“Comfort My People”
(All Bible texts are in the NKJV Bible unless otherwise indicated)
Sabbath Afternoon
Memory Text: Isaiah 40:9
9 O Zion,
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem,
You who bring good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
Isaiah 40:1-2
God’s People Are Comforted
40 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.
2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”
Sunday – Comfort for the Future (Isa. 40:1, 2)
Isaiah 40:1, 2
God’s People Are Comforted
1 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.
2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”
Read Isaiah 10
Read Isaiah 37
Read Isaiah 39
Read Isaiah 7:17 to 38:6
Isaiah 52:4
4 For thus says the Lord God:
“My people went down at first
Into Egypt to dwell there;
Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
Isaiah 43:14
14 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
The Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon,
And bring them all down as fugitives—
The Chaldeans, who rejoice in their ships.
Isaiah 47:1
The Humiliation of Babylon
1 “Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you shall no more be called
Tender and delicate.
Isaiah 48:14
14 “All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear!
Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
He shall do His pleasure on Babylon,
And His arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
Isaiah 48:20
20 Go forth from Babylon!
Flee from the Chaldeans!
With a voice of singing,
Declare, proclaim this,
Utter it to the end of the earth;
Say, “The Lord has redeemed
His servant Jacob!”
Isaiah 44:28
28 Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he shall perform all My pleasure,
Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,”
And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’
Isaiah 45:1
Cyrus, God’s Instrument
45 “Thus says the Lord to His anointed,
To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—
To subdue nations before him
And loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:
Isaiah 45:13
13 I have raised him up in righteousness,
And I will direct all his ways;
He shall build My city
And let My exiles go free,
Not for price nor reward,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
Read Isaiah 1–39
Isaiah 39:6, 7
6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your
fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon;
nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘And they shall take away some of
your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be
eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ”
Read Isaiah chapters 13, 14 and 21
Isaiah 14:1-4
Mercy on Jacob
1 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and
settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and
they will cling to the house of Jacob. 2 Then people will take them and
bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for
servants and maids in the land of the Lord; they will take them captive
whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors.
Fall of the King of Babylon
3 It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow,
and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, 4
that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say:
“How the oppressor has ceased,
The golden city ceased!
Monday - Presence, Word, and Roadwork (Isa. 40:3–8)
Isaiah 40:3-8
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he said, “What shall I cry?”
“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”
Isaiah 40:1-8
God’s People Are Comforted
1 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.
2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he said, “What shall I cry?”
“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”
Exodus 25:8
8 And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
Exodus 25:16
16 And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you.
Read Ezekiel 9–11
Ezekiel 11:16
16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Although I have cast them far
off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the
countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where
they have gone.” ’
Isaiah 42:16
16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will lead them in paths they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.
Read Ezekiel 1
Read Ezekiel chapters 9 to 11
Matthew 3:3
3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’ ”
Matthew 3:2
2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
Mark 1:4
4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of
repentance for the remission of sins.
Jeremiah 31:31-34
A New Covenant
31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I
took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant
which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this
is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,
says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their
hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more
shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know
the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the
greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and
their sin I will remember no more.”
Isaiah 40:6-8
6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he said, “What shall I cry?”
“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”
Tuesday – The Birth of Evangelism (Isa. 40:9–11)
Isaiah 40:9-11
9 O Zion,
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem,
You who bring good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.
11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.
Isaiah 41:27
27 The first time I said to Zion,
‘Look, there they are!’
And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.
Isaiah 52:7
7 How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
Psalm 68:6
6 God sets the solitary in families;
He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;
But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
John 1:14
The Word Becomes Flesh
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Luke 2:25-38
Simeon Sees God’s Salvation
25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this
man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy
Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 So he
came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the
Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, 28 he took
Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
29 “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation
31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of
Him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this
Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign
which will be spoken against 35 (yes, a sword will pierce through your own
soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
Anna Bears Witness to the Redeemer
36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the
tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven
years from her virginity; 37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four
years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and
prayers night and day. 38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the
Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
John 20:17, 18
17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My
Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father
and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord,
and that He had spoken these things to her.
Isaiah 40:6-8
6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he said, “What shall I cry?”
“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”
Wednesday - Merciful Creator (Isa. 40:12–31)
Isaiah 40
Isaiah 40:1-5
God’s People Are Comforted
1 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.
