Signs of the Times, Vol. 6, No. 5.
THE GREAT CONTROVERSY,Page 1
THE GREAT CONTROVERSY,
By Ellen G. White
BETWEEN CHRIST AND HIS ANGELS AND SATAN AND HIS ANGELS.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN—CONCLUDED.
The sons of Jacob returned to their father with the joyful tidings, "Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt." At first the old man was overwhelmed; he could not believe what he heard, yet their words brought a faintness to his heart. But when he saw the carriages and the long line of loaded animals, and when Benjamin was at his side once more, he felt reassured, and, in the fullness of his joy, exclaimed. "It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive. I will go and see him before I die." The brothers then made their humiliating confession to their father, and entreated his forgiveness, for their wicked treatment of Joseph. Jacob had not suspected them of such cruelty, but he saw that God had overruled it all for good, and he forgave and blessed his erring children. Jacob and his sons, with their families and numerous attendants, were soon on their way to Egypt. With gladness of heart they pursued their journey, and when they came to Beersheba the aged patriarch offered grateful sacrifices, and entreated the Lord to grant them an assurance that he would go with them. In a vision of the night the divine words came to Jacob: "Fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will there make of thee a great nation. I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will also surely bring thee up again; and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes." The meeting of Joseph and his father was very affective. Joseph left his chariot, and ran to meet his father on foot, and embraced them, and they wept over each other. "And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive." Joseph took five of his brethren to present to Pharaoh, and receive from him a grant of land for their future home. He did not wish them to be exposed to the temptations which must surround them if engaged in the king's special service, amid the corrupting, idolatrous influences at court; therefore he counseled them, when the king should ask them of their occupation, to tell him frankly that they were shepherds. The monarch, on learning this fact, would not seek to exalt them to some honorable position for Joseph's sake; for the occupation of a shepherd was regarded in Egypt as degrading. When taken before Pharaoh they followed the wise counsel of their God-fearing brother; and the king gave Joseph permission to settle his father and his brethren in the best part of the land of Egypt. He selected Goshen, a well-watered, fertile country, affording good pasture for their flocks. Here, also, they could worship God, undisturbed by the ceremonies attending the idolatrous service of the Egyptians. The country round about Goshen was inhabited by the Israelites, until with power and mighty signs and wonders, God brought his people out of Egypt. Not long after their arrival, Joseph brought his father also to be presented to Pharaoh. The patriarch was unawed by the pomp of royalty, and the magnificence surrounding him. Amid the sublime scenes of nature he had communed with a mightier monarch; and now, in conscious superiority, he raised his hands and blessed Pharaoh. The king struck by his venerable appearance, inquired, "How old art thou?" Jacob answered, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage." Jacob had seen much trouble and suffered much perplexity. The jealousy of his wives had brought a long train of evils, and the sinful course of some of his children had made the father's life very bitter. But his last years were more peaceful. His sons had turned from their evil ways, Joseph had been restored to him, and, surrounded by every comfort which the prime minister of Egypt could bestow, and in the society of his children, he passed down gently and calmly toward the grave. A short time before his death, his children gathered about him to receive his blessing, and to listen to his last words of counsel. As he addressed them for the last time the Spirit of God rested upon him and he laid open before them their past lives, and also uttered prophecies which reached far into the future. Beginning with the eldest, he mentioned his sons by name, presenting before those who had followed a sinful course the light in which God regarded their deeds of violence, and that he would visit them for their sins. Reuben had taken no part in selling Joseph, but previous to that transaction he had grievously sinned. Concerning him, Jacob uttered the following prophecy: "Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power; unstable as water, thou shalt not excel." He then prophesied in regard to Simeon and Levi, who had practiced deception to the Shechemites, and then, in a most cruel, revengeful manner, destroyed them. These brothers were also the most guilty in the case of Joseph. "Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united! for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." In regard to Judah, the fathers words of inspiration were more joyful. His prophetic eye looked hundreds of years into the future, to the birth of Christ, and he said, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Jacob predicted a cheerful future for most of his sons. Especially for Joseph he uttered words of eloquence of a happy character: "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. (From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel.)" "The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors, unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren." Jacob was an affectionate father. He had no resentful feelings toward his sorrowing children. He had forgiven them. He loved them to the last. But God, by the spirit of prophecy, elevated the mind of Jacob above his natural feelings. In his last hours, angels were all around him, and the power of God rested upon him. His paternal feelings would have led him to utter, in his dying testimony, only expressions of love and tenderness. But under the influence of inspiration he uttered truth, although painful. After the death of Jacob, Joseph's brethren were filled with gloom and distress. They thought that Joseph had concealed his resentment, out of respect for their father; and now that he was dead, he would be revenged for the ill treatment he had suffered at their hands. They dared not appear before him, but sent a messenger, "Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil; and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father."
