At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God. Acts 16:25

THE Christian life is not a sad or morose one, but a most joyful one. He can even be joyful in tribulation, "knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience experience; and experience hope." Knowing also that "our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory"--beyond the veil. (Romans 5:3, 4; II Corinthians 4:17) We thus partake in the cup of suffering and joy which is an earnest of our inheritance.... This rejoicing in Spirit is necessary to our courage and zeal in the service of the Lord. Note the operation of it in St. Paul, who with Silas, could sing praises to God in the prison with his feet in the stocks and his back lacerated. And so it should be with all Christ's true followers in the narrow way. Z'10-117R4592:4(Hymn 65)

Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Psalm 149:5

THE Psalmist here foretells that the saints at this time are at rest upon their beds, while they sing God's praise. The statement might be meaningless to us until we understand from other Scriptures that these beds represent creeds or the sum total of one's religious belief....The true saints of God have at this time beds of full and proper size, and a cover which is warm and ample. They are shown in this prophetic picture as taking their ease, resting in faith, while others are restless and uncomfortable. But while thus resting in these good beds, representing their mental attitude and heart condition, and while praising the Lord, they are using skilfully the "two-edged sword." This sword in their hands is the Bible. Z'15-346R5804:2(Hymn 182)

Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. Psalm 119:54

IT IS written, "He giveth songs in the night," and "He hath put a new song into my mouth." It causes us no surprise to know that the saints will "be joyful in glory," and sing aloud with the high praises of God in their mouths when it shall be given to them to execute the judgments written, but it may strike some as peculiar that the present conditions of imperfection and frailty, in which we groan and are burdened, should be a condition in which songs and thanksgiving and joy should prevail with us. Nevertheless, this is the divine will, as it is the divine statement respecting all who are truly overcomers: they are all to be joyful in the house of their pilgrimage. Respecting this joy our Lord declares, "Your joy no man taketh from you."...So then, while there is a measure of groaning because of some burdens on the part of those who have attained to the new life, there are also blessed joys which the world cannot give, neither take away; and these are the source and cause of the unceasing joy and "songs in the night" before the glorious dawn of the new millennial day. These songs are inspired by the joys granted us in the house of our pilgrimage--while we are actually absent from our "home." Z'97-305 R2231:6 (Hymn 179)

Come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel. Numbers 10:29

WHOEVER comes with us receives a blessing, and in urging any to come with us we receive a blessing because our own faith is encouraged, stimulated, and our own obedience also to the Lord; for shall we say to others, The Lord will do thee good, and not experience good ourselves and not realize the blessings we are receiving day by day from the Lord's hand? And if they do come with us, how the fact that we have suggested the matter and promised them a blessing would help to keep us from murmuring and complaining, and from manifesting anything else than the good we are continually receiving from the Lord. We do well, then, as spiritual Israelites, to follow Moses' example in our appeals to those who are under our influence--we do well to quote to them the promises of the Lord, and to show our faith in the same. Z'07-235R4038:4(Hymn 38)

Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Ephesians 3:20

LET us gird up the loins of our minds and be sober-minded, and hope to the end for the grace that shall be brought unto us at the revelation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let us look not at things that are seen, which at most are temporal, but let us look at the things that are unseen, at the eternal things. Let us look unto Jesus with the eye of faith, let us look unto the crown of life which he has promised, let us look unto the place that he is preparing for us in the many mansions of the Father's house; let us look, not with doubt and fear, but with full confidence that the grandest of our hopes will be much more than realized when he shall bid us come up higher and enter into the joys of our Lord. "Faith can firmly trust him, come what may." The more we exercise faith along these lines of his direction, the more are we pleasing in the sight of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light; and the more such faith we exercise the more we will have in us the power of God, which will work in us both to will and to do his good pleasure --which will enable us more and more to live separate from the world, to overcome the world, and to fight a good fight against sin and selfishness, the world, the Adversary, and our own flesh. Z'06-359R3892:4(Hymn 126)

