The Medical Missionary, vol. 13
February 1904
“‘Eat Ye That Which Is Good’” The Medical Missionary 13, 2.
E. J. Waggoner
One need not be very old to remember the time when the term “Health Reform” was more common among Seventh-day Adventists than almost any other. It was rare to find a member of the denomination who was not professedly a “health reformer.” Unfortunately, yet most naturally, there has been a reaction to a certain extent, and the matter of health and healthful living receives much less attention than it did twenty-five or thirty years ago. MEDM February 1904, page 38.1
The reason for this lessened interest in the subject of healthful living is no doubt to be found in the fact that with very many in former times zeal was not according to knowledge, and the results of their change of habits were not encouraging. The idea largely obtained was that health reform consisted in deprivation, and the consequence was often poorer health than when the old manner of life was followed. Yet many faithful souls conscientiously persevered in the course which they believed to be right, regardless of consequences. Their purpose was that of the good brother who said, “I am going to stick to health reform, and live it out if it kills me.” They were the material out of which martyrs are made; and the nobility of their self-sacrifice was not lessened by ignorance of the truth that true health reform does not kill, but, on the contrary, gives fuller life. If, with more correct ideas as to what constitutes health reform, the younger generation had the determination that the older one had, Seventh-day Adventists might be, as a body, the strongest people on earth, and be for signs and wonders in the world. MEDM February 1904, page 38.2
We have no learned that there is no virtue in self-torture, and that health does not come by keeping the body in a state of constant deprivation, longing for something which it is persistently denied. It is now recognized that God gave us taste for a purpose, and that an inferior food which one relishes will do the system more good than a much better food which seems insipid. Rigidly scientific experiments have shown that the increased flow of saliva which comes at the sight or smell or even the thought of a favorite food is accompanied by a corresponding flow of gastric juice. That is, when “the mouth waters” in anticipation of savory food, it is an indication that the stomach is preparing to care for it promptly; while if food be not appetizing, digestion and assimilation are but indifferently performed. MEDM February 1904, page 38.3
With the knowledge that the satisfying of the appetite is absolutely essential to good digestion, there is danger of making the mistake of allowing the appetite full sway, and not giving reason its rightful place. Appetite, like conscience, is a good guide only when well instructed and trained. No greater mistake could be made than to suppose that nothing is either essentially good or bad in itself; and that everything depends on the individual likes and dislikes. It is indeed true, as before stated, that a poor food that is keenly relished, may do a person more good than a good food that is not desired; but how much more good might result if the keen appetite and the perfect food were combined. The sum of health reform, as far as diet is concerned, is in finding out what kinds of food are best, and then training the appetite to choose and delight in only that which is good. The fact that a person likes a thing or dislikes another is in itself no proof that the one is best for him, and the other to be rejected. Many men like tobacco and alcoholic liquor, and do not like fruit; but that does not prove that alcohol is nourishing, or that the Creator made a mistake in making man’s diet consist largely of fruits. MEDM February 1904, page 38.4
God has specified the class of substances which are the best food for mankind, and in that class there is such a wonderful variety that every person’s appetite under every varying condition may be fully gratified and satisfied. Outside of that limit a wise person will not desire to go; and if, through some abnormality, his appetite craves something else he will as speedily as possible educate it to delight only in that which is really good. MEDM February 1904, page 38.5
Milton’s lines-
“None But such as are good men can give good things,
And that which is not good is not delicious
To a well-governed and wise appetite-”
MEDM February 1904, page 39.1
tell the exact truth. God is good, and he gives only good things; and the well-governed and wise appetite will not find anything good which God has not prescribed. How often we read the words, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits; ... who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.” This shows that those who learn from the Lord to be satisfied with good things constantly experience exquisite keenness of delight to which all others are strangers. MEDM February 1904, page 39.2
The children of Israel in the wilderness were given bread from heaven. It was certainly a perfect food, and coming from God it must have been good in every sense, pleasant to both sight and taste; yet most of them became disgusted with it and loathed it. Not relishing it, they undoubtedly found difficulty in digesting it, as they longed for the diet of their captivity. So God gave them their heart’s desire, but with it, as the natural and inevitable accompaniment, he sent leanness, or literally rendered, consumption, into their souls. “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.” They fell in the wilderness, and we ought to learn the lesson that the food which God has not specifically appointed for us, can not build us up in the long run, even though our perverted appetites may cause us to be temporarily benefited. None of God’s provisions are arbitrary. He who made us knows our frame; and the food which he appointed in the beginning is the only food that is perfectly adapted to the human constitution. Wisdom says: “He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul; all they that hate me love death.” And the result has always demonstrated the truth of the words. MEDM February 1904, page 39.3
The oft-repeated question, “Will this hurt me if I eat it?” or the statement, “You can eat this with impunity,” indicate how utterly wrong is the popular attitude with regard to diet. People are content if only they do not suffer on account of their food, not knowing that they ought to experience the keenest pleasure from it, not only while eating, but much more from its effects. It is not enough that food be negative; that is, that it does not cause us appreciable pain. It must have a positive effect for good. That which does not help to build up a perfectly healthy body does injury. MEDM February 1904, page 39.4
The sum of the matter is that we should learn of God, dwell with him, and eat only at his table. If we do, we shall not only be merely contented, but “abundantly satisfied” with the good things that he provides, and shall loathe that which is not best for us. E.J.W. MEDM February 1904, page 39.5
“Daily Bread for Christian Workers” The Medical Missionary 13, 2.
