This collection brings together the vast majority of Ellen White's writings and sermons that reference Isaiah 58. Ellen White was known for bringing widows and orphans into her home. She was a huge catalyst for medical ministry and urged people to protect runaway slaves. Explore more deeply God's call in Isaiah 58
Isaiah is a phenomenal Bible chapter that emphasizes God's call to care for people who are in desperate needs with physical, emotional, and spiritual care.
Ellen White was one of the pioneers who founded the Seventh-day Adventist church. She was actively involved in living out the compassion of Christ that is expressed in Isaiah 58. She wrote many books and is one of the most translated authors of all times. Isaiah 58 was her favorite place to quote out of the major and minor prophets in the Bible.
Ellen White was known for bringing widows and orphans into her home to provide them with clothing, food, and shelter. She was a huge catalyst for getting medical institutions started andfor promoting lifestyle change for greater health. She spoke out strongly against slavery during the time of the civil war, urging people to protect runaway slaves.
This collection brings together the vast majority of Ellen White's writings and sermons that reference Isaiah 58. Many of them have been placed below close to the specific verses they reference. If you find others, please share them with us by writing to scott@homeforallnations.org.
“The whole chapter is of the highest importance” (Counsels on Health, 520).
“The whole of the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah is to be regarded as a message for this time, to be given over and over again” (Welfare Ministry, 29).
“I have been instructed to refer our people to the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. Read this chapter carefully and understand the kind of ministry that will bring life into the churches. The work of the gospel is to be carried by means of our liberality as well as by our labors. When you meet suffering souls who need help, give it to them. When you find those who are hungry, feed them. In doing this you will be working in lines of Christ’s ministry. The Master’s holy work was a benevolent work. Let our people everywhere be encouraged to have a part in it” (Welfare Ministry, 29).
“I have no fears of workers who are engaged in the work represented in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. This chapter is explicit, and is enough to enlighten anyone who wishes to do the will of God. There is plenty of opportunity for everyone to be a blessing to humanity. The third angel’s message is not to be given a second place in this work, but is to be one with it. There may be, and there is, a danger of burying up the great principles of truth when doing the work that is right to do. This work is to be to the message what the hand is to the body. The spiritual necessities of the soul are to be kept prominent” (Welfare Ministry, 33).
“The fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah is a prescription for maladies of the body and of the soul. If we desire health and the true joy of life we must put into practice the rules given in this scripture” (Ministry of Healing, 256).
“Truth must be presented in regions beyond your immediate work, where the truth is unknown. The work specified in Isaiah 58:9-13 must be done. Sin is not to be cloaked as a matter of little consequence. It is to be presented as guilt against the Son of God, depriving Him of the glory that should be given Him. The exceeding sinfulness of sin is to be held before the people just as it is. Then show them the uplifted Saviour, telling them that immortality comes only through belief in Christ, through receiving Him as a personal Saviour. Immortality is found in Christ alone” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 10, 296).
“The mind must be restrained and not allowed to wander. It should be trained to dwell upon the Scriptures and upon noble, elevating themes. Portions of Scripture, even whole chapters, may be committed to memory to be repeated when Satan comes in with his temptations. The fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah is a profitable one for this purpose. Wall the soul in with the restrictions and instructions given by inspiration of the Spirit of God” (Mind, Character, and Personality, 95).
“The work specified in these words [Isaiah 58] is the work God requires His people to do. It is a work of God’s own appointment. With the work of advocating the commandments of God and repairing the breach that has been made in the law of God, we are to mingle compassion for suffering humanity. We are to show supreme love to God; we are to exalt His memorial, which has been trodden down by unholy feet; and with this we are to manifest mercy, benevolence, and the tenderest pity for the fallen race. ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ As a people we must take hold of this work. Love revealed for suffering humanity gives significance and power to the truth” (Welfare Ministry, 32).
“The character of true obedience to God is brought out in the instruction of the Lord to his people. He says (Isaiah 58:6-10): ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drouth, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be as a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ (Review and Herald, May 8, 1894).
“The piety and advanced spiritual knowledge and growth of a church is proportionate to the zeal, piety, and missionary intelligence that has been brought into it, and carried out of it to be a blessing to the very ones who need our assistance the most. Again I urge you to consider Isaiah 58, which opens a wide and extensive vineyard to be worked upon the lines which the Lord has pointed out. When this is done there will be an increase of moral sources, and the church will no more remain almost stationary” (Ministry to the Cities, 69).
“All who sense their duty to their fellowmen will accept the offer to work in partnership with Jesus Christ, a life of obedience and service. In this way alone can they give the divine credentials to the world. These will entertain a high conception of life. It is not to them a round of worldly pleasure and amusement. This can never satisfy the hungry soul. The truth is noble, elevating, and sacred, and the wisdom and knowledge given us in it is a tree of life to all who will accept it.
In the 58th chapter of Isaiah God has placed before us the service He would have us do for our fellowmen and for Him. He says, [Isaiah 58:6-11 quoted].
Then why not try this kind of service? The Lord calls His yoke easy, and His burden light. Yet that yoke will not give us a life of ease and freedom and selfish indulgence. The life of Christ was one of self-denial and self-sacrifice at every step. And His true follower, with consistent, Christlike tenderness and love, will follow in the footsteps of his Master; and as he advances in this life, he will become inspired with the spirit and life of Christ” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 12, 237-238).
“Christ has shown His great love for us by giving His life that we should not perish in our sins, that He might clothe us with His salvation. If this divine love is cherished in our hearts, it cements and strengthens our union with those of like faith. ‘He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him’ (1 John 4:16). The strengthening of our love for our brethren and sisters strengthens our love for Christ. This principle of love for God and for those for whom Christ died, needs to be quickened by the Holy Spirit and cemented with brotherly kindness, tenderness; it needs to be strengthened by acts which testify that God is love. This union, which joins heart with heart, is not the result of sentimentalism, but the working of a healthful principle. Faith works by love, and purifies the soul from all selfishness. Thus the soul is perfected in love. And having found grace and mercy through Christ’s precious blood, how can we fail to be tender and merciful?....
Faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, the One who pardons our sins and transgressions, the One who is able to keep us from sin and lead us in His footsteps, is set forth in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. Here are presented the fruits of a faith that works by love and purifies the soul from selfishness. Faith and works are here combined” (In Heavenly Places 110).
“The fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah contains present truth for the people of God. Here we see how medical missionary work and the gospel ministry are to be bound together as the message is given to the world. Upon those who keep the Sabbath of the Lord is laid the responsibility of doing a work of mercy and benevolence. Medical missionary work is to be bound up with the message, and sealed with the seal of God” (Evangelism, 516).
“Let the church arise, and repent of her backslidings before God. Let the watchmen awake, and give the trumpet a certain sound. It is a definite warning that we have to proclaim. God commands His servants, ‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins’ (Isaiah 58:1). The attention of the people must be gained; unless this can be done, all effort is useless; though an angel from heaven should come down and speak to them, his words would do no more good than if he were speaking into the cold ear of death.
The church must arouse to action. The Spirit of God can never come in until she prepares the way. There should be earnest searching of heart. There should be united, persevering prayer, and through faith a claiming of the promises of God. There should be, not a clothing of the body with sackcloth, as in ancient times, but a deep humiliation of soul. We have not the first reason for self-congratulation and self-exaltation. We should humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. He will appear to comfort and bless the true seekers.
The work is before us; will we engage in it? We must work fast, we must go steadily forward. We must be preparing for the great day of the Lord. We have no time to lose, no time to be engaged in selfish purposes. The world is to be warned. What are we doing as individuals to bring the light before others? God has left to every man his work; every one has a part to act, and we cannot neglect this work except at the peril of our souls.
O my brethren, will you grieve the Holy Spirit, and cause it to depart? Will you shut out the blessed Saviour, because you are unprepared for His presence? Will you leave souls to perish without the knowledge of the truth, because you love your ease too well to bear the burden that Jesus bore for you? Let us awake out of sleep. ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour’” (Selected Messages, Volume 1, 126).
“This is our work (Isaiah 58). The light that we have upon the third angel’s message is the true light. The mark of the beast is exactly what it has been proclaimed to be. Not all in regard to this matter is yet understood, and will not be understood until the unrolling of the scroll; but a most solemn work is to be accomplished in our world. The Lord’s command to His servants is, ‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.’ Isaiah 58:1. A message that will arouse the churches is to be proclaimed. Every effort is to be made to give the light, not only to our people, but to the world. I have been instructed that the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation should be printed in small books, with the necessary explanations, and should be sent all over the world. Our own people need to have the light placed before them in clearer lines” (Counsels on Health 520).
“God says to His servants, ‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.’ But when the plain, straight testimony comes from lips under the moving of the Spirit of God, there are many who treat it with disdain” (Testimonies to Ministers 89).
“The Lord expects us to make most diligent efforts to free ourselves of the worldly spirit that has come in among us.... The Lord calls for a reformation. In every place where believers have adopted worldly principles, He desires a voice of warning to be raised. ‘Cry aloud,’ He says, ‘spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins’ (Isaiah 58:1)....
From many minds a realization of the times in which we are living is as far away as is heaven from the earth. It seems that their duty to prepare to meet a soon-coming Saviour is entirely forgotten. God wants us to come to our senses. He wants us to act like rational beings, who are living on the borders of the eternal world.
Remember that in preparing yourselves for the heavenly kingdom, you are preparing others. The Scriptures say, “Make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way….’
So long as we work in Christ’s lines, laying hold of the arm of the Mighty One, we are safe; but just as soon as we loosen our grasp of His arm, and begin to depend upon human beings, we are in great danger.
This very day the Lord desires us to reach a higher standard than we have ever reached in the past. Day by day we are to advance upward, ever upward, until it can be said of us as a people, ‘Ye are complete in him’” (The Upward Look, 202).
“‘He went into the synagogue and spake boldly for the space of three months.’ The apostles always gave the Jews the first opportunity of hearing the doctrine concerning Christ. Speaking three months boldly in the synagogue certainly effected his purpose. And in this the churches of this day might learn a lesson. Objection is made against those who preach the advent near, and the special message of warning which is to precede the advent, that they seek to proselyte members of the churches, instead of endeavoring to convert sinners. The charge is unjust, they preach to all classes. But if they have a neglected duty or a rejected truth to proclaim, it is certainly right to present it to the professed servants of God, that they may have the light they need. The word of the Lord says: ‘Cry aloud, spare not; lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins.’ Isaiah 58:1. It is no excuse for the neglect of this order that they seek the Lord daily, and delight to know his way, and take delight in calling upon him. See verse 2. No matter how zealous they may be in worship, if they are indulging in sin they must be warned. The Saviour confirmed the words of the prophet, that they worship in vain who teach for doctrine the commandments of men and made void the commandments of God through their traditions. Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:1-9” (Signs of the Times, October 4, 1883).
“In the day of judgment those who have refused the light and have led others to honor the false sabbath will see the course Satan has pursued in causing men to transgress the law of God. They will see and fully comprehend the virtue of God’s sign....
God’s people have a serious, solemn work to do. He bids them, ‘Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins’ (Isaiah 58:1)” (The Upward Look, 140).
“The third angel’s message is to be given with power. The power of the proclamation of the first and second messages is to be intensified in the third. In the Revelation John says of the heavenly messenger who unites with the third angel: ‘I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with His glory. And He cried mightily with a strong voice’ (Revelation 18:1, 2). We are in danger of giving the third angel’s message in so indefinite a manner that it does not impress the people. So many other interests are brought in that the very message which should be proclaimed with power becomes tame and voiceless. At our camp meetings a mistake has been made. The Sabbath question has been touched upon, but has not been presented as the great test for this time. While the churches profess to believe in Christ, they are violating the law which Christ Himself proclaimed from Sinai. The Lord bids us: ‘Show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins’ (Isaiah 58:1). The trumpet is to give a certain sound....
Our message is a life-and-death message, and we must let it appear as it is, the great power of God. We are to present it in all its telling force. Then the Lord will make it effectual....
The perils of the last days are upon us, and in our work we are to warn the people of the danger they are in. Let not the solemn scenes which prophecy has revealed be left untouched. If our people were half awake, if they realized the nearness of the events portrayed in the Revelation, a reformation would be wrought in our churches, and many more would believe the message. We have no time to lose; God calls upon us to watch for souls as they that must give an account. Advance new principles, and crowd in the clear-cut truth. It will be as a sword cutting both ways. But be not too ready to take a controversial attitude. There will be times when we must stand still and see the salvation of God. Let Daniel speak, let the Revelation speak, and tell what is truth. But whatever phase of the subject is presented, uplift Jesus as the center of all hope, ‘the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright and morning Star’ (Revelation 22:16)” (Testimonies for the Church, Volume 6, 60-62).
“It is true that we are commanded to ‘cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.’ Isaiah 58:1. This message must be given, but while it must be given, we should be careful not to thrust and crowd and condemn those who have not the light that we have. We should not go out of our way to make hard thrusts at the Catholics. Among the Catholics there are many who are most conscientious Christians, and who walk in all the light that shines upon them, and God will work in their behalf. Those who have had great privileges and opportunities, and who have failed to improve their physical, mental, and moral powers, but who have lived to please themselves, and have refused to bear their responsibility, are in greater danger and in greater condemnation before God than those who are in error upon doctrinal points, yet who seek to live to do good to others. Do not censure others; do not condemn them” (Counsels to Writers and Editors, 63).
God’s encouraging message of mercy should be proclaimed in the cities of America. Men and women living in these cities are rapidly becoming more and still more entangled in their business relations. They are acting wildly in the erection of buildings whose towers reach high into the heavens. Their minds are filled with schemes and ambitious devisings. God is bidding every one of His ministering servants: Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Isaiah 58:1.
Let us thank the Lord that there are a few laborers doing everything possible to raise up some memorials for God in our neglected cities. Let us remember that it is our duty to give these workers encouragement. God is displeased with the lack of appreciation and support shown our faithful workers in our large cities by His people in our own land. The work in the home field is a vital problem just now. The present time is the most favorable opportunity that we shall have to work these fields. In a little while the situation will be much more difficult” (Testimonies, Volume 8, 31-32).
“Satan and his angels are combined against the people of God; but Jesus is seeking to purify them unto Himself. He requires them to advance His work. God has deposited with His people in this world enough to carry forward His work without embarrassment, and it is His plan that the means which He has entrusted to them be used judiciously. ‘Sell that ye have, and give alms,’ (Luke 12:33) is a part of God’s Sacred Word. The servants of God must arise, cry aloud, and spare not, ‘show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.’ Isaiah 58:1. The work of God is to become more extensive, and if His people follow His counsel, there will not be much means in their possession to be consumed in the final conflagration. All will have laid up their treasure where moth and rust cannot corrupt; and the heart will not have a cord to bind it to earth” (Testimony Treasures, Volume 1, 67).
“Darkness covers the earth, and it is time for God’s servants to ‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins.’ Isaiah 58:1. Where is a voice of alarm to be heard? The Christian world needs to be aroused, that they may stand. The ladder must be climbed. Jacob saw that it reached from earth to heaven. When at Bethel, while fleeing from the wrong he had committed, as he was lying in his lonely condition, God had pity and compassion upon him and revealed Himself to him. There was presented before him the plan of salvation. Angels were seen ascending and descending from heaven, and Jacob was permitted to see the court of heaven, and there he saw that the light was permitted to shine from heaven to the inhabitants of the earth.
Christ is the ladder. All our blessings come from Him. May God help us to work upon the plan of addition and He will multiply grace to us as we need. There is an abundance of light in heaven and our heavenly Father wants us to have confidence in Him. It grieves Him for us to doubt His promises.
But as it was in the days of Noah so shall it be at the coming of Christ. As men resist the Spirit of God, His Spirit will be less and less manifested in the earth. It will be a fearful time when the angels fold their wings and cease their watchcare over those who have resisted the Spirit of God. It will then be too late for wrongs to be righted. There will be no more prayers to prevail in behalf of the rejecters of light. The cities around us are filled with wickedness, and after the message of warning has been given to them no more words of peace will be given. Christ is coming, and God will laugh when their fear cometh. But while probation continues, Christ is ever willing to help us to resist evil. But oh, the iniquity that is in the world! It is high time we put on the whole armor, lest we drift down the current and be swallowed up with the besom of destruction. A record is kept of how we treat the Spirit of God. Our characters are recorded in the books of heaven, as are our faces on photo-plates here. So our character photos are in heaven, and by these records we shall be judged. May God help each one of us to do his whole duty and get ready for what is before us, is my prayer” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 3, 87).
“Let us hear what Christ has to say. ‘Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.’ (Mark 8:34.) To follow in the footsteps of Christ is to practice true godliness. All who are partakers with Christ of his humiliation and self-sacrifice will be constantly learning how to lay upon the foundation stone gold, silver, precious stones, not the material represented as wood, hay, and stubble, which will perish in the fire of the last days. We want true sanctification, true wholeness to God. We would not encourage the soaring element in the make up of character, but we would encourage true solidity. What is the chaff to the wheat? The world is not to be saved through the divine songs and melodies of even the angelic host in heaven. These angels have their appointed work to do on earth. They find a world in gross darkness as to what constitutes sin, which is the transgression of the law of God. Darkness, vice, deception, prevarication, dishonesty, exist among those who profess godliness. And there is a call made, ‘Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, ... as a nation that did righteousness and forsook not the ordinance of their God.’ (Isaiah 58:1.)
