Thought for the day: The Prodigal Son

Thought for the day: The Prodigal Son: Since childhood we have all heard of the Good Shepherd who leaves His "ninety and nine" on that wild stormy night and seeks His one lost s...

The Prodigal Son

Since childhood we have all heard of the Good Shepherd who leaves His "ninety and nine" on that wild stormy night and seeks His one lost sheep "until He find it" (Luke 15:4-6). Its salvation depends entirely on the initiative of the Shepherd. The lost animal knows it's lost, but cannot "arise and go" on its own to find salvation. So, the Lord Jesus Christ "seeks" it. The lost sheep is you and I who are rescued by a love totally outside of us.
And we remember the lost coin, how the lady turns her house upside down until she finds that precious piece of silver. The coin is different from the sheep; it doesn't know it's lost. It represents you and me who were "dead in trespasses and sins, [who] walked according to the course of this world, ... fulfilling the lusts of the flesh and of the mind, ... children of wrath" (Eph. 2:1-3). But Someone found us, buried in the dust and trash of this dark world, unconscious of our condition.
But how does this common theme of God seeking and finding us work out in practical day-by-day living? Does the idea encourage us to be spiritually lazy, doing nothing?
The Prodigal Son story seems on the superficial surface to contradict God's love seeking us, rather than vice versa. The lost son seems to take the initiative in his own salvation. "I will arise and go," he says to himself, and gets up out of the pigsty and goes--on his own (Luke 15:18). Like cars, he has a self-starter. The Father does NOT come seeking him, to "find" him. Forever after the boy can congratulate himself: "Yes, I was lost; but I found my way back! I'm saved because I 'sought' and 'found' salvation. I exerted the effort. I forced myself to take step after step. I did it. I'm saved by grace, but I'm also saved by my own obedience."
But wait a moment, Mr. Prodigal Son, Mr. Laodicean, not so fast. This parable illustrates how the Holy Spirit seeks and saves us lost ones. It was He who gave the boy sitting with the pigs the conviction that his Father loved him. The Holy Spirit inspired him with the motivation, because as the Comforter whom Jesus promised to send us, He, not self, convicted the boy of "sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment, ... because the prince of this world is condemned" (John 16:7-11).
Yes, we're "home," but only because the Good Shepherd sought and found us, and His Holy Spirit did not abandon us. By grace we are saved through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. And it's specifically and emphatically "not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9).
So, Mr. Laodicean, be humble; you're not rich and increased with goods.

Thought for the day: He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake...

Thought for the day: He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake...: He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5) Several times in the Scriptures the Lord hath said this. He h...

He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)

He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)

Several times in the Scriptures the Lord hath said this. He has often repeated it to make our assurance doubly sure. Let us never harbor a doubt about it. In itself the promise is specially emphatic. In the Greek it has five negatives, each one definitely shutting out the possibility of the Lord's ever leaving one of His people so that he can justly feel forsaken of his God. This priceless Scripture does not promise us exemption from trouble, but it does secure us against desertion. We may be called to traverse strange ways, but we shall always have our Lord's company, assistance, and provision. We need not covet money, for we shall always have our God, and God is better than gold; His favor is better than fortune.

We ought surely to be content with such things as we have, for he who has God has more than all the world besides. What can we have beyond the Infinite? What more can we desire than almighty Goodness.

Come, my heart; if God says He will never leave thee nor forsake thee, be thou much in prayer for grace that thou mayest never leave thy Lord, nor even for a moment forsake His ways.

Thought for the day: One of the most delightful qualities of divine lov...

Thought for the day: One of the most delightful qualities of divine lov...: For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my pe...

One of the most delightful qualities of divine love is its abiding character

For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. (Isaiah 54:10)

One of the most delightful qualities of divine love is its abiding character. The pillars of the earth may be moved out of their places, but the kindness and the covenant of our merciful Jehovah never depart from His people. How happy my soul feels in a firm belief of this inspired declaration! The year is almost over, and the years of my life are growing few, but time does not change my Lord. New lamps are taking the place of the old; perpetual change is on all things, but our Lord is the same. Force overturns the hills, but no conceivable power can affect the eternal God. Nothing in the past, the present, or the future can cause Jehovah to be unkind to me.

