Power In God's Presence.

Jos 3:15  And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) 

Jos 3:16  That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. 

Jos 3:17  And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. 

Continued

These shepherds that have opposed the truth, have not only refused to work for God in repairing the breach in the law; but they have done their best to hinder others. They would not go up into the breach themselves, and many of those who would go, they have hindered. In this way they have stood in the way of God's work, and the blood of souls will be found on their garments. What fearfulness will surprise these men, when the wrath of Almighty God is poured out, and they find out too late, that they are without a shelter; and what an awful thing to come up to the judgment, with their garments all stained over with the blood of precious souls, whom they have spiritually slaughtered.

" Howl, ye shepherds, and cry ; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock : for the days of YOUR SLAUGHTER and of YOUR DISPERSIONS are accomplished ; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. And the shepherds shall have NO WAY to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escapes" Jer. 25 : 34, 35.

This is when " evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth;" and when the " slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth, even unto the other end of the earth ;" and when "they shall NOT BE LAMENTED, NEITHER GATHERED, NOR BURIED."

Evil has begun to go forth from nation to nation, and the signs are fast gathering all around us, that the great and dreadful

28  THE PRESENT TRUTH

day of wrath and slaughter, will soon burst upon the world.

The thirty-fourth chapter of Ezekiel is a prophetic description of the cruel work of these shepherds, in scattering the flock since 1844, by opposing the present truth ; and of the deliverance of those who overcome.

" Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds ; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves ! should not the shepherds feed the flocks ?" Ezk 34 : 2.

 The flock here represents God's people who were called out of the sectarian churches, and were one united flock in 1844, and have since been scattered.

 " And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture; are MEN and I am your God."— Verse 31st.

God has promised to gather the feeble scattered flock. Those honest souls that have been thrust by these shepherds, till they are scattered abroad, will be gathered home.

"I will seek 'that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick; but' I will destroy the fat and the strong ; I will feed them with judgment." Verse 16th.

The scattering has been from the true position ; and the gathering will be to the 'present true position.

The saints are to be gathered into the unity of the faith, where they will no longer be " tossed to and fro," by the " cunning craftiness of men." (These shepherds.) See Eph. iv : 11-16. They will all be united on the great sealing truth, which is the Sabbath of the Lord our God.

" Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures'? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet." Verses 18th and 19th„

The present truth relating to the Sabbath, and our advent experience, or as John has it in Rev 14 : 12 ; 12 : 17, " the commandments of God, and the faith, or testimony of Jesus Christ," is to us the living bread and water of heaven. It is our spiritual meat and drink. This meat in due season, the shepherds have trodden,  down, and fouled it with their feet. They have called the holy Sabbath. a yoke of bondage, and the Sabbath of the old Jews, and have represented those that observe it, as having fallen from grace, and being under the bondage of the law of Moses. We have also been called fanatics, because we would follow the Lord, and the Bible, and keep the Sabbath according to the commandment.   Our holy experience, wrought in us by the power of the Holy Ghost, as we followed the sure Word in 1843, and '44, has been called by them the work of Man, Mesmerism, or of the Devil. In this way these shepherds, who have not gone up into the gap, have trodden down the good pasture, and fouled the deep waters; but God's people eat that which they have trodden with their feet.

 The scattering time since 1844, has truly been "a dark and cloudy day." The weary and torn flock have been grieved, driven, and scattered upon the mountains ; but the gathering time has come, and the sheep are beginning to hear the cheering voice of the true Shepherd, in the commandments of God, and the testimony of Jesus, as they are being more fully proclaimed. The message will go, the sheep will be gathered into the present truth, and the breach restored. All the powers of earth and hell combined, cannot stop the work of God. Then let the message fly, for time is short.

 God has wonderfully honored his ten commandments. The power and glory of God that attended the ark of the covenant, parted the waters of the river Jordan, and rolled them back ; so that they stood upon an heap, in the days of Joshua, while all Israel passed over on dry ground. The priests took up the ark;  and the people. moved on after it; and when the soles of the priests feet that bore the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, Jordan parted. The feet of the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the river, while the people hasted and passed over. Then when the priests that bore the ark came up out of Jordan, and stood upon the bank of the river, down came the waters of Jordan, and flowed over all his banks as before.

 The walls of Jericho fell down before the ark of God. Seven priests went before the ark, blowing their simple trumpets of rams horns, as they compassed the city each day, for six day in succession. Then on the seventh day, the ark of the Lord went round the city seven times in like manner ; " and when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people

THE PRESENT , TRUTH.  29

Shout ;" and down came the walls of Jericho, before the ark of the covenant.

 When Israel kept the ten commandments they prevailed, and subdued their enemies; but when they broke any of them, they -were smitten, and compelled to flee before them.

 Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, broke the seventh commandment, and made the Lord's people to transgress. Therefore when Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, they were smitten before the Philistines, and there fell of them " about four thousand men," and the ark of God was taken.

 When the messenger told Eli that the ark of God was taken, he fell from his seat backward, " and his neck brake, and he died." He was not so much effected in hearing of the slaughter of four thousand of the men of Israel, and of the death of his two sons; but when the messenger "made mention of the ark of God, he fell from his seat;" for he knew that the glory had departed from Israel.

The Philistines put the ark into the house of Dagon, their god, and in the morning, "behold Dag-on was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord." They set him in his place again; and the next morning they found Dagon on his face, with his head, and the palms of his hands cut off.

The ark was in the country of the Philistines seven months, and _during this time "the hand of the Lord was against them with a very great destruction ;" and they were exceeding anxious to get rid of the ark of God, and have it go back to Israel, where it belonged. They made a new cart, and laid the ark upon it, and took two milch-kine that had never been yoked, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.

 "And the king took the straight way to the way of Beth shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left." 1 Sam. vi: 12. The cart came into the field of Joshua; and the Levites took it down, and set it 'on the great stone of Abel. Here, fifty thousand and seventy of the men of Beth-shemesh were slain, because they looked into the ark.

It was the power and glory that attended the law of God that parted Jordan, and gave the children of Israel victory and power, as they entered the land of promise ; and it will be the glory and power of the commandments, that will enable the saints of the Most High "to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord" and take the kingdom.

Then they were engraven in stones; but now they are to be sealed in the hearts, and minds (foreheads) of the saints of the Most High, by the Holy Spirit of promise.

There is as much power in the commandments of God now, as ever there was; and when the whole law of God is observed by all his people, and the breach fully repaired, then " the house of Israel will stand in the battle in the day of the Lord,"

 When Israel transgressed one of the commandments, they were driven before their enemies, and if we violate the fourth, we shall fall in the day of slaughter. Therefore our present work is to vindicate the Sabbath of the Lord our God, and thus repair the breach that has been made in the commandments.

To be continued….

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Taken from-

THE PRESENT TRUTH, 

PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY—BY JAMES WHITE.

Vol. 1.  MIDDLETOWN, CONN. AUGUST, 1849.  No.4

We are now studying - 'The Present Truth' papers published in the middle 1800's. These are called the 'Present Truth' because it WAS Present Truth for that time. So why study them now? Because TRUTH at any time is worth studying, and we KNOW that often ORIGINAL truth presented before Satan has had an opportunity to corrupt it, can be very enlightening. At the very least we will see, by the grace of God, through the Holy Spirit, what truth then is still uncorrupted today and still very relevant for us living in these dark, dark times. Our world today compared to a hundred and seventy years ago is so much worse than it was, with so much evil being called good, and good being called evil.  May God bless us as we seek HIS truth for us in our present, bringing us only closer to Him and prayerfully the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!