| Christian Life and Doctrine | September 1949 |
“Songs in the Night”
SEPTEMBER 1
Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.—Psalm 119:54
IT IS written, “He giveth songs in the night,” and “He hath put a new song into my mouth.” It causes us no surprise to know that the saints will “be joyful in glory,” and sing aloud with the high praises of God in their mouths when it shall be given to them to execute the judgments written, but it may strike some as peculiar that the present conditions of imperfection and frailty, in which we groan and are burdened, should be a condition in which songs and thanksgiving and joy should prevail with us. Nevertheless, this is the divine will, as it is the divine statement respecting all who are truly overcomers: they are all to be joyful in the house of their pilgrimage. Respecting this joy our Lord declares, “Your joy no man taketh from you.” So then, while there is a measure of groaning because of some burdens on the part of those who have attained to the new life, there are also blessed joys which the world cannot give, neither take away; and these are the source and cause of the unceasing joy and “songs in the night” before the glorious dawn of the new millennial day. These songs are inspired by the joys granted us in the house of our pilgrimage—while we are actually absent from our “home.”—Z 1897-305 (Hymn 179)
SEPTEMBER 2
We ought also to lay down our lives for the brethren.—I John 3:16
VARIOUS opportunities for serving the Lord are set before us, and these are blessed privileges, but we may rely upon it that the divine purpose and intention in permitting such services is for our own development in Christian character. The command to all men is to honor God supremely and to deal justly with our fellows, treating them as we would be treated by them, loving them as ourselves; but the special command to the new creation is to love one another as our elder Brother loved us self-sacrificingly. Whatever we are permitted to do one for the other is in the nature of a test of our loyalty to God, of our justice toward the world, or of our loving devotion to the brethren. Following the example of our Lord, we are to lay down our lives in the service of the brethren. This command is not so much for their need of our self-sacrifice as for our need of it as a development of our love, and as a test of our love.—Z 1909-323 (Hymn 267)
SEPTEMBER 3
Come unto Me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.—Matthew 11:28,29
IT IS necessary that those who would be delivered from the galling yokes of sin and of the present general order of things should submit themselves fully to Christ—that they take his yoke upon them. And he invites all who have come to feel and realize the discomfort of other yokes and the weight of other burdens to come unto him for rest and release. … The Lord gives the key to this rest in the words—“And learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.” Truly, in a meek and quiet spirit is the secret of rest. To be meek is to cultivate the graces of patience; of loving submission to the will of God; of abiding confidence in his love and care and in the wisdom of his guiding counsel and overruling providences; and to perseveringly pursue this course through evil and through good report, or through favorable or unfavorable circumstances. Let the beloved children of God seek more and more to copy Christ’s meek and quiet spirit, accepting the providences of God and obeying his precepts and leading as he did, armed with the strength which he alone can supply, and will, to all those who take his yoke upon them, and learn of him.—Z 1896-78 (284)
SEPTEMBER 4
Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.—Zechariah 4:6
OUR Lord Jesus himself laid the foundation of the spiritual temple, and he himself will complete it as its top-stone, and it shall be acclaimed glorious, not only by men, but by angels, in God’s due time. The work is in his hand, and although from outward appearances at the present time there may seem to be discouragements, and little progress may seem to have been made, yet his servants should be of good courage and should remember that their victory is to come, not through human might, popularity, and influence, nor by their own power, but by the Lord’s Spirit. The possession of his faith and his Spirit will give us the victory over the world, the flesh, and the Adversary, and make us more than conquerors through him who loved us and bought us with his own precious blood.—Z 1899-223 (Hymn 91)
SEPTEMBER 5
And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.—Isaiah 30:21
BY FAITH and consecration we have come into a new life as spiritual sons of God, and yet we have this treasure in earthen vessels and the new life is only in its embryo condition. Hence the necessity of walking after the spiritual instincts of the new nature and keeping down the stronger impulses of the old nature. This is what it is to walk in newness of life, after the spirit, and not after the flesh. … While the Word of the Lord speaks thus on general principles as to the way in which we should walk, ye are also bidden to come with all the minor affairs of life to inquire of these divine oracles. If we know not whether to turn to the right or to the left, we come and find the promise, “Commit thy way unto the Lord, and he will direct thy path.” Or, if heavy laden, we find the promise, “Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Thus the voice behind brings comfort, peace, and rest in the midst of all life’s cares and trials, if we walk in obedience to its principles and precepts.—Z 1895-7 (Hymn 125)
SEPTEMBER 6
This is the will of God, even your sanctification.—I Thessalonians 4:3
