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Signs of the Times, Vol. 14, No. 40.

THE DEATH OF SAMUEL

Signs of the Times

Oct 19, 1888

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 19, 1888

THE DEATH OF SAMUEL.

By Mrs. E. G. White

"AND Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah." The death of Samuel was regarded as an irreparable loss by the nation of Israel. A great and good prophet and an eminent judge had fallen in death; and the grief of the people was deep and heart-felt.
The life of Samuel from early childhood had been a life of piety and devotion. He had been placed under the care of Eli in his youth, and the loveliness of his character drew forth the warm affection of the aged priest. He was kind, generous, diligent, obedient, and respectful. The contrast between the course of the youth Samuel and that of the priest's own sons was very marked, and Eli found rest and comfort and blessing in the presence of his charge. It was a singular thing that between Eli, the chief magistrate of the nation, and the simple child so warm a friendship should exist. Samuel was helpful and affectionate, and no father ever loved his child more tenderly than did Eli this youth. As the infirmities of age came upon Eli, he felt more keenly the disheartening, reckless, profligate course of his own sons, and he turned to Samuel for comfort and support.
How touching to see youth and old age relying one upon the other, the youth looking up to the aged for counsel and wisdom, the aged looking to the youth for help and sympathy. This is as it should be. God would have the young possess such qualifications of character that they shall find delight in the friendship of the old, that they may be united in the endearing bonds of affection to those who are approaching the borders of the grave.
From his youth up, Samuel had walked before Israel in the integrity of his heart; but he was no longer to go in and out before his people. Although Saul had been the acknowledged king of Israel, Samuel had wielded a more powerful influence than he, because his record was one of faithfulness, obedience, and devotion. We read that he judged Israel all the days of his life. The closing years of the prophet could not but be years of sadness and burden of soul. His own children had not followed the example which he had given them. They had not heeded the precepts which he had sought to impress upon their minds. They had not copied the elevated, pure, unselfish life of their father. Through their impious and selfish life they had forfeited the confidence of the people, and this was a cause of great grief to Samuel. He had been to some extent too easy and indulgent with his sons, and the result that is usually seen where this is the case, was made apparent in his family. The characters of his children were marred with selfishness, and their course was such that it made them a dishonor to the cause of God. If the warning given to Eli had exerted the influence upon the mind of Samuel that it should have done, it would have aided him in the government of his household.
The Lord said of Abraham, "I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him." If Samuel had been like Abraham, and had commanded his children after him, how different would have been the moulding of the lives of his children. Their characters were fashioned after the sight of their eyes and the hearing of their ears. The associations which they chose, the company which they kept, left an impress upon their minds; and reverence for God and sacred things was weakened.
The aged prophet had loved Saul with intense affection; but before he died, he saw the scepter dishonored in the hand of him whom he had anointed in the name of the Lord to rule Israel. He saw him as one who could not rule himself, much less a nation. With some consolation he recalled the fact that he had anointed the son of a shepherd in Bethlehem as the future king, and he looked forward to David's reign as the time when Israel would revive. The bright and morning Star was to come of the seed of David, and his throne was to be established forever.