E. J. Waggoner
Monday, Feb. 1. “Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11. MEDM February 1904, page 60.1
We may make this petition with the utmost confidence that it will be granted, because the Lord himself tells us what to ask for. We are sure before hand that it is his will. Therefore read 1 John 5:14, 15. It is all-inclusive; for bread means life, and the gift of life embraces “all things” necessary to it. Life from God is the evidence of his love,-the proof of his desire for our eternal salvation. Though we may have nothing whatever in our actual possession in the morning, the fact that we have life enough to ask for our daily bread, is assurance of everything. “My God shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory.” MEDM February 1904, page 60.2
Tuesday, Feb. 2. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4. MEDM February 1904, page 60.3
Read Deuteronomy 8:3, and you will see that, instead of being contrasted with “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” bread is the means by which we know that we live by his word. Therefore it must be that bread contains God’s word. This is demonstrated in creation: the seed from which all grain grew was God’s word, “Let the earth bring forth.” Our daily bread is a reminder that we have no life except the life of God, and that therefore it belongs, not to us, but to him, and he is to direct and use it as he will. MEDM February 1904, page 60.4
Wednesday, Feb. 3. “The bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” John 6:33. MEDM February 1904, page 60.5
In our daily bread we receive the identical life that “was manifested” in Jesus of Nazareth. He himself took bread in his hand, saying, “This is my body.” In the presence of thousands in the wilderness he demonstrated this, when the bread with which he satisfied their hunger plainly came from his own hands. “The Word was made flesh,” and “of his fulness have all we received.” If we recognise and acknowledge him in his gifts, then we shall live by faith, Christ will dwell in our hearts by faith, and we shall be “filled with all the fulness of God.” MEDM February 1904, page 60.6
Thursday, Feb. 4. “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63. MEDM February 1904, page 60.7
Let us beware of saying, or even thinking, the unbelieving question of the Pharisees: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” The real things, those which are eternal, are unseen; the things that are seen are but shadows that pass away. We endure only when we see the invisible. Christ is the divine Word that was from the beginning-the source of all life and every created thing. The fact that we live demonstrates the truth that he gives us his flesh-“the word of life”-to eat; but no finite mind can ever understand it. We should rejoice that our God, and consequently his love, life, and power, is “greater than the measure of man’s mind.” MEDM February 1904, page 60.8
Friday, Feb. 5. “We being many, are one bread and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread.” 1 Corinthians 10:17. MEDM February 1904, page 60.9
Our bodies are built up of that which we eat; but though Christ is the bread given to feed all the world, only those who take him in faith become one with him. He is the living Bread; if we receive him by faith that sees him in all his gifts, we are also the same body and bread. But this means that we, like him, must give ourselves to the world; for bread is for no other purpose than to be eaten. If we are true bread, we shall rejoice that we can be used to refresh to faint and weary; for that is the object of our existence.” MEDM February 1904, page 60.10
Sabbath, Feb. 6. “Thou shalt set upon the table shew bread before me always.” Exodus 25:30. MEDM February 1904, page 60.11
Showbread is literally “bread of the Presence.” Twelve loaves were placed upon the table before the Lord each Sabbath. The bread indicated, first of all, Christ, who is the Presence of God, and second, all the people who by partaking of him, become “one bread;” for the twelve tribes were represented in the twelve loaves. It was before the Lord continually, for new bread was placed upon the table when the old was eaten; so we, when we present our bodies “a living sacrifice,” are continually renewed. The bread of the Presence repeats the mystery of the burning bush; though eaten, it is not consumed, because God’s presence it in it. the bread was renewed on the Sabbath day, showing that the Sabbath is to give us fresh life for service. MEDM February 1904, page 60.12
Sunday, Feb. 7. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” John 12:24. MEDM February 1904, page 60.13
The sowing has reference to the harvest, which is “the end of the world,” when the seed is gathered. Then only can it be known how much is produced by each life that is given up. “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” If there were no sowing, there could be no bread. Our joy is to be not merely that by laying down our lives we have many lives as our fruit, but that in the death our own life will multiply, and become more fruitful. MEDM February 1904, page 61.1
Monday, Feb. 8. “We glory in tribulation also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed.” Romans 5:3-5. MEDM February 1904, page 61.2
“Tribulation” is from the Latin tribulum, a threshing sledge. This instrument is absolutely essential to the production of bread. Dean Trench, in his “Study of Words,” quotes the following quaint lines from an early English poet:- MEDM February 1904, page 61.3
“Till from the straw, the flail the corn doth beat,
Until the chaff be purged from the wheat,
Yea, till the mill the grains in pieces tear,
The richness of the flour will scarce appear.
