Earlier text: They Call Us to DeliverThe Pearl of Great Price
By L. D. Santee
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Matt. 13: 45, 46. CHRIST'S love for the church will be celebrated in song by the redeemed throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Rev. 5: 9, 10. The “pearl of great price” represents the human family, and Christ is the purchaser. Eph. 5: 25 declares that Christ “loved the church, and gave himself for it;” and 1 Cor. 6: 20 says, “Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's;” while in Mal. 3: 17 we read, “And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.” The love of Christ is an everlasting love. He has not only loved his people well enough to die for them, but he has ordered and is ordering the events of human history with a view to the church's perfection. The bride of the Lamb will come to the marriage supper through much tribulation; but when presented there, she will be without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. The redeemed will be gathered from the east, west, north, and south; from all generations; from all tribes, kindreds, and tongues; from all ranks, stations, and ages; from among the living, and from among the dead. The mission of the Saviour was to “seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19: 10. What was the purchase price? “For God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom. 5: 8. Christ secured the treasure by the sacrifice of himself; and when his people are given to him, “he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” The great mission of the gospel is to take out of the nations a people for Jehovah. Jehovah pitied man, and has made ample provision for his redemption. It was this wonderful display of God's love to rebellious, sinful man that called forth David's exclamation in Ps. 8: 3, 4; “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” John, lost in wonder, exclaimed: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3: 1, 2. The sacrifice Christ made in becoming man's Redeemer may in a measure be understood when contrasting his original glorious condition, surrounded by sinless beings, and his humiliation. Christ allowed himself to be made “lower than the angels.” The Lord of angels received their adoring homage, and yet, passing by the nature of angels, he stooped to an inferior relation. No wonder that the angels are amazed. “Which things the angels desire to look into.” His temporary inferiority to angels allied him to men. He was “the man Christ Jesus,” born of a poor virgin, who, by lineage, was connected with exhausted earthly royalty, so that his birthplace was not a palace, but a stable. He was a despised Nazarene. This incarnate humiliation was a mystery. “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” 1 Tim. 3: 16. Although Christ was “the brightness of his [the Father's] glory, and the express image of his person,” yet to men he was a root out of dry ground, without any form or comeliness. He was a servant of men. “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Matt. 20: 28. Who can read his betrayal, trial, crucifixion, and burial without being deeply impressed with the sacrifice he made in securing what he considered the pearl of great price. It was to him more than all else. “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb. 12: 2. This sacrifice was prefigured by type and shadow through all the preceding centuries, and was the theme of inspired song and prophetic announcement. Divinity, thus allied to humanity, saves and redeems man. Through everlasting ages, the inspiring rapturous theme of the ransomed will be, “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Rev. 1: 5, 6. The Preexistence of Christ
By H. SHULTZ
It was Christ, the Lord, who led Israel through the wilderness, gave them bread from heaven, and water out of the rock. Ex. 16: 11-16; 17: 5, 6. This was many years before he was born of Mary in Bethlehem of Judea. That the Lord who is mentioned in the texts cited above is none other than Jesus Christ is proved from 1 Cor. 10: 1-4. The apostle says: “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” The apostle, writing by inspiration of the Spirit of God, spoke the truth. Hence it is evident from the above scriptures that Jesus Christ existed previous to his earthly manifestation.7 Again, we read in the Gospel according to John these words of Jesus: “Before Abraham was, I am.” John 8: 58. Abraham lived about three hundred sixty years before the time of Moses, but Jesus says that he “was,” or existed, even before the days of Abraham. Hence we have the would-be critics, who dispute the preexistence of Christ, arrayed against the apostles, and against Christ himself. O that men would learn the true wisdom which is, as it is written, “the fear of the Lord”! We may go still farther back in the history of the world and find the blessed Lord existing before the world was. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” Heb. 1: 1, 2. This statement of the apostle is in perfect harmony with the statement in Genesis in which the words of the Father are, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” Gen. 1: 26. This language the Father addressed to the Son, “by whom also he made the worlds.” Heb. 1: 2. At the creation of the world, Christ was the brightness of the Father’s glory, the express image of his person; and it is he that upholdeth all things by the word of his power. Heb. 1: 2, 3. In the last prayer of our Lord Jesus we hear his voice ascending to his Father: “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” John 17: 5. Now, if Jesus Christ did not exist before he was born of Mary in Bethlehem, how could he have had any glory with the Father before the world was? Since we can not for a single moment entertain the thought that the eternal God or our blessed Lord did not speak the truth, as it is written, “Let God be true, and every man a liar” (Rom. 3: 4), we must conclude that the position taken by many to-day in regard to this question is not true. The apostle Paul, in speaking of Jesus Christ, says: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature: for by him were all things created.” Col. 1: 14-16. This shows that Jesus existed before the world was, even before the angels were: “for by him [Jesus] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church.” Col. 1: 14-18. Surely words could not make it more plain that Jesus Christ existed with the Father long before our little world was created, and that he had a glory with the Father before this world existed, which is so far beyond our human comprehension that he desires his faithful followers to see it. John 17: 5-24. This same Christ, the only begotten of the Father, the second person in the Godhead, who made all things, and who upholdeth all things by the word of his power, is to be honored even as we honor the Father. John 5: 23. They who honor not the Son do not honor the Father; worship is due the Father and the Son alike. Therefore to worship the Father and not the Son is to disobey God, and hence is no worship at all; for we are commanded to worship the Lord, even the Son of God. Ps. 45: 6-11, “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” Ps. 95: 6. The Lord our Maker is Christ, the Son of God. Col. 1: 14-18; Heb. 1: 2. “O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.” Ps. 96: 9. Not only are men, women, and children to worship Christ the Lord, but even all the angels are commanded to worship the Son of God. Heb. 1: 6. Yes, let us worship the Father and also the Son. Yea, let this be my shame that I no more revere his name. An Incident
By W. Jay Tanner
Many and various are the means that the Lord uses for the accomplishment of his purposes. Human wisdom would often direct in other ways than the Spirit chooses. In one case the Master brings his message to a family or people by one of their own number; in another his instrument is a stranger, perhaps from a distant land. Sometimes he uses a talented, educated person to enlighten the crude and superstitious worshiper of wood and stone; again he uses one of a despised and down-trodden race, who has been touched by the work of grace, to call the attention of the refined and aristocratic to his claim upon the human heart. The poor, hard-worked servant in the kitchen or at the wash-tub has her work to do for the Master, as well as the talented and fluent minister in the pulpit. An incident that occurred in the island of Jamaica not long ago illustrates this thought. The writer had boarded a train for the purpose of visiting another part of the island. Among the medley of passengers, composed of Jamaicans, East Indian coolies, Syrians, and Chinese, was a sprinkling of American tourists. One of the latter, who proved to be a lawyer from Washington, D. C., down in the tropics for the benefit of his health, occupied the seat beside the writer. After some conversation about the island, its people, and the scenery, being desirous of bringing the truth to the attention of my fellow traveler, I began by alluding to the fact that the denomination that I represented had recently made Washington its headquarters. “What denomination is that?” he asked. “The Seventh-day Adventist,” I replied. “O, yes; I have read about it in the papers. I believe your people bought a tract of land out at Takoma Park, and expect to build on it quite extensively.” “Yes, that is true. Have you ever attended any of our meetings, or in any way come in contact with our people or their doctrines?” “No, I can’t say that I have. The only Adventist that, so far as I know, I ever saw before I met you to-day, is a colored woman whom my wife employs to do scrubbing. She is pretty strong in her views about keeping the ‘Sabbath,’ as she calls Saturday; and if she is as consistent in other things as she is in this, and I believe she is, why, she’ll get to heaven all right. For instance, when she first came to us, she explained about her practise as regards not working on Saturday; but my wife liked her looks and employed her. Later on, thinking to test her religious convictions a little, we offered her better wages on condition that she would work on Saturdays; and when this did not seem to move her, we coupled it with a threat of discharge from our service. But she only answered, ‘Have to leave den. Rather lose money, job, and everything dan break de ten commandments.’ Well, we did not discharge her, of course. My wife thinks a great deal of her, and often says that she would give up any other servant rather than part with M—.” In the conversation that followed, this gentleman payed most respectful and interested attention to all that was said about our views and work. To me the cause of this was apparent. His tone of voice and the expression on his face while relating the circumstance about his servant, told me plainly that this humble, uneducated child of God, by her loyalty to her Maker and by the faithful discharge of her daily duties, had made him and his family respect our faith, and willing to listen to God’s servant on this occasion. What the result will be for this gentleman and his family, we, of course, do not know. That is not the point. The point is that it is possible for all, no matter what their sphere or calling in life, to accomplish something for the Master. And it is just such service that our cause urgently needs,—an army of one-talented servants, each individual of which will refrain from hiding his talent in the earth. Such, as well as the prosperous with their means and the learned with their wisdom, can do much toward hastening the consummation of our ‘blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.’ Most people seek only their own interests; and a real, genuine love for humanity is, after all, very rare. Yet it carries with it its own reward and its own compensation. Those who have experienced the joys of being of use, of being a comfort, of being a real help, and see the results of their own efforts, —they alone can understand the joy of this ministry. It is one thing to give to the poor, to belong to an institution that helps the poor, to organize charity among the poor; but it is quite another thing to love the poor.—Bishop Codman, in Churchman. Wisdom, Skill, and Virtue
WISDOM is knowing what to do next, skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it.—David Starr Jordan. Loss of Simplicity
By Francis M. Wilcox
The human race is fast departing from its old-time simplicity. This is seen not only in one particular, but in every channel of thought and in every way of living. The ways of the fathers, their simple manners and methods, their simplicity of faith and living, are regarded as “too slow” for this fast age. But the ox-team has given place to the lightning express; the courier on horseback to the telephone and telegraph; the simple, humble industry of gaining a livelihood to the get-rich-quick methods of high finance coming rapidly into the life of the financial world at the present time. Life in rural districts is being supplanted by life in the city. This is an age of high-pressure living, of quickened thought, of intense activity. The life of the average man, and we might say of the average woman, is the strenuous life in the full meaning of that term. Through trade and commerce, through steam-cars and fast ocean liners, newspapers and ocean cables, the ends of the world are brought together, and the result is fierce rivalry and competition, commercially, socially, and politically. These influences have had a far-reaching effect upon the religious life of the Christian church. It has been invaded by the spirit of commercialism, of politics, of social life, and it is to be regretted that it has yielded, little by little, to these subtle influences until its strength has been undermined, its moral power weakened, and its conscience seared. The old-time simplicity of Christian living is fast departing. The Christian church toys with sacred things to draw the crowds. It deals with fads and fancies; it appeals to sentiment and sensation. Less and less distinction is being made between the sacred and the profane. Popularity is sought at the expense of vital godliness. Here and there are earnest souls mourning, as did Jeremiah of old, over Israel’s downfall. They long for a revival of the old-time simple faith. As Seventh-day Adventists, we can see this as applied to the great Christian world around us; but it is well for us to consider in this connection to what extent this spirit of the world has entered our midst, and to what measure we have yielded our lives to these subtle influences. This is a consideration that should not be passed by lightly. This people has been called of God to a special work for this world. They have been called to carry to others a message of warning, a message which in its very nature is designed to rebuke the worldly extravagance of the age, and to call men back to simplicity of faith and Christian living. Only as we understand and practise these principles can we give the message that God has committed to us. We know that there are hundreds of Seventh-day Adventists who have maintained in their lives this simplicity of faith. We know that there are scores who read these words who would give their lives for the cause which they have espoused. To the best of their ability they are true to God and to his work. But there are others, we are sorry to say, who are allowing this spirit of worldliness, the spirit of this fun-loving, commercial, political age, to enter their hearts, and in consequence the simplicity of faith is waning. Some have lost their moorings, and are adrift on the great sea of unrest. Some of these will be found in connection with all our churches, particularly our large churches. For such earnest labor should be put forth. We who realize their danger should raise the warning cry. They are drifting down Niagara. The fateful whirlpool lies but a little way ahead. Let us seek to win them back to their first love, to awaken in them renewed interest in Christian living. F. M. W. A Blessed Gift to the World
By C. M. S.
