Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Sep 26, 1911
Christ, My Lord
By John S. B. Monsell
By John S. B. Monsell
Rest of the weary,
Joy of the sad,
Hope of the dreary,
Light of the glad,
Home of the stranger,
Strength to the end,
Refuge from danger,
Saviour and Friend!
When my feet stumble,
I'll to Thee cry,
Crown of the humble,
Cross of the high;
When my steps wander,
Over me bend,
Truer and fonder,
Saviour and Friend!
Ever confessing
Thee, I will raise
Unto Thee blessing,
Glory, and praise;
All my endeavor,
World without end,
Thine to be ever,
Saviour and Friend!
IF YE WILL INQUIRE, INQUIRE YE
By Editor
This Inquirers' Department is conducted for the purpose of helping those who are studying the Bible. The answers are oftentimes only suggestive. They are never to be considered infallible, only as they agree with the infallible Word. The writer who may answer them does not consider that his opinion is infallible. He will simply give the best that he has, and plead with the inquirer to search the Word. Such questions only will be answered as, to the editors, seem to minister to the good of the readers and to the mission of the paper. We can not answer repeatedly in the same volume questions upon the same scripture. The name and address must accompany question, not for publication, but as an evidence of good faith, and that answer may be made by letter if deemed advisable. No letters are answered which do not contain the name of the writer. It is well always to enclose stamp for reply.
3562—Keeping It from Her Husband
By Editor
A sister sends in $1.00 as tithe, and says: "You need not send in a receipt, as my husband is not a believer. Is it wrong to do anything like this? Answer in 'Signs' weekly, please, as I take it." W. V.
This is one among the questions to which it is difficult to reply. It might be wrong, and it might not. It would depend upon what the sister was tithing. There ought to be a perfect understanding between husband and wife regarding all things, financially and otherwise. But in the very nature of the case, when one is a Christian and another is not, this understanding can not be perfect. It is impossible for one who is not a Christian to understand the motives of one who is. And yet, in common justice, the man who is not a Christian ought to recognize that his wife has a part in his earnings. The earnings may not be in her name, she may not be one who goes out into the field and works for wages; still, by every legal right, she is a partner with her husband, and is entitled to a proper share of the money which is received as income. It belongs to her by right. If she wishes to make a gift for some religious or benevolent purpose, she has a right to do that; and that ought to be recognized by the husband without calling upon him. There are certain principles and rights which women have, utterly regardless of religious matters. It is a pitiable thing, the course pursued by some husbands toward their wives. Money is doled out to them as it would be to a beggar or a slave. If there is not perfect freedom between husband and wife without definite arrangement, there ought to be definite arrangement by which a wife should receive a certain proportion, which should be her own,
and out of that she has the privilege of donating to religious purposes, or benevolent purposes, or any other purposes in which she may legitimately engage. Consequently, if this wife is tithing that which belongs to her, which is her own by right, she has the right to send it without letting her husband know it, if he is averse to it. The best way to do would be to have a perfect understanding of these matters between husband and wife, and let him know just what was done with money; but if this can not be, we would not say that the wife has not the right to donate without his consent. It is a matter which lies not between her and some man, or men, but between her and God. If all husbands were just and equitable in their dealings with their wives, woman suffrage would find far less favor with many.
Please explain Rev. 13:13. What is meant by fire coming down from heaven on the earth in the sight of man? and how shall we know when this takes place?
We do not believe that this prophecy has yet been fulfilled, nor can we say just how it will be fulfilled. This we do know, that at one time in the history of God's work the Lord answered by fire through His true prophet. (See 1 Kings 18:22-39.) The prophets of Baal could not bring fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice, but the simple prayer of God's true prophet Elijah brought the fire from on high which burned up the sacrifice and licked up the water.
Satan, by his arts and devices, will be able to deceive the people in the last days so as to counterfeit the miracle of Elijah. That miracle, or wonder, will be wrought for the purpose of showing the world that the powers of earth in the last days, all united in one great confederacy, have just as much power as did Elijah in times past, and that the religious laws and the worship of the beast which they undertake to enforce, are thus demonstrated to be just as sacred as was the message which Elijah himself bore.
