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Review and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 52.

HOW MUCH OWEST THOU?

Review and Herald

Dec 25, 1900

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 25, 1900

“HOW MUCH OWEST THOU?”

By Ellen G. White

MRS. E. G. WHITE
This is the holiday season. At this time large sums of money are spent for presents and in needless self-indulgence. Pride, fashion, and luxurious living swallow up immense sums which are worse than thrown away; for this needless use of means encourages prodigal expenditure, and often money is used in ways that injure health and endanger souls.
The question should come home to every heart, “How much owest thou unto my Lord?” He has granted us privileges and blessings without number; we are dependent on Him for every earthly favor, even for the breath of life; and now should not the bands of selfishness be broken, and the just claims of God and humanity be acknowledged?
God delivered His people Israel from bondage in Egypt. He brought them into their own land, and gave them a goodly heritage and sure dwelling places. And He asked of them a recognition of His marvelous works. The first-fruits of the earth were to be consecrated to Him, and given back as an offering of gratitude, an acknowledgment of His goodness to them. For they said: “When we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labor, and our oppression: and the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: and He hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first-fruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me.”
Concerning these offerings the Lord said: “And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God: and thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.” They were to remember “the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.” This was a standing requirement.
The Lord calls for gifts and offerings, and He claims the tithe also. He says: “All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord.” Strictly, honestly, and faithfully, if possible without any failure, the tithe is to be brought to the treasury of God. With it His faithful messengers are to be sustained, as they go out to communicate the light of His word to those who are in darkness.
“This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments; thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and to hearken unto His voice.” This is not the voice of man; it is the voice of Christ from the infolding pillar of cloud. Read carefully all of Deuteronomy 26, also chapters 27 and 28; for here are stated plainly the blessings of obedience.
These directions, which the Lord gave to His people, express the principles of the law of the kingdom of God, and they are made specific, so that the minds of the people may not be left in ignorance and uncertainty. These scriptures present the never-ceasing obligation of all whom God has blessed with life and health and advantages in temporal and spiritual things. The message has not grown weak because of age. God’s claims are just as binding now, just as fresh in their importance, as God’s gifts are fresh and continual.
Lest any should forget these important directions, Christ has repeated them with His own voice. He calls His followers to a life of consecration and self-denial. He says: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” This means what it says. Only by self-denial and self-sacrifice can we show that we are true disciples of Christ.
While parents are making sacrifices for the sake of advancing the cause of God, they should teach their children also to take part in this work. The children may learn to show their love for Christ by denying themselves needless trifles, for the purchase of which much money slips through their fingers. In every family this work should be done. It requires tact and method, but it will be the best education the children can receive. And if all the little children would present their offerings to the Lord, their gifts would be as little rivulets, which, when united and set flowing, would swell into a river.
The Lord looks with pleasure upon the little children who deny themselves that they may make an offering to Him. He was pleased with the widow who put her two mites into the treasury, because she gave with a willing heart. The Saviour thought her sacrifice in giving all that she had of more value than the large gifts of the rich men, who made no sacrifice in order to give. And He is glad when the little ones are willing to deny self that they may become laborers together with Him who loved them, and took them in His arms and blessed them.
Christ counted it essential to remind His people that obedience to the commandments of God is for their present and future good. Obedience brings a blessing, disobedience a curse. Besides, when the Lord in a special manner favors His people, He exhorts them publicly to acknowledge His goodness. In this way His name will be glorified; for such an acknowledgment is a testimony that His words are faithful and true.
Our offerings are not accepted of God unless they are presented in a spirit of reverence and gratitude. It is the humble, grateful, reverential heart that makes all offerings as a sweet-smelling savor. The children of Israel might have given all their substance; but had it been given in a spirit of self-sufficiency or pharisaism, with the feeling that God was indebted to them, and for this reason had bestowed upon them the favors they had received at His hand, their offerings would have been rejected, utterly contemned of God.
Christ has shown the estimate He places upon the human soul by giving himself up to a life of self-denial and pain and to a cruel death. He is soon coming again, and we have but a short time in which to show that we appreciate the redemption that He, with His own blood, has purchased for us and for others. Many lands that have never heard the truth are yet to hear it, and to become vocal with the praise of God. If the Church of God will now use all her talents of means and influence, the work may be carried forward gloriously in these “regions beyond.”
Let all at this time consider the question, “How much owest thou unto my Lord?”

