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Signs of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 48.

The Christian's Rest

Signs of the Times

Dec 17, 1885

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Dec 17, 1885

The Christian's Rest.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
HERE is revealed the secret of the Christian's rest. It is found only in Christ. If we possess his meekness of spirit, we shall find peace and joy in him. The world is full of unrest, trials, and difficulties. It is an enemy's land, and on every hand we are beset by temptations. "In the world," says Jesus, "ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world;" and "my peace I give unto you."
Our Saviour represents his requirements as a yoke, and the Christian life as one of burden-bearing. Yet, contrasting these with the cruel power of Satan and with the burdens imposed by sin, he declares: "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." When we try to live the life of a Christian, to bear its responsibilities and perform its duties without Christ as a helper, the yoke is galling, the burden intolerably heavy. But Jesus does not desire us to do this. To the sin-sick soul, weary and heavy laden with its burden of guilt and care, he extends the gracious invitation: "Come unto me, and I will give you rest." "Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
Many profess to come to Christ, while they yet cling to their own ways, which are a painful yoke. Selfishness, covetousness, ambition, love of the world, or some other cherished sin, destroys their peace and joy. They are restless, impatient, dissatisfied, their spirits chafe under the weight of care and responsibility, all because they have not made a complete surrender to Jesus, and are seeking to carry their burden without his aid. If he were by their side, the sunshine of his presence would scatter every cloud; the help of his strong arm would lighten every burden.
Christ gave himself for us "that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." His true followers are unlike the world in words, in works, and in deportment. But many are so fearful of provoking unfriendly criticism or malicious gossip that they have not the moral courage to act from principle. They dare not identify themselves with those who follow Christ fully. They love the world; and they desire to conform to its customs and to secure the approbation of worldlings. They thus cumber themselves with needless cares and anxieties, and weigh themselves down with heavy burdens. Oh! why will not all the professed children of God follow the Saviour fully? Why will they take upon themselves burdens which he has not imposed?
We should be much happier and more useful, if our home life and social intercourse were governed by the principles of the Christian religion, and illustrated the meekness and simplicity of Christ. Instead of toiling to make a display, and to excite admiration and envy, let it appear that we are striving to conform to the will of Christ. Let visitors see that we try to make all around us happy by our cheerfulness, sympathy, and love.
While we endeavor to secure the comfort and happiness of our guests, let us not overlook our obligation to God. The hour of prayer should not be neglected for any consideration. Do not give the time to conversation and recreation until you are too weary to enjoy the season of devotion. To do this is to present to God a lame offering. At an early hour of the evening, when you can pray unhurriedly and understandingly, present your supplication, and raise your voices in happy, grateful praise. Let all who visit Christians see that the hour of prayer is the most sacred, the most precious, and the happiest hour of the day. Such an example will not be without effect. These seasons of devotion exert a refining, elevating influence upon all who participate in them. Right thoughts and new and better desires will be awakened in the hearts of the most careless. The hour of prayer brings a peace and rest grateful to the weary spirit; for the very atmosphere of a Christian home is that of peace and restfulness.
