Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 5: The Lord's Prayer
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The disciples had come to connect Jesus' hours of prayer with the
power of His words and works. Now, with a conviction of their
own deep need, they exclaimed, "Lord, teach us to pray."
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Review and Herald Publ. Assoc. |
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"After this manner therefore pray ye." Matthew 6:9.
The Lord's Prayer was twice given by our Saviour, first to
the multitude in the Sermon on the Mount, and again, some months later, to the
disciples alone. The disciples had been for a short time absent from their
Lord, when on their return they found Him absorbed in communion with God.
Seeming unconscious of their presence, He continued praying aloud. The
Saviour's face was irradiated with a celestial brightness. He seemed to be in
the very presence of the Unseen, and there was a living power in His words as
of one who spoke with God. {MB
102.1}
The hearts of the listening disciples were deeply moved.
They had marked how often He spent long hours in solitude in communion with His
Father. His days were passed in ministry to the crowds that pressed upon Him,
and in unveiling the treacherous sophistry of the rabbis, and this incessant
labor often left Him so utterly wearied that His mother and brothers, and even
His disciples, had feared that His life would be sacrificed. But as He returned
from the hours of prayer that closed the toilsome day, they marked the look of
peace upon His face, the sense of refreshment that seemed to pervade His
presence. It was from hours spent with God that He came forth, morning by
morning, to bring the light of heaven to men. The disciples had come to [103]
connect His hours of prayer with the power of His words and works. Now, as they
listened to His supplication, their hearts were awed and humbled. As He ceased
praying, it was with a conviction of their own deep need that they exclaimed,
"Lord, teach us to pray." Luke 11:1. {MB 102.2}
Jesus gives them no new form of prayer. That which He has
before taught them He repeats, as if He would say, You need to understand what
I have already given. It has a depth of meaning you have not yet fathomed. {MB 103.1}
The Saviour does not, however, restrict us to the use of
these exact words. As one with humanity, He presents His own ideal of prayer,
words so simple that they may be adopted by the little child, yet so
comprehensive that their significance can never be fully grasped by the
greatest minds. We are taught to come to God with our tribute of thanksgiving,
to make known our wants, to confess our sins, and to claim His mercy in
accordance with His promise. {MB
103.2}
"When ye pray, say Our Father." Luke 11:2.
Jesus teaches us to call His Father our Father. He is
not ashamed to call us brethren. Hebrews 2:11. So ready, so eager, is the
Saviour's heart to welcome us as members of the family of God, that in the very
first words we are to use in approaching God He places the assurance of our
divine relationship, "Our Father." [104] {MB 103.3}
Here is the announcement of that wonderful truth, so full of
encouragement and comfort, that God loves us as He loves His Son. This is what
Jesus said in His last prayer for His disciples, Thou "hast loved them, as
Thou hast loved Me." John 17:23. {MB 104.1}
The world that Satan has claimed and has ruled over with
cruel tyranny, the Son of God has, by one vast achievement, encircled in His
love and connected again with the throne of Jehovah. Cherubim and seraphim, and
the unnumbered hosts of all the unfallen worlds, sang anthems of praise to God
and the Lamb when this triumph was assured. They rejoiced that the way of
salvation had been opened to the fallen race and that the earth would be
redeemed from the curse of sin. How much more should those rejoice who are the
objects of such amazing love! {MB 104.2}
How can we ever be in doubt and uncertainty, and feel that
we are orphans? It was in behalf of those who had transgressed the law that
Jesus took upon Him human nature; He became like unto us, that we might have
everlasting peace and assurance. We have an Advocate in the heavens, and
whoever accepts Him as a personal Saviour is not left an orphan to bear the
burden of his own sins. {MB
104.3}
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God." "And
if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be
that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." "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 3:2; Romans
8:17. {MB 104.4}
The very first step in approaching God is to know [105]
and believe the love that He has to us (1 John 4:16); for it is through the
drawing of His love that we are led to come to Him. {MB 104.5}
The perception of God's love works the renunciation of
selfishness. In calling God our Father, we recognize all His children as our
brethren. We are all a part of the great web of humanity, all members of one
family. In our petitions we are to include our neighbors as well as ourselves.
