Signs of the Times, Vol. 22, No. 27. (7/9/1896)

Signs of the Times

Jul 9, 1896

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 9, 1896

Contrition

Contrition.—While the noun “contrition” is not found in the Bible, the adjective “contrite” is. It expresses a condition of mind and heart acceptable to God. The word is found in the following passages:—

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Ps. 51:17.

“For all these things [heaven and earth] hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord; but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” Isa. 66:2.

“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” Ps. 34:18.

“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isa. 57:15.

What It Means.—The meaning of the word may be seen in the above texts. It means more than a sense of poverty of soul, more than meekness, more than humility, or a low opinion of one’s self, more than mere repentance or sorrow for past sins. It means all these and more. It means that the repentant soul has seen its sins and God’s love, and has fallen, all broken and helpless, on the Lord Jesus Christ. Contrite means more than broken; it comes from the Latin contritio, meaning to crush, to rub together, to reduce to fine particles. Triturate, to reduce to a powder, comes from the same word. The fire of God’s word permeates every atom of the stony heart, and the hammer of the word breaks it in pieces. (See Jer. 23:29.)

The All-sufficient Word.—This meaning indicates the most thorough repentance, a repentance which permits the word of God—the candle of the Lord—to enlighten every chamber of the heart, unlock its darkest closets, and flood with light the intents and motives which the soul hardly dare reveal to itself. The office of the word is thus set forth in Heb. 4:12: “For the word of God is quick [living], and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” It is a sword, laying open; it is a fire, permeating every part; it is a hammer, breaking in pieces; it is a light, illuminating and revealing; it is a touchstone, discerning between the base and the genuine; it is a mountain quarry, furnishing the living rock for the building up of character; it is a food, affording the nourishment whereby we grow up into full-grown men and women in Christ. It is, received in the Spirit, God’s all-sufficient agency.

Repentance and Repentance.—The kind of repentance wrought in the soul by thus receiving God’s word as it is in Jesus is thus set forth by the apostle Paul: “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this self-same thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be free in this matter.” 2 Cor. 7:10, 11. It is the sorrow of the world with many that is made the spurious basis of a reform in Christian life. The sorrow, the remorse, the regret, are because the sins have been found out, because reputation is lost, not because character is marred, because of the effects which have followed the sin, rather than because of the sin itself. Such is not the repentance of contrition. It is the repentance which wishes to hide the sin rather than bring it to the light that it may be banished forever. It is a repentance of fear because of consequences to us, rather than of sorrow because we have transgressed the laws of a God so kind, so loving, so boundless in goodness. The prayer of him who has the sorrow of the world, even tho he may never confess it, is, “Let not the Lord speak to us any more;” “cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.” The prayer of the contrite soul is, “I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.”

How Wrought.—And yet such genuine contrition is not wrought in us by turning our mind in upon ourselves. In ourselves we are blind and our heart is dark, and blindness searching in darkness is uncertain, dreary, despairing work, and leaves us worse than when we began. We learn ourselves by learning more of God. We see our nothingness by beholding his greatness, our sins by beholding his purity, our badness by beholding his goodness; and, seeing all these, knowing that he has given all in Christ for our sakes, the soul breaks in contrition before God. Sin is seen in all its abhorrence as we see the divine Sufferer on Calvary. The law shines out in all its purity as we behold it at the foot of the cross. We see our own undone condition as it never can otherwise be seen while we behold the perfect work wrought by Jesus Christ our Lord. It was not while looking at self, but at God’s glory, that Isaiah saw his lost condition, and tasted the healing, life-giving power. (See Isa. 6:1-8.) It was not while searching self, but beholding Christ’s glory, that Daniel, “greatly beloved” of God, saw the “corruption” of his “comeliness.” (See Dan. 10:5-8.)

The Fruitage of Contrition.—This is set forth in the texts first quoted. Poor and sinful and unclean as our broken, crushed heart may seem under the divine light, God does “not despise it.” Creator of heaven and earth tho he be, he looks with tender regard upon him that is of a poor and contrite spirit, that trembles at his word. He not only will not despise, he not only will tenderly regard, but he will save, the broken of heart and the contrite of spirit. Nay, more than this: the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, the Holy One who dwells in the high and holy place, comes down to dwell in the heart of the humble and contrite, not to condemn, not to taunt, not to discourage, but to heal, to bind up, to revive (cause to live again), to make it his eternal dwelling-place.