TRUE sanctification of the heart to the Lord means diligence in his service; a declaration of the good tidings to others; the building up of one another in the most holy faith. It also means that we do good unto all men as we have opportunity, especially unto the household of faith; that in these various ways our lives, consecrated to the Lord, shall be laid down for the brethren day by day, opportunity by opportunity, as they shall come to us; that our love for the Lord, for the brethren, for our families and sympathetically for the world of mankind, will increasingly fill our hearts as we grow in grace, knowledge, and obedience to the divine Word and example. … Our sanctification must be primarily toward God and first affect our own hearts and wills, and as a result of such devotion to God, find its exercise in the interest of the brethren and of all men.—Z 1912-341 (Hymn 208)
SEPTEMBER 7
Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.—Ephesians 3:20
LET us gird up the loins of our minds and be sober minded, and hope to the end for the grace that shall be brought unto us at the revelation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let us look not at things that are seen, which at most are temporal, but let us look at the things that are unseen, at the eternal things. Let us look unto Jesus with the eye of faith, let us look unto the crown of life which he has promised, let us look unto the place that he is preparing for us in the many mansions of the Father’s house; let us look, not with doubt and fear, but with full confidence that the grandest of our hopes will be much more than realized when he shall bid us come up higher and enter into the joys of our Lord. “Faith can firmly trust him, come what may.” The more we exercise faith along these lines of his direction, the more are we pleasing in the sight of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light; and the more such faith we exercise the more we will have in us the power of God, which will work in us both to will and to do his good pleasure—which will enable us more and more to live separate from the world, to overcome the world, and to fight a good fight against sin and selfishness, the world, the Adversary, and our own flesh.—Z 1906-359 (Hymn 126)
SEPTEMBER 8
Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.—Ruth 1:16
ALL of God’s people can dwell together in love, in fellowship, under the divine care as a “royal priesthood,” “seated together in heavenly places”—in the antitypical tabernacle’s “Holy.” So far as our earthly abode is concerned we may today live comparatively closely by virtue of the convenient railway and mail services. It behooves us all, therefore, to “speak often one to another” that, as the prophet declares, the Lord may hear and note and prosper our blessing of one another. (Mal. 3:16) And we suggest that it is a partial fulfillment of the injunction that we “make straight paths for our feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way,” if we seek such dwelling places as will be conducive to our occasional interchanges with the household of faith. Let us put God first, and Christian fellowship and growth in grace second, and both before wealth, in all of our reckonings. Thus we will best seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and find all other things added in proportion to our real needs as new creatures.—Z 1907-344 (Hymn 23)
SEPTEMBER 9
If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.—John 7:37
IN THE present time our thirst is in one sense of the word insatiable—we are never satisfied—in the sense that the Lord’s blessings are so great and so good that we can never in the present day and in present conditions have enough of them. We shall be satisfied thoroughly when we awake in his likeness (Psa. 17:15)—when the change of the first resurrection shall have completed our transformation as new creatures into our Lord’s likeness—“from glory to glory.” Nevertheless there is a measure of satisfaction to our drinking, even in the present time—just as with a thirsty one at a fountain, he drinks with relish, with appreciation, with satisfaction, only to take more and more. So with those who are the Lord’s. He pours into their cup blessings rich and satisfying, and fills the cup repeatedly, even while they are in their present tabernacle. Let us appreciate more and more the truth, the water of life, and let us see to it that we get it pure from the fountain, and that we recognize no other fountain than the Lord Jesus, however much we may appreciate the channels through which the supply may have come to us.—Z 1908-45 (Hymn 137)
SEPTEMBER 10
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.—I Corinthians 15:41
SINCE the very least one admitted to eternal life must have reached the mark of perfect love, it follows that these different degrees of reward will represent different degrees of loving zeal on the part of those after they shall have reached the standard of perfect love. For instance, the Apostle Paul was not merely anxious to attain the fruits and graces of the Holy Spirit; he was not merely willing to suffer with Christ, if need be; but his zeal led him beyond this—to glory in tribulations also; to rejoice to be accounted worthy to suffer for the cause of his Lord; to rejoice to lay down his life for the brethren. He was not only glad to have fellowship in Christ’s sufferings and to drink of his cup, but he had so much zeal that he rejoiced if he could get more than his portion, more than his share. He was on the alert for opportunities for service. If others used them, well. If he could stir up the love and zeal of others, well. But if he found some work undone which he might accomplish, he delighted to do it. Well did he say that we might take him as an example in following after our Lord Jesus. Surely we may conclude that he will be one of the brightest shiners in the heavenly kingdom, and that in following his example we also may become more and more pleasing to our Lord—not by wildly beating the air, but with wisdom and prudence and faithfulness in doing those things which the Lord had indicated would be pleasing in his sight, as evidencing our loyalty to him, his brethren, and his truth.—Z 1909-286 (Hymn 312A)