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:2

SINCE the constant tendency of the flesh is downward and in opposition to the new mind, it follows that those even who have already consecrated to the Lord need to reset or re-establish their affections on the heavenly things continually. A little carelessness, a little looking away from the things which God hath in reservation for them that love him, a little putting of our minds and affections on earthly things, earthly hopes, earthly ambitions, earthly prospects, would speedily mean great loss to us--the revival, the strengthening of the old nature and the proportionate weakening of the new, and correspondingly a great backset as respects the race we are running for the heavenly crown, the prize of our high calling in Christ Jesus. Z'07-4R3914:1(Hymn 183)

I am the living Bread which came down from heaven. John 6:51

WHEN our Lord declared himself to be the Bread from heaven many of his hearers failed to comprehend the metaphor, and said, This is a hard saying. Will this man give us of his flesh to eat? They failed to see that our Lord personified the truth, the great plan of God which centered in him, the life which he had come to give on behalf of the world, that we might live through him. To eat the flesh of Jesus literally would have merely produced flesh, but to eat of him in the sense of partaking of the blessings and mercies of God provided in him, and in the sense of appropriating his spirit and disposition, is the proper thought. As we partake of our Lord's qualities they become ours, as we feed upon him in our hearts we become strong in faith and in all the graces of his Spirit. Let us then daily gather our portion of manna and daily seek to use it all, and realize that it will be our portion until we reach the heavenly Canaan. Surely then all the supply of divine grace experienced by the Lord's faithful should be stimulating to our faith and confidence in him who has called us from darkness into his marvelous light. Z'07-186R4012:5(Hymn 71)

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. Psalm 32:11

WE TRUST that all of our readers are coming to appreciate this blessed message more and more--to be glad in the Lord--a very different thing from being glad in the trifling things of this world. He whose affections are set upon this earth will continually find tribulations which hinder his rejoicing. But he who has set his affections upon things above, on the Lord and the glorious things which he has promised us, may indeed rejoice, for our Lord changes not. "Not one of his good promises shall fail." Let all who are honest in hope, in intention, in endeavor, speak forth the Lord's praise and shout for joy, not merely that their unintentional imperfections according to the flesh are covered, but also in the thought that the reign of righteousness, the millennial kingdom, is now at hand, and that under its domination all the families of the earth shall be blessed after the great Adversary, Satan, shall have been bound. Z'08-331R4273:4(Hymn 248)

Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God. Deuteronomy 8:18

THE more we come into possession of the spiritual blessings which the Lord has promised us, and which we have accepted by faith, the more need we will have of humility; and our humility will be proportionate to our appreciation of divine goodness and our thankfulness therefore. The grateful, thankful heart may go on from grace to grace, from strength to strength; from knowledge to knowledge, from attainment to attainment; but if gratitude begins to wane and our advantages are accepted either as matters of our own attainment or of good luck, in that same proportion we will find ourselves growing cold spiritually, and with unthankfulness will come unholiness, spiritual self-conceit and pride, and all of this will lead to spiritual dirth, and if persisted in, to spiritual death. Z'02-286R3080:2(Hymn 179)

Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. Daniel 12:12

WHAT blessings have we received? Just as the Bible has said to us, so has it been. Those who open their hearts to the Lord find that he not only comes in and sups with them, but that he becomes their servant, comforts them, and serves them with "meat in due season." This accounts for all these blessed truths upon which we have been feasting since we have entered into the light of present truth, and it proves that this divine plan of the ages is not from any human being, nor is it a human plan or scheme; for no human being is capable of bringing such glorious things out of the Word of God. Z'14-330R5568:5 (Hymn 230)

And the Logos became flesh, and dwelt among us. John 1:14(Diaglott)

BECAUSE all of the human family were children of Adam and sharers in his death sentence, no man could give to God a ransom for his brother. (Psalm 49:7) God so shut up the matter that Adam and his race could not have been redeemed except by the finding of a perfect man who would be willing voluntarily to die on their behalf. It was because there was no such man that God arranged with the Logos, his Only Begotten, that he should become a man and be the Redeemer of the race--Adam and all his children. Z'13-347R5352:4(Hymn 62)