THE prophetic utterances of the Book of God are among the most precious gifts of God to this world. Prophecy, foretelling the future, is a mighty external evidence of the truth of God's Word. It not only confirms the faith of his children, but it convinces the skeptical that the Inspirer of the prophecy is the true God. Peter says, “We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Again: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place.” Clearer than the testimony of the eyes which saw the dazzling glory of Christ's transfiguration; louder than the evidence of the ears which heard the voice from glory; stronger, surer, than any evidence of human sense, is the “more sure word of prophecy,” which predicts in varied ways the glorious coming of Jesus Christ, and which had been confirmed to the apostle by all the predicted and fulfilled events of Christ's first advent. That prophecy is designed as a light to the wayfaring pilgrim. He is passing through a world gloomed and befogged by sin. Man walking in the sparks of his own kindling, or following the ignis fatuus of sin-blinded philosophy, has ever walked into deeper darkness, into greater confusion. Over this fog-bank of sin, into the gloom of the world's darkness and confusion, the clear light of the prophetic word has penetrated, illuminating the pathway of the pilgrim, revealing the meaning of the times, and painting upon the darkest sky of this world's despair the covenant bow of promise. Many lines of prophecy converge in this our day. In the “dark place” of this world they are shining with clearer light than ever in the past. To these the people of this generation do well that they give heed. They do ill to neglect this light of God. It is fatal to slumber on and on till the final doom of earth breaks upon a sleeping church and world. How much wiser and better and safer to study and pray and know what God's Word so clearly declares! Has the apostle deceived us? He declares9that prophecy is a light in the darkness, to which we do well that we take heed. Has Christ deceived us? He has said that we should “know” when his coming is near. “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” The prophets have revealed it unto us; and Jesus says, “Whoso readeth, let him understand.” And upon him who heeds and does, is God's benediction pronounced. C. M. S. To one who stops to compare present-day conditions with those of a few decades ago it is surprising to see to what extent the old-time rural life of the country is being revolutionized. Many who read these lines can recall the time when a sharp line of demarcation was drawn between the country and the city. The gawky country girl; the awkward, bashful country boy; and the hayseed farmer were objects of curiosity in the town; but the inventions and improvements of the last few years are changing all this. There is a commingling of classes and nationalities to-day as never before. Old class distinctions are being broken down; and new ones, based on wealth and education, are being formed. In hundreds of country homes to-day are found all the modern conveniences of city life,—telephones, electric lights, improved sewerage systems, furnace heat, and many other accessories which a few years ago were found only in the cities. Motor-cars and trolley-lines bring the advantages of the city, in the way of art, literature, lectures, and pleasures, within the rural touch. This is but one feature of the great evolution that the last hundred years has witnessed. It is only as we take a glance backward that we can see and appreciate the rapid rate at which the world is traveling. Notes on Important Eras of Fulfilling Prophecy
By W. A. S.
The Hand of God in History — No. 25
Notes on Important Eras of Fulfilling Prophecy
On the Isle of Patmos the Lord opened before John in vision the scenes of the last days. In the vision of the latter part of the fourteenth chapter of the Revelation, the prophet was given a view of the second coming of Christ to reap the harvest of the earth:— “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.” Verse 14. But just preceding this view of the Lord’s coming, the prophet was shown the closing gospel work on earth. He saw a special gospel movement rising as the hour of God’s judgment came, and spreading to all the world, bearing a threefold message of preparation for the coming of the Lord. In the symbolic manner of these prophecies the movement is described as follows:— “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:6-12. The picture is plain. As the hour of God’s judgment came, in 1844, it marked the beginning of a special gospel movement that is to go forward until human probation closes, just before Christ appears in the clouds of heaven. In the symbolic prophecy, angels represent the proclamation of the gospel messages by men; for it is to men that God has committed the preaching of the gospel. But the association of angels with the work is more than symbol also; for all the angels are “ministering spirits,” sent forth as invisible helpers to lead the human agents in the work of God on earth. The prophet saw in vision the coming of the judgment-hour in 1844. He beheld the rise of the advent movement. He saw the kind of people developed by the movement,—a people keeping “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” He heard them preaching the hour of God’s judgment; proclaiming the fall of great Babylon; warning men against following the “beast,” the symbol of the great apostasy; and calling all to the divine platform