SEPTEMBER 11
Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.—Psalm 27:3
OUR Captain, the Lord, has given special instructions to those whom he will specially use in the conflict of evil now in progress. Each one shall follow the example of the Captain of our salvation. First, he shall blow upon the trumpet, representing the proclamation of the truth, and proclaim that the sword of the spirit of truth is of Jehovah and of his anointed Son; and secondly, they shall break their pitchers and let their light shine out. The pitchers represent our earthly vessels, and the breaking of them in order to let the light shine out signifies that to which we are exhorted by the apostle, saying, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, your reasonable service.” We see how our Chief-Captain broke his earthly vessel; we see what a light streamed forth. Our highest ambition must be to follow his example, to walk in his steps, to lay down our lives for the brethren as he laid down his life for us. Meantime the blowing of the trumpet is to progress as well as the shouting in the name of Jehovah, our Captain, and the sword of the spirit of truth is to be wielded. The result will be victory; the enemies of the Lord will be overwhelmed.—Z 1907-331 (Hymn 330)
SEPTEMBER 12
Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do.—Thessalonians 5:24
WE HOPE, dear friends, that we are getting ready for the marriage of the Lamb, for our marriage to the Lamb. Something that we may do or fail to do today may have a bearing upon our final readiness. Our minds are the foundation for everything in this matter. The Lord knows that we have imperfect bodies. So the testing will not be as to whether our bodies are perfect, but whether our hearts are perfect. If our heart is perfect before God we shall bring our words, our actions, and our thoughts into harmony with the law of love to the extent of our ability. If we see to it that we keep our hearts thus loyal, we shall become more and more a copy of God’s dear Son, our heavenly Bridegroom; and we shall enter in due time with exceeding joy into our “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Then our Lord will present us before the Father—the “bride adorned for her husband”; he will present us with exceeding joy—blameless.—Z 1916-166 (Hymn 230)
SEPTEMBER 13
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord—Ephesians 5:19
THE apostle assures us that however appropriate, inspiring, and refreshing are the songs of our lips, still more appropriate and still more appreciated by the Lord are our heart songs, the joy and rejoicing of the new nature. And this joy and singing in the heart, this heart thankfulness to the Giver of all good, necessarily finds expression not only in Christian carols, but also in all the acts and words of life, all of which constitute the hymns of praise and thanksgiving continually ascending before God from his people.—Z 1899-202 (Hymn 17)
SEPTEMBER 14
Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.—II Peter 3:17
THE apostle in our text cautions that we beware against being “led away.” The word here rendered “led away” occurs in only one other place in the Scriptures (Gal. 2:13), where the Apostle Paul says, “Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.” The words “carried away” give the same thought as “led away,” but a little more strongly; they imply that the danger to the steadfast will be along some line which would sweep away or carry away their judgments from the fixed statements of the divine Word, through personal preference, or sympathy, or through the influence of someone held in esteem or respect. Let us all therefore be on guard, that we may not be “carried away.”—Z 1897-277 (Hymn 183)
SEPTEMBER 15
Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.—Acts 20:35
THE art of giving himself is one of the secrets of a happy Christian life. He first gives his will to the Lord, then his time, his energy, his talents, to the service of the Lord and for the Lord’s people. He has pleasure in the giving, and a blessing, whether others know and appreciate it or not; and by and by his time for receiving will come—the Lord’s time for giving. The Lord will give unto such eternal life, eternal glory, and association with himself in his kingdom.—Z 1897-281 (Hymn 240)
SEPTEMBER 16
And the Logos became flesh, and dwelt among us.—John 1:14 (Diaglott)
BECAUSE all of the human family were children of Adam and sharers in his death sentence, no man could give to God a ransom for his brother. (Psalm 49:7) God so shut up the matter that Adam and his race could not have been redeemed except by the finding of a perfect man who would be willing voluntarily to die on their behalf. It was because there was no such man that God arranged with the Logos, his only begotten, that he should become a man and be the Redeemer of the race—Adam and all his children.—Z 1913-347 (Hymn 62)
SEPTEMBER 17
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised).—Hebrews 10:23
