Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 85, 1899

The Sanitarium—Where Shall It Be Located?

NP

June 5, 1899 [typed]

This manuscript is published in entirety in 10MR 234-248.

I am much burdened and perplexed. Matters have been presented to me which I wish to comprehend fully, that I may not make any mistake. Again and again the question arises, Where shall we locate our sanitarium? We who cannot read the future may make plans for the present which appear altogether consistent, the very plans in our human judgment which should be made. But with our finite judgement we cannot discern the future perplexities involved in our selection of a location for a sanitarium. Candid, prayerful consideration must be given to this subject, and great caution must be exercised in regard to it. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 1

Beautiful locations are fascinating, and from a human standpoint it would seem to be the very best thing we could possibly do to select a site among the wealthy. We might think this would give character to the work and secure patronage. But this is only seeing things from a human standpoint. If the grandees living near such a locality have religious prejudices, they will communicate this to their friends and in the place of favorable results, just the reverse will be seen. The sanitarium will be looked upon as an innovation and will be an eyesore to many who would look upon it with favor if the seeds of prejudice had not been sown to produce their evil crop of tares. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 2

Humility is a hard lesson for fallen humanity to learn, especially for rich, self-indulgent men who do not relate themselves to God as accountable to Him for all the goods they possess. They exalt self as though the riches comprehended by land and bank stock made them independent of God. Full of pride and conceit, their characters are estimated by themselves and the world as being as elevated and powerful as the value of their supposed inheritance. Their riches would be much less if they distributed to the poor and relieved suffering humanity. This would make them of value in God’s sight because they would be rich in good works. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 3

It is best to consider these matters carefully on all sides, asking counsel from God, for it is God who weighs all things in His scales of eternal justice. He will reward every man according as his works shall be. There are many rich men upon whom God has had His searching eye during their life-time. He has seen in all their worldly acquirements a robbery of Him. They have been laying up for themselves wrath against the day of wrath because they have not relieved the oppressed, because they have neglected the great Proprietor of all. In coming to His vineyard to receive the fruit thereof, He has received only abuse. This robbery of their Lord’s goods has continued. These men worship themselves, not God. Every unfaithful steward will surely supplant and intrigue. He will put justice and mercy out of his mind, replacing it with avarice and strife. God says, “Shall I not judge for these things? I love righteousness, but hate iniquity.” [See Jeremiah 5:9; Hebrews 1:9.] 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 4

The locality in which wealthy men dwell may appear desirable, but the heavenly intelligences are not welcomed to their houses as divine messengers. They want God afar off, that they may not be reminded of their evil works. The Lord would not be pleased for any of our institutions to be permanently erected in such a supposedly advantageous locality, for this would be like Lot choosing Sodom without any reference to the associations among which he was to abide. In the selection of a location for a sanitarium, we are to choose with the thought ever in mind that our work and purpose is to restore the moral image of God in man. We are connected with Christ, co-workers with the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Each soul is of value with God, and those who are ever abusing His mercies, misappropriating and embezzling the goods of heaven, are not the men whom God can use to co-operate with Him in the grand work of redemption. They are fixing their own destiny in this world and in the future, eternal world. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 5

God seeth not as man seeth. Man looks at the outward appearance, as did Lot. God looks at the heart. The fewer grand buildings that surround our institutions, the less vexation we shall experience. Irreligious and irreverent are many of those who own landed property. They have an influence upon other minds which moulds their sentiments. Evil associations are always detrimental to piety and devotion, and principles that are approved by God may be undermined by unfavorable circumstances. God would have none of us like Lot, who chose his residence without reference to his associations. Lot went into Sodom rich; he left with nothing, led by an angel’s hand, while messengers of wrath waited to pour forth the fiery blast which was to consume all the inhabitants of Sodom and blot out the entrancing beauty of that highly favored city and its suburbs, making bleak and bare and uninteresting a place which God had once made very beautiful. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 6

Christ came to our world to show how man should live in order to secure eternal life. The infinite sacrifice made by our heavenly Father in giving His Son to our world is a lesson we do not fully comprehend. Our minds need to be refined, purified, and sanctified in order that we may take in the mysteries of godliness. The price to be paid for our redemption brought the Commander of the heavenly host from the royal courts. He who was sinless, the Perfection of heaven, came to our world in human likeness to reach humanity. When He came He ranked Himself among the poor and suffering ones, that He might become acquainted with the fallen humanity, and uplift them by restoring the moral image of God in them. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 7

