p. 312 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 41, No. 20. (5/26/1914)

Sin’s Pay-Day

By Le Roy E. Froom

The Broad Way Ends in Night

By LE ROY E. FROOM

THERE are but two pathways for the travelers of earth. One is the broad, easy way that leads to destruction; the other, the narrow, upward way that leads to life everlasting. We are traveling in one of these two pathways, and our destiny is determined by the road we take.

THE STAIN OF SIN TO BE FOUND

Eternal life and eternal death are set before us by the living God. No provision has been made for eternal blasphemy against His holy name. His divine plan for the universe, though delayed for a time by the uninvited entrance of sin, will be carried out in His own good time and way. The stain of sin will be removed. Divine justice will be satisfied, and God’s “will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

THE WAGES OF SIN

“The wages of sin is death,” not eternal life in torment. The most horrible doctrine ever conceived in the mind of man or demon is that of eternal torment of the wicked. Satan is responsible for such a God-dishonoring doctrine. The joys of heaven would be blighted by the piteous wails of our lost loved ones pleading, throughout the ceaseless cycles of eternity, for a drop of water to quench their burning thirst.

“God is love.” And if, though He beseeches men to turn and live, yet they willfully choose to walk in rebellion against Him, He will do the most merciful thing a just, loving God can do. He will “utterly destroy them,” “burn them up,” reduce them to “ashes,” cause them “to be as though they had not been.”

DESTINY OF DEMONS AND OF WICKED MEN

So speaks the Scripture of the final doom of demons and of wicked men. They will be burned with “unquenchable fire.” This term refers to intensity, and not to duration. The fire is “unquenchable” because it can not be put out, or quenched, so long as there is anything for it to burn. The wicked will always remain dead. Therefore the punishment, which ends in complete destruction, will be “everlasting.”

The agonies of the lake of fire will come to an end, but that end will be the blackness of eternal night. Such is the final ending of the broad and easy way on sin’s pay-day.

Begin Work With Prayer

“To commence work without prayer is as a man trying to light gas without turning on the tap.”

The Cup of God's Indignation

By H. A. St. John

THE same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation." Rev. 14:10. "Indignation" expresses the displeasure of God against sin. By one man, Adam, sin entered into the world, and has been increasing in volume and violence ever since. Hence God has ever held the cup of indignation in His hand.

Adam and Eve took their first drink from that cup when they lost their beautiful robes of light. Their next drink was their expulsion from their beautiful Paradise home. Then from the same cup came the curse on all things with which they had to do. And this curse will grow heavier and heavier, until it shall have devoured the earth, with all sin and sinners, in the lake of fire, which is the second death.

MINGLED WITH MERCY

But from the very gates of Paradise the plan of salvation has existed. And to all men probation is given, and pardon and salvation are offered on condition of repentance and obedience. Hence it is that from the beginning, God's displeasure for sin has been mixed with mercy. And so the psalmist declares: "In the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and He poureth out of the same." Ps. 75:8. We may plainly see this manifestation of forbearance and mercy toward all men, in the dealings of God toward a rebellious race. Although wicked men and seducers wax worse and worse, God is still long-suffering, because some are seeking pardon and salvation.

UNMINGLED WITH MERCY

But the dregs of the cup will soon be reached, and in them there is no mixture. When the seven last plagues are poured into that cup, there will be no more mercy, no more pardon. There will be from that time wrath only, without any mixture. Hear the word of the Lord: "The dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them." Ps. 75:8. At the end of the one thousand years of Satan's bondage in the bottomless pit, will come the second resurrection. All the wicked of the earth will then stand before the great white throne, hear their sentence, and then drink the last dregs from the cup of indignation in the hands of the Lord. And we are glad to know that our merciful and loving heavenly Father, throughout eternity, will never have occasion to hold such a cup again.