2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 40:3-8
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he said, “What shall I cry?”
“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”
Isaiah 40:9-11
9 O Zion,
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem,
You who bring good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.
11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.
Isaiah 40:12-26
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,
Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before Him are as nothing,
And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
18 To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter.
21 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He brings the princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24 Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25 “To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.
Isaiah 40:27-31
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Read Job 38–41
Thursday – The Problem with Idolatry (Isa. 40:19, 20)
Isaiah 40:19, 20
19 The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter.
Exodus 20:4, 5
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything
that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the
water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For
I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
Isaiah 42:8
8 I am the Lord, that is My name;
And My glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
Jeremiah 3:6-9
A Call to Repentance
6 The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen
what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and
under every green tree, and there played the harlot. 7 And I said, after she
had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her
treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 Then I saw that for all the causes for
which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and
given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not
fear, but went and played the harlot also. 9 So it came to pass, through her
casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with
stones and trees.
Ezekiel 16:15-19
Jerusalem’s Harlotry
15 “But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your
fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it.
16 You took some of your garments and adorned multicolored high places for
yourself, and played the harlot on them. Such things should not happen, nor
be. 17 You have also taken your beautiful jewelry from My gold and My
silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images and played
the harlot with them. 18 You took your embroidered garments and covered
them, and you set My oil and My incense before them. 19 Also My food which I
gave you—the pastry of fine flour, oil, and honey which I fed you—you set it
before them as sweet incense; and so it was,” says the Lord God.
Isaiah 41:29
29 Indeed they are all worthless;
Their works are nothing;
Their molded images are wind and confusion.
Exodus 20:3
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
Exodus 32:4, 5
4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an
engraving tool, and made a molded calf.
Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the
land of Egypt!”
5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a
proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 4:15-19
Beware of Idolatry
15 “Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord spoke
to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 lest you act corruptly and
make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness
of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the
likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of
anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in
the water beneath the earth. 19 And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to
heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of
heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your
God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.
Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 2, pp.
1011-1012, quoting Signs of the Times, January 26, 1882.
The Victory at Ebenezer
After suffering the oppression of their enemies for twenty years, the
Israelites “mourned after the Lord.” They repented of the sins which had
alienated them from him, and sought to return again to their allegiance.
Samuel counseled them, “If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts,
then put away the strange gods, and Ashtaroth, from among you, and prepare
your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out
of the hand of the Philistines.” “Return unto the Lord with all your
hearts;” “Prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only”—here we see
that practical piety, heart religion, was taught in the days of Samuel, as
taught by Christ when he was upon the earth. The teacher is virtually the
same in both dispensations. God's claims are the same. Without the grace of
Christ, the outward forms of religion were valueless to ancient Israel. They
are the same to modern Israel. All the pleas of self-righteousness are
unavailing; all hope is groundless except that based upon the sacrifice and
victory of our Saviour. Obedience to God, required in the days of Moses,
Joshua, and Samuel, was enforced by the world's Redeemer.
Samuel endeavored to impress upon Israel the fact that they themselves had
something to do to secure the divine favor. They must repent of their sins,
and put away their idols. The prophet had succeeded in arousing the people
from the lethargy of sin, and he greatly desired that this awakening might
result in a general and permanent reformation. With the co-operation of the
heads of the tribes, a large assembly was convened at Mizpeh. Here a solemn
fast was held. With deep humiliation the people confessed their sins, and
poured out water before the Lord as a symbol of their supplications poured
out for the divine favor, their tears of sorrow for sin, and of gratitude
that the Lord was still gracious and merciful. As an evidence of their
determination to obey the instructions they had heard, they invested Samuel
with the authority of judge.
Remembering how the prayers of Moses had formerly prevailed with God for
Israel, the people entreated Samuel to intercede for them. Again the prophet
exhorted them to renounce their idolatry and turn from their backslidings,
and then as the servant of God he prayed for a blessing upon them.
The Philistines interpreted this gathering of Israel to be a council of war,
and with a strong force set out to attack and disperse them before their
plans could be matured. The tidings that these powerful foes were
approaching caused great terror among the Israelites. Unarmed and
defenseless, they felt that their only hope was in God. If he went forth
with their armies, they would be victorious; if he refused to help them,
defeat was certain. Hence they entreated Samuel, “Cease not to cry unto the
Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the
Philistines.”