My soul, rest in the eternal kindness of the Lord, who treats thee as one near of kin. Remember also the everlasting covenant. God is ever mindful of it--see that thou art mindful of it too. In Christ Jesus the glorious God has pledged Himself to thee to be thy God and to hold thee as one of His people. Kindness and covenant-dwell on these words as sure and lasting things which eternity itself shall not take from thee.

Fiction does not build faith; it weakens it

There are precious lessons in the true history of the birth of Christ. And they are heart-warming, faith-building, to contemplate all through the year, not just in December. When Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32), the principle applies even to truths of the history of Jesus. Fiction does not build faith; it weakens it, even when it is cleverly designed and apparently "beautiful."
(1) God has wisely withheld from the world the knowledge of the actual day of Jesus' birth. It was never His plan for the world to celebrate any day for His birth, but rather to ponder constantly why He became "one" with us, taking upon His divine nature our fallen sinful nature and becoming "Immanuel," God with us. The New Testament is silent regarding the day of His birth or any practice of observing it. Danger lurks in creating customs that He has not commanded: "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted shall be uprooted" (Matt. 15:13).
(2) The danger is evident; look at the way "Christmas" has become a wild commercial extravaganza, precisely what Revelation 18:7ff describes as "Babylon." If children are not clearly taught the truth of the humble birth of Jesus in contrast to popular fiction, they will inevitably confuse idolatry ("covetousness," Luke 12:15) with Christian living. Expecting gifts rather than giving to Jesus becomes almost ineradicable. Such confusion leads directly to our "lukewarmness," which makes Jesus want to vomit (Rev. 3:16).
(3) A faith-building truth about the virgin Mary is lost when fiction replaces Bible facts. Abundant New Testament evidence reveals that she was a mature woman who had wrestled with her own serious problems and had overcome doubt through faith. She speaks in her poem of her "low estate" (Luke 1:48, KJV; Greek, tapeinosis, translated elsewhere as "humiliation," Acts 8:33; "abasement," Luke 14:11; even "vileness, " Phil. 3:21, KJV). What was outstanding about her was not teenage beauty and physical charm (as artists portray her), but her choice to "believe" (Luke 1:45). More than any woman, she had an immense capacity for sorrow, for a giant sword was to "pierce through [her] own soul also" (Luke 2:35; Greek, romphaia, used for Goliath's weapon, LXX [Septuagint]).
The Bible portrait suggests that like her Son, she was "acquainted with grief," perhaps even "despised of men."

God is our refuge and strength

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

A help that is not present when we need it is of small value. The anchor which is left at home is of no use to the seaman in the hour of storm; the money which he used to have is of no worth to the debtor when a writ is out against him. Very few earthly helps could be called "very present": they are usually far in the seeking, far in the using, and farther still when once used. But as for the Lord our God, He is present when we seek Him, present when we need Him, and present when we have already enjoyed His aid.

He is more than "present," He is very present. More present than the nearest friend can be, for He is in us in our trouble; more present than we are to ourselves, for sometimes we lack presence of mind. He is always present, effectually present, sympathetically present, altogether present. He is present now if this is a gloomy season. Let us rest ourselves upon Him. He is our refuge, let us hide in Him; He is our strength, let us array ourselves with Him; He is our help, let us lean upon Him; He is our very present help, let us repose in Him now. We need not have a moment's care or an instant's fear. "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."

He loves because He is love

He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:19)

God never turns from His love, but He soon turns from His wrath. His love to His chosen is according to His nature; His anger is only according to His office. He loves because He is love; He frowns because it is necessary for our good. He will come back to the place in which His heart rests, namely, His love to His own, and then He will take pity upon our griefs and end them.

