| Christian Life and Doctrine | September 1950 |
“Songs in the Night”
SEPTEMBER 1
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.—II Corinthians 12:9
AH, SAYS the apostle, if having this affliction means more divine grace, then I am content to keep it, and would be sorry to part with it. Let us, dear friends, view our trials, persecutions, difficulties, thus—as of divine permission for our good. Let us be assured that he who has accepted us in the bonds of love and who has begotten us with his Spirit and called us sons, is not unmindful of our highest interests and would not suffer us to be tried and tempted except as he would make all such experiences work out harmoniously to our highest welfare.—Z 1909-86 (Hymn 47)
SEPTEMBER 2
And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.—Acts 11:21
THE word hand as a symbol signifies power and direction. Here we have the true secret of all successful Christian work which will have the divine approval. Each individual Christian, so to speak, is a finger of the Lord. If we would be used and useful as God’s agencies, ambassadors, we should seek to be impulsed and guided by him. We are to hear his voice through the Scriptures and we are to realize his energizing power in the spirit of the truth. Nor are we to gauge the success of our endeavors by the great numbers, as in this case, which was quite exceptional. We should, however, except some fruitage to our labors, and if peradventure, by unwisdom in our methods of presenting the message we have lost our influence as “ambassadors for God,” we should seek to appreciate the lesson of greater wisdom and should look to the Lord for an open door to service along some other lines or in some other place, where our lessons of experience could be put to practical effect.—Z 1909-87 (Hymn 330)
SEPTEMBER 3
Prepare to meet thy God.—Amos 4:12
THE right way to prepare to meet God and to hear his decision respecting the character is not as usually supposed, to begin to get pious when we feel the approach of sickness or death or in the presence of calamity. From the moment we become believers in Christ and turn from sin and seek forgiveness and thus become eligible to God’s favor, we are urged to present our bodies living sacrifices to him and thus to receive of him an adoption of his Spirit to fellowship. This in turn proves to be but the entrance way to the school of Christ, where they are to be taught as sons of God, to be prepared for the glorious work in association with their Redeemer in his glorious kingdom. As they grow in grace and knowledge they grow in appreciation of divine favor. Such as are in this attitude of heart are prepared to meet their God at any time. Indeed, their meeting with him has already begun, and anything that will serve in any degree to hinder its pleasurable continuance will be a disaster indeed.—Z 1908-266 (Hymn 170)
SEPTEMBER 4
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.—Revelation 15:3
WE WHO hope to be members of the bride class and joint-heirs with Him are expected to learn to sing the song of Moses the servant and the song of the Lamb, for “worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” Realizing that this new song is the tidings of great joy which shall be to all people, we are correspondingly interested to know to what extent we have learned—to what extent we can sing it now. We find indeed that it is a life study to learn this lesson. We rejoice in the privilege to bear witness of our God to all those who have ears to hear, even though doing so brings reproaches, frowns, opposition. Our patience and our faith are to continue, and we are to wait for the kingdom in its beauty and the glorious “change” in ourselves to tell to others more effectively than ever the blessed tidings.—Z 1908-269 (Hymn 79)
SEPTEMBER 5
David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.—II Samuel 5:10
DAVID’S experience in waiting for the kingdom and the lessons learned and the character developed and the preparation which made him wise and moderate all serve to illustrate a great lesson to the Gospel church. We also are called to sit upon the throne of the Lord—to rule in his name. We also have been anointed to the office by the Holy Spirit, which the apostle declares is a foretaste of the glory and joys into which we shall enter when the crowning days shall have come. If discipline, self-control, faith, moderation, and hope were all requisite to make David a king over the Lord’s people and to properly represent him in government, how much more severe lessons should be for us, who are called to so much higher a station—to the throne of earth as God’s representatives and to the royal priesthood, ruling, judging, and trying mankind, to the intent that as many as possible of them may be rescued from their degraded condition and be brought into full harmony with God!—Z 1908-268 (Hymn 327)
SEPTEMBER 6