We are laborers together with God. I Corinthians 3:9

THE one work of the Gospel age has been the selection of the spiritual seed of Abraham, through whom all the families of the earth shall be blessed--shall become of the earthly seed. This promise that all the families of the earth shall be blessed cannot be fulfilled until the spiritual seed shall be completed. "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." There has been but one work from first to last. And so we read; "One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor: other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors." (John 4:35-38) Whether it was at the beginning, or now at the close of the age --the time of the reaping--it is all one work, and there is the one purpose being served, the gathering of the elect. Z'13-261R5302:1(Hymn 275)

Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it. I Thessalonians 5:24

WE HOPE, dear friends, that we are getting ready for the marriage of the Lamb, for our marriage to the Lamb. Something that we may do or fail to do today may have a bearing upon our final readiness. Our minds are the foundation for everything in this matter. The Lord knows that we have imperfect bodies. So the testing will not be as to whether our bodies are perfect, but whether our hearts are perfect. If our hearts are perfect before God we shall bring our words, our actions, and our thoughts into harmony with the law of love to the extent of our ability. If we see to it that we keep our hearts thus loyal, we shall become more and more a copy of God's dear Son, our Heavenly Bridegroom; and we shall enter in due time with exceeding joy into our "house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Then our Lord will present us before the Father--the "bride adorned for her Husband"; he will present us with exceeding joy--blameless. Z'16-165R5907:4(Hymn 230)

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. II Corinthians 4:17

ARE we willing to bear the hatred, the scorn, the contumely, which loyalty to the truth brings? Is our Father's loving favor more, far more, to us than the favor and smiles of the whole world--even more, far more, than life itself? If so, we can go forth in his name, rejoicing as we go, praising him with our lips, singing the new song which he hath put into our mouths, "even the loving-kindness of our God." It costs something to sing this song. Z'14-119R5441:6 (Hymn 17)

For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation. Psalm 149:4

THESE are the ones whom the Lord is pleased to instruct and guide in the knowledge of his Son, and into all his blessings. If they continue to be meek, he is able to make of them heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ their Lord. We read in the Scriptures that the meek shall inherit the earth. They will inherit under the terms of the primary and original covenant. These will be the seed of Abraham. From these the blessing will go to all mankind who will be obedient during the millennial reign. After the final test at the end of the millennial age the whole world will be teachable. They will have learned the great lesson that God is the Fountain of all wisdom; and they will have profited by this instruction. Z'13-381R5370:5(Hymn 10)

This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing. Isaiah 28:12

WE ARE resting in the Lord's promises--we are resting in his strength and in his ability to make good his promises; for we know that he who has called us is able to fulfil all his good Word. This peace, or rest, is the special blessing of the Holy Spirit. Only in proportion as we receive the Holy Spirit, the holy mind of God, the holy disposition, can we have this peace fulfilled in us. It is a matter of simple ratio. As we grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord, in the knowledge of the truth, we shall have this to comfort and strengthen us; and we shall thus have more of the peace of God every day, and be able to abide in his love. Z'14-103R5432:3(Hymn 112)

Your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. John 16:22

WHAT are our joys which no man taketh from us, and which persecution and affliction and trouble can only deepen and widen and make more sweet? What joy is this? This joy is a foretaste of the blessings to come, an earnest of our inheritance. It is inspired by confidence that he is both able and willing to perfect the work which he has begun and which we desire shall be perfected in his own best way; confident that so long as we are firmly holding to his gracious promises with the arms of our faith, he will not permit us to be separated from him. Who shall separate us from the love of God in Christ? Shall tribulation and persecution? Our confidence is that no one is able to pluck us out of the Father's hand (John 10:29), and that "the Father himself loveth" us, and will not turn us away so long as we desire to abide obediently in his love. Yea, we are confident that all things are working together for good to those who love God; confident that he who is for us is more powerful than all who can be against us. Such confidence is sure to bring joy beyond the world's comprehension and a peace of God that passeth all understanding, which keeps the heart. Z'97-305R2232:1(Hymn 226)

