Lord’s Vineyard
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glected, when the adornment of the soul is lacking, when the simplicity
of godliness is lost sight of, that pride and love of display demand
magnificent church edifices, splendid adornings, and imposing cere-
monials. In all this God is not honored. A fashionable religion that
consists of ceremonies, pretense, and display, is not acceptable to Him.
Its services call forth no response from the heavenly messengers.
The church is very precious in God’s sight. He values it, not for
its external advantages, but for the sincere piety which distinguishes
it from the world. He estimates it according to the growth of the
members in the knowledge of Christ, according to their progress in
spiritual experience.
Christ hungers to receive from His vineyard the fruit of holiness
and unselfishness. He looks for the principles of love and goodness.
Not all the beauty of art can bear comparison with the beauty of temper
and character to be revealed in those who are Christ’s representatives.
It is the atmosphere of grace which surrounds the soul of the believer,
the Holy Spirit working upon mind and heart, that makes him a savor
of life unto life, and enables God to bless his work.
A congregation may be the poorest in the land. It may be without
the attraction of any outward show; but if the members possess the
principles of the character of Christ, they will have His joy in their
souls. Angels will unite with them in their worship. The praise
and thanksgiving from grateful hearts will ascend to God as a sweet
oblation.
The Lord desires us to make mention of His goodness and tell of
His power. He is honored by the expression of praise and thanksgiving.
He says, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me.”
Psalm 50:23
. The
people of Israel, as they journeyed through the wilderness, praised God
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in sacred song. The commandments and promises of the Lord were
set to music, and all along the journey these were sung by the pilgrim
travelers. And in Canaan as they met at their sacred feasts God’s
wonderful works were to be recounted, and grateful thanksgiving was
to be offered to His name. God desired that the whole life of His people
should be a life of praise. Thus His way was to be made “known upon
earth,” His “saving health among all nations.”
Psalm 67:2
.
So it should be now. The people of the world are worshiping false
gods. They are to be turned from their false worship, not by hearing
denunciation of their idols, but by beholding something better. God’s