[a a Fa a a Wa Wa WE Th Ta a on Wr,
** The path of the just is as
the shining light, that shin-
eth more and more unto the
perfect day.”
pg Wa Wa VE i ih i an a We We Ur We
THE
NASHVILLE, TENN., FEB. 12, 1907
WATCHMA
PTI NI NIN NN NN TN NN NSN
**The way of the wicked
is as darkness; they know
not at what they stumble.”
No. 7
“Sh
“Ir the chisel falls, ’tis to make thy beauty
clear;
If the heat of the furnace tries thee with its
enfolding,
Rejoice in the fire, the Refiner counts thee
dear;
And yield to the wheel and the Potter's
delicate molding.
He would fashion thee with his flowers and
polished golding,
And make thee fit for the court, and the King’s
beholding.”
Then hush! O hush! for the Father knows
what thou knowest not,—
Compensation
a
ASE
The need of the thorn and the shadow linked
with the fairest lot;
Knows the wisest exemption from many an
unseen snare,
Knows what will keep thee nearest,
what thou couldst not bear.
knows
Hush! O hush! for the Father, whose ways
are true and just,
Knoweth and careth and loveth, and waits for
thy perfect trust;
The cup he is slowly filling shall soon be full
to the brim,
And infinite compensation forever be found in
him.
— Frances Ridley Havergal.
Faithful and Slothful Servants
MRS. E. G. WHITE
LL should endeavor to realize
the shortness of time, and
the solemnity and impor-
tance of the period in which
we live. There is no time
now to be spent in serving
self, and in acquiring prop-
erty for ourselves and our
children. A change is to take place;
a new order of things is to begin. The
heavens are to be rolled together as a
scroll; and then shall appear “the Son
of man coming in the clouds with power
and great glory.” For “the Son of
man shall come in his glory, and all the
holy angels with him; then shall he sit
upon the throne of his glory.”
Then it is that “the great men, and
the rich men, and the chief captains, and
the mighty men, and every bondman and
every freeman,” will their
works have been. Solemn hour, when
the servants are reckoned with, and rec-
ompense is awarded to all. There will
be no second trial. Probation will close
forever.
All unbelief in regard to the claims of
God’s law here ceases; for it is by this
standard that all are judged. Every eye
then sees God, and every soul realizes
what has proved his ruin. It is then
receive as
seen and acknowledged that God's law
governs all created intelligences. There
are none to question the authority of the
great Lawgiver. Scoffers no longer say,
“ Where is the promise of his coming?”
neither do they wonder that a peculiar
people believed in, and waited for, their
Lord’s appearing. His coming is the
greatest event in the world’s history; and
those who have had respect to all his
commandments, are then classed among
the loyal and true, and rewarded with
eternal life.
Shall we not all be aroused before
probation closes, to see that fidelity to
Christ in this life will meet with a sure
reward when he shall give to every man
according as his works have been? The
Lord plainly tells what he thinks of those
who sit at ease, leaving others to do the
work assigned them. They are repre-
sented by the slothful man in the parable
of the ten talents. “1 was afraid,” he
says, “and went and. hid thy talent in
the earth.”
And why did the delinquent do this?
Here is his answer: “1 knew thee that
thou art a hard man, reaping where thou
hast not sown, and gathering where thou
hast not strewed.” ‘The Lord replies,
“Out of thine own mouth will IT judge
thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knew-
est that I was an austere man, taking up
that I laid not down, and reaping that
I did not sow; wherefore then gavest
thou not my money into the bank, that
at my coming [I might have received
mine own with usury?”
Then the sentence is pronounced:
“Take the talent from him ;” take away
all my gifts and endowments, and all his
opportunities for usefulness. For a time
I lent him talents, and gave him oppor-
tunity to use them to my glory. He
saw others at work, and might have
joined them, and done much good; but
he had no love for me or my service, and
his life was spent in serving self. This
indolent servant now sees that God’s
claims cannot be set aside with impunity.
All have received talents, and all can
use them in the service .of the Master;
but many choose to put skill, tact, perse-
verance, and energy into their business
transactions. Too little is said to stir
up these non-workers; but if anything is
said, many pay no attention. The Lord
Jesus is about to ““ be revealed in flaming
fire, taking vengeance on them that know
not God, and that obey not the gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ.” But men neg-
lect all the claims of Jehovah, disregard
his holy law, disappoint his expectations
in everything, and vet they feel that they
are not the ones who will be punished
at Christ’s coming. How terrible is the
self-deception of those souls who are at
case in Zion. They believe everything
in God’s word that flatters their self-love,
but they heed not the warnings and de-
nunciations that make them uncomfort-
able. Like the Jews, many mistake the
enjoyment of their privileges for the
benefit they should derive from them.
It 1s a great step heavenward, not only
to see and love the truth, but to carry it
out in the daily life. IHow changed will
a man become under its sanctifying in-
“ Wherefore if any man be in
behold, all
His words
and deportment are such that it can in
truth be said of him that he is a partaker
of “the divine nature, having escaped
fluence!
Christ, he is a new creature;
things are become new.”