Be ye...followers of God, as dear children. Ephesians 5:1

IT IS high time that we learn that we cannot serve God and mammon, and that we choose between these. If we do not choose the Lord and his service and place these first before our hearts' affections, we will be counted as placing the others first--the interests of the natural man--and the Lord's appreciation of us and the reward he will give us will correspond. He has indeed blessings for all the families of the earth, but the special blessing presented in the exceeding great and precious promises of glory, honor, and immortality are for those who love him supremely, more than they love houses or lands, business or wealth, family or kindred or self. Our exhortation to all who have forsaken all to follow the Lord is that we do not look back, that we estimate that we have made the grandest bargain imaginable, that we are in the way for obtaining the grandest prize imaginable, together with association with our Lord in his wonderful work and with the divine approval. Z'06-47R3721:4(Hymn 312A)

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

WHILE prayer is a privilege and not a command, our condition makes it a necessity. Because of the fall of man from his original perfection our flesh has imperfections, frailties; and yet we, as new creatures, have responsibility for these weaknesses. The only way to discharge these responsibilities is to go to the throne of grace and there obtain help in time of need. Whoever, therefore, goes frequently to the throne of grace in prayer thus indicates that he recognizes the necessity of using the opportunity which God has provided in his interest and as his privilege. Z'13-84 R5201:5 (Hymn 162)

Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father's and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26

THE Word of God is not merely the Bible, but it includes sermons, tracts, books, etc., in proportion as they contain and truly represent the message of God's dear Son. This brings the matter still more closely home, and it implies that we are not to be ashamed of any of the doctrines presented in the Bible, nor to be ashamed of any literature which in the Lord's providence has been prepared and which represents his truth and expounds and illustrates it. The Lord would have a free-minded, openhearted people, whose hearts would be so loyal to him and to the truth which he represents that they would gladly surrender everything, even life itself, rather than in any measure impede its progress, rather than in any measure bring dishonor or discredit upon it. On the contrary, those who are not ashamed of the Lord and his Word, and who realize that there is nothing in them to be ashamed of, but on the contrary everything to rejoice in, to exult in, will seek to lift high the royal banner, to tell the good tidings of great joy to the extent of their ability, to co-operate with all others who are thus showing forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. Z'06-152 R3777:4 (Hymn 118)

Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Psalm 34:13

THE Lord's people find the tongue the most difficult member to bring into subjection, and therefore may well pray, "Keep the door of my lips." And if the prayer be sincere, from the heart, it will imply that the petitioner is doing all in his power in this direction himself while seeking the divine aid. And the divine aid comes in line with this lesson, and assures us that the lips are not at fault, that it is the heart that needs a completion of the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit, for "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." The lesson here is that whatever difficulty we have through our lips needs correction at the heart. We need to get our hearts more in accord with the heart of the Almighty--more in tune with the gracious elements of the divine character, represented not only in justice toward others, but additionally in mercy, love, kindness, and benevolence toward all. Z'06-79R3739:6(Hymn 145)

By patient continuance in welldoing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life. Romans 2:7

WHAT are we seeking? This is a good question for each one of us to put to himself, and for us to suggest at a proper time to all others who are manifesting any interest in present truth. We know what the world is seeking--wealth, honor, fame, ease, etc.--and we know that many who turn toward the Lord still have the spirit of the world. They would like to be the Lord's disciples and still have and cultivate and enjoy the hopes and ambitions that are more or less worldly. It is appropriate that we should give heed to the Master's words as though they were addressed to each of us individually, What are you seeking? Let us answer our Master in our own hearts and in prayer; and before we make answer let us consider well that it may be a truthful one, for we might indeed deceive ourselves, but could not deceive him with whom we have to do. It is right that we should seek the kingdom and that we should know that there is a great honor and glory and dignity associated with it by divine arrangement, and that thus we should "seek for glory, honor, and immortality." But in conjunction with this seeking of the kingdom we should remember our Master's words on another occasion, that we should seek chiefly the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Z'08-13 R4116:2 (Hymn 78)