After Israel had rejected Samuel as ruler of the nation, though well qualified for public labor, the prophet sought retirement. He was not superannuated, for he presided as teacher in the school of the prophets. This service for his God was a pleasant service. David's connection with Samuel during his stay at Naioth aroused the jealousy of Saul lest he who was revered as a prophet of God throughout all Israel, should lend his influence to the advancement of his rival. As the character and management of Saul were viewed in contrast to the character and management of Samuel, Israel saw what a mistake they had made in desiring a king, that they might not be different from the nations around them. The people looked with alarm at the condition of society, fast becoming leavened with irreligion and godlessness. The influence and example of their ruler was leaving its impression on all sides, and well might Israelmourn that Samuel, the prophet of the Lord, was dead.
The nation had lost the founder and president of their college, but that was not all. They had lost him to whom they had been accustomed to go with their great troubles. They had lost one who had constantly interceded with God in their behalf. Israel had felt more secure while the prayers of this good man ascended to Heaven for them; for "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." They felt now that they were being forsaken of God. The king seemed little less than a madman. He was abandoned of God; but he was not filled with godly sorrow for the evil course he had pursued. He was remorseful, passionate, and unable to exercise reason. The Lord had declared by the lips of Samuel the condition of the disobedient: "Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." These words found their verification in the life of Saul. The uncontrolled passions of his wicked heart made him unfit to receive counsel or advice. He refused all instruction, and acted as if possessed of a demon. Justice was perverted to cruelty, and order was turned into confusion. Oh, that Saul had humbled his proud heart before God! But anger rests in the bosom of fools, transforming those who have been made in the image of God, into the image of the evil one.
Saul had a mind and influence capable of governing a kingdom, if his powers had been submitted to the control of God, but the very endowments that qualified him for doing good could be used by Satan, when surrendered to his power, and would enable him to exert widespread influence for evil. He could be more sternly vindictive, more injurious and determined in prosecuting his unholy designs, than could others, because of the superior powers of mind and heart that had been given him of God. He had ruined his own soul, and had wrought the ruin of his house; but he was impenitent and hardened. He had brought injury and disgrace upon himself, and yet he desired that David when he should come to the throne, should preserve his house and honor his name. But his very course in pursuing his successor from place to place, and of proclaiming him an outlaw and a rebel, brought infamy upon the name he desired to have honored.
It was while Israel was racked with perplexity and internal strife, at a time when it seemed that the calm, God-fearing counsel of Samuel was most needed, that God gave his aged servant rest. Oh, how bitter were the reflections of Israel as they looked upon his quiet resting-place, and remembered their folly in rejecting him as their ruler; for he had had so close a connection with Heaven that he seemed to bind all Israel to the throne of Jehovah. It was Samuel who had taught them to love and obey God; but now that he was dead, the people felt that they were to be left to the mercies of a king who was joined to Satan, and who would divorce the people from God and Heaven.
David could not be present at the funeral of Samuel; but he mourned for him as deeply and tenderly as a faithful son could have mourned for a devoted father. He knew that his death had broken another bond of restraint from the spirit and actions of Saul, and he felt less secure than while the prophet lived. While the attention of Saul was engaged in mourning for the death of Samuel, David thought it necessary to seek for a place of greater security; so he fled to the wilderness of Paran. It was here that he composed the one hundred and twentieth and twenty-first psalms. In the desolate wilds of the wilderness, realizing that the prophet was dead, and the king was his enemy, he sang: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. . . . The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil; he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore."