No one prays aright who seeks a blessing for himself alone. {MB 105.1}
The infinite God, said Jesus, makes it your privilege to
approach Him by the name of Father. Understand all that this implies. No earthly
parent ever pleaded so earnestly with an erring child as He who made you pleads
with the transgressor. No human, loving interest ever followed the impenitent
with such tender invitations. God dwells in every abode; He hears every word
that is spoken, listens to every prayer that is offered, tastes the sorrows and
disappointments of every soul, regards the treatment that is given to father,
mother, sister, friend, and neighbor. He cares for our necessities, and His
love and mercy and grace are continually flowing to satisfy our need. {MB 105.2}
But if you call God your Father you acknowledge yourselves
His children, to be guided by His wisdom and to be obedient in all things,
knowing that His love is changeless. You will accept His plan for your life. As
children of God, you will hold His honor, His character, His family, His work,
as the objects of your highest interest. It will be your joy to recognize and
honor your relation to your Father and to every member of His family. You will
rejoice to do any act, [106] however humble, that will tend
to His glory or to the well-being of your kindred. {MB 105.3}
"Which art in heaven." He to whom Christ bids us
look as "our Father" "is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever
He hath pleased." In His care we may safely rest, saying, "What time
I am afraid, I will trust in Thee." Psalm 115:3; 56:3. {MB 106.1}
"Hallowed be Thy name." Matthew 6:9.
To hallow the name of the Lord requires that the words in
which we speak of the Supreme Being be uttered with reverence. "Holy and
reverend is His name." Psalm 111:9. We are never in any manner to treat
lightly the titles or appellations of the Deity. In prayer we enter the
audience chamber of the Most High; and we should come before Him with holy awe.
The angels veil their faces in His presence. The cherubim and the bright and
holy seraphim approach His throne with solemn reverence. How much more should
we, finite, sinful beings, come in a reverent manner before the Lord, our
Maker! {MB 106.2}
But to hallow the name of the Lord means much more than
this. We may, like the Jews in Christ's day, manifest the greatest outward
reverence for God, and yet profane His name continually. "The name of the
Lord" is "merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness
and truth, . . . forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin."
Exodus 34:5-7. Of the church of Christ it is written, "This is the name
wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness." [107]
Jeremiah 33:16. This name is put upon every follower of Christ. It is the
heritage of the child of God. The family are called after the Father. The
prophet Jeremiah, in the time of Israel's sore distress and tribulation,
prayed, "We are called by Thy name; leave us not." Jeremiah 14:9. {MB 106.3}
This name is hallowed by the angels of heaven, by the
inhabitants of unfallen worlds. When you pray, "Hallowed be Thy
name," you ask that it may be hallowed in this world, hallowed in you. God
has acknowledged you before men and angels as His child; pray that you may do
no dishonor to the "worthy name by which ye are called." James 2:7.
God sends you into the world as His representative. In every act of life you
are to make manifest the name of God. This petition calls upon you to possess
His character. You cannot hallow His name, you cannot represent Him to the
world, unless in life and character you represent the very life and character
of God. This you can do only through the acceptance of the grace and
righteousness of Christ. {MB
107.1}
"Thy kingdom come." Matthew 6:10.
God is our Father, who loves and cares for us as His
children; He is also the great King of the universe. The interests of His
kingdom are our interests, and we are to work for its upbuilding. {MB 107.2}
The disciples of Christ were looking for the immediate
coming of the kingdom of His glory, but in giving them this prayer Jesus taught
that the kingdom [108] was not then to be established.