O soul, do not be afraid of God! Read his word, behold his character, let the pure, white light of his truth search and cleanse your heart, and abide with him.

WHO ARE ISRAELITES?

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

The ninth, tenth, and eleventh chapters of Romans are devoted especially to the answer of this question, so that only a portion of it can be dealt with in this article. The matter has, however, been so clearly indicated in the studies of the second, third, and fourth chapters, that we may pass over this ground more rapidly than we otherwise should. This does not mean that the chapters themselves should be dismissed with slight study, for there is no part of the Bible that has more to yield to the patient student; but our work of leading the student to it may be the more quickly done, in consequence of what has already been done.

At first sight it would seem that the subject of the epistle is entirely changed. A more general view will show us that the apostle here carried out the original subject, showing who are heirs of God’s promise, and how only it is to be obtained.

Paul’s Love for His Brethren.

“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. Not as tho the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel; neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children; but, in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac (for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth); it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.” Rom. 9:1–18.

This is a long portion of Scripture for study, but if it is diligently questioned, to see exactly what it says, it will not be found so difficult as it is usually thought. We can put only a few of the many that might and should be asked.

Questions on the Text

What burden does the apostle say that he carried continually?

“I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.”

For whom did he have this sorrow?

“For my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.”

How great was his love and sympathy for them?

“I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren.”

Who were these brethren?

“Israelites.”

What privileges did they have?

“The adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises,” and “the fathers.”

What other great honor was theirs?

“Of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came.”

If their condition was so bad, notwithstanding all the promises, how could the integrity of God’s word be shown?

“For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel.”

Who only of Abraham’s descendants are the seed?

“In Isaac shall thy seed be called.”

What is said of the children of the flesh?

“These are not the children of God.”

Who are the seed?

“The children of the promise are counted for the seed.”

What shows that the children are “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”?

“When Rebecca also had conceived, . . . the children being not yet born, . . . it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.”

How did the verdict in after years agree with this?

“Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”

Is there then unrighteousness with God?

“God forbid.” Not by any means. He “without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work.” 1 Peter 1:17.

On what then does every man’s salvation depend?

“It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.”

For what purpose did God say to Pharaoh that he had raised him up?

“That I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.”

What is the conclusion?

“Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.”

Both Jews and Greeks.—Altho Paul was “the apostle of the gentiles,” he did not forget his “kinsmen according to the flesh.” Wherever he went he sought out the Jews first, and preached to them. To the elders of Ephesus he said, “I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 20:20, 21. Paul’s solicitude for men of all classes, even for those who were personally strangers to him, shows, more than anything else, his likeness to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Israel’s Advantage.—“What advantage then hath the Jew?”—“Much every way; chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.” Rom. 3:1, 2. So here we read a wondrous list of things that pertain to Israel: the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises. A terrible thing it is indeed to prove unfaithful amid such inestimable privileges.

“Salvation is of the Jews.”—Thus said Jesus to the woman of Samaria at the well. John 4:22. “Of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came.” The Bible was written by Jews, and a young Jewess was the mother of our Lord. As man, Christ was a Jew, of the tribe of Judah. When we read that “we are saved by his life,” we know that it is by his life as a Jew. There is no divine gift and blessing for man that was not “to the Jew first,” and for the knowledge of which we are not indebted to the Jews.

Nothing from the Gentiles.—The apostle Paul says of the “gentiles in the flesh,” that they are “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” Eph. 2:11, 12. The covenants, the promises, even Christ himself,—all belong to the Jews, and not to the gentiles. Therefore whoever is saved must be saved as a Jew. “God at the first did visit the gentiles to take out of them a people for his name.” Acts 15:14.

Accursed from Christ.—It makes no difference whether we use the word “accursed,” or “anathema,” as in the Revision, or “separated,” as in the margin. All mean the same thing, and express the most deplorable condition. To be without Christ is to be without hope and without God in the world. Eph. 2:12.

It was in that condition that Paul would have been willing to be placed for his brethren according to the flesh, if it would have done them any good. What does that show?

Simply this, that Israel according to the flesh was, and is, in just that condition,—accursed from Christ, “having no hope, and without God in the world.” But since all the promises of God are in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20), those who are separate from Christ have no part in the promises; and therefore we learn anew the fact that Israel after the flesh, as a nation of earth, have not and never had any claim upon God above other nations; that God never made any special promises to Israel after the flesh, more than to any other people.

