Review and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 43. (10/23/1900)

Review and Herald

Oct 23, 1900

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 23, 1900

THE YOKE OF RESTRAINT AND OBEDIENCE.

By Ellen G. White

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.”

Christ’s yoke is a yoke of restraint and obedience. We owe full and complete obedience to our Lord; for we are his by creation and by redemption. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

We are to bear the yoke of Christ that we may be placed in complete union with him. “Take my yoke upon you,” he says. Obey my requirements. But these requirements may be in direct opposition to the will and purposes of the human agent. What then is to be done?—Hear what God says: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” The yoke and the cross are symbols representing the same thing,—the giving up of the will to God. Wearing the yoke unites finite man in companionship with the dearly beloved Son of God. Lifting the cross cuts away self from the soul, and places man where he learns how to bear Christ’s burdens. We can not follow Christ without wearing his yoke, without lifting the cross and bearing it after him. If our will is not in accord with the divine requirements, we are to deny our inclinations, give up our darling desires, and step in Christ’s footsteps.

The Lord does not encourage the wisest, the most cherished plans of human beings if he sees that they are not for the health of the spirituality of his cause. Sometimes the Lord’s purposes come in direct opposition to plans in which the human agent can not see a flaw. Then it is that the right hand must be sacrificed and the right eye taken out. Purposes that seem in every way desirable may have to be given up. The Lord sees that for the spiritual health of the human agent and for the future well-being of his cause all self-confidence must be cut away. Human wisdom and self-sufficiency must be broken down.

Men frame for their own necks yokes that seem light and pleasant to wear, but they prove galling in the extreme. Christ sees this, and he says, Take my yoke upon you. The yoke you would place upon your own neck, thinking it a precise fit, will not fit at all. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me the lessons essential for you to learn; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light. The Lord never makes a false estimate concerning his heritage. He measures the men with whom he is working. When they submit to his yoke, when they give up the struggle that has been unprofitable for themselves and for the cause of God, they will find peace and rest. When they become sensible of their own weakness, their own deficiencies, they will delight to do God’s will. They will submit to the yoke of Christ. Then God can work in them to will and to do of his good pleasure, which is often entirely contrary to the plans of the human mind. When the heavenly anointing comes to us, we shall learn the lesson of meekness and lowliness, which always brings rest to the soul.

God brings men into trying places, to see if they will trust in a power out of and above themselves. He sees not as man sees. He often has to break up human connections and change the order which man has mapped out, which is perfect in his estimation. What man thinks is for his spiritual and temporal interests may be altogether at variance with the experience he must have in order to be a follower of Christ. His idea of his own value may be far out of the way.

Tests are placed all along the way from earth to heaven. It is because of this that the road to heaven is called the narrow way. Character must be tested, else there would be many spurious Christians, who would keep up a fair semblance of religion until their inclinations, their desire to have their own way, their pride and ambition, were crossed. When, by the Lord’s permission, sharp trials come to them, their lack of genuine religion, of the meekness and lowliness of Christ, shows them to be in need of the work of the Holy Spirit. Christ’s command, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me,” is the touchstone that discovers the quality of the experience. When a man’s inclinations or ambitious hopes are crossed, he reveals the spirit that governs him.

Christ declares that the only course for men and women to pursue for their present and eternal good is to comply with his invitation. He invites all to wear his yoke and learn his meekness and lowliness. He knows that it is positively necessary for them to do this. But no human being can wear the yoke of submission and obedience who does not learn daily in the school of Christ. Whatever may be a person’s supposed amiability, however qualified for usefulness he may appear to be, however righteous he may be apparently, he can not work for God unless he learns of Christ. Qualifications for true service can never be acquired apart from Christ. No one, whatever his supposed abilities, can bear the test of trial unless he is a student in the school of Christ.

Our Saviour purchased the human race by humiliation of the very severest kind. He, the Majesty of heaven, disrobed himself of his glory, and clothed his divinity with humanity, that he might pass through what humanity must pass through. He submitted to mockery, abuse, scorn, and to a cruel, shameful death to make it possible for man to be saved. He points us to the only path that will lead to the strait gate, opening into the narrow way, beyond which lie broad and pleasant pastures. He has marked out every step of the way; and that no one may make a mistake, he tells us

just what to do. “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.” This is the only way in which sinners can be saved. Knowing that no one can obey this command in his own strength, Christ tells us not to be worried nor afraid, but to remember what he can do if we come to him, trusting in his strength. He says, If you yoke up with me, your Redeemer, I will be your strength, your efficiency.