They were to pray for its coming as an event yet future. But this petition was
also an assurance to them. While they were not to behold the coming of the
kingdom in their day, the fact that Jesus bade them pray for it is evidence
that in God's own time it will surely come. {MB 107.3}
The kingdom of God's grace is now being established, as day
by day hearts that have been full of sin and rebellion yield to the sovereignty
of His love. But the full establishment of the kingdom of His glory will not
take place until the second coming of Christ to this world. "The kingdom
and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven," is
to be given to "the people of the saints of the Most High." Daniel
7:27. They shall inherit the kingdom prepared for them "from the
foundation of the world." Matthew 25:34. And Christ will take to Himself
His great power and will reign. {MB 108.1}
The heavenly gates are again to be lifted up, and with ten
thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of holy ones, our
Saviour will come forth as King of kings and Lord of lords. Jehovah Immanuel
"shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord,
and His name one." "The tabernacle of God" shall be with men,
"and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God
Himself shall be with them, and be their God." Zechariah 14:9; Revelation
21:3. {MB 108.2}
But before that coming, Jesus said, "This gospel of the
kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations." Matthew 24:14. His kingdom will not come until the good tidings
of His grace [109] have been carried to all the
earth. Hence, as we give ourselves to God, and win other souls to Him, we
hasten the coming of His kingdom. Only those who devote themselves to His
service, saying, "Here am I; send me" (Isaiah 6:8), to open blind
eyes, to turn men "from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto
God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which
are sanctified" (Acts 26:18)—they alone pray in sincerity,
"Thy kingdom come." {MB 108.3}
"Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10.
The will of God is expressed in the precepts of His holy
law, and the principles of this law are the principles of heaven. The angels of
heaven attain unto no higher knowledge than to know the will of God, and to do
His will is the highest service that can engage their powers. {MB 109.1}
But in heaven, service is not rendered in the spirit of
legality. When Satan rebelled against the law of Jehovah, the thought that
there was a law came to the angels almost as an awakening to something
unthought of. In their ministry the angels are not as servants, but as sons.
There is perfect unity between them and their Creator. Obedience is to them no
drudgery. Love for God makes their service a joy. So in every soul wherein
Christ, the hope of glory, dwells, His words are re-echoed, "I delight to
do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart." Psalm 40:8. [110]
{MB 109.2}
The petition, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven," is a prayer that the reign of evil on this earth may be ended,
that sin may be forever destroyed, and the kingdom of righteousness be
established. Then in earth as in heaven will be fulfilled "all the good
pleasure of His goodness." 2 Thessalonians 1:11. {MB 110.1}
"Give us this day our daily bread." Matthew 6:11.
The first half of the prayer Jesus has taught us is in
regard to the name and kingdom and will of God—that His name may be
honored, His kingdom established, His will performed. When you have thus made
God's service your first interest, you may ask with confidence that your own
needs may be supplied. If you have renounced self and given yourself to Christ
you are a member of the family of God, and everything in the Father's house is
for you. All the treasures of God are opened to you, both the world that now is
and that which is to come. The ministry of angels, the gift of His Spirit, the
labors of His servants—all are for you. The world, with everything in
it, is yours so far as it can do you good. Even the enmity of the wicked will
prove a blessing by disciplining you for heaven. If "ye are
Christ's," "all things are yours." 1 Corinthians 3:23, 21. {MB 110.2}
But you are as a child who is not yet placed in control of
his inheritance. God does not entrust to you your precious possession, lest
Satan by his wily arts should beguile you, as he did the first pair in [111]
Eden. Christ holds it for you, safe beyond the spoiler's reach. Like the child,
you shall receive day by day what is required for the day's need. Every day you
are to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." Be not dismayed if
you have not sufficient for tomorrow. You have the assurance of His promise,
"So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed."
David says, "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the
righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." Psalm 37:3, 25. That God
who sent the ravens to feed Elijah by the brook Cherith will not pass by one of
His faithful, self-sacrificing children. Of him that walketh righteously it is
written: "Bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure."
