Chapter 32—The Shaking
November 20, 1857, I was shown the people of God, and saw them
mightily shaken. Some, with strong faith and agonizing cries, were
pleading with God. Their countenances were pale, and marked with
deep anxiety, expressive of their internal struggle. Firmness and great
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earnestness were expressed in their countenances, while large drops
of perspiration fell from their foreheads. Now and then their faces
would light up with the marks of God’s approbation, and again the
same solemn, earnest, anxious look would settle upon them. [
“Blow
the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: gather
the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders.... Let the
priests the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the
altar and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine
heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore
should they say among the people, where is their God?”
Joel 2:15-17
.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-
minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned
to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the
sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
James 4:7-10
.
“Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not
desired; before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff,
before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of
the Lord’s anger come upon you. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of
the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek
meekness: It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.”
Zephaniah 2:1-3
.]
Evil angels crowded around them, pressing their darkness upon
them, to shut out Jesus from their view, that their eyes might be drawn
to the darkness that surrounded them, and they distrust God and next
murmur against Him. Their only safety was in keeping their eyes
directed upward. Angels of God had charge over His people, and as
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