Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Oct 31, 1912
The Coming Week of Prayer
By J. E. Fulton
December 7-14
A Message of Greeting From the Presidentof the Australasian Union Conference
AUSTRALASIA, so far separated by wide oceans from our brethren in all other lands soon to engage in special prayer for a world-wide outpouring of the Spirit, is not in any sense separated in spirit. We are one in purpose, one in sympathy, one in unwavering faith that this blessed message must be carried to all the world in this generation.
The Pillar of Cloud moves on before us, and the call of God comes to His people with greater and greater distinctness, “Go forward!”
May our vision of the world's needs be keen, and may there be a great increase in our devotion, fervency, and power as a result of this week of prayer.
J. E. FULTON.
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
By Editor
NOW A MONTHLY
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THROUGH THE CONFERENCE TRACT SOCIETIES
What Does It Matter?
By Pearl Waggoner
PEARL WAGGONER
What does it matter how dark the way,
If ’tis light at the journey’s end?
What does it matter how long to-day,
If one travels to meet a Friend?
What does it matter how long the road,
If it leads to our home at length?
What does it matter how great the load,
If we’re given the needed strength?
What does it matter if tired the feet,
Or if weary the heart and mind,
If comfort and rest and a welcome sweet
At the end of the way we find?
What does it matter, then, where we dwell,
Or if sunny the sky, or drear?
For, if He guideth us, all is well:
And the end of the way is near.
Hinsdale, Ill.
The Spirit of a Christian
By Ellen G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE
“SANCTIFY them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” Every moment of our probationary time is precious; for it is our time for character building. We should give most diligent heed to the culture of our spiritual nature. We should watch our hearts, guarding our thoughts lest impurity tarnish the soul. We should seek to keep every faculty of the mind in the very best condition, that we may serve God to the extent of our ability. Nothing should be permitted to interrupt our communion with God. If corrupt thoughts are entertained, they will lead to corrupt actions. O, may the angels of purity guard us, that no stain of immorality may be found upon us! Every worker for God should be pure in thought. The grandest themes, the noblest impulses, the purest conceptions, should be his, for he is a son of God.
We have a work to do in this world, and we must not allow ourselves to become self-absorbed, and so forget the claims of God and humanity upon us. If we seek God with earnestness, he will impress us by his Holy Spirit. He knows what we need, for he is acquainted with our every weakness; and he would have us work away from self, that we may become kind in thought and word and deed. We must cease to think and talk of self, cease to make our needs and wants the sole object of our thoughts. God would have us cultivate the attributes of heaven. To be a Christian is to be Christlike. If we would be successful in winning souls, we must be full of the tact that is born of kindness and sympathy and love. There are some who have a desire to benefit others, but they fail because of their defective manners. They do not realize the fact that before seeking the reformation of others, they themselves need to reform. Those who would work for others, should remember that they are working for Christ’s little ones, the members of his body.
We should carefully consider what is our relation to God and to one another. We are continually sinning against God, but his mercy still follows us; in love he bears with our perversities, our neglect, our ingratitude, our disobedience. He never becomes impatient with us. We insult his mercy, grieve his Holy Spirit, and do him dishonor before men and angels, and yet his compassions fail not. The thought of God’s long-suffering to us should make us forbearing to one another. How patiently should we bear with the faults and errors of our brethren, when we remember how great are our own failings in the sight of God. How can we pray to our Heavenly Father, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” if we are denunciatory, resentful, exacting in our treatment of others? God would have us more kind, more loving and lovable, less critical and suspicious. O that we all might have the spirit of Christ, and know how to deal with our brethren and neighbors!
We should manifest great tact in dealing with one who errs. In the spirit of love and meekness, we should seek to restore him to the fold of Christ; but instead of sympathy toward the wanderer, too frequently a censorious spirit is manifested. Those who have not made the mistake which they condemn in another, stand off in an unapproachable attitude, as if they felt themselves secure from making such a blunder. But let him who thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. If those who condemn another loved as Christ has loved a lost race of rebels, they would by every means possible seek to recover the erring one. They would not take delight in publishing his case, in making his fault appear in the worst light possible, but they would heed the injunction of the Scripture, “Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness.” If you do this, you will probably succeed in bringing your erring brother into fellowship with the church without publishing his errors to the church, or making his fault known to another in any way.