We have this means by which we can test all these deceptions of the enemy: If that miracle is wrought to turn us away from God's Word, or if it bears with it a message which turns us away from God's Word, it is not of God. If it is that which brings us to His Word, and leads us to honor Him and honor His Word, we may accept it as from Him. Those who are steadfast in His Word will not be deceived. See Rev. 3:10; 2 Thess. 2:9-12.
3561—The Second Blessing
By Editor
Please explain Acts 19:2. Are we to understand by this scripture that if one has been converted, he must seek sanctification before he can be saved? he must claim the second blessing? V. J.
Acts 19:2 has nothing whatever about a second blessing, or sanctification. It simply has to do with more light and more blessing, because more light is received. Paul came to Ephesus and found there a certain group of disciples. He asks them, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they say unto him [as given in the Revised Version], Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was given"—not that they had not heard whether there was any Holy Ghost, because John preached of the Holy Spirit (see Matt. 3:11). These disciples of John did not know that Jesus had risen from the dead, and that the Holy Spirit had been poured out. They had not learned all these things. Paul asks them, then, unto what they were baptized; and they said, "Unto John's baptism." John simply baptized with a baptism of repentance. Paul explained to them then the work of Jesus, and what Jesus was to the children of men, and then they were baptized in His name.
Baptizing in the name of Jesus was equivalent to just what is stated in Matt. 28:19, 20—"baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Baptized into the name of the Father was into the character of the Father—God's righteousness imputed to them, their sins all forgiven. Baptized into the name of the Son means absolute renunciation of self. "He emptied Himself," that God might fill Him. Baptized into the name of the Spirit is a fitting for service; for it is by the power of the Spirit that God's children serve Him, and through the Spirit gifts are distributed to each one of them. Therefore these disciples, having received new light, were baptized into the full meaning of the Gospel. We presume, without question, that they received at that time a second blessing; and as greater light came to them, and they accepted it, they received a third blessing; as they followed on in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus, they received blessing after blessing.
Sanctification implies two things: first, the absolute giving of the man himself to God, setting apart himself to God's service—an instantaneous work of the will; and secondly, the carrying out of that purpose in a holy life of service to God. Sanctification, therefore, is on the side of the will an instantaneous work, on the side of the character an entire life-work.
It is impossible in this department to give a detailed explanation of the scripture. If it is read carefully, it will be quite clear. God not only designed that there should be a Sabbath for His people, but a Sabbath for the land. He would have them saturated with the blessed thought of Sabbath-keeping and the benefits of Sabbath-keeping. And therefore, when they came into the land, He enjoined that the land itself should have a Sabbath, and the Sabbath of the land should be every seventh year. They should neither sow nor reap during that year — simply let the fruit grow of itself. Nor should they keep that which grew of itself; that should be left for the stranger and the widow and the poor and the cattle and the beasts that were in the land. But that was not all in the Sabbath lessons; they should have a great sabbath at the close of seven sabbaths of years, or seven weeks of years. They should number forty-nine years, and the year that followed the forty-ninth year should be a great year of jubilee. On the tenth day of the seventh month of that year they were to cause the great trumpet to sound, and proclaim throughout the land the year of jubilee. They should "proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." Every man should return to his possession. During this time he may have sold that possession, but in the year of jubilee it should come back to him. He may have sold his service to some of his brethren; in the year of jubilee he should be free. And "according to the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy of thy neighbor, and according unto the number of years of the crops he shall sell unto thee." Verse 15. That would make two years in which there would be no fruit sown or reaped in the regular way; but God promised them that if they would only do His will and keep His statutes and judgments, there should be an abundance. He would command His blessing upon them in the sixth year, and it should bring forth fruit for three years. But the Jews utterly failed to observe God's Sabbath, and therefore there came that seventy years' desolation of the promised land predicted by Jeremiah, during which time the land enjoyed her sabbaths. (See the last chapter of 2 Chronicles.)
