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surmount difficulties, and will lead the flock of God instead of being
led by them.
There is altogether too little of the Spirit and power of God in the
labor of the watchmen. The Spirit which characterized that wonderful
meeting on the Day of Pentecost is waiting to manifest its power upon
the men who are now standing between the living and the dead as am-
bassadors for God. The power which stirred the people so mightily in
the 1844 movement will again be revealed. The third angel’s message
will go forth, not in whispered tones, but with a loud voice.
Many who profess to have great light are walking in sparks of their
own kindling. They need to have their lips touched with a live coal
from off the altar, that they may pour forth the truth like men who are
inspired. Too many go into the desk with mechanical discourses that
have no light from heaven in them.
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There is too much of self and too little of Jesus in the ministry of all
denominations. The Lord uses humble men to proclaim His messages.
Had Christ come in the majesty of a king, with the pomp which attends
the great men of earth, many would have accepted Him. But Jesus
of Nazareth did not dazzle the senses with a display of outward glory
and make this the foundation of their reverence. He came as a humble
man to be the Teacher and Exemplar as well as the Redeemer of the
race. Had He encouraged pomp, had He come followed by a retinue
of the great men of earth, how could He have taught humility? how
could He have presented such burning truths as in His Sermon upon
the Mount? His example was such as He wished all His followers
to imitate. Where would have been the hope of the lowly in life had
He come in exaltation and dwelt as a king upon the earth? Jesus
knew the needs of the world better than they themselves knew. He
did not come as an angel, clothed with the panoply of heaven, but as
a man. Yet combined with His humility was an inherent power and
grandeur that awed men while they loved Him. Although possessing
such loveliness, such an unassuming appearance, He moved among
them with the dignity and power of a heaven-born king. The people
were amazed, confounded. They tried to reason the matter out; but,
unwilling to renounce their own ideas, they yielded to doubts, clinging
to the old expectation of a Saviour to come in earthly grandeur.
When Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, His disciples
were gathered close about Him, and the multitude, filled with intense