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Loud Cry
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The Lord’s servants have faithfully given the warning, looking
to God and to his word alone. They have not coolly calculated the
consequences to themselves. They have not consulted their temporal
interests, or sought to preserve their reputation or their lives. Yet
when the storm of opposition and reproach bursts upon them, they
are overwhelmed with consternation; and some are ready to exclaim,
“Had we foreseen the consequences of our words, we would have
held our peace.” They are hedged in with difficulties. Satan assails
them with fierce temptations. The work which they have undertaken
seems far beyond their ability to accomplish. They are threatened
with destruction. The enthusiasm which animated them is gone; yet
they cannot turn back. Then, feeling their utter helplessness, they
flee to the Mighty One for strength. They remember that the words
which they have spoken were not theirs, but His who bade them give
the warning. God put the truth into their hearts, and they could not
forbear to proclaim it.
The same trials were experienced by men of God in ages past.
Wycliffe, Huss, Luther, Tyndale, Baxter, Wesley, urged that all
doctrines be brought to the test of the Bible, and declared that they
would renounce everything which it condemned. Against these men,
persecution raged with relentless fury; yet they ceased not to declare
the truth. Different periods in the history of the church have each
been marked by the development of some special truth, adapted to
the necessities of the people of God at that time. Every new truth has
made its way against hatred and opposition; those who were blessed
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with its light were tempted and tried. The Lord gives a special truth
for the people in an emergency. Who dare refuse to publish it? He
commands his servants to present the last invitation of mercy to the
world. They cannot remain silent, except at the peril of their souls.
Christ’s ambassadors have nothing to do with consequences. They
must perform their duty, and leave results with God.
As the opposition rises to a fiercer height, the servants of God are
again perplexed; for it seems to them that they have brought the crisis.
But conscience and the word of God assure them that their course
is right; and although the trials continue, they are strengthened to
bear them. The contest grows closer and sharper, but their faith
and courage rise with the emergency. Their testimony is, “We dare
not tamper with God’s word, dividing his holy law, calling one