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, ...humbleness of mind. Colossians 3:12

EVERYTHING in the Scriptures points us to the fact that humility is a quality most essential to all of the Lord's people who would be used of the Lord in any important or special work for him. If the followers of the Lord could continually keep this in memory, and would persistently shape their course accordingly, how much they would be used, we may be sure. Any service for the Lord is an honor; but the more we are permitted to serve, the more will be our blessing in the present life, and the greater also will be our reward in the life to come. Let us, therefore, as the apostle says, humble ourselves under God's mighty hand, that he may exalt us in due time. Z'13-189R5262:5(Hymn 267)

Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11

TO SUPPOSE that the Lord here is merely referring to the natural food would imply that the petitioners were merely natural men, whereas we know that the prayer was taught only to those who were reckonedly new creatures in Christ by a covenant to walk in his steps in the narrow way. It must be understood, therefore, that it is the new creature that is offering the petition, and this will imply that it is the nourishment of the new creature that is chiefly under consideration--with whatever provision for temporal necessities the Heavenly Father may see best. Z'06-205 R3806:5 (Hymn 286)

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4:6

OUR Lord Jesus himself laid the foundation of the spiritual temple, and he himself will complete it as its top-stone, and it shall be acclaimed glorious, not only by men, but by angels, in God's due time. The work is in his hand, and although from outward appearances at the present time there may seem to be discouragements, and little progress may seem to have been made, yet his servants should be of good courage and should remember that their victory is to come, not through human might, popularity, and influence, nor by their own power, but by the Lord's Spirit. The possession of his faith and his Spirit will give us the victory over the world, the flesh, and the Adversary, and make us more than conquerors through him who loved us and bought us with his own precious blood. Z'99-223 R2522:2 (Hymn 91)

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Matthew 7:7

WHY should the Lord wish us to ask before he would give his blessing? For a wise purpose, we may be sure! He would have us feel our need, he would have us appreciate the privilege, he would have us look for the response, and in all these experiences he would develop us as his sons of the new creation. Therefore we are to ask and seek and knock if we would find the riches of God's grace, and have opened to us more and more the wonderful privileges and mercies and blessings which he is so willing to give to us as we develop in character and in preparation for his mercies. Z'06-206R3807:4(Hymn 85)

Taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Ephesians 6:16

THE new creature may develop even when the outer man is perishing. Satan succeeded in having the chief priests and Pharisees cause the death of our Lord; but this was the very means by which he entered into glory. In his dealings with our Lord the Father has given us an illustration of his dealings with us. So we may know that even if Satan should appear to get the victory over us, these "light afflictions" will, as we are told, "work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." We know that we have no power with which to oppose Satan. None is sufficient for these things except the Lord. But he is greater than are Satan and all his angels. We are looking forward with the eye of faith to the things that are unseen. So it behooves us to be stedfast, immovable, full of faith, and therefore able to meet whatever the Father permits to come upon us. Z'13-56R5184:6 (Hymn 136)

Ye are the salt of the earth:...Ye are the light of the world. Matthew 5:13, 14

BEFORE very long we expect that all of the overcoming members of the body of Christ will be changed, glorified, and the body completed on the other side the veil will be without members on this side. The lights will have gone and the darkness will hold fuller sway than ever; the salt will be gone and the corruption will take hold swiftly, and the result will be the great time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation. Meantime we are to let our lights shine and thus glorify the Father, whether men heed or forbear to heed; we are to exercise our salt or preservative influence, our influence for righteousness and truth, whether men hear or forbear, though we clearly see that it is not God's purpose to enlighten the world through the church in its present humble position. The matter will test us and prove whether or not we are worthy to be members of the glorified body of Christ, which shortly shall shine forth as the sun in the glory of the Father, and enlighten the whole world in a manner with which our little lamps of the present time will in no sense compare. Z'06-75R3737:1(Hymn 320)