We have done a noble work, and that work is not to be foiled, defeated
and destroyed by men who know not our Master and love not his cause.
We have been raised up by the Lord to be a mighty community. God has a
mission for us, a great mission, and we are not to be defeated in it.
That mission must be done. The Lord has put into our hands facilities
for doing this great work, and he requires it at our hands. That work
is simply to restore his own pure religion to the people of this
generation, and build up the church as it was at the beginning. We
have ascertained that the Lord laid but one foundation, reared but one
building upon it, had but one temple, one body, one family, but one
church. This one body had but one head, but one leader, and we are to
keep our eye on him, follow him, love him and serve him for ever. We
can not turn aside to the strifes of the world, from our legitimate
work. We have preached union among the children of God, struggled
for it and prayed for it long and ardently, and we now appreciate
its value more than ever, since we feel its power and influence in
time of trouble. An influence that can bind us _in one body_, in _one
fellowship_, in the midst of such commotions and excitements, is not of
this world. It is not an earthly influence, but above the earth. It is
from God. We know each other as the children of God, the disciples of
Christ, as christians, and not as political partisans. We know not a
man because he belongs to this political party, or that; not because he
lives on the one side of a geographical line, or the other; not because
he holds to this political creed or that; but we know him because he is
a child of God, an heir of the same inheritance, and redeemed by the
same blood of the Covenant. The bond that binds us together is not an
earthly bond, and it is not limited by time. It is the _love_ of God.
It is not limited to this world, but shall last co-existent with the
years of God. It shall live and be fresh and vigorous when all worldly
schemes and policies and their advocates, shall be forgotten. Those who
enjoy it shall also live beyond all the turmoil of political strife,
beyond all the struggles and trials that beset our faith in this life.
May we not live in vain, but do good in our day and generation. Mercy
and peace upon the Israel of God.
“COME OUT OF BABYLON.”
The Lord calls to his people wherever they may be scattered in Babylon,
saying, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her
sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.” We live emphatically
in the time for extending this cry, and we must extend it. The warning
to those in danger, is a most righteous and benevolent warning, and
those who hear it shall praise God forever, that it has reached their
hearts, and induced them to abandon the devoted city. There is no
escape for one soul, only by fleeing to the Lord, and that can only be
done by abandoning all human laws, and adhering to the law of the Lord.
“See that ye refuse not him that speaketh; for if they escaped not who
refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we
turn away from him that speaketh from heaven; whose voice then shook
the earth; but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake
not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more,
signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things
that are made, that those things that can not be shaken, may remain.
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which can not be moved, let us have
grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly
fear.” Thanks to Heaven, there is a kingdom that can not be moved.
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but, _he that doeth the will_ of my Father who is
in heaven.” “He,” says the Lord, “who hears these sayings of mine, and
does them, I will liken him to a wise man.” “He who hears these sayings
of mine, and does them not, I will liken him to a foolish man.” Our
work is to try and call the attention of all nations to the sayings of
our Lord, and induce them to hear him. They must hear him, or be lost
for ever.
Come out of Babylon, O you saints of the Lord, wherever you are, and
commit yourselves to the hands of the Lord. “Come out of her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive
not of her plagues.” Hear the holy John describe her destruction: “A
mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into
the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city, Babylon, be
thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. Rejoice over her, thou
heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you
on her.” “After these things, I heard a great voice of much people in
heaven, saying, Alleluia: Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power,
unto the Lord, our God; for true and righteous are his judgments; for
he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her
fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
And again, they said, Alleluia, and her smoke rose up forever and ever.
And the four and twenty elders, and the four living creatures fell down
and worshipped him that sat upon the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia!
And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God all ye his
servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it
were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters,
and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia; for the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor
to him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and his wife hath made
herself ready.”
Wonderful things are before us, and let us be in readiness for their
approach. When Paul was leaving the disciples, expecting to meet them
no more in the flesh, he said, “I commend you to God and to the word of
his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance
among all them that are sanctified.” This same word, another Apostle
says, is able to save your souls, and the Lord says, “The words which
I speak to you shall judge you in the last day.” His word lives and
abides forever and ever. If we were making our dying request, and that
to the dearest friends we have on earth, we would request them to
abandon all human authorities and hold on to the word of the Lord for
ever.