What have God’s people to learn? ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God.” (1 Peter 5:6.) ‘Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double minded.’ (James 4:8.) There is work, solid work, to be done for every soul that shall stand in the great day of the Lord. ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.’ (2 Corinthians 5:17.)” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 8, 13).
“Misunderstanding, misapplication of the truth will alienate the hearts of those who have been brethren. But this would not be if self and self-esteem, if customs and traditions, were not disturbed by the message of truth. Patience, moderation, self-control, and carefulness of speech should ever be cultivated and manifested. But while we show these commendable traits of character, for Christ’s sake let us cry aloud and spare not. Says the Word of God, ‘Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sin’ (Isaiah 58:1)” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 11, 293).
“I am weighed down by the thought that our people do not realize the responsibility resting on them to proclaim the truth in the unwarned cities of America. God says to them, ‘Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee’ (Isaiah 60:1). Why are such cities as New York left unwarned? Do not those who know the truth understand the commission of Christ? Why then do they feel no burden to add new territory to the Lord’s kingdom, to plant the standard of truth in new places? Why do they not obey the word: ‘Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not’ (Luke 12:33). Why do they not return to the Lord His own, to be invested in heavenly merchandise? Why do not our people wake up to the peril threatening the men and women in the cities of America? Why are not our churches aroused, and why is there not an earnest call made for volunteers to enter the whitening harvest field? When I bear my testimony in person, I want to bear it where it will be appreciated, where it will be heeded, where I shall not be afflicted by those who are so spiritually backslidden that they make no effort to proclaim the truth for this time.
We have no time to dwell on matters that are of no importance. Our time should be given to proclaiming the last message of mercy to a guilty world. Men are needed who move under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, men who will obey the words, ‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins’ (Isaiah 58:1).
The sermons preached by some of our ministers will have to be much more appropriate, and much more to the point than they are now, else many backsliders will carry a tame, pointless message that lulls people to sleep. Every discourse given should be given under a sense of the awful judgment soon to fall on our world. The message of truth is to be proclaimed by lips touched with a live coal from the divine altar. Christ refers to the lifeless, purposeless messages given in our churches, when He says, ‘I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: [Revelation 3:15-18 quoted]” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 10, 220-221).
“(Isaiah 58:1). This message must be given; but while it must be given, we should be careful not to thrust and crowd and condemn those who have not the light that we have....Those who have had great privileges and opportunities, and who have failed to improve their physical, mental, and moral powers, but who have lived to please themselves and have refused to bear their responsibility, are in greater danger and in greater condemnation before God than those who are in error upon doctrinal points, yet who seek to live to do good to others. Do not censure others; do not condemn them.
If we allow selfish considerations, false reasoning, and false excuses to bring us into a perverse state of mind and heart, so that we shall not know the ways and will of God, we shall be far more guilty than the open sinner. We need to be very cautious in order that we may not condemn those who, before God, are less guilty than ourselves.
Let everyone bear in mind that we are in no case to invite persecution. We are not to use harsh and cutting words. Keep them out of every article written, drop them out of every address given. Let the Word of God do the cutting, the rebuking; let finite men and women hide and abide in Jesus Christ. Let the spirit of Christ appear. Let all be guarded in their words, lest they place those not of our faith in deadly opposition against us and give Satan an opportunity to use the unadvised words to hedge up our way.
There is to be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. Our work is to study to weed out of all our discourses everything that savors of retaliation and defiance and making a drive against churches and individuals, because this is not Christ’s way and method.
The fact that God’s people, who know the truth, have failed to do their duty according to the light given in the Word of God makes it a necessity for us to be the more guarded, lest we offend unbelievers before they have heard the reasons for our faith in regard to the Sabbath and Sunday” (To Be Like Jesus, 265).
“God has intrusted you with talents of means, to use in the advancement of his cause, to bless the needy, and to relieve the destitute. You can do a far greater amount of good with your means, than you can do in preaching while you retain your means. Have you put your talents of means to the exchangers, that when the Master comes, and shall say, ‘Give an account of thy stewardship,’ you can, without confusion, present to him the talents doubled, both principal and interest, because you have not hoarded them, have not buried them selfishly in the earth, but have put them to use? Look over the history of your past life. How many have you blessed with your means? How many hearts have you made grateful by your liberalities? Please read the 58th chapter of Isaiah. Have you loosed the bands of wickedness? Have you sought to undo the heavy burdens? And to let the oppressed go free? And to break every yoke? Have you dealt your bread to the hungry? And brought the poor that were cast out to your house? Have you covered the naked? If you have been rich in these good works, you may claim the promises given in this chapter: ‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee: the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer. Thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.’ ‘And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday. And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones, and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not.’ But you are not now entitled to these promised blessings. You have not been engaged in this work. Look back at your past life, and consider how destitute is your life of good, noble, generous actions. You have served self faithfully. You have talked the truth; but you have not lived it. Your life has not been elevated and sanctified. Selfishness and stinginess have characterized your life. And it is now high time you were changing your course, and working diligently to secure the heavenly treasure.
You have lost much that you can never regain. Opportunities for doing good you have not improved, and your unfaithfulness has been entered upon the books of Heaven. The life of Christ was characterized by self-denial, self-sacrifice, and disinterested benevolence. Your ideas are altogether too meager. You do not view the preparation necessary for the kingdom of God as it is. Talk is cheap stuff; it does not cost much. Works, fruits, will determine the character of the tree. What fruits have you borne? The apostle James exhorts his brethren, ‘What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?’ Your good wishes, my brother, will not supply the need. Works must testify to the sincerity of your sympathy and love. How many times have you carried the above representation out to the letter.
You have a very good estimate of yourself; but you have a work to do that no other man can do for you. Your nature must be changed, and there must be a transformation of the entire being. You love the truth in word, but not in deed. You love the Lord a little, but your riches more. Would the Master say to you, if he should find you as you are at the present time, Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord? What joy is here referred to? ‘Who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ The joy that was set before Jesus, was that of seeing souls redeemed by the sacrifice of his glory, his honor, his riches, and his own life. The salvation of man was his joy When all the redeemed shall be gathered into the kingdom of God, he will see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied.
Those who are co-workers with Christ, partakers with him of his self-denial and his sacrifice, may be instrumental in bringing men and women to Christ, and seeing them saved, eternally saved, to praise God, and the Lamb who hath redeemed them” (Testimony for the Church, 20, 159-163).
“As believers in Christ we need greater faith. We need to be more fervent in prayer. Many wonder why their prayers are so lifeless, their faith so feeble and wavering, their Christian experience so dark and uncertain. ‘Have we not fasted,’ they say, ‘and walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?’ In the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah Christ has shown how this condition of things may be changed. He says: ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?’ Verses 6, 7. This is the recipe that Christ has prescribed for the faint-hearted, doubting, trembling soul. Let the sorrowful ones, who walk mournfully before the Lord, arise and help someone who needs help” (A Call to Medical Evangelism and Health Education, 25).
“A people are here addressed who make high profession, who are in the habit of praying, and who delight in religious exercises; yet there is a lack. They realize that their prayers are not answered; their zealous, earnest efforts are not observed in heaven, and they earnestly inquire why the Lord makes them no returns. It is not because there is any neglect on the part of God. The difficulty is with the people. While professing godliness, they do not bear fruit to the glory of God; their works are not what they should be. They are living in neglect of positive duties. Unless these are performed, God cannot answer their prayers according to His glory” (Testimony Treasures, Volume 1, 213).
“The first part of [Isaiah 58] brings to view a people who apparently delight in the service of God; they seek Him daily, “as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God.” Yet their lives are not right before the Lord; for He commands His prophet, ‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins….’
This prophecy reaches down the centuries to the time when the man of sin attempted to make void one of the precepts of God’s law, to trample under foot the original Sabbath of Jehovah, and in its stead exalt one of his own creation. And when the Christian world set aside God’s holy Sabbath, and in its place accept a common working day, unsanctioned by a single ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ they are encouraging infidelity, and virtually acknowledging the supremacy of that power by whose authority alone the change has been effected. The rejection of the Sabbath has led to the rejection of the whole law, and thousands of professed Christians now boldly declare it void” (To Be Like Jesus, 151).
“In such cases of affliction, where Satan has control of the mind, before engaging in prayer there should be the closest self-examination to discover if there are not sins which need to be repented of, confessed, and forsaken. Deep humility of soul before God is necessary, and firm, humble reliance upon the merits of the blood of Christ alone. Fasting and prayer will accomplish nothing while the heart is estranged from God by a wrong course of action. Read Isaiah 58:6, 7, 9-11.
It is heart work that the Lord requires, good works springing from a heart filled with love. All should carefully and prayerfully…investigate their motives and actions. The promise of God to us is on condition of obedience, compliance with all His requirements. Read Isaiah 58:1-3” (Counsels on Health, 377).
“Your strong spirit, your loud, contemptuous speeches are out of harmony with Christ and His ways. O, had you made your voice to be heard on high, God has seen you smiting with the fist of wickedness. You must bear the divine credentials before you make decided movements to shape the working of God’s cause. As surely as we believe in Christ, and do His will, not exalting self but walking in all humility of mind, so surely will the Lord be with us. But He despises your fierce spirit; He is grieved with the hardness of your heart. Pray that He will give you a heart of flesh, a heart that can feel the sorrows of others, that can be touched with human woe. Pray that He will give you a heart that will not permit you to turn a deaf ear to the widow or the fatherless. Pray that you may have bowels of mercy for the poor, the infirm, and the oppressed. Pray that you may love justice and hate robbery and make no difference in the bestowal of your favors, except to consider the cases of the needy and the unfortunate. Then the promises recorded in (Isaiah 58) will be fulfilled to you, ‘If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not.’” (Letter 92, 1891).
“As this war was shown to me, it looked like the most singular and uncertain that has ever occurred. A great share of the volunteers enlisted fully believing that the result of the war would be to abolish slavery. Others enlisted intending to be very careful to keep slavery just as it is, but to put down the rebellion and preserve the Union. And then to make the matter still more perplexing and uncertain, some of the officers in command are strong proslavery men whose sympathies are all with the South, yet who are opposed to a separate government. It seems impossible to have the war conducted successfully, for many in our own ranks are continually working to favor the South, and our armies have been repulsed and unmercifully slaughtered on account of the management of these proslavery men. Some of our leading men in Congress also are constantly working to favor the South. In this state of things, proclamations are issued for national fasts, for prayer that God will bring this war to a speedy and favorable termination. I was then directed to Isaiah 58:5-7: ‘Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?’
I saw that these national fasts were an insult to Jehovah. He accepts of no such fasts. The recording angel writes in regard to them: ‘Ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness.’ I was shown how our leading men have treated the poor slaves who have come to them for protection. Angels have recorded it. Instead of breaking their yoke and letting the oppressed go free, these men have made the yoke more galling for them than when in the service of their tyrannical masters. Love of liberty leads the poor slaves to leave their masters and risk their lives to obtain liberty. They would never venture to leave their masters and expose themselves to the difficulties and horrors attending their recapture if they had not as strong a love for liberty as any of us. The escaped slaves have endured untold hardships and dangers to obtain their freedom, and as their last hope, with the love of liberty burning in their breasts, they apply to our Government for protection; but their confidence has been treated with the utmost contempt. Many of them have been cruelly treated because they committed so great a crime as to dare to make an effort to obtain their freedom. Great men, professing to have human hearts, have seen the slaves almost naked and starving, and have abused them, and sent them back to their cruel masters and hopeless bondage, to suffer inhuman cruelty for daring to seek their liberty. Some of this wretched class they thrust into unwholesome dungeons, to live or die, they cared not which. They have deprived them of the liberty and free air which heaven has never denied them, and then left them to suffer for food and clothing. In view of all this, a national fast is proclaimed! Oh, what an insult to Jehovah! The Lord saith by the mouth of Isaiah: ‘Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God.’
The escaped slaves have been told by their masters that the Northern men wanted to get possession of them that they might cruelly misuse them; that the abolitionists would treat them worse than they had been treated while in slavery. All manner of horrible stories have been repeated in their ears to make them detest the North, and yet they have had a confused idea that some hearts in the North felt for their grievances and would yet make an effort to help them. This has been the only star which has shed its glimmering light upon their distressed and gloomy bondage. The manner in which the poor slaves have been treated has led them to believe that their masters have told them the truth in these things. And yet a national fast is proclaimed! Saith the Lord: ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?’ When our nation observes the fast which God has chosen, then will He accept their prayers as far as the war is concerned; but now they enter not into His ear. He turns from them, they are disgusting to Him. It is so managed that those who would undo the heavy burdens and break every yoke are placed under censure, or removed from responsible stations, or their lives are planned away by those who ‘fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness’” (Testimonies, Volume 1, 256-258).
“The true fast is no mere formal service. The Scripture describes the fast that God has chosen,—'to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke;’ to ‘draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul.’ Isaiah 58:6, 10. Here is set forth the very spirit and character of the work of Christ. His whole life was a sacrifice of Himself for the saving of the world. Whether fasting in the wilderness of temptation or eating with the publicans at Matthew’s feast, He was giving His life for the redemption of the lost. Not in idle mourning, in mere bodily humiliation and multitudinous sacrifices, is the true spirit of devotion manifested, but it is shown in the surrender of self in willing service to God and man” (The Desires of Ages, 278).
“I wish I could impress on every mind the grievous sinfulness of wasting the Lord’s money on fancied wants. The expenditure of sums that look small, may start a train of circumstances that will reach into eternity. When the Judgment shall sit, and the books are opened, the losing side will be presented to your view—the good that you might have done with the accumulated mites and the larger sums that were used for wholly selfish purposes. And what will it reveal?—Just that deficiency in the bank of heaven,—robbery toward God, some destitute bodies not clothed, some poor souls praying for light and knowledge robbed of the bread of life. Your money went to gratify perverted appetite, or to indulge vanity. O, what shame and grief will come to your souls as you see how much you have lost! Look about you, and see if there is not a work which the Lord has given you. The Isaiah 58:1 presents before you a work that has been neglected.
There are many professors of religion in our world, but few who follow Jesus with pure and holy purposes. The Bible means just what it says. The blessings are distinctly apportioned to those who are Christ-like, whose hearts are touched with human woe, and who realize that they are trading with their Lord’s money. Such will not feel at liberty to use the money in their hands for purchasing unnecessary articles to please their vanity, to gratify pride and love of display; but they will look at it as the Lord’s. There is a place for every penny that you do not actually need for comfortable food and clothing. The empty treasury in different States calls out against every needless expenditure. If you have money, do not spend it for extra ribbons or trimmings or articles of adornment, but let the rivulets flow into the treasury of God, to be registered to your account in the books of heaven. To fashion the garments after the world’s standard, requires much more means than to make them after the divine directions given in the word of God” (Review and Herald, August 11, 1891).
“The question of adopting a child, especially an infant, involves most serious responsibilities. It should not be lightly regarded. One who has herself taken a baby to bring up, may feel that unless other ministers’ wives shall follow her example, they are remiss in their duty. But this is an error. Our duty is not decided by what others may plan for us. The question for each to settle is, In doing this, shall I be merely gratifying my own wishes, or is it a duty the Lord has appointed for me? Is this His way, or a way of my own choosing? All are to be workers for God. Not one is excused. Your talents are not your own, to employ as you shall fancy. Inquire, What would the Lord have me do with His entrusted talents? Shall I labor for the saving of many souls? Shall I follow the directions of Isaiah 58:6-11?
There are deep, earnest lessons for us to learn, else self will be our center, the controlling power of our lives. The duty of the present is vigilant working, and earnest, watchful waiting in view of the solemn event of our Lord’s second appearing. Working, watching, praying—these constitute the ideal of Christian duty and responsibility, making the perfect man in Christ Jesus. Our life is not to be all waiting, not all bustle and activity and excitement, to the neglect of personal piety. The door of the heart must be always open to Jesus, that we may always hear His voice of invitation, ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.’ We are to be ‘not slothful in business [but] fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.’
There is always a danger of taking upon ourselves a work that the Lord has not placed in our hands, and neglecting that which He has given us to do and which would better honor His name. That which to human eyes may appear praiseworthy may not be the very thing God has chosen for us to do. Then let us individually consider the many branches of the work. There are various kinds of missionary work to do. Consider prayerfully what work would best tell for the advancement of the cause of God. If there is a humble, unselfish heart and contrite spirit in seeking to know the Lord’s will, He will lead each of us in the path where He would have us walk.
Let no one feel condemned because she does not take a child to care for. The Lord may have some greater work for you to do in teaching those who know not God how to do His will. ‘Thus saith the Lord, … Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from His people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep My Sabbaths, and choose the things that please Me, and take hold of My covenant; even unto them will I give in Mine house and within My walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off’ [Isaiah 56:1-5].