of “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” This is what the prophet saw in vision of the last days. And what he saw he wrote on the sacred page nearly nineteen centuries ago. The centuries passed; the work of God moved forward in the earth, through days of peril and days of reformation. Prophecy was fulfilling, events of the latter days were taking place, and servants of God began to proclaim the coming of Christ near at hand. But nowhere in the world did men see a people doing the work of this prophecy of Revelation 14, and giving the threefold message recorded there, until the year 1844 brought the hour of God’s judgment. When the year 1844 brought the full time of the prophecy, it brought the beginning of the definite advent movement which is proclaiming the message of the prophecy to the world to-day. It was in that very year (1844), in New Hampshire, that a little company of believers in the near coming of the Lord were led to see that the New Testament platform of “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus,” meant the keeping of the fourth commandment as well as the other nine; and they began to keep God’s holy Sabbath day, the seventh day of the week. In his history of the advent awakening of those times, J. N. Loughborough says of the beginning of Sabbath observance among Adventists:— This doctrine, among Adventists, arose on this wise: Rachel Preston, a Seventh-day Baptist, moved to Washington, N. H., where there was a church of Adventists. She accepted the advent doctrine, and that church, composed of about forty members, through her missionary labors accepted the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. This led to inquiry upon that subject. In the Midnight Cry [one of the papers devoted to the 1844 movement, published in New York City] of Sept. 5, 1844, we read, “Many persons have their minds deeply exercised respecting a supposed obligation to observe the seventh day.” This statement was contained in an editorial, in which a faint effort was made to establish the claims of Sunday-keeping. The subject was continued in the number of September 12, where we find the following significant statement, which led to serious and close study by many:— “Last week we found ourselves brought to this conclusion: There is no particular portion of time which Christians are required by law to set aside as holy time. If this conclusion is incorrect, then we think the seventh day is the only day for the observance of which there is any law.”—“Great Second Advent Movement,” page 249. Thus the matter of the Sabbath of the commandment was being agitated, and some were already keeping it. Frederick Wheeler, formerly a Methodist Episcopal minister, was one of this number. In a statement based on facts of his own dictation, we read:— As a Methodist minister he was convinced of the advent truth by reading William Miller’s works in 1842, and joined in preaching the first message [that of the judgment-hour]. In March, 1844, he begun to keep the true Sabbath, in Washington, N. H.—Review, Oct. 4, 1906. He is “supposed to have preached the first sermon in favor of the seventh-day Sabbath ever given by an Adventist minister, before the passing of the time in 1844.”—Obituary in Review, Nov. 24, 1910. The next year Captain Joseph Bates, an Adventist leader, of Massachusetts, began to keep the Sabbath and to publish the message of reform in printed form. Others followed. Light as to the real meaning of the judgment-hour, and the work to be done in carrying the threefold message to the world, came flooding in, and the definite advent movement of the prophecy was started upon its way. This is the movement that Seventh-day Adventists stand for to-day, with a work spreading forth into all the world, preaching the message of the “everlasting gospel” in the exact terms of the prophecy of Rev. 14:6-12. When the hour of the prophecy came, in 1844, it found the people of the prophecy, a little nucleus of believers, keeping “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus,” and crying the message, “The hour of his judgment is come.” When the hour struck, the work began. There is the precision of the infinite power of the living God in this fulfilling of the “sure word of prophecy” that had been written nearly two thousand years before. This advent movement was born of God. Those who turned to the keeping10of God’s commandments as a matter of Sabbath reform in the year 1844 little understood that it was the beginning of a new and definite movement in fulfilment of the prophecy. They had no thought of devising a work to fit the prophecy. But in the days immediately following, as believers in the approaching second advent began to understand the doctrine of the cleansing of the sanctuary, all was plain. They saw that the judgment-hour had truly come in 1844, and that while this closing ministry of Christ was going forward in heaven, the last message of the everlasting gospel was to be carried to all the world, calling men away from papal traditions to the standard of God’s eternal truth. That the warning of the threefold message is against following the Roman Papacy is evident; for the beast whose worship is denounced is the power symbolized by the leopard beast of the previous chapter. See Rev. 13: 1-8. This is easily identified with the little horn of Daniel 7. Like that power, the beast was to speak “great things,” to “make war with the saints,” and its period of special supremacy is the same as that of the little horn of Dan. 7:25, where we first meet