Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Lt 88, 1897

Lacey, Brother and Sister [Herbert and Lillian]

Sunnyside, Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

March 18, 1897

Previously unpublished.

Dear Herbert and Lillian Lacey:

Our hearts are drawn out for you, Herbert. We pray for you that the Lord will raise you up to health again. We believe that you have a work to do in the service of the Master for which you have been fitting yourself. 12LtMs, Lt 88, 1897, par. 1

The enemy is the destroyer; Christ is the Restorer. Neither life nor death, height nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is Christ Jesus—not because we hold Him so firmly, but because He holds us so fast. If our salvation depended on us, we could not be saved, but it depends upon the One who is back of all the promises, the great persevering Love, the grasp of Omnipotence. You are in His hands. Your grasp upon Him may seem to be feeble, but His love is that of an Elder Brother. The assurance is doubly sure. Through our relationship to Christ we have eternal life, and none shall be able to pluck you, or me, out of His hand. 12LtMs, Lt 88, 1897, par. 2

I am often comforted with the imagery of the Shepherd and the sheep. The members of the Lord’s family are represented in a beautiful pastoral picture in order that our humanity may take it in. The presentation is rich in eloquence. “What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” [Revelation 7:13-17.] 12LtMs, Lt 88, 1897, par. 3

What a Saviour we have in Jesus! He says, I am the light of the world. [John 8:12.] Yes, He ascended the firmament of truth, He shone amid the moral darkness of the world, and He was conscious that were He to withdraw His beams the world would be immersed in eternal night. As many as would accept His light for their individual selves and would walk in that light would He draw to Himself, away from the moral darkness into the clear light of the Sun of Righteousness. He could stand forth and challenge the attention of the world with the full assurance that He was not only the benefactor, but that in Him were combined all the qualities of perfection that the world would ever find. 12LtMs, Lt 88, 1897, par. 4

He came as our Saviour, pouring out the resources of heaven in our behalf, a sure antidote for every phase of misery which mankind must know. He is our able Advocate in the heavenly courts. For no other purpose of God, He assumed our nature in the fullest sense for the human family whom He represents. He died for humanity that He might encircle them with His long human arm, while with His divine power He lays hold of the throne of God. He purposes in His heart to do more, abundantly more, than He has ever said, for He has within Him a fountain of compassion, clear and abundant, from which all may draw in time of need. You need it now. He will refresh your soul. Only trust Him, and rest in His love. I pray that the peace of Christ may rest upon you. 12LtMs, Lt 88, 1897, par. 5