A Safe Refuge

Behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the
earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall
no more cover her slain. Isa. 26:21.

There is coming rapidly and surely an almost universal guilt upon the
inhabitants of the cities, because of the steady increase of determined
wickedness. The corruption that prevails, is beyond the power of the human
pen to describe. Every day brings fresh revelations of strife, bribery, and
fraud; every day brings its heart-sickening record of violence and
lawlessness, of indifference to human suffering, of brutal, fiendish
destruction of human life. . . .

Our God is a God of mercy. With long-sufferance and tender compassion He
deals with the transgressors of His law. . . . The Lord bears long with men,
and with cities, mercifully giving warnings to save them from divine wrath;
but a time will come when pleadings for mercy will no longer be heard. . . .

The conditions prevailing in society, and especially in the great cities of
the nations, proclaim in thunder tones that the hour of God's judgment is
come and that the end of all things earthly is at hand. We are standing on
the threshold of the crisis of the ages. In quick succession the judgments
of God will follow one another--fire, and flood, and earthquake, with war
and bloodshed. . . .

The storm of God's wrath is gathering; and those only will stand who respond
to the invitations of mercy, . . . and become sanctified through obedience
to the laws of the divine Ruler. The righteous alone will be hid with Christ
in God till the desolation be overpast. Let the language of the soul be:

"Other refuge have I none;
Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, Oh leave me not alone!
Still support and comfort me.

"Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
Oh, receive my soul at last!"

From Maranatha - Page 67

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The Vision is Sure

The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and
not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will
not tarry. Hab. 2:3.

The faith that strengthened Habakkuk and all the holy and the just in those
days of deep trial was the same faith that sustains God's people today. In
the darkest hours, under circumstances the most forbidding, the Christian
believer may keep his soul stayed upon the source of all light and power.
Day by day, through faith in God, his hope and courage may be renewed. . . .
In the service of God there need be no despondency, no wavering, no fear.
The Lord will more than fulfill the highest expectations of those who put
their trust in Him. He will give them the wisdom their varied necessities
demand.

Of the abundant provision made for every tempted soul, the apostle Paul
bears eloquent testimony. To him was given the divine assurance, "My grace
is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." In
gratitude and confidence the tried servant of God responded: "Most gladly
therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ
may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches,
in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I
am weak, then am I strong." 2 Cor. 12:9, 10.

We must cherish and cultivate the faith of which prophets and apostles have
testified--the faith that lays hold on the promises of God and waits for
deliverance in His appointed time and way. The sure word of prophecy will
meet its final fulfillment in the glorious advent of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, as King of kings and Lord of lords. The time of waiting may
seem long, the soul may be oppressed by discouraging circumstances, many in
whom confidence has been placed may fall by the way; but with the prophet
who endeavored to encourage Judah in a time of unparalleled apostasy, let us
confidently declare, "The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep
silence before him."

Let us ever hold in remembrance the cheering message, "The vision is yet for
an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it
tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. . . .
The just shall live by his faith."

From Maranatha - Page 66

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Through Heaven's Gates

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; . . . for before
his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. Heb. 11:5.

We are living in an evil age. . . . Because iniquity abounds, the love of
many waxes cold. Enoch walked with God three hundred years. Now the
shortness of time seems to be urged as a motive to seek righteousness.
Should it be necessary that the terrors of the day of God be held before us
in order to compel us to right action? Enoch's case is before us. Hundreds
of years he walked with God. He lived in a corrupt age, when moral pollution
was teeming all around him; yet he trained his mind to devotion, to love
purity. His conversation was upon heavenly things. He educated his mind to
run in this channel, and he bore the impress of the divine. . . .

Enoch had temptations as well as we. He was surrounded with society no more
friendly to righteousness than is that which surrounds us. The atmosphere he
breathed was tainted with sin and corruption, the same as ours; yet he lived
a life of holiness. He was unsullied with the prevailing sins of the age in
which he lived. So may we remain pure and uncorrupted. He was a
representative of the saints who live amid the perils and corruptions of the
last days. For his faithful obedience to God he was translated. So, also,
the faithful, who are alive and remain, will be translated.

