Advent Experience
55
My health was very poor, my lungs were seriously affected, and
my voice failed. The Spirit of God often rested upon me with great
power, and my frail body could scarcely endure the glory that flooded
my soul. I seemed to breathe in the atmosphere of heaven, and rejoiced
in the prospect of soon meeting my Redeemer and living forever in the
light of His countenance.
The waiting people of God approached the hour when they fondly
hoped their joys would be complete in the coming of the Saviour. But
[56]
the time again passed unmarked by the advent of Jesus. It was hard to
take up the cares of life that we thought had been laid down forever. It
was a bitter disappointment that fell upon the little flock whose faith
had been so strong and whose hope had been so high. But we were
surprised that we felt so free in the Lord and were so strongly sustained
by His strength and grace.
The experience of the former year was, however, repeated to a
greater extent. A large class renounced their faith. Some, who had
been very confident, were so deeply wounded in their pride that they
felt like fleeing from the world. Like Jonah, they complained of God,
and chose death rather than life. Those who had built their faith upon
the evidence of others, and not upon the word of God, were now as
ready to again change their views. The hypocrites, who had hoped to
deceive the Lord as well as themselves with their counterfeit penitence
and devotion, now felt relieved from impending danger, and openly
opposed the cause they had lately professed to love.
The weak and the wicked united in declaring that there could be
no more fears or expectations now. The time had passed, the Lord
had not come, and the world would remain the same for thousands of
years. This second great test revealed a mass of worthless drift that
had been drawn into the strong current of the advent faith, and been
borne along for a time with the true believers and earnest workers.
We were disappointed, but not disheartened. We resolved to submit
patiently to the process of purifying that God deemed needful for us,
and to wait with patient hope for the Saviour to redeem His tried and
faithful ones.
We were firm in the belief that the preaching of definite time
was of God. It was this that led men to search the Bible diligently,
discovering truths they had not before perceived. Jonah was sent of
God to proclaim in the streets of Nineveh that within forty days the