This message affected Joseph to tears, and, encouraged by this, his brethren came and fell down before him, with the words, "Behod, we be thy servants." He met them with the comforting and assuring reply, Fear not; for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not; I will nourish you, and your little ones. Joseph loved his brethren, and he could not bear the thought that they regarded him as harboring a spirit of revenge toward them. The life of Joseph illustrates the life of Christ. Joseph's brethren purposed to kill him, but were finally content to sell him as a slave, to prevent his becoming greater than themselves. They thought they had placed him where they would be no more troubled with his dreams, and where there would not be a possibility of their fulfillment. But the very course which they pursued, God overruled to bring about that which they designed never should take place—that he should have dominion over them. 50The chief priests and elders were jealous of Christ, fearing that he would draw the attention of the people away from themselves. They knew that he was doing greater works than they ever had done, or ever could perform; and they knew that if he was suffered to continue his teachings, he would become higher in authority than they, and might become king of the Jews. They agreed together to prevent this by privately taking him, and hiring witnesses to testify falsely against him, that they might condemn him and put him to death. They would not accept him as their king, but cried out, Crucify him! crucify him! But by murdering the Son of God, they were bringing about the very thing they sought to prevent. Joseph, by being sold by his brethren into Egypt, became a saviour to his father's family. Yet this fact did not lesson the guilt of his brethren. The crucifixion of Christ by his enemies made him the Redeemer of mankind, the Saviour of the whole world. But the crime of his enemies was just as heinous as though God's providential hand had not controlled events for his own glory and the good of man. Joseph walked with God. And when he was imprisoned, and suffered because of his innocence, he meekly bore it without murmuring. His self-control, his patience in adversity, and his unwavering fidelity, are left on record for the benefit of all who should afterward live on the earth. When Joseph's brethren acknowledged their sin before him, he freely forgave, and showed by his acts of benevolence and love that he harbored no resentful feelings for their former cruel conduct toward him. The life of Jesus, the Saviour of the world, was a pattern of benevolence, goodness, and holiness. Yet he was despised and insulted, mocked and derided, for no other reason than because his righteous life was a constant rebuke to sin. His enemies would not be satisfied until he was given into their hands, that they might put him to a shameful death. He died for the guilty race; and, while suffering the most cruel torture, meekly forgave his murderers. He rose from the dead, ascended up to his Father, and received all power and authority, and returned to the earth again to impart it to his disciples. He gave gifts unto men. And all who have ever come to him repentant, confessing their sins, he has received into his favor, and freely pardoned. And if they remain true to him, he will exalt them to his throne, and make them his heirs to the inheritance which he has purchased with his own blood. LIFE'S HARDEST LESSON.
By Elizabeth Percival
Nothing is there but serves its purpose well,
Throughout all space;
Nothing so low but does its part, and fills
Some destined place. Nothing which fails, of that for which 'twas sent
O'er sea or land,
But seeing darkly, oft, these truths, we fail
To understand. And doubt, and grieve, and wonder why such things
Should ever be;
Because the perfect plan, completed, done,
We cannot see. Call life's defeats and failures not a curse,
Oh! troubled soul;
Nor yet the clouds of darkness, which o'er thee
Often may roll. Because of storms that lash the ocean waves,
The waters there
Keep purer than if the heavens above
Were always fair. The waxen lily fashions whitest leaves
From blackest mould.
By patient toil, down in the damp, dark earth
She spins her gold. The brightest banner of the skies floats not
At noon-day warm;
The rainbow traileth after thunder-clouds,
And after storm. And ever, countless forms of life decay,
That one may rise.
What matter if a stately oak repay
The sacrifice. Nor count it loss, if you are called to lay
At duty's feet,
The cherished dreams and fondest hopes of life;
'Tis bitter sweet. Your life is nobler for the sacrifice,
And more divine.