The blessings connected with Christ’s invitation can be realized and enjoyed by those only who wear Christ’s yoke. Accepting this invitation, you withdraw your sympathy, your affections, from the world, and place them where you can enjoy the blessing of close fellowship and communion with God. By coming to Christ, you bind up your interests with his.

The Lord has determined that every soul who obeys his word shall have his joy, his peace, his continual keeping power. Such men and women are brought near him always, not only when they kneel before him in prayer, but when they take up the duties of life. He has prepared for them an abiding place with himself, where the life is purified from all grossness, all unloveliness. By this unbroken communion with him, they are made co-laborers with him in their life-work.

Christ says, “Without me ye can do nothing.” As we advance step by step in the path of obedience, we shall know how true is the promise that they who follow on to know the Lord shall know that his going forth is prepared as the morning. Clearer light is ready to shine upon all who follow him who is the light of the world. Every one who takes upon him the yoke of Christ, with full determination to obey the word of God, will have a healthy, symmetrical experience. He will enjoy the blessings that come to him as a result of the hiding of his life with Christ in God. In business life he will work out the principles laid down in Christ’s sermon on the mount. He will renounce the bag of deceitful weights, and will despise the fraud of tricks in trade. He will earn money, not to hoard it, but to put it in circulation. He has an abiding sense that he is a part of the heavenly firm, and that it is his duty to trade upon the talents given him by God. He realizes that he is adopted into the family of God, and that he must act toward all as Christ acted when he was upon this earth.

What a diligent, constant work is the work of the true Christian. Ever he wears the yoke of Christ. Evil surmisings are not allowed to take root in his heart. He has genuine modesty, and does not talk of his qualifications and accomplishments. Self-admiration is not a part of his experience. There is much to learn in regard to what comprises true Christian character. It certainly is not self-inflation. The true Christian keeps his eyes fixed on Him who searches the heart and tries the reins, who requires truth in the inward parts. His constant prayer is, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Compliments are not to be given to sinful, erring men. The glory and majesty of God should ever fill our souls with a holy awe, humbling us in the dust before him. His condescension, his wide, deep compassion, his tenderness and love, are given us to strengthen our confidence, and remove that fear which tendeth unto bondage. The Lord wants us to give him all there is of us, in a steady, evenly balanced Christian life, a life that illustrates the principles of his law.

Let us not endure the thought of being religious dwarfs. Let us press on, receiving the counsel of Jesus Christ, having that faith which works by love and purifies the soul. We must ever be growing unto the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus, till we are complete in him. Christ will come and abide with every soul who will say from the heart, Come in. He loves every one who has a desire to follow him. He knows that it is the impatience and fretfulness of the human heart, and the pride that loves not humility, that keeps the soul from good. He invites us, Come unto me. Take my yoke upon you. I require you to do nothing that I have not done before you. All I ask you to do is to follow my example. Walk in the path I have marked out. Place your feet in my footsteps.

“Consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied, and faint in your minds.” “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.”

HASTE, FLYING YEARS!

By Mrs. L. D. Avery Stuttle

MRS. L. D. AVERY STUTTLE.

O swift, swift years! how have ye flown Since I was careless, young, and free! Ye’ve stolen the treasures once my own, And left a heritage to me,— A heritage of memory, A heritage of joy, of tears, A memory of hopes and fears,— O swift, swift years!

O silent years, how have ye flown! My nut-brown hair is faded grown, And lines of weariness and care Ye’ve written on a face once fair; Ye heed not mortal grief nor tears, O silent years!

As on Mount Nebo’s hoary peak The prophet stood in days of yore, E’en so I stand, and so I speak: “Lord, let me cross to Canaan’s shore.” But ah! ye mock my falling tears, O cruel years!

I’ve climbed the hill of life, and stand Upon its very peak to-day; I see ahead the promised land, Before, the steep and dangerous way; I may not take one backward pace, Or one past step of life retrace; But oh! the blessed haven nears, Where there shall be no grief nor tears Nor flying years.

The milestones all along the road Go whirling past like spectral forms, More grievous grows life’s heavy load, More dreaded life’s disastrous storms. The silver cord is waxing loose, The golden bowl gleams not so fair, Already in the heavens I see The tints of sunset rich and rare. But ah! th’ eternal morning nears, O hurrying years!

Roll on, roll on, ye changing years, I would not stay your headlong flight; For just ahead the day appears,— The day that knows no shades of night ’Till Christ’s triumphal car appears; Haste, flying years!