As an eagle stirreth up her nest.—Deuteronomy 32:11
THUS does the Lord at times permit trials, persecutions, etc., which outwardly seem to imply the wrecking of most precious interests, and sometimes cause surprise to his people by the roughness and jarring conditions. Nevertheless, under divine supervision, the stirring up of the nest and the throwing of responsibility upon his people can be made advantageous to them, strengthening, helping them. Then comes a time of rest and opportunity for spiritual edification, comfort, growth in grace and knowledge. Happy are those who, in the time of the stirring up of the nest, are rightly exercised by the Lord’s providences and taught of him and made more and more active in his service—the service of righteousness, truth, and love.—Z 1909-55 (Hymn 324)
SEPTEMBER 7
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.—Acts 20:28
THE elders everywhere need to take especial heed, because in every trial the most favored and most prominent have the severest besetments and tests. Hence the apostle exhorts, “Be not many of you teachers, brethren, knowing that a man shall receive the more severe testing.” We, likewise, exhort all the elders who in heart are pure, unselfish, that they have nothing but love and good wishes for all mankind, and that they become more and more filled with fruits and graces of the Holy Spirit, taking heed also to the flock. Remember that the flock is the Lord’s and that you have a responsibility to the Lord, as well as to them. Remember that you are to watch for their souls (interests) as those who must give an account to the great Chief Shepherd. Remember that the principal thing is love, in all; and while not neglecting doctrines, give special heed to the development of the Lord’s Spirit among the various members of his body, that thus they may become “meet for the inheritance of the saints in light,” and according to the divine will, be not suffered to stumble in this evil day, but having done all to stand complete in Christ, his body, his members, his joint-sacrificers, his joint-heirs.—Z 1909-73 (Hymn 225)
SEPTEMBER 8
When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother!—John 19:26,27
OUR Lord, so far from thinking of himself and his own anguish, was thinking of others. As during his ministry he had gone about doing good, so in his dying hour here he thought of the good, the welfare of others, and in the above words committed his mother to the care of the loving disciple. Beautiful is the lesson! How it shows us the largeness of our Lord’s heart and sympathy, and how it teaches us not to be entirely engrossed with our own trials and difficulties, large and small, but rather to be burden-bearers of others, allowing our sympathies, our thoughts and our plans to be active for the blessing of all those who in any measure are under our care in matters temporal or spiritual.—Z 1908-153 (Hymn 186)
SEPTEMBER 9
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive forevermore.—Revelation 1:18
THERE is no more important lesson in connection with the Gospel than that of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. The death of Jesus indeed exhibits to us his love, and the love of the Father on our behalf. But in the divine plan, in order for the proper benefit to come to man from the death of Jesus, he must rise from the dead; he must become the Captain of our Salvation, as well as our Redeemer. A dead Christ could not be our Savior; as it is declared, “Because I live, ye shall live also.” (John 14:19) … It is in full accord with the scriptural presentation that joy thrills our hearts as we come to the resurrection morning of the millennial day and the promise that therein and thereby the Lord shall wipe away all tears from off all faces.—Z 1908-154 (Hymn 111)
SEPTEMBER 10
And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.—I Samuel 17:47
WHAT lesson can the new creation of the present time draw from this story of olden time? David, whose name signifies beloved, in many respects typified The Christ, Head and body. His experience with Goliath illustrates well first of all our Lord’s conflict with the Adversary during the forty days temptation in the wilderness. Our Lord’s victory over Satan on that occasion, his loyalty to the Father and the work entrusted to him, his own self-sacrifice, meant the victory for all the world of mankind desirous of being in harmony with God and his arrangement. Did he not declare to us, “Fear not, I have overcome the world”? In overcoming Satan, the prince of this world, he was gaining at the same time a victory over all the hosts of evil and servants of sin. He stood faithful to God and to his covenant relationship and responsibility and hurled at the Adversary the pebble of truth, “It is written.” As Goliath fell before David, so Satan was vanquished by our Lord, who declares, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven,” and declared also as a result of his victory, “All power is given me in heaven and in earth,” and sent forth his disciples in his name to similarly battle in his strength and to come off conquerors and to ultimately share with him in his kingdom, which is to “bless all the families of the earth.”—Z 1908-233 (Hymn 270)