Acres of bloom are crushed to make a drop
Of perfume fine. Reproof is needed, lest thy weakness be
Too soon forgot.
God never gives a father's care to those
Who need it not. Thou canst not rest, till thou hast labored well;
And set for thee
Are Alpine hights to climb, ere thou canst dwell
In Italy. Knowing God Through His Works
By Dr. Guthrie
KNOWLEDGE IS PEACE. THERE are two ways by which we may acquaint ourselves with God. The Lord is known by the judgments that he executes; so I remark:— 1. We are to acquaint ourselves with God through his works. Isaac meditated in the fields at eventide; no doubt retiring from the contemplation of the flowers beneath his feet and the stars above his head with a heart better attuned to the evening exercises of praise and prayer. The psalmist also adored God in his works; saying, “Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker”—not our Saviour only, but our Maker also. And he who brings a devout spirit to contemplate the green earth and glorious sky, the flowers that gem the one, and the stars that gem the other, the land, and the sea that foams upon its shores, does not feed his soul with ashes. The Bible will not be less, but rather more, prized for our occasionally turning to open another divine volume, to read some pages of the book of nature. Both are good books; and he only looks on this great world aright, who, valuing it for something more valuable than the gold men draw from its rocky bowels, the flocks it pastures, the rich freights borne on its waves, and the harvests that wave on its fields, beholds there, as in a glorious mirror, the wisdom and power of God—the goodness that shines in every sunbeam and falls in every shower. In this aspect, our world is one vast, majestic temple, of which, with the earth for its floor, and the lofty firmament for its dome, it may be said with more truth than of Solomon’s, “The glory of the Lord filleth all the house.” There, to a devout and intelligent eye, every object in nature seems a worshiper; to a devout ear praise sounds in every murmuring stream, the peal of thunder, and the boom of the ocean; prayers ascend in the raven’s cry, and the roar of young lions for food; thanksgivings are offered in the music with which bush and brake welcome the rising day; faith sings in every little bird that without money in bank or corn in barns pours forth its happy song; while the flowers seem ten thousand thousand golden and silver censers, from which nature offers the incense of praise to God. Bits of glass sparkle when the sun shines on them; and let a devout mind be turned on the humblest of God’s works, and its feelings will find expression in words the greatest and wisest philosophers have been the readiest to employ. “O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all.” We miss a great deal, I am persuaded, by not seeing God in his works so much as we might and ought to do; and I feel certain that if, like the Old-Testament saints, we associated him more with these, the scenes that minister to our pleasure would prove important aids to our piety. Thus holidays spent in visiting scenes, simple or sublime, would contribute to our holiness, and the grandeur of nature would help the growth of grace. How sublime were the views these Old- Testament saints had of God, and how sublimely expressed! They saw him in every aspect of nature—whether it was by day or night; in the sunshine of summer and the snows of winter; in the volcano belching out streams of fire, and the earth itself, reeling to and fro like a drunken man; and so, in language that glows alike with poetry and piety, they said, He covereth himself with light as with a garment; he looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; he toucheth the mountains, and they smoke; he scattereth the hoar frost like ashes; the clouds are his chariot; he rideth on the wings of the wind; the God of glory thundereth. At the close of the sixth day, it is said, God saw everything that he had made; and, behold it was very good; and the study of his works I can the more recommend that they supplied the sermon which was blessed to convict Job of ignorance; to humble his pride; to silence his murmurs; to restore him to patience, and reconcile the good man’s will to God. Drawn, not from God’s word, but his works, this is at least a part of it. Addressing Job, God says: Where wast thou when I laid the foundation of the earth? Who shut up the sea with doors? Out of whose womb came the ice; the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom; doth the eagle mount up at thy command? Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? He that reproacheth God, let him answer it. There is little gospel there, some may think; nor is it such a sermon as would preach, or approve of were man the preacher. Yet, with nature for its text, that was God’s sermon; and accompanied by the Spirit—without which, whatever be their text or sermon, preachers beat the air, and though addressing eager crowds, are as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—what was the result? Let the result teach us to hold communion with God everywhere, through the medium of his works as well as of his word. “Then,” it is said, at the close of this sermon, “Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee?” “Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak; . . . I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye seeth thee; wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” 