(To be concluded)
Of Faith or Works
By H. H. VOTAW
H. H. VOTAW
Abram’s attempt to fulfil God’s promise by the works of the flesh was typical of all who depend upon works for salvation. From his union with Hagar, Ishmael was born, a child of the works of the flesh. When Abraham “believed God,” Isaac was born, a child of faith. The command was given, “Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” Gal. 4:30.
In a word is the gospel comprehended,—it is faith. Faith, not works, gives life. By faith there came from “one . . . as good as dead,” a child,—a new life. By faith there comes to us, though we are “dead in trespasses and sins,” a new life. “We, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.” Gal. 4:28.
Christians are the spiritual descendants of Isaac. Mohammedans are the spiritual descendants of Ishmael. There was a vital difference between the attitude of mind which Abram held when Ishmael was conceived and the one that was his when Isaac was born. There is the same vital difference between Christianity and Islam to-day. The Christian knows that the kingdom of God is to be set up soon. He also knows that the weapons of his “warfare are not carnal.” He knows that the Spirit of4God is to accomplish the work. The Moslem also believes that soon God will establish his kingdom. But he relies upon the works of the flesh. To-day, he places his confidence in the very same means that Abram used.
Again and again, as I have talked with Mohammedans, they have said to me: “Your religion allows you to have but one wife. Ours permits us to have four. It stands to reason that four women can bear more children than one can. Therefore we are sure to multiply more rapidly than Christians do. When we come to Armageddon, we are sure to outnumber you, and of course will conquer you. True, we are not strong enough at present, but the great battle will be delayed until we have gained enough in numbers to win.”
How glorious is the assurance that “we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free,” and that “Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.”
Kemmendine, Burma.
Evidences
“The best evidence that any of us can have of our connection with the God of heaven is that we keep his commandments.”—Review and Herald.
“The best proof of faith in Christ is distrust of self, and dependence on God.”
“If you delight to dwell on the plan of salvation, upon the glorious manifestation of the divine attributes; if your heart, in contemplation of the love of God, glows with thankfulness and joy, you may be sure that you have been illuminated by the beams of the Holy Spirit, and heavenly agencies are bringing your character up to the maturity of Christian life.”—Signs of the Times, 1911.
Cautions and Counsels
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.” 2 Cor. 13: 5. Some conscientious souls on reading this, immediately begin to criticize their every feeling and emotion. But this is not correct self-examination. The life, the character, is to be measured by the only standard of character, God’s holy law. Our works, not our feelings, bear witness of us. The feelings, whether encouraging or discouraging, should not be made the test of our spiritual condition. By God’s Word we are to determine our true standing before him.
“Let those who are tried and tempted consider these questions: How do you deal with your difficulties? Do you harness yourself for an encounter with trial and temptation, and then do you lay hold of these temptations, as you suppose you must, while your spirit is hot within you, and wrestle with them, quite sure that this is just what you should do? . . . Do you come off victor?—No; you come out discouraged, bruised, and wounded, bound and enfeebled spiritually. What should you do? Simply put your whole trust in the One who understands your temptations and trials, the One who alone can master temptation. If you had not been premature, you need not have fought so terrible a battle, for the Captain of your salvation was at work for you. Had you first talked with God in prayer, by faith grasping his promises, you would have received strength for the conflict.”—Southern Watchman.
“No one need be blinded by any delusion. He who makes the Word of God his guide and counselor, and listens to nothing that would lead him to take the words of man instead of the Word of God, will always dwell safely. When the Bible is made the book of study, with earnest supplication for the Spirit’s guidance, and a full surrender of the heart to be sanctified through the truth, it will accomplish all that God has promised.”—Report of Progress, 1909.
Sanitarium, Cal.
The Feast of Tabernacles
By S. N. HASKELL
S. N. HASKELL
The feast of tabernacles was the last feast of the yearly round of service, and typified the consummation of the entire plan of redemption. It began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when the harvests were all gathered from field, vineyard, and olive grove. From all parts of Palestine groups of devout Jews wended their way to Jerusalem. Not only from the different sections of the Holy Land did they come, but believing Jews from all the surrounding countries went up to Jerusalem to attend the feast of tabernacles. The Lord required all the men to attend the feast, but many of the women and children also attended. Ex. 23: 16, 17.
It was a time of great rejoicing, and all were expected to bring a thank-offering to the Lord. Burnt offerings, meat-offerings, and drink-offerings were offered at this time. Lev. 23: 37. The feast of tabernacles began five days after the day of atonement, and all Israel were rejoicing in their acceptance with God, and also for the bounties of the harvest which had been gathered.