What a choice promise is this--"He will subdue our iniquities!" He will conquer them. They try to enslave us, but the Lord will give us victory over them by His own right hand. Like the Canaanites, they shall be beaten, put under the yoke, and ultimately slain.

As for the guilt of our sins, how gloriously is that removed! "All their sins"--yes, the whole host of them; "thou wilt cast"--only an almighty arm could perform such a wonder; "into the depths of the sea"--where Pharaoh and his chariots went down. Not into the shallows out of which they might be washed up by the tide, but into the "depths" shall our sins be hurled. They are all gone. They sank into the bottom like a stone. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Verse of the day

PROVERBS 21:2
2 Every way of a man [is] right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.

whom you fear is only a man after all

I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? (Isaiah 51:12-13)

Let the text itself be taken as the portion for today. There is no need to enlarge upon it. Trembling one, read it, believe it, feed on it, and plead it before the Lord. He whom you fear is only a man after all; while He who promises to comfort you is God, your Maker, and the creator of heaven and earth. Infinite comfort more than covers a very limited danger.

"Where is the fury of the oppressor?" It is in the Lord's hand. It is only the fury of a dying creature; fury which will end as soon as the breath is gone from the nostril. Why, then, should we stand in awe of one who is as frail as ourselves? Let us not dishonor our God by making a god of puny man. We can make an idol of a man by rendering to him excessive fear as well as by paying him inordinate love. Let us treat men as men, and God as God; and then we shall go calmly on in the path of duty, fearing the Lord and fearing nobody else.

If we trust in the Lord, He keeps all our bones

He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is broken. (Psalm 34:20)

This promise by the context is referred to the much afflicted righteous man: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all." He may suffer skin wounds and flesh wounds, but no great harm shall be done; "not a bone of him shall be broken."

This is great comfort to a tried child of God, and comfort which I dare accept; for up to this hour I have suffered no real damage from my many afflictions. I have neither lost faith, nor hope, nor love. Nay so far from losing these bones of character, they have gained in strength and energy. I have more knowledge, more experience, more patience, more stability than I had before the trials came. Not even my joy has been destroyed. Many a bruise have I had by sickness, bereavement, depression, slander, and opposition; but the bruise has healed, and there has been no compound fracture of a bone, not even a simple one. The reason is not far to seek. If we trust in the Lord, He keeps all our bones; and if He keeps them, we may be sure that not one of them is broken.

Come, my heart, do not sorrow. Thou art smarting, but there are no bones broken. Endure hardness and bid defiance to fear.

The story of the Virgin Mary

The story of the Virgin Mary is of intense interest to all who are longing for Jesus to come again, as He promised (John 14:1-3).
She had something in common with that special group, the "144,000” mentioned in Revelation 14:1-5. They "follow the Lamb [the crucified Christ] wherever He goes.” They do not resist or seek to evade the call. She said "yes” to the angel sent from the Father to announce to her the decision to choose her to be the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:28-37). She did ask one question which was very appropriate and did not express any unbelief: "How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (vs. 34).
Otherwise, she offered no resistance or unbelief. Here was a call from heaven that totally would change the course of her life from then on; her sincere question answered, she readily agreed, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (vs. 38).
We search long to find a definition of what it means to "believe.” Well, here it is. The old lady Elizabeth used Mary's ready submission as a definition of faith. She said of Mary, "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord” (vs. 45; the word "blessed” means to be happy).
The "144,000” (obviously a symbolic number), have in the last days replicated Mary's happy consecration of herself to the Lord; they have done what the angel of great power says to do, "Come out of [Babylon], My people” (Rev. 18:1-4). These people are convicted of truth from God's word, truth that their family may not believe, nor their church, nor society in general. They are willing to step out for the sake of Christ and be considered "different” (cf. 1 Peter 2:9, KJV, for the word "peculiar”).
The "144,000” maybe for a long lifetime have endured opposition and even persecution from their family, their parents, or even their children. But just as the Virgin Mary was "blessed” (made happy), so this special group enjoy the gift of happiness in their submission of self to "the Lamb.”
When the Holy Spirit speaks to you through the Word, don't hesitate to respond with an enthusiastic "Yes.” Here I am, the child of God!