In every act the Christian should seek to represent his Master, to make his service appear attractive. Let none make religion repulsive by persistent gloominess, and by relating their trials and their difficulties, their self-denials and their sacrifices. Talk of these things less, my fellow-Christian, and more of the matchless love of Jesus, of Heaven and its glories. Do not give the lie to your profession of faith by impatience, fretfulness, and repining. Let it be seen that with you the love of Christ is an abiding motive; that your religion is not like a garment that may be put off and resumed again, as the circumstances demand, but a principle, calm, steady, unvarying,—one that rules your whole life. Alas, that pride, unbelief, and selfishness, like a foul cancer, are eating out vital godliness from the heart of many a professed Christian! When judged according to their works, how many will learn, too late, that their religion was but a glittering cheat, unacknowledged by the world's Redeemer.
Whatever your lot in life may be, remember that you are in the service of Christ, and manifest a contented, grateful spirit. Whatever your burden or cross, lift it in the name of Jesus; bear it in his strength. He pronounces the yoke easy, and the burden light; and I believe him, for I have proved the truth of his words. Every provision has been made for us at an infinite cost, that we may have the blessedness of Heaven wrought into our every-day life. We may walk in the sunlight of the divine presence, and weave into our characters the golden threads of forbearance and love, gratitude and peace. We shall thus be reflecting the light of Heaven amid all the frets and irritations that come to us day by day.
It is only through earnest, persevering effort, aided by the grace of God, that we can reach this height of moral excellence. But this is the religion that is the light of the world. The church is becoming weak for the want of consecrated members, who feel that they are not their own; that their time, their talents, their energies, belong to Christ; that he has bought them with his blood, and is pleading for them in the sanctuary above. There are many who have never felt the necessity of subduing self, and overcoming wicked tempers. They cherish bitterness and wrath in their hearts, and these evil traits defile the soul. They thus deny Christ, and darken the pathway of others. None will be excused for the exhibition of uncontrollable tempers; thousands will miss of Heaven through their want of self-control.
We are to let nothing, small or great, unbalance us. Nine-tenths of the trials and perplexities that so many worry over are either imaginary, or brought upon themselves by their own wrong course. They should cease to talk of these trials, and to magnify them. The Christian may commit every worriment, every disturbing thing to God. Nothing is too small for our compassionate Saviour to notice; nothing is too great for him to carry. Then let us set our hearts and homes in order; let us teach our children that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and let us, by a cheerful, happy, well-ordered life, express our gratitude and love to Him "who giveth us richly all things to enjoy." But above all things, let us fix our thoughts and the affections of our hearts on the dear Saviour who suffered for guilty man, and thus opened Heaven for us.
Love to Jesus cannot be hidden, but will make itself seen and felt. It exerts a wondrous power. It makes the timid bold, the slothful diligent, the ignorant wise. It makes the stammering tongue eloquent, and rouses the dormant intellect into new life and vigor. It makes the desponding hopeful, the gloomy joyous. Love to Christ will lead its possessor to accept responsibilities and cares for his sake, and tobear them in his strength. Love to Christ will not be dismayed by tribulation, nor turned aside from duty by reproaches. And the soul that is not imbued with this love for Jesus is none of his.
Peace in Christ is of more value than all the treasures of earth. Then let us open our hearts to the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Let us seek the Lord with all the heart, and learn of Christ to be meek and lowly, that we may find rest of soul. Let us work cheerfully, joyously in the service of our Master, remembering that the deportment as well as the words of the Christian should be such as to awaken in the heart of the sinner a desire to come to the Fountain of life.
Let us go forward; for we are striving for an immortal crown. Let us be diligent to make our calling and election sure. A slothful, languid professor will never secure an entrance into the kingdom of God. From the cross to the crown, there is earnest work to be done. There is wrestling against inbred sin; there is warfare against outward wrong. But we shall triumph at last, if we do not become weary in well-doing. Heaven's portals will be opened for every one who does his best for God and his fellow-men.