H. A. ST. JOHN.

Prophecy, Poetry, and Elevating Sentiment

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

WONDERFUL THINGS TO BE FOUND IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS—A TREASURE-HOUSE OF BLESSING AND HELP—PSALM NINETEEN

THERE is something about Bible study that is different from any other study in the world. There is nothing like it to brighten the eye, to educate and enrich the mind, to soften the heart, and to tranquilize and purify the spirit.

One may arise from an hour's study of mathematics or philosophy, with mind confused and body weary. But a prayerful study of this Book not only elevates and feeds the mind, but actually recuperates and energizes the body.

I have always loved the Psalms, and have read them from my childhood, until many of them have become fixed in my memory. But since we began reading them at family worship, each commenting upon every verse read, the book has acquired a new interest; and a thousand hidden wonders and beauties, like precious gems, have flashed upon our sight, and fairly dazzled us with their splendor.

PROPHECY IN THE PSALMS

We are so accustomed to turning to the book of Daniel or the Revelation for prophecies concerning the second advent of our Lord, that we have almost forgotten the many wonderful passages in the book of Psalms concerning it. Then, too, we nearly always turn to the records given in the Gospels whenever we desire to read concerning the earth life of our Lord, as if this were all.

I fear that many of us have been too careless and forgetful of the Psalms. They are full of meat and drink for the hungry and thirsty soul. Written at greatly varying ages of the earth's history, and by men very unlike in natural characteristics,—poet, law-giver, king, sage, prophet,—the book of Psalms presents a wonderful similarity in the richness and beauty of its expression. In it we find the most lofty utterances, and the simplest sentences; the most sublime imagery, and the sweetest praise; the most wonderful description, and the clearest and most vivid prophecies.

THE SUBLIMITY OF PSALM NINETEEN

Let us get our Bibles and turn to the nineteenth psalm. If we had never read it before, we would be struck by its wonderful sublimity.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork."

A few evenings ago, just as we were lighting the gas, I heard a familiar voice from the back porch: "Come and see the wondrous beauty of the heavens." I stepped out. The sun, now only a few moments below the horizon, had been prodigally lavish of its coloring. The whole western heavens were still ablaze. A faint tint of crimson reached even to the zenith; and a few stars had stepped forth, as if unwilling to be left out of a picture so beautiful, and glowed from their giddy height. The silent moon, like a thin horn of silver, hung low in the west. A rich, dark mass of feathery foliage on a few trees near, was outlined against the brilliant background of the sky.

THEIR VOICE HEARD EVERYWHERE

Spellbound with the beauty of the scene, I could only reflect upon the wisdom of the great Artist, whose hand had hung out all this splendor as a tiny sample of His wondrous work.

Truly there is "no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard." Up in the frigid, inhospitable regions where the iceberg is born and the blinding blizzards rage and roar—even there has Jehovah hung out His wonderful pictures—His awe-inspiring auroras—silent witnesses of His almighty power.

EULOGISTIC OF GOD'S LAW

"But how strange," you say, "that after descanting for a time upon the vastness of God's visible creation, the inspired psalmist should suddenly break out in eulogistic utterances concerning the law of God!"

Now to me, my friend, it seems beautifully appropriate—nothing strange or incongruous about it at all. Why?—Because God's great moral law is as unchangeable and as perfect as the law of nature—that law which holds the revolving worlds in their places. Neither can be changed or revised or done away. God's law is the foundation of His eternal throne.

The psalmist continues, "More to be desired are they [the commandments of the moral law] than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb." In this age of lawlessness and lawbreakers, of riot and clamor after gold, it is absolutely refreshing to read this loyal and beautiful sentiment from the inspired prophet-king. And he continues, "In keeping of them there is great reward."

Ah, yes, yes; the reward will be greater, vastly greater, than all the gold and the silver of all the mines of earth.

"In keeping of them."

How many of them? Shall I be rewarded for obeying nine tenths of them?

"Who can understand his errors?"—Not one of us can see his own faults except in the perfect mirror of God's law. How do I know?—Because by it "is Thy servant warned."