"They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine
they shall be satisfied." "He that spared not His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all
things?" Isaiah 33:16; Psalm 37:19; Romans 8:32. He who lightened the
cares and anxieties of His widowed mother and helped her to provide for the
household at Nazareth, sympathizes with every mother in her struggle to provide
her children food. He who had compassion on the multitude because they
"fainted, and were scattered abroad" (Matthew 9:36), still has
compassion on the suffering poor. His hand is stretched out toward them in
blessing; and in the very prayer which He gave His disciples, He teaches us to
remember the poor. {MB
110.3}
When we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread,"
we ask for others as well as ourselves. And we acknowledge that what God gives
us is not for [112] ourselves alone. God gives to us
in trust, that we may feed the hungry. Of His goodness He has prepared for the
poor. Psalm 68:10. And He says, "When thou makest a dinner or a supper,
call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich
neighbors. . . . But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed,
the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense
thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." Luke
14:12-14. {MB 111.1}
"God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that
ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good
work." "He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he
which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." 2 Corinthians 9:8,
6. {MB 112.1}
The prayer for daily bread includes not only food to sustain
the body, but that spiritual bread which will nourish the soul unto life
everlasting. Jesus bids us, "Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but
for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life." John 6:27. He says,
"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this
bread, he shall live forever." Verse 51. Our Saviour is the bread of life,
and it is by beholding His love, by receiving it into the soul, that we feed
upon the bread which came down from heaven. {MB 112.2}
We receive Christ through His word, and the Holy Spirit is
given to open the word of God to our understanding, and bring home its truths
to our hearts. We are to pray day by day that as we read His word, God will
send His Spirit to reveal to us the truth [113] that
will strengthen our souls for the day's need. {MB 112.3}
In teaching us to ask every day for what we need—both
temporal and spiritual blessings—God has a purpose to accomplish for
our good. He would have us realize our dependence upon His constant care, for
He is seeking to draw us into communion with Himself. In this communion with
Christ, through prayer and the study of the great and precious truths of His
word, we shall as hungry souls be fed; as those that thirst, we shall be
refreshed at the fountain of life. {MB 113.1}
"Forgive us our sins; for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to
us." Luke 11:4.
Jesus teaches that we can receive forgiveness from God only
as we forgive others. It is the love of God that draws us unto Him, and that
love cannot touch our hearts without creating love for our brethren. {MB 113.2}
After completing the Lord's Prayer, Jesus added: "If ye
forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but
if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses." He who is unforgiving cuts off the very channel through which
alone he can receive mercy from God. We should not think that unless those who
have injured us confess the wrong we are justified in withholding from them our
forgiveness. It is their part, no doubt, to humble their hearts by repentance
and confession; but we are to have a spirit [114] of
compassion toward those who have trespassed against us, whether or not they
confess their faults. However sorely they may have wounded us, we are not to
cherish our grievances and sympathize with ourselves over our injuries; but as
we hope to be pardoned for our offenses against God we are to pardon all who
have done evil to us. {MB
113.3}
But forgiveness has a broader meaning than many suppose.
When God gives the promise that He "will abundantly pardon," He adds,
as if the meaning of that promise exceeded all that we could comprehend:
"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith
the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher
than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:7-9. God's
forgiveness is not merely a judicial act by which He sets us free from
condemnation. It is not only forgiveness for sin, but reclaiming from
sin. It is the outflow of redeeming love that transforms the heart. David had
the true conception of forgiveness when he prayed, "Create in me a clean
heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10. And again
he says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our
transgressions from us." Psalm 103:12. {MB 114.1}
God in Christ gave Himself for our sins. He suffered the
cruel death of the cross, bore for us the burden of guilt, "the just for
the unjust," that He might reveal to us His love and draw us to Himself.