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GOD'S SECRET

By Elder L. D. Santee

ELDER L. D. SANTEE
“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”
There's a story that's heard when the gentle dews weep; 'Tis told in the play of the fountain; 'Tis sung by the stars when the flowers are asleep; 'Tis breathed by the winds to the mountain; 'Tis heard when the sea, with tempestuous roar, Lifts its hands in a wrathful commotion; 'Tis whispered by billows that lap on the shore; 'Tis breathed by the murmuring ocean;
'Tis chanted by song-birds that soar to the skies, In the beautiful glow of the morning; 'Tis breathed by the flowers that in beauty arise, All the hills and the valleys adorning. Oh, can you not feel, when the sun's in the west, Or in spring when the leaf-buds are swelling, Or the pale moon looks forth like a smile from the blest, That a wonderful story is telling?
These wonderful tidings I'll tell unto you; My lips love to frame the glad story; And the best of it all is the story is true,— Our Lord will appear in His glory. Then sing it, ye winds! and repeat it, ye waves! While the stars chant the wondrous evangel That Christ, the “Anointed,” the “Mighty to Save,” Will come in the clouds with His angels.
But the wonderful secret that man never knew— No tongue of the seer has revealed it; For God in His purpose, exalted and true, In His own loving heart has concealed it. In the song of the birds it has never been told, Nor heard in the bees' drowsy humming,— The “hour” of Christ's leaving the city of gold, The “day” of His glorious coming!

The Fallen World

By Martha A. Kidder

METHINKS ’twas on a perfect day like this, The great Creator, looking on His work, Declared it good; beheld the newborn world, Fresh from His forming hand, as pure as heaven. O holy age! e’er sin and sorrow came To dim thy glory! O beloved World! Though steeped in crime, thy beauty thrills our hearts, Forever lost primeval innocence; Though fallen, yet redeemed by love divine, To eyes not holden thou art lovely still. — Martha A. Kidder, in The Living Church.

OUR THOUGHTS

By Mrs. B. J. Cady

MRS. B. J. CADY (Papeete, Tahiti, Society Islands)
When Solomon said, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he,” he meant that our conversation, disposition, and actions partake of the character of our thoughts. A person who is constantly cherishing thoughts of self, is necessarily a selfish person. We can not be otherwise than selfish if we are continually thinking of self; for the root of selfish words and deeds is simply selfish thoughts.
We may be always thinking about how we are regarded by others, and may have a strong desire to be highly esteemed. The more we think about it, the stronger grows that desire for self-exaltation. It leads to proud and boastful words, and often to unkind remarks and criticism of others.
Satan seeks to make us believe that by depreciating some one else we ourselves are thought of more highly. But this is a mistake; for we can not speak bitter words of condemnation against any one without lowering ourselves in the estimation of those who hear us. The listener may be gratified to hear the unkind sentence, but it will only lessen his respect for the one who pronounces it.
Doubtless we should all be glad to overcome the bad habit of evil-speaking. Then we must begin at the foundation,—we must stop thinking of self, and of what others think of us; for the desire to exalt self is the principal motive that prompts us to expose the faults and failings of our fellow men. Instead of selfishness, we need to cultivate thoughts of charity toward others, and such will surely manifest themselves in kind and charitable words.
If our thoughts were always pure and charitable, our words and actions would be the same. Hateful, unloving thoughts cause us to act in a hateful manner. Selfish thoughts make us speak and act selfishly. On the contrary, if our hearts are full of love, we are kind and loving.
Thinking too much of self leads the rich man to defraud his poor neighbor, and to withhold that which rightfully belongs to his neighbor, and is really needful for his comfort. If the rich man would consider the feelings and needs of his unfortunate neighbor, he would be led to deal charitably with him.
The Saviour shows plainly the importance of our thoughts: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil.” So, if we wish to refrain from speaking harsh and unkind words, we must guard our thoughts well. When we can keep the latter under control, and cherish only those which are good, then evil words will not cause us endless mortification and trouble by bursting out unexpectedly, and wounding the hearts of our friends. “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”
Wrong thoughts not only lead to many grievous sins, but are also sin in themselves. The Scripture says, “The thought of foolishness is sin.” Prov. 24:9. It is a fact that the worst sins can be actually committed simply through thinking. The words, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer,” show that in hating a brother one violates the sixth commandment. The seventh commandment can also be broken by the mind alone; for, “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Covetousness is an action of the mind, and of that only; though it often leads to other sins, as one sin always tends to another.
Since there is danger of violating the holy law of God by our thoughts, as well as by word and deed, how earnestly we should strive to heed the admonition of Peter, and gird up the loins of our mind. It will require strenuous effort, for Satan takes control of the mind whenever he can. We need to watch and pray that we may be victorious upon this point first of all; for we must first have our mind in subjection to Christ before we can be perfected in Him.
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true; whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Phil. 4:8.