I have written these things, that Satan may not allure any of my brother ministers or their companions into positions where they will be prevented from doing the very work that the Lord has assigned to them. We must watch; we must pray; and when God says, Whom shall I send to do this errand for Me? We should be ready to respond, ‘Here am I; send me.’ Serious work is to be done. It has been waiting for unselfish, consecrated workers.
Brethren and sisters, open your hearts to the Holy Spirit of God, and devote your God given capabilities to working as for your lives to pull souls out of the fire. Keep in the channel of light, for there is to be more direct communication from heaven to earth. We have not a moment to lose. There is a heaven to win and a hell to shun. 14MR 310.2
I call upon my brethren to come to the help of the Lord against the mighty. I call upon my sisters to stand by their side and help them in the work. ‘Ye are not your own: for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.’ (Manuscript Releases, Volume 14, 310).
“But few have a true sense of what is comprised in the word Christian. It is to be Christlike, to do others good, to be divested of all selfishness, and to have our lives marked with acts of disinterested benevolence. Our Redeemer throws souls into the arms of the church, for them to care for unselfishly and train for heaven, and thus be co-workers with Him. But the church too often thrusts them away, upon the devil’s battlefield. One member will say, ‘It is not my duty,’ and then bring up some trifling excuse. ‘Well, says another, ‘neither is it my duty;’ and finally it is nobody’s duty, and the soul is left uncared for to perish. It is the duty of every Christian to engage in this self-denying, self-sacrificing enterprise. Cannot God return into their granaries and increase their flocks, so that instead of loss there shall be increase? ‘There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.’
But every man’s work is to be tested, and brought into judgment, and he be rewarded as his works have been. ‘Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty.’ ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?’ Read the next verse, and notice the rich reward promised to those who do this. ‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.’ Here is an abundantly precious promise for all who will interest themselves in the cases of those who need help. How can God come in and bless and prosper those who have no special care for anyone except themselves, and who do not use that which He has entrusted to them, to glorify His name on the earth?
Sister Hannah More is dead, and died a martyr to the selfishness of a people who profess to be seeking for glory, honor, immortality, and eternal life. Exiled from believers during the past cold winter, this self-sacrificing missionary died because no heart was bountiful enough to receive her. I blame no one. I am not judge. But when the Judge of all the earth shall make investigation, somebody will be found to blame. We are all narrowed up and consumed in our own selfishness. May God tear away this cursed covering and give us bowels of mercy, hearts of flesh, tenderness and compassion, is my prayer, offered from an oppressed, anguished soul. I am sure that a work must be done for us or we shall be found wanting in the day of God” (Testimonies, Volume 2, 331-332).
“After relating the parable, Christ said, ‘The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.’ That is, worldly-wise men display more wisdom and earnestness in serving themselves than do the professed children of God in their service to Him. So it was in Christ’s day. So it is now. Look at the life of many who claim to be Christians. The Lord has endowed them with capabilities, and power, and influence; He has entrusted them with money, that they may be co-workers with Him in the great redemption. All His gifts are to be used in blessing humanity, in relieving the suffering and the needy. We are to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to care for the widow and the fatherless, to minister to the distressed and downtrodden. God never meant that the widespread misery in the world should exist. He never meant that one man should have an abundance of the luxuries of life, while the children of others should cry for bread. The means over and above the actual necessities of life are entrusted to man to do good, to bless humanity. The Lord says, ‘Sell that ye have, and give alms.’ Luke 12:33. Be ‘ready to distribute, willing to communicate.’ 1 Timothy 6:18. ‘When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.” Luke 14:13. ‘Loose the bands of wickedness,’ ‘undo the heavy burdens,’ ‘let the oppressed go free,’ ‘break every yoke.’ ‘Deal thy bread to the hungry,’ ‘bring the poor that are cast out to thy house.’ ‘When thou seest the naked, … cover him.’ ‘Satisfy the afflicted soul.’ Isaiah 58:6, 7, 10. ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’ Mark 16:15. These are the Lord’s commands. Are the great body of professed Christians doing this work?
Alas, how many are appropriating to themselves the gifts of God! How many are adding house to house and land to land. How many are spending their money for pleasure, for the gratification of appetite, for extravagant houses, furniture, and dress. Their fellow beings are left to misery and crime, to disease and death. Multitudes are perishing without one pitying look, one word or deed of sympathy” (Christ’s Object Lessons 370-371).
“‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?’ How are we to do it though? It is to present the obedience to Jesus Christ. And when we present the perfection that there is in His requirements, in His commandments, in His law, we are presenting that which will loose the bands of wickedness, and in the place of making men fast, in the place of shackling them with sin, it will loose the bands of wickedness, and those that are oppressed by the enemy. Who is the enemy? Who is observing us on the right and on the left? It is the one who rebelled against the law of God in heaven. It is the one that fell because of his disloyalty, and when we work in his lines we are fastening the shackles of oppression. ‘His servants ye are to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey.’ If it is Christ you obey you are free, because He came to make us free. If we are on Christ's side we stand under the blood-stained banner of Jesus Christ. The blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel testifies that we are free, made free in Jesus Christ, because He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for all who shall believe on His name. That is the freedom that we want.
‘To let the oppressed go free.’ What can we say to them? We can show them that obedience to the requirements of Jesus Christ is freedom, liberty, and salvation. It is indeed the perfection of Jesus Christ revealed in our world in His character" ( Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, 39).
‘And that ye break every yoke.’ We do not want to be bound any more, no matter who it is, or what it is. There is our God whom we must serve. A God who requires our service. Nothing must come in between that God and our souls, because our souls are of infinite value, and we cannot hang them on the ministers. We cannot trust our salvation to them. We must search the Scriptures for ourselves and know what they teach. We must obey what God says” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, 39).
“In this scripture the work we are to do is clearly defined as being medical missionary work. This work is to be done in all places. God has a vineyard; and He desires that this vineyard shall be worked unselfishly. No parts are to be neglected. The most neglected portion needs the most wide-awake missionaries to do the work which, through Isaiah, the Holy Spirit has portrayed:
‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?’ ‘If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.’ Isaiah 58:6, 10-12” (Testimonies, Volume 8, 218).
“In the experience of God’s people there have been yokes … that God never ordained, yokes that have greatly marred the experience and have offended the Lord God of Israel. Because a man carries responsibilities in the church, he is not given liberty to rule the mind and judgment of others with whom the Lord is working. The Lord wants every soul in His service to understand what is the kind of work required of him….
God has sent the instruction to break every yoke. We are one—one in Christ Jesus. Position does not make the man. Position does not give liberty to exercise power arbitrarily over others. It is counsel that is needed; righteousness in deportment that is to be made manifest with meekness and humbleness of mind, and a spirit to seek the Lord until He is found….
‘Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day’ (Isaiah 58:9, 10). Praise God with heart and voice for this possibility! Praise God that we can bring this promise to the Lord for fulfillment, when we comply with the conditions. When we do not know which way to turn, light direct from God will come to us, if we will follow His directions….
Let us each bring ourselves into submission to the Lord God of Israel. You may have your peculiar way, I may have my peculiar way, and some others their peculiar way; but under God that way will be agreeable. If we are not under the control of God, led by the inspiration of His Spirit, our way will not be agreeable. What we need is to stand in right relation to the great I AM. When we stand in right relation to Him, we can do as Christ has commissioned” (The Upward Look, 56).
“Any neglect on the part of those who claim to be followers of Christ, a failure to relieve the necessities of a brother or sister who is bearing the yoke of poverty and oppression, is registered in the books of heaven as shown to Christ in the person of His saints. What a reckoning the Lord will have with many, very many, who present the words of Christ to others but fail to manifest tender sympathy and regard for a brother in the faith who is less fortunate and successful than themselves” (Welfare Ministry, 210).
“Truth, precious truth, is sanctifying in its influence. The sanctification of the soul by the operation of the Holy Spirit is the implanting of Christ’s nature in humanity. It is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ revealed in character, and the graces of Christ brought into active exercise in good works. Thus the character is transformed more and more perfectly after the image of Christ, in righteousness and true holiness. There are broad requirements in divine truth stretching out interfacing into one line after another of good works. The truths of the gospel are not unconnected; uniting they form one string of heavenly jewels, as in the personal work of Christ, and like threads of gold they run through the whole of Christian work and experience….
Let it be printed on the mind that mercy and the love of God are to be expressed to the children of God. Search heaven and earth, and there is no truth revealed more powerful than that which is manifested in mercy to the very ones who need your sympathy and aid in breaking the yoke, and setting free the oppressed. Here the truth is lived, the truth is obeyed, the truth is taught as it is in Jesus.
There is a great amount of truth professed, but truth practiced in relieving our fellow men is of great influence, reaching unto heaven, and compassing eternity. Every soul in our world is on trial; every man’s experience, the common life history, tells in unmistakable language whether he is a doer of Christ’s words and His works. There is constantly recurring a large array of little things that God alone sees; to act out in these things the principles of truth will bring a precious reward. The great and important things are recognized by nearly all, but the knitting of these things with the supposed smaller things of life and closely connecting them as one, is too rarely done by professed Christians. Religion is too much profession, and too little reality.
Divine truth exercises little influence upon our fellow men, when it should exercise much influence through our practice. Truth, precious truth, is Jesus in the life, a living, acting principle” (This Day With God, 224).
“Christ commits to His followers an individual work—a work that cannot be done by proxy. Ministry to the sick and the poor, the giving of the gospel to the lost, is not to be left to committees or organized charities. Individual responsibility, individual effort, personal sacrifice, is the requirement of the gospel.
‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in,’ is Christ’s command, ‘that my house may be filled’ (Luke 14:23). He brings men into touch with those whom they seek to benefit. ‘Bring the poor that are cast out to thy house,’ He says. ‘When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him’ (Isaiah 58:7). ‘They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover’ (Mark 16:18). Through direct contact, through personal ministry, the blessings of the gospel are to be communicated” (The Ministry of Healing, 146-148).
“This is the special work now before us. All our praying and abstinence from food will avail nothing unless we resolutely lay hold of this work. Sacred obligations are resting upon us. Our duty is plainly stated. The Lord has spoken to us by His prophet. The thoughts of the Lord and His ways are not what blind, selfish mortals believe they are or wish them to be. The Lord looks on the heart. If selfishness dwells there, He knows it. We may seek to conceal our true character from our brethren and sisters, but God knows. Nothing can be hid from Him.
The fast which God can accept is described. It is to deal thy bread to the hungry and to bring the poor which are cast out to thy house. Wait not for them to come to you. The labor rests not on them to hunt you up and entreat of you a home for themselves. You are to search for them and bring them to your house. You are to draw out your soul after them. You are with one hand to reach up and by faith take hold of the mighty arm which brings salvation, while with the other hand of love you reach the oppressed and relieve them. It is impossible for you to fasten upon the arm of God with one hand while the other is employed in ministering to your own pleasure” (Testimonies, Volume 2, 34).
“Christ has bidden us, through the prophet, ‘Deal thy bread to the hungry,’ and ‘satisfy the afflicted soul;’ ‘when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him,’ and ‘bring the poor that are cast out to thy house.’ Isaiah 58:7-10. He has bidden us, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’ Mark 16:15. But how often our hearts sink, and faith fails us, as we see how great is the need, and how small the means in our hands. Like Andrew looking upon the five barley loaves and the two little fishes, we exclaim, ‘What are they among so many?’ Often we hesitate, unwilling to give all that we have, fearing to spend and to be spent for others. But Jesus has bidden us, ‘Give ye them to eat.’ His command is a promise; and behind it is the same power that fed the multitude beside the sea” (The Desire of Ages, 369).
“No one can practice real benevolence without self-denial. Only by a life of simplicity, self-denial, and close economy is it possible for us to accomplish the work appointed us as Christ’s representatives. Pride and worldly ambition must be put out of our hearts. In all our work the principle of unselfishness revealed in Christ’s life is to be carried out. Upon the walls of our homes, the pictures, the furnishings, we are to read, ‘Bring the poor that are cast out to thy house.’ On our wardrobes we are to see written, as with the finger of God, ‘Clothe the naked.’ In the dining room, on the table laden with abundant food, we should see traced, ‘Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry?’ Isaiah 58:7” (Ministry of Healing, 206).
“‘Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor which are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?’ How can you do this? By not living extravagantly yourself. By not using every dollar that you have to make yourself a place in the earth, but honor the Lord God of heaven by showing that you esteem humanity from God’s standpoint. Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, and we are to feel indeed that He has died to purchase humanity, to give us freedom and liberty which can be given only through Him” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, 39).
“Fatherless and motherless children are thrown into the arms of the church, and Christ says to His followers: Take these destitute children, bring them up for Me, and ye shall receive your wages. I have seen much selfishness exhibited in these things. Unless there is some special evidence that they themselves are to be benefited by adopting into their family those who need homes, some turn away and answer: No. They do not seem to know or care whether such are saved or lost. That, they think, is not their business. With Cain they say: ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ They are not willing to be put to inconvenience or to make any sacrifice for the orphans, and they indifferently thrust such ones into the arms of the world, who are sometimes more willing to receive them than are these professed Christians. In the day of God inquiry will be made for those whom Heaven gave them the opportunity of saving. But they wished to be excused, and would not engage in the good work unless they could make it a matter of profit to them. I have been shown that those who refuse these opportunities for doing good will hear from Jesus: ‘As ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.’ Please read Isaiah 58” (The Adventist Home 167).
“We are commanded to ‘do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.’ Galatians 6:10. In our benevolent work special help should be given to those who, through the presentation of the truth, are convicted and converted. We must have a care for those who have the moral courage to accept the truth, who lose their situations in consequence, and are refused work by which to support their families. Provision should be made to aid the worthy poor and to furnish employment for those who love God and keep His commandments. They should not be left without help, to feel that they are forced to work on the Sabbath or starve. Those who take their position on the Lord’s side are to see in Seventh-day Adventists a warmhearted, self-denying, self-sacrificing people, who cheerfully and gladly minister to their brethren in need. It is of this class especially that the Lord speaks when He says: ‘Bring the poor that are cast out to thy house.’ Isaiah 58:7….
Wherever a church is established, its members are to do a faithful work for the needy believers. But they are not to stop here. They are also to aid others, irrespective of their faith. As the result of such effort, some of these will receive special truths for this time” (Testimonies, Volume 6, 85, 270).
“‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in,’ is Christ’s demand, ‘that My house may be filled.’ Luke 14:23. He brings men into touch with those whom they may benefit. ‘Bring the poor that are cast out to thy house,’ He says. ‘When thou seest the naked, … cover him.’ Isaiah 58:7. ‘They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.’ Mark 10:18. Through direct contact, through personal ministry, the blessings of the gospel are to be communicated.
Those who take up their appointed work will not only bless others, but will themselves be blessed. The consciousness of duty well done will have a reflex influence upon their own souls. The despondent will forget their despondency, the weak will become strong, the ignorant intelligent, and all will find an unfailing helper in Him who has called them” (Counsels on Health, 390).
“This is the service that God has chosen—'to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke, … and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh.’ Isaiah 58:6, 7. When you see yourselves as sinners saved only by the love of your heavenly Father, you will have tender pity for others who are suffering in sin. You will no longer meet misery and repentance with jealousy and censure. When the ice of selfishness is melted from your hearts, you will be in sympathy with God, and will share His joy in the saving of the lost” (Christ’s Object Lessons, 210).
“In the parable the father’s remonstrance with the elder son was Heaven’s tender appeal to the Pharisees. ‘All that I have is thine’—not as wages, but as a gift. Like the prodigal, you can receive it only as the unmerited bestowal of the Father’s love.
Self-righteousness not only leads men to misrepresent God, but makes them coldhearted and critical toward their brethren. The elder son, in his selfishness and jealousy, stood ready to watch his brother, to criticize every action, and to accuse him for the least deficiency. He would detect every mistake, and make the most of every wrong act. Thus he would seek to justify his own unforgiving spirit. Many today are doing the same thing. While the soul is making its very first struggles against a flood of temptations, they stand by, stubborn, self-willed, complaining, accusing. They may claim to be children of God, but they are acting out the spirit of Satan. By their attitude toward their brethren, these accusers place themselves where God cannot give them the light of His countenance.
Many are constantly questioning, ‘Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before Him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?’ But ‘He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?’ Micah 6:6-8
This is the service that God has chosen—“to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke, … and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh.’ Isaiah 58:6, 7. When you see yourselves as sinners saved only by the love of your heavenly Father, you will have tender pity for others who are suffering in sin. You will no longer meet misery and repentance with jealousy and censure. When the ice of selfishness is melted from your hearts, you will be in sympathy with God, and will share His joy in the saving of the lost.
It is true that you claim to be a child of God; but if this claim be true, it is ‘thy brother’ that was ‘dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.’ He is bound to you by the closest ties; for God recognizes him as a son. Deny your relationship to him, and you show that you are but a hireling in the household, not a child in the family of God.
