Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 24 (1909)

Lt 102, 1909

Sutherland, E. A.; Magan, P. T.

Washington, D. C.

June 8, 1909

Portions of this letter are published in TDG 168; SpM 447-449. +^Note

Brethren Sutherland and Magan:

I am instructed to say to you, Be careful as to what moves you now make. You have had many hindrances to your work, and at times you have been greatly bound about by difficulties, so that at times it seemed almost impossible to advance in the work that the Lord desired you to do. You have had many discouragements, but the Lord’s directing care has been over you. You need now to be careful that you do not take one step in a path where He is not going before you and guiding you. You should not leave your present field of labor unless you have clear evidence that it is the Lord’s will for you to do so. 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 1

Brother Magan, your family is precious in the sight of God. Your wife and children should have your care. Your family can work harmoniously together. 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 2

I have words to speak to our people in the southern field. Do not confine your work in any one place. The Lord will provide for the carrying forward of the work in many places. The work that Brethren Staines and Bralliar have begun is not to be in any way discouraged. The talents of many workers are to be used wisely and faithfully. “My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be,” the Saviour declares. [Revelation 22:12.] Let the workers remember that their final reward will be in proportion to their development of Christian character. The Lord expects interest on the talents He has entrusted to His servants—interest in proportion to the gifts He has bestowed. 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 3

Christ’s life of humiliation and death of shame has paid the price for the salvation of every soul. Eternal life in the kingdom of God is the highest inducement for consecrated service that He can hold out to men and women. 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 4

Capabilities have been entrusted to every soul. These are talents to be improved by faithful service, that Christ at His coming may receive His own with usury. 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 5

We hear much of the higher education as the world regards the subject. But those who are ignorant of the higher education, as it was taught and exemplified in the life of Christ, are ignorant of what constitutes the higher education. Higher education means conformity to the terms of salvation. It embraces the experience of daily looking unto Jesus, and of working together with Christ for the saving of the perishing. 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 6

Idleness is sin; for there is a world to be labored for. Christ gave His life to the work of uplifting the fallen and the sinful. Though He was the prince of heaven, He lived and suffered and died under the abuse and scorn of fallen men; and this that He might prepare for the human family mansions in the heavenly courts. Christ imparted instruction of the highest order. Can we imagine a higher education than that to be gained in co-operation with Him? 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 7

Now is our time to work. The end of all things is at hand; soon the night cometh in which no man can work; this night is much nearer than many suppose. Lift up the Man of Calvary before those who are living in sin. By pen and voice labor to sweep back the false ideas that have taken possession of men’s minds regarding the higher education. To every worker Christ gives the command, Go work today in My vineyard for the glory of My name. Represent before a world laden with corruption the blessedness of true higher education. Light is to shine forth from every believer. The weary, the heavy laden, the brokenhearted, and the perplexed are to be pointed to Christ, the source of all spiritual life and strength. 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 8

The word is spoken to you and your students. Be faithful minutemen. Seek for the higher education, which is entire conformity to the will of God, and you will surely reap the reward that comes as the result of its reception. When you hourly place yourselves in that position where you can be the recipients of the blessing of God, the name of the Lord will be magnified through your lives. 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 9

Read carefully the fortieth chapter of Isaiah. Those who give their hearts to the Lord, to learn His will and His ways, are receiving the highest education that it is possible for mortals to receive. They are building their experience, not on the sophistries of the world, but on the pure and undefiled principles of the Word of God. 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 10

Speaking of the work of the Redeemer, the Lord through the prophet says, “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold: Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My Spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the streets. A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged: till He have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for His law.” [Isaiah 42:1-4.] 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 11

In the 40th chapter of Isaiah, referring to the work of God’s messengers in the earth, the prophet writes: “Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably unto Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 12

“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” [Verses 1-5.] 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 13

“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountains; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 14

“Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 15

“Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counselor hath taught Him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and shewed Him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, He taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before Him are as nothing; and they are counted to Him less than nothing and vanity. 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 16

“To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto Him? The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman, to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 17

“Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: that bringeth the princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown; yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and He shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 18

“To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number. He calleth them all by names, by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from My God? 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 19

“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” [Verses 9-31.] 24LtMs, Lt 102, 1909, par. 20