SEPTEMBER 11
Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God.—Deuteronomy 8:18
THE more we come into possession of the spiritual blessings which the Lord has promised us, and which we have accepted by faith, the more need we will have of humility; and our humility will be proportionate to our appreciation of divine goodness and our thankfulness therefore. The grateful, thankful heart may go on from grace to grace, from strength to strength, from knowledge to knowledge, from attainment to attainment; but if gratitude begins to wane and our advantages are accepted either as matters of our own attainment or of good luck, in that same proportion we will find ourselves growing cold spiritually, and with unthankfulness will come unholiness, spiritual self-conceit and pride, and all of this will lead to spiritual dearth, and if persisted in, to spiritual death.—Z 1902-286 (Hymn 196)
SEPTEMBER 12
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down.—Hebrews 11:30
“I CAN do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Phil. 4:13) Faith is an essential; but we must have crossed the Jordan; we must have been justified; must have partaken of the antitypical passover; must have been sanctified before we could have of the Lord either a promise of victory over our Jericho, or before we could exercise such a faith as would result in that victory. If in the type faith could bring the fall of the strong walls of a city, how great must be the value of faith in the antitype! “This is the victory which overcometh the world, even your faith,” but only so long as we trust in the Lord and seek to do those things pleasing to him, can we exercise this overcoming faith.—Z 1902-303 (Hymn 174)
SEPTEMBER 13
I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though you know them, and be established in the present truth.—II Peter 1:12
TO BE established in the truth signifies that we have carefully studied and thoroughly proved it by “the law and the testimony” (Isa. 8:20), and that as a consequence we are convinced of its verity, so that our faith is steadfast and unmovable: we know whom we have believed; we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good; we have partaken of the sweets of fellowship with him; we have partaken of his spirit of meekness, faith, and godliness to such an extent as to be led into a joyful realization of the fullness of his grace as manifested in the wonderful divine plan of the ages; and we have been permitted to see not only the various features of that plan, but also the necessity and reasonableness of all its various measures in order to the full accomplishment of its glorious outcome in the fullness of the appointed times. This is what it is to be “established in the present truth.” It is indeed a most blessed condition, bringing with it such peace and joy as the world can neither give nor take away.—Z 1902-303 (Hymn 49)
SEPTEMBER 14
And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.—Acts 1:8
THE spirit of Christianity is an aggressive one. The Gospel sets before the true believer an object, a motive, which inspires to an enthusiasm of the highest degree. The message becomes a burning one which must flame forth as a true light to enlighten others. Otherwise it would become extinct, smothered. “Quench not the Spirit, whereby ye are sealed,” may surely be applied to a proper missionary spirit as well as other ways. … Ours is a message of special favor now being given out to any who have the ear to hear and the heart to appreciate and accept it. Ours is the missionary hunt for the Lord’s jewels, for his “royal priesthood,” his “little flock,” his “elect”—that these may be enlightened and assisted to a clearer knowledge of the truth, that they may make their calling and election sure to joint-heirship with their Redeemer in the kingdom.—Z 1909-93 (Hymn 261)
SEPTEMBER 15
But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.—Hebrews 10:39
OUR exhortation to all who have forsaken all to follow the Lord is that we do not look back, that we estimate that we have made the grandest bargain imaginable, that we are in the way for obtaining the grandest prize imaginable, together with association with our Lord in his wonderful work and with the divine approval. This seems to be the thought of the apostle when he urges us to lay aside every weight and entanglement that we may run with patience the race set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author of our faith, until he shall have become its Finisher. Let us as promptly as possible, at the beginning of our Christian experience, settle once for all the matter of surrendering our wills to be followers of the Lamb; let us once for all arrange as wisely as possible our temporary affairs and interests in accordance with the reasonable demands of others respecting the same, and let us then faithfully persevere to the end of the racecourse.—Z 1906-46 (Hymn 184)
