Sermon/Sermon at Melrose, Massachusetts
Melrose, Massachusetts
August 27, 1904
Previously unpublished.
(This first ten or fifteen minutes of this talk were not taken down.)
Christ did not forget His mother. He looks at John who had been His near and close disciple, and He said, “Behold your mother,” and to the mother, “Behold your son.” [John 19:27, 26.] The care was to come upon John. Thank God, my dear friends, O I am so thankful that every one of us can receive and believe in Christ. They took away my Saviour from the cross. He was laid in the tomb of the rich ruler, but at the time appointed, after He had rested on the Sabbath in the grave, a mighty angel came from heaven and parted the darkness from his track. He laid hold of that stone, notwithstanding they had set a seal upon it, he rolled it away as a pebble, and the bright beams of light from the angel laid every one of the watchmen upon the ground. But they understood. They could tell it. They went away from the grave expressing all about it, but the ones who had done the cruel work heard them, and hired them for money to testify to a lie, so as to hide the fact. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 1
Did they hide it? Our Saviour fixed that matter. He tarried forty days and forty nights upon the earth, and here He revealed Himself from time to time. You remember the history of those disciples who were so full of sorrow. They had heard the report, but they did not believe a word of it, that Christ was risen. They were going in a short distance, and they started on their way and were telling of their grief and of their sorrow. Who came right by their side? Who was it? I hear you speaking one to another. He says, “What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?” “Why,” said they, “haven’t you heard that Jesus Christ, a man mighty in word and deed, they have taken Him and have crucified Him, and the message comes that He is risen again?” [Luke 24:17-23.] But they cannot believe anything about that. Then He took the Scriptures and opened to them the Scriptures, and there He showed them the testimony of the Scriptures. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 2
He gave the Scriptures to them, and their hearts began to be light, that all these things that were prophesied would come to Him. They did not know who He was. “A man mighty in word and deed,” they could report. [Verse 19.] But as they came to where their journey ended, they were in such distress of mind, they felt that they must do something. Christ was going right on, and they invited Him to come in and to tarry with them, to eat with them, and as they sat at the table to break bread, they looked with perfect astonishment as He asked the blessing, and they understood the motion of His hand, and what else did they see? The marks of the crucifixion, and they cried out, “My Lord and my God.” But He was not there. He left them, and they started on their way. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 3
They went stumbling along on their way not realizing that they had a companion right with them. He was walking with them, and when they went right to the place where they knew that the disciples were assembled, there they made their signal, and entered and told them the story, and the women who had just come from the sepulcher, were telling the story that Christ had risen. But they did not believe the women, and they did not believe the men, until He came. They did not perceive that Christ was there, but He made Himself known unto them by the marks of the crucifixion, that He was the Christ that had been crucified. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 4
It was over the rent sepulcher of Joseph that Christ proclaimed, “I am the resurrection and the life.” [John 11:25.] Every one who loses his life here will come up again, they shall see the King in His beauty, in His matchless charms, and the marks of the crucifixion are the bright beams that come from His hands when He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He has His human body and His divine body. He has the human and the divine natures blended. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 5
When we consider what unbelief our Saviour had to meet, are we surprised? The Lord God of heaven and the angels that unite with Him are in this assembly this very day. He knows the heart of every one of us. My heart is filled with thanksgiving if one soul can be saved. We are making every effort possible that we may reach souls that are in darkness. We are working with all the powers that God will supply us with. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 6
I shall be seventy-seven years old next November. I have waited a good while for the Saviour’s coming, but I shall wait until I see the King in His beauty. I shall not give up the hope, because He said He would come. “Let not your heart be troubled.” That is what we are looking for. “I will come again. I will receive you unto Myself, that where I am there ye may be.” [John 14:1, 3.] And this is why we are Adventists. Well, what makes you keep the Sabbath day? Why don’t you keep the day that all the rest of the world keeps? Have you studied your Bible to see what is the very day that God has said that you should observe? You read in the twentieth chapter of Exodus where the law is given. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 7
In the thirty-first chapter of Exodus, from the twelfth to the eighteenth verses, you can see what it demonstrated as the day that God gave in Eden for man’s observance. No one should forget that the Sabbath day was the very day that God finished all His work. He rested and was refreshed, and He gave that day to the world. He gave it to His people, and there you will find in the texts that I have given you how strong is the evidence. Then that is why we are Seventh-day Adventists. That is why we are seeking to enlighten the world, that they shall not meet our Lord over His broken law. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 8
We want that every one of you, if you lie in the grave, shall come up in the first resurrection, and that the mortal will put on immortality, and the corruption will put on incorruption, and the voices will be heard saying, “This is our God, we have waited for Him.” [Isaiah 25:9.] There the glory will ascend to Jesus Christ, as He translates us to those mansions. He said that He would give to us the mansions that He would go to prepare for us. He swings back the pearly gates upon their glittering hinges, and He welcomes in every soul that bears the marks of the Almighty. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 9
When I come to this I always have to say something else. I always have to speak about the fathers and the mothers and your work, your responsibilities to educate, to train the children in regard to obedience to the commandments of God. The Lord would have every one of us in that position that we could glorify God. O I am so glad. Here we read: 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 10
