Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 159, 1901

Haskell, S. N.

“Elmshaven,” St. Helena, California

November 3, 1901

Portions of this letter are published in TSB 119-120; 6MR 239. See 9T 137-140. +^Note

Dear brother Haskell,—

I have been deeply pained as I have considered the situation of the work in New York. After I sent the telegram in response to the one from Elder Jayne <sent> regarding the work of Elder Franke, and advising that he labor elsewhere, I was very sorry. <I ought not to be compelled to do this.> A great burden came upon my soul. That night matters were presented to me in this light: New York will be worked. Openings will be found in parts of the city in which there are no churches, where the truth will find standing room. There is a vast amount of work to be done, and the Lord has given Brother Franke a message to the people who are dead in trespasses and sins. Most startling messages will be borne by men of God’s appointment, messages of a character to warn the people, to arouse them. And while some will be provoked by the warning and led to resist light and evidence, we are to see from this that we are giving the testing message for this time. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 1

I am not able to write much, but the words were spoken, Forbid him not. Messages will be given out of the usual order. The judgments of God are in the land. While missions must be established to do the work you are doing, to reach a certain class of people according to the light given, yet besides this, a message is to be borne so decidedly as to startle the hearers. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 2

“Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled; who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is the truth. Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he; before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you; therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand; I will work, and who can let it.” [Isaiah 43:8-13.] 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 3

“I will bring the blind by a path that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them and not forsake them. They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods. Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? and blind as the Lord’s servant? Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not. The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law and make it honourable.” [Isaiah 42:16-21.] 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 4

The work outlined in these Scriptures is the work before us. The terms, “My servant,” “Israel,” “The servant of the Lord,” mean anyone that the Lord may select and appoint to do a certain work. He makes them ministers of His will, though some who are selected may be as ignorant of His will as was Nebuchadnezzar. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 5

God will work for those of His people who will be worked. He pledges His glory for the success of His Messiah and His kingdom. “Thus saith the Lord God, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Spiritual bondage has bound them in the prison house of unbelief. “I am the Lord; that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I will tell you of them. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands. The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war; he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself; now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once. I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.” [Verses 5-15.] 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 6

“Who among you will give ear to this? and who will hearken and hear for the time to come?” [Verse 23.] The people of God, who have had light and knowledge, have not carried out the high and holy purposes of God. They have not advanced from victory to victory, sowing the <unworked> fields with the seeds of truth, adding new territory, lifting up the standard in cities and their suburbs. Great spiritual blindness has been shown by those who have had light flashed upon them by the Lord, but who have not advanced in the light to greater and still greater light. Church members have been fed with milk, and they are as weak as babies. They have not been encouraged to use spiritual nerve and muscle in the work of advancement. They should be made to understand that the ministers cannot work out their salvation by hovering over them. Thus they are made weaklings when they ought to be strong men. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 7

In every church young men and young women should be selected to bear responsibilities in that church. Many of the responsibilities borne by ministers and physicians should be laid upon church members who should be made to understand that they have a work to do. “Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” [1 Corinthians 6:19, 20.] 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 8

The burden bearers in the church, strong, reliable men, should be asked to act a part in helping to make the camp-meeting held so lively and interesting that a deep impression will be made on unbelievers. These camp-meetings are to be educating schools where church members gain a knowledge of how to conduct the work in their home churches. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 9

The tame, shiftless way in which <some> camp-meetings have been held, and their location <chosen> in out-of-the-way places <to save expense>, as if to hide their light, is not in God’s order. It shows that the Laodicean message is applicable to us as a church, that we are far behind in spirituality. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 10

God calls for earnest, whole-souled workers. He has power to help in every extremity. The humble and contrite shall understand by personal experience that beside Him there is no Saviour. Bible truth must be preached and practiced. Every ray of light given is to shine forth with clear, distinct brightness. The truth is to go forth as a lamp that burneth. There are hundreds of God’s servants who must respond to His call and take the field, coming up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. God calls for live men, men who are filled with the vivifying influence of His Spirit, men who see God as the supreme Ruler and receive from Him abundant proof of the fulfilment of His promises, men who are not lukewarm, but hot and fervent with His love. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 11

God has power to help in every extremity. The revelation of past and present prophecy is as a shining light which shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The light God has given on the Old and New Testaments, coming to the people from the press and by the living testimony, is light that grows brighter and brighter as it is brought into the practical life. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 12

There needs to be a putting away of all fleshly appetites. Food which is injurious to soul and body has been and still is being eaten, and this indulgence so clogs the living machinery that the service offered to God is corrupted. The truth is not obeyed, but is perverted and held in unrighteousness. O, how disgusted is God with the tame, lifeless, Christless efforts made by <some of> those who profess to be His servants. God’s work must be carried forward <strongly> and upward, <improved continuously.> This cannot be done unless the sensuality that corrupts the whole man is separated from the religious experience. <This work must be done. Obtain the Spirit, the Holy Spirit.> 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 13

Church members need to fast and pray, striving earnestly to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Not one particle of Sodomitish impurity will escape <the wrath of God> at the execution of the judgment. Those who do not repent and forsake all uncleanness will fall with the wicked. Those who <become members of the royal family and [who]> form God’s kingdom in the earth made new, will be saints, not sinners. Isaiah 30:1-3, 8-16. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 14

Those who have had great light and have disregarded it stand in a worse position than those who have not been given so many advantages. <They exalt themselves but not the Lord.> The punishment inflicted on human beings will in every case be proportionate to the dishonor they have brought on God. Many by a course of self-indulgence have put Christ to open shame. They have encouraged an appetite for meat eating and for other harmful articles of diet, failing to honor God by revealing the purifying, sanctifying influence of the truth. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 15

Daniel and his companions are illustrations of what the young men of today may be. Earnest and whole-souled, these youth were determined to be true to principle at any cost. They reasoned out the situation and saw that if they fulfilled God’s purpose for them, they must keep the appetite under control. Then the mind would be clear and keen, able to comprehend God’s instruction. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 16

“Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” God helped Daniel, bringing him into “favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs,” and his request was granted. He and his companions were allowed to eat and drink as conscience told them they should. God blessed their efforts to honor him, giving them “knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom.” When the king examined them, he found them “ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.” [Daniel 1:8-20.] 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 17

To those who will do as these youth did—close the door to temptation, deny appetite, and place themselves in right relation to God—the Lord will manifest Himself. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 18

Should all the labor that has been expended on the churches during the past twenty years be again expended on them, it would fail, as it has failed in the past, of making the members self-denying, cross-bearing followers of Christ. Many have been overfed with spiritual food, while in the world thousands are perishing for the bread of life. Church members must work. They must educate themselves, striving to reach the high standard set before them which the Lord will help them to reach if they co-operate with Him. If they keep their own souls in the love of the truth, they will not hold the ministers back from presenting the truth in new fields. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 19

Those who do not consecrate themselves to God’s service will be used by the enemy of God. Let young men and young women make every effort to qualify themselves to help those who know not the truth. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 20

The large cities should have been worked just as soon as the churches received the light. But many have carried no burden for souls, and Satan, finding them susceptible to his temptations, has spoiled their lives. God asks His people to repent, be converted, and return to their first love which they have lost by their failure to follow in the footsteps of the self-sacrificing Redeemer. 16LtMs, Lt 159, 1901, par. 21