No one else can make all things new except the Lord

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. (Revelation 21:5)

Glory be to His name! All things need making new, for they are sadly battered and worn by sin. It is time that the old vesture was rolled up and laid aside, and that creation put on her new suit. But no one else can make all things new except the Lord who made them at the first; for it needs as much power to make out of evil as to make out of nothing. Our Lord Jesus has undertaken the task, and He is fully competent for the performance of it. Already he has commenced His labor, and for centuries He has persevered in making new the hearts of men and the order of society. By and by He will make new the whole constitution of human government, and human nature shall be changed by His grace; and there shall come a day when the body shall be made new and raised like unto His glorious body.

What a joy to belong to a kingdom in which everything is being made new by the power of its King! We are not dying out: we are hastening on to a more glorious life. Despite the opposition of the powers of evil, our glorious Lord Jesus is accomplishing His purpose and making us, and all things about us, "new" and as full of beauty as when they first came from the hand of the Lord.

But there is a problem that MUST be solved

But there is a problem that MUST be solved--the lukewarmness in the church. That word describes us all. How can such a church be ready for His second coming? Sincere people insist there is no problem--the church has always been that way and it always will be. "Christ will come when He gets ready, and if only a few are prepared to meet Him, that will be the end of the 'great controversy.'"
But wait a moment: Jesus says that His church being lukewarm makes Him so sick at His stomach that He feels like throwing up (Rev. 3:16 is clear). How can He come for a church that makes Him feel that way? And secondly, there must be a "marriage of the Lamb" before He can take His people home to glory (see Rev. 19:7-9). How can Jesus come if His Bride "hath [not] made herself ready" and makes Him feel like vomiting?
If Jesus cannot solve the problem of lukewarmness, He will forever be embarrassed throughout His great universe. How can He ascend the throne of His people's hearts if He cannot win them from a half-hearted, half-love the world/half-love Him, spiritual paralysis? Can He send disasters, like permitting Babylon to destroy Jerusalem? That would be like a Bridegroom sticking a pistol in his bride's back and telling her, "Say 'I do,' or I'll pull the trigger!" Could a marriage like that endure?
No, fear is not the answer. Jesus must somehow win the full heart-devotion of His church, or He can never be honored and glorified before the universe (and the world). There is only one way: reveal to His church His true character as "the Lamb that was slain." Let them SEE His cross, what His sacrifice amounted to, what it cost Him to save us, how He died our second death. That's why the Book of Revelation majors in the cross when it features Jesus as "the Lamb" twenty-five times.

Can we gain anything by fearing and fuming?

In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. (Isaiah 30:15)

It is always weakness to be fretting and worrying, questioning and mis-trusting. What can we do if we wear ourselves to skin and bone? Can we gain anything by fearing and fuming? Do we not unfit ourselves for action and unhinge our minds for wise decision? We are sinking by our struggles when we might float by faith.

Oh, for grace to be quiet! Why run from house to house to repeat the weary story which makes us more and more heart-sick as we tell it? Why even stay at home to cry out in agony because of wretched forebodings which may never be fulfilled? It would be well to keep a quiet tongue, but it would be far better if we had a quiet heart. Oh, to be still and know that Jehovah is God!

Oh, for grace to be confident in God! The Holy One of Israel must defend and deliver His own. He cannot run back from His solemn declarations. We may make sure that every word of His will stand though the mountains should depart. He deserves to be confided in; and if we would display confidence and consequent quietness, we might be as happy as the spirits before the throne.

Come, my soul, return unto thy rest, and lean thy head upon the bosom of the Lord Jesus.

I will be an enemy unto thine enemies

But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. (Exodus 23:22)

The Lord Christ in the midst of His people is to be acknowledged and obeyed. He is the vice-regent of God and speaks in the Father's name, and it is ours implicitly and immediately to do as He commands. We shall lose the promise if we disregard the precept.