SEPTEMBER 16
My teaching is not Mine, but His that sent Me.—John 7:16 (Diaglott)
THE teachings of all the Lord’s representatives should be along this same line—not human speculations and philosophies, but the Word of God—He “that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my Word, let him speak My Word.” (Jer. 23:28) “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isa. 8:20) “Preach the Word; be instant in season,” and even when inconvenient to yourself. (II Tim. 4:2) “The Word of God is … powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword.” (Heb. 4:12) “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth.” (John 17:17) “They took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” and learned of him. (Acts 4:13) Thus it is that those who are faithful and loyal to the Lord and the word of his testimony speak not vaguely and indefinitely to the world, but declare the message of God, the “good tidings of great joy which shall be unto all people,” “in due time.”—Z 1906-58 (Hymn 300)
SEPTEMBER 17
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.—Matthew 6:12
IT WILL be remembered that in our Lord’s prayer he sets forth this principle for our instruction and guidance, that we must not expect of the Heavenly Father mercy for our shortcomings and blemishes and continuance in his favor and ultimately joint-heirship in his kingdom, unless we cultivate in ourselves the same spirit. How beautifully and how simply the Lord states this matter in the prayer: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” How emphatically the Lord states it again, saying, “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.” These trespasses, be it noted again, do not refer to the one original sin on account of which the curse is ultimately to be rolled from every member of the race so that there shall be no more curse. These trespasses are our own individual shortcomings and blemishes which we have inherited and which the Lord is very willing to overlook and excuse for those who will comply with the conditions of their covenant and be followers of the Lord Jesus, filled with his Spirit and striving to walk in his steps.—Z 1906-200 (Hymn 290)
SEPTEMBER 18
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.—Psalm 91:12
THE “feet” of the body are its last members; the saints now living are members of “the feet of him” (Christ), the ones who are now in danger of being stumbled, as the feet of the Jewish house of servants were in danger in the end, or harvest, of the Jewish age. While doubtless the heavenly messengers are connected with this work, yet it is surely done through the church in the flesh. The Lord in this present harvest time has given his messengers, the leaders of his consecrated people, a “charge,” a message, a word of warning, counsel, advice—an opening of the Word of truth, an enlightening of their understanding—that they should bear up all the members of the feet class in this time of serious trial, testing and stumbling, lest at any time any of this class should stumble through the trials of the present time. How manifestly this is fulfilled! The harvest message in its various features, bearing on every phase of truth now due, and every phase of error now brought forward, is God’s keeping power by which, according to his guarantee, we know that nothing shall by any means hurt “the feet” members of the body of Christ.—Z 1911-438 (Hymn 61)
SEPTEMBER 19
I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.—John 14:3
LET us, dear brethren, keep well before our minds the Master’s promised return, and now in the time of his parousia (invisible presence) let it have its full weight and influence upon our every word and act; yea, upon our very thoughts. Let the hope that we shall soon experience our resurrection change, and be made like our dear Redeemer, and see him as he is, and share his glory in the great epiphania, or shining forth of the sons of God in the glory of the kingdom, enthuse us—let this energize our hearts, loose our lips, and strengthen us for every duty, privilege, and opportunity—to serve our Master and the household of faith. If this hope has been an anchor to the Lord’s people for so many centuries, how much more does it mean to us who are living in the very time of his presence, waiting for his apokalupsis—his revealing in the glory of the kingdom.—Z 1903-150 (Hymn 30)
SEPTEMBER 20
Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day.—Acts 26:22
