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Overland Monthly / OV176 - "Songs of the Night"
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OV176 "SONGS OF THE NIGHT"
BY C. T. RUSSELL Pastor of Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
The Lesson #Ps 85
"The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad."—#Ps 126:3.
WE ARE STILL in the night of weeping.
Sickness, sorrow, sighing and dying continue, and will continue until
the glorious morning of MessiahÂ’s Kingdom breaks. How glad we are to
have learned that then the glorious change will come to earth. The
Prophet David expresses this thought, saying: "Weeping may endure for a
night, but joy cometh in the morning." (#Ps 30:5.)
St. Paul expressed the same sentiment when he declared, "The whole
creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, waiting
for the manifestation of the Sons of God" (#Ro 8:22.)
The Sons of God in glory will, with their Lord, constitute EmmanuelÂ’s
Kingdom, and at present these Sons of God are comparatively little
known or recognized amongst men; frequently they are considered
"peculiar people," because of their zeal for righteousness and truth,
and for God. "Beloved, now are we the Sons of God, and it doth not yet
appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear we shall
be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is," and we shall share His
glory, honor, and immortality and with Him scatter Divine blessings to
all the families of the earth."
A Song of Deliverance.
Our lesson, the 85th Psalm, may properly
have served several applications. The first of these would be to
IsraelÂ’s deliverance from the Babylonian captivity, when Cyrus gave
permission that all who desired might return to Palestine. About
fifty-three thousand—a small number—availed themselves of this
privilege and of his assistance. The people rejoiced in this
manifestation of the turning away of Divine disfavor, and the return to
them of GodÂ’s favor and blessing. The pardon of their transgressions as
a nation was here evidenced in this privilege of returning to GodÂ’s
favor. A secondary application of the Song is just before us. Israel
has been in a far greater captivity in Christendom during the past
eighteen centuries. She has the promise, nevertheless, of a mighty
deliverance. The Cyrus who granted them liberty to return from literal
Babylon was a type of the great Messiah who is about to give full
liberty for the return of God’s ancient people to Divine favor—to
Palestine. IsraelÂ’s sins have not yet been taken away, even as the
worldÂ’s sins have not yet been taken away. The great Redeemer has,
indeed, died for sin, and He is the sinnerÂ’s friend, but as yet He has
only appeared in the presence of God for us—the Church—not for the
world. He is only the ChurchÂ’s Advocate now. He advocates for none
except those who come to God and give Him their hearts and lives; and
these are the saintly only—such as love righteousness and hate
iniquity.
The world is enslaved by Sin and Death,
the twin monarchs who are now reigning and causing mankind to groan. We
were born in this enslaved condition, as the Scriptures declare:
OV177 "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity,
in sin did my mother conceive me." Our race, groaning under the
weaknesses and imperfections we have thus inherited—mental, moral and
physical, long for the promised deliverance from the bondage of sin and
death. The majority of mankind undoubtedly feel the gall of their
slavery, and will be glad to be free.
Deliverance at Hand.
The great Deliverer is the antitypical
Cyrus. Soon He will go forth to victory, and will establish His Kingdom
under the whole heavens. Soon the Church class, the saints, "the
elect," will be glorified, and then the time will come for the blessing
of the non-elect—for their restitution to human perfection and to a
world-wide Paradise, which MessiahÂ’s power and Kingdom will introduce.
"He must reign until He hath put all enemies under His feet; the last
enemy that shall be destroyed is death." Sheol, hades, the grave, will
be no more; death will be destroyed by the resurrection of the dead
therefrom, "Every one in his own order." Many of the LordÂ’s people who
can see something of the blessings due at the second advent, and who
appreciate in some measure the fact that the Lord comes again to bestow
the great blessings secured by His death, fail to see this other
proposition; viz., that those in their graves have as much interest in
that glorious reign of Messiah as those who at that time will be less
completely under the bondage of corruption—death. But as surely as
Jesus died for all, they all must have the blessings and opportunities
which he purchased with His own precious blood. Hence we should expect
blessings in the Millennial Age upon all those in the grave as well as
upon those not in it; and of this we will find abundant proof, as we
look further into the LordÂ’s testimony on the subject. It is because of
GodÂ’s plan for their release that those in the tomb are called
"prisoners of hope." The prevailing opinion is that death ends all
probation; but there is no Scripture which so teaches. God does not
purpose to save men on account of ignorance, but "will have all men to
come unto the knowledge of the truth" (#1Ti 2:4.)
Since the masses of mankind have died in ignorance, and since "there is
no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave" (#Ec 9:10),
therefore God has prepared for the awakening of the dead, in order to
knowledge, faith and salvation. Hence His plan is, that "as all in Adam
die, even so shall all in Christ be made alive."
The Secret of Joy.
While the whole creation groans under its
load of sin and sorrow, the saints may sing and rejoice, even in the
midst of all the sorrows of life, even though they share the results of
sin as fully or even more fully than do others. The secret of their joy
is twofold:
(1) They have experienced reconciliation to God;
(2) They have submitted their wills to His will.
They obtained this new relationship by
the way of faith in the Redeemer—faith in His blood of Atonement. They
entered by the "strait gate" and "narrow way" of consecration to
God—surrendering their own wills and covenanting to do the Divine will
to the best of their ability. This submission of the will to God and
the realization that all their lifeÂ’s affairs are in GodÂ’s keeping and
under His supervision give rest to the heart. They have a rest and
peace in this surrendered condition which they never knew when they
sought to gratify self-will and ignored the right of their Creator to
the homage of their hearts and the obedience of their lives.
Believers Visualize Stories to Come.
Similarly, these have joy and peace, and
songs of thankfulness to God, because to them He grants a knowledge of
His Divine purposes, and shows them "things to come." These see beyond
the trials and tribulations of the present time—they see the glories
that will follow the present time of suffering. These see that the
Church, the
OV178 saintly ones of all denominations
and of all nationalities, are prospective heirs of God—heirs of glory,
honor and immortality; and associates with the Redeemer in His glorious
Kingdom. This encourages and stimulates them. They also see the
outlines of the Divine Program for the blessing of all the families of
the earth.
When they thus perceive that God is
interested in their dear ones who are not saints, and interested in the
whole human family, very few of whom are saints, it gives them cause
for rejoicing. When they perceive that God has arranged that through
Christ and the glorified Church all the families of the earth shall be
blessed, it makes them "joyful in the house of their pilgrimage"—while
waiting for their own change from human to Divine nature. Seeing the
provision which God has made for the world of mankind, they are
contented, and are glad to have GodÂ’s will done in themselves and in
all the earth.
SOMETIMES I ALMOST WONDER
SOMETIMES I almost wonder if my Lord doth really know About the many little things that wound my poor heart so.
I can but wonder if He knows the
anguish of my soul, When tempests beat upon my head, and surging
billows roll; I wonder if He hears at night my weary, longing sighs, I
wonder if He sees the tears that tremble in mine eyes!
I wonder if my burdens weigh upon His tender heart, And in my many sorrows, if His great love shares a part!
***
Ah! no, I will not wonder, I will silence every fear, IÂ’ve read that
"in His bottle He doth treasure up each tear;" I know that He who heeds
the smallest sparrow when it falls, Will surely, surely hearken when
His own child feebly calls; I know that He who stilled the waves on
GalileeÂ’s dark sea, Will bid the storms of life, "Be still," that
rudely threaten me.
Ah! no, I do not wonder, I am sure my Lord doth know About the many, many things that wound my poor heart so!
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