To full obedience how large the blessing! The Lord enters into a league with His people, offensive and defensive. He will bless those who bless us and curse those who curse us. God will go heart and soul with His people and enter in deepest sympathy into their position. What a protection this affords us! We need not concern ourselves about our adversaries when we are assured that they have become the adversaries of God. If Jehovah has taken up our quarrel, we may leave the foemen in His hands.

So far as our own interest is concerned we have no enemies; but for the cause of truth and righteousness we take up arms and go forth to conflict. In this sacred war we are allied with the eternal God, and if we carefully obey the law of our Lord Jesus, He is engaged to put forth all His power on our behalf. Wherefore we fear no man.

The Lord will give strength unto his people

The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace. (Psalm 29:11)

David had just heard the voice of the Lord in a thunderstorm and had seen His power in the hurricane whose path he had described; and now, in the cool calm after the storm, that overwhelming power by which heaven and earth are shaken is promised to be the strength of the chosen. He who wings the unerring bolt will give to His redeemed the wings of eagles; He who shakes the earth with His voice will terrify the enemies of His saints and give His children peace. Why are we weak when we have divine strength to flee to? Why are we troubled when the Lord's own peace is ours? Jesus, the mighty God, is our strength; let us put Him on and go forth to our service. Jesus, our blessed Lord, is also our peace; let us repose in Him this day and end our fears. What a blessing to have Him for our strength and peace both now and forever!

That same God who rides upon the storm in days of tempest will also rule the hurricane of our tribulation and send us, before long, days of peace. We shall have strength for storms and songs for fair weather. Let us begin to sing at once unto God, our strength and our peace. Away, dark thoughts! Up, faith and hope!

Thought for the day: and where I am, there shall also my servant be

Thought for the day: and where I am, there shall also my servant be: If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor. (Jo...

and where I am, there shall also my servant be

If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor. (John 12:26)

The highest service is imitation. If I would be Christ's servant I must be His follower. To do as Jesus did is the surest way of bringing honor to His name. Let me mind this every day.

If I imitate Jesus I shall have His company: if I am like Him I shall be with Him. In due time He will take me up to dwell with Him above, if, meanwhile, I have striven to follow Him here below. After His suffering our Lord came to His throne, and even so, after we have suffered a while with Him here below, we also shall arrive in glory. The issue of our Lord's life shall be the issue of ours: if we are with Him in His humiliation we shall be with Him in His glory. Come, my soul, pluck up courage and put down thy feet in the blood-marked footprints which thy Lord has left thee.

Let me not fail to note that the Father will honor those who follow His Son. If He sees me true to Jesus, He will put marks of favor and honor upon me for His Son's sake. No honor can be like this. Princes and emperors bestow the mere shadows of honor; the substance of glory comes from the Father. Wherefore, my soul, cling thou to thy Lord Jesus more closely than ever.

I will be with thee

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (Isaiah 43:2)

Bridge there is none: we must go through the waters and feel the rush of the rivers. The presence of God in the flood is better than a ferryboat. Tried we must be, but triumphant we shall be; for Jehovah Himself, who is mightier than many waters, shall be with us. Whenever else He may be away from His people, the Lord will surely be with them in difficulties and dangers. The sorrows of life may rise to an extraordinary height, but the Lord is equal to every occasion.

The enemies of God can put in our way dangers of their own making, namely, persecutions and cruel mockings, which are like a burning, fiery furnace. What then? We shall walk through the fires. God being with us, we shall not be burned; nay, not even the smell of fire shall remain upon us.

Oh, the wonderful security of the heaven-born and heaven-bound pilgrim! Floods cannot drown him, nor fires burn him. Thy presence, O Lord, is the protection of Thy saints from the varied perils of the road. Behold, in faith I commit myself unto Thee, and my spirit enters into rest.