In the wish that Paul expressed, he showed how completely he was given up to the Lord, and how much he shared in his Spirit. Christ gave himself for men, consenting even to be separated from God, in order that he might reach and save the lost. There is none other name under heaven whereby men

can be saved, and consequently Paul’s being accursed would not have saved his brethren, as he very well knew. But he simply showed how desperate was the case of the Jews, and how great was his solicitude. While no human sacrifice can avail, men are privileged to share Christ’s sufferings for others. Paul says of himself, “who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church.” Col. 1:24.

Circumcision Made Uncircumcision.—We have before read the words, “If thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.” Rom. 2:25. This language was addressed to the Jews, who in the same connection were charged with breaking the law. Rom. 2:17–24. In the thirty-first verse of this present chapter we also are told that Israel did not attain to the law of righteousness. And the reason is that they did not accept Christ, through whom alone the righteousness of the law can be obtained. So again we find that Israel, Paul’s “kinsmen after the flesh,” were not Israelites at all, but gentiles, separate from Christ, “having no hope, and without God in the world.”

No Failure in the Promise.—This is a sad state of things. All the promises belong to Israel, and there is nothing from God for any other nation, and yet the very people known as Israel are accursed from Christ. Nevertheless the word of God has not failed, “for they are not all Israel, which are of Israel.” The unbelief of some can not make the faith of God without effect. Rom. 3:3. If every literal descendant of Jacob were lost, that would not weaken in the least God’s promises to Israel, since the true Israelites are only those who believe the promises.

The Seed of Abraham.—“In Isaac shall thy seed be called.” Isaac was the child of promise; therefore those who believe the promises of God, are the seed of Abraham. To the Jews who were self-satisfied because of their descent, John the Baptist said, “Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” Matt. 3:9. He could do that as easily as he could make man in the beginning from the dust of the earth.

The Flesh and the Promise.—“They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” This text alone should forever set at rest the speculations about the return of the Jews to old Jerusalem, in order that God’s promises may be fulfilled. Still more should it put an end to the absurd and wicked notion that any nation, as England or America, constitutes Israel, and is heir to the promises of God.

God’s Foreknowledge.—When the children were not yet born, and had done neither good nor evil, it was said of them, “The elder shall serve the younger.” God knows the end from the beginning, and could tell what each one would do. The choice was in accordance with what is said of God, “who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” 2 Tim. 1:9.

“Esau Have I Hated.”—It is written, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” But this was not written until many years after the death of both of them. “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord; yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.” Mal. 1:2, 3. Of his descendants it is said that they shall be called, “The people against whom the Lord hath indignation forever.” Verse 3. And why? “Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.” Amos 1:11. Jacob, on the other hand, while no better by nature than Esau, believed the promises of God, and was by them made partaker of the divine nature, and thus an heir of God and a joint heir of Jesus Christ.

No Unrighteousness with God.—Mark well verses 14–17, for evidence that there is no arbitrariness in God’s choice. It is all of mercy. “He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” So it is all of “God that showeth mercy.” The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord (Ps. 119:64), and “his mercy endureth forever.”

God’s Purpose for Pharaoh.—The case of Pharaoh is cited by the apostle as an illustration of the statement that “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.” “For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.”

It is immaterial whether this refers to the bringing of Pharaoh to the throne, or to the preserving of him up to that time. One thing is certain, it does not teach us, as is commonly supposed, that God brought Pharaoh to the throne for the purpose of wreaking his vengeance upon him. It is astonishing that any professed Christian could ever have dishonored God by such a charge against him.

THE purpose of God in raising Pharaoh up, or causing him to stand, was that he might show to him and in him his power, and that his name might be declared throughout all the earth. This purpose was accomplished in the destruction of Pharaoh because of his stubborn resistance. But it would have been accomplished just as well, and much better for Pharaoh, if he had listened to the word of God. Pharaoh saw God’s power, but would not believe. If he had believed, he would have been saved, because the power of God is salvation to every one that believeth.

PHARAOH had an imperious will. His one great characteristic was steadfastness, pertinacity degenerating into stubbornness. But who can estimate the power for good that Pharaoh would have been if his will had been yielded to the Lord? To yield to the Lord would have meant a great sacrifice, as men count sacrifices, but no greater than that which Moses had made. Moses had given up the same throne, to cast in his lot with God’s people. A wonderful and honorable position was offered to Pharaoh, but he knew not the day of his visitation. It involved humiliation, and he rejected it. As a consequence he lost everything; while Moses, who chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, and to share the reproach of Christ, has a name and a place that will endure throughout eternity. The mercies of God rejected turn into curses. “For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them; but the transgressors shall fall therein.” Hos. 14:9. E. J. W.