2. We are to acquaint ourselves with God as revealed to us in his word; in the face of his Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. He has a temple in nature, but with all its glory and magnificence that temple has no mercy-seat; no laver for foul hands to wash in; no altar where the blood of the innocent flows for the crimes of the guilty. There, from the shrines of science and philosophy, a trembling, alarmed sinner, I get no answer to my question, What shall I do to be saved? nor Job any solution to his difficulty. Oh! for a daysman—in other words, a mediator— betwixt us, to lay his hands on us both! Lying under condemnation, undone through sin, unable either to justify or save ourselves, hanging helplessly by life’s brittle thread over an awful gulf, no knowledge of God as he appears in the works of nature can give us peace. What we need is a gracious as well as a glorious God; not so much goodness as mercy; love, fatherly, divine love, not to obedient but to disobedient children; the love of the Highland mother who never shut her door by night for long years in hope that a daughter who had gone astray would come back, and, coming back, might find it open; the love of him who recognized the prodigal afar off, and forgiving and forgetting all, kind, fond father, fell on his neck and folded him to his happy bosom. It is only such a knowledge of God that can bring peace to sinners; and we have it in Jesus Christ, the gift of divine love to the chief of sinners. Having taken our sins upon himself, and died, the just for the unjust, that we might be saved, Jesus is our peace. Out of him there is no peace—none to the impenitent and unbelieving, none to such as repel his Spirit and despise his mercy; nothing to them but a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation. On the other hand, let their sins be more in multitude than hairs of their head, than the stars of heaven, the drops of ocean, or the dust of earth, there is no condemnation to them who believe in Jesus Christ, and walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. That blessed saying of our Lord, “He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father,” what peace does it speak to the troubled conscience! What flag of invitation it waves to every sinner to lay down his arms, and casting away the weapons of rebellion, to cast himself on the mercy of God! In Jesus Christ, in that God-man, so full of tenderness, so gentle, kind, loving and long-suffering; here not spurning away but encouraging a weeping Magdalene; here shedding tears for a city that was about to shed his blood; here forgetting his own sorrows in pity for a mother’s, putting forth his dying strength to save a thief, and spending life’s latest breath in prayer for bloody murderers; in him who hastened on wings of love to pluck this world from ruin—who never wished ill to any, but good to all—who returned blessing for cursing, the prayers for persecution, kisses for blows, imploring even his bitterest enemies to look on him and live, to believe and be saved; and who this day, from his throne in Heaven, bends looks of pity on the guiltiest of mankind—in him God unveils himself to us. Here a sight is revealed on which angels gaze in wonder, and which might speak peace to every troubled conscience, and breed hope in the very bosom of despair. The time for acquainting ourselves with God is this, and not another, time. Acquaint now thyself with God, and be at peace.— Now, for this most plain and pressing reason that it is in this life only we can do so, and that the opportunities life offers are fast passing away. “Our fathers, where are they? The prophets, do they live forever?” And a few more years—in respect to some, not years, but hours, or days, or weeks at most—and where will my readers be? Mingled with the clods of the valley; gone for weal or woe. Tell me not that you intend soon, fully intend, to turn over, as they say, a new leaf, and, accepting the Saviour, make your peace with God. If that is your intention, there is no time like the present. Talk not of old age and death beds! This is a refuge of lies. I am weary of remonstrating, pleading against delays, where delay is in the highest degree dangerous; being the more convinced the more death-beds I witness, that if you wish to lose your soul there is no surer way of doing it. How often have I wished, when one on the brink of the grave has cried, “Pray, oh! pray, such is my agony that I cannot pray;” and when I have seen the sun of another set amid the lurid clouds, or the raving tempests of delirium; and when I have seen a third lie on the verge of another world oppressed with a stupor no danger nor the voice of affection can arouse—have I not wished men there to see that a death-bed is a place to enjoy salvation, but not one to seek it. In such cases, it is well with those who are safe in Jesus, who have their life “hid with Christ in God;” but for a godless, graceless sinner so to die, though pronouncing no judgment on him—leaving that to the Judge of the quick and dead—this I will say, I would not run his risk, nor have my soul bound up in the same bundle with his—no, not for ten thousand worlds. Let every one of my readers be persuaded to acquaint himself with God now, and be at peace. Happy are those who have already done so; who know in whom they have believed; who have made their calling and election sure.—Dr. Guthrie. Be the First to Hold Out Peace
BE the first to hold out the hand of peace.