A Hymn Of The Captivity
“Praise ye Jehovah.
“Oh give thanks unto Jehovah; for He is good; For His loving-kindness endureth forever. Who can utter the mighty acts of Jehovah, Or show forth all His praise? Blessed are they that keep justice, And he that doeth righteousness at all times. Remember me, O Jehovah, with the favor that Thou bearest unto Thy people; Oh visit me with Thy salvation, That I may see the prosperity of Thy chosen, That I may rejoice in the gladness of Thy nation, That I may glory with Thine inheritance.
I
“We have sinned with our fathers, We have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. Our fathers understood not Thy wonders in Egypt; They remembered not the multitude of Thy loving-kindnesses. But were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea. “Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake, That He might make His mighty power to be known. He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up: So He led them through the depths, as through a wilderness. And He saved them from the hand of him that hated them, And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. And the waters covered their adversaries; There was not one of them left. Then believed they His words; They sang His praise.
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II
“They soon forgat His works; They waited not for His counsel, But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tempted God in the desert. And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul. They envied Moses also in the camp, And Aaron the saint of Jehovah. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, And covered the company of Abiram. And a fire was kindled in their company The flame burned up the wicked. They made a calf in Horeb, And worshiped a molten image. Thus they changed their glory For the likeness of an ox that eateth grass.
“They forgot God their Saviour, Who had done great things in Egypt, Wondrous works in the land of Ham, And terrible things by the Red Sea. Therefore He said that He would destroy them, Had not Moses His chosen stood before Him in the breach, To turn away His wrath, lest He should destroy them.
III
“Yea, they despised the pleasant land, They believed not His word, But murmured in their tents, And hearkened not unto the voice of Jehovah. Therefore He sware unto them, That He would overthrow them in the wilderness, And that He would overthrow their seed among the nations, And scatter them in the lands. They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, And ate the sacrifices of the dead. Thus they provoked Him to anger with their doings; And the plague brake in upon them. “Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment; And so the plague was stayed. And that was reckoned unto him for righteousness, Unto all generations for evermore.
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IV
“They angered Him also at the waters of Meribah, So that it went ill with Moses for their sakes; Because they were rebellious against his spirit, And he spake unadvisedly with his lips. They did not destroy the peoples, As Jehovah commanded them, But mingled themselves with the nations, And learned their works, And served their idols, Which became a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto demons, And shed innocent blood, Even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, Whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with blood. Thus were they defiled with their works, And played the harlot in their doings.
“Therefore was the wrath of Jehovah kindled against His people, And He abhorred His inheritance. And He gave them into the hand of the nations; And they that hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, And they were brought into subjection under their hand. Many times did He deliver them; But they were rebellious in their counsel, And were brought low in their iniquity. “Nevertheless He regarded their distress, When He heard their cry: And He remembered for them His covenant, And repented according to the multitude of His loving-kindnesses. He made them also to be pitied Of all those that carried them captive.
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“Save us, O Jehovah our God, And gather us from among the nations, To give thanks unto Thy holy name, And to triumph in Thy praise.
“Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting. And let all the people say, Amen. “Praise ye Jehovah.” Psalm 106, A. R. V.
Song Of The Redeemed
“Oh give thanks unto Jehovah; for He is good; For His loving-kindness endureth forever. Let the redeemed of Jehovah say so, Whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the adversary, And gathered out of the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south.
I
“They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way; They found no city of habitation. Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto Jehovah in their trouble, And He delivered them out of their distresses, He led them also by a straight way, That they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise Jehovah for His loving-kindness And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfieth the longing soul, And the hungry soul He filleth with good.
“Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Being bound in affliction and iron,
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Because they rebelled against the words of God, And contemned the counsel of the Most High: Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried unto Jehovah in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And brake their bonds in sunder. Oh that men would praise Jehovah for His loving-kindness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He hath broken the gates of brass, And cut the bars of iron in sunder….
II
“He turneth rivers into a wilderness, And water springs into a thirsty ground; A fruitful land into a salt desert, For the wickedness of them that dwell therein. He turneth a wilderness into a pool of water, And a dry land into water springs. And there He maketh the hungry to dwell, That they may prepare a city of habitation, And sow fields, and plant vineyards, And get them fruits of increase. He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; And He suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
“Again, they are diminished and bowed down Through oppression, trouble, and sorrow. He poureth contempt upon princes, And causeth them to wander in the waste, where there is no way. Yet setteth He the needy on high from affliction, And maketh him families like a flock. The upright shall see it, and be glad; And all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
“Whoso is wise will give heed to these things; And they will consider the loving-kindnesses of Jehovah.” Psalm 107, A. R. V.