LIFT ME UP.

OUT of myself, dear Lord, O lift me up! No more I trust myself in life's dim maze, Sufficient to myself in all its devious ways. I trust no more, but humbly at thy throne Pray, "Lead me, for I cannot go alone."
Out of my weary self O lift me up! I faint, the road winds upward all the way, Each night but ends another weary day. Give me thy strength, and may I be so blest As "on the heights" I find the longed-for rest.
Out of my selfish self O lift me up! To live for others, and in living so To be a blessing wheresoe'er I go, To give the sunshine that the clouds conceal, Or let them but the silver clouds reveal.
Out of my lonely self O lift me up! Tho' other hearts with love are running o'er, Tho' dear ones fill my lonely home no more, Tho' every day I miss the fond caress, Help me to join in others' happiness.
Out of my doubting self O lift me up! Help me to feel that thou art always near, That tho' 'tis night and all around seems drear, Help me to know that though I cannot see, It is my Father's hand that leadeth me.
—Selected.

WILL CHRIST'S WORDS STAND?

By Selected

PETER represents the scoffers of the last days as saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."
The stability of nature through so many ages is made, in the taunting challenge of the scoffers, the ground for concluding that the present order of the physical universe is to last forever. But Jesus, recognizing the heavens and earth as the most enduring things within the scope of natural law and the comprehension of human reason, puts the certainty of the fulfillment of his words in contrast with the durability of the visible creation.
In effect he said, These heavens, which have stood unmoved through the atmospheric convulsions of thrice two thousand years; whose stability has become the synonym for eternity, by whom men make oath of things unchangeable; whose blue drapery, unfaded by the lapse of rolling years, enrobes us still, —even these heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, and, igniting, pass away; but my words, more enduring than the sun, moon, and stars, shall not pass away. And this solid earth, which has outlived the ever-increasing earthquake shocks of all the centuries, and resisted the threatening power of its own internal fires unto this day, and which scoffers boldly declare to be a fabric indestructible, whose long survival is proof of its immutability—yea, this earth, with its constitution of iron and its surface of granite, with its ancient shores and everlasting hills, shall some day melt like wax, and be dissolved in liquid flame; but above its molten mass my words shall stand as diamonds set in the eternity of truth. "My words shall not pass away."
And this he said of his declaration that when the "great tribulation" should be past, and the "signs" all appear, he would come again in clouds, with power and glory, and reign where then he suffered.
Our hope of seeing our Christ and King is more certain than the stars, surer than the heavens, more enduring than the earth. What seems most lasting, most unchanging, most secure, may fail and cease to be; but certain as God and truth, our hope built on our Master's words will evermore abide.
"Let not my eyes with tears be dim, Let joy their upward glance illum; Look up, and watch, and wait for him— Soon, soon the Lord will come." —Selected.

"A DEAD CHRIST."

By Editor

SUCH is the title of an article in the Lutheran Observer, by Prof. W. H. Wynn, Ph. D., in which, after describing the sad experience of the disciples during the time that Christ lay in the tomb, he says:—
"But now—I dread to say it—there are signs in many quarters that the same awful burden lies close to our own doors, that all about us there drop the chill shadows of the eclipse, and the putrescence of sepulchral damps. Is Christ dead? Of course, my brethren, he is not dead. . . ."
"But somehow we seem like mourners and orphans now, hovering around the mouth of an empty grave, with forlorn hope that somewhere its vanished occupant may be found; or we have thrown open our churches to the in-rushing world that cares little whether he be dead or alive."
"In some cases the creed has sent him into far-off princely isolation—enveloping him in the retreating splendors of an unapproachable throne, having vicegerents on earth, other and less sympathetic than himself; and in this case he is as good as dead. More frequently our church sins crucify him afresh, and put him to an open shame, and cast him forth with a flourish of worldly trumpets into the reeking charnel-pits of the place of skulls."
"You know how it is, my brethren. You see it every day. When you rise up to preach and pray in the temple whither your flock has congregated, it comes into your mind that, neither for yourself nor for your people, is there an overpowering sense of a living, communing Master—rather that he is dead, or is in exile, or is as a stranger that has entered your circle and cannot find a seat. The sins of the week, and the worldliness afloat, choke your devotions, and your very audience-chamber echoes like a vault. Almost you are beginning to say: Brethren, the Master lies here dead—in state, it is true, with all the splendors and hatchments of his departed royalty lying about him, but—he is dead. Our sins have slain him, and you may come and identify the cruel gashes that your own murderous hands have made; but if you speak to him, he cannot answer. Your regrets and prayers he cannot hear, and all his ancient ardors, his pity, his miracles, his love which we thought almighty, has expired in death. You do not say this, for it would be the language of despair. You beat away theblasphemous suggestion, but none the less the pall of bereavement throws its sable folds around you, and you sit down to the eucharist as to a funeral feast."
These are sad words, but, alas! they are too true. Coldness, formality, and sin have grieved the Spirit of the Master away from very many congregations, and to them Christ is dead, for he has forsaken their assemblies.

AN ORTHODOX SQUIRREL.

By T. P. Wilson, M. D.