"IN ALL THY WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM."

"In all thy ways acknowledge Him" To whom thy path is known; Thy wisdom is to trust his care Nor strive to walk alone. Commit thy way to God; the rest Leave to his will—he knoweth best.
"In all thy ways," in each rough path, Stretch forth thy feeble hands, And seek protection in his love, Who Heaven and earth commands. Thy strength in each emergency Sufficient "for the day" shall be.
"In all thy ways;" when clouds arise And darkness dims the way, He knows thy griefs—appoints e'en this Deep sorrow—oh, then "pray;" Thy burden roll upon the Lord, And stay thyself upon his word.
"In all thy ways;" thy strength brought down, With lingering sickness pressed; Too weak to raise thy head, thou mayst Rest on thy Master's breast. Tho' now the end thou can'st not see, Thou yet shalt say, "'Twas good for me."
"In all thy ways acknowledge him," Leave every painful doubt To him whose name is "Wonderful," His ways past finding out. In childlike faith his rod receive, His precious promises believe. —Sel.

Why Do Not People Attend Church?

THIS question was the subject of discussion lately, at the Ministerial Union of Detroit, Mich. A paper was read upon which the Toledo Blade of November 19 makes the following just remarks. They are good reading for all who name the name of Christ, and especially so for the popular pulpit.
Our reverend friend in Detroit says that one great reason why children and young people do not attend regular church service is that they are not taken there by their parents; that the latter are absentees from the sanctuary, and the force of example keeps the children from attending. To our mind, the same reasons operate with the children as with the adult population of our cities. And we will give his views as to these reasons:—
"One barrier to the common people is the expensively furnished interior of our churches. Many will regard this as a very empty and foolish objection, but careful examination will find it full of truth. Men and women who live on rag-carpet floors, or on floors with no carpets, can only be reached by places of worship somewhat on a level with their home life. Again, the church has too much the character of a dress parade. I am not entering upon the question of dress in general; it may be as right and proper to dress in ermine and silk as in calico; but in the temple of God, where all classes of people are supposed to meet, there should be a leveling of dress, so that the poor man and woman would not appear in such embarrassing contrast.
"But I come to the monster evil, the one great barricade over which the common people will not climb, and could not if they would. I refer to the pew-renting system. The pews in the church which I serve are all rented, so I am not reflecting on any church or on any individual. But I speak of a system which has grown up with us and around us, which furnishes, perhaps, the supreme hindrance to our common people. Though it is not intended, it is a premium given to rich and well-to-do people to go to church with an assurance that when they get there they will be found in good company; and, on the other hand, it is a forcible invitation for the masses to remain at home until they can rent a pew. It is no more possible for the laboring classes to attend church under this system of monopoly than it would be for them to rent boxes at the theater. But we say the poor people would be welcome. On the surface that is true; but when you put the knife of examination into it, it is as much like the truth as the tallow candle is like the sun. How long would this welcome be extended to these new-comers by pewholders crowded out of their pews?"
With all due deference to our Detroit ministerial friend, we do not think that he goes to the root of the matter. All the points that he makes are good, and all have their bearing on the non-attendance of the masses upon the services of the churches; but they are as nothing compared with the one fact that the people are utterly indifferent to religion. They care nothing about it. The affairs of the present engross them, and those of the future, beyond this life, are not considered. The struggle for existence, providing for the physical wants of themselves and their families, take up their time and attention. They are not, as a rule, antagonistic to religion or to the church; their attitude is one of utter and complete indifference thereto. And one great barrier to the arousing of an interest is the fact that they can see no marked difference between the lives of professed Christians, as a rule, and their own lives. The difference may exist, but it is not visible to them.
They see all around them church members who are far from fulfilling their ideal of what a Christian should be; they see a business man, for instance, who will take an unfair advantage when it will result in his pecuniary benefit; they see persons who are professed Christians exhibiting malice, anger, and uncharitableness; they see them grasping and penurious, grinding the faces of the poor; they note in them practices at variance with the faith they profess; and they see no difference in the lives of these persons for at least six days in the week from the lives of the mass of people not claiming to be Christians, and who do not attend the churches.
The inevitable inference is that Christians join the church for social advantage, or for other motives other than those that should actuate them. They look on church people collectively as somewhat hypocritical, and this view drives them away.
Now, what is the remedy? What means can be taken to bring the people into the churches, or the children into the Sunday-schools? To our mind, there is but one; to rouse the masses to a recognition of the importance of religion. They must awaken to the mighty interests they are neglecting; they must be made to realize that the eternal welfare of their souls is being imperiled. Our ministers must cease to be mere pulpiteers. Like the mighty Founder of the religion they profess, they must go out and seek the lost. If the people will not go to them, they must go to the people, visit them in their homes, rouse them, and waken in their minds the desire to know more of religion. And the burden must not fall alone on the ministers. Every man and woman who claims the Christian name must help in this work; first, by casting out of their own lives all that is impure or at variance with the sublime faith which they profess, that they may not cause their brethren to err; second, by aiding in the work of arousing all around them to the supreme importance of a religious life. Let all Christians purify their own lives, that they may stand as living exemplars of the faith they profess, and then let pews and pulpit join to bring all within the fold.