Though you will not join in the greeting to the lost, the joy will go on, the restored one will have his place by the Father’s side and in the Father’s work. He that is forgiven much, the same loves much. But you will be in the darkness without. For ‘he that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.’ 1 John 4:8” (Christ’s Object Lessons 209-211).
“‘And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh….’Do just as Jesus did. What did He do? He took a position with the poor.…Go to work right where you are among any people [where] there is work to do. ‘Lift up your eyes,’ says Christ, ‘and look.’ Why? For the fields are ripe and ready for harvest" (Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, 39).
“Now we can see what the Lord delights in their doing.
‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning.’ [Verse 8.] Well, this is what we wanted to know, Where we can find the light? It will break forth as the morning! What is it that will give us the light? By getting out from ourselves and seeing what good we can do for others that are around us. We may feel that it is too great a task upon us, but in doing good to others it reacts back upon us, and if we comfort others with the comfort wherewith we are comforted, the blessing will come back to us. And how? ‘Ye are laborers together with God.’ [1 Corinthians 3:9.]”
(Manuscript 5, 1891).
“The light of the Sun of Righteousness is to shine forth in good works—in words of truth and deeds of holiness.
Christ, the outshining of the Father’s glory, came to the world as its light. He came to represent God to men, and of Him it is written that He was anointed ‘with the Holy Ghost and with power,’ and ‘went about doing good.’ Acts 10:38. In the synagogue at Nazareth He said, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.’ Luke 4:18, 19. This was the work He commissioned His disciples to do. ‘Ye are the light of the world,’ He said. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ Matthew 5:14, 16.
This is the work which the prophet Isaiah describes when he says, ‘Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.’ Isaiah 58:7, 8.
Thus in the night of spiritual darkness God’s glory is to shine forth through His church in lifting up the bowed down and comforting those that mourn.
All around us are heard the wails of a world’s sorrow. On every hand are the needy and distressed. It is ours to aid in relieving and softening life’s hardships and misery
Practical work will have far more effect than mere sermonizing. We are to give food to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and shelter to the homeless. And we are called to do more than this. The wants of the soul, only the love of Christ can satisfy. If Christ is abiding in us, our hearts will be full of divine sympathy. The sealed fountains of earnest, Christlike love will be unsealed.
God calls not only for our gifts for the needy, but for our cheerful countenance, our hopeful words, our kindly handclasp. When Christ healed the sick, He laid His hands upon them. So should we come in close touch with those whom we seek to benefit.
There are many from whom hope has departed. Bring back the sunshine to them. Many have lost their courage. Speak to them words of cheer. Pray for them. There are those who need the bread of life. Read to them from the word of God. Upon many is a soul sickness which no earthly balm can reach nor physician heal. Pray for these souls, bring them to Jesus. Tell them that there is a balm in Gilead and a Physician there” (Christ’s Object Lessons 416-418).
“The fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah is a prescription for maladies of the body and of the soul. If we desire health and the true joy of life we must put into practice the rules given in this scripture. Of the service acceptable to Him, and its blessings, the Lord says: [Isaiah 58:7-11.]
Good deeds are twice a blessing, benefiting both the giver and the receiver of the kindness. The consciousness of right-doing is one of the best medicines for diseased bodies and minds. When the mind is free and happy from a sense of duty well done and the satisfaction of giving happiness to others, the cheering, uplifting influence brings new life to the whole being.
Let the invalid, instead of constantly requiring sympathy, seek to impart it. Let the burden of your own weakness and sorrow and pain be cast upon the compassionate Saviour. Open your heart to His love, and let it flow out to others. Remember that all have trials hard to bear, temptations hard to resist, and you may do something to lighten these burdens. Express gratitude for the blessings you have; show appreciation of the attentions you receive. Keep the heart full of the precious promises of God, that you may bring forth from this treasure, words that will be a comfort and strength to others. This will surround you with an atmosphere that will be helpful and uplifting. Let it be your aim to bless those around you, and you will find ways of being helpful, both to the members of your own family and to others.
If those who are suffering from ill-health would forget self in their interest for others; if they would fulfill the Lord’s command to minister to those more needy than themselves, they would realize the truthfulness of the prophetic promise, ‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily’” (Ministry of Healing, 256-257).
“Please read Isaiah 58, and see what is a sure remedy for poor health. Satan will contrive to bring about many devices to absorb the means which should be devoted to the cause of God at this time. We cannot open new fields in regions beyond, for want of the very means that is used up in various ways, which might be given to destitute missions. God would have you invest in a fund to erect humble houses of worship for those who have newly come to the faith, who cannot possibly command means to do this, on account of their great poverty. Their souls are just as precious as your soul; and could you pass through the experience through which we have passed since coming to this country, you would bind about your supposed wants, and would be ready to help to build humble houses of worship in regions beyond. You would have the satisfaction of denying inclination in thus investing means in the cause of God. Night after night, we have studied the perplexing problem of how we should obtain the means to advance the work of God. It rests with you in America to solve this puzzling question. ‘For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ’” (Review and Herald, August 21, 1894).
“There is none too much self-denial, none too much self-sacrifice, none too much ‘overcoming evil with good.’ If all the inclinations to gratify the taste for frivolous things were firmly resisted, there would be more money to use for God. Shall we not make decided changes in this respect? Shall we not set money flowing in channels where it will glorify God?
When I see families poorly clad, and houses destitute of those things which are necessary for comfort, and then visit the homes where every niche and corner is filled with useless ornaments, I am tired of the sight of my eyes. Let us search the Word and see if there is not some instruction there that will teach us how to relieve the maladies which have become chronic in the spiritual life of many.
(Isaiah 58:6-11 quoted)
The Son of the infinite God came to this earth, and honoured it with His presence. He emptied Himself of His glory, and clothed His divinity with humanity, that humanity might touch humanity, and reveal to fallen man the perfect love of God. Christ did not come to earth to live a life of pleasure, of self-indulgence. He lived not to please Himself. ‘The Son of man,’ He said, ‘is come to save that which was lost.’….
Economize your pennies that you may have pounds with which to help the cause of truth. Keep your tables free from many pictures and ornaments, which are as nothing in comparison with the word of God. Let your holy example lead the sympathies of your friends heavenward” (The Bible Echo, January 14, 1901).
“To practice the principles of love which Christ taught by precept and example, will make the experience of everyone who follows him, like the experience of Christ. Such souls will labor with Christ, seeking to uplift and bless their fellow-men. If we desire healthfulness of soul, a sunny experience, we must put into practice the rules given us in Isaiah 58. When those who are connected with the sacred work of God in all our institutions, shall open the door of their hearts, Jesus will come in; for a long time he has been knocking for an entrance. When he is permitted to enter, the sunshine of his righteousness will pervade the soul; but ‘he that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase.’
Souls are perishing out of Christ. I inquire, Who are earnestly making personal efforts to seek the straying ones? Who will seek to roll back every reproach from the sacred truth of God? The voice of Christ is heard giving the invitation, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ Shall we who claim to know by experience what is the blessing to be obtained in coming to Christ, lead others to Jesus? Shall anyone who professes to love God, and to love the truth, be cold, unsympathetic, and hard-hearted toward those who stumble, toward those who err, and fail to give them a helping hand when they need help? By their neglect of the erring, by their unsympathetic words and indifferent deportment, some show themselves to be of that class that pass by on the other side. Some pour out words of gall and bitterness in censure, in reproach of the erring, and it is like pouring vitriol into an open wound, instead of pouring in the healing oil. O let us be witnesses for Christ, testifying to the power of his grace by representing him in character! We are to work along Christ’s lines, and if we fail to do this, our experience will be marred, and our character will be defective. We are to be continually laboring together with Christ, seeking to turn the darkness of benighted souls into day. By our words, by our actions we are to let Heaven's light shine upon them, and do nothing that will cut off one ray of the light of Christ, ‘which is the Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world’” (Review and Herald, January 15, 1895).
“The sympathy which exists between the mind and the body is very great. When one is affected, the other responds. The condition of the mind has much to do with the health of the physical system. If the mind is free and happy, under a consciousness of rightdoing and a sense of satisfaction in causing happiness to others, it will create a cheerfulness that will react upon the whole system, causing a freer circulation of the blood and a toning up of the entire body. The blessing of God is a healer, and those who are abundant in benefiting others will realize that wondrous blessing in their hearts and lives” (Testimonies, Volume 4, 60).
“Read Isaiah 58, ye who claim to be children of the light. Especially do you read it again and again who have felt so reluctant to inconvenience yourselves by favoring the needy. You whose hearts and houses are too narrow to make a home for the homeless, read it; you who can see orphans and widows oppressed by the iron hand of poverty and bowed down by hardhearted worldlings, read it. Are you afraid that an influence will be introduced into your family that will cost you more labor, read it. Your fears may be groundless, and a blessing may come, known and realized by you every day. But if otherwise, if extra labor is called for, you can draw upon One who has promised: ‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.’ The reason why God’s people are not more spiritually minded and have not more faith, I have been shown, is because they are narrowed up with selfishness. The prophet is addressing Sabbathkeepers, not sinners, not unbelievers, but those who make great pretensions to godliness. It is not the abundance of your meetings that God accepts. It is not the numerous prayers, but the rightdoing, doing the right thing and at the right time. It is to be less self-caring and more benevolent. Our souls must expand. Then God will make them like a watered garden, whose waters fail not” (Welfare Ministry, 28).
“Let us see what comes of not being self-centered, and not taking time to brood over our ailments and afflictions. We will take time to consider that there is somebody in the world besides ourselves, and we will begin to work in Christ’s lines, our spirits will become anointed and His righteousness will go before us. Then if ye do these things ‘thy light shall break forth as the morning, and thy health shall spring forth speedily.” And it is a double health. It is not only bodily health, but spiritual health and power, spiritual sinew and muscle. ‘Thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee: and the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward’—the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He has taken away our sins because we have repented of our transgression of the law of God. Our sin is taken away and in its place the righteousness of God is imputed unto us. Here the vacuum is supplied by blessing of God. That is what supplies the place. ‘Thy righteousness shall go before thee.’ Jesus Christ our righteousness. ‘And the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.’ If the righteousness of God goes before in the path that we travel, we have got a most glorious wake behind us. God’s people are blessed. They stand out distinguished by light and love and power, and the world sees that there is somebody who will work according to the law of God” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, 43).
“During His ministry Jesus devoted more time to healing the sick than to preaching. His miracles testified to the truth of His words, that He came not to destroy but to save. His righteousness went before Him, and the glory of the Lord was His rearward. Wherever He went, the tidings of His mercy preceded Him. Where He had passed, the objects of His compassion were rejoicing in health, and making trial of their new-found powers. Crowds were collecting around them to hear from their lips the works that the Lord had wrought. His voice was the first sound that many had ever heard, His name the first word they had ever spoken, His face the first they had ever looked upon. Why should they not love Jesus, and sound His praise? As He passed through the towns and cities He was like a vital current, diffusing life and joy wherever He went.
The followers of Christ are to labor as He did. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the suffering and afflicted. We are to minister to the despairing, and inspire hope in the hopeless. And to us also the promise will be fulfilled, ‘Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.’ Isaiah 58:8. The love of Christ, manifested in unselfish ministry, will be more effective in reforming the evildoer than will the sword or the court of justice. These are necessary to strike terror to the lawbreaker, but the loving missionary can do more than this. Often the heart will harden under reproof; but it will melt under the love of Christ. The missionary cannot only relieve physical maladies, but he can lead the sinner to the Great Physician, who can cleanse the soul from the leprosy of sin. Through His servants, God designs that the sick, the unfortunate, those possessed of evil spirits, shall hear His voice. Through His human agencies He desires to be a Comforter such as the world knows not” (The Desire of Ages 350).
“Through the prophet Isaiah is given the promise, ‘Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. Isaiah 58:8. It is the righteousness of Christ that goes before us, and this is the glory of the Lord which is to be our rearward. Ye churches of the living God, study this promise, and consider how your lack of faith, of spirituality, of divine power, is hindering the coming of the kingdom of God. If you would go forth to do Christ’s work, angels of God would open the way before you, preparing hearts to receive the gospel. Were every one of you a living missionary, the message for this time would speedily be proclaimed in all countries, to every people and nation and tongue. This is the work that must be done before Christ shall come in power and great glory. I call upon the church to pray earnestly that you may understand your responsibilities. Are you individually laborers together with God? If not, why not? When do you mean to do your heaven-appointed work?” (Testimonies, Volume 6, 438).
“‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens [instead of binding them on], and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?’ (Isaiah 58:5-7).
‘Then [after they do these works of mercy and necessity] shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward’ (Isaiah 58:8).
We are to put into practice the precepts of the law, and thus have righteousness before us; the rearward will be God’s glory. The light of the righteousness of Christ will be our front guard, and the glory of the Lord will be our rearward. Let us thank the Lord for this assurance. Let us constantly stand in a position where the Lord God of heaven can favor us. Let us consider that it is our high privilege to be in connection with God—to be His helping hand.
In God’s great plan for the redemption of a lost race, He has placed Himself under the necessity of using human agencies as His helping hand. He must have a helping hand, in order to reach humanity. He must have the cooperation of those who will be active, quick to see opportunities, quick to discern what must be done for their fellow men.
Christ gave His life for sinful men and women. He desired to rescue the race from a life of transgression to a life of obedience and righteousness; and to those who accept Him as their Redeemer He offers the richest reward that Heaven can bestow—even the inheritance of life eternal” (Selected Messages, Volume 1, 99-100).
“In the example of Moses pleading for the children of Israel, is represented the position that we should take in regard to the people of God, however erring, or weak, or defective they may be. By the mighty cleaver of truth, the Lord has brought out a people from the quarry of the world, as he brought out of Egypt a people to keep his commandments, and at every step he has shown them that he is leading them in paths of truth and righteousness. He has sent his light and his counsels, instructing them to build institutions of learning, to provide sanitariums and publishing houses, and success has attended the carrying out of these plans. The money of the Seventh-day Adventists has not been hoarded in order that they might live delicately, but self-denial and self-sacrifice have marked their history, and still their work is to make progress, and to be aggressive. The world have a light constantly shining upon them, because this people honor God in keeping his commandments. Now can we expect that a message would be true that would designate as Babylon the people for whom God has done so much? Hell would triumph should such a message be received, and the world would be strengthened in iniquity. All the reproaches which Satan has cast upon the character of God, would appear as truth, and the conclusion would be made that God has no chosen or organized church in the world. O, what a triumph would this be to Satan and his confederacy of evil! God does not work in this way. He does just what he said he would do in the 58th chapter of Isaiah:
‘And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’
This morning I will first read a few words from the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah: ‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching God.
‘Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and Thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?’ Here the complaint comes not against themselves, but against God. Listen to the answer: ‘Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labors. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?’ [Isaiah 58:1-5.]
The Lord declares what is the fast that He chooses. ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen?’ He says, ‘to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?’ [Verses 6, 7].
This is the work we are trying to do, and the work we are setting before His people, God’s people, as the work that should be done. Yes, Lord, we can say, We, Thy commandment-keeping people, are trying to do this work as fast as possible.
We are endeavoring to bring the colored people to that place where they shall be self-supporting. The time will come when you will be able to escape many of the evils that will come upon the world, because you have obtained a correct knowledge of how to plant and to build, and how to carry various enterprises. This is why we want this land occupied and cultivated, why we want buildings put up. The students are to learn how to plant, and build, and to sow. As they learn to do this, they will see a work before them which they will be very glad to have a part in. Opportunities will present themselves by which they can make themselves a blessing to those around them.
‘Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?’ It is the privilege of every student and worker upon this school land to know what it is to be moved by the impulse of the Spirit of God.
‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.’ Why this assurance regarding the health? Health is given because you learn to use your muscles as well as your brain powers. It is very important that we tax our physical and mental powers equally. ‘Thy righteousness shall go before thee,’ the Lord continues, ‘and the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.’ How will our righteousness go before us? It will be revealed in righteous words, in righteous actions, in our useful employments. This work is given to the colored people as surely as it is given to the white people. According to their opportunities they are to work out faithfully the problems that God presents to them. When we do the work that God requires of us, the blessings He has promised will attend us.
If we will do justice, if we will exalt the truth, the Lord Himself will be our Keeper and our Preserver, enabling us to do His will. God takes care of those who are looked down upon by their fellow men. It is because He regards the needs of those who are despised and rejected that we have this school farm where you can receive a preparation for labor right here in the South. It is His desire that those who receive a training here shall go forth to labor, to lift up the oppressed, to strengthen the weak hands, that through your efforts men and women may learn to honor and glorify God. The teaching of this fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah means just this to you” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 2, 82-84).
“The Christian physician is not to exercise his skill solely in studying the disease and its treatment, but he is in the highest sense a missionary. In the sight of all heaven he is to work for Christ, who has bought him with an infinite price. Let no base, groveling thoughts be entertained, but let your conversation be holy; be ready to speak a word in season. Speak of the value of the soul and of its perils out of Christ. Sow the seeds of truth, and the Lord Jesus will keep your mind and heart; His righteousness will go before you; heavenly angels will minister unto you. The glory of the Lord will be your rereward. [See Isaiah 58:8]” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 20, 386).