“Call to Remembrance the Former Days”
Why did ancient Israel so easily forget God’s dealings? The people did not retain in their memory His works of greatness and power or His words of warning. Had they remembered His wondrous dealings with them they would not have received the reproof:
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“Who art thou, that thou art afraid of man that shall die, And of the son of man that shall be made as grass; And hast forgotten Jehovah thy Maker, That stretched forth the heavens, And laid the foundations of the earth; And fearest continually all the day Because of the fury of the oppressor, When he maketh ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?” Isaiah 51:12, 13, A. R. V.
But the children of Israel forgot God, whose they were by creation and by redemption. After seeing all His wondrous works, they tempted Him.
To the Israelites were committed the sacred oracles. But God’s revealed word was misinterpreted and misapplied. The people despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
“The vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah His pleasant plant: And He looked for justice, but, behold, oppression; For righteousness, but, behold, a cry.”
“Woe unto them That…regard not the work of Jehovah, Neither have they considered the operation of His hands. Therefore My people are gone into captivity For lack of knowledge.”
“Woe unto them That call evil good, And good evil; That put darkness for light, And light for darkness; That put bitter for sweet, And sweet for bitter!
“Woe unto them That are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!”
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“Therefore as the tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, And as the dry grass sinketh down in the flame, So their root shall be as rottenness, And their blossom shall go up as dust; Because they have rejected the law of Jehovah of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 5:7, 11-13, 20, 21, 24, A. R. V.
“Written for our Admonition”
“These things …are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11. The warning comes sounding down along the line to our time:
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end; while it is said, Today if ye will hear His voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.” Hebrews 3:12-16.
Cannot we who are living in the time of the end realize the importance of the apostle’s words: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God”? Verse 12.
Upon us is shining the accumulated light of past ages. The record of Israel’s forgetfulness has been preserved for our enlightenment. In this age God has set His hand to gather unto Himself a people from every nation, kindred, and tongue. In the advent movement He has wrought for His heritage, even as He wrought for the Israelites in leading them from Egypt. In the great disappointment of 1844 the faith of His people was tested as was that of the Hebrews at the Red Sea. Had the Adventists in the early days still trusted to the guiding Hand that had been with them in their past experience, they would have seen of the salvation of God. If all who had labored unitedly in the work of 1844 had received the third angel’s message and proclaimed it in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts. A flood of light would have been shed upon the world. Years ago the inhabitants of the earth would have been warned, the closing work would have been completed, and Christ would have come for the redemption of His people.
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The Message for this Time
I have been instructed to trace words of warning for our brethren and sisters who are in danger of losing sight of the special work for this time. The Lord has made us depositaries of sacred truth. We are to arise and shine. In every land we are to herald the second coming of Christ, in the language of the revelator proclaiming: “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.” Revelation 1:7.
What are we doing? Are we giving the message of the third angel? The third angel followed them [the first and second angels], saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:9-12.
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The commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus are united. They are to be clearly presented to the world.
The Opposition of the Enemy
In God’s word we are shown the consequences of proclaiming the third angel’s message. “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17. A refusal to obey the commandments of God, and a determination to cherish hatred against those who proclaim these commandments, leads to the most determined war on the part of the dragon, whose whole energies are brought to bear against the commandment-keeping people of God. “He causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Revelation 13:16, 17.
The sign, or seal, of God is revealed in the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, the Lord’s memorial of creation. “The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.” Exodus 31:12, 13. Here the Sabbath is clearly designated as a sign between God and His people.
The mark of the beast is the opposite of this—the observance of the first day of the week. This mark distinguishes those who acknowledge the supremacy of the papal authority from those who acknowledge the authority of God.
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The Loud Cry
As foretold in the eighteenth of Revelation, the third angel’s message is to be proclaimed with great power by those who give the final warning against the beast and his image: “I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the Kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.” Revelation 18:1-6.
This is the message given by God to be sounded forth in the loud cry of the third angel.
Those whose faith and zeal are proportionate to their knowledge of the truth will reveal their loyalty to God by communicating the truth, in all its saving, sanctifying power, to those with whom they associate. Their lives of holiness and unselfish service will be in conformity with the vital principles of the kingdom of heaven.
“And Hast Forgotten”
It is a solemn and terrible truth that many who have been zealous in proclaiming the third angel’s message are now becoming listless and indifferent! The line of demarcation between worldlings and many professed Christians is almost indistinguishable. Many who once were earnest Adventists are conforming to the world—to its practices, its customs, its selfishness. Instead of leading the world to render obedience to God’s law, the church is uniting more and more closely with the world in transgression. Daily the church is becoming converted to the world. How many professing Christians are slaves of mammon! Their indulgence of appetite, their extravagant expenditure of money for selfish gratification, greatly dishonors God.
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 8 pp. 109-118