the prophecy of the 1260 years of papal supremacy. The Papacy is the great apostasy of the prophetic scriptures. The advent movement lifts up the standard against this power in the closing gospel work. W. A. S. WE have reached the historical season of thanksgiving. It is appropriate at this time, as well as at all seasons, that we return to Heaven grateful thanks for the many benefits received. We are the constant recipients of God's grace. All that we have and are we owe to the blessed Master. We should ever maintain the spirit of “giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This year has brought a largess of blessing to every reader. For the most part, good health, pleasant environment, a sufficiency of food and clothing, comfortable housing, with the association of friends, and above all, a hope of life beyond this temporal existence, has been the experience of the majority of our readers. And those who have not enjoyed all these temporal blessings still have much for which to thank and praise the Father of all mercies. Even though suffering pain or affliction, we may still know, as did the apostle Paul, that “all things work together for good to them that love God;” “for all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.” Thanking God for his goodness to us, let us remember before him those who are less fortunate than ourselves, the sick and suffering, the tried and tempted, the discouraged and dispirited. And to our prayers let us add the ministry of a loving service in seeking to impart of our store of temporal as well as spiritual blessings in the supply of their need. “It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.” F. M. W. The Exaltation of Man
By C. M. S.
SATAN sought his own exaltation, and fell, carrying a multitude with him. Man, in the garden of Eden, sought his own exaltation, and fell, and he also carried a multitude with him in his fall. God has promised man an exaltation which is an exaltation in deed and in truth. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Rev. 3:21. Here is a promise of exaltation that far exceeds the goal of any ambition that this world can satisfy. It is far beyond the comprehension of the human mind. It is not the result of selfish striving on our part, but of gracious giving on his part. It emphasizes the assurance that “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Cor. 2:9. While this remarkable promise applies to the overcomers of every age, from the fall of man to the restoration of the dominion in Christ, it is placed in this particular connection as a special encouragement to the church during the trying experiences of the last days. The Laodicean church is the church in its last period of probationary history. This is shown by the expression, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock.” In giving visible signs of his coming, Christ had previously told his disciples that by these signs it might be known that he was “near, even at the doors.” Matt. 24:29-34; Luke 21:25-33. So now, when the message to the Laodicean period applies in full force, he stands at the door and knocks. From the description of the condition of the church of this period, as given in the context, there seems to be great need of some positive, striking incentive toward repentance. So, after a plain statement of the woeful condition of the church, and of the logical outcome of such a condition, this grand, comprehensive promise—which really comprises all the promises—is added as a last appeal. The “faithful and true Witness” states the condition, and the natural result of such a condition, in a few words: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.” Then the “true Witness” specifies the evidence of this lukewarmness, and prescribes the remedy: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.” Why does he state the condition in such strong terms?—That the church might be brought to a sense of feeling as to its true condition of worldliness and irreligion, and repent. For this reason he rebukes and chastens, in order that he may save them. But it must not be forgotten that this knocking at the door of the church, while indicating the near approach of Christ’s second advent to redeem his people in a body, is an individual appeal to every one who is in the lukewarm, backslidden condition herein described. The Spirit is knocking at the individual hearts as this last message of mercy is being proclaimed. “If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” To every individual who has even a spark of appreciation of the goodness of God and of “his wonderful works to the children of men,” this last appeal of the “faithful and true Witness” is mercifully extended. The ardent desire of him who tasted “death for every man” is that every one that hath an ear will hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. The precious promise to which attention has been called herein, is made by him whose word endureth forever. Nor must it be forgotten that the disciple must overcome as he (the Master) overcame; and he overcame by humble obedience to his Father’s will. See Phil. 2:5-11; John 15:10. We can overcome only through his strength, through his life, through his cleansing blood; because his righteousness, not our own, must stand for us in the judgment. It is his blood that cleanses us from all sin. It is his righteousness that God sees when he looks upon those who have made Christ their portion. C. M. S. “For we have not an high priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”