The feast continued seven days; the first day was kept as a ceremonial sabbath, and the eighth day was also a ceremonial sabbath. Lev. 23: 36, 39. This feast was both commemorative and typical. It commemorated their desert wanderings, and in remembrance of it, all Israel dwelt in booths during the seven days. In the streets, on the housetops, in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God booths were made of “boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook.” Lev. 23: 40-43; Neh. 8: 15, 16. It was a period of rejoicing, and all were to share the feast with the poor, the stranger, and the Levites. Deut. 16: 13-17.
Every seventh year “the solemnity of the year of release” came during the feast of tabernacles, when debtors were released from their obligations. Deut. 15: 1-4. At this time the entire Levitical law was read in the hearing of all; men, women, and children, and even the strangers within their gates, were required to listen to the reading of the law. Deut. 31: 10-13. The first new year began in the autumn; for at creation, time began with fruit-trees laden with fruit all ready for food for man. Gen. 1: 29; 3: 6. The feast of tabernacles, or feast of ingathering as it was also called, was held in the “year’s end,” or “revolution of the year.” Ex. 34: 22, margin. The civil year of the Jewish calendar always ended in the autumn, but the sacred year began in the spring; hence the feast of tabernacles was held in the seventh month of the sacred year.
Some very interesting Bible scenes are connected with this feast. Solomon’s temple was dedicated at the feast of tabernacles. 1 Kings 8: 2, 65. When Israel returned from Babylonian captivity, this was the first feast celebrated after the wall of Jerusalem was restored. It was a time of great rejoicing. Neh. 7: 73; 8: 17, 18.
In commemorating the journeying of the children of Israel, they not only commemorated the tent life by living in booths, but the temple was especially illuminated in commemoration of the pillar of fire that guided them in their wanderings; and on the last day of the feast a beautiful service commemorated the miraculous supply of water in the desert. This was the crowning service of “the last day, that great day of the feast.” John 7: 37. The priest dipped a flagon5of water from the Kedron, and bearing it aloft, marching to the sound of music, meanwhile chanting portions of the one hundred twenty-second psalm, he entered the temple court. By the altar were two silver basins, and as the priest poured the water into one basin, another priest poured a flagon of wine into the other basin, and the wine and water, mingled together, flowed through a pipe back to the Kedron. It was on the day of this service that Jesus stood in the temple court and cried, “If any man will thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” John 7: 37-39. Christ led them by the pillar of cloud, and he it was who supplied the water from the rock. “They drank of that spiritual Rock that went with them, and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Cor. 10: 4, margin. He, the great Life-giver, was in their midst, and even while celebrating his power to quench their thirst, they were ready to kill him. Many incidents in Christ’s life cluster around the last feast of tabernacles which he attended.
While this feast commemorated the journeying of Israel in the wilderness, it also commemorated their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. It would be well if every one who has been delivered from the Egyptian darkness of sin would occasionally celebrate his deliverance by recognizing the leadings of the Lord in the journey of his life, and thanking him for the many blessings received.
The feast of tabernacles was typical as well as commemorative. It followed the day of atonement, which meets its anti-type in the judgment; hence this feast must typify an event that comes after the close of the judgment. When Christ comes out from the heavenly sanctuary, it will be but a short time until he will come to the earth to gather his people. He will then take them to heaven, where they will behold the glory he had with the Father before the world was. John 17: 24. For one thousand years the saints will reign with Christ in heaven (Rev. 20: 4) before they come to their eternal home,—this earth, free from every curse. The New Jerusalem, with its gates of pearl and streets of gold, will be the metropolis of the glorious abode of the redeemed.
As we journey through this wilderness of sin and sorrow, it is our blessed privilege by faith to watch the movements of our High Priest, and be ready to greet with joy his appearance when he comes to take his faithful ones to sojourn with him for a time in the heavenly courts before they share in the eternal bliss of the earth made new. Every feast, as well as every offering and service in the Levitical ceremonies, pointed to the beautiful home of the redeemed. Each one is a guide-board on the great pathway of life pointing toward the heavenly home. The Jews failed to read these guide-boards aright, and to-day are wandering over the earth without the light from the blessed Messiah shining from the cross of Calvary upon their pathway. Let us take warning by their failure, and not make the same fatal mistake by failing to discern the light still reflected from types and symbols. Every type and symbol is illuminated by the light from Calvary. The gospel was all through the system of Judaism; true, it was veiled in types and symbols, but the light from Calvary illuminates the entire Jewish economy; and all who will study it in the light of the cross will gain such an intimate acquaintance with him who is the Antitype of every service, that, beholding, they will become changed into his image from glory to glory. 2 Cor. 3: 18. The typical service shines the brightest when placed by the side of the Antitype. A study of any part of the Levitical system points to some characteristic in the life of Christ. The system of Judaism reveals in a remarkable manner the character of Christ. The entire Bible is full of it. Every Bible writer refers to the Levitical service to illustrate divine truth; and the individual who is familiar with the entire sanctuary service of types and symbols, not only receives a blessing from the study, but also understands other portions of the Sacred Book more fully on account of his familiarity with the different feasts and sacrifices which are referred to so frequently all through the Bible.