Character Forged Through Suffering

The best part of a Christian character is that which is procured at the greatest cost. Patience is a beautiful trait, but it is the product of dark nights of suffering and dark days of adversity. "For it is the trial of your faith that worketh patience."—Rev. J. Wilbur Chapman.

Virtue Measured by Daily Life

A man's virtue should be measured, not by his occasional exertions, but by the doings of his ordinary life. —Sel.

Confessing Christ.

"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Mark you, it is the Lord Jesus and his resurrection from the dead which is here specified as the subject of confession. And this confession is made by the mouth. It is most interesting to observe how minute and specific the declaration of God is concerning the way of life. "With the mouth confession is made unto salvation." "Faith cometh by hearing," and so it is that grace enters into the heart by way of ear-gate. But confession comes by speaking, and therefore its declaration must go through mouth-gate.
There is an old cannon in existence which was once used by the Scottish covenanters. On its brazen lips are inscribed these words, "O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise." There seems to be something of the same martial tone in the words of the apostle: "Fight the good fight of faith;" "Confess a good confession." Bombard the forts of unbelief by a volley of testimonies. The open mouth of a Christian is a port-hole of the Spirit of God, which Satan is especially anxious to close. If he can only spike the guns of the young believer, so that he shall not speak for Christ, he has practically conquered him. He has silenced him, which is half the battle, since confession is one-half the condition of life eternal.
Now you can see, on a moment's reflection, why confession holds so important a place in the fact of conversion. In the first place, confession is the development of faith. A good teacher will sometimes say to his pupils, "You don't know a thing till you tell it." It is precisely so with faith. A belief unconfessed is only half a belief. It may develop into a conviction, or it may subside into an unbelief. You cannot determine as yet. The only way to insure its continuance is to tell it out. It is faith, indeed, by which we are justified; but faith that is not confessed is not faith. The bird is in the egg. But unless it breaks the shell, and opens its wings, and flies heavenward, it will soon perish. And so faith, if it remains only a latent, undeveloped thing, must soon cease to be. It is just as true that faith without words is dead, as that faith without works is dead.
And then, besides, a lip confession gives a certain irrevocableness to our faith. A secret faith I can retract at any moment I choose to do so. It is in my own hands as yet, to do as I please with. I can publish it or suppress it, as I like. But not so when I have confessed it before others. Then it has gone into words, and taken wings to itself, and I can never recall it. Words are the most irrevocable of things. My thoughts, though they are swifter than the lightning, I can yet overtake and bring home again. For so long as they are only thoughts, they have not gone out of my keeping. I still have bit and bridle upon them, and can rein them in, and take them back. But my words are not mine. They have gone into other ears, and have been recorded in other memories. I have put them out of my keeping. And this I believe to be one principal reason why the Lord requires a confession of our faith. Such confession binds us. It has gone on record. It has become common property. I cannot take it back. It is like a letter dropped into the mail-box. Now it is in my power; but the moment it has passed from my hand, and entered that narrow aperture, it has gone into the public mail, and I cannot recall it.—A. J. Gordon, D. D., in Golden Rule.

Using the Present Moment Wisely

The surest method of arriving at a knowledge of God's eternal purposes about us is to be found in the right use of the present moment.—Sel.

The Best Time to Pray.