Come to Me" if we're weary and heavy-laden

The last page of the Bible invites us to come if we are thirsty, and "take the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17). And Jesus says, "Come to Me" if we're weary and heavy-laden, and He will give us "rest" (Matt. 11:28-30). So, we "come" and we are baptized, and we become members of the church. We are so happy at last to find fellowship in the Lord; heaven on earth.
And we continue to "read the Bible, and pray, and witness" like we're always told to do. And we believe the Bible and say so, but then opposition and controversy arise. We're tempted to wish that we had kept still. So, we are driven to our knees to pray, and we ask the Lord, "Why is this happening? I wanted peace, and now this 'war' has come!"
The Lord has indeed promised, "the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out"! (John 6:37). As you wait quietly before Him in prayer, He answers your questions faithfully:
(a) If you keep your eyes on Jesus you will see a Man who was cruelly crucified because He told the truth. And He tells us all, "I did not come to bring peace but a sword" (Matt. 10:34). Deny self, take up your cross daily (Luke 9:23). But wait a moment--you never fight a battle alone! This is what you must believe.
(b) He faithfully promises, "'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'" (Heb. 13:5, 6). You choose not to be afraid, in the Lord. Then … you're not afraid.
(c) Even in the church, the Lord's house, where we expect to find heaven on earth, we find conflict and even persecution. That's where the most severe and painful conflicts come! But the Lord still assures you, He won't forsake you.
(d) He loves the church for it is yet to become the Bride of Christ; and it does indeed have very severe problems within it, for Jesus tells the leadership of the church today that of all the "seven churches" of world history, you are the one outstandingly "miserable, poor, blind, and naked" (the little Greek word "ho" is there, the one; Rev. 3:17).
(e) Therefore do not give up on the church, the body of Christ, His Bride-to-be. The final victory in the "great controversy between Christ and Satan" comes at the very end and it requires that the church finally "overcome" and do what He says in Revelation 3:19--repent. It won't at last be fear that motivates her, but a deeper appreciation of what it cost Him to save us. That melted-hearted repentance will come, it has to come; hang on!

He shall cover thee with his feathers

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. (Psalm 91:4)

A condescending simile indeed! Just as a hen protects her brood and allows them to nestle under her wings, so will the Lord defend His people and permit them to hide away in Him. Have we not seen the little chicks peeping out from under the mother's feathers? Have we not heard their little cry of contented joy? In this way let us shelter ourselves in our God and feel overflowing peace in knowing that He is guarding us.

While the Lord covers us, we trust. It would be strange if we did not. How can we distrust when Jehovah Himself becomes house and home, refuge and rest to us?

This done, we go out to war in His name and enjoy the same guardian care. We need shield and buckler, and when we implicitly trust God, even as the chick trusts the hen, we find His truth arming us from head to foot. The Lord cannot lie; He must be faithful to His people; His promise must stand. This sure truth is all the shield we need. Behind it we defy the fiery darts of the enemy.

Come, my soul, hide under those great wings, lose thyself among those soft feathers! How happy thou art!

He that walketh uprightly walketh surely. (Proverbs 10:9)

His walk may be slow, but it is sure. He that hasteth to be rich shall not be innocent nor sure; but steady perseverance in integrity, if it does not bring riches, will certainly bring peace. In doing that which is just and right, we are like one walking upon a rock, for we have confidence that every step we take is upon solid and safe ground. On the other hand, the utmost success through questionable transactions must always be hollow and treacherous, and the man who has gained it must always be afraid that a day of reckoning will come, and then his gains will condemn him.

Let us stick to truth and righteousness. By God's grace let us imitate our Lord and Master, in whose mouth no deceit was ever found. Let us not be afraid of being poor, nor of being treated with contempt. Never, on any account whatever, let us do that which our conscience cannot justify. If we lose inward peace, we lose more than a fortune can buy. If we keep in the Lord's own way and never sin against our conscience, our way is sure against all comers. Who is he that can harm us if we be followers of that which is good? We may be thought fools by fools if we are firm in our integrity; but in the place where judgment is infallible we shall be approved.