AN INSPIRED AND INSPIRING PRAYER

Finally, this inspiring psalm is concluded by a prayer which is remarkable in that there is no conceivable situation in which it would fail to be appropriate, and no condition or position when we might not make its sentiment our own.

It is suitable alike for prince or peasant, high or low, rich or poor, Pharisee or publican, Christian or worldling, the petted child of fashion or the beggar upon the street.

Listen while I reverently repeat it:

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer."

The Sabbath a Cycle Mark

By Eliza H. Morton

Origin of the Week

By ELIZA H. MORTON

THE only division of the weekly cycle is the Sabbath. The "Encyclopædia Britannica," under the word "Calendar," says: "The week is a period of seven days, having no reference whatever to the celestial motions. Those who reject the Mosaic recital will be at a loss . . . to assign to it an origin having much semblance of probability."

As the week had its origin in the Sabbath alone, the Hebrew name Shabbath and the Greek Sabbaton may rationally be applied to the whole week, and the days of the week named in the consecutive order of "first day of the Sabbath," "second day of the Sabbath," "third day of the Sabbath," etc., as they are written in the Talmud. This idiom explains why the words Shabbath and Sabbaton are sometimes used to mean the week. See the literal rendering of Matt. 28: 1.

That the Sabbath marks the ending of the week, and came from God, may be shown by many indisputable facts.

Various allusions to the weekly cycle are found in the Old Testament, as in Ex. 34: 22; Deut. 16: 9; Dan. 9: 24.

An unearthed Assyrian tablet bears the words referring to the creation of God:

"On the seventh day He appointed a holy day, And to cease from all business He commanded."

Concerning this tablet Mr. H. Fox Talbot says, "The fifth tablet is very important, because it clearly affirms, in my opinion, that the origin of the Sabbath was coeval with the creation."

The combined testimony of one hundred and sixty modern and ancient languages, as shown by an authentic chart of the week, bears witness to the Biblical order of the days of the week, proving that the ending of the week never has been changed. One hundred and eight of those languages apply the name "Sabbath," or its equivalent, to the seventh day of the cycle.

In what is known as the Chinese "Book of Diagrams" is the following statement:

"On the seventh day the passages are closed." This shows that in the early history of the Chinese they observed the true Sabbath, and that it marked the weekly cycle.

Man may undertake to make the week begin on any day he chooses; but the history of the world, as well as its astronomical records, proves that time can not thus be altered. The weeks have been rolling onward in solemn grandeur with the flight of years, and the great clock of time can not be changed or stopped by the puny hand of man.

"When time's first week had run its course complete, To mark the cycle with its boundaries meet, The Sabbath on its royal throne was set, Creation's fair and lovely coronet."

The Living Creative Word

By L. D. SANTEE

Its Precepts and Prophecies Stand the Test—It Will Triumph Gloriously

By L. D. SANTEE

"SO shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isa. 55: 11.

All human words, whether of power or of affection, are bounded within brief periods. The mandate of one in authority may cause his subjects to tremble, but soon he is hushed in death. The words of father and mother charm their children for a short time; but soon those children are scattered, and the words of the parents are only treasured in memory.

But the word our text speaks of is that of Jehovah. Since the morning stars sang together, it has rolled down through all the ages, expressing infinite wisdom, almighty power, and eternal love for His works and creatures. It has enthroned kings, and hurled rulers from their seats of power.

JOY THAT HAS NO SORROW

The earth and all its elements exist and continue solely at the behest of God's word. It is the word of infinite wisdom, distinguishing between truth and error, offering light for darkness, peace for war, and life for death. It contains a sweet promise for the "pure in heart," and for all the loyal of our race, offering them through Christ, joy that has no sorrow, and life that has no end.