So, till men’s persons great afflictions touch,
If worth be found, their worth is not so much,
Because, like wheat in straw, they have not yet
That value which in threshing they may get.
For till the bruising flails of God’s corrections
Have threshed out of us our vain affections;
Till those corruptions which do misbecome us
Are by thy sacred Spirit winnowed from us;
Until from us the straw of worldly treasures,
Till all the dusty chaff of empty pleasures,
Yea, till his flail upon us he doth lay,
To thresh the husk of this our flesh away;
And leave the soul uncovered; nay, yet more,
Till God shall make our very spirit poor,
We shall not up to highest wealth aspire;
But then we shall; and that is my desire.”
MEDM February 1904, page 61.4
Tuesday, Feb. 9. “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4. MEDM February 1904, page 61.5
That is why we can glory in tribulation-in being threshed. Only in tribulation can we receive comfort; but the comfort is sure to come in the tribulation. This is our school for service; we canm comfort others only with the comfort which we have received of the Lord; and therefore it is only in tribulation that we learn how to be of service to our fellow-men. To refuse tribulation is equal to refusing to carry consolation to suffering souls. MEDM February 1904, page 61.6
Wednesday, Feb. 10. “The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned [of disciples-those that are taught], that I should know how to speak a word in season [sustain with words] to him that is weary; he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” Isaiah 50:4. MEDM February 1904, page 61.7
This is what we gain by tribulation. We really learn only by experience; and tribulation endured works experience. Romans 5:3, 4. We get the “tongue of the learned,” so as to “know how to sustain with words” those that are weary, by experiencing the divine comfort that accompanies tribulation. Here is instruction in language, that is not given in any other school than that of Christ. But we must not forget that the words which we learn from Christ are not mere sound. Real words are things; and divine words work. That is the test of the reality of a word. See Hebrews 4:12. MEDM February 1904, page 61.8
Thursday, Feb. 11. “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, whereby the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Galatians 6:14. MEDM February 1904, page 61.9
The cross was the symbol of shame and degradation, and to this day it conveys the idea of all that is repugnant to human nature,-even death itself. The death of the cross was the most ignominious punishment known, and could never be inflicted on a Roman citizen; only slaves and vile criminals of another nations might suffer it. But the death of Christ upon it has caused eternal glory to shine from the instrument of shame and death. Thus we see that “base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things which are, ... that, according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:28-31. MEDM February 1904, page 61.10
Friday, Feb. 12. “Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23, 24. MEDM February 1904, page 61.11
We are to glory only in the cross, yet God forbids us to glory in anything except the knowledge of him. The inevitable conclusion is, therefore, that only in the cross can we understand and know God. The cross, which man despises, is the revelation of God-of divine love, divine power, and divine glory. MEDM February 1904, page 61.12
Sabbath, Feb. 13. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree.” Galatians 3:13. MEDM February 1904, page 62.1
Wherever there is the curse, there is the cross of Christ. The curse is death, but Christ bears it, and so life flourishes even in the midst of “change and decay.” We should glory in the cross, because it reveals his divine power, endless life, delivering from disobedience and death. Even disease should remind us of the Healer, for “he hath borne our sicknesses and carried our sorrows.” MEDM February 1904, page 62.2
“Sickness and pain are treasure, for they bring,
Each for itself, the remedy; the sting,
Piercing my Lord, loses its power to harm;
Its poison is annulled, and healing balm
Flows from the wound inflicted; endless life
Swallows up death; and in the mortal strife
Captivity is captive led.”