And He says, "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each
other, even as God also in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:32, R.V. Let [115]
Christ, the divine Life, dwell in you and through you reveal the heaven-born
love that will inspire hope in the hopeless and bring heaven's peace to the
sin-stricken heart. As we come to God, this is the condition which meets us at
the threshold, that, receiving mercy from Him, we yield ourselves to reveal His
grace to others. {MB
114.2}
The one thing essential for us in order that we may receive
and impart the forgiving love of God is to know and believe the love that He
has to us. 1 John 4:16. Satan is working by every deception he can command, in
order that we may not discern that love. He will lead us to think that our
mistakes and transgressions have been so grievous that the Lord will not have
respect unto our prayers and will not bless and save us. In ourselves we can
see nothing but weakness, nothing to recommend us to God, and Satan tells us
that it is of no use; we cannot remedy our defects of character. When we try to
come to God, the enemy will whisper, It is of no use for you to pray; did not
you do that evil thing? Have you not sinned against God and violated your own
conscience? But we may tell the enemy that "the blood of Jesus Christ His
Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7. When we feel that we have
sinned and cannot pray, it is then the time to pray. Ashamed we may be and
deeply humbled, but we must pray and believe. "This is a faithful saying,
and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners; of whom I am chief." 1 Timothy 1:15. Forgiveness, reconciliation
with God, comes to us, not as a reward for our works, it is not bestowed [116]
because of the merit of sinful men, but it is a gift unto us, having in the
spotless righteousness of Christ its foundation for bestowal. {MB 115.1}
We should not try to lessen our guilt by excusing sin. We
must accept God's estimate of sin, and that is heavy indeed. Calvary alone can
reveal the terrible enormity of sin. If we had to bear our own guilt, it would
crush us. But the sinless One has taken our place; though undeserving, He has
borne our iniquity. "If we confess our sins," God "is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. Glorious truth!—just to His own
law, and yet the Justifier of all that believe in Jesus. "Who is a God
like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of
the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger forever, because He
delighteth in mercy." Micah 7:18. {MB 116.1}
"Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
Matthew 6:13, R.V.
Temptation is enticement to sin, and this does not proceed
from God, but from Satan and from the evil of our own hearts. "God cannot
be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempteth no man." James 1:13, R.V. {MB 116.2}
Satan seeks to bring us into temptation, that the evil of
our characters may be revealed before men and angels, that he may claim us as
his own. In the symbolic prophecy of Zechariah, Satan is seen standing [117]
at the right hand of the Angel of the Lord, accusing Joshua, the high priest,
who is clothed in filthy garments, and resisting the work that the Angel
desires to do for him. This represents the attitude of Satan toward every soul
whom Christ is seeking to draw unto Himself. The enemy leads us into sin, and
then he accuses us before the heavenly universe as unworthy of the love of God.
But "the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the
Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of
the fire?" And unto Joshua He said, "Behold, I have caused thine
iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of
raiment." Zechariah 3:1-4. {MB 116.3}
God in His great love is seeking to develop in us the
precious graces of His Spirit. He permits us to encounter obstacles,
persecution, and hardships, not as a curse, but as the greatest blessing of our
lives. Every temptation resisted, every trial bravely borne, gives us a new
experience and advances us in the work of character building. The soul that
through divine power resists temptation reveals to the world and to the
heavenly universe the efficiency of the grace of Christ. {MB 117.1}
But while we are not to be dismayed by trial, bitter though
it be, we should pray that God will not permit us to be brought where we shall
be drawn away by the desires of our own evil hearts. In offering the prayer
that Christ has given, we surrender ourselves to the guidance of God, asking
Him to lead us in safe paths. We cannot offer this prayer in sincerity, and yet
decide to walk in any way of our own [118]
choosing. We shall wait for His hand to lead us; we shall listen to His voice,
saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it." Isaiah 30:21. {MB 117.2}
It is not safe for us to linger to contemplate the
advantages to be reaped through yielding to Satan's suggestions. Sin means
dishonor and disaster to every soul that indulges in it; but it is blinding and
deceiving in its nature, and it will entice us with flattering presentations.