ORGANIZATION

By Earnest A. Raymond

The Science of Life’s Development
EARNEST A. RAYMOND
EARTH’S parent-source was God himself; therefore let us trace with reverent steps the marvelous unfolding of its well-nigh infinite possibilities by His life outworking His own plan of organization, until His image and likeness stand revealed.
First of all came forth the light. From a careful reading of the record in Genesis, it is clearly evident that there were two steps in the organization of those elements whose radiant energy produces light for the world. It will be seen that they were at first widely diffused, evidently entirely surrounding the mass of earth, making light all sides at the same time; for a separate and distinct act on the Creator’s part was necessary to cause an absence of light (darkness) on one side, while it remained light on the other. “God divided the light from the darkness,” and thus caused day and night. From the record we also find that the light-elements did not undergo the second step in their arrangement until the fourth day, when they were gathered together to form our sun, and those more distant suns, the stars. The moon, as all know, sends us only a reflected radiance,—truly a lesser light.
There is something exceedingly wonderful about the nature of our light. It is an element,—just only an element,—a part, of that inexpressible glory that radiates from the person of God—an expression of His life. The prophet says, in speaking of that day when Christ shall dwell in person with His people: “The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days.” The revelator, speaking of the same, declares: “There shall be no night there;” they have no need of the sun, for God himself is the light thereof. And the psalmist sings, “With thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” Then in that great day shall man see and grasp, in its fullness, the fact that the glorious “orb of day” is but a spark from the great central Sun of Righteousness, only an element of that Light Everlasting, in whom is no darkness at all.
But in the meantime—the days intervening between these two changes in the light-elements—wonderful results have been brought about by the separation and relation of other elements. A firmament (“expansion,” Hebrew) was made between the earth-mass, with its closely surrounding waters, and the great body of water filled with elemental life, as yet undeveloped, all around it. Earth was but a speck in God’s creative plan; not only did He shape the worlds, but “he made the stars also,” each, as astronomers suppose, the center of a system of worlds much larger than ours.
And now the waters still enveloping the earth are gathered and arranged into seas, so that earth may be ready for the next great impulse of that Life within and overshadowing. What a change is this! At the expression of the Master Builder’s wish, at a word of command, in the twinkling of an eye, certain elements on and near the surface of the earth—just the right ones—rise, unite in exactly the proper proportions, each to each, and are arranged in most marvelous forms; and the infinitely varied yet all-inclusive plan in the mind of the great Organizer is revealed in its perfection, each blade of grass and leaf of tree, delicious fruit and fragrant flower, worked out to the smallest minutia. Infinite Cause, inexpressible effect! Yet the same wonderful work of organization goes on in the plant world to-day.
“And God said: Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit. . . . And the earth brought forth grass, and herb, . . . and the tree yielding fruit.”
We all have witnessed many a time how the minute steel filings, in perfect obedience to the waves of energy from the magnet placed underneath, arrange themselves in beautiful curves and outlines on their paper plane. Thus did the elements spring to their appointed places; in such a manner rose the beautiful fabric of God’s building, without sound of ax or hammer, to its perfection and symmetry of completion. Earth’s morning sun looked down on no misfits, no discordant elements; matter responded perfectly to the impulse of all-harmonious Mind.
Thus did the earth bring forth in a day that which now grows only in years; for nature’s God “made [“formed, constructed,” Hebrew; “organized,” N. T. Greek equivalent] every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew.” And thus they stood forth as models of organization, of complete, symmetrical development.
Still the work goes on, and on the fifth day the waters of the sea are commanded to “swarm [Hebrew] the moving creature that hath life,” and fowl formed from the ground (see Gen. 2:19) were bidden to fly forth in the midst of heaven.
The dawning of another day witnesses another great marvel: beasts of the field and cattle of every kind emerge from the dust, and stand forth in the matchless perfection of nature’s harmonious organization. “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind.” “And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air.”
And now for the finishing touch. The “masterpiece” must yet appear, and take his place, before all is complete. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over . . . all the earth.” Such was the sovereignty of man under God, as earth’s representative of the Omnipotent. In perfect harmony with the great Source of all power, he might ask what he would (he would thus ask as God willed), and it should be done unto him. “With God all things are possible.” Nothing shall be impossible with you. “If ye have faith, . . . ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and it shall be done.” But out of harmony with the direction of the current of life from God, he can only hinder and deflect from their perfect working his waves of energy.