It seems evident that the scapegoat did not represent our Lord, altho some contend that it did. You will note in the 5th verse that Aaron was to take of the congregation of the children of Israel two he-goats. Verse 8. Upon these goats lots were to be cast—one lot for Jehovah and the other lot for Azazel—not scapegoat, as in our common version. Azazel, we are told by different authorities, means "the strong one who revolted"—a type of Satan. The goat for Jehovah was a type of Christ. Upon one rested the Lord's name; upon the other was placed Azazel's name. Satan, or the devil, the one who revolted, the Azazel of the type, was the one who led God's people into sin. Christ Jesus was the one who was to save them from their sins. The Lord's goat was slain, his blood was taken into the sanctuary, and the sanctuary was cleansed from all its sins and uncleannesses of the children of Israel. The sins due to Satan, represented by the scapegoat, were laid upon his head, and he bore them away into a land of forgetfulness, or oblivion. This is a type of Satan when upon him will rest the sins of which he is guilty, not only in his own life, but which he has induced others to commit. That time in Satan's experience will occur at the beginning of the thousand years recorded in Revelation 20.
3566 — Evil Angels and Their Sustenance
By Editor
You say in "Questions and Answers," page 204, that evil angels receive the current of life by secondary means, through man and animals. Will they receive it through animals during the one thousand years' desolation of the earth? If evil angels are flesh and blood, they differ from us. How can they go into animals when they assume the form of men? It would not take creative power to really change their forms. Can not these forms be so perfect as to defy detection by known scientific means? Are they not sometimes visible in the form of men among us? F. H.
Just what food evil angels or demons feed upon to sustain life, of course we do not know. That lies beyond our mortal ken. We do not understand that these evil angels are flesh and blood as man is. They are substance, but they are spiritual substance. There are various kinds of substance of which we know nothing. It is said of God, "Who maketh His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire." We know that fire can enter into material substance, and still not be a part of that substance; and these evil angels may completely possess mankind, draw from them vitality upon which they themselves may feed. This, of course, is only conjecture.
Our lesson includes chapters 8 to 20 of the Gospel by Luke. Read each chapter carefully, thoughtfully. After reading, think it through, recall the various events, and the lesson of miracle, teaching, and example of our Lord. Learn to think through the whole book, so that when alone and away from the Bible, you can think of all the various events of the Gospel. By comparing with the Gospel of Matthew, which we have just read, it will be seen that there are many additional things in Luke, especially the lessons on prayer and forgiveness.
A Lesson for Our Day
By Ellen G. White
By Mrs. E. G. White
Wo unto thee, Chorazin! wo unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
IN these words of denunciation a solemn warning is given to the churches of to-day. It will make every difference with us as regards our eternal future whether we receive or reject the message and the messenger that God sends. All truth originates with God, and according to its character is invested with influence to move men. Spiritual truth is above all else, and Christ came to reveal this manner of truth to the world. The Father came in vital connection with the world through His well-beloved Son, and the revelation of divine truth through the Son was designed to draw men to the Father.
Satan has been the central object of the world's worship; but where stands Satan's seat, the throne of God should have been planted. Christ purposed that His cross should become the center of attraction, whereby He should draw the hearts of men to Himself. Taking upon Him human nature, He became one with the fallen race, and by virtue of the divine nature He laid hold of the throne of the Infinite, and enlisted the coöperation of every heavenly instrumentality to carry out His plan for redeeming a lost race. He sends down upon the hearts of men the bright beams of His righteousness in order to dispel the shadow which Satan has cast upon the world. To counteract His work, Satan and his hosts combined their forces with evil men, and sought to overthrow the work of Christ; but heavenly agencies, united in their great Head, advanced to meet the confederacy of evil, and evil and error were in conflict with goodness and truth, thus constituting the great controversy of the ages.
The love of God was to be revealed to the world in the death of His beloved Son, crucified on Calvary for the sins of the world. He was to present to the world the Gospel, which was to be the power of God unto salvation. This was not a new truth, but through the traditions of men it had become obscured, and the original truths, by separation from their Author, had lost their meaning to the world. When Christ came, a flood of light was to be shed upon the utterances of patriarchs and prophets. Through this revelation, neglected obligations were to be taken up. Obedience was to take the place of rebellion, and the truth would work a transformation of character in all who should receive it. The great atoning Sacrifice was to be the central and supreme truth, about which all other truths were to cluster. And Christ Himself came to the world to bear this truth to His rebellious subjects.