“You have confessed your sins, and in your heart put them away. You have resolved to give yourself to God. Now go to him, and ask that he will wash away your sins, and give you a new heart. Then believe that he does this because he has promised. . . . If you believe the promise,—believe that you are forgiven and cleansed,—God supplies the fact.”—“Steps to Christ,” pages 51, 53.
“The work of gaining salvation is one of copartnership, a joint operation. There is to be cooperation between God and the repentant sinner. This is necessary for the formation of right principles in the character. Man is to make earnest efforts to overcome that which hinders him from attaining to perfection. But he is wholly dependent upon God for success. . . . On the one side there is infinite wisdom, compassion, and power; on the other weakness, sinfulness, absolute helplessness. God wishes us to have the mastery over ourselves. But he can not help us without our consent and cooperation.”—“Acts of the Apostles,” page 482.
“In every step of development our life may be perfect; yet if God’s purpose for us is fulfilled, there will be continual advancement. Sanctification is the work of a lifetime. By constantly relying upon Christ, we shall grow up into him in all things, who is our head.”—“Desire of Ages.”
Living the Truth
By Philip Giddings
PHILIP GIDDINGS
LIFE, so silent and invisible in its operations, works out a demonstration before which controversy is dumb; for the simple reason that men may gainsay your teachings, may combat word with word, may question your thesis,—but when they see the exegesis standing out in living character, there is nothing to argue against. It can not be contradicted any more than the fact that the sun shines can be contradicted. “And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.”
It is remarkable how a tender, frail shoot coming up from the earth will push aside a weight many times heavier than itself. The story of the infidel princess who ordered her tomb made so strong as to defy the trump of God breaking it open at the last day, affords a forceful illustration of the power of life to convince if not convert the most stony stubbornness of the human head and heart, when the little seed which dropped between some stones took root, and growing up silently, burst asunder that infidel’s fortress.
The incident is related of a master who, on dying, called in his servant John to read and pray for him. John, wondering, suggested to call instead the minister. “O, no!” said the dying man, “we have been friends and associates in the things of this world only; but this is higher business. John, and he won’t do. I have noticed you; although my servant, you stand in a higher relationship to this most important affair. John, I believe in your God and your religion. You pray.” How persuasive is the influence of the upward life!
If “actions speak louder than words,” then he who walks in the paths of righteousness is better heard than he who talks thereof. Some one has said that the sermons that are best heard are those seen.
“The world will be convinced not by what the pulpit teaches, but by what the church lives. The minister in the desk announces the theory of the gospel; the practical piety of the church demonstrates its power.” The loud cry will not come from the pulpit alone, for there are several pews to every pulpit, and many more in each pew than in the pulpit.
Are not the membership-pew-sitters, who have been plucked as brands from the burning and have been lighted with the Holy Ghost and with fire, to live such lives in all holy conversation and conduct as will declare and impress the fact that “the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up”? These are plucked firebrands rekindled to be a shining as well as a burning light. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” And those who are lighted with the true light will so shine in their lives; for “the life was the light of men,” and the light given man is the life.
An Israelite indeed is an Israelite in deed. There is no guile in him,—no inner guilt nor outer gilding; no brass nor copper; no gold-washed nor silver-plated pewter.
That holy-day religion at church that during the week takes a holiday from performing its promises made in songs, sermons, prayers, and amens; that goes to “service” that is never put to service; that talks up New Jerusalem, and then walks down old Jericho, is idle, hollow noise, and simply furnishes the ungodly with occasion for blasphemy against God.
What does it profit, my brethren, though a man chant the eighth commandment,—“Thou shalt not steal,”—and steals the Lord’s tithe, or steals his employer’s time by skulking, or his goods by misappropriation or neglect? What though he can say that commandment from memory, and conveniently forgets that long-standing loan? “The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again.” Ps. 37: 21. “Owe no man anything.” Rom. 13: 8.