Whence should such a being come? and from what should he be formed?—“And the Lord God formed man of the DUST OF THE GROUND.”
He “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Let earth receive her prince. Lofty in stature, perfect in symmetry, noble in feature, the beauty and freshness of perfect health irradiating all,—well might he be called “the son of God.” Yet something was lacking. Only the Mind Omniscient was conscious of it as yet; would that Mind’s image just formed discern the need of one step more for life’s completeness?
Christ the Saviour taught by object lessons. In like manner did Christ the Creator show to Adam His great and wonderful works, causing all the beasts of the field and fowl of the air to pass in review before him. With keen, clear, and discerning eye and intellect, the man reads as an open book each unit of the animal creation. With perfect clearness he comprehends their very nature and the laws of their being.
God caused all these to pass before the man “to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” That was it. That name perfectly expressed the nature, habits, needs,—everything,—of each creature.
At last all have passed, and he stands alone. He also is a creature. He considers himself. “But for Adam there was not found [“he did not find,” Hebrew] an help meet for [“like, corresponding to,” Hebrew] him.” In all that multitude Adam found no congenial companion for himself. He almost felt as if left alone in the midst of earth.
In this shines forth the mind of the Master through his masterpiece. Thus it had been that God himself, in the eternities long ago, felt that longing that would not be denied, for the loving, sympathetic companionship of a being “like, corresponding to,” himself, and begat His only begotten Son.
Heaven’s unit of perfect organization differed from earth’s only in form, not in reality. In both, the vital principle was that love that finds its essence of joy and blessedness in giving rather than in receiving, of spending, yet never being spent; and just beyond this lies the hidden spring of Omnipotence!
At the loss of his own flesh and bone was Adam’s need supplied; and thus at last, as then, through Love’s infinite sacrifice shall the sundered elements of the units divine and human unite in one, when “His wife hath made herself ready.” Adam said, “This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh.” The Spirit said, through Paul, “We are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” Such is the perfection of organization, such the triumph of love!
Well might the morning stars sing, and all the sons of God shout, as Sabbath morning dawns on a world all complete; and love in his place sits enthroned.
The “fatherhood of God,” the “brotherhood of man,”—how much they mean! yet without that golden link let down from heaven, the home, both are absolutely meaningless. In the “garden of delights” was the first home circle organized, and the table spread with nature’s gift of life-giving, life-preserving bounties from heaven. In means working to an end, a purpose, a glorious and infinite fulfillment, has God seen fit to lodge His providence.
So might trust forever grow, So might faith eternal bloom; And human plant, as ages rolled, Still better fruit of life unfold.
Upon such a scene as this looked Satan, the great disorganizer, with jealous eyes. If discord could once be sown and take root, how quickly would the scene change, and forever. With keen and practiced eye, he scanned every approach to the citadel, and found at last that Faith held the fortress keys. Love was the cord of life from heaven, the silken bond of mutual strength, the granite wall and gate of steel to every foe without. Faith, that perfect trust, lays hold of the cord draws tight the silken bond, and day and night guards gate and wall. Lose trust, lose all.
The world knows the story well. Her bark was lost on the hidden rock of Self, just off the entrance to the safe harbor of Individuality. “It is not good that the man should be alone.” “We are members one of another.”
How quickly disorganization appeared, and showed its work! Trust had changed to distrust of each other and of God. Too late they saw their utter nothingness, and feared to meet their Father. Disorganization reigns, all is lost.
Yet not all, else hope itself were dead, and reorganization an impossibility. Sin is lack of agreement with God in His plan of nature and nature’s development. Sin is disorganization, disorganization is sin.
“There is no power but of God.” “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” “By Him all things consist [stand together, are organized].” Then as long as there is life, there is hope. Adam’s hope, the hope of the world, is in reorganization. This is letting God trace out again His plan in us.
How often, on a hot summer’s day, have we seen the flowers, the grass, the blades of corn, hang drooping, shriveled, seemingly almost lifeless in the fierce glare of the sun! But evening by evening the refreshing dew and coolness revive them again, until at last come “veritable showers of blessing,” and nature renews her youth, putting on again her perfection of form and color. So shall the human plant be reorganized; in like manner shall man be born again to life everlasting.