Answers to Questions

“Enquire, and make search, and ask diligently.”

No. 370. “Prince of the Power of the Air.”

WHAT is the meaning of “the prince of the power of the air”? How does Satan poison the elements of the atmosphere and pervert its laws? F. F.

When Adam was created, he was given dominion over all the earth and all that pertained to it. Gen. 1: 26–28. He was therefore king of the world and prince of the power of the air, ruling according to God’s perfect laws. When Adam yielded to Satan, he yielded all under him, and the dominion, given Adam in trust for God, passed to Satan, who is now “the god of this world,” “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” See Eph. 2: 2; 2 Cor. 4: 4; Luke 4: 6. Every law of God Satan has perverted, and hence the discord, disease, pain, quakes, and all other disturbances of nature, earth’s groaning for the coming and rule of her rightful Lord. Rom. 8: 22.

No. 371. Perfection of Character.

(1) WILL the righteous living at Christ’s coming have attained to the perfect character of God? (2) How do those attain to that character that have died in Christ, with defects yet in their character?

1. Yes; the righteous living are at that time “without fault before the throne of God.” Rev. 14: 5. The righteousness of God through Christ is wrought into every fiber of their character. Their trials—meeting the “all power” of the enemy and “all deceivableness of unrighteousness”—and the all sufficiency of the perfect word of Christ’s grace, by which the trials are met, perfect their characters so that they may stand without a mediator.

2. The defects of those who have died in Christ are covered by the righteousness of Christ.

By the trials they have borne they have shown that they would have borne all trials. By walking in the light which was revealed to them they have shown that they would have walked in all light. Those who are saved will have had perfect purpose of heart to do God’s will; and the perfect consecration of will is completed by the fulness of Christ’s righteousness. See 2 Chron. 16: 9; Matt. 22: 37. Love may not always have been perfected in deed, but it has been in purpose, doing every known commandment, and counting it “not grievous.” 1 John 5: 3. And God accepts the will, the perfect heart, for the deed.

No. 372. A Generation.

How long is a generation?

J. H. COX.

That depends on the time in the earth’s history where the generation is placed. Practically, it means those living on the earth at one time, and has varied all the way from nearly a thousand years before the flood to seventy or less at the present time. The expression is in its very nature indefinite.

No. 373. Questions on Tithing.

ARE we required by the Lord to pay tithes on things that are given us? Should tithes be paid on eggs, garden vegetables, etc.? Or is it paid on the produce we sell and on all the money we get? L. E.

There are sometimes different and various questions concerning the tithe that can not be dogmatically answered; we must each decide them with God, according to the general instruction of his word. In Lev. 27: 30–33 we have the law of the tithe stated. In Mal. 3: 8–12 we are warned in a prophecy of the Christian dispensation, of the curse that will follow the neglect of this duty, and are told of the blessings which God will bestow upon the faithful. We have also our Saviour’s comments in Matt. 23: 23 and Luke 11: 42, in which it is said that the tithe of the mint and rue ought not to be left undone.

If we are given a thing of no value to us, which we can not turn into money, and which we would not have purchased if it had not been given to us, it would be difficult to see why we should pay tithes on it. If worth anything at all, hold it in trust for God.

Farmers many times do not sell certain kinds of produce, because they have so little, or for lack of market. Only one thing among many is turned into money, and they do not get money enough for the one thing to pay tithe on the many and meet other cash payments necessary in other directions, such as rent, interest, taxes, etc. Let us suggest: If we have but ten bushels of potatoes, let us take one bushel of the best, sell it for the most we can get, and give it to the Lord. When we have taken his tithe of the best, lay it before him, and let him be responsible for the price. So with eggs; let the first dozen of good eggs, or the third dozen, or some other, be set apart and sold as the Lord’s, and make him responsible for the cash sale, whatever it is. It is a partnership arrangement, in which the Lord leaves much in our hands, yet is always ready to co-operate if we will let him. Plan all these things with perfect heart, so that the responsibility of cash sales will rest upon the Lord after we have done our part.