IN REFERRING to the preservation of his life, the apostle does not give credit to Lysias, the commander of the garrison at Jerusalem, but declares that he obtained help of God, by whom he had been sustained to the time of his speaking. There is a good lesson in this for all the Lord’s people. How apt many are to give credit to “luck” or “chance” or human instrumentality, overlooking the fact that the Lord’s saints are the special objects of his care, and that the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them and delivereth them.—Z 1903-157 (Hymn 61)
SEPTEMBER 21
Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God.—Mark 4:11
OUR faith in the Lord and in his wonderful plan is strengthened when we find how simple his plan is, how grand, how beautiful, and yet how hidden from the world—from all except those who have the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to whom it is given to know the “mystery.” Some of these mysteries pertain to the present and some to the future, and the more clearly we seek the more we may find, and the more clearly we discern the stronger will be our faith and loyalty and the better will be our prospects therefore of making our calling and election sure by obedience.—Z 1906-124 (Hymn 154)
SEPTEMBER 22
Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.—I Samuel 12:24
AS A help to our flagging zeal, we should continually remind ourselves of the Lord’s great blessings to us. As we learn to appreciate the goodness of the Lord, if rightly disposed at all, the influence will be to strengthen us and to make us more and more loyal to him. Failing to seek with our whole heart the Lord’s service after we have become his people and entered into covenant relationship with him, receiving of his favors and blessings in this life, and also, by promise, in the life to come, would mean wickedness which, persevered in, will surely bring destruction. Faithfulness to God should be the keynote of all our desires.—Z 1903-219 (Hymn 243)
SEPTEMBER 23
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.—Titus 2:13
THIS is to be the center of our expectations. We are not to hope for blessing this side of the manifestation of God’s kingdom. We are to note that this kingdom must come before God’s will can be done on earth as it is done in heaven. We are to know that this kingdom must bind Satan and overthrow his institutions, based upon selfishness, before it can supplant these with new institutions of justice and truth based upon the principle of love. Whoever, therefore, has been blessed with the grace of God, and has had the eyes of his understanding opened by the Word of truth and its Spirit, finds its teachings to be that these blessings of salvation are to be “brought unto us at the revelation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (I Pet. 1:13), and that our chief object in the present life is to fight a good fight against self and against sin, and in defense of righteousness and in the assistance of the household of faith; and not to fight for earthly rights nor to strive for earthly honors and riches—the warfare and strife in which the whole world, except ourselves, is almost exclusively engaged. If the Lord’s saints possess talents or influence or wealth, these are not their treasures, but merely their servants, and they are not the possessors of these, but merely the stewards, whose privilege it is to use them as best they may know how, in the Master’s service, and to the forwarding of the interests of righteousness in the preparation of themselves and others for his appearing and the kingdom.—Z 1900-336 (Hymn 214)
SEPTEMBER 24
Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season.—Matthew 24:45
WE BELIEVE it the duty, as well as the pleasure, of all who have been enlightened of God through the harvest message, to spread the good tidings abroad—to hand out to famishing brethren the meat in due season which has so strengthened our own hearts. And this seems to be more and more the Spirit of the Lord’s brethren, as they receive of the Lord’s grace and truth and become more and more copies of God’s dear Son, and have more and more of his spirit of willingness to serve the brethren and, as the apostle suggests, are willing to lay down their lives for the brethren (I John 3:16)—not literally, but day by day and opportunity by opportunity—willing to sacrifice the comforts and advantages which, to the natural man, go to make up the sum of earthly life and happiness. They take pleasure in renouncing earthly privileges and luxuries, and even some of life’s comforts, that they may spend the more of their substance and be the more spent themselves in doing good unto all men, especially to the household of faith, and especially in the higher spiritual good things which they have the inestimable privilege of dispensing as servants of our present Lord.—Z 1901-4 (Hymn 280)
SEPTEMBER 25
Without Me ye can do nothing.—John 15:5