Before the coming of Christ, prophets had been sent, and message after message had been delivered to the people of God; but they had beaten one and stoned another, and at length the loving Father said, "They will reverence My Son." But when He came with the message of divine love, their hearts had grown so hard through their rejection of light, their resistance had become so stubborn, that they said, "This is the heir; come, let us kill Him, and let us seize on His inheritance." The work of rejection of light was to result in the murder of their Lord. Among the most diligent enemies of Jesus were the scribes and Pharisees. They were ready to bear false witness, and in their blindness even thought that they were doing God service. Jesus went through all the land of Canaan, and mighty works were wrought in Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum; but notwithstanding all His mighty works in these cities, they did not believe on Him. The great mass of the people would and did listen to the great Teacher, and they would have taken their position with Him had it not been for the counterworking of the scribes and Pharisees and those who sat in Moses' seat. But the priests and teachers, filled with intense hatred and unreasonable prejudice, made every possible effort to make His words and works of no effect.
They saw the fruit of His doctrine and the results of His work, but when they had exhausted all their objections, they inquired for a sign of His authority.4The lessons that Jesus taught, the work He wrought, gave unanswerable evidence that He was the Son of God. Abundant evidence was given, of the most conclusive character; but they closed their eyes lest they should see, and their ears lest they should hear, and refused to listen to His appeals. What sadness it brings to the heart as we read that “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not”! He had to leave His own, and go from city to city, and from place to place, in order to preserve His life until His work was done. We read, He “walked in Galilee: for He would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill Him.”
At one time the people came to the priests and asked, “When Christ cometh, will He do more miracles than these which this Man hath done?” And so enraged were the Pharisees at the evident conviction that had settled upon the people, that they immediately despatched officers to arrest Him. He was teaching the people and healing the sick; and when the officers came within the sound of the melody of His voice, and heard His gracious words, they stood as men entranced, and forgot what had been their errand. Hardened as were their hearts, they were melted under His words of truth and compassion; and when the chief priests and Pharisees inquired, “Why have ye not brought Him?” they answered, “Never man spake like this Man.” Then answered them the Pharisees, “Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on Him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.”
The Pharisees charged the people with ignorance of the prophecies, and yet it was themselves who were willingly ignorant that Jesus met in His life and works and character every specification of the Scriptures. There was no want of evidence of His Messiahship, no dimness of light concerning His divine claims; but they did not wish to believe, and permitted prejudice to blind their eyes.
The Man of Sorrows, who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, who was bruised for our iniquities, and wounded for our transgressions, by whose stripes we are healed, was indeed without form or comeliness to the Jews; and yet He was the predicted Messiah, who was to shine before the ancients gloriously, to reign from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. As He came in His humiliation to our earth, no conquering armies were visible to mortal eyes, and the unbelieving Jews decided that He could not be the illustrious King for whom they were looking, as there was no outward display. And why did the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Jerusalem reject the Lord of life and glory? Why did they keep up a continual controversy with Him? It was because those who claimed to believe and teach the Word of God, interpreted its utterances to suit their own preconceived opinions, so that the Word of God might seem to harmonize with the traditions and commandments of men. It was because the people did not see the necessity of searching the Scriptures for themselves, of comparing scripture with scripture, that they might know the truth. They gave credence to what the priests and Pharisees taught, in place of seeking to understand the true meaning of the Word of God for themselves, instead of using the reason and judgment which God had given them that they might understand. They placed the priests and rulers where they should have placed God, and rejected the truth of God, that they might keep their own tradition. Let us take a lesson from the mistake of the Jewish people, and not be found committing a similar error.
The Sabbath a Perpetual Institution
By A. R. Ogden
By A. R. Ogden
Its Making
"HE Sabbath was made for man." Wherever man is found, and as long as his existence is maintained, it is but reasonable to conclude that the Sabbath which was made for him will continue. In this article we wish to trace briefly the seventh-day Sabbath through time as far as the Bible gives us any information.