STEPMOTHERS

By Belle Emerson

MRS. BELLE EMERSON.

(Shorey, Kan.)

These women have long been regarded as the personification of severity, and but very little is either written or heard from their standpoint.

The word “step” in this sense is significant of degree. It means that one has taken the degree of mother. Viewing this degree from the true mother standpoint only, the question arises, How can she be mother to children who are not her own flesh?—By adoption. Adoption means to take the child of another, and treat it as one’s own.

As I chose the responsibility of mothering two little boys borne by another, I little realized the importance of the step, though I thought I had made a careful study of what should be required of me.

Having had several years’ experience in school, and being blessed with a natural love for children, I thought I knew pretty well how to get along with them. But, with the two chosen, I ran against difficulties that I knew not how to surmount, and failure after failure was the result.

This became a very serious matter to me. I prayed for wisdom to know what to do, and I found that ignorance on my part was the primary cause of difficulty. In the first place, I did not understand my relation to the children, and theirs to me. I merely felt that to care for my husband’s children was a duty I owed to him, until my senses were aroused by the following scripture: “Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.” The application was that as God makes us, his adopted children, partakers with Christ in all the Father’s love, so I must adopt the children; or, in other words, treat them as my very own. As this thought flashed into my mind, how my heart rejoiced!

Again: If, in the new earth, I should meet their own mother, and she should inquire of me, “Where are my boys?” and they were not, and she should say, “The Lord gave them to me to train for him; but the enemy death severed me from them, and God placed you in my steps to do my work for me: he gave you the same instructions that he gave me, and you failed to give heed,” what could I answer?

I now understand better the position of step-mother,—doing the work of another for eternity. The children perceived the change in me, and their spirits constantly bear witness with my spirit that they are mine. The boys, now young men, are my friends. I rejoice that the Lord yet gives me an opportunity to redeem, through the wisdom of Christ, what I have lost through ignorance. In Hosea 4:6 we read, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

The apostle says: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” 1 John 3:1. This scripture should inspire a desire in the heart of every stepmother to hold in sacred trust that which invests her with the dignity of motherhood. Then, instead of being looked upon as severe or unjust, it shall be said of us, “Behold, what manner of love.”

DRAW THE LINES UPWARD.

By L. A. Hansen

L. A. HANSEN.

(Nashville, Tenn.)

This is not intended for a drawing lesson, but only to call attention to what the lines of our faces may say. Below are two simple illustrations, or figures, made with the fewest lines possible. No special effort is made to give the figures expression; and yet considerable expression is to be seen.

In the first figure we have a representation of one who is literally “down in the mouth.” Gloom, or sadness, causes the facial lines to droop. In some persons these downward lines are permanent, and consequently such a one has a depressing influence.

In the second figure we have a turning, or changing, of but one line, drawing it upward; and the whole expression is changed. Notice the difference. When changing only one line in a figure otherwise so expressionless, makes such a marked difference, consider what the effect must be on a living face, where every line of the countenance may be made to speak, either for cheer or for gloom.

We have many admonitions to be joyful, to rejoice, to sing, and to be glad. Would it not be better to cultivate the lines that will speak joy to others, than to go about with long-drawn faces, casting sadness instead? “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.” Prov. 15:13. “The fruit of the Spirit is . . . joy.”

This is not to say that one must be light and frivolous; but there is a rightful happiness that one may claim continually; and if he does, it will show itself in the countenance. So to those who are disposed to look on the dark side of things, we say, “Draw the lines upward.” “Rejoice in the Lord alway.”

Going Out of Your Way to Help the Needy

If you feel that you would rather not “go out of your way” to help the needy, immediately make it your business to do so.

THE SABBATH-SCHOOL WORK.

By Alonzo T. Jones

A. T. JONES.

Now I wish you to consider for a little while what really is sin: what it is in essence. You know the divine definition: “Sin is the transgression of the law.” Now I wish you to consider what it is to transgress the law. Is it only the positive doing of something that is evil?—No; it is the coming short of positively doing that which is good. Is it not written that “whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all”?

In another word, sin is the coming short of the righteousness of God. To come short of the righteousness of God is to transgress the law. Then, whatever righteousness I may present, whatever deeds I may do, as obedience to the law of God as it stands in his word, which, in any sense at all, or to any degree at all, comes short of the righteousness of God, that is sin: it is indeed transgression of the law. This is emphasized by the fact that both in the Hebrew and in the Greek the word that God selected by which to convey to the minds of men the root-thought of what is sin, of what is transgression of the law, is the word that means to “miss the mark;” and to miss the mark by coming short.