My attention was arrested the other day by what I saw in the window of a little shop. Cages hung from wires and hooks, while their occupants seemed intent upon making the most of their limited space, by leaping from side to side, and from top to bottom. Attracted by an idle curiosity, I entered, and accosted the proprietor.
"Well, my friend, you have quite a show of animals. This is a small menagerie in its way, is it not?"
"Rather, sir; I call it my theological shop," said he. "Possibly you may not think it, sir, but these birds and squirrels have a deal of human nature in 'em. Here, now, is a cage with only one squirrel in it. He represents a large and respectable class of religionists. See how sleek and quiet he is. He can't bite anything. He's what I call a thoroughly orthodox squirrel."
"How, then, does he get his living? How does he crack those nuts in his cage?"
"He doesn't crack anything," replied the man. "He fumbles over the nuts, and waits until I get time to crack them for him. I'll tell you how this came about. He has long been the pet of a party who took especial pleasure in preparing his food for him. In order to save the little fellow time and trouble, his master cracked all his nuts, and now the poor squirrel's teeth have grown out of shape, and can't possibly gnaw anything that is hard."
"Well, what has this to do with theology?"
"Oh, a great deal, as I shall now show you. He is just like a great many good people that belong to the church. They depend upon somebody's feeding them with carefully prepared food. They live spiritually on the Bible and the terms of their creed, but these things have to be cooked before they are eaten. The clergymen and the commentators crack all hard questions, and make them so palatable the believers have only to believe; they never think of thinking for themselves on any doubtful or knotty point. After a while they lose the power of doing otherwise, and so live on what others are pleased to feed them with."

WHAT IS "PRESENT SALVATION"?

By C. P. Bollman

THE words "present salvation" are much used, and we might add much abused, by a class of religionists who profess to enjoy this freedom, while they reject the only means by which it may be attained. They are wont to claim all the promises and blessings, while refusing to comply with the conditions upon which only they are obtainable. That the Bible justifies the use of the term, in a certain sense, is true; and our object now is to show from the sacred Scriptures its proper meaning.
"Present salvation" differs from ultimate or final salvation in that while the latter is the redemption of the body (Rom. 8:23), and exemption from the second death (Rev. 20:6), the former is freedom from the bondage of sin, and is a necessary antecedent of eternal life.
Paul, in the sixth chapter of Romans, represents the natural man as the servant (slave) of sin; and as death frees from slavery, the carnal nature must die. "For," says Paul, "he that is dead is freed from sin."
If we still ask why this death must take place, the answer is found in these words: "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Rom. 8:7. To serve sin is to obey the law of sin (Rom. 6:16; 7:23); and to serve God is to keep his law. 1 John 5:3. Christ's mission to the world was not only to purchase for us eternal life, but to bring usinto harmony with the divine law, and obtain for us "present salvation," viz., freedom from the bondage of sin in this life. Therefore the Christian who looks only at the future happy life, caring little how the present probationary one is spent, is in great danger of finding himself at last among those to whom the King will say, "Depart from me, I never knew you."
Jesus saves his people from sin, not in sin. Matt. 1:21. And as sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4), he saves them from sin by imparting grace to keep God's holy law; and not, as some suppose, by granting license to violate that which inspiration says is perfect. Ps. 19:7.
With this agree the words of Paul, Rom. 8:3, 4, where he says that God sent his Son into the world "that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit." In verse 13 he says: "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." And in verse 15 he adds, "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."
Thus we find that in harmony with the law of God—walking after the Spirit—we are free from sin, and in the enjoyment of "present salvation."
Pardon for sin comes only through Christ. The law condemns the transgressor, and cannot save a single soul, "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." And after we have done everything that we can do, we have done only our duty, and must still say, "We are unprofitable servants."
But because salvation is of faith, and a free gift from God, shall we sin (transgress the law) "that grace may abound"? "God forbid," says the apostle; "how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?" Rom. 6:1, 2.
The Spirit, which proceeds from the Father, acts an important part in bringing us into, and keeping us in, harmony with God's law. By its operation on our hearts and consciences they are made tender, and we are enabled to realize more fully than we otherwise could the claims of the law as set forth in the teachings and in the life of the Saviour himself. He came not to do his own will, but the will of his Father, and by both precept and example magnified the law and made it honorable, thus fulfilling Isa. 42:21.
It is surely the privilege of the Christian to so live that he will not be under condemnation; that he will have confidence toward God, and can humbly, yet boldly, claim the promises. 1 John 3:22. This was David's experience as set forth in Ps. 119:44, 45, where he says: "So shall I keep thy law continually forever and ever. And I will walk at liberty; for I seek thy precepts." The apostle James teaches the same great truth, that in keeping God's law there is freedom from the bondage of sin, when he calls it "the perfect law of liberty." Truly the most perfect liberty which any human being can enjoy is freedom from the yoke of sin.
The teaching of the word of God is not yea and nay, but yea and amen. We do not find that the people of God were saved in a former dispensation by works without faith in a Saviour to come; nor in this dispensation by faith in a Saviour already come, but without works, by which alone we show our faith. James 2:17-20.
The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, reveals but one Saviour and but one plan of salvation. And that plan is briefly summed up by Paul as "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." And in harmony with this we read in Rev. 14:12, of a people who, just before the coming of the Son of man on the white cloud, are keeping "the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."
If we desire salvation from sin we must seek it through faith in the Son, and obedience to the Father. If we would be sanctified, it must be by the word of God. Jesus prayed: "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth." John 17:17. C. P. BOLLMAN.