There are many bad bookkeepers. Their books do not balance, for they keep only one side—the debit. One-leggedly, they are hobbling on—whereto? “A good report of them which are without” is an excellent certificate of the efficacy of acted sermons in the open air,—living epistles seen and read of all men, not in lettered ink, but in living characters by the blood on life’s canvas.
And the root of such fruit is “Christ within,” who says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”—not, “I have the truth,” objectively, but I am it, subjectively. Some have the truth in the head as they have money in their purse,—it is no part of themselves,—or as a dyspeptic6has a load in his stomach. Until the food is digested and assimilated, it can not be changed into life. Truth must be assimilated if its fruit is to be seen in the life.
“In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness unto the Lord; and the pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.” Zech. 14: 20, 21.
There is a difference between “pots” and “bowls.” One is of the kitchen, sooty; the other is kept bright and honored for the dining-table. But with the Lord’s household utensils, the pots shall be like the bowls before the altar, for holiness. Whether it be outside pot-service or inside bowl-service before the altar, the same impression must be maintained.
“Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah.” Not only such as may be particularly set apart, but even lay members, shall be holiness to the Lord, doing service. And the vessel, pot, may be symbolic of humble daily living. “Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah” is so dedicated for the Lord’s service that “they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein.” The life of the humblest member has its part in the gospel plan.
The Plagues of Egypt
By I. G. KNIGHT
I. G. KNIGHT
EGYPTIANS in the time of the Pharaohs were highly educated in science and art, second perhaps to no others. They seemed to have traditions of the principal events from the beginning of time; but they chose to express everything by allegories, described by symbols and hieroglyphic representations, to which they paid an idolatrous reverence. The judgments of God upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians in the time of Moses were particularly adapted to the people upon whom they were poured out. In every instance these judgments had strict reference to their idolatry. The Lord informed Moses, “Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment.” Ex. 12: 12; Num. 33: 4.
The river Nile was regarded with great reverence, and was consecrated to Deity as the chief national god. The Egyptians supposed it gave birth to all their gods. Imagine with what horror they looked upon the sacred river,—polluted, a stream of blood, from which was emitted the stench of dead fish. How fitting was this first plague, directed against their chief worship. And so also every plague bore a strict analogy to their beliefs. The frogs were held both as an object of reverence and as an abhorrence. It was very consistent with the divine wisdom to punish the Egyptians both with what they abominated and with what they reverenced. So the second plague was as pronounced against the “gods of Egypt” as was the first.
The people affected great external purity. The priests never wore woolen garments, but always linen, that they might not harbor vermin, and were therefore held in veneration for their purity. This third plague was so apparently against their idolatry that even the stubborn magicians said unto Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” Ex. 8: 19.
“In the days of Joseph Egypt had been an asylum for Israel; God had been honored in the kindness shown his people; but now the long-suffering One, slow to anger and full of compassion, gave each judgment time to do its work. The Egyptians cursed the very object they had worshiped. They had evidence of the power of God, and all who would might submit and escape his judgments.”
The fourth plague was the bringing of a particular species of flies whose bite and sting were intolerable. Having been warned by Moses beforehand so that the deities whose work it was to ward off these special evils might exercise their power, another evidence of the superiority of the God of the Hebrews was given the Egyptians.
The fifth plague was murrain. The scope and meaning of this calamity were greater as applied to the Egyptians than perhaps could have been the case with any other people. They held in such veneration the animals affected that for the Israelites to offer one for sacrifice was to endanger the lives of the people. Ex. 8: 26.
The sixth plague was that of boils and blains. The Egyptians reposed great confidence in their physicians, and maintained them at public expense. They supposed them able to ward off troublesome diseases, as well as to heal them, having connected astrology with physics. This plague would make it appear that the land was divested of its wise men as well as of its gods.
The seventh plague consisted of rain, hail, and fire. The fitness and propriety of the Egyptians being punished by fire and water can plainly be seen. They were guilty of gross idolatry toward these elements. The sun and moon, which they adored as deities, were able to control, as they thought, all the climatic elements. It pleased God to punish their blind credulity by bringing upon them this demonstration.
The eighth plague was that of locusts. The other plagues having destroyed the barley and the flax, the wheat and the rice, the land now suffered the ravages of the locust. Scarcely any calamity can so effectually damage a land as to destroy completely its vegetation. This the eighth plague did. Their deities, Isis and Serapis, who were the conservators of plenty, could not protect their crops.