“The Lord would have every man have a true, living experience that the representation may be of that character as is brought before us in 1 Corinthians 4:1-3: ‘Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.’ Can we say with Paul, ‘It is a very small thing’? [Verses 4-9, quoted.]
Here the deficiencies are apparent before angels and men. This whole chapter contains strong truths to be communicated. How important that every soul shall have His righteousness going before him; then will the glory of God be his rearward (Isaiah 58:8). The most splendid workmanship is God’s building in human character. The most splendid building art can produce is liable to come to naught. [1 Corinthians 1:1-10, quoted.]
If this is not a possible thing to do, then these words would not be written. This whole chapter may be read and most earnestly taken into the life practice, and so answer the prayer of Christ in John 17. [1 Corinthians 3:9-13, quoted.]” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 20, 324-325).
“With His eye upon the church, the Lord has again and again allowed matters to come to a crisis, that in their extremity His people should look alone for His help. Their prayers, their faith, together with their steadfast purpose to be true, have called for the interference of God, and then He has fulfilled His promise, ‘Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am’ (Isaiah 58:9). His mighty arm has been stretched out for the deliverance of His people. God reserves His gracious interposition in their behalf till the time of their extremity; thus He makes their deliverance more marked, and their victories more glorious. When all human wisdom fails, the Lord’s interference will be more clearly recognized, and He will receive the glory that is His due. Even the enemies of our faith, persecutors, will perceive that God is working for His people in turning their captivity” (Selected Messages, Volume 2, 372).
“That is what we want, to call and the Lord shall answer. ‘Thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.’ He responds to our call, and says, ‘What shall I do for you?’ He will give you the very thing that your soul hungers after. ‘If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, and putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity.’ It is not only the body, but the soul that is expressed in this work. How many we see whose light is in obscurity. Oh, if I could find Jesus. I have letters come to me saying, ‘How shall I find Jesus? I have prayed but I do not get any answer to my prayer.’ Christ says, ‘If ye do these things, I will answer. I am with you. I am right by your side’” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, 43).
“Into the daily life there come many perplexing problems that we cannot solve. There are those who wish to adjust every difficulty, to settle every question, before they begin to work. Such will surely fail. In the end, the future will be just as indistinct, and the problems just as perplexing, as when they began to speculate. It is in following the light given that we receive greater light....
Move forward at the call of God. When He points out a work to be done, in His name and with full faith take up that work. You may not see the end from the beginning. Perplexities may surround you. Your brethren may tell you of the lions in the way. But, nevertheless, go forward, saying, ‘The Lord wants this work done, and I will not fail nor be discouraged. I will act my part….’
There are critics who, if you listen to their words, will rob you of all heart and hope. Do not allow them to discourage you. Say, ‘God abideth faithful. He cannot deny Himself.’ He has given to every man his work, and He calls upon all to begin to work just where they are. He cannot do what He desires to do until the human agent acts his part.
At times the arm of faith seems too short even to touch the Saviour’s garment, but there stands the promise, with God behind it: ‘Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not’ (Isaiah 58:9-11)....
It is not our efforts that bring victory. It is seeing God behind the promise, and believing and trusting Him. Grasp by faith the hand of infinite power. The Lord is faithful who hath promised.
Questions will arise that cannot be settled by any amount of thinking. Do not spend time trying to settle them. Take up the work waiting to be done, trusting in God as your wisdom. His righteousness will go before you, and the questions that have troubled you will answer themselves” (The Upward Look, 133).
“There is a great deal of profession in our world, plenty of self-justification, but the evidences of the deep work of the grace in hearts is not so apparent. There is a very earnest, solemn question before us. The time has come when every soul should understand that he has a soul to save or a soul to lose, a heaven to win and a hell to shun. We need to understand what we shall do to be saved....
In the experience of God’s people there have been yokes ... that God never ordained, yokes that have greatly marred the experience and have offended the Lord God of Israel. Because a man carries responsibilities in the church, he is not given liberty to rule the mind and judgment of others with whom the Lord is working. The Lord wants every soul in His service to understand what is the kind of work required of him....
God has sent the instruction to break every yoke. We are one—one in Christ Jesus. Position does not make the man. Position does not give liberty to exercise power arbitrarily over others. It is counsel that is needed; righteousness in deportment that is to be made manifest with meekness and humbleness of mind, and a spirit to seek the Lord until He is found....
‘Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day’ (Isaiah 58:9, 10). Praise God with heart and voice for this possibility! Praise God that we can bring this promise to the Lord for fulfillment, when we comply with the conditions. When we do not know which way to turn, light direct from God will come to us, if we will follow His directions....
Let us each bring ourselves into submission to the Lord God of Israel. You may have your peculiar way, I may have my peculiar way, and some others their peculiar way; but under God that way will be agreeable. If we are not under the control of God, led by the inspiration of His Spirit, our way will not be agreeable. What we need is to stand in right relation to the great I AM. When we stand in right relation to Him, we can do as Christ has commissioned” (The Upward Look, 56).
“Those who believe in Christ as a personal Saviour will grow in healthful experience, because they fulfill the conditions laid down in Isaiah 58. The Lord says, ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee [‘the Lord our righteousness’]; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.’ Consider these words, ye complaining, downcast, discontented, homesick souls. Here is the prescription that the prophet Isaiah was commanded of the Lord to present to you for the healing of the spiritual and bodily maladies. ‘Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.’ I am thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. ‘If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity [not exalting yourself, not thinking yourself very wise and prudent, while censuring and oppressing those who meet with trials and misfortunes; not grieving others by unfeeling, reproachful words and actions]; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday.’ O how many souls are starving for words of tenderness, for words of brotherly kindness, for words of hope, of faith, of forgiveness, of Christlike love, that will not quench the last spark of hope: ‘And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drouth, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’
Let us consider that all these rich blessings are for those who keep the commandments of God. What more can we desire? What richer reward can we ask? ‘And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it’” (Review and Herald, January 22, 1895).
We are ‘a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.’ 1 Corinthians 4:9. Our mission is the same as that which was announced by Christ, at the beginning of His ministry, to be His mission. ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,’ He said, ‘because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.’ Luke 4:18, 19.
We are to carry forward the work placed in our hands by the Master. He says: ‘If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ ‘The poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.’ ‘All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.’ Isaiah 58:10, 11; Deuteronomy 15:11; Matthew 7:12.
We shall be tempted to be covetous, to be avaricious, to cultivate an insatiable desire for more. If we yield to this temptation, it will bring upon us the same perils that fell upon ancient Jerusalem. We shall fail to know God and to represent Him in character. We need to watch ourselves closely lest we fall because of unbelief, as did the Jews. We are to work unselfishly. We are to feel a deep interest in the establishment and growth of other institutions besides those over which we have supervision” (Testimonies, Volume 8, 134).
“‘Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.’ Hebrews 13:2. These words have lost none of their force through the lapse of time. Our heavenly Father still continues to place in the pathway of His children opportunities that are blessings in disguise; and those who improve these opportunities find great joy. ‘If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ Isaiah 58:10, 11.
To His faithful servants today Christ says, ‘He that receiveth you receiveth Me, and he that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me.’ No act of kindness shown in His name will fail to be recognized and rewarded. And in the same tender recognition Christ includes even the feeblest and lowliest of the family of God. ‘Whosoever shall give to drink,’ He says, ‘unto one of these little ones’—those who are as children in their faith and their knowledge of Christ—'a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.’ Matthew 10:40, 42” (Prophets and Kings, 132).
“Here it says, ‘And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry.’ [Verse 10.] What is this hungering? If there is not a hungering, a starving for the word of God, tell me?” (Manuscript 5, 1891).
‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning.’ Well this is what we wanted to know, Where we can find the light? It will break forth as the morning! What is it that will give us the light? By getting out of ourselves and seeing what good we can do for others, that are around us” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, 35).
“Rich and abundant are the promises made to those who are watchful to bring joy and blessing into the lives of others. ‘If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not’ Isaiah 58:10, 11” (Review and Herald, April 8, 1915).
“If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday.’
Love works not for profit nor reward; yet God has ordained that great gain shall be the certain result of every labor of love. It is diffusive in its nature, and quiet in its operation, yet strong and mighty in its purpose to overcome great evils. It is melting and transforming in its influence, and will take hold of the lives of the sinful and affect their hearts when every other means has proved unsuccessful” (Testimonies for the Church, Volume 2, 135).
“All who consecrate body, soul, and spirit to God’s service will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical, mental, and spiritual power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own spirit, the life of His own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth His highest energies to work in heart and mind.
‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.’ Thou shalt ‘call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.’ ‘Thy light” shall ‘rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ [Isaiah 58:8-11.]
Many are God’s promises to those who minister to His afflicted ones” (Gospel Workers, 513).
“‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.’ Isaiah 58:8.
Is not this what we all crave? Oh, there is health and peace in doing the will of our Heavenly Father. ‘Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’
If thou clothe the naked, and bring the poor ... to thy house, and deal thy bread to the hungry, ‘then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.’ Doing good is an excellent remedy for disease.
The pleasure of doing good to others imparts a glow to the feelings which flashes through the nerves, quickens the circulation of the blood, and induces mental and physical health.
Pure and undefiled religion is not a sentiment, but the doing of works of mercy and love. This religion is necessary to health and happiness. It enters the polluted soul temple, and with a scourge drives out the sinful intruders. Taking the throne, it consecrates all by its presence, illuminating the heart.... It opens the windows of the soul heavenward, letting in the sunshine of God’s love. With it comes serenity and composure. Physical, mental, and moral strength increase, because the atmosphere of heaven, as a living, active agency, fills the soul”. (My Life Today, 246).
“But this work of soul saving has been neglected; personal efforts have not been made. Men in responsible positions, craving large buildings ‘to make an appearance and give character to the work,’ have neglected the only means that can give character to the work. The only way they can do this is to abide in the Vine, and show by their good works that they are vitally connected with it. Thus they can represent Christ in the fruit they bear, and diffuse light to the world. ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?’ [Isaiah 58:6]. ‘And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not’ [verse 11]. Christ says of His work: [Isaiah 61:1-3, quoted].
The further the Pharisees separated from God, the more eager they were to manufacture commandments restricting the freedom of their fellow men. They bound heavy burdens upon them, grievous to be borne. They transgressed the commandments of God, and mingled with them the traditions and maxims of men. These traditions they exalted above the word of God. ‘In vain they do worship Me,’ said Christ, ‘teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’
This is true in regard to those who have done a work which God has not authorized them to do. The very work that should be done, brought to view in Isaiah 61:1-3, has been strangely neglected” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 17, 199-200).
“The fast which God can accept is described. It is to deal thy bread to the hungry and to bring the poor which are cast out to thy house. Wait not for them to come to you. The labor rests not on them to hunt you up and entreat of you a home for themselves. You are to search for them and bring them to your house. You are to draw out your soul after them. You are with one hand to reach up and by faith take hold of the mighty arm which brings salvation, while with the other hand of love you reach the oppressed and relieve them. It is impossible for you to fasten upon the arm of God with one hand while the other is employed in ministering to your own pleasure.
If you engage in this work of mercy and love, will the work prove too hard for you? Will you fail and be crushed under the burden, and your family be deprived of your assistance and influence? Oh, no; God has carefully removed all doubts upon this question, by a pledge to you on condition of your obedience. This promise covers all that the most exacting, the most hesitating, could crave. ‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.’ Only believe that He is faithful that hath promised. God can renew the physical strength. And more, He says He will do it. And the promise does not end here. ‘Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.’ God will build a fortification around thee. The promise does not stop even here. ‘Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.’ If ye put down oppression and remove the speaking of vanity, if ye draw out your soul to the hungry, ‘then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought [famine], and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not’” (Welfare Ministry, 32).
“From age to age these counsels were repeated to those who were falling into habits of formalism and of forgetting to show mercy. When Christ Himself was approached by a lawyer with the question, ‘Which is the great commandment in the law?’ He said, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ Matthew 22:36-39.
These plain utterances should be received by us as the voice of God. We should lose no opportunity of performing deeds of mercy, of tender forethought and Christian courtesy for the burdened and oppressed. If we can do no more, we may speak words of courage and hope to those who are unacquainted with God. Rich are the promises to those who bring joy and blessing into the lives of others: ‘If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire with good things, and make your bones strong; and you will be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ Isaiah 58:10, 11, RSV” (From Splendor to Shadow, 172).
“‘Thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ Everyone who trusts in Jesus and drinks of the water that He gives them, it shall be in them ‘as a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.’ Let us see what work we have to do” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, 45).
“Church members should become active, zealous workers, seeking to benefit the souls who are exposed to temptation, and who are being drawn away into perilous paths of disobedience to the commandments of God. Everyone who engages in this work in the love of Christ is cooperating with heavenly intelligences, who have long been waiting to aid them in the very class of missionary work that has been so long neglected. Those who engage in this class of work will have more than finite energy to work with them and through them. Let every Christian in the church seek to devise plans to interest and instruct the children, and be determined that he will not fail nor be discouraged in the work. If they work as they should, they will feel the need of divine guidance, for it is not possible to be successful in this matter without the help of God. Children are the property of God, the younger members of the Lord’s family, and interest expressed for these children and for the mothers of these children is in perfect harmony with the laws of God’s government.
‘He that watereth shall be watered also himself’ [Proverbs 11:25]. This is a guarantee that every worker shall receive grace for the grace imparted to others. Every laborer who labors for the good of children and youth, mothers and fathers, neighbors and associates, will find that God will fulfill His promise. He says, ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of waters, whose waters fail not’ [Isaiah 58:6-11].
The church cannot grow in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ until its members enter into the spirit of the work. Let no one make the defection of another one an excuse for not engaging in the work. We have not a moment to lose in looking to others, but should be engaged in the service of Christ. Because some who name the name of Christ walk unworthy of their calling, it is all the more necessary that we seek to shun every evil habit, to put away everything that will weaken our influence and cause others to make us an excuse for not doing the work that God requires. In every duty, whether temporal or spiritual, we have a relation one to another. He who neglects the least duty in the Lord’s moral vineyard will be registered as lacking in the books of heaven, weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, and found wanting. God has given to every man his work, and he who neglects his work inflicts injury on the cause of Christ. We are to be followers of that which is good, to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. This is applicable, not only to ministers who preach the word, but to every soul who believes in Christ (Manuscript Releases, Volume 2, 282).
“I cannot too strongly urge all our church members, all who are true missionaries, all who believe the third angel’s message, all who turn away their feet from the Sabbath, to consider the message of the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. The work of beneficence enjoined in this chapter is the work that God requires His people to do at this time. It is a work of His own appointment. We are not left in doubt as to where the message applies, and the time of its marked fulfillment, for we read: ‘They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.’ Verse 12. God’s memorial, the seventh-day Sabbath, the sign of His work in creating the world, has been displaced by the man of sin. God’s people have a special work to do in repairing the breach that has been made in His law; and the nearer we approach the end, the more urgent this work becomes. All who love God will show that they bear His sign by keeping His commandments” (Welfare Ministry, 33).
“We have reason to rejoice that the world has not been left in solitary hopelessness. Jesus left the royal throne and His high command in heaven and became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich. He took upon Himself our nature, that He might teach us how to live. In the steps which the sinner must take in conversion—repentance, faith, and baptism—He led the way. He did not repent for Himself, for He was sinless, but in behalf of sinners.
Jesus became ‘the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in.’ He became an exile to earth to bring back the one lost, straying sheep, the one world ruined by sin. In Him were combined the earthly and the heavenly, the human and the divine; otherwise, He could not be a Mediator whom the sinful could approach, and through whom they could be reconciled to their Maker. But now He encircles the race in arms of sympathy and love while He grasps the throne of the Infinite, thus uniting us in our weakness and helplessness with the Source of strength and power....
We are indebted to Jesus for all the blessings we enjoy. We should be deeply grateful that we are the subjects of His intercession. But Satan deceives men and women by presenting the service of Christ before them in a false light and making them think that it is a condescension on their part to accept Jesus as their Redeemer. If we viewed the Christian privilege in the right light, we should consider it the highest exaltation to be accounted a child of God, an heir of heaven, and we should rejoice that we can walk with Jesus in His humiliation....
Will you leave the dark abodes of sin and woe, and seek the mansions Jesus has gone to prepare for His followers? In His name we beseech you to plant your feet firmly on the ladder and climb upward. Forsake your sins, overcome your defects of character, and cling with all your powers to Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life. We may every one of us succeed. None who shall persevere will fail of everlasting life. Those who believe on Christ shall never perish; neither shall any pluck them out of His hand” (From the Heart, 224).
