sure of destruction as a falling body is to follow the law of gravitation.
But Christianity does not simply reach forth a hand to rescue men from ruin, it points them to a noble life of toil and self-sacrifice. It requires an unceasing conflict with self-seeking, and the making of its interests first, and all-controlling.
Now, when the different classes of persons to whom these truths are addressed are remembered, the necessity for moral courage in him who proclaims and defends the truth becomes apparent. Though they might despise him who should preach “any other gospel,” as well as the church that should sustain him in his unfaithfulness, they yet have little sympathy for the true gospel, and for him who is faithful to the immortal interests committed to his hands. If he presents these two alternatives, Christ and salvation, neglect of him and destruction, he may be charged with being uncharitable and narrow. To avoid this charge comes the temptation to muffle the keen edge of truth, and to prophesy the smooth things that lull to security. If there be persons of culture and fastidious taste in literature, but of strong and manifest opposition to the distinctive teachings of Christianity in the assemblage, he encounters a peril before which no mean courage can stand with composure and fidelity.
It requires also no small degree of moral courage to enforce the full claims of religion upon some of its professed adherents. Nothing but this can give nerve to hold steadily in the faces of delinquents their neglected duties; to place before them a mirror in which they shall see their guilt, and the consequences of their unfaithfulness. This can be done once with comparatively little courage, but the severe test comes when, after having been reminded of obligations a hundred times, it is necessary to remind of them the hundred and first.
Moral courage is further demanded to secure strict adherence to the Scripture methods of Christian life and labor. The New Testament method of building up the kingdom of Christ is not simply through the devoted life of church officials, but through the consecration of the church as a body. It was not when the priests, but when the people had a mind to work, that the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. It was when the entire community of believers was with one accord in one place, that the three thousand were added to the faithful.
The Scriptural method, moreover, requires that the Christian life should be perpetual in its movement; that he who has been created anew should grow up into a stature required by the laws of his new nature. These two fundamental principles at the present day are to a great extent disregarded. An attempt is made to shift responsibility from the church, as a body, to its ministers. The implication is that it is only through public functionaries that the gospel becomes the power of God unto salvation.
A growing disposition everywhere shows itself to make the Christian life periodical rather than perpetual. Individuals and churches attempt through high pressure to do up the religion of a year, or a lifetime, in a few weeks. This popular tendency to shift responsibility, and to make the religious life one of periodic excitement and inactivity, every Christian minister and church is to-day compelled to oppose or encourage. They must determine whether they will contribute to the multiplication of churches that are ever oscillating between the extremes of fever heat and ague chills, or help to arrest this blighting evil, and secure a growth whose accretions shall be as constant as the return of the seasons, a spiritual life which shall be as unfailing as is its course.
But he who has unfailing moral courage in the defense and enforcement of truth, is animated by love for it. Truth must have so captivated him that whenever she summons him to her defense and service, he answers spontaneously to the call. He does not stay to think of contingencies, but goes straight to his duty with all the force of his being. He does this not only when it is obvious that loyalty to truth is expedient, but when it is not thus obvious, for “the part of a lover of truth is to follow her at all hazards, after the example of him who came into the world that he might bear witness unto the truth.” Constraining love for truth involves harmony between it and the moral nature. He in whose heart truth meets no response, is entirely opposed to her interests, while the boldness of him who defends her is always in proportion to the ruling power or passion of his soul. Hence the harmony between Christ's moral nature and the truth being perfect, his adherence to truth was also perfect.
But moral courage that is equal to every emergency comes only through such strong faith in God that it cannot be shaken. Faith is to moral courage what the root is to the tree. As the tree cannot live except as it draws its life through the root from the ground, so moral courage cannot exist except as it draws its life through faith from God. When Peter began to doubt, he began to sink, and when his faith failed him he denied his Lord, while Paul declares that his courageous life was one of faith upon the Son of God.—Weaver.

Time of the Meeting at Troas.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

