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complaining, but in faith and courage. Eternity alone can reveal how
much has been lost during these years—how many souls have been
left to perish through this state of things. The loss is too great to be
computed. God has been insulted. The course pursued has brought
upon the cause a wound which will be years in healing; and if the
mistakes that have been made are not seen and repented of, they will
surely be repeated.
A realization of these facts has brought unspeakable burdens upon
me, driving sleep from my eyes. At times it has seemed that my
heart would break, and I could only pray, while giving vent to my
anguish in weeping aloud. Oh, I felt so sorry for my Saviour! His
searching for fruit amid the leaf-covered branches of the fig tree and
His disappointment in finding nothing but leaves” seemed so vivid
before my eyes. I felt that I could not have it so. I could in no way be
reconciled to the past years of neglect of duty on the part of ministers
and people. I feared that the withering curse passed upon the fig tree
might be the fate of these careless ones. The terrible neglect of doing
the work and fulfilling the mission which God has entrusted to them
incurs a loss which none of us can afford to sustain. It is running a risk
too fearful to contemplate and too terrible to be ventured at any time
in our religious history, but especially now, when time is so short and
so much is to be done in this day of God’s preparation. All heaven is
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earnestly engaged for the salvation of men; light is coming from God
to His people, defining their duty, so that none need err from the right
path. But God does not send His light and truth to be lightly esteemed
and trifled with. If the people are inattentive, they are doubly guilty
before Him.
As Christ was riding into Jerusalem, on the crest of Olivet He
broke forth in uncontrollable grief, exclaiming in broken utterances as
He looked upon Jerusalem: “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in
this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are
hid from thine eyes.” He wept not for Himself, but for the despisers of
His mercy, long-suffering, and forbearance. The course taken by the
hardhearted and impenitent inhabitants of the doomed city is similar
to the attitude of churches and individuals toward Christ at the present
time. They neglect His requirements and despise His forbearance.
There is a form of godliness, there is ceremonial worship, there are
complimentary prayers, but the real power is wanting. The heart is not