The Bible is a transcript of the divine mind, the voice of God. It is the grand prophetic announcement of earth's future history. Among the beautiful trees and flowers of Eden, the word of God warned against disobedience. Down through the dark and tragic scenes of the antediluvian age, it communed with the faithful, and laid upon Noah the responsibility of warning the world.

THE WORD THAT MOVED WITH POWER

Philosophy scoffed, and science ignored it; but when the windows of heaven were opened, and the ark rode upon a shoreless ocean, then was demonstrated the fact that "Thy word is truth." The word promised Israel that the bands of their servitude should be broken, and that the Almighty, with a "high hand and an outstretched arm," should lead them to "a land flowing with milk and honey," the ancient home of their fathers.

After the Passover, the object-lesson teaching Christ, then came the foretold emancipation. According to appointment, the cloud appeared and moved, the tribes marched, the sea retired, and the song of victory sounded on the farther shore; all showing, as the text reads, that "it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

IT FORETOLD KINGDOMS

This word, coming from heaven, sounded upon the listening ears of the holy prophets. It came to Daniel through the agency of an angel, and his inspired pen told us of earth's four universal monarchies. Beyond that, he opens to our vision a redeemed earth, where, "under the whole heavens," a loyal race will obey God.

Not only this, but it outlines perfection. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Ps. 19:7. This law was spoken to Israel from the summit of the burning mount.

At the creation, that word had crowned all the phalanx of coming weeks with a Sabbath at its close. In the center of that perfect law, the word repeated: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." And through this world, and the world to come, each week is crowned with a diadem by the hand and word of her God. Through the Holy Spirit, the word outlines the future. As time has rolled its ever-varying tide of human experiences down through the centuries, the angel of history has stood upon his mountain, and shouted across the vale of the silent generations, to the angel of prophecy, saying, "Thy word has been clothed with almighty power, commanding the earth, its elements, and wheeling nations into line, for fame or infamy." He says: "I have duplicated, on my historic scroll, every word thou hast uttered in the sanctuary relating to the future. Thy word is that of a God in whose hand lies the destiny of the world and of our race."

The thunders of that word will send the forces of life to the ashes of the dead, scattered over the great cemetery of the world,

thrilling them with the vital power of a new life. Soon will come the consummation of all things. The four empires can say, "We have filled our measure, our days are ended." The great harlot will say, "I mourn as a widow, and weep the loss of my children."

The nations will say, "Peace and safety." And the word that has been heard through all the centuries will say, "It is finished. Human destiny is forever fixed."

O my friend, my brother, where will that day find you?

Jesus Is Coming Soon

By W. R. Patterson

By W. R. PATTERSON

"THY watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion." Isa. 52: 8.

ZION, awake! Repeat the glad strain, And sound the message loud and clear, Jesus is coming, is coming again. Publish, proclaim it, His coming is near

Prophets and seers have long foretold The glorious coming of Zion's King. O, print the message in letters of gold! Bid Zion lift her voice and sing.

Groaning creation, awake and rejoice. Coming the first dominion again. Shout, ye saints, lift up your voice, Tell the tidings again and again.

He is coming. O weary and sad, Be glad! Your redemption is nigh. Sing and rejoice, ye exiles, be glad — Coming again in the sweet by and by.

Ye watchmen, sound the solemn warning. Blow the trumpet on Zion's height. Soon, yes, soon will dawn the morning That shall end earth's weary night.

The Conditions in Noah's Time

By Calvin P. Bollman

THE SAME SCENES TO BE REPEATED

By Calvin P. Bollman

IN answering the question of the disciples, "What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" our Saviour said, among other things, "As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24:3, 37.