AN IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE.

Few persons seem to recognize the difference between narrow-mindedness and definiteness; between stability, or fixity, and simple immobility. He is most often regarded as narrow-minded who is merely definitely minded; and he is regarded as illiberal and unprogressive who is merely stable and fixed in his principles. But the real truth is, that fixity is the first and most necessary condition of progress. One must know just where he stands before he can tell which way to move. The most undeviating compass would be of comparatively little use unless the mariner had some definite idea of his present position. We must have fixed principles, therefore, before we can fairly claim progressive principles.
Yet those persons who regard themselves as the most progressive, the most advanced, or, as they usually call it, the most "liberal," are generally the very persons who have the least fixity, the least definiteness; who least know where they stand, and who consequently least know which way they are moving; and he who knows not which way he moves, is pretty sure to be moving downward or backward. We can better afford to run the risk of being thought narrow-minded because we have fixed and definite principles, than we can afford to permit ourselves to be vague, indefinite, unstable, and no-minded, for the sake of being erroneously regarded as progressive or liberal.—S. S. Times.

HYMN.

By Laura Harvey

"So he bringeth them unto their desired haven." Ps. 107:30.
How does He lead them? This they cannot tell, They only know He doeth all things well— Through fire and water some, where floods do meet, O'er briers and thorns, with torn and bleeding feet, Where tempests rage and storms burst overhead, And clouds portentous all around are spread; But still he leads them, rough or smooth the way, And all his paths are peace, and lead to day.
And some, where springs abound and pastures sweet, Go singing all the way with gladsome feet; And some he leadeth gently on the way, Guiding the wandering steps that fain would stray; Others go trembling on the road for fear, With faith so weak that will not see him near— But still he leads them, rough or smooth the way, Who follow on to know. He shows the way.
How does he draw them? Some by cords of love, That sweetest cord to lift the soul above. But not all thus—so wisely doth he lead— Love would not always answer to their need; And so, by other cords,—pain, fear, unrest,— But always just the one most fit and best; And so he draws them from themselves and sin, Until they find their perfect rest in him.
How does He keep them? This is theirs alone To whom the secret of the Lord is known— In perfect peace, though outward foes prevail, They stand upon a Rock none dare assail; Though every human prop has given way, They rest in him, their Comforter and Stay— And so he keeps them till, their journey o'er, They enter in where they go out no more.
—Laura Harvey.

FAITH AND WORKS.