Matthew 5:1-3. Those who feel a poverty will come to One who is able and that is rich in mercies, and He will supply them, so there is a blessing upon them. They want a better world. They want another kingdom. They are not satisfied with the earthly element, they are not satisfied with the atmosphere that is created by those who love not God and keep not His commandments. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 11
Verse 4. Mourn over what? Their trials? They mourn because Christ is not appreciated. It is not over their trials. We expect trials, and we want to let all the sunshine into our hearts that is possible, that we shall make all the pleasantness to be brought into the Christian life and experience that is possible. We want others to say, Although we mourn because our Saviour is not honored and respected and glorified, yet we have a cheerfulness in our Christian experience. We have no right to go grumbling and complaining and finding fault and making difficulties in the church over supposed trials. Get them healed. How? Didn’t Jesus tell you what to do? Isn’t it plain? When you come to the altar and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, you are to leave your gift right there. Do not offer it first because it would not be accepted. Go right to that brother, and say, Now I want to know if we cannot harmonize. We cannot afford to be professedly serving God, and not act according to His Word. What is the matter? What have I done, and I will clear it out of the way. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 12
You will no more than get those words out of his lips than there is somebody kneeling down with you, and you will find the difficulty is settled. You need not go to pour out that difficulty before the church. You go right to the very man who supposes you have done him an injury, and you know you have not, but if you know you have, go heartily and confess your fault and be forgiven. Now this means unity in the church. This means harmony. This means comfort. This means love, and you educate yourselves in this line, you will realize a power in your experience that you never thought you could have. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 13
Now, the Lord wants every one of us to heed every word that He has spoken, which will create harmony and peace and light and joy to your heart. You must have it in your heart. You must not stand as a block in the way of your fellow man. You must remove every hindrance out of the way, and every root of bitterness that springs up. You are not to cut if off so that it will spring up again, but take it right out by the roots, and say, This is the last. I will have none of these roots of bitterness. I will have none of these to poison the minds of my friends and my neighbor against another mind, against another heart, against another character. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 14
God help us that we may every one consider that this meeting appointed here is for every one of you to remove every stumbling block out of the way. You are to do this lest the lame be turned out of the way. Who are the lame? There are a good many lame ones in the church who catch hold of a little thing, and a mote becomes a mountain, and a mountain of goodness and grace that they have seen in their fellow men dwindles to a mote. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 15
Now, it is best for us, if we expect to carry forward the work of the Master intelligently, to begin to take right hold of it understandingly, and be determined that we will be victorious, be determined that we will have the victory, and that we will clear away the difficulty. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 16
I remember a man by the name of Howland, and there are others here who may remember the man. He lived in Brunswick, Maine. We met at his house there for some time because we were pilgrims. He said, I am going to see the fisherman. He went, and as he came up, he met him in the road. Now said he, “Brother Curtis,” and he dropped right on his knees—a great, tall, noble-looking man—he dropped on his knees at the feet of this humble fisherman. “Brother Curtis, I want you to forgive me.” “Forgive you! Brother Howland, I have nothing to forgive.” “Yes, you have,” said he, “else you never would pass me by and not notice me at all, and I want to know what is in the way. Now tell me, and I am going to wrench it right out of the way.” 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 17
Curtis was upon his feet, and his hands were under his arms, and he lifted him up and fell on his neck. “It is me, it is me,” said he. “You never have done a thing. It is my jealousy and envy, and I give it up right here.” 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 18
Now supposing some of us should learn the simplicity and science of true godliness. Don’t you think it would be a profitable thing to bring into the church? Well, we want unity, unity. Now the blessings continue. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 19
Verse 5. Now, if we want to inherit this earth that has been all purified and cleansed, and the city of God has descended from heaven and come upon the earth, and we have a home in that city if we want to be members of the royal family, and children of the heavenly King, we had better take ourselves in hand. And when you think someone has got something against you, leave your gift at the altar and reconcile it. Go right to them and tell them that you want to be reconciled, and there are but few can stand against that. It is because we are not meek that we let these things pass along. God does not want them to pass along in that way. Would there not be a sweet atmosphere. Will there not be a love, will there not be a shining of the countenance? Will there not be praise and glory ascending to God and to the Lamb forever and ever? Think of these things. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 20
“Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.” [Verse 7.] I am glad of that. They will obtain mercy from Christ; they will obtain mercy from God. They will obtain mercy from the very ones that are not naturally merciful, and they will teach them the lesson of what it means to be a child of God and an heir of heaven. They will understand the science of simplicity. All these scientific sophistries, they are not your need, but when you come to the science of eternal life, there is everything to it when we carry out the simplicity that was in the character of Jesus Christ. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 21
Now His invitation: “Come unto Me ... upon you.” [Matthew 11:28, 29.] My yoke. You have a yoke of your own, and you will have the biggest difficulty, because you do not give any room in your heart. He wants heavenly favor to come into every heart that is here today. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 22