“The work of restoration and reform carried on by the returned exiles, under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, presents a picture of a work of spiritual restoration that is to be wrought in the closing days of this earth’s history. The remnant of Israel were a feeble people, exposed to the ravages of their enemies; but through them God purposed to preserve in the earth a knowledge of Himself and of His law. They were the guardians of the true worship, the keepers of the holy oracles. Varied were the experiences that came to them as they rebuilt the temple and the wall of Jerusalem; strong was the opposition that they had to meet. Heavy were the burdens borne by the leaders in this work; but these men moved forward in unwavering confidence, in humility of spirit, and in firm reliance upon God, believing that He would cause His truth to triumph. Like King Hezekiah, Nehemiah ‘clave to the Lord, and departed not from following Him, but kept His commandments.... And the Lord was with him.’ 2 Kings 18:6, 7.
The spiritual restoration of which the work carried forward in Nehemiah’s day was a symbol, is outlined in the words of Isaiah: ‘They shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities.’ ‘They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.’ Isaiah 61:4; 58:12.
The prophet here describes a people who, in a time of general departure from truth and righteousness, are seeking to restore the principles that are the foundation of the kingdom of God. They are repairers of a breach that has been made in God’s law—the wall that He has placed around His chosen ones for their protection, and obedience to whose precepts of justice, truth, and purity is to be their perpetual safeguard.
In words of unmistakable meaning the prophet points out the specific work of this remnant people who build the wall. ‘If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ Isaiah 58:13, 14.
In the time of the end every divine institution is to be restored. The breach made in the law at the time the Sabbath was changed by man, is to be repaired. God's remnant people, standing before the world as reformers, are to show that the law of God is the foundation of all enduring reform and that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is to stand as a memorial of creation, a constant reminder of the power of God. In clear, distinct lines they are to present the necessity of obedience to all the precepts of the Decalogue. Constrained by the love of Christ, they are to co-operate with Him in building up the waste places. They are to be repairers of the breach, restorers of paths to dwell in. See verse 12” (Prophets and Kings, 677-678).
“I write this because many in the church at Adelaide are represented to me as seeing men like trees walking. They must have another and a deeper experience before they can discern the snares spread to take them in the net of the deceiver. There must be no halfway work done now. The Lord calls for staunch, decided, whole-souled men and women to stand in the gap and make up the hedge. ‘And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it’ (Isaiah 58:12-14)” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 9, 363).
“Has God no living church? He has a church, but it is the church militant, not the church triumphant. We are sorry that there are defective members.... While the Lord brings into the church those who are truly converted, Satan at the same time brings persons who are not converted into its fellowship. While Christ is sowing the good seed, Satan is sowing the tares. There are two opposing influences continually exerted on the members of the church. One influence is working for the purification of the church, and the other for the corrupting of the people of God....
Although there are evils existing in the church, and will be until the end of the world, the church in these last days is to be the light of the world that is polluted and demoralized by sin....
There is but one church in the world who are at the present time standing in the breach, and making up the hedge, building up the old waste places; and for any man to call the attention of the world and other churches to this church, denouncing her as Babylon, is to do a work in harmony with him who is the accuser of the brethren.... The whole world is filled with hatred of those who proclaim the binding claims of the law of God, and the church who are loyal to Jehovah must engage in no ordinary conflict.... Those who have any realization of what this warfare means, will not turn their weapons against the church militant, but with all their powers will wrestle with the people of God against the confederacy of evil.
Those who start up to proclaim a message on their own individual responsibility, who, while claiming to be taught and led of God, still make it their special work to tear down that which God has been for years building up, are not doing the will of God. Be it known that these men are on the side of the great deceiver. Believe them not” (The Faith I Live By, 305).
“‘And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.’ ‘And thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.’ Isaiah 61:4; 58:12. These words of Inspiration present before believers in present truth the work that should now be done in the education of our children and youth. When the truth for these last days came to the world in the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages, we were shown that in the education of our children a different order of things must be brought in; but it has taken much time to understand what changes should be made.
Our work is reformatory; and it is the purpose of God that through the excellence of the work done in our educational institutions the attention of the people shall be called to the last great effort to save the perishing. In our schools the standard of education must not be lowered. It must be lifted higher and still higher, far above where it now stands; but the education given must not be confined to a knowledge of textbooks merely. The study of textbooks alone cannot afford students the discipline they need, nor can it impart true wisdom. The object of our schools is to provide places where the younger members of the Lord's family may be trained according to His plan of growth and development.
Satan has used the most ingenious methods to weave his plans and principles into the systems of education, and thus gain a strong hold on the minds of the children and youth. It is the work of the true educator to thwart his devices. We are under solemn, sacred covenant to God to bring up our children for Him and not for the world; to teach them not to put their hands into the hand of the world, but to love and fear God, and to keep His commandments. They should be impressed with the thought that they are formed in the image of their Creator and that Christ is the pattern after which they are to be fashioned. Most earnest attention must be given to the education which will impart a knowledge of salvation, and will conform the life and character to the divine similitude. It is the love of God, the purity of soul woven into the life like threads of gold, that is of true worth. The height man may thus reach has not been fully realized.
For the accomplishment of this work a broad foundation must be laid. A new purpose must be brought in and find place, and students must be aided in applying Bible principles in all they do. Whatever is crooked, whatever is twisted out of the right line, is to be plainly pointed out and avoided; for it is iniquity not to be perpetuated. It is important that every teacher should love and cherish sound principles and doctrines, for this is the light to be reflected upon the pathway of all students” (Testimony Treasures, Volume 2, 410).
“Here is the breach that is to be made and it has been a breach for years. Shall we let it always be a breach? Well, some say, ‘Why do you always talk about the Sabbath? Why don't you talk about Christ?’ Suppose in an enclosure a length of fence was broken down. If we were building that length would you ask why we paid so much attention to that part? What is it? [It is] the Sabbath of the fourth commandment that is broken down. The foundation of many generations is the Seventh-day Sabbath of the Lord our God. ‘This is the sign,”]’ He says in the thirty-first chapter of Exodus, ‘this is the sign between Me and you throughout your generations.’ Well, now what is the matter? They have broken it down, and the world has taken the liberty to take a day that has no sacredness, no sanctity, and they all worship that as the sabbath. It is a spurious sabbath. God does not accept it. They worship God as though they had not departed from His ordinances, but they have” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, 32-47).
“The fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah contains present truth for the people of God. Here we see how medical missionary work and the gospel ministry are to be bound together as the message is given to the world. Upon those who keep the Sabbath of the Lord is laid the responsibility of doing a work of mercy and benevolence. Medical missionary work is to be bound up with the message, and sealed with the seal of God” (Evangelism, 516)
“There must be no compromise with selfishness, for selfishness leads to idolatry. Minds that are in the darkness of ignorance in regard to the truth of the Word of God must be enlightened. A breach has been made in the law of God by the transgression of the fourth commandment. The Sabbath command is to be given its rightful position in the law of God, and by those who see and realize its importance, it is to be presented to the world. Those who work unitedly, who act faithfully their part in raising the foundation of many generations with patient, persevering effort will be called Repairers of the breach, Restorers of paths to dwell in” (Manuscript 22, 1901).
“This light is given to those who keep holy the Lord’s Sabbath; but we cannot keep this day holy unless we serve the Lord in the manner brought to view in the scripture: ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen, to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?’ [Isaiah 58:6, 7]. This is the work that rests upon every soul who accepts the service of Christ” (Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, 33).
“Christ came to our world to represent the character of God as it is represented in His holy law, for His law is a transcript of His character. Christ was both the law and the gospel….
In the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah the work of those who worship God, the Maker of the heavens and the earth, is specified: ‘They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations.’ God’s memorial, His seventh-day Sabbath, will be uplifted....
The history of the church and the world, the loyal and the disloyal, is here plainly revealed. The loyal, under the proclamation of the third angel’s message, have turned their feet into the way of God’s commandments, to respect, to honor and glorify Him who created the heavens and the earth. The opposing forces have dishonored God by making a breach in His law, and when light from His Word has called attention to His holy commandments, revealing the breach made in the law by the papal authority, then, to get rid of conviction, many have tried to destroy the whole law. But could they destroy it? No; for all who will search the Scriptures for themselves will see that the law of God stands immutable, eternal, and His memorial, the Sabbath, will endure through eternal ages, pointing to the only true God in distinction from all false gods.
Satan has been persevering and untiring in his efforts to prosecute the work he began in heaven, to change the law of God. He has succeeded in making the world believe the theory he presented in heaven before his fall, that the law of God was faulty and needed revising. A large part of the professed Christian church, by their attitude, if not by their words, show that they have accepted the same error. But if in one jot or tittle the law of God has been changed, Satan has gained on earth that which he could not gain in heaven. He has prepared his delusive snare, hoping to take captive the church and the world. But not all will be taken in the snare. A line of distinction is being drawn between the children of obedience and the children of disobedience, the loyal and true and the disloyal and untrue. Two great parties are developed, the worshipers of the beast and his image, and the worshipers of the true and living God” (Christ Triumphant, 330).
“Again, the command is given, ‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.’ It is not the wicked world, but those whom the Lord designates as ‘my people,’ that are to be reproved for their transgressions. He declares further, ‘Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God.’ [Isaiah 58:1, 2.] Here is brought to view a class who think themselves righteous, and appear to manifest great interest in the service of God; but the stern and solemn rebuke of the Searcher of hearts proves them to be trampling upon the divine precepts.
The prophet thus points out the ordinance which has been forsaken: ‘Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.’ [Isaiah 58:12, 13.] This prophecy also applies in our time. The breach was made in the law of God when the Sabbath was changed by the Romish power. But the time has come for that divine institution to be restored. The breach is to be repaired, and the foundation of many generations to be raised up” (The Great Controversy, 452).
“What saith the Lord in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah? The whole chapter is of the highest importance. ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen?’ God asks, ‘to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.’
‘If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. Isaiah 58:6-9, 13, 14.
This is our work. The light that we have upon the third angel’s message is the true light. The mark of the beast is exactly what it has been proclaimed to be. Not all in regard to this matter is yet understood, and will not be understood until the unrolling of the scroll; but a most solemn work is to be accomplished in our world. The Lord's command to His servants is, ‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.’ Isaiah 58:1. A message that will arouse the churches is to be proclaimed. Every effort is to be made to give the light, not only to our people, but to the world. I have been instructed that the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation should be printed in small books, with the necessary explanations, and should be sent all over the world. Our own people need to have the light placed before them in clearer lines” (Counsels on Health, 520).
“I cannot too strongly urge all our church members, all who are true missionaries, all who believe the third angel’s message, all who turn away their feet from the Sabbath, to consider the message of the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. The work of beneficence enjoined in this chapter is the work that God requires His people to do at this time. It is a work of His own appointment. We are not left in doubt as to where the message applies, and the time of its marked fulfillment, for we read: ‘They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.’ Verse 12.
God’s memorial, the seventh-day Sabbath, the sign of His work in creating the world, has been displaced by the man of sin. God’s people have a special work to do in repairing the breach that has been made in His law; and the nearer we approach the end, the more urgent this work becomes. All who love God will show that they bear His sign by keeping His commandments. They are the restorers of paths to dwell in. The Lord says: ‘If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, ... then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth.’ Verses 13, 14.
Thus genuine medical missionary work is bound up inseparably with the keeping of God’s commandments, of which the Sabbath is especially mentioned, since it is the great memorial of God’s creative work. Its observance is bound up with the work of restoring the moral image of God in man. This is the ministry which God’s people are to carry forward at this time. This ministry, rightly performed, will bring rich blessings to the church” (General Conference Bulletin, October 1, 1902).
“God has given men six days wherein to labor, and He requires that their own work be done in the six working days. Acts of necessity and mercy are permitted on the Sabbath, the sick and suffering are at all times to be cared for; but unnecessary labor is to be strictly avoided. ‘Turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and ... honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure.’ Isaiah 58:13. Nor does the prohibition end here. ‘Nor speaking thine own words,’ says the prophet. Those who discuss business matters or lay plans on the Sabbath are regarded by God as though engaged in the actual transaction of business. To keep the Sabbath holy, we should not even allow our minds to dwell upon things of a worldly character. And the commandment includes all within our gates. The inmates of the house are to lay aside their worldly business during the sacred hours. All should unite to honor God by willing service upon His holy day” (Patriarchs and Prophets, 307).
“‘If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father. Isaiah 58:13, 14.
The Sabbath ... is God’s time, not ours; when we trespass upon it we are stealing from God.... God has given us the whole of six days in which to do our work, and has reserved only one to Himself. This should be a day of blessing to us—a day when we should lay aside all our secular matters and center our thoughts upon God and heaven.
But while we worship God, we are not to consider this a drudgery. The Sabbath of the Lord is to be made a blessing to us and to our children. They are to look upon the Sabbath as a day of delight, a day which God has sanctified; and they will so consider it if they are properly instructed.... They can be pointed to the blooming flowers and the opening buds, the lofty trees and beautiful spires of grass, and taught that God made all these in six days and rested on the seventh day and hallowed it. Thus the parents may bind up their lessons of instruction to their children so that when these children look upon the things of nature they will call to mind the great Creator of them all....
We are not to teach our children that they must not be happy on the Sabbath, that it is wrong to walk out of doors. Oh, no. Christ led His disciples out by the lakeside on the Sabbath day and taught them. His sermons on the Sabbath were not always preached within enclosed walls....
Many say they would keep the Sabbath if it were convenient to do so. But this day is not yours; it is God's day, and you have no more right to take it than you have to steal my purse. God has reserved it, sanctified and blessed it; and it is your duty to devote this time to His service, to make it honorable, to call it a delight” (In Heavenly Places, 152).
“Never need anyone fear that observance of the true Sabbath will result in starvation. [Isaiah 58:11, 12; Proverbs 7:2; Isaiah 58:14.] These promises are a sufficient answer to all the excuses that man may invent for refusing to keep the Sabbath. Even if, after beginning to keep God’s law, it seems impossible to support one’s family, let every doubting soul realize that God has promised to care for those who obey His commandments” (Evangelism, 240).
“Elder Bates was resting upon Saturday, the seventh day of the week, and he urged it upon our attention as the true Sabbath. I did not feel its importance, and thought that he erred in dwelling upon the fourth commandment more than upon the other nine.
But the Lord gave me a view of the heavenly sanctuary. The temple of God was open in heaven, and I was shown the ark of God covered with the mercy seat. Two angels stood one at either end of the ark, with their wings spread over the mercy seat, and their faces turned toward it. This my accompanying angel informed me represented all the heavenly host looking with reverential awe toward the law of God, which had been written by the finger of God.
Jesus raised the cover of the ark, and I beheld the tables of stone on which the ten commandments were written. I was amazed as I saw the fourth commandment in the very center of the ten precepts, with a soft halo of light encircling it. Said the angel, ‘It is the only one of the ten which defines the living God who created the heavens and the earth and all things that are therein.’
When the foundations of the earth were laid, then was also laid the foundation of the Sabbath. I was shown that if the true Sabbath had been kept, there would never have been an infidel or an atheist. The observance of the Sabbath would have preserved the world from idolatry.
The fourth commandment has been trampled upon, therefore we are called upon to repair the breach in the law and plead for the desecrated Sabbath. The man of sin, who exalted himself above God, and thought to change times and laws, brought about the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week. In doing this he made a breach in the law of God. Just prior to the great day of God, a message is sent forth to warn the people to come back to their allegiance to the law of God, which anti-christ has broken down. Attention must be called to the breach in the law, by precept and example.
I was shown that the precious promises of Isaiah 58:12-14 apply to those who labor for the restoration of the true Sabbath.
I was shown that the third angel proclaiming the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, represents the people who receive this message, and raise the voice of warning to the world to keep the commandments of God and His law as the apple of the eye; and that in response to this warning, many would embrace the Sabbath of the Lord” (Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, 85-87).
“God created the world in six days and rested upon the seventh. He sanctified and blessed the seventh day and made it His sacred memorial. ‘Wherefore,’ He declares, ‘the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.’ Exodus 31:16. Those who do this, keeping all of God’s commandments, may claim the promises contained in Isaiah 58:11-14. The instruction given in this chapter is full and decided. Those who refrain from labor on the Sabbath may claim divine comfort and consolation. Shall we not believe God? Shall we not call holy the day which He calls holy? Man should not be ashamed to acknowledge as sacred that which God calls sacred. He should not be ashamed to do that which God has commanded. Obedience will bring him a knowledge of what constitutes true sanctification.
Let there be no robbery of God in tithes and offerings, no desecration of His holy time. Man is not to do his own pleasure on God’s holy day. He has six days in which to work at secular business, but God claims the seventh as His own. ‘In it,’ He says, ‘thou shalt not do any work.’ Exodus 20:10. The servant of God will call sacred that which the Lord calls sacred. Thus he will show that he has chosen the Lord as his leader. The Sabbath was made in Eden, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. God has placed it in our charge. Let us keep it pure and holy” (Medical Ministry, 215).
“Wonderful will be the revealing as the lines of holy influence, with their precious results, are brought to view. What will be the gratitude of souls that will meet us in the heavenly courts, as they understand the sympathetic, loving interest which has been taken in their salvation! All praise, honor, and glory will be given to God and to the Lamb for our redemption; but it will not detract from the glory of God to express gratitude to the instrumentality He has employed in the salvation of souls ready to perish.