In the time of Noah, the people thought much of pleasure, and little of God and of their duty toward Him. Our Saviour Himself says that "they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark." Verse 38. And "as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

THE WICKEDNESS OF THE TIME

In the days of Noah, "the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Gen. 6:5. "As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

Human life was little regarded in the days of Noah, and crimes of violence were of frequent occurrence. "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth." Gen. 6:11, 12. "As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

A MESSAGE WAS SENT

But notwithstanding the wickedness of men in the time of Noah, the Lord sent them a warning message of the coming Flood. Noah was "a preacher of righteousness." 2 Peter 2:5. During all his ministry, by precept and example he was teaching the people that a flood was coming that would destroy the earth. But the people were unbelieving; and "as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

Out of the large population of Noah's day, only eight persons were actually saved in the ark. All the others who lived until the time of the Flood, rejected Noah's message. This too will be paralleled in the days of the coming of the Son of man; for of the teeming millions living upon the earth in the last days, only a very few will be saved. The Lord Himself indicates this clearly in the question, "When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8.

THE MAJORITY NEVER ACCEPT IT

Indeed, at no time in the history of the world will the truth of God be popular and the majority walk in the paths of righteousness. To the question of the disciples, "Lord, are there few that be saved?" Jesus answered, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." Luke 13:23, 24. And again He said: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matt. 7:13, 14.

The doctrine of a temporal millennium wherein all, or nearly all, or even a very large proportion, of the inhabitants of the world will be converted, is a delusion of the devil. The Bible teaches nothing of that kind. The Word does declare that "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness" (Matt. 24:14), but nowhere in all the Bible is it intimated that all the world or even a majority of the world will accept the gospel. Those who are looking for a more favorable time to repent and be saved will look in vain. There can be no better time than the present.

PERILOUS TIMES FORETOLD

Instead of the last days' being a more favorable season in which to obey the truth and secure salvation, the apostle says: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." 2 Tim. 3:1-5.

The darkest side of this dark picture is the statement in verse 5 that those who are indulging all these sins are those who have a "form of godliness"; in other words, these sins are found right in the church in the last days. When this is the condition in the church, what may we not expect to find in the world at large? And with the church honeycombed with these heinous sins, where is there any opportunity for the conversion of the world? "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

The Sinner's Guest

By E. Hilliard

Law of Association

THE selfish Pharisees could not understand why Christ associated with those whom they disdained. They did not comprehend our Saviour's mission to this sinful world, and in their perplexity they asked His disciples, "Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?"

Jesus overheard them, and replied: "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. . . . I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

When one of the family is taken violently ill, the fleetest horse is saddled and spurred to his utmost speed to call the physician. Everything is done that can be done to check the disease and save the patient.

It is far more essential that every possible effort should be made to save those who are afflicted with the malady of sin. The poor sinner who, through the violation of the moral law, has sunk in the depths of iniquity, should not be cast off as a hopeless case; but earnest, repeated appeals should be made to the great Physician for pardon and help. He will never turn a deaf ear to the call of one penitent, helpless sinner.

The more deeply seated the malady of sin, the more urgent should be the cry for heavenly aid. It is the perishing, helpless ones that Jesus came to save.

Our Saviour knew that the most successful way of reaching the hearts of men is through the law of association. The Pharisees cared to associate only with those whom they deemed righteous. The poor and the helpless they concluded were under the censure of Heaven, and also any one who favored or in any way served the Romans, whether rich or poor.

Little Zacchæus, who climbed the sycamore-tree to see Jesus as He passed by, was not left unnoticed by the sinner's Guest, but was invited to come down and entertain the world's Redeemer in his home. This displeased those unsympathetic Pharisees, and they murmured, saying "that He was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner."

How glad we are that Jesus is still the guest of sinners! He does not even wait for an invitation from us, but calls in the tenderest tones to every troubled, afflicted soul, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

No higher compliment can be paid to sinful men than to have Jesus for their guest. "Behold," says the heavenly Visitor, "I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me."

E. HILLIARD.

Precious Peace

By Maggie A. Pulver

My Saviour, Creator, Redeemer, and Friend,

How sweet is the peace Thou dost day by day send!

On life's rugged pathway and storm-driven sea,

O, what should I do, precious Lord, without Thee?

