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Life Sketches of Ellen G. White
sought help and comfort from above, and the promises of God were
verified to me. The Lord’s hand sustained me
“Let us learn a lesson of courage and fortitude from the last inter-
view of Christ with His apostles. They were about to be separated. Our
Saviour was entering the bloodstained path which would lead Him to
Calvary. Never was scene more trying than that through which he was
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soon to pass. The apostles had heard the words of Christ foretelling
His sufferings and death, and their hearts were heavy with sorrow, their
minds distracted with doubt and fear. Yet there were no loud outcries;
there was no abandonment of grief. Those last solemn, momentous
hours were spent by our Saviour in speaking words of comfort and
assurance to His disciples, and then all united in a hymn of praise....
What a prelude to the agony in Gethsemane, the abuse and mockery
of the judgment hall, and the awful scenes of Calvary, were those last
hours spent in chanting the praises of the Most High!
“When Martin Luther received discouraging news, he would often
say, ‘Come, let us sing the forty-sixth psalm.’ This psalm commences
with the words: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help
in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.’ Instead
of mourning, weeping, and despairing, when troubles gather about
us like a flood and threaten to overwhelm us, if we would not only
pray for help from God, but would praise Him for so many blessings
left,—praise Him that He is able to help us,—our course would be
more pleasing to Him, and we would see more of His salvation.”
The
Review and Herald, November 1, 1881
.
Finding Rest in Labor for Souls
Scarcely a week passed following her arrival at the home of her
son, Elder W. C. White, in Oakland, Cal., before Mrs. White attended
a camp meeting held in Sacramento, October 13-25. On nearly every
day of the meeting she spoke to the people, and during the last Sun-
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day afternoon gave a temperance address to an audience numbering
upwards of five thousand.
Often during the winter months of 1881-82, Mrs. White met with
local churches and small companies of believers in Sonoma and Napa
valleys and vicinity. “I was in feeble health,” she wrote in her first