"The Sabbath was made for man." Mark 2:27. From this declaration of Jesus we are led to inquire, When, how, and why was it made? The quotation shows for whom it was made. He who was with the Father in the creation (Gen. 1:26), who was in fact the active agent in the work of creation (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2), also made the Sabbath known to Israel on Sinai, as evidenced by a comparison of 1 Cor. 10:1-4 and Neh. 9:12-14. It was made before man sinned, given to Adam in Eden; and all must agree with the proposition that had Adam never sinned, had sin never come into this world, the same seventh-day Sabbath made for man in the beginning would have always been observed by him. It would have been kept as a perpetual institution.
In the proclamation of the law from Sinai, the fourth precept of the ten begins with the word "remember," showing that it had been an existing institution. With the language of Alexander Campbell upon this point we agree:
The oldest commemorative institution in the world is that which records the voluminous fact that nature—that familiar, indefinable, and appreciable something, admired by all and worshiped by few—is herself an effect, and not a primary cause. It is in this sublime and philosophic way that the man of true science views that primeval solemnization of time called the Sabbath, the first and one of the most significant and important of all patriarchal institutions. . . . Heaven left not this fact, the basis of a thousand volumes, to be gathered from abstract reasonings, vitiated traditions, ingenious analogies, or plausible conjectures, but from a monumental institution which was as universal as the annals of time, as the birth of nations, and as the languages spoken by mortals; an institution, too, which, notwithstanding its demand not only of the seventh part of all time, but of the seventh day in uninterrupted succession, was celebrated from creation to the Deluge, during the Deluge, and after the Deluge till the giving of the law; and which when transcribed by the finger of God from the tablets of memory to the tables of marble, begins with the very word "remember." . . . And so reads the fourth precept of the everlasting ten—"Remember the Sabbath day."—Popular Lectures and Addresses, pages 283, 284.
It must be clear, from the reading of Gen. 2:1-3, that the Sabbath not only comes to us from creation, but is also a part of the very creation itself. Certain definite stated facts make it the Sabbath. These facts are: (1) God rested on that day. (2) He sanctified the day. (3) He blessed the day. Thus the seventh day is more than any other day can be. Any day may be a rest day, but it takes God’s blessing and sanctity to make a Sabbath. No other day than the seventh bears the distinctive marks of divine approval. As long as God’s creation remains, and as long as God Himself exists, it must ever be a fact that "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Our appreciation of Heaven’s blessing will be measured by our relationship to and appreciation of the day that He has blessed, sanctified, and given to man.
It "was made for man," sanctified, and set apart for his spiritual good. In the language of the poet:
How sweet, upon this sacred day,
The best of all the seven,
To cast our earthly thoughts away,
And think of God and heaven!
By its observance we honor not only God the Father, but His Son, in the work of creation. Its observance is an acknowledgment of the Author, Creator, and Sustainer of life. Any document must have a stamp, or seal, designating its authenticity. Three distinctive features of a stamp, or a seal, are essential: first, the author; second, his position or authority; third, his jurisdiction or territory. By a careful reading of the Ten Commandments, we find that but one of them contains these three characteristics. And these are found in the fourth commandment; namely, "the Lord God," "maker," "heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is." Thus the Sabbath is the one distinctive mark of God’s authority. It is for this purpose, as distinctly stated in other scriptures, that He has given the seventh-day Sabbath. "It is a sign," "a perpetual covenant" between the Lord and His people Israel (Ex. 31:15-17), Israel including God’s people in all ages. Gal. 3:29. "Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them." "And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall5be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." Eze. 20:12, 20.
Its History
Having thus noticed the Sabbath institution as being a part of creation, and its observance an acknowledgment of God, we will now trace its history. From creation to Sinai, and from Sinai to Calvary, there is no question but that the seventh day of creation was the day honored by the people of God. Multiplied texts of Scripture might be given to prove this, but there is no controversy on this point. We will therefore turn to the New Testament. In Luke 4:16, we find that it was Christ’s "custom" to observe the Sabbath in religious service. The women who took an interest in the burial of the Saviour, "rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56. The context clearly locates the Sabbath as being the day immediately following the preparation (Friday), and the day just before the first day of the week (Sunday).