With great earnestness the prophet pleaded for divine help, and the people
also sought the Lord. While Samuel was in the act of presenting a lamb as a
burnt-offering, the Philistines appeared in the distance, ready for battle,
and expecting to make an easy prey of the people whom they had so long
oppressed.
Then the Mighty One who had descended upon Sinai amid fire and smoke and
thunder; who had parted the Red Sea, and made a way through Jordan for the
Hebrew host,—the God of Israel, again manifested his power. Vivid lightning
flashes and terrific peals of thunder struck terror to the advancing host.
When the blinding glare had passed away, the earth was strewn with the dead
bodies of armed warriors. Against such a foe, military skill was powerless.
Paralyzed with fear, the Philistines looked only for utter destruction.
During the raging of the elements, the Israelites stood in silent awe,
trembling with hope and fear. When they beheld the slaughter of their
enemies, they knew that God had accepted their repentance, and that he had
wrought in their behalf. Though wholly unprepared for battle, they seized
the weapons of the slaughtered Philistines, and fell upon the force they had
so lately dreaded, and pursued the fleeing hosts to Beth-car.
This signal victory was gained upon the very field where, twenty years
previous, Israel was smitten before the Philistines, the priests slain, and
the ark of God taken. Thus was again repeated the great lesson, that for
nations as well as for individuals the path of obedience to God is the path
of safety and happiness, while that of transgression leads only to disaster
and defeat.
It was the Lord's purpose so to manifest his power in delivering Israel,
that they might not take the glory to themselves. He permitted them, when
unarmed and defenseless, to be challenged by their enemies, and then the
Captain of the Lord's host marshalled the army of Heaven to destroy the foes
of his people. Humility of heart and obedience to the divine law are more
acceptable to God than the most costly sacrifices from a heart filled with
pride and hypocrisy. God will not defend those who are living in
transgression of his law.
All Israel recognized the hand of God in their deliverance, and gratefully
acknowledged his great mercy. That the occasion might never be forgotten,
Samuel set up, between Mizpeh and Shen, a great stone as a memorial. He
called the name of it Ebenezer, “the stone of help,” saying to the people,
“Hitherto hath the Lord helped us” This stone was to stand as a witness to
all future generations, to testify of God's care for his people, and to
strengthen faith in him as their deliverer.
The Philistines were so completely subdued by this defeat, that they
surrendered the cities which had been taken from Israel, and refrained from
all acts of hostility for many years. Other nations followed the example of
this powerful and warlike people, and the Israelites enjoyed peace during
the whole period of Samuel's sole administration.
The condition of God's people at the present day is similar to that of
idolatrous Israel. Many who bear the name of Christians are
serving other gods besides the Lord. Our Creator demands our supreme
devotion, our first allegiance. Anything which tends to abate our love
for God, or to interfere with the service due him, becomes thereby an
idol. With some their lands, their houses, their
merchandize, are the idols. Business enterprises are prosecuted with zeal
and energy, while the service of God is made a secondary consideration.
Family worship is neglected, secret prayer forgotten. Many claim to deal
justly with their fellow-men, and seem to feel that in so doing they
discharge their whole duty. But it is not enough to keep the last six
commandments of the decalogue. We are to love the Lord our God with all the
heart. Nothing short of obedience to every precept-nothing less than supreme
love to God as well as equal love to our fellow-men-can satisfy the claims
of the divine law.
There are many whose hearts have been so hardened by prosperity that they
forget God, and forget the wants of their fellow-men. Professed Christians
adorn themselves with jewelry, laces, costly apparel, while the Lord's poor
suffer for the necessaries of life. Men and women who claim redemption
through a Saviour's blood will squander the means intrusted to them for the
saving of other souls, and then grudging dole out their offerings for
religion, giving liberally only when it will bring honor to themselves.
These are idolaters.
Church-members expend their Lord's money in various forms of
self-indulgence, and when means are needed to sustain the church, a fair, a
theatrical entertainment, or a grand supper is given. Thus professed
Christians unite with worldlings in mirth and frivolity, feasting and
display—sometimes, far worse, in practices which in a slightly different
form are denounced as crimes by the laws of the land. And all this to obtain
means from those who have no interest in religion, and who are actuated only
by a desire for sensual gratification! Is not this base idolatry?