The great price heaven has paid for our redemption should give us exalted views of what we, united with Christ, may accomplish in doing the same work that Christ did in our world. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” [1 John 3:1.] “We are laborers together with God.” [1 Corinthians 3:9.] What value this places upon man. In order for us to co-operate with God, we must work in Christ’s lines. By assuming human nature, the Lord Jesus gave all humanity the lesson that it is a living connection with Him that constitutes us valuable in God’s sight. Men and women have been granted another trial. They have been placed where through a connection with Christ they may learn of Him. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 8

It is not ostentation or outward show which gives a correct representation of the work we should do as God’s chosen people who bear His sign, of which no one should be ashamed. All should bear the sign as the Lord’s peculiar people. “Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep,” the Lord declares; “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. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 9

“Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord; whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” [Exodus 31:13-18.] 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 10

This is the sign which is to distinguish the obedient, commandment-keeping people of God from the disobedient. Those who read their Bibles and then misinterpret the Word of God to suit their friends and worldly associates, who transgress the Sabbath command after light has come, will be cut off from among the people of God. Thus God reveals the great law of His divine plan. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 11

The history of the world from the beginning is contained in Genesis. There it is revealed that all nations who forget God and discard His way and His sign of obedience, which distinguishes between the just and the unjust, the righteous and the wicked, the saved and the unsaved, will be destroyed. The first books of the Bible, which trace down the history of nations, including the destruction of the old world, show the overruling providence of God, which from generation to generation has provided for the education of a chosen people. The plainly written Word in regard to the just and the unjust is a living testimony in regard to those whom the Lord will sanctify. None who live in disobedience can receive His blessing. Only those who are obedient can receive this. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 12

The Lord calls upon all to study the divine philosophy of sacred history written by Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The first family placed upon the earth is a sample of all families which will exist till the close of time. There is much to study in this history in order that we may understand the divine plan for the human race. This plan is plainly defined, and the prayerful, consecrated soul will become a learner of the thought and purposes of God from the beginning till the close of this earth’s history. He will realize that Jesus Christ, one with the Father, was the great mover in all progress, the One who is the source of all the purification and elevation of the human race. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 13

As the chosen people of God we cannot copy the habits, aims, practices, or fashions of society. The Lord Jesus Christ redeemed Israel from the land of bondage. God’s power was displayed in delivering His people from Egyptian slavery with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. By signs and wonders He wrought to take them from under the yoke of bondage. He exalted them by His favor, setting them apart from the world to observe the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as a sign between Him and them. He designed that if they obeyed Him they should stand throughout their generations as a hope, a light, and a deliverance till the end of time. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 14

He made it plain and distinct to His chosen people that the richest lands, the highest monuments raised to glorify man, the largest possessions, could never procure eternal riches or the salvation of the human soul. Men may possess houses and lands of great money value. They may obtain these possessions honestly or dishonestly, but none of these things can make them happy or contented, sweet-tempered or self-controlled. They may at the same time be slaves to appetite, slaves to passion and vice, estranged from God by sin. Satan may control their minds, and when he does this they are rendered superstitious. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 15

Satan puts his interpretation upon events, and they think, as he would have them, that the calamities which fill the land are a result of Sunday-breaking. Thinking to appease the wrath of God, these influential men make laws enforcing Sunday observance. They think that by exalting this false rest day higher and still higher, compelling obedience to the Sunday law, the spurious sabbath, they are doing God service. Those who honor God by observing the true Sabbath are looked upon as disloyal to God, when it is really those who thus regard them who are themselves disloyal, because they are trampling under foot the Sabbath originated in Eden. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 16

The Lord expects His people to have faith in the living God who made all things. The chosen people of God will be proved and tried before they are pronounced good and faithful servants, worthy to inherit eternal life, with its endowment of heavenly riches. “Unto you who believe, he is precious,” the apostle writes, “but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected, the same is made the head of the corner.” [1 Peter 2:7.] Those who believe in Christ will be exalted with their great Head. But to those who do not appreciate Christ He is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. The reason is given—they are disobedient. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 17

Addressing the obedient, the apostle says, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people: that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” [Verse 9.] The Lord brought Israel out of bondage, desolating the fertile land of Egypt to accomplish His purpose, to teach them the first and highest lesson—that God was their God, the only true and living God, and that in Him they must trust. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 18

We are to have faith in the living God, who made the world and all things that are therein, and who overrules all events to His own name’s glory. We are to be examples to the world, as those who uphold the everlasting principles of truth, justice, and purity. We are to have faith in Christ, faith in His power to redeem the soul and keep it in perfect peace. The world’s Redeemer will draw us to Himself with the cords of a man, with bands of love. This is riches beyond estimate. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 19