It is possible for us to lighten up our home, to let the light of heaven come into our families. And let not one word be spoken, because your words are a talent, and your tongue is a talent, and your brain faculties are a talent, and none of these things are to be exercised in a wrong direction. If you exercise them thus, there is no place for them in heaven, nor for you. But if you will repent and be converted, you will take right hold of the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. It is His cleansing power that is to purify and cleanse and refine my heart of sin and all unrighteousness. I want that my children shall wear the white robe of Christ’s righteousness. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 23
I see you children listening. I thank you for listening, and I want you to remember that you are God’s little ones, and that He will teach you the lesson if you will only study what it means to have the peace and mercy and the love of God in your own hearts. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 24
There was one mother who felt the great burden upon her of bringing up her children. She said, I had heard the Master is where we can find Him. Now I am going to Him. And she went there over the dusty roads. She met her neighbors and they asked where she was going. I am going to meet Jesus who gives peace and comfort, and heals sorrows and afflictions. “Well,” they say, “that is just what we want, we will go too.” And they had quite a little army that was travelling, ready to come where Christ was. And when they came to where He was teaching the multitudes—Christ had watched them all the way, and He was waiting to hear about their reception. The disciples said, “The Master cannot be troubled. He is teaching; there are many people here, and He cannot be troubled.” He caught the words, and He said, “Forbid them not. Suffer little children to come ... of heaven.” [Matthew 19:14.] 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 25
Now I want you to educate your children that God has just such children in the kingdom of heaven, and you must bring heaven into your own home. The mother, what is she? She is the queen of the home. She is a teacher of the little ones, and she is a teacher to the older ones and the younger ones. That is the mother’s place. Then let the mother educate her children, that they are to be children of God, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. But it is the main business of their family to educate the children that they have brought into the world without voice or consent of themselves. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 26
Now, they are the property of Jesus Christ, and every one of you is to stand in right relation to God in regard to your children. It is to educate; it is to train them for the future, immortal life. And then you are to educate the older children to take care of the younger, and let the mother see how the cases are managed, and let them see that there are no cross words, no fretful words. Many a young man has found no place in the parlor. The best room in the house is for your young men and your children, not simply to be used for company, but your company that you want with you in the heavenly courts, it is those that you have brought into the world. God help you to feel that your manners must come under the discipline of heaven. Now, I might dwell at length upon this point, but I will not. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 27
I have thrown out a few words for you, and God wants you to act upon them. If you have a quick, hasty temper, I would advise that mother not to open her lips when an accident happens, to get right away from her children and say, We will settle this matter afterwards. And when she has gone before God in prayer, when she has sought counsel of the mighty One, she may come to her children, and angels will listen and will impress the minds of these children. That is God’s work, just as much as the highest church work that you can ever do from house to house. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 28
God does not want the little ones to be neglected, because they are your property and God’s property, and you are to fit them to become loyal and true members of the family of heaven. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 29
Now I will say to you, Begin a new life. Let there be a new home; let there be pleasant words. They will not blister your tongues, nor will it make it weary to speak pleasant words. It is just as well as to speak cross, fretful words, because you are educating yourself, and with that education that is foreign to kindness, foreign to sweetness of disposition, you never will enter the courts above. You have none too much time to form a character for the future, immortal life. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 30
We want that every soul of you should take hold of the hand of the mighty One. Now what did Christ do? He took the little children in His arms, and the weary little ones lay their head against His great heart of love, His bosom of compassion, and He blessed them. Now, from the light that God has given me, the very ones that received that blessing, it was told them over and over that Christ had put His hands on their heads, and they were prepared to become laborers together with Jesus Christ, to press forward His work in our world. God help fathers and mothers that the church in their house shall be ready, and you take them right to the church and let them bear their testimonies. They can tell their little stories and work of overcoming. That is what you are to do. Lead them along step by step. Christ received little children in His busy teaching. Then let us learn a lesson. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 31
[Matthew 5] Verses 7-9. This is our work. But what about the father’s place? I almost passed that by. The father is priest in the household, to be honored and respected, and then what? He is the house-band; he is to bind the whole household together. He is to keep his intelligence. He is not to go to the dramshop; he is not to spoil his brain by the use of tobacco or liquor, or any of these indulgences of perverted appetite. He wants a clear mind. He wants a mind so that he can know how to distinguish between right and wrong, and distinguish between a mistake and a willful sin. All these things want to be understood. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 32
The mother is never to be the slave in the household. The children are to be educated to come right up and help the mother in the little duties from their childhood, and the mothers, they would not so many of them be sleeping in the grave today if the children were trained as they ought to be trained, to consider that they are a part of the firm, and that they must do their duty at their post, as ones that are to make the family firm complete. They are to act their part. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 33
Let me tell you, the angels of God never pass by such a household as that. Not one who has a cross, fretful temper will ever enter the gates of heaven. You had better take your education and understand the science of sophistries, to understand the science of education, and then you are to be fitted for the courts above, to become members with your children of the royal family, to be children of the heavenly King. This is what God wants you to be. 19LtMs, Ms 167, 1904, par. 34