MEDM February 1904, page 62.3
Sunday, Feb. 14. “I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1. MEDM February 1904, page 62.4
This means crucifixion with Christ; for that is the one acceptable sacrifice. As it is only in the cross that we can see and know God, so it is only there that we become united with him. It comes from such faith in the truth that Christ has borne and does bear everything, that we know and feel his presence with us, bearing every temptation, hardship, and pain. This is our deliverance, and our power of endurance. MEDM February 1904, page 62.5
Monday, Feb. 15. “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, send me.” Isaiah 6:8. MEDM February 1904, page 62.6
What a wonderful privilege, to stand so close by the side of the Lord, that when he wants somebody to run on an errand, we can say, “Here am I, send me.” No one in the universe can have a higher honor than to be an ambassador for Christ,-to speak for God. the redeemed in glory have no higher reward than this, that “they shall see his face,” “and his servants shall serve him.” How is this honour gained?-By being crucified with Christ, by presenting our bodies a living sacrifice, so that our lips may continually have the cleansing touch of the live coal from the altar. MEDM February 1904, page 62.7
Tuesday, Feb. 16. “Then said I, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.” Hebrews 10:7. MEDM February 1904, page 62.8
When is this said?-Whenever the only sacrifice that is acceptable to God is offered to him-ourselves. God has prepared every one of us a body in which to do his will; but that body can be used to its proper end, as an instrument of righteousness, only when Christ has complete possession of it. when we know the cross well enough to understand and see the Lord in it, we shall delight in being thus taken possession of to do his will, because we shall know that only so can we live. When God asks us to present our bodies “a living sacrifice,” he assures us that we shall have life with which to make the offering. MEDM February 1904, page 62.9
Wednesday, Feb. 17. “My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck, when thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.” Proverbs 6:20-22. MEDM February 1904, page 62.10
What a blessed assurance of guidance, protection, and instruction. Psalm 1:1-3 tells to what a certain end the guidance is; Psalm 121:3-8 tells how sure is the protection; and Isaiah 51:4 tells of the awakening in the morning to hear. There is no better time to talk with the Lord than early in the morning. It is then that he speaks to us, if we have ears to hear; and it is then that he ought to hear our voices in response. Psalm 5:3. MEDM February 1904, page 62.11
Thursday, Feb. 18. “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.” Psalm 139:17, 18. MEDM February 1904, page 62.12
The only real, valuable thoughts are God’s thoughts; for “the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.” Forsaking our ways and our thoughts, we are in a position for God to fill us with his precious thoughts. A famous astronomer exclaimed, “O God, I think thy thoughts after thee.” That is grand; but more glorious still is it to have God think his own thoughts in us. He watches over our slumbers, speaking to us sometimes even in our dreams; and when we awake we find him patiently waiting to talk with us. MEDM February 1904, page 62.13
Friday, Feb. 19. “All Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me.” Psalm 42:7. MEDM February 1904, page 62.14
This seems like a terrible condition, and the one experiencing it often feels that he is lost; but comfort comes with the thought that they are God’s waves and billows that go over us, and that he is with us as we go through them. His way is in the sea, and his path in the great waters (Psalm 77:19), and he is at home there; therefore the waves cannot drown us, though they go over us. Indeed, through the sea is often, as with Israel of old, the only way of deliverance from our enemies. MEDM February 1904, page 62.15
Sabbath, Feb. 20. “Yet the Lord will command his loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.” Psalm 42:8. MEDM February 1904, page 63.1
Not only in the daytime as distinguished from the night, but daily, as the Hebrew word indicates, will God command his loving-kindness to run after us (thus literally, Psalm 23:6), to protect us. And what of the night? Will he withdraw his loving-kindness then? Not by any means; then he himself sits by our bedside, singing his lullaby to soothe us to sleep. When that song becomes our prayer, we make sure his continued presence with us; for he inhabits the praises of his people. Psalm 22:3. MEDM February 1904, page 63.2
Sunday, Feb. 21. “In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.” Psalm 138:3. MEDM February 1904, page 63.3
God hears every cry of pain, every sigh of sorrow, and even the unuttered dread; and when he hears, he either removes the calamity or gives strength to endure it. And the help comes “in time of need.” “Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” It is true that this last refers especially to the new earth: but God is as good now as he will be then. And it is not alone the cry directly addressed to him, that he hears. When Ishmael, in the desert, was moaning with thirst, and about to die, “God heard the voice of the lad,” and provided a well of water. Every suffering moan is in God’s ears a demand for help, which he instantly honours. MEDM February 1904, page 63.4
Monday, Feb. 22. “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.” Psalm 138:8. MEDM February 1904, page 63.5
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise; he never becomes weary or discouraged, nor abandons a work that he has once begun. All may have the utmost confidence that, “He which hath begun a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6. “Hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.” MEDM February 1904, page 63.6
Tuesday, Feb. 23. “They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.” Psalm 125:1, 2. MEDM February 1904, page 63.7
Sometimes clouds settle down and shut off the mountains from view; but the dwellers in the valley have no fear but that the mountains are still in their places, although unseen. The mountain was just as “full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” and his servant before the young man’s eyes were opened to see them, as after. And this invisible protection by the Lord is far more sure than anything that could be seen. MEDM February 1904, page 63.8
“Not rocks nor hills could guard so well
Fair Salem’s happy ground,
As those eternal arms of love,
That every saint surround.”