THE best medicine, the best antidote, for a poisoned faith in present truth is a careful review of the presentations of the Dawn Studies. If that fails we know nothing to recommend. But let us not forget that there were conditions precedent to our admission into this light, and that those conditions must be maintained if we would stay in the light. If, therefore, all or any portion of the light becomes darkened, our first query should be, “Am I living up to my covenant conditions—self-denial, self-sacrifice?” If we discover a coolness there we may know that we have found the real secret of our trouble and should at once “take it to the Lord in prayer.”—Z 1913-381 (Hymn 81)
SEPTEMBER 18
Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee, … to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.—Deuteronomy 8:2
THERE is a particular reason why God should permit persecution to come upon his consecrated ones. “The Lord your God doth prove you,” test you. Why? What is he proving? We profess to be his loyal children. We profess to be laying down all that we have. And now “the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deut. 13:3) How much will you endure? How patiently will you endure? To what extent will you endure? Those who will endure most, and endure most patiently, will give evidence of the best character. And those who demonstrate the best character will have the highest positions in the kingdom. Each will get a position according to his faithfulness. But as star differeth from star in glory, so it will be in the kingdom. He who fights the greatest fight against his own nature and demonstrates most the love and zeal of his heart, such is the one who will have a high place.—Z 1914-40 (Hymn 331)
SEPTEMBER 19
The meek will He guide in judgment; and the meek will He teach His way.—Psalm 25:9
THESE are the ones whom the Lord is pleased to instruct and guide in the knowledge of his Son, and into all his blessings. If they continue to be meek he is able to make of them heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ their Lord. We read in the Scriptures that the meek shall inherit the earth. They will inherit under the terms of the primary and original covenant. These will be the seed of Abraham. From these the blessing will go to all mankind who will be obedient during the millennial reign. After the final test at the end of the millennial age the whole world will be teachable. They will have learned the great lesson that God is the Fountain of all wisdom; and they will have profited by this instruction.—Z 1913-380 (Hymn 10)
SEPTEMBER 20
For God 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
THE divine plan is purposely arranged so that none can obtain everlasting life except through a personal relationship to Christ, the Redeemer, and the exercise of faith in his redeeming blood and obedience to his counsels. This being true, none of the heathen are saved yet. None of those who lived before Jesus came into the world are saved. And the great mass of our friends and neighbors, yea, of our own families, are still unsaved, because they have not come into vital relationship with the Savior. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”—I John 5:12; Z 1913-348 (Hymn 39)
SEPTEMBER 21
The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.—Matthew 20:28
THERE are some who think it necessary to wash the feet of others. But since there is no real good to be accomplished by such a ceremony—nothing desirable—there is no reason why it should be performed. We cannot think that Jesus would have washed his disciples’ feet unless they had needed washing. But if at any time we can thus render a real service, any of us should be glad of the opportunity to serve a fellow member of the body of Christ—by washing his feet, or in any manner. The thought is to appreciate the privilege of real service, rather than the opportunity of doing something merely because it is menial. Jesus did what he did because it was helpful service, and was the Father’s will. He wished also to teach his disciples that they should not be above doing the humblest service for each other as brethren. In addition, Jesus’ words on this occasion seemed to emphasize the thought of the need of daily cleansing of the Lord’s disciples from earth-defilement. See John 13:6-10.—Z 1914-6 (Hymn 312A)
SEPTEMBER 22
If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.—Romans 8:11
IT IS well that we should have in mind the thought that the consecration of our bodies to the Lord may permit us to do more in his service than we could have done if we had not been begotten of the Holy Spirit. We are not to expect that this energizing will work a miracle, such as the restoration of a person in the last stage of consumption, etc. The Lord does not work in this way. But the Lord’s people would do well to cultivate the thought that if it be the Lord’s will they shall be able to do something in his service. If we have this confidence every one of us can do much more than if we do not have it, for it gives new energy of mind and body.—Z 1912-178 (Hymn 225)
SEPTEMBER 23
We are laborers together with God.—I Corinthians 3:9
The one work of the Gospel age has been the selection of the spiritual seed of Abraham, through whom all the families of the earth shall be blessed—shall become of the earthly seed. This promise that all the families of the earth shall be blessed cannot be fulfilled until the spiritual seed shall be completed. “If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” There has been but one work from first to last. And so we read; “One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor: other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.” (John 4:35-38) Whether it was at the beginning, or now at the close of the age—the time of the reaping—it is all one work, and there is the one purpose being served, the gathering of the elect.—Z 1913-262 (Hymn 275)
SEPTEMBER 24
Faith without works is dead.—James 2:20