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." For three hundred
years Enoch had been seeking purity of heart, that he might be in harmony
with heaven. For three centuries he had walked with God. Day by day he had
longed for a closer union; nearer and nearer had grown the communion, until
God took him to Himself. He had stood at the threshold of the eternal world,
only a step between him and the land of the blest; and now the portals
opened, the walk with God, so long pursued on earth, continued, and he
passed through the gates of the holy city, the first from among men to enter
there. . . .

To such communion God is calling us. As was Enoch's must be their holiness
of character who shall be redeemed from among men at the Lord's second
coming.

From Maranatha - Page 65

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Satan's Last Campaign

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist
shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is
the last time. 1 John 2:18.

The enemy is preparing for his last campaign against the church. He has so
concealed himself from view that many can hardly believe that he exists,
much less can they be convinced of his amazing activity and power. . . .

Man is Satan's captive and is naturally inclined to follow his suggestions
and do his bidding. He has in himself no power to oppose effectual
resistance to evil. It is only as Christ abides in him by living faith . . .
that man may venture to face so terrible a foe. Every other means of defense
is utterly vain. It is only through Christ that Satan's power is limited.
This is a momentous truth that all should understand. Satan is busy every
moment, going to and fro, walking up and down in the earth, seeking whom he
may devour. But the earnest prayer of faith will baffle his strongest
efforts. . . .

Satan hopes to involve the remnant people of God in the general ruin that is
coming upon the earth. As the coming of Christ draws nigh, he will be more
determined and decisive in his efforts to overthrow them. Men and women will
arise professing to have some new light or some new revelation whose
tendency is to unsettle faith in the old landmarks. Their doctrines will not
bear the test of God's word, yet souls will be deceived. False reports will
be circulated, and some will be taken in this snare. . . . We cannot be too
watchful against every form of error, for Satan is constantly seeking to
draw men from the truth. . . .

Some men have no firmness of character. They are like a ball of putty and
can be pressed into any conceivable shape. . . . This weakness, indecision,
and inefficiency must be overcome. There is an indomitableness about true
Christian character which cannot be molded or subdued by adverse
circumstances. Men must have moral backbone, an integrity which cannot be
flattered, bribed, or terrified. . . .

God has set bounds that Satan cannot pass. Our most holy faith is this
barrier; and if we build ourselves up in the faith, we shall be safe in the
keeping of the Mighty One.

From Maranatha - Page 64

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No Time to Do the Devil's Work

Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons
ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and
hasting unto the coming of the day of God. 2 Peter 3:11, 12.

It is essential that all shall know what atmosphere surrounds their own
souls, whether they are in co-partnership with the enemy of righteousness,
and unconsciously doing his work, or whether they are yoked up with Christ,
doing His work. . . .

Satan would be pleased to have anyone and everyone become his allies in the
work of weakening the confidence of brother in brother, and sowing discord
among those who profess to believe the truth. Satan can accomplish his
purpose most successfully through professed friends of Christ who are not
walking and working in Christ's lines. . . .

This is the day of the Lord's preparation. We have no time now to talk
unbelief or . . . to do the devil's work. Let everyone beware of unsettling
the faith of others by sowing seeds of envy, jealousy, disunion; for God
hears the words, and He judges, not by assertions which are yea and nay, but
by the fruit of one's course of action. . . .

As yet the four winds are held until the servants of God shall be sealed in
their foreheads. Then the powers of earth will marshal their forces for the
last great battle. How carefully we should improve the little remaining
period of our probation! How earnestly we should examine ourselves! . . .

It is discipline of spirit, cleanness of heart and thought that is needed.
This is of more value than brilliant talent, tact, or knowledge. An ordinary
mind, trained to obey a "Thus saith the Lord," is better qualified for God's
work than are those who have capabilities, but do not employ them
rightly.... Men may take pride of their knowledge of worldly things; but if
they have not a knowledge of the true God, of Christ, the Way, the Truth,
and the Life, they are deplorably ignorant, and their knowledge will perish
with them. Secular knowledge is power; but the knowledge of the Word, which
has a transforming influence upon the human mind, is imperishable.

From Maranatha - Page 63

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