“AND upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.” Acts 20:7, 8.
This meeting was held upon the first day of the week. Of this there can be no doubt; for it is positively so stated. It was also held in the dark part of that day, in the night. There were many lights there; Paul preached till midnight; then Eutychus fell out of the window, and Paul went down and healed him. Verses 9, 10. “When he [Paul] therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. . . . And we went before to ship, and sailed into Assos, there intending to take in Paul; for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot.” Verses 11–13. It was an all-night meeting, and in the morning Paul went on foot alone to Assos.
But on what night was this held? Saturday night, or Sunday night? Sunday advocates generally assume that it was on Sunday night and that Paul went on his journey Monday morning. But a little consideration will show that this could not be the case. The Bible time of beginning the day was not the same as our Roman or heathen time, which we all use now. In the Bible the day begins and ends at sunset. Thus in Gen. 1, we read, “The evening and the morning were the first day.” “The evening and the morning were the second day,” &c. The day began with the evening. The beginning of the first day must regulate the beginning of all following days. To Israel, God said, “From even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.” Lev. 23:32. The even is at the going down of the sun. Deut. 16:6. In the New Testament the day was reckoned in the same manner, as may be seen by Mark 1:21–32. Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath, and healed the sick. The Pharisees thought it wrong to be healed on the Sabbath, but “at even when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils,” and he healed them. Why did they wait till the sun was set? Because the Sabbath was passed. The Jews reckon time so to this day, as everybody knows.
Hence, in the New Testament, as well as in the Old, the first day of the week begins at sunset Saturday evening and ends at sunset Sunday evening. Now this meeting at Troas was in the night part of the first day of the week; therefore it was on what we now call Saturday night. If it had been on Sunday night, it would not have been on the first day of the week, but the second. That this is so is acknowledged by some of the best authors as the time. I have before me “The Life, Times, and Travels, of St. Paul,” by Conybeare and Howson. It is highly recommended by Bishop Simpson of the M. E. church and by others. Of this meeting at Troas they say, “The labors of the early days of the week that were spent at Troas are not related to us, but concerning the last day we have a narrative which enters into details with all the minuteness of one of the gospel histories. It was the evening which succeeded the Jewish Sabbath. On the Sunday morning the vessel was about to sail.” Of Paul’s journey that day to Assos they say, “He pursued his lonely road that Sunday afternoon in spring among the oak woods and streams of Ida.” Vol. 2. pp. 206, 209. This is a very candid admission. It shows absolutely that neither Paul nor the early Christians did regard Sunday as a holy day. Twenty miles the apostle traveled on foot that Sunday to meet the vessel at Assos. He did not go there to hold a meeting, but simply to reach the vessel which he immediately entered.
At the same time the apostle was making this long journey on foot, the other disciples were getting the vessel around the cape to meet him at Assos. Indeed, they started with the vessel while he was yet preaching at Troas; so that none of them regarded Sunday in the least.
D. M. CANRIGHT.

Not in Darkness.

By R. F. Cottrell

“YE, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief,” Yet professors of faith in Christ seem determined to be in darkness. They intend to be prepared for death. They think that will answer every purpose, even if the day of Christ should come upon them as a thief. So they close their eyes to the evidences that the advent is near, even at the doors. They seem to have made a covenant with death to take them to Heaven, and are at agreement with the grave, therefore the coming of the Life giver does not seem desirable to them. See Isa. 28 : 14–22.
That the people may not be in darkness concerning the approach of the day of Christ, the Lord has prepared a threefold warning to precede it. The three angels of Rev. 14 : 6–12 symbolize the three solemn warnings that are to be loudly proclaimed in the world immediately preceding the coming of the Son of Man. Christ will not come till these warnings have been given and heeded by all his saints who shall be living at the close of the third and last. These may all be given, and yet the unbelieving not recognize them, and consequently not know of the approach of the day of Christ, any more than the antediluvians knew of the approach of the flood. Notwithstanding the preaching of Noah and the building of the ark, they “knew not till the flood came and took them all away.” And so the Saviour says it will be with men in the day of his second coming. But can these thrilling warnings be given, and yet real Christians, true believers in the word of God, be ignorant of the fact that the day of Christ is at hand, and they not be expecting it when it comes? It is impossible. What absurdity to suppose that the last great conflict between light and darkness, truth and error, should take place as marked out beforehand in prophecy, and yet the true soldiers of the cross not be aware of it, and their great Captain come unexpectedly to crown them victors!
No! This will not be. On the contrary, those that have gotten the victory in this last great struggle will exclaim when Christ shall appear, “Lo! this is our God; we have WAITED FOR HIM, and he will save us.” Isa. 25 : 9.  R. F. COTTRELL.

Conscience.

Let us remember that whatever unfits us for religious duties, cools the fervor of our devotions, or indisposes us to read our Bible or to pray; whatever we could not engage in with a perfectly clear conscience; wherever the thought of a suffering Saviour or a holy God, of the hour of death or of the day of judgment, falls like a cold shadow on our enjoyment; the pleasures which we cannot thank God for, and on which we cannot ask his blessing, these are not for us.
Let us never go where we cannot ask God to go with us. Let us never be found where we cannot act as Christ would have us. Let us pass each day as pilgrims consciously on the way to our heavenly inheritance. Let us press after closer communion with Jesus. Let the love of God reign in our hearts; and thus shall we be kept from a thousand snares, and become possessed of a peace and joy to which the worldling is a stranger.

Bread of Adversity

THOUGH God's humble children may both breakfast and dine on bread of adversity and water of affliction, they will be sure to sup sweetly and plentifully. And the believing expectation of the latter might serve to qualify the former, and make them easy under it.

Resting in God.

As the tremulous needle, however easily affected by foreign influences, never ceases to vibrate till it finds its rest in the center of attraction; so, the sensitive soul of the Christian, too easily disturbed by external forces, finds no rest but in God. If, for a moment, the enemy is permitted to harass with accusations of guilt, in Him it finds pardon and peace. In weakness it turns to Him for strength; in darkness, for light; in trials, for support; in difficulties, for direction. Under all circumstances, it never fails to find in God an all-sufficient and sustaining portion.
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