A SABBATH LESSON FROM THE SANCTUARY

By Mrs. S. N. Haskell

MRS. S. N. HASKELL (Battle Creek, Mich.)
When we speak of the Sabbath as connected with the sanctuary service, our minds naturally revert to the law of God; yet we do not have to go as far into the sanctuary as the ark, to find a most wonderful Sabbath lesson.
The table of showbread was in the first apartment. The twelve loaves represented the twelve tribes, and were covered with frankincense, representing the righteousness of Christ covering His people. In “Patriarchs and Prophets,” page 354, it is called the “bread of the presence;” and in some translations the same thought is brought out. It was constantly before the Lord. There were many lessons connected with it. It taught the continual presence of Christ in the midst of Israel. It was bread, the staff of life, and represented the spiritual and temporal blessings that were received from the Lord.
But something else of great importance was taught in this service. The study of a few texts will bring out the thought: “And other of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the showbread, to prepare it every Sabbath.” “And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the Lord. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual statute.” 1 Chron. 9: 32; Lev. 24: 5-9.
Notice that it was prepared and also set in order on the Sabbath. After it had been in the sanctuary a week, it was eaten by the priests. Aaron and his sons partook of it. It was brought in on the Sabbath, and left there during the following week, covered with frankincense; the next Sabbath it was taken and eaten.
“So the priests gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.” 1 Sam. 21: 6.
If the bread was placed there hot, and they were commanded to prepare it on the Sabbath, it must have been baked on the Sabbath. The Israelites were instructed to bake bread for their own use on the six working days, and not on the Sabbath. Ex. 16: 23. But this bread was baked on the Sabbath, was placed upon the table on the Sabbath, and was taken from the table and eaten on the Sabbath. Every duty in any way connected with the showbread was Sabbath work.
This work was a shadow of Christ’s work for us. Here was a work so important that one article of furniture in the sanctuary was devoted exclusively to it. There were only four large pieces of furniture in the tabernacle—the candlestick, representing the Spirit of the Lord; the altar of intercession; the table of showbread; and the ark.
We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, whose service centers in the holy place in the heavenly sanctuary. Then is there not some special connection between that showbread, which was prepared, set in order, removed, and partaken of on the Sabbath, and the Sabbath blessing given to us? Christ revealed in the Word is the bread of life to us. This bread in the type was the bread of His presence, and represented Christ in a special sense. Not only fresh bread was placed before the people on the Sabbath, but the old bread was eaten by the priests on the Sabbath.
There is not only a lesson in the showbread for the rank and file of the laity, but a double lesson for those who stand before the people as teachers. If a minister or Bible worker goes out on the Sabbath to give a Bible reading, and simply presents old, stale truths, the same thoughts he has gone over and over again, not varying one iota from the set form, which he can go through with his eyes closed, what kind of bread is he setting before the people?—It certainly is stale bread. The Lord would have His workers give hot bread. When they go before the people, and officiate in the service of the Lord on the Sabbath, as they should, they have the privilege of placing hot bread before those whom they teach.