A REMARK which I heard from the pulpit in my boyhood made a deep impression on my mind, and has been of great practical use to me many times ever since. It was this: "When you feel least like praying, then of all other times is the time to pray."
There are times of peculiar depression which every one has felt, when the mind becomes the prey of languor and melancholy. The causes of such a condition it is not always easy to determine. We cannot always distinguish between the animal and spiritual in our natures. It may be only a morbid condition of body that has produced a morbid condition of mind. We may think our case to be a case of spiritual desertion when it is only a case of ennui or indigestion. Disordered bodily organs affect the brain sympathetically; the mental poise is disturbed, and we begin to tremble and doubt and fear, loosening our hold upon the promises when we should tighten it. The words of the prophet are pertinent to such a condition: "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." An apostle teaches a like lesson when he says, "We walk by faith, not by sight."
If some certain frame of our minds or state of our feelings were requisite to our acceptance with God, who but must despair of acceptance? But we are "accepted in the Beloved." And, albeit it becomes us to hide our faces, so often shaded with gloom and quiet, in the dust of contrition, we may ever cry with penitent faith, "Behold, O God, our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed." It is the privilege of the believer, when some melancholy mood is upon him, with praiseful and prayerful heart to exclaim, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." Yes, pray the more because of your low spirits and your desponding thoughts; and the Sun of Righteousness will shine through the mists and vapors to the joy of your soul, for "light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart."
But we have real as well as fancied afflictions; and under the pressure of some sudden, and, as it appears to us, strange trouble, we may be almost irresistibly inclined to "cast away our confidence." We are— "Encompassed with clouds of distress, Just ready all hope to resign." And wherefore? Our case is thus described by the pen of inspiration: "Ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him." We are very slow to understand that such a time is one of our chief spiritual opportunities. "A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." It is one of the blessed prerogatives of Christ in his relation to his people "to give unto them
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." Divine grace is adjusted to all the changing conditions of divine providence, with full provisions for every new want, and with special intervention for every new emergency. The greater the need of his people, the greater the succor their Lord will afford them. They cry aloud, and he hastens to their relief. What better time can there be for prayer than the time of our direst necessity? "Is any afflicted, let him pray."
That vile tempter who is always lying in wait to deceive us will contrive, if possible, to get us into some moral difficulty, and then delude us into the idea that we must relieve ourselves of the difficulty before we dare to call upon God. Such are "the depths of Satan." Happy are they who are "not ignorant of his devices." Betaking themselves to the sure word of promise, they will find it written there: "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." From the edge of the net, the pit, the prison, in which Satan would fain inclose them, they cry to a covenant-keeping God, and are delivered. When is the very best time to pray, if it be not when the very stress of trouble is upon us, when the hour of greatest extremity is reached, when the deadliest peril is imminent?
The sinner is more easily deceived. He waits for what he imagines will be a better time to pray. He spangles himself over with tinsel merits, striving in vain to make himself worthy to approach a holy God. He imagines that he may yet give himself a better recommendation to the Saviour than he now dares to do. O foolish sinner, add not to your guilt by delay, but come just as you now are, and beg for mercy at the hands of your Redeemer. He might justly spurn you; but, O, he will not, if you will but seek his favor at once as he bids you. Now, now is the best time for you to pray.—S. Cornelius, D. D., in the Baptist Flag.

Abundantly Pardon.