If you have been renewed in the spirit of your mind, and thus made a new creature in Christ Jesus, it has been by living faith. This faith must be followed by, or must produce, obedience. It cannot remain alone. It would die. It will find expression in obedience, and in every known act of obedience. Duties need not be laid upon it as requirements and obligations, things that must be done. It is driven to obedience by an inward force of its own, not by an outward compulsion. It cannot be severed from obedience any more than the fruit can be matured apart from the tree. But it must be faith in Christ, not faith in theological propositions. Men who believe dogmas may not live them; but men who have true faith in Christ will live in obedience to Christ.—Church Advocate.

SOMETHING FOR PROTESTANTS TO THINK ABOUT.

The California Catholic, published in Los Angeles, says:—
“It would not surprise us if Catholics elected the President of the United States, not only this year, but every fourth year from 1888 to the end of time. At the rate they are increasing in this country, this is a conclusion one may easily arrive at without the least claim to prophetic spirit, or even to much depth of thinking. Nay, this is very much backed up by the experience of 1884; there is not a politician in America who doubts that Cleveland is the present incumbent of the White House by the power of the Catholic vote. Up to the momentous hour of Parson Burchard's speech, thousands of Catholics in New York City, Brooklyn, and New Jersey had decided to vote for Blaine. But there came the famous alliteration of this learned divine: 'Rum, Romanism, Rebellion.' It was a thunder-bolt out of a clear sky, smiting the Republican camp. Catholics indulged in some thinking then—they do it oftener than they are given credit for. The result of their thinking was that a party which could countenance such insult to their church was a party it was best for them to get clear of, and they did. The result was Cleveland's election. And now, ye rulers of earth, great and small of the world, read, ponder, understand—and beware of the rock!”
This simply means that the Roman Catholic vote of this country is to be held as a club over the heads of the two great political parties, to deter them from any action distasteful to Papists. Just how Romanists will vote at the coming election is not now known, but that they have power to turn the scale the one way or the other as they choose is beyond question.

WHICH IS THE MORE VALUABLE?

By John Nevins Andrews

"For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." John 12:43.
For this reason, many of the chief rulers did not confess their faith in Christ. For the same reason, in all ages the greater part of all who have had knowledge of Christ have failed to confess him in their lives. One of two things must be true: Either the religion of Christ is overestimated, or these persons make a fatal mistake. Christ has promised that those who serve him shall be honored by his Father. John 12:26. But he has also informed us that, if we serve him, we shall have our names cast out as evil, and shall suffer shame for his sake, even as he suffered it for us. Matt. 10:25. Those who seek the honor that comes from God, must be willing to have their names lightly esteemed by men. Those who seek the honor that comes from men, must expect at the last day to come short of that honor which God shall bestow upon those that honor the Saviour. We cannot have the praise of men and that which comes from God also. We must choose which we will have. What are the grounds of choice?
1. The praise that comes from men is often bestowed upon those whose conduct is prompted by motives that are base, unworthy, and selfish; while actions that are truly generous, noble, and self-sacrificing, are only derided and despised. Moreover the praise of men is only fleeting, and may at any time turn to reproach and scorn.
2. But the praise that comes from God is given only to those who are worthy in his pure and all-discerning sight. The honor that God bestows will elevate those who receive it to the throne of Christ, and will endure forever. Surely there can be no question that this is of infinite value.
Now God tests us by giving us to suffer reproach for his truth. But he promises that this reproach shall turn to glory and honor when he vindicates his cause and manifests his people, as he will at the last day. It is best to believe God. And if it be necessary to have our names cast out as evil, let us only be anxious to know that they are in the book of life, and we may leave all the rest to him. —J. N. Andrews.

THE RESTORATION OF THE SABBATH.