When winds beat my bark, and the billows roll high,

How sweet are the words, "Fear not, child; it is I"!

"Be still," Thy command, the wild tempest obeys.

Sweet peace fills my heart. I am lost in Thy praise.

I know that the fire for refining must burn

Till Thy sacred image, Lord, Thou canst discern

In me. Then whatever in love Thou dost send,

Is good. Only give me Thy peace to the end.

Maggie A. Pulver.

Contentment Amid Strife

"HELP me to be content, amid the strife of tongues, with my unspoken thought. When anxious cares threaten my peace, help me to run to Thee, that I may find my rest and be made strong for calm endurance and valiant service."

BE NOT ANXIOUS

By L. A. R.

Anxiety and Fear May Be Put Away—God's Great Care for Each One

"Ye can not serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious." The word "therefore" in this statement of Christ's connects anxiety with the service of mammon. He who accepts the service of any false god takes with it the spirit of anxiety and of dread. Christ also assures us that he who is anxious for this life is serving not God but mammon. He who serves mammon does not serve God, for "ye can not serve God and mammon."

NO ANXIETY WITH SERVICE

He who is anxious does not serve God, for he has partaken of the spirit of the world, "the spirit of bondage again to fear." "Perfect love casteth out fear." To worry is to doubt God, and "he that believeth not is condemned." "Without faith it is impossible to please Him." Christ, before He went away, left His peace with us; and the peace of God that passes understanding does keep the mind and the heart of the faithful through Christ Jesus. "Great peace have they that love Thy law."

THE CURE FOR ANXIETY

The one cure for anxiety is faith. Speculation or reasoning is not sufficient. The greatest minds in the world have speculated and reasoned, and have finally said that God is unknown and unknowable. But faith smiles at the wisdom of the wise, and looks up with confidence and calls God "Father." "The world by wisdom knew not God," but God sends His Spirit into our hearts, "crying, Abba, Father." Care is justifiable, but anxiety never. If a surgeon is about to perform an operation, we are glad to know he will use care and caution; but were he anxious, that would trouble us, for we would know there was something he was afraid of, in spite of all his skill. And it is this fear or dread that smites us with a harrowing feeling, and it is what God does not wish us to have.

RELATION OF CARE AND ANXIETY

Care is proper; anxiety is improper. Care will make the eye single, the hand steady, and the foot firm; but anxiety will cloud the vision, put a tremor into the nerves, and cause us to stumble in our way. Anxiety shortens life, embitters, and does not sweeten. Anxiety breeds disease, and kills by the burden that it imposes. Anxiety never steadied the money market. It never filled or ripened an ear of corn. There isn't a promise in the Bible made to anxiety. There are promises to diligence, to prudence, to faith, to hope, to trust, but not one to anxiety. Care in the good sense—that is, caution, or full use of the faculties—is proper; but care in the bad sense—that is, dread and anxiety—is not proper. This sort of care we are told to cast upon the Lord—"casting all your care [anxiety] upon Him; for He careth for you."

THE IMPRESSIVE OBJECT-LESSON

And then, in order to appeal to the mind, to touch our imagination, and to kindle our faith, Christ refers to nature, to some of the most insignificant things in the world—insignificant at least to us. He tells us that inferior and worthless as these things seem to us, yet they have a proper portion of the divine care. And if God cares for them—that is, the birds and the flowers—we may be assured that He will care for a human soul, which has, through the work of Christ, the possible destiny that stretches with the unlimited life of God. If God so clothe the grass, which to-day is, and to-morrow is burned, will He not do much more for those who through Christ inherit eternity? In the flower, therefore, there is this wonderful thought of God, the divine provision for every creature; and as our eye is down upon the flower, our thought may be upward upon God. Thus the flower becomes the first means by which we are led through nature up to nature's God. We can not think of God clothing the grass, providing for its welfare, making it beautiful, and at the same time forgetting one of His children. It is impossible.

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