"Our God will abundantly pardon." What a thought! What depth of love it expresses! Did you ever grieve or wrong a friend, who, when asked to forgive the offense, looked at you coldly and suspiciously, and slowly said, "Yes; I will forgive you"? And did you feel that that was abundant pardon? Nay, verily; such a pardon left no sunlight in either heart. But perchance you may have known what I have known,—a pardon expressed in such tender tones and by such loving looks that you felt that it healed the wound, even though it could not remove the scar. If so, you can appreciate in some small degree what abundant pardon is.
And God will abundantly pardon our sins if we hate them, if we turn from them. But if we cherish our sins, and still seek him, he cannot pardon; for he cannot cleanse, and he will cleanse those whom he pardons. The sinner comes to him all defilement and sin-stains, yet hating the thoughts and practices that have brought him into this condition. Consequently, the first thing God does after granting pardon is to cleanse the heart; but if we love that which defiles, he cannot cleanse us. He will never force us to give up that which we love. He will permit us to come so near to him that we can see how guilty we are, can see his great glory and our sinful condition; but if we cling to our sins, he must leave us as we are. If we are unwilling to be cleansed, then we cannot share the abundant pardon of our God.
Do we not want this abundant pardon? Oh, what depths of sin do we find ourselves walking in! We see how amazing is the difference between our characters and that of Him who "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." As our condition is revealed to us by the searching light of God's pure law, we moan in anguish. Such defilement it seems to us can never be cleansed away; but sweetly come the words: "Who forgiveth all thine iniquities?" "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;" "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out;" and so we come, trusting his abundant mercy.
Then let us praise his holy name for this abundant pardon promised in his word.
"Oh, 'twas love, 'twas wondrous love! The love of God to me; It brought my Saviour from above, To die on Calvary."
When we realize our sinful condition as it is, then, and not till then, can we realize the wondrous love, the great salvation. Oh! let us earnestly plead: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right Spirit within me."
"Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, To thy precious bleeding side." MRS. M. J. BAHLER.

Delight in the Law.

To DELIGHT in the law of God is a virtue, according to both the Old Testament and the New. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, . . . but his delight is in the law of the Lord." Ps. 1:1, 2. The psalmist repeatedly says, "Thy law is my delight." Ps. 119:77, 174. He prophesies of Christ, when he should come into the world (See Heb. 10:5-7); and the language of his heart is the same: "I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart." Ps. 40:8. Jesus obeyed the law,—"he did no sin,"—and he proclaimed it as the foundation truth of his mission. Obedience to its precepts was required by him from all people in all time to come, who would have a part in his kingdom. Matt. 5:17-20. The apostle Paul was a "chosen vessel" of his to bear his name to the Gentiles; and he could say, with his Master, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man." Rom. 7:22.
Now I propose a question: Was the law in which David, and Jesus, and Paul delighted the very same law, or did one delight in one thing, another in another, and the third in something else? If it was the same law in each instance, could it require David to do one thing, and Paul to do another? Could the same law require David to rest from secular labor and business on the seventh day of the week, because God rested on that day from the work of creation, and require Paul to rest on the first day, because Jesus arose from the dead on that day? Since the Scriptures are silent on the subject of this change, an explanation from those who would enforce Sunday-keeping by civil law, would seem highly proper, and it would be duly appreciated. R. F. COTTRELL.

Trusting God Without Searching

LET us never forget that the true attitude of faith is to lovingly trust God, not to attempt by searching to find him out. His "way is in the sea, and his footsteps are not known." When his people are in peril, he plows a pathway of deliverance through the waters; when they are hungry, he gives manna; when they need guidance, he supplies a pillar of cloud and of fire; when huge walls confront them, he brings them down with rams' horns; and so on to the end of the story. But he never tells them how he does these things. They get no help from philosophizing. The one supreme condition upon which their well-being hangs is to implicitly believe and obey his word. So long as they do that, they never fail of being led as through green pastures and beside still waters.—Sel.

Patience in Daily Duty

You want to be true, and you are trying to be. Learn these two things,—never to be discouraged because good things get on slowly here, and never to fail daily to do that which lies next to your hand. Do not be in a hurry, but diligent. Enter into the sublime patience of the Lord. Be charitable in view of it. God can afford to wait; why cannot we, since we have him to fall back upon? Let patience have her perfect work, and bring forth her celestial fruits. Trust in God to weave your thread into the great web, though the pattern shows it not yet.—Sel.

Religion Tested by Adversity

No MAN has any more religion than he can show in time of adversity and trial.—Matthew Henry.

The Mischief of Bad Examples

THE innocence of the intention abates nothing of the mischief of the example.—Robert Hall.
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