By R. F. Cottrell

Prophecy foretold the casting down of the truth, the change, the mutilation of the law of God, the robbing it of its seal; which has been done by the Roman apostasy. It was also foreshown that this wicked power would substitute the mark of its authority in the place of the seal of God, which it has accordingly done, and that a strong effort will yet be made to compel all to receive this mark, under the severest penalties. Rev. 13:11-18. But the truth will not be left without vindication to the end of time. God prepared a message in prophecy to be fulfilled by actual proclamation as the closing message of probation, forbidding the worship of the beast and his image, and the reception of his mark, under the penalty of the wrath of God without mixture, even the seven last plagues. This message will arouse the true and loyal, and restore to them "the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." This is the closing work of God, the finishing of the work of the Reformation, as the next event is the coming of the Son of man (verse 14), to reap the harvest of the earth. These commandments include the down-trodden Sabbath of the Lord.
Isa. 8:16 points to the restoration of the Sabbath of the law in these words: "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples." This prophecy must necessarily have its fulfillment after the Papacy has done its work of changing the law, tearing off its seal; for before that no breach in the testimony existed to be bound up and healed; the law had not been robbed of its seal, and therefore needed no sealing. God did not write a law at Sinai without a seal. His name and title of authority were signed at the bottom of the first table, that enjoining our duty especially to him, our Creator.
In Isa. 58:13, 14 we find recorded a most gracious promise to those who in the last days honor the Sabbath. To such the Lord says: "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." The people addressed in this prophecy have the Sabbath under foot, doing their pleasure on the Lord's holy day. Now, if they change their course, take their feet off the Sabbath, andhonor God by its observance, as he has commanded, he will fulfill to them the most precious promises, giving them a part in the glorious inheritance of his people.
In the opening of this chapter it said, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily," etc. This language is full of meaning. At the time when it is applicable the people of God are guilty of one particular transgression, besides various other sins. This transgression must be shown them; for many of them are ignorant of it. They are seeking God daily, "as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance [singular number], of their God." They must be aroused; therefore it is said, "Cry aloud." This is the work of the last message, which says, "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image," etc. As the effect of this proclamation the remnant of God's people are manifested keeping his commandments,—all of them; and this includes the long-neglected Sabbath. On this account Satan will wage his last war upon them: "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev. 12: 17.
Isaiah 56 is very plain in regard to a Sabbath reform in the last days: "Thus saith the Lord, keep ye judgment, and do justice; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed." This locates the application of the prophecy in the last days; for the elect of God are "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Pet. 1: 5. It is the second coming of Christ that brings this salvation, as we read in Heb. 9: 28: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Now when Christ is about to come and bring this everlasting salvation with him, and the righteous judgments of God are about to be revealed in the seven last plagues, it is said, "Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil." On the supposition that the Sabbath was made for the Jews alone, the text should read, "Blessed is the Jew that doeth this, and the son of a Jew that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it." But the promised blessing has a wider range. It includes all that can claim to be called man.
The language clearly implies a Sabbath reform—a laying hold of the Sabbath by those who have not been keeping it. We cannot lay hold of that which we already hold firmly in our hands; therefore the text refers to those who have not previously been keeping the Sabbath, but at this time begin its observance, as we see it being done at the present day. The text goes on to particularize the sons of the stranger, those who have not been accounted the people of God, the Gentiles, promising them, on condition of keeping the Sabbath and laying hold on his covenant, "an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off."
The fulfillment of prophecy is its confirmation. The breach in the law is being repaired by the restoration of the Sabbath. Thousands in various parts all over the earth are heeding the warning of the last message, turning from the commandments of men to the commandments of God. The word of God is being confirmed. Those who have little or no faith in that word look on "with brute unconscious gaze," while those who believe are moving in the direction of the light so clearly shining from the precious Bible. They recognize the hand of God fulfilling his word, and rejoice for the consolation. They know by the fulfillment of his promises that the God of the Bible is the living God, that he lives to-day, and is not a God who once lived and is now dead, as many seem to suppose, from their lack of faith in present truth.
Reader, do you believe the Bible to be a revelation from God? Arouse! and see what God is doing in its confirmation at the present day. The prophecies of the last days are rapidly being fulfilled. Soon the great work of salvation for our race will be completed. Let us share in the work, before it is too late, and then in the great reward soon to be given.
R. F. COTTRELL.
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