The history of our Saviour's life of humiliation, self-denial, and
sacrifice, is looked upon as an old story, which has become distasteful to
the refined imagination. It does not possess sufficient interest to stir the
heart, to lead to self-denial for Christ's sake, or for the sake of souls
for whom he died. A large proportion of the Christian world are saying by
their practice, “Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.” Their religion
has no elevating, ennobling influence upon themselves or upon society.
Though all they have is the gift of God, they do not acknowledge it as such.
Oh, how great is the mercy of our God; to bear thus with the perversity of
his creatures! Every spring the earth is clothed with verdure, that its
freshness and beauty may bring to our minds thoughts of the Creator. The
fields of grain waving in the sunshine of summer, or the autumn breeze, tell
us of Him who giveth to his children their daily bread. The trees bending
under their burden of rich fruit, proclaim his mercy and benevolence. But
men, blinded by selfishness and mammon, can discern only the amount of gain
which shall fill their coffers.
The cattle upon a thousand hills, could they but speak, would acknowledge
the care of the Great Shepherd. The birds of the forest sing with sweetest
strains the praise of God. The heavens declare his glory, and the firmament
showeth his handiwork. The things of nature—earth itself, teeming with
bounties and blessings—would call the mind away from self to honor and adore
the Lord God, our Creator. And yet men feel no duty to return thanks to the
Giver of all good. They appropriate the gifts of providence, and then too
often hold themselves aloof from their fellow-men, as though worldly
possessions had given them special importance. They will yet learn that it
is goodness of heart, integrity of character, not the riches of the world,
which make a man worthy of honor.
God must be worshiped in spirit and in truth. No other worship will he
accept. There is need today of such a revival of true heart-religion as was
experienced by ancient Israel. We need, like them, to bring forth fruit meet
for repentance,—to put away our sins, cleansing the defiled temple of the
heart that Jesus may reign within. There is need of prayer—earnest,
prevailing prayer. Our Saviour has left precious promises for the truly
penitent petitioner. Such shall not seek his face in vain. He has also by
his own example taught us the necessity of prayer. Himself the Majesty of
Heaven, he often spent all night in communion with his Father. If the
world's Redeemer was not too pure, too wise, or too holy to seek help from
God, surely weak, erring mortals have every need of that divine assistance.
With penitence and faith, every true Christian will often seek “the throne
of grace, that he may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Repentance is the first step which must be taken by all who would return to
God. No one can do this work for us. We must individually humble our souls
before God, and put away our idols. When we have done all that we can do,
the Lord will manifest to us his salvation.
And when the light of Heaven dispels our darkness, let us, like Samuel,
evince our gratitude by making a memorial to God. We often lose great
blessings by neglecting to praise the Giver. Let us make melody to him in
our hearts and with our voices. The soul may ascend nearer Heaven, on the
wings of praise. God is worshiped with song and music in the courts above.
And as we thus express our gratitude, we are approximating to the worship of
the heavenly hosts. “Whoso offereth praise, glorifieth God.” Let us with
reverent joy come before our Creator “with thanksgiving and the voice of
melody.”
Read Malachi 4 and Revelation chapters 13 and 14
Friday: Further Thought
Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 311–315.
Chapter 26—“Behold Your God!”
In Isaiah’s day the spiritual understanding of mankind was dark
through misapprehension of God. Long had Satan sought to lead men to
look upon their Creator as the author of sin and suffering and death.
Those whom he had thus deceived, imagined that God was hard and
exacting. They regarded Him as watching to denounce and condemn,
unwilling to receive the sinner so long as there was a legal excuse for
not helping him. The law of love by which heaven is ruled had been
misrepresented by the archdeceiver as a restriction upon men’s
happiness, a burdensome yoke from which they should be glad to escape.
He declared that its precepts could not be obeyed and that the penalties
of transgression were bestowed arbitrarily.
In losing sight of the true character of Jehovah, the Israelites were
without excuse. Often had God revealed Himself to them as one “full of
compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.”
Psalm 86:15. “When Israel was a child,” He testified, “then I loved him, and
called My son out of Egypt.” Hosea 11:1.
Tenderly had the Lord dealt with Israel in their deliverance from Egyptian
bondage and in their journey to the Promised Land. “In all their affliction
He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and
in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them all the
days of old.” Isaiah 63:9.