The redeemed will meet and recognize those whose attention they have directed to the uplifted Saviour. What blessed converse they will have with these souls! ‘I was a sinner,’ it will be said, ‘without God and without hope in the world; and you came to me, and drew my attention to the precious Saviour as my only hope. And I believed in Him. I repented of my sins, and was made to sit together with His saints in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.’ Others will say: ‘I was a heathen in heathen lands. You left your friends and comfortable home, and came to teach me how to find Jesus, and believe in Him as the only true God. I demolished my idols, and worshiped God, and now I see Him face to face. I am saved, eternally saved, ever to behold Him whom I love. I then saw Him only with the eye of faith, but now I see Him as He is. I can now express my gratitude for His redeeming mercy to Him who loved me, and washed me from my sins in His own blood.’
Others will express their gratitude to those who fed the hungry and clothed the naked. ‘When despair bound my soul in unbelief, the Lord sent you to me,’ they say, ‘to speak words of hope and comfort. You brought me food for my physical necessities, and you opened to me the word of God, awakening me to my spiritual needs. You treated me as a brother. You sympathized with me in my sorrows, and restored my bruised and wounded soul, so that I could grasp the hand of Christ that was reached out to save me. In my ignorance you taught me patiently that I had a Father in heaven who cared for me. You read to me the precious promises of God’s word. You inspired in me faith that He would save me. My heart was softened, subdued, broken, as I contemplated the sacrifice which Christ had made for me. I became hungry for the bread of life, and the truth was precious to my soul. I am here, saved, eternally saved, ever to live in His presence, and to praise Him who gave His life for me.’
What rejoicing there will be as these redeemed ones meet and greet those who have had a burden in their behalf! And those who have lived, not to please themselves, but to be a blessing to the unfortunate who have so few blessings,—how their hearts will thrill with satisfaction! They will realize the promise, ‘Thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.’ [Luke 14:14.]
‘Thou shalt delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ [Isaiah 58:14.]” (Gospel Workers, 518-519).
“I spoke from Isaiah 58 to a room packed with interested listeners. The Lord’s presence was in the congregation. We knew that His Holy Spirit was impressing the hearts of those present. As soon as I had ceased speaking, a woman of commanding appearance arose and bore a testimony from a full heart. She thanked the Lord, she said, that she was present to hear that discourse, for it had decided her to keep the Sabbath of the Lord. Although trials and difficulties were before her, she would trust in the Lord, for He would be her fortress, her support, and she would make known the light of truth to others. Testimonies followed in quick succession.
Brother Washburn bore a good testimony. The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and his face was pale. He said that he knew that the Spirit and power of God were in the message borne by Sister White, and that he had been receiving light and blessing. He felt more deeply the Spirit of the Lord than he had ever felt it before in his religious experience.
Brother Asa Robinson bore witness that the Lord had deeply impressed his mind, and he longed to drink richer and deeper draughts of the water of life than he had ever yet done.
Brother Lindsay spoke with deep contrition of soul, referring to the remarks of the speaker in reference to Joshua and the words spoken to him by Christ. The people of God, represented by Joshua, stood before the angel of God clothed with filthy garments, and Satan was complaining because he [was] prevented from destroying them as he was determined to do. He pointed to their filthy garments as a reason why he should do this. But the Lord Jesus would not permit him to destroy them. With the voice and attitude of a king, He said, ‘Take away the filthy garments from him.’ Turning to Joshua, Christ said, ‘I will clothe thee with change of raiment,’ even the righteousness of Christ.
Brother Lindsay said he felt that he had labored in his own strength too long, clothed with the filthy garments of selfishness. He wanted the endowment of the Spirit of God and the baptism of the Holy Ghost, that he might no longer work in his own spirit, after his own way and will. Others followed with testimonies right to the point.
We then invited those who had not this evidence of their acceptance with God to come forward, and about forty responded. Many of these expressed their desire to be clothed with the garments of Christ. It was evident that the Spirit of the Lord was making deep impressions on the minds of all present. Many with deep feeling asked the prayers of God’s people in behalf of fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, brothers, and sisters. We bowed in prayer, and I know that the Lord’s presence was with us. Most earnest, heartfelt supplications ascended in faith to the throne of God, and the Lord hearkened and heard those earnest cries. Many hearts were blessed, and their countenances reflected the bright beams of the Sun of righteousness.
This was a precious day to our souls, a season long to be remembered, never, never to be forgotten. Praise and thanksgiving ascended from the hearts and lips of many to the glory of God. ‘Whoso offereth praise glorifieth God.’ The Lord would have His people a bright, cheerful, gladsome people, light bearers to the world. Light, precious light, represents the cheerfulness and happiness which should be reflected to the world” (Manuscript Releases, Volumes 21, 449-450).
“He says, ‘Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?’ Will they accept this reproof, and pray for true repentance? Will they put away their sins and seek for pardon?
There is a work for them to do. They are to bring the atmosphere of heaven into their families, and into their association with their fellow men. They are to represent the character of God, even as it was revealed to Moses. ‘And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin’ [Exodus 34:5-7].
They are to deal with existing evils as the Lord has directed them. They are not to bind themselves in a covenant with the world. The instruction which God gave through Moses to Israel is for His people today: ‘Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be a snare in the midst of thee,’ for Satan works through those who know not God, those who do not acknowledge Him as their Creator and Ruler. ‘But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves,’ the groves in which they erected their idol altars, ‘for thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.’
God desires His people to place themselves in right relation to Him that they may understand what He requires of them. They are to be a commandment-keeping people wherever they are, at home or abroad, and to have the assurance that they are accepted as His children. They are to take their position in the world as a people whose righteousness goes before them, and whose rereward is the glory of the Lord. When we live before the world such consistent lives that it can be said of us that our righteousness goes before us, the glory of the Lord will surely be revealed.
The special work of God’s people for this time is brought before us in the words: “They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father” [Isaiah 58:12-14].
Our great need as a people is that we come into right relation to God. We cannot afford to let one day pass in which we have not laid hold by living faith on the God of Israel. We need the clear light of the Sun of Righteousness to shine upon us. This light is given to those who keep holy the Lord’s Sabbath; but we cannot keep this day holy unless we serve the Lord in the manner brought to view in the scripture: ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen, to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?’ [Isaiah 58:6, 7]. This is the work that rests upon every soul who accepts the service of Christ.
The Lord is constantly working for us, and our eyes should be opened to understand and to know His ways. We are to come to Him in living faith. His arm is not shortened, that it cannot save; His ear is not heavy, that He cannot hear. It is our iniquities that separate us from God. What we individually need is the living testimony in our souls that we are seeking God with the whole heart, that we are putting from our lives those things which God declares should not be found there. God desires that we shall stand before the world a holy people. Why? Because there is a world to be saved by the light of present truth. As we give to the people the truth that is to call them out of darkness into God’s marvelous light, our lives, sanctified by the Spirit of truth, are to bear witness to the verity of the message we proclaim.
Now we can see what the Lord delights in their doing.
‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning.’ Well this is what we wanted to know, Where we can find the light? It will break forth as the morning! What is it that will give us the light? By getting out of ourselves and seeing what good we can do for others, that are around us. We may feel that it is too great a task upon us, but in doing good to others it reacts back upon us, and if we comfort others with the comfort wherewith we are comforted the blessings will come back to us. And how? ‘Ye are labourers together with God.’ You see we are drawing in the same line with Jehovah, and all of the heavenly intelligences are interested in the work going on here in this earth, and if there had not been that interest none of us could be saved.... ‘And they that shall be of thee,’ now mark these words, ‘shall build the old waste places’: What next? They shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and they shall be called, What? ‘The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.’ What is that? It is the everlasting law of Jehovah, and it was the transgression of that [law] that brought the fall of man.
Here it says, ‘And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry.’ What is this hungering? If there is not a hungering, a starving for the Word of God, tell me?
I know that the work you are engaged in is the very work that should be done in connection with the third angel’s message, as the hand is connected with the body. I have no fears of workers who are engaged in the work represented in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah.
Isaiah 58: ‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness and forsook not the ordinances of their God: they ask of Me the ordinance of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.’ They seek Christ just the same as though they had not forsaken Him. This is a people that seek God as though they were seeking Him in obedience to Him. That is just how they seek the Lord. ‘They ask of Me the ordinance of justice.’ That is the danger, and that is where the Pharisees stumbled. They looked at their outward forms and ceremonies, and their outward performances of worship. And the Pharisees expected that those outward ceremonies would certainly recommend them to Christ, but He showed them that they did not have the spirit of meekness and lowliness that Christ had.
Now He says, ‘Behold ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.’ Here is a voice that God bids shall be heard on high, and there are voices that they make to be heard on high, and it is not the voice that gives the trumpet the certain sound.
‘Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast and an acceptable day unto the Lord?’ As though the Lord would take great pleasure in that. That is not the kind of a bowing down that He has a pleasure in. ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and that ye break every yoke?’ Here is something that is a work to a purpose. Let us see what it is. ‘To loose the bands of wickedness, and undo the heavy burdens.’ Now here is the very thing in work that the Lord accepts. Why? You say, ‘I have heard that we are not saved for our good works.’ No, but we will not be saved without them. You cannot depend upon your good works for salvation. We must have a living dependence upon a living God. And when there is a living connection with a living God, Christ abides in the heart by living faith, and the human agent works after Christ’s life. He is going to change our life and character that Christ reveals. And if trials come to us we will not manifest a rebellious spirit. The opportunities will present themselves to every one of us, because we see oppression and unkindness, and because we see burdens that would be thrown upon us, and let self come in and exhibit itself. We let self arise. We want to put the trials in the right place, and where is it? Christ says to everyone that is weary and heavy laden, ‘Come to Me.’ And what? ‘Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.’ And notwithstanding the crush of conflict that we shall have to pass through if we accept the truth of heavenly origin, there is meekness and lowliness in Jesus in every move. Hide in Jesus Christ. Our life and character is hid with Christ in God, so we cannot afford to let any impulse of passion control our words or control our actions, but we must do just as Jesus would have done under similar circumstances, and we are not to be revengeful.
Now the work that is before us we want clearly to understand. It is a work of mercy, a work of love, a work just in Christ’s lines. Just as Christ worked. He says that the nobleman went a long journey, and to every man he gave his work. The human agent is to cooperate with the divine. To everyone his work, and this is Christ’s work. It is not the man’s work. He is not to feel that all he has to do is to attend to his own individual self. No, there is a broader field. He is to occupy till I come, and what is it, ‘to occupy’? To be laborers together with God. Therefore it is of the greatest consequence that we understand in clear lines what it is to be laborers together with God. We must be imbued with the Spirit of Christ. We cannot labor with God merely from our intellect or our education. We cannot buy the grace of God with money; we cannot buy it with eloquence; we cannot buy it with the power of our intellect. It is God’s to begin with. Does any of it belong to us? No, it is received by us from above. We are to occupy to the very best knowledge that we have, and sense our responsibility, and let our light shine through us to those that are around us, and in doing that we are doing the work of God. ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?’ How are we to do it though? It is to present the obedience to Jesus Christ. And when we present the perfection that there is in His requirements, in His commandments, in His law, we are presenting that which will loose the bands of wickedness, and in the place of making men fast, in the place of shackling them with sin, it will loose the bands of wickedness, and those that are oppressed by the enemy. Who is the enemy? Who is observing us on the right and on the left? It is the one who rebelled against the law of God in heaven. It is the one that fell because of his disloyalty, and when we work in his lines we are fastening the shackles of oppression. ‘His servants ye are to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey.’ If it is Christ you obey you are free, because He came to make us free. If we are on Christ's side we stand under the blood-stained banner of Jesus Christ. The blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel testifies that we are free, made free in Jesus Christ, because He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for all who shall believe on His name. That is the freedom that we want.
‘To let the oppressed go free.’ What can we say to them? We can show them that obedience to the requirements of Jesus Christ is freedom, liberty, and salvation. It is indeed the perfection of Jesus Christ revealed in our world in His character.
‘And that ye break every yoke.’ We do not want to be bound any more, no matter who it is, or what it is. There is our God whom we must serve. A God who requires our service. Nothing must come in between that God and our souls, because our souls are of infinite value, and we cannot hang them on the ministers. We cannot trust our salvation to them. We must search the Scriptures for ourselves and know what they teach. We must obey what God says. ‘Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor which are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?’ How can you do this? By not living extravagantly yourself. By not using every dollar that you have to make yourself a place in the earth, but honor the Lord God of heaven by showing that you esteem humanity from God’s standpoint. Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, and we are to feel indeed that He has died to purchase humanity, to give us freedom and liberty which can be given only through Him.
Now let us see what the Spirit of God led His representative on earth to do. What the character of His mission was. He says, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.’ How? Why, He found when He came here that the truth was so mixed with error, that He had to take away the traditions and maxims, and to remove the rubbish, and take the truth which had served in the enemy's lines to strengthen error, and bring error before the people, rescue it from error and restore it to the native loveliness of its character, and then let that truth stand before the people. The oldest error may be pleaded because of its age, but it may be hoary with age, but that does not make error truth. No, it does not change error into truth. The Jews held their customs received from tradition and repeated from age to age and from generation to generation, and they kept accumulating till He says to them, ‘Ye are blind.’ ‘Ye are both ignorant of the Scriptures and of the power of God.’ What was the matter? Why they had taught tradition for the commandments of God? That is not the way to do. What did Christ come to present? He says, ‘The recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.’ Now you can see that that is in perfect harmony with what we have been reading. ‘When thou seest the naked that thou cover him.’ What are you doing if you have the glorious light of truth? What are you doing if God has chosen you to be a peculiar people, a royal people, a holy people? You are to show forth the power of Him who hath called you out of darkness, out of blindness into His marvelous light. Well, if God lets His light shine upon you, do not let your mouth be stopped. Do not let anybody put a falsehood in your mouth because of tradition. Speak the truth as it is in Christ Jesus.
Let the Spirit of God speak for Himself. Do not mix in self, and your own ideas and your own opinions. You want to present the truth as it is in Christ, and when you do that let the truth make its own impressions.
‘And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh.’ How much of that there is. There is a little church in Denver where they do not let anyone in if they do any work, and so, of course, Christ does not come in, because He set us the example by working in a carpenter’s shop. They exclude everyone. There was a seamstress taken in by a noble family, and they [the people in the church] were highly offended and talked with them. To think that they should let one worker come in! Have they got a secluded heaven? They are hiding themselves from their own flesh. Do just as Jesus did. What did He do? He took a position with the poor. He preached the gospel to the poor in such simple language that they could advance the truth in every line. What does it say in the Scriptures? Christ sent out a message, Come to My supper. The preparation is made, come to My supper. But they would not hear it. What was the matter? What had they got to do? One said, ‘I have bought a piece of ground and cannot come,’ and another said, ‘I have a yoke of oxen,’ and another, ‘I have married a wife,’ and Christ was angry, and He said, ‘Go out onto the highways and compel them to come in.’ How? Were they to take and shackle them? They were to let the bright rays of light shine right upon them in clear, steady, lines that they should follow the words of Jesus. ‘And I, if I be lifted up... will draw men unto Me.’ Do you draw them unto Him? That is the very work that is to be done. Let us draw. Shall we go to the highest? Yes, go to the highest powers in the earth and say, ‘We have got a truth which will satisfy every one of you. You are not satisfied. This is a truth so large and expansive and so deep that it will meet every want that you have.’ Present to them the precious truth. There are many in palaces that do not know what is the matter with them. Paul had converts in Caesar’s household. He did not tell them to come out, but when it came to the point where they could not honor God and stay there, they had a perfect right to change their position, as Christ had the right to take the children of Israel out of Egypt in order that they might keep the Sabbath and have the Lord of heaven exalted before them.
Hide not yourself from your own flesh. Go to work right where you are among any people [where] there is work to do. ‘Lift up your eyes,’ says Christ, ‘and look.’ Why? For the fields are ripe and ready for harvest. What is interposing? Men interpose themselves right between the people and Christ. They are working in the lines of the enemy, instead of in the light and power of truth, and the God of heaven must see in the human agent the power that says, ‘Come, for all things are ready.’ That is what we want. We want to give the people food. They are hungry. We do not want the froth, we do not want the fables, but we want the word of the infinite God. Christ says, ‘Except ye eat My flesh and drink My blood, ye have not part with Me.’ What is it to eat His flesh? When the disciples heard that they were offended. They did not discern spiritual things. He says, ‘The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.’ It is to be doers of the word. Do you think we are going to let people come in with their maxims and customs and blind our eyes? We have a work to do, to go to the people who have souls to lose or souls to save. What are the terms of salvation? ‘Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’ This we will keep ever before us.