The faithful servant of God who is earning wages, tithes what he gets from week to week. If he receives $15 a week, he takes from that $1.50, and uses the balance in other offerings to the Lord, in house rent, in purchasing all that his family have, from green peas to a barrel of flour or a suit of clothing. The difficulty on farms is that but little cash is received and only cash is tithed. We believe that by careful planning for God our farming brethren could do much better, the tithe would be greatly increased, and they would be greatly blessed in every way. We never lose anything by doing duty. Let us tithe everything that is worth tithing if possible; if we want it for our own use, let us be willing to pay a tithe on it equal to what it would be if we should sell it for ourselves alone. In all things let us seek God’s glory, and deal honestly with him.

GREATNESS IN HUMILITY.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

“Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him; and the third day he shall rise again.”

He spoke these words to his disciples as he was taking his last journey toward Jerusalem. Luke speaks of this conversation, and gives it in more detail. He says: “Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on; and they shall scourge him, and put him to death; and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things; and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”

The disciples of Christ could not believe that Christ should be treated with such contempt, that men should scourge him, and put him to death. They expected that he would set up a temporal kingdom, that he would sit upon David’s throne, and reign as a temporal prince in Jerusalem, bringing all nations into subjection to his will. Altho Christ plainly told them what would be his fate, they were not prepared to change their ideas. They were unwilling to believe the disagreeable truths that he opened to them, were unwilling to give up the thought that Christ would be a conqueror. They would not harbor the idea that he would be rejected and treated as a slave by his enemies. Not believing the words of Christ, they did not comprehend the words of the prophets, and thought them out of harmony with the words of Christ. We marvel that they could not comprehend these things; for as we stand this side of the cross, we see clearly how the predictions of prophets were fulfilled to the letter. Because they did not believe the words that Christ spoke to them (and he always spoke truth and never deceived them), they were unprepared for the trying scenes through which they were called to pass.

Jesus plainly revealed to them the fact that he was to be rejected and crucified, and yet, clinging to their idea of a temporal kingdom, the mother of Zebedee’s children, with her sons, came to him, “worshiping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left, in thy kingdom.” Had they comprehended the statement which Christ had made to them concerning his death, their hearts would have been too deeply moved to make such a request. “But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. Then he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.”

They were to be partakers with Christ in his sufferings. All who follow Christ will deny self, will share in his humiliation, will suffer affliction and persecution, and be hated of all men for his name’s sake. James was killed with a sword by Herod, and John’s life would have been extinguished if God had not kept his light burning to be a faithful witness of his personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. But if the words of Christ had been rightly comprehended, they would have understood what he meant when he said that to sit on his right hand and on his left was not his to give, but would be given to those for whom it is prepared by his Father. Those who would be thus distinguished in the kingdom of God, would be prepared for these places by manifesting the love of Christ, by giving to the world in their own character a representation of his character. “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away, even that which he hath.” He that employs his God-given abilities in improving the opportunities sent to him, will have light proportionate to his faithfulness, and because he hath, he shall have more abundantly. But if the capabilities that God has intrusted to men are not used, their abilities will diminish, and because they are slothful servants, and do not make an application of their talents to the service of God, they will become less and less qualified to do his work. Their light will diminish, and they will cultivate the powers by which they scatter away from Christ. They will lose all that is good,

and be unfitted to take a place in the courts of heaven. Because they have failed to improve their privileges, they will lose soul, body, and spirit. Their loss will be the natural result of their course of action; for he who works against God can have no place in his kingdom.

The request that was made for the exaltation of John and James in the kingdom of Christ, will be granted, if they so improved their talents in the service of God as to fit them for that place. But John and James were on test and trial, and if they proved true, if they held fast the faith once delivered to the saints, they would have the position that the Father had prepared for them, and the position would be according to their unselfish fidelity in using the talents God had intrusted to them in the service of Christ. Each one of us will be dealt with according to the same rule. Shall we not all take the lesson to heart? The way in which we use the Lord’s intrusted talents will make a decided difference as to what shall be our future, eternal reward. Those who feel under obligation to God to improve every talent he has lent them to his glory, will be rewarded in proportion to their faithful zeal in his service. Those who misapply the precious talents God has given, who, instead of using them for God’s glory, make them serve selfish purposes, will be rewarded as was the man in the parable who went and hid his Lord’s money in the earth. Those who are careless, indolent, selfish, who think more of their own exaltation than they do of the honor of God, will not be found keeping the first four and the last six commandments, and can not be rewarded as those will be rewarded who have manifested pure devotion in the service of God. The record of our lives is accurately kept by the recording angel, and we shall each be rewarded according as our works have been. There will be many who will be greatly surprised in the last day. Jesus says, “Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

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