Promises to God Binding
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compassionately help him. Thus they can bridge over the difficulty,
and receive a blessing themselves.
God would have the members of His church consider their obliga-
tions to Him as binding as their indebtedness to the merchant or the
market. Let everyone review his past life and see if any unpaid, unre-
deemed pledges have been neglected, and then make extra exertions to
pay the “uttermost farthing;” for we must all meet and abide the final
issue of a tribunal where nothing will stand the test but integrity and
veracity.—
Testimonies for the Church 4:473-476
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A Reason for Adversity
Some of you have been stumbling over your pledges. The Spirit
of the Lord came into the-----meeting in answer to prayer, and while
your hearts were softened under its influence, you pledged. While
the streams of salvation were pouring upon your hearts, you felt that
you must follow the example of Him who went about doing good, and
who cheerfully gave His life to ransom man from sin and degradation.
Under the heavenly, inspiring influence, you saw that selfishness and
worldliness were not consistent with Christian character, and that you
could not live for yourselves and be Christlike. But when the influence
of His abundant love and mercy was not felt in so marked a manner
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in your hearts, you withdrew your offerings, and God withdrew His
blessing from you.
Adversity came upon some. There was a failure in their crops,
so that they could not redeem their pledges; and some were even
brought into straitened circumstances. Then, of course, they could
not be expected to pay. But had they not murmured and withdrawn
their hearts from their pledges, God would have worked for them, and
would have opened ways whereby everyone could have paid what he
had promised. They did not wait in faith, trusting God to open the way
so that they could redeem their pledges.
Some had means at their command; and had they possessed the
same willing mind as when they pledged, and had they heartily ren-
dered to God in tithes and offerings that which He had lent them for
this purpose, they would have been greatly blessed. But Satan came
in with his temptations, and led some to question the motives and
the spirit which actuated the servant of God in presenting the call for