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smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and
young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near
any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary. Then
they began at the ancient men which were before the house.”
Here we see that the church—the Lord’s sanctuary—was the first
to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The ancient men, those to
whom God had given great light and who had stood as guardians of
the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust. They had
taken the position that we need not look for miracles and the marked
manifestation of God’s power as in former days. Times have changed.
These words strengthen their unbelief, and they say: The Lord will
not do good, neither will He do evil. He is too merciful to visit His
people in judgment. Thus “Peace and safety” is the cry from men who
will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show God’s people
their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. These dumb
dogs that would not bark are the ones who feel the just vengeance of
an offended God. Men, maidens, and little children all perish together.
The abominations for which the faithful ones were sighing and
crying were all that could be discerned by finite eyes, but by far the
worst sins, those which provoked the jealousy of the pure and holy
God, were unrevealed. The great Searcher of hearts knoweth every sin
committed in secret by the workers of iniquity. These persons come to
feel secure in their deceptions and, because of His long-suffering, say
that the Lord seeth not, and then act as though He had forsaken the
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earth. But He will detect their hypocrisy and will open before others
those sins which they were so careful to hide.
No superiority of rank, dignity, or worldly wisdom, no position in
sacred office, will preserve men from sacrificing principle when left to
their own deceitful hearts. Those who have been regarded as worthy
and righteous prove to be ring-leaders in apostasy and examples in
indifference and in the abuse of God’s mercies. Their wicked course
He will tolerate no longer, and in His wrath He deals with them without
mercy.
It is with reluctance that the Lord withdraws His presence from
those who have been blessed with great light and who have felt the
power of the word in ministering to others. They were once His faithful
servants, favored with His presence and guidance; but they departed