ONLY the humble-minded could possibly be prepared to confess themselves sinners and unworthy of divine favor and love, needing justification, forgiveness, provided for us in Christ. Not only so, but even after exercising such humility and coming to the Lord and being accepted of him, if the humility be lost our gracious standing in Christ is forfeited. Pride signifies self-satisfaction, and the corresponding ignoring of the all-sufficiency of our glorious Head, who said to us, “Without me ye can do nothing.”—Z 1906-266 (Hymn 202)
SEPTEMBER 26
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.—Psalm 37:24
WHAT a comforting thought is here! How well calculated it is to deliver the Lord’s people from utter despondency in respect to themselves and each other! The all-important thoughts to be kept in mind are, Am I still the Lord’s? Am I still trusting in the precious blood? Am I still consecrated to the Lord and his righteous way? If these can be answered in the affirmative we can still realize that we are God’s children, and that our hands are still in his; that the Spirit of begetting and adoption, which began in us the new life, has not perished; and that it is God’s will that we should recover ourselves as quickly as possible from any stumbling, and looking well at the difficulties and trials which led us into it, we should fortify our characters against those difficulties as respects the future, and thus go on really stronger because of our difficulties, and yet all the while realizing that our recovery from the difficulty was not of our own strength, but because of our trust in the arm of the Lord, to which we are still holding.—Z 1903-72 (Hymn 331)
SEPTEMBER 27
He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.—Proverbs 25:28
IT IS a part of our duty as Christians and as new creatures to withstand all assaults of the Adversary; and these assaults come, not from visible forces alone, but from evil spirits; from those who seek to obtain possession of us—as is the case with those who come under the control of these evil spirits. Their wills are subdued, broken down, and they are in the hands of their enemies, exactly as pictured in our text. Let such strive to cast out the enemy, to resist him, to strengthen the walls of their minds and to make an alliance at once with the Lord Jesus. Let them give their hearts fully and completely to him and accept his will, his Word, his guidance, in every matter.—Z 1911-94 (Hymn 136)
SEPTEMBER 28
Because Thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee.—Psalm 63:3
THOSE faithful to their covenant, and appreciative of the Lord’s favor as “better than life,” will show forth his praise at any and every cost of an earthly kind. The harvest message of good tidings which is now revealed to the Lord’s consecrated people, by which they discern the loving-kindness of God, which they feel they must tell forth to others, not for money, nor for reputation, but at the cost of worldly reputation, at the cost of financial loss, at the cost of home trials and difficulties—this message is the “new song” mentioned by the prophets, that the Lord has put into the mouths of his consecrated ones. It is the same new song that is mentioned by our Lord in Revelation, which none others might sing except the elect 144,000, who have the Father’s name in their foreheads—publicly professed. If others hear of the song they cannot sing it, because it costs something to sing this song.—Z 1901-248 (Hymn 249)
SEPTEMBER 29
Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.—Philippians 3:16
IT IS indispensable to those who have reached the mark of perfect love that they shall keep actively engaged in the service of the Lord, laying down their lives for the brethren, because he who loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, what assurance hath he that he really loves God, whom he hath not seen? Such must stand, not only as representatives of God and of the principles of righteousness, but as representatives of those strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, and in the faith of his Word—ready and willing and efficient in the encouragement of other runners in the racecourse, that they likewise may attain to the “mark.”—Z 1901-13 (Hymn 107)
SEPTEMBER 30
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.—Ephesians 1:18,19
HOW often would this good counsel of the Lord, if remembered, bring a blessing and a relief from the attacks of the Adversary, who fain would make us believe that we are not the Lord’s. With this counsel before us, what a strength we should have in combating the besetments of the world, the flesh, and the devil. How it should lead us in the moment of temptation to lift up our hearts in prayer to the Lord for “grace to help in time of need.” The Lord wishes us to learn the lesson of our own weakness and imperfection, and to learn to go to him for strength and succor—not before we need it, but “in time of need,” in every time of trouble.—Z 1898-7 (Hymn 251)