This faith must be the great element in the power which rules the characters of God’s people. He displayed great signs and wonders in Egypt, showing His command over all the natural world and over the powers which the Egyptian oppressors worshipped. Once again the Lord God of Israel is to execute judgment upon the gods of this world as upon the gods of Egypt. With fire and flood, plagues and earthquakes, He will spoil the whole land. Then His redeemed people will exalt His name and make it glorious in the earth. Shall not those who are living in the last remnant of this earth’s history become intelligent in regard to God’s lessons? 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 20

As God’s commandment-keeping people, we must leave the cities. As did Enoch, we must work in the cities, but not dwell in them. Nothing that savors of extravagance is to be seen in the outlay of means for buildings or for furnishings, because we have a prospect of receiving donations. Find a location which has a favorable atmosphere and carry on your work, but keep away from the residences of the rulers of the land. Exert your God-given powers for the people who need to be uplifted. Place not your institutions in the midst of the homes of wealthy men. If possible we must secure for the sanitarium a site that will not be crowded, where there is ground that can be cultivated. Nothing is to be done for display. By strict economy we are to show that we realize that we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 21

Man was made for happiness, not to be kept in continual worry. At his creation man was perfectly happy. The Garden of Eden was an emblem of heaven and the love of God. The flowers exhibited their beauty and loveliness, ever giving out a fragrance grateful to the senses. Fruit trees bore their burden of precious treasures for the good of man. On every tree the birds caroled forth their songs of praise to God. In their untainted purity Adam and Eve delighted to listen to these glad songs of praise. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 22

These sights and sounds are just what God would have men and women rejoice in today. It is not in His order that people should be crowded into cities, huddled together in terraces and tenements. It is sin that has marred God’s purpose. Sin has brought into the world all the care and anguish that rends our hearts. But the image of God is once more to be impressed upon souls. The angels of God are to fill human hearts with the peace of heaven. These are the sights and sounds that are to delight our eyes and ears. The Lord’s people are to be a joyful people because they can repose in Him, realizing His goodness, mercy, and love. God has not yet abandoned the earth. Sinners are to be converted to Him. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 23

In Eden, on the very spot of Adam’s transgression, the Star of hope appeared, shining through the darkness of disobedience. There God promised that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head and it should bruise His heel. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 24

The reception of the truth as it is in Jesus will make melody in the heart. Men will be blessed in receiving the One in whom their hopes of eternal life are centered. And as far and as fast as possible the standard of truth is to be uplifted among all nations. God never designed that the light of truth should be centered and bound up in one locality. For a time the Jewish nation was required to worship at Jerusalem. But Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “Believe me, the hour is coming when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what. We know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth.” [John 4:21-24.] 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 25

This is the work that is to be done. The truth is to be planted in every place to which we can possibly gain access. Institutions are not to be crowded together in any one place. God’s truth is to be carried to regions which are barren of truth and righteousness. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 26

Disappointment and a dearth of success will be the result of settling in any location surrounded by the residences of the great men of the world, for if they do not accept the light all their powers will be used by Satan to extinguish the light that God designs shall shine forth. This will greatly hinder the progress of the work. Select places for your educational and medical work where the Sun of Righteousness can arise with healing in His wings. The more closely Christ is followed, the more wonderfully God will work to restore suffering humanity. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 27

Christ’s first advent to our world is not studied as it should be. He came to be our example in all things. His life was one of strict self-denial, and never are we to expend means unnecessarily. Never are we to seek for outward show. Let our showing be such that the light of truth can shine forth from our good works, so that God will be glorified by the good deeds done to restore the sick and relieve physical disorders by correct methods. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 28

Instruction should be given in cooking and habits of neatness. In every room in our sanitarium, and in all our institutions, the sacred fire is to be used. All things are to be set in order. Human selfishness is in no case to be mingled with the work of God. This evil must be purged away. God’s human instrumentalities are to be purified and sanctified. God declared to Moses, I will be sanctified in all who shall approach Me. Constantly we are to press upward and forward to the light. It is the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit that is of value with God. Ornaments of gold and silver are of value only to please the eye and to be commented upon. “Looking unto Jesus,” is the motto we are ever to keep in mind. [Hebrews 12:2.] “Men shall be blessed in him; yea, all nations shall call him blessed.” “Great shall be the peace of thy children.” “Blessed are the people whom thou choosest.” [Psalm 72:17; Isaiah 54:13; Psalm 65:4.] 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 29

“Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. ... For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. ... I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye.” [Psalm 32:1, 2, 6-8.] These promises are the assurance of God. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 30

When as God’s peculiar people we take heed to His words, then will every one of us be able to say, “Our soul waiteth for the Lord. He is our help and our shield; our heart shall rejoice in him. Because we have trusted in his holy name.” “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord, the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed.” “Blessed are the people who hear the joyful sound.” [Psalm 33:20, 21; 34:1-5; 89:15.] I will “create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy.” [Isaiah 65:18.] 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 31