Turning to the lives of the apostles, we find that it was Paul’s "manner" to reason out of the Scriptures on the Sabbath day. In Acts 18:1-11, we find the experience of Paul while laboring at Corinth, where he abode, and wrought as a tent-maker. "And he reasoned in the synagog every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." He remained there a year and six months. See verse 11. Thus as late as twenty-five years after the resurrection of Christ, we find this great apostle to the Gentiles observing the Sabbath, the seventh day, and engaged in common labor the six working days; thus showing that it was not the custom of the apostle Paul to observe the first day of the week, but to use it in ordinary labor.
It is true that this apostle held one religious meeting on the first day of the week; but the holding of a religious service does not make a Sabbath. The reading of the context will show that this was a farewell meeting, and that while Paul was holding it, his companions in travel were by boat going around the peninsula to Assos.
The last definite mention of the Sabbath that we have in the New Testament, was by the apostle John, where he says, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day." Rev. 1:10. That the Lord’s day and the Sabbath are the same, is evidenced by comparison of the following texts: Mark 2:27, 28; Isa. 58:13; Ex. 20:8-11. In the first text referred to, Christ claims the Sabbath day as His, declaring that He is Lord of the Sabbath. We therefore find that from Adam in the creation to John on rock-bound Patmos, the seventh-day Sabbath is traced in uninterrupted succession.
Eternal Sabbath-Keeping
The prophet Isaiah, in prophetic vision, looking beyond the reign of sin, into the great hereafter, states that "as the new heavens and the new earth . . . shall remain before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Isa. 66:22, 23. Thus through eternity will all flesh (people) come to worship before the Lord every Sabbath day. So the seventh-day Sabbath that was given to created Adam, will be kept by the redeemed sons of Adam throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. How natural and reasonable that all who are preparing to live through eternity, should observe the day that was given before sin came into existence, and that will be kept after sin has run its course. In our next we will show our readers when, why, and by whom the change from the seventh to the first day was made.
Utica, Missouri.
(To be continued)
Bodily Consecration
By C. A. Rhodes
By C. A. Rhodes
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Rom. 12:1.
HE apostle Paul entreats the believers in Christ to offer their bodies as a rational sacrifice. Paul himself considered that he was a "prisoner," a "bondslave" of his Lord. He therefore thought it nothing strange for a brother to present to God his body with all its functions, powers, and inherent worth. Rather it was the "reasonable service" of reciprocal love to offer his body to Christ as the Master had given His own person to redeem the servant.
The implied relation suggested by the terms "servant" and "Saviour" would to any consistent mind demand compensation from the servant for his redemption from servitude. And what more reasonable recompense could be made than that the servant should offer his living body in appreciable, loving service for the Master? His body is no longer his own. Had he not been redeemed from his slavery, he still would have belonged to his old master. So Paul says in another epistle (1 Cor. 6:19, 20; 7:23), "Ye are not your own; for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body."
It is not only the rational religious privilege of a professed Christian to present his body as a living sacrifice, but it is only a consecration consistent with a trustful, abiding love for the Master.
He whose love is infinite, but is so far discernible to us in giving His life for our ransom, can assuredly be trusted in perfect confidence that He will care for the body that is presented to Him free from worldly restrictions and indulgences. A failure to impose this confidence in Him is basely to accuse Him of inability to provide for bodily needs, or is a weak admission on our part that we fear to trust Him — Him who provides for the sparrow and clothes the field with verdure.
He who makes life his altar, and his body a living sacrifice, will not fret when the purifying fire of God descends. If that sacrifice has been full, the sin-consuming flame will but purge out the dross and leave the character purified; but if feigned, that fire in its sin-hating nature must consume the drossful servant of sin, as typified by the divine cremation of Nadab and Abihu. Lev. 10:1, 2. "I entreat you therefore, brethren, by the tender compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing to God — your rational religious service." (Emphatic Diaglott.)
Temptation
Deal gently with the erring:
You know not of the power
With which the dark temptation came
In some unguarded hour.
You may not know how earnestly
He struggled, or how well,
Until the hour of darkness came,
And sadly thus he fell.
Heir of the selfsame heritage,
Child of the selfsame God,
He hath but stumbled in the path
Thou hast in weakness trod.
— Selected.
The Bible and Its Binding
"If you can bind your Bible within its covers, you might as well bury it."