It was in the time when they used bows and arrows that the word was selected. A man, with his bow and arrow, shooting at a mark, would aim most carefully, and would do his very best, to hit the mark: all his intentions were good; his purpose and his endeavor were of the best; but yet he could not reach the mark. He missed the mark by coming short. He was not strong enough to give to the arrow that impetus which would carry it so that it would hit the mark. Remember he did not miss the mark by overshooting, but by coming short of it. That is the root-thought in the word which God chose, both in the Hebrew and in the Greek, to convey to mankind the idea of what sin is.

Now no man in the world is strong enough, doing his very best, to hit the mark of the law of God, which is only the righteousness of God; for “all have sinned, and come short.” That mark is too high as well as too far away for us to hit it. But, bless the Lord, “when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” And in Christ alone we find the hitting of the mark. Therefore, “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 3: 13, 14. In Christ it is, only in Christ, that we find the righteousness of God, which is the keeping of the law of God. Only in Christ do we find the keeping of the law of God.

Come then, look with me at that law. By it is the knowledge of sin. That covers everything. All there is in sin is covered by that. Suppose you and I look into the law of God, and get the brightest, clearest possible view that a man can get of that law. Suppose we see its demands, in the greatest breadth that a man can; and that we actually fulfill, to perfection, all the breadth of it that we see—have we really fulfilled it? Think of that. Have you? Have you then fulfilled the law as God fulfills it? as God would if he were in your place?—Oh, no. We have fulfilled only what we could see. But have we seen it all, in its intensity of righteousness?—We have not. No one but God can; for it is only the law of God.

That law being the law of God, only God’s righteousness is truly manifest in it: it expresses only that; so it is the reflection of what God is, in character. And that being so, nobody but God can see the true measure of the righteousness that is in the ten commandments. And there is the fallacy of our thinking that we can do true righteousness by keeping the ten commandments. We can not grasp the righteousness of the ten commandments. If we were able to grasp it, we might do it. But that would require that we be infinite in understanding. But there is none infinite but God. Therefore none but God can grasp the infinity of the law of God.

There is another phase of this: I look into that law, and I see to the greatest height and breadth that I can; and I do to perfection all that I see—whose is the doing?—It is only mine. I have done it to perfection, according to my understanding. I have done all that I can see. But the seeing is only mine, not God’s; and the doing is only mine, not God’s; therefore all the righteousness of such doing is but mine, not God’s. Now put this with that. The only righteousness that any man can ever see in the law of God is his own righteousness. And God can see in that law his own righteousness.

Therefore, I state the principle in a broader way: The only righteousness that ANYBODY, God or man, can see in the law of God is his own righteousness. But when God sees in the law of God his own righteousness, it is all right; for it is the righteousness of God; it is holiness; it is the genuine. But when we see in the law of God our own righteousness, it is only “filthy rags;” it is only self-righteousness; it is only sin.

Therefore it is written, in the lesson that you will have for next Sabbath, and don’t forget it when you come to it: “If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Gal. 3: 21. To nobody in the wide universe does righteousness come by the law. Righteousness comes, to angels as to men, as the gift of God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Head of the universe, with God. Consequently, there is no righteousness that comes to anybody but by the faith of Jesus Christ. And when the cross was set up on Calvary, it became the center of the universe. The cross of Christ contains the whole philosophy of the plan of salvation: it is the seal of salvation to the angels who never sinned; it is the sign and seal of salvation to men who have sinned. To the angels who never sinned, the cross of Christ is the seal of certainty that their righteousness will abide forever, that they will never sin; to sinful men, it is the sign and seal that they will be saved to the uttermost from all sin, and held in righteousness for evermore.

So, then, righteousness cometh to the world only as the gift of the Lord Jesus. “Now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, . . . even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ.” He is the One through whom it comes; he is the One who paid the price of it, who took upon him the curse; the One who bore the penalty and paid all the claims of sin and death, upon every soul. And to him belong the glory, the honor, and the majesty for all the righteousness of men who have sinned; and for the security in righteousness of angels who never sinned.