Let us see what comes of not being self-centered, and not taking time to brood over our ailments and afflictions. We will take time to consider that there is somebody in the world besides ourselves, and we will begin to work in Christ’s lines, our spirits will become anointed and His righteousness will go before us. Then if ye do these things ‘thy light shall break forth as the morning, and thy health shall spring forth speedily.” And it is a double health. It is not only bodily health, but spiritual health and power, spiritual sinew and muscle. ‘Thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee: and the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward’—the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He has taken away our sins because we have repented of our transgression of the law of God. Our sin is taken away and in its place the righteousness of God is imputed unto us. Here the vacuum is supplied by blessing of God. That is what supplies the place. ‘Thy righteousness shall go before thee.’ Jesus Christ our righteousness. ‘And the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.’ If the righteousness of God goes before in the path that we travel, we have got a most glorious wake behind us. God’s people are blessed. They stand out distinguished by light and love and power, and the world sees that there is somebody who will work according to the law of God.
‘Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day: And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ That is what we want, to call and the Lord shall answer. ‘Thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.’ He responds to our call, and says, ‘What shall I do for you?’ He will give you the very thing that your soul hungers after. ‘If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, and putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity.’ It is not only the body, but the soul that is expressed in this work. How many we see whose light is in obscurity. Oh, if I could find Jesus. I have letters come to me saying, ‘How shall I find Jesus? I have prayed but I do not get any answer to my prayer.’ Christ says, ‘If ye do these things, I will answer. I am with you. I am right by your side.’ What can we suppose is the reason that we are in obscurity? The light is shining, and here Christ says, ‘Then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day.’ Let us thank God. Let a gratitude offering come up to God. ‘And the Lord shall guide thee continually.’ If His words to us continue we are not in darkness. ‘And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and ... thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ Everyone who trusts in Jesus and drinks of the water that He gives them, it shall be in them ‘as a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.’ Let us see what work we have to do.
‘And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places.’ What is the matter? Do you see any waste places down here in 1894? ‘Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations.’ What is the matter? Is the foundation gone? ‘And thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.’ They will be called among the heavenly intelligences, ‘the repairers of the breach, the restorers of paths to dwell in.’ ‘If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’
Now we have to understand what the breach is. Look at the fourth commandment. We have assembled here today to acknowledge that the Lord created the heaven and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day, and sanctified and blessed the seventh day, and set it apart for man to observe. In observing that day, we erect a memorial which is to call God to mind and keep Him in remembrance as the only true and living God to be worshiped by human intelligences. He created the heavens and the earth and He has given us a memorial, even the observance of the Seventh-day—not the first day. Here comes a power under the control of Satan that puts up the first day to be observed. God calls him the man of sin because he has perpetuated transgression. He [Satan] has taken his side to be on the right hand of the first sinner who ever existed. We do not want to be on his side. Here is the breach that is to be made and it has been a breach for years. Shall we let it always be a breach? Well, some say, ‘Why do you always talk about the Sabbath? Why don't you talk about Christ?’ Suppose in an enclosure a length of fence was broken down. If we were building that length would you ask why we paid so much attention to that part? What is it? [It is] the Sabbath of the fourth commandment that is broken down. The foundation of many generations is the Seventh-day Sabbath of the Lord our God. ‘This is the sign,”]’ He says in the thirty-first chapter of Exodus, ‘this is the sign between Me and you throughout your generations.’ Well, now what is the matter? They have broken it down, and the world has taken the liberty to take a day that has no sacredness, no sanctity, and they all worship that as the sabbath. It is a spurious sabbath. God does not accept it. They worship God as though they had not departed from His ordinances, but they have. Shall we accept this child of Papacy? The Protestant world has taken it, the Protestant world has cradled it, the Protestant world has nourished it, but shall we take it as divine, when God says, ‘Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work.’ What shall we do? Work at that broken-down line of fence. ‘Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.’
Will you please carry that home with you, and read and search and find out about the breach, because every one of you want to become intelligent in faith and doctrine, that you may ‘give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.’ Let us seek the Lord that we may find Him. He wants us to seek Him. God help us to come right to the point, and every one of us be employed in lifting up the Sabbath which has been trampled under the feet of man, and a spurious one put in its place.
You will always find Satan on the side of the oppressor. God does not oppress. God does not bring them [people] in by persecution, for He has let them live all this time, but when Satan gets the lines in his hands, he takes the spurious sabbath and sets it up against the perfection of Christ and [says] you have got to keep it. That is the spirit of persecution and oppression and bondage. It goes right with the spurious sabbath that has not one syllable for its sanctity in the Word of God. ‘If you do not keep Sunday, you will not buy or sell.’ And not only that, but they work their oppression in every way possible, but thank God, He lives. He lived in the days of the apostles when the priests said, ‘Do not preach any more in the name of Jesus Christ.’ Somebody else’s law was to come in there and show that God had a government. He sent His angel and said, ‘Go and tell Peter to go and make known My words.’ And when they came from Peter, lo he was not there. And one came and said, ‘He is in the Temple preaching.’ And they sent officers to bring him without violence, and they brought him before the council. They said to [him], ‘Why do you teach in His name?’ But Peter answered and said, ‘Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.’
God help us that our eyes may be anointed with the eyesalve that we may see. He will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob thy father. Let us hide under the promise, and let us find refuge in Jesus Christ. He will establish us in truth and righteousness and the glory of the Lord shall be our rereward” (“Isaiah 58.” Sermon, February 10, 1894.) (Manuscript Releases, Volume 5, 32-47).
“‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God; they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labors. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness; ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?’ [Verses 1-7.]
Now we can see what the Lord delights in their doing.
‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning.’ [Verse 8.] Well, this is what we wanted to know, Where we can find the light? It will break forth as the morning! What is it that will give us the light? By getting out from ourselves and seeing what good we can do for others that are around us. We may feel that it is too great a task upon us, but in doing good to others it reacts back upon us, and if we comfort others with the comfort wherewith we are comforted, the blessing will come back to us. And how? ‘Ye are laborers together with God.’ [1 Corinthians 3:9.]
You see, we are drawing in the same line with Jehovah, and all of the heavenly intelligences are interested in the work going on here in this earth. If there had not been that interest, none of us could be saved. And notwithstanding man transgressed God’s holy law, Jesus Christ steps forward and says, I will die that they may have life; I will take the penalty of the law upon Myself, and give man another trial. Now, while this is granted, it is our time to work. Not merely the ministers, but every soul who claims to know God and Jesus Christ are under obligation to God. How? Why, He has bought us by the infinite price of His own blood, therefore we are to be engaged in laboring for fallen humanity.
We are not here in this world to glorify and amuse ourselves; we are not here to be butterflies, but we are bought of Christ and every power of the mind and intellect, yes, every power of the being has been purchased by the Son of God to be employed by the Master. ‘Ye are laborers together with God.’ [Verse 9.] Do you want any higher business? Do you want any greater honor? Do you want any better pay? Ah, say they, I don’t see as I am getting any pay for it. That is what they are saying here in Malachi.
But is this the way to talk? No, indeed! We want to catch sight of the heavenly attraction. We want to see the glory and attraction there is for those who seek for glory and heavenly honor and immortal life—a life that measures with the life of God. And what more? An inheritance which fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you. Is there anyone here who has had his expectations fade away? Are there any here who have had their plans vanish? Are there any here who know what it is to lose earthly possessions? But the possessions granted by God ‘fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.’ [1 Peter 1:4.]
Jacob in his dream saw the ladder, the base of which rested upon the earth and the topmost round reaching into the highest heaven while the angels of God were ascending and descending upon this mystic Ladder, and when he awoke he said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.’ [Genesis 28:16.] Thus it is with us. If our eyes could be opened, we would see the angels of God all around us, and the evil angels are here also trying to destroy us, but the good angels are pressing them back.
Jacob thought to gain a right to the birthright through deception, but he found himself disappointed. He thought he had lost everything, his connection with God, his home, and all; and there he was a disappointed fugitive. But what did God do? He looked upon him in his hopeless condition, He saw his disappointment, and He saw there was material there that would render back glory to God. No sooner does He see his condition than He presents the mystic ladder which represents who? Jesus Christ. And here is a man who had lost all connection with God, and the God of heaven looks upon him and consents that Christ shall bridge the gulf which sin has made. We might have looked and said, I long for heaven but how can I reach it? I see no way. That is what Jacob thought, and so God shows him the vision of the ladder, and that ladder connects earth with heaven, with Jesus Christ. A man can climb it, for the base rests upon the earth, and the top-most round reaches into heaven. Then he climbs right away from the customs, practices, and fashions of earth right towards heaven, and the light and glory of God is upon every round of this mystic ladder, and man climbs upon who? Jesus Christ. Clings to what? Jesus Christ. Made one with whom? Jesus Christ. There he is holding to the ladder, climbing the ladder round by round, and it is his work to get every one to come.
Now we find that the battlements can be reached and that God is above the ladder and is waiting with arms outstretched to help every soul that will come into the everlasting kingdom of our God. Praise His holy name! Ye inhabitants of the earth, praise Him! And why? Because through Jesus Christ, whose long human arm encircles the race while with His divine arm He grasps the throne of the Almighty, the gulf is bridged with His own body; and this atom of a world which was separated from the continent of heaven by sin and became an island, is again reinstated, because Christ bridged the gulf—Christ has bridged it!
Here is a soul in danger; well, God stands ready to help that soul. All the heavenly angels will be sent to assist that soul. There are those who still wait for the messenger of God to come to their assistance, but if they could only appreciate it they could be kept from evil as God kept the children of Israel in the wilderness. They did not appreciate the fact that God was protecting them from the fiery serpents that were all around them, but when God withdrew His protection and they were bitten by these serpents, then it was that they could understand it and acknowledged God. But did God leave them when they were bitten? No, His hand was stretched forth to save them. There was a brazen serpent made and raised up on a pole, and those who were bitten could look at that and were healed.
But they must look if they would live. So it is with us, it is our work to look to Jesus Christ and live. But Satan has instituted everything that he can to keep man from looking. To look to Jesus upon the cross of Calvary is to live. Everything has been done by Satan to divert our attention away from Christ and away from Heaven that we shall not look. Now we want to look to Jesus Christ upon the cross, and in looking to Him we live. It is the very work the enemy is doing constantly to intercept our view, that we shall not see a lifted up Saviour, that we shall not discern One who has Himself been lifted upon the cross, that we cannot behold Him. But we must not let anything intercept our view. We want to have bright and clear views of Jesus Christ. Here we see the very work we are to do. There is to be a people to take their stand for God, to love and obey Him.
‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.’ [Isaiah 58:1.] Oh, then, there are sins in the house of Jacob! There are transgressions among the professed people of God! Well, what is it? ‘Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God; they ask of me the ordinance of justice; they take delight in approaching unto God. Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul and thou takest no knowledge? Behold in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labors. Behold ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: Ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?
‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.“Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer.’ [Verses 2-9.] He will answer, What will you have? What shall I do for you? ‘thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday.’ [Verses 9, 10.] That is just what we want—we want light as the noonday. We want the cloud that comes from the world rolled back, and we want the revealings of God to us. ‘And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ [Verse 11.]
‘And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.’ [Verse 12.] ‘And they that shall be of thee,’ now mark these words, ‘shall build the old waste places.’ What is that? Why, somebody has been trampling on the law of God. They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places. What next? They shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and they shall be called, what? The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. What is that? It is the everlasting law of Jehovah, and it was the transgression of that [law] that brought the fall of man.
Here it says, ‘And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry.’ [Verse 10.] What is this hungering? If there is not a hungering, a starving for the word of God, tell me? Then he says, ‘Then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ [Verses 10, 11.] Why, in living connection with the God of heaven we are drawing our support from the heavenly fountain.
‘And they that be of thee shall build.’ Oh, there is something to build! ‘And they that be of thee shall build the old waste places, thou shalt raise up the foundation of many generations.’ [Verse 12.] What is that? It is the law of Jehovah. They have been broken down, and somebody must build them up! ‘And they shall be called the repairer of the breach,’ what breach? In the law of God. It has been trampled under foot of man, and it must be built up. Do you suppose God will see His work all spoiled and not be lashed into a fury about it? Why, He will set everything in heaven to work to accomplish His purpose.
And they shall be called the repairer of the breach. Who has made a breach? Why, Satan, and he has been teaching that Christ came to abolish the law. But what did he come to do? To magnify it and make it honorable. And they shall be called the repairer of the breach. Who has been making a breach? The man of sin. He has said the fourth commandment was changed. But Christ came to make up the breach.
“If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shall honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ [Verses 13, 14.]
Well now, where is the breach made? In the law of God. Who has been making it? The man of sin. Now, shall we follow him or shall we follow those who are making it up? There are some who are making it up. They have picked out that commandment which says that God made the world in six days and rested on the seventh, and [they] say it doesn’t make any difference which day you keep. But we have decided that it is best to be among the obedient. But there has been a breach made, and who is going to help to make up the breach? We call upon you in the name of the Lord God of heaven and ask you to help make it up. We are not afraid to stand before the whole world and ask you to help make up that breach that has been made in the law of the Lord God, Jehovah.
We have not come here at this time to tell you it makes no difference whether you keep the law of God or not. It makes every difference, and we want to be obedient to the law of Jehovah, and we want to be in that position, raising up, what? The foundation of many generations. Who has broken it down? The man of sin. And we don’t want to be upon his side, but among those who are repairers of the breach which has been made in the law of Jehovah. This is the foundation of heaven and earth, and we will be loyal and true to it if we are loyal and true to the God of heaven.
The law of Jehovah is the foundation of many generations, and we want to be found the repairers of the breach which the man of sin has made. What was the breach made in? The law of God. And what are we to lift up? The law of Jehovah, which is the foundation of many generations. This is our work, and if you can tell of a better work for us to engage in which will honor God more, we will take that work, but we intend to be loyal to the God of heaven. We expect the truth will meet with disfavor, but is it best for us to obey God or to listen to man?
We have decided that it is best to listen to God and raise up the foundation of many generations. And what is it? The law of God! Lift it up; and we calculate to do it as long as God gives us breath. But in lifting it up we find it doesn’t agree with everybody; but the question is, On whose side are you? Are you on the side of God, the side of those who are going to be repairers of the breach, the restorers of paths to dwell in, or on the side of those who are tearing it down?
We have chosen to be true, because it is best every time, and if we are in a minority here below, we are on the side of God, and God is a majority every time. Let me be in harmony with the heavenly host, then let the enemy throw out his bitterness and wrath as he ever has done. I will be loyal and true to God’s commandments. But if there are those who want to go in the other way and risk it, we don’t want to risk it. We have decided not to be transgressors of God’s law. We have decided to obey and live, and there is no power that can interpose between us and the God of heaven. We have decided to keep His law as the apple of the eye. Is the eye tender? We know it is; we know there cannot be a speck that gets into the eye without it pains the whole body, and we want to be just as loyal to the Lord as we would preserve the eye.
I have been in this work for the last forty-five years, and I have been doing—what? Raising up the foundation of many generations. ‘Thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach.’ [Verse 12.] What breach? There has been made a breach in the law of God, the fourth commandment dropped right out, makes no difference what day you keep! It does make every difference! And we have decided to keep His law as the apple of our eye. We keep our eyes carefully, and we want them to see as God sees, and we want to work in the line God works. How long have we been engaged in this work? Many, many years and we have been trying to raise up the foundation of many generations.
‘Thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath.’ [Verses 12, 13.] All the men in creation may say the Sabbath is of no account; shall we believe them, or God? We have decided to believe God. I have been engaged in this work for the last forty-five years, what doing? Making up the breach. Who has made a breach? The man of sin. Now, men may raise up all the combativeness they please, but the commandments of God are the commandments of God still.
We have decided to keep God’s commandments and live, and His law as the apple of our eye. Let men rail out against the law of God, and trample His commandment-keeping people under their feet. Can they do it? It is impossible. God has His measurement of character, and it is those who obey Him that live and those who keep His law as the apple of their eye that He preserves. Now if we want to preserve the apple of the eye, you see how careful we are of it, and that law is to be preserved as the apple of the eye.
‘If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath.’ [Verse 13.] Then God has a Sabbath. What day is it? The one He rested upon in the beginning after He had worked six days. There is no other. ‘And call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways (breaking the Sabbath), nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words.’ [Verse 13.] Then shalt thou act mournful and sorrowful? No indeed. ‘Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.’ [Verse 14.] Well it must be now, right here in this world, right here in the conflict, and we will be kept as the apple of His eye right here.
‘And I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ [Verse 14.] There it is. We take the words from God. We will let men do their work, but our work will be to keep the commandments of God, stand upon this eternal basis, and raise up the foundation of many generations. We are to keep His commandments and live, and His law as the apple of the eye, notwithstanding Satan is arrayed against it.
I know God is on our side, and the angels are on our side. We have ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of angels that are engaged in this work to help to make up the breach. ‘If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day’ [Verse 13], that is God’s day, the one He instituted in Eden. Now we calculate to worship God upon His holy day, and we thank God it is our privilege to help to make up the breach. Who will unite with us? We are not ashamed of the work. We commenced this work in the name of the Lord God of Israel, and we will not be ashamed of it. ‘Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ [Verse 14.]” (Manuscript 5, 1891, Sermon/Thoughts of Isaiah 58, Pine Creek, Michigan).