SELF-EXAMINATION along this line is very proper. If we have heard, seen, tasted, of the grace of God and enjoyed it, and if no desire to serve our gracious Father or to assist others to the same blessings that we enjoy has been manifested, it implies that our spiritual vitality is very weak and in danger of perishing. But if, on the contrary, we find ourselves burning with fervency of love for the Lord and with appreciation of his great plan of salvation, and are consumed with a desire to tell the good tidings to others for the blessing, strengthening, up-building, and participation in the divine faith, it should encourage us. We should notice, too, that Jesus specially loved and favored the more zealous, vigorous, and energetic of the apostles, Peter, James, and John, and we may be sure, Paul also.—Z 1909-121 (Hymn 275)
SEPTEMBER 25
Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.—I Samuel 16:7
INSTRUCTED respecting the Lord’s methods, we are not to despise the least, the most ignoble or illiterate of those who give evidence of a purity and honesty of heart toward God, and to whom he seems to give the anointing of his Spirit and the “ear to hear.” Rather, while making known the message to all as we have opportunity, we are to rejoice specially with those upon whom the Lord’s favor is manifested, regardless of their earthly surroundings, etc. The Lord knoweth them that are his, and it is for us to recognize, to honor, and to co-operate with all such, as the ambassadors and representatives of our Lord and Master.—Z 1903-223 (Hymn 6)
SEPTEMBER 26
The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.—I Corinthians 3:17
THE congregation of the Lord in the present time may be considered nominally his temple, though the real temple is the church triumphant, not yet completed. Nevertheless, it is proper also to apply this lesson to our own individual hearts, for, as the apostle points out, each Christian is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and the church in general, therefore, may be properly considered, even in its present imperfect condition, a temple of the Holy Spirit, devoted, consecrated, to the Lord. So, then, each individual Christian, justified and sanctified by the great atonement of our High Priest, should seek to keep himself (and so far as possible, all others associated with him, and imbued by the same spirit) free from all worldly contamination, if they would have the Lord’s blessing in spiritual things. All of the Lord’s people need to remember the necessity for cleansing from worldly defilements, not only those of the past, but also those which are ever present in the world.—Z 1898-324 (Hymn 58)
SEPTEMBER 27
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.—Psalm 32:11
WE TRUST that all of our readers are coming to appreciate this blessed message more and more—to be glad in the Lord—a very different thing from being glad in the trifling things of this world. He whose affections are set upon this earth will continually find tribulations which hinder his rejoicing. But he who has set his affections upon things above, on the Lord and the glorious things which he has promised us, may indeed rejoice, for our Lord changes not. “Not one of his good promises shall fail.” Let all who are honest in hope, in intention, in endeavor, speak forth the Lord’s praise and shout for joy, not merely that their unintentional imperfections according to the flesh are covered, but also in the thought that the reign of righteousness, the millennial kingdom, is now at hand, and that under its domination all the families of the earth shall be blessed after the great Adversary, Satan, shall have been bound.—Z 1908-330 (Hymn 248)
SEPTEMBER 28
Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.—Daniel 12:12
WHAT blessings have we received? Just as the Bible has said to us, so has it been. Those who open their hearts to the Lord find that he not only comes in and sups with them, but that he becomes their servant, comforts them, and serves them with “meat in due season.” This accounts for all these blessed truths upon which we have been feasting since we have entered into the light of present truth, and it proves that this divine plan of the ages is not from any human being, nor is it a human plan or scheme; for no human being is capable of bringing such glorious things out of the Word of God.—Z 1914-330 (Hymn 230)
SEPTEMBER 29
Lord, to whom shall we go? thou host the words of eternal life.—John 6:68
WE WOULD starve spiritually if we went to any other than the Lord’s table. We know not anywhere else to go. We shall stay right at the Lord’s table. He has been feeding us on the message of truth and life, and we believe that he will put on the table everything necessary for those who are hungering and thirsting for the truth; and that the truth on every subject necessary for us will be given as the Lord is pleased to reveal it, for he has promised, “They shall be filled.”—Z 1914-332 (Hymn 49)
SEPTEMBER 30
And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light.—Exodus 13:21
WHICH spiritual Israelite can afford to retire at the close of the day without retrospectively calling to mind the goodness of the Lord and desiring his continued favor and protection in the shades of night? Which true Israelite will long be an Israelite indeed if he fail to acknowledge the Lord in all his ways, in his downlyings and his uprisings? As the apostle says, whether we eat or whether we drink, or whatsoever we do all should be done to his glory, and if in all our ways we acknowledge him let us at the close of each day employ language somewhat similar to that of Moses and say to the Lord, Abide, O Lord, with all the thousands of thy true Israel everywhere. Keep us, guard us, according to thy wisdom and thy love in Christ Jesus.—Z 1907-236 (Hymn 293)