The plague of darkness followed, a judgment extraordinary. Nothing like it had ever been witnessed by this or any other nation. They esteemed the sun as the soul of the earth, supposing that this luminary and the moon controlled all things by their influence. But this plague enveloped them in impenetrable darkness for three days, which Osiris could not remedy. Besides all this, they were conscious of the fact that the Israelites were immune from its influence, although living among them.
When the tenth plague fell, there occurred the death of the first-born. There was a meaning in this judgment of greater consequence than in any that had preceded it. The Israelites were as liable to be affected by it as were the Egyptians, if they failed to comply with the specific instructions. The prime reason, no doubt, for the plague was that after the Egyptian nation had been preserved by one of the Israelitish family, it had enslaved the people to whom it had been so much indebted, and, not content with this, had proceeded to kill their offspring. The Egyptians had been told the families of the Israelites were esteemed as God’s first-born. “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my first-born: and I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy first-born.” Ex. 4: 22, 23.
As coming events cast their shadows before, so surely does this shadow point to substance, a real thing. The experience of Israel in Egypt was a type. “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Cor. 10: 11. God’s people will pass through a similar experience.
The prophet Isaiah gives us a graphic description of the second gathering of Israel: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. . . . And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.” Isa. 11: 11-16.
And Jeremiah says: “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.”
With ancient Israel deliverance was but a local affair, only from Egyptian bondage to Canaan’s land; but the last movement embraces in its scope and magnitude the world delivered, and the victorious children of God settled in their eternal inheritance in the earth made new. “Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.” Ps. 37: 34.
Astoria, Oregon.
Editorial
By Editor
Wandering Sheep
IN the beautiful parable of the lost sheep, as recorded in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew, we have the shepherd represented as leaving the ninety and nine in the fold, and going forth in the darkness and among the mountain fastnesses to search for the lost and straying one. This beautifully and forcibly represents the love of the Lord Jesus Christ for his straying children. Repeatedly he is represented as the good shepherd. Says the psalmist, “The Lord is my shepherd. . . . He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” The Lord himself, in the tenth chapter of John, declares, “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.”
As the human shepherd seeks to protect his flock from danger, leading them out by day to find pasturage and at nightfall gathering them securely into the fold, so the divine Shepherd seeks to feed and nourish and protect the members of his flock. By counsel, admonition, and instruction through his Word and the influence of his Holy Spirit, he seeks to keep his sheep, and to protect and safeguard them from the assaults of the wolf that would snatch them without his protecting care.
But sometimes the sheep are deaf to the voice of instruction, indifferent to the loving care exercised in their behalf, and breaking through the barriers, wander off into forbidden pastures. The Shepherd in infinite love seeks in vain for their restoration. His pleading voice finds no response in their hearts. They reject the repeated invitation to return, and still he calls. He does not cease his entreaty.
There are many wandering sheep to-day, many who have left the heavenly fold and wandered away into byways and forbidden paths. Some there are who know this gospel message, and have been connected with this movement in which we as a people are engaged. In their vision the gold of truth has become dim. Worldly influences have been allowed to creep into the life. The love of money has supplanted the love of God. Worldly pleasure, position, and society have appealed to them with hypnotic power. Some even who have proclaimed the blessed word are among this number. Some boys and girls and young men and women who have left the parental roof, where they were taught to love God and to revere his holy day, have been entrapped by the pitfalls of sin, and to-day are wandering out in the darkness on the bleak mountainside, separated from God and from the fold of his sheep.
Dear wandering one, God invites you to return to him. He asks you to come back to the Father’s house where there is bread and to spare. He will give you a hearty welcome. As to Peter, who followed the Lord afar off and who in the judgment-hall denied his loving Master, he will speak to you words of forgiving tenderness. As unto David, who returned to God after his great failure, he will restore to you the joy of his salvation.
You who have known this message in the past, who have loved it, who have rejoiced in its triumphs, it is for you to share in its ultimate victory. Break now the bands which bind you. Wrest yourself loose from the influences which would hold you back. No longer parley with sin. Do not longer do despite to the spirit of love, but resolve that by God’s grace and through his mighty power you will renounce sin, and enroll yourself once more under the banner of Prince Emmanuel. In response to this resolve on your part you will find God your mighty helper, your loving father, your all-powerful friend. To-day, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Let the wandering sheep of Israel return to the fold of the heavenly Shepherd.