Perhaps some may say, I am not one of the workers. Yet are we not all members of the royal priesthood? Fathers and mothers, what are you setting before your household? When Sabbath morning comes, do you lie in bed until you have barely time, by hurrying and bustling, to arise and get your children ready for Sabbath-school? How much better it would be to arise in season, and, as a priest of the household,—for the Lord holds you as such in His sight,—set before your family fresh, living bread from the Word of life!
It makes no difference who we are; this duty comes home to each of us. Not so many children of Seventh-day Adventists would go to destruction if fathers and mothers each Sabbath morning would set out the bread of life, hot and fresh from the Scriptures, before their households.
In the sanctuary service, when the priests set the bread warm upon the table, they partook of the old bread, which they removed. It was not stale bread, because unleavened bread does not become stale. They themselves partook of the bread which they placed upon the table, and as they ate it, it became a part of them. When parents partake of the same spiritual bread which they set out hot before their household, it becomes a part of their own lives, is woven into their own experience, and they are strengthened by it all the week, and the children see the results in the parents’ lives.
While this truth comes home forcibly to the workers, yet it also applies to every child of God. When Sabbath morning worship comes, weshould not say: We will read a short Psalm this morning, as we have not time for more. We should never feel clear to say: Well, we will not have time to read at all this morning; we are somewhat late; we will just have a word of prayer before getting ready for Sabbath-school. We are prone at times to read in such a hurried manner that no one can understand; or perhaps we may go over some dry form, while the children are inattentive, allowing their minds to wander off somewhere else, because they are so familiar with the lesson that it is uninteresting—stale—to them. When the word of God is presented fresh and hot, those who partake of it will realize that it is fresh, and will receive a special blessing in the Sabbath study of the Scriptures. If we do not receive this Sabbath blessing, we fail of our privilege as worshipers in the sanctuary on high.
It is not necessary to hunt up some new, wonderful, unheard-of thing, which we do not understand ourselves, in order to present fresh bread from the Scriptures. We need not say, I will turn over to Hosea, or Zephaniah, or some of those small books, and find some new truth with which I have not been familiar before. We must search the whole Bible, the old and familiar as well as the less familiar parts. Study and pray over some familiar verse, and the Lord will unfold its meaning. Any chapter in the Bible may be used. For illustration, John 14 could be read fifty-two Sabbaths in the year to your household, and there could be a blessing received from the study every time, and the truth could be set before them fresh and hot. You can get real blessing and spiritual strength in your soul if you study this chapter, and search it as for hidden treasures. Search diligently for the gems of truth. Some of the greatest spiritual blessings come to us when we discover a beautiful thought in a text committed to memory in childhood.
There is just as much of a Sabbath blessing in studying and partaking of the spiritual bread of life in this time, as there was connected with the showbread of the sanctuary service. By preparing and placing this bread before our household or congregation, and by incorporating these lessons into our lives, we may lead others to Christ himself, the true, living Bread of Life, and be assured not only of a special Sabbath blessing, but also of the Saviour’s continued, daily presence with us.
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