MEDM February 1904, page 63.9
Wednesday, Feb. 24. “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” Psalm 46:1, 2. MEDM February 1904, page 63.10
What difference does the removal of the earth make to those who dwell in Him who made it, and whose word of power holds it up? MEDM February 1904, page 63.11
“God is round about us,
And can we be dismayed?”
MEDM February 1904, page 63.12
During a severe earthquake, when people were shrieking with terror, and running about nearly beside themselves, a dear old lady was seen sitting in her chair, calmly reading her Bible. “Are you not afraid, Grandmother?” one asked. “No” she replied, “I am glad to know that I have a God who can shake the earth.” MEDM February 1904, page 63.13
Thursday, Feb. 25. “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.” Psalm 46:4, 5. MEDM February 1904, page 63.14
God himself provides the river, for he is the “Fountain of living waters.” Just as the ark rode safely on the raging waves of the flood, so the city of God will rest unmoved, when the earth is “clean dissolved,” and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” That which is true of the city of God, is true of every soul in whom God abides: it cannot be moved. Therefore, “cry out, and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” Isaiah 12:4. MEDM February 1904, page 63.15
Friday, Feb. 26. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.” Psalm 56:3. MEDM February 1904, page 63.16
Nameless fear, the dread of the unseen and the uncertain, is far more torturous than any evil that can actually befall us. And even though there be no danger impending, the fear, to a timid person, is none the less terrible. How good, then, to read this testimony: “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4. Better still it is to be able to say, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid.” Isaiah 12:2. “Fear hath torment,” but “perfect love casteth out fear,” and God’s love for us is perfect. MEDM February 1904, page 64.1
Sabbath, Feb. 27. “I have laid help upon one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.” Psalm 89:19. MEDM February 1904, page 64.2
It is encouraging to know that we have a mighty helper, One who has “all power” in heaven and in earth; but still more blessed is the knowledge that the power is manifested in one of our own number,-One who was in all things like us,-a poor day laborer. He said, “I can of mine own self do nothing.” How, then, did he get his great power?-He “offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears.” “To him whom man despiseth” God says, “In an acceptable time have I heard thee.” You can trust him without fear. MEDM February 1904, page 64.3
Sunday, Feb. 28. “Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!” Psalm 31:19. MEDM February 1904, page 64.4
You feel despondent, almost discouraged, at the thought of your sinfulness; looking at your life, you see only the absence of goodness. Then look up and view the “great goodness,” “like the great mountains,” which God himself has wrought and laid up for whoever will claim it as his own through faith. “Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men. For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.” MEDM February 1904, page 64.5
Monday, Feb. 29. “Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.” Psalm 31:20. MEDM February 1904, page 64.6
It is from the pride of man, that God will keep us safe in the secret of his presence; not form the pride of other men,-that cannot do us serious harm,-but from our own pride, for that alone causes us to fall. He is “meek and lowly in heart,” and in him we find rest to our souls, form the assaults of pride. And what though the strife of tongues rages? If he but keep us from it, we can at the most but hear the noise of the strife afar off; and in the quiet of his pavilion we may be wholly unconscious of it. MEDM February 1904, page 64.7