“My presence shall go with thee,” was the promise given during the journey
through the wilderness. Exodus 33:14. This assurance was accompanied by a
marvelous revelation of Jehovah’s character, which enabled Moses to proclaim
to all Israel the goodness of God, and to instruct them fully concerning the
attributes of their invisible King. “The Lord passed by before him, and
proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering,
and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the
guilty.” Exodus 34:6, 7.
It was upon his knowledge of the long-sufferance of Jehovah and of His
infinite love and mercy, that Moses based his wonderful plea for the life of
Israel when, on the borders of the Promised Land, they refused to advance in
obedience to the command of God. At the height of their rebellion the Lord
had declared, “I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them;”
and He had proposed to make of the descendants of Moses “a greater nation
and mightier than they.” Numbers 14:12. But the prophet pleaded the
marvelous providences and promises of God in behalf of the chosen nation.
And then, as the strongest of all pleas, he urged the love of God for fallen
man. See verses 17-19.
Graciously the Lord responded, “I have pardoned according to thy word.” And
then He imparted to Moses, in the form of a prophecy, a knowledge of His
purpose concerning the final triumph of Israel. “As truly as I live,” He
declared, “all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Verses
20, 21. God’s glory, His character, His merciful kindness and tender
love—that which Moses had pleaded in behalf of Israel—were to be revealed to
all mankind. And this promise of Jehovah was made doubly sure; it was
confirmed by an oath. As surely as God lives and reigns, His glory should be
declared “among the heathen, His wonders among all people.” Psalm 96:3.
It was concerning the future fulfillment of this prophecy that Isaiah had
heard the shining seraphim singing before the throne, “The whole earth is
full of His glory.” Isaiah 6:3. The prophet, confident of the certainty of
these words, himself afterward boldly declared of those who were bowing down
to the images of wood and stone, “They shall see the glory of the Lord, and
the excellency of our God.” Isaiah 35:2.
Today this prophecy is meeting rapid fulfillment. The missionary activities
of the church of God on earth are bearing rich fruitage, and soon the gospel
message will have been proclaimed to all nations. “To the praise of the
glory of His grace,” men and women from every kindred, tongue, and people
are being made “accepted in the Beloved,” “that in the ages to come He might
show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 1:6; 2:7. “Blessed be the Lord God, the God of
Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be His glorious name
forever: and let the whole earth be filled with His glory.” Psalm 72:18, 19.
In the vision that came to Isaiah in the temple court, he was given a clear
view of the character of the God of Israel. “The high and lofty One that
inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy,” had appeared before him in great
majesty; yet the prophet was made to understand the compassionate nature of
his Lord. He who dwells “in the high and holy place” dwells “with him also
that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:15. The angel
commissioned to touch Isaiah’s lips had brought to him the message, “Thine
iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” Isaiah 6:7
In beholding his God, the prophet, like Saul of Tarsus at the gate of
Damascus, had not only been given a view of his own unworthiness; there had
come to his humbled heart the assurance of forgiveness, full and free; and
he had arisen a changed man. He had seen his Lord. He had caught a glimpse
of the loveliness of the divine character. He could testify of the
transformation wrought through beholding Infinite Love. Henceforth he was
inspired with longing desire to see erring Israel set free from the burden
and penalty of sin. “Why should ye be stricken any more?” the prophet
inquired. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool.” “Wash you, make you clean; put away the
evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do
well.” Isaiah 1:5, 18, 16, 17.
The God whom they had been claiming to serve, but whose character they had
misunderstood, was set before them as the great Healer of spiritual disease.
What though the whole head was sick and the whole heart faint? what though
from the sole of the foot even unto the crown of the head there was no
soundness, but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores? See Isaiah 1:6. He
who had been walking frowardly in the way of his heart might find healing by
turning to the Lord. “I have seen his ways,” the Lord declared, “and will
heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him.... Peace,
peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I
will heal him.” Isaiah 57:18, 19.
Isaiah 40:12-31
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,
Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before Him are as nothing,
And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
18 To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter.
21 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He brings the princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24 Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25 “To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:6-8
6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he said, “What shall I cry?”
“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”
Job 19:25-27
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
27 Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!
Daniel 12:2
2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
Some to everlasting life,
Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
1 Corinthians 15:51-57
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and
we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and
this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on
incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought
to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But
thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
The Comfort of Christ’s Coming
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have
fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we
believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him
those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and
remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are
asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with
the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in
Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught
up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we
shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these
words.