If we venture on Satan's ground we have no assurance of protection from his
power. So far as in us lies, we should close every avenue by which the tempter
may find access to us. {MB
118.1}
The prayer, "Bring us not into temptation," is
itself a promise. If we commit ourselves to God we have the assurance, He
"will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with
the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
1 Corinthians 10:13. {MB
118.2}
The only safeguard against evil is the indwelling of Christ
in the heart through faith in His righteousness. It is because selfishness
exists in our hearts that temptation has power over us. But when we behold the
great love of God, selfishness appears to us in its hideous and repulsive
character, and we desire to have it expelled from the soul. As the Holy Spirit
glorifies Christ, our hearts are softened and subdued, the temptation loses its
power, and the grace of Christ transforms the character. {MB 118.3}
Christ will never abandon the soul for whom He has died. The
soul may leave Him and be overwhelmed with temptation, but Christ can never
turn from one for whom He has paid the ransom of His [119] own
life. Could our spiritual vision be quickened, we should see souls bowed under
oppression and burdened with grief, pressed as a cart beneath sheaves and ready
to die in discouragement. We should see angels flying swiftly to aid these
tempted ones, who are standing as on the brink of a precipice. The angels from
heaven force back the hosts of evil that encompass these souls, and guide them
to plant their feet on the sure foundation. The battles waging between the two
armies are as real as those fought by the armies of this world, and on the
issue of the spiritual conflict eternal destinies depend. {MB 118.4}
To us, as to Peter, the word is spoken, "Satan hath
desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee,
that thy faith fail not." Luke 22:31, 32. Thank God, we are not left
alone. He who "so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life" (John 3:16), will not desert us in the battle with the adversary of
God and man. "Behold," He says, "I give unto you power to tread
on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing
shall by any means hurt you." Luke 10:19. {MB 119.1}
Live in contact with the living Christ, and He will hold you
firmly by a hand that will never let go. Know and believe the love that God has
to us, and you are secure; that love is a fortress impregnable to all the
delusions and assaults of Satan. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower:
the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." Proverbs 18:10. [120]
{MB 119.2}
"Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory." Matthew 6:13.
The last like the first sentence of the Lord's Prayer,
points to our Father as above all power and authority and every name that is
named. The Saviour beheld the years that stretched out before His disciples,
not, as they had dreamed, lying in the sunshine of worldly prosperity and
honor, but dark with the tempests of human hatred and satanic wrath. Amid
national strife and ruin, the steps of the disciples would be beset with
perils, and often their hearts would be oppressed by fear. They were to see
Jerusalem a desolation, the temple swept away, its worship forever ended, and
Israel scattered to all lands, like wrecks on a desert shore. Jesus said,
"Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars." "Nation shall rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and
pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of
sorrows." Matthew 24:6-8. Yet Christ's followers were not to fear that
their hope was lost or that God had forsaken the earth. The power and the glory
belong unto Him whose great purposes would still move on unthwarted toward
their consummation. In the prayer that breathes their daily wants, the
disciples of Christ were directed to look above all the power and dominion of
evil, unto the Lord their God, whose kingdom ruleth over all and who is their
Father and everlasting Friend. {MB 120.1}
The ruin of Jerusalem was a symbol of the final ruin that
shall overwhelm the world. The prophecies that received a partial fulfillment
in the overthrow of [121] Jerusalem have a more direct
application to the last days. We are now standing on the threshold of great and
solemn events. A crisis is before us, such as the world has never witnessed.
And sweetly to us, as to the first disciples, comes the assurance that God's kingdom
ruleth over all. The program of coming events is in the hands of our Maker. The
Majesty of heaven has the destiny of nations, as well as the concerns of His
church, in His own charge. The divine Instructor is saying to every agent in
the accomplishment of His plans, as He said to Cyrus, "I girded thee,
though thou hast not known Me." Isaiah 45:5. {MB 120.2}
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In the vision of the prophet Ezekiel there was the
appearance of a hand beneath the wings of the cherubim. This is to teach His
servants that it is divine power which gives them success. Those whom God
employs as His messengers are not to feel that His work is dependent upon them.
Finite beings are not left to carry this burden of responsibility. He who
slumbers not, who is continually at work for the accomplishment of His designs,
will carry forward His own work. He will thwart the purposes of wicked men, and
will bring to confusion the counsels of those who plot mischief against His
people. He who is the King, the Lord of hosts, sitteth between the cherubim,
and amid the strife and tumult of nations He guards His children still. He who
ruleth in the heavens is our Saviour. He measures every trial, He watches the
furnace fire that must test every soul. When the strongholds of kings shall be
overthrown, when the arrows of wrath shall strike through the hearts of His
enemies, His people will be safe in His hands. [122] {MB 121.1}
"Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and
the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and
in the earth is Thine. . . . In Thine hand is power and might; and in
Thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all." 1
Chronicles 29:11, 12. {MB
122.1}
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"Not Judging, but Doing"
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