This is the gospel, and this is the salvation, which the Lord Jesus brought. And this gives a glimpse of the mighty thing that sin is, and of what a fearful depth it is to which sin has plunged us, in plunging us into death—when it took such a gift, and such a price, to deliver us. But, thank the Lord, the deliverance in righteousness and life is as high on that side as the loss in sin and death is deep on that side. And so it is written: “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me”—may have, or maybe shall have, everlasting life? Is that it?—No, no. To you it is written; to me it is written; listen: “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, HATH everlasting life [listen more], and shall not come into condemnation, but [listen yet more] is PASSED from”—what? All who know the word, say it. [Voices: “Death.”] “Is passed from death.” Then where was he before he believed?—He was in death. Where is the man who to-day hears the words of Jesus Christ, and does not believe them? Where is he, whoever he may be or wherever he may be? Suppose he belongs to the church? [Voices: “He is in death.”] And has his name on the church book; but does not believe? [Voices: “He is in death.”] Comes to meeting on Sabbath, hears the word of God which Jesus brought, and yet does not believe on him? [Voices: “He is in death.”] Look at it. And again: “He that loveth not his brother abideth”—abideth, abideth—“in death.” 1 John 3: 14. Where is he, then?—He is in death, in the power of death: death is his shepherd.

That emphasizes what we had at the beginning, and all the way through—that death is the only portion of anybody in this world who is outside of Jesus Christ. They are subject to death; death is their ruler, sovereign, and shepherd, who attends them as they go here, there, and everywhere. But, thank the Lord, there is salvation to every man in the world; for he who came CONQUERED DEATH. He conquered death; bless his name.

And note the power that is in him to conquer death, and the power that was displayed in him in the conquering of death. He gave himself up, bodily and wholly, to the power of death. He went into the enemy’s prison-house; he allowed himself to be locked up there, in the bonds of death, and a great stone was rolled unto the mouth of the sepulcher, and the sepulcher was sealed with the seal of the Roman Empire. So, both by the chief of the spiritual powers and by the chief of the temporal power of this world, the Lord Jesus was locked in the power of death. But, being dead, he broke the power of death!

It is a little enough thing that one who is alive should break the power of death. But, oh, the majesty, the divinity, the infinity of the power of him who, being dead, could break the power of death! That is the majesty of our Saviour, of the Lord who has bought you and me, and who is able to, and who does, set us free from the power of death. And when this “vapor” vanishes away, and we lie down, Christ will say, as of Lazarus, He “sleepeth.” True, he was, and we may be, locked in the bonds of death. But what does that amount to when our Lord has so completely conquered

all the power of death? Therefore it is written: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I [I who was dead] am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Rev. 1: 18. That is the power of our Saviour.

Look at it again. He came forth from death. Why?—“Because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.” Think of it! All the power of death exerted to the fullest extent of all temporal and spiritual powers of this world,—all that power could not possibly hold in death him who was DEAD. Bless the Lord! [Voices: “Amen.”] What has he, the Mighty One, to fear from death even? Oh, death is conquered, and the victory is ours to-day, who believe in Jesus. For it is written: “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is PASSED FROM DEATH unto LIFE.” Thank the Lord!

Oh, then, rejoice in the life which is life indeed. Stand up as Christians, holding up the head. Take the long, deep breath that belongs to him whose life comes from the depths of the Eternal. This is the salvation which the Lord Jesus brings, and gives, full and free, to every soul. Then drink it in, and rejoice in it for evermore. Tell it to those who are dead. Carry the good news to those who are lost,—that here is salvation—salvation from sin—salvation from death; for he, being dead, conquered death, and manifested the divinity of his power. And rejoice for evermore in it all.

And now let us sing that blessed hymn, never too old, never too familiar, No. 123.

“O could I speak the matchless worth, O could I sound the glories forth, Which in my Saviour shine! I’d soar and touch the heavenly strings, And vie with Gabriel while he sings In notes almost divine.

[Would you not? Then, as we sing it, let the spirit that is in it be in you and in me, in thankfulness, in praise, and in gladness.]

“I’d sing the precious blood he spilt, My ransom from the dreadful guilt Of sin and wrath divine! I’d sing his glorious righteousness, In which all-perfect heavenly dress My soul shall ever shine.

“I’d sing the character he bears [It is his character that is my hope], And all the forms of love he wears. Exalted on his throne: In loftiest songs of sweetest praise, I would to everlasting days Make all his glories known.

[It will take to everlasting days to do it; and, bless the Lord, we have everlasting days in which to do it.]

“Well, the delightful day will come [when we shall have the chance. It begins now, it is true; but now, with our weak, harsh voices and trembling lips, we can not make all his glories known, and can not sing them becomingly. Yet, bless his dear name, “the delightful day will come”]

When my dear Lord will take me home, And I shall see his face; Then, with my Saviour, Brother, Friend, A blest eternity I’ll spend, Triumphant in his grace.”

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