This is the condition of the minds of those whom the Lord will make a light to the people among whom they may be established. But we shall not please God by building our sanitarium among the wealthy who worship those who can make a great show. Our modesty and humility would not bear the test. Thousands of dollars of the Lord’s money would be absorbed in seeking to make a display. This does not make the human agent any happier. His course displeased God and brings reproach upon the sacred work which we are handling. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 32

As a people we are to bear God’s sign by keeping the Sabbath. This is God’s memorial and it is to receive our special attention. The rich men of the world build their residences in the most desirable places. Worldly thoughts occupy their minds. Worldly amusements, mirth and merriment occupy their time. Selfish extravagance in dress and eating uses the money which should be given to God. Their brains are confused by the use of wine, and this leads to great evils, for Satan is their counselor. Shall we choose to keep this class ever before us? The enemy would work through them to hedge up our way so that success shall not attend the Lord’s work. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 33

In erecting our buildings we must keep away from the great men of the world, and then let them seek the help they need by moving away from their associates into more retired localities. Let their attention be drawn to a people who love and fear God. If the sanitarium is not near the houses of rich men they will not have opportunity to comment unfavorably upon it because it is understood to be a place which receives suffering humanity of all classes. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 34

No means is to be spent extravagantly. Every shilling is to be dedicated to the work of providing healthful rooms, healthful surroundings, and healthful food. The furniture is to be comfortable and convenient, but not costly. Men of common sense appreciate comfort above elegance and display. All the surroundings, inside and outside the institution, must be in harmony with the teaching of Christ and the expression of our faith. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 35

Much more money than was necessary has been expended upon our institutions in America. Those who have done this have supposed that this outlay would give character to the work. The words in Zechariah come to us: “This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain, and he shall bring forth the head-stone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.” [Zechariah 4:6, 7.] 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 36

It is not the imposing building or the tables provided with delicacies, with everything that patients may be pleased with, that will give the work influence; it is that faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Then the Word of the Lord becomes assurance, and those who come as patients to our sanitarium will be convinced that this people are not following cunningly devised fables, that they are not controlled by an imaginative religion which merely inspires enthusiasm. Their reason convinces them that the truth we are teaching is a reality to us. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 37

What is needed to give success, a large, expensive building? If so, we cannot have success. But this does not give success. It is the atmosphere of grace which surrounds the soul of the believer, the Holy Spirit working upon mind and heart, which makes him a savor of life unto life and enables God to bless his work. God would bind His family of workers together by common sympathy, pure affection. Love and respect for one another has a telling influence and is a representation of practical godliness. Unbelief is cold and repulsive, dark and forbidding, and can only deny and destroy, while the work of faith under all circumstances can lift the head in conscious dignity and firm trust in God. Even youthful hearts may reveal surpassing beauty and glory in the path of self-denial and self-sacrifice by following where Christ leads the way, lifting His cross and bearing it after Him to His Father’s home in heaven, walking in the path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 38

If the workers connected with the sanitarium individually love and obey their Leader, they may in their connection together in work symbolize the pure and holy family of saints who will be brought to the mansions prepared for them above. They bear Christ’s name before the world, and they will be united with Christ when all the sons and daughters of God shall meet in the courts above. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 39

Let all our buildings be prepared for health and happiness, being so arranged that every unnecessary step shall be saved. Let the sanitarium be so located that the patients will have the benefits of the sunlight. There should be a fireplace in every sleeping room where patients live. These inside arrangements must be made, even though the building is not in an exact line with roads or other buildings. The rooms should be furnished with comfortable chairs, not all made after the same pattern. The results will be far more satisfactory if the precision of the furniture is broken up. God has given us a plan for this in the variety of form and color seen in the things of nature. Means must be expended to obtain comfortable, restful articles of furniture. Patients will be much better pleased with them than if the furniture is all precisely the same. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 40

Faith in Jesus Christ is to make all the working forces laborers together with God. United as branches of the parent stock, they bear fruit to the glory of God. Pure and undefiled religion makes those who are children of God one family, bound up with Christ in God. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 41

False philosophy is proud, partial, exclusive, favoring only a few. In those who have this spirit the lowly awaken little sympathy. They possess no power or disposition to uplift the lowly. But Christ binds men to Himself, to God, and to one another. True, sanctified philosophy makes all human elements in Christ Jesus one. It builds up no walls of separation between man and his fellow man. Through Christ men and women have been adopted into the divine family as sons and daughters of God. They are given every advantage of the Saviour’s power and redeeming love. 14LtMs, Ms 85, 1899, par. 42