登陆注册
15466200000028

第28章 Chapter 10(2)

"Thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest;For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways;To give knowledge of salvation unto His people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God, Whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.""And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel." Before the birth of John, the angel had said, "He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost." God had called the son of Zacharias to a great work, the greatest ever committed to men. In order to accomplish this work, he must have the Lord to work with him. And the Spirit of God would be with him if he heeded the instruction of the angel.

John was to go forth as Jehovah's messenger, to bring to men the light of God. He must give a new direction to their thoughts. He must impress them with the holiness of God's requirements, and their need of His perfect righteousness. Such a messenger must be holy. He must be a temple for the indwelling Spirit of God. In order to fulfill his mission, he must have a sound physical constitution, and mental and spiritual strength. Therefore it would be necessary for him to control the appetites and passions. He must be able so to control all his powers that he could stand among men as unmoved by surrounding circumstances as the rocks and mountains of the wilderness.

In the time of John the Baptist, greed for riches, and the love of luxury and display had become widespread. Sensuous pleasures, feasting and drinking, were causing physical disease and degeneracy, benumbing the spiritual perceptions, and lessening the sensibility to sin. John was to stand as a reformer. By his abstemious life and plain dress he was to 101rebuke the excesses of his time. Hence the directions given to the parents of John,--a lesson of temperance by an angel from the throne of heaven.

In childhood and youth the character is most impressible. The power of self-control should then be acquired. By the fireside and at the family board influences are exerted whose results are as enduring as eternity. More than any natural endowment, the habits established in early years decide whether a man will be victorious or vanquished in the battle of life. Youth is the sowing time. It determines the character of the harvest, for this life and for the life to come.

As a prophet, John was "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." In preparing the way for Christ's first advent, he was a representative of those who are to prepare a people for our Lord's second coming. The world is given to self-indulgence. Errors and fables abound. Satan's snares for destroying souls are multiplied. All who would perfect holiness in the fear of God must learn the lessons of temperance and self-control. The appetites and passions must be held in subjection to the higher powers of the mind. This self-discipline is essential to that mental strength and spiritual insight which will enable us to understand and to practice the sacred truths of God's word. For this reason temperance finds its place in the work of preparation for Christ's second coming.

In the natural order of things, the son of Zacharias would have been educated for the priesthood. But the training of the rabbinical schools would have unfitted him for his work. God did not send him to the teachers of theology to learn how to interpret the Scriptures. He called him to the desert, that he might learn of nature and nature's God.

It was a lonely region where he found his home, in the midst of barren hills, wild ravines, and rocky caves. But it was his choice to forgo the enjoyments and luxuries of life for the stern discipline of the wilderness.

Here his surroundings were favorable to habits of simplicity and self-denial. Uninterrupted by the clamor of the world, he could here study the lessons of nature, of revelation, and of Providence. The words of the angel to Zacharias had been often repeated to John by his God-fearing parents. From childhood his mission had been kept before him, and he had accepted the holy trust. To him the solitude of the desert was a welcome escape from society in which suspicion, unbelief, and impurity had become well-nigh all-pervading. He distrusted his own 102power to withstand temptation, and shrank from constant contact with sin, lest he should lose the sense of its exceeding sinfulness.

Dedicated to God as a Nazarite from his birth, he made the vow his own in a life-long consecration. His dress was that of the ancient prophets, a garment of camel's hair, confined by a leather girdle. He ate the "locusts and wild honey" found in the wilderness, and drank the pure water from the hills.

But the life of John was not spent in idleness, in ascetic gloom, or in selfish isolation. From time to time he went forth to mingle with men; and he was ever an interested observer of what was passing in the world. From his quiet retreat he watched the unfolding of events. With vision illuminated by the divine Spirit he studied the characters of men, that he might understand how to reach their hearts with the message of heaven. The burden of his mission was upon him. In solitude, by meditation and prayer, he sought to gird up his soul for the lifework before him.

Although in the wilderness, he was not exempt from temptation. So far as possible, he closed every avenue by which Satan could enter, yet he was still assailed by the tempter. But his spiritual perceptions were clear; he had developed strength and decision of character, and through the aid of the Holy Spirit he was able to detect Satan's approaches, and to resist his power.

同类推荐
  • 上清握中诀

    上清握中诀

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • The Anti-Slavery Crusade

    The Anti-Slavery Crusade

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 祭汾阴乐章

    祭汾阴乐章

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 断肠词

    断肠词

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 清微元降大法

    清微元降大法

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 皇者天下之陨落凡尘

    皇者天下之陨落凡尘

    此乃吾无名亲手炼制依据仙尊殿为原型,乃是一方小世界,其中包含珍宝阁,内有大量珍宝,是吾毕生所积累之物;仙丹宫,内藏无数仙丹,包罗万象;功法殿,内藏各界各阶功法;以及阵法殿、仙药园。一个少年,吴名得到了此殿,从此人生发生了翻天覆地的变化,让我们一起来看他如何成就皇者,走上巅峰。
  • 大舰风云

    大舰风云

    这是一本我认为的星际战争。我不清楚这样的叙述风格是否会与读者产生共鸣,但我会尽量的朝这方向努力。我也很清楚,这类题材的小说很少有人喜欢,也不会有太多人去关注,但星际舰战是我儿时的梦想——在浩瀚的宇宙中,掠过星辉,穿过星云,乘着大舰,畅快翱翔。故事简介:一场高等文明的入侵,让六岁的方鱼与家人失散,在沉睡了两百年之后,他再次苏醒,却发现自己身处一少年军营,成为正在星海中执行作战任务的第十七舰队的初级学员。于是,方鱼的故事开始了……。不涉及现实一切的问题,也没有11倾向,这是很纯正的星际战争。开始会比较啰嗦,但主线很清晰,水分章节杜绝,基本每章都是在承上启下,节奏较快,时间跨度颇长,但愿大家喜欢。
  • 影响千万人一生的枕边书

    影响千万人一生的枕边书

    每个人都是岁月长河中的一个过客。我们的一生将如何度过?随着时代的进步,人们的生活节奏加快了,面对日益激烈的竞争,太多的人已不堪重压。如何面对生活的现状?短小的故事,带给你的是无穷的知识和无尽的智慧;它能使你在轻松地阅读中得到有益的启迪,更深刻地理解和把握人生;它能使你的意志更加坚强,使你的人格更加高尚;它既是你迷失时的灯塔,也是你春风得意时的镇静剂。
  • CF之风雨同舟

    CF之风雨同舟

    一段青春岁月,一群在虚拟世界陪伴的战友与伙伴。留下无悔的记忆以及她的风雨同舟....
  • 狂拽王妃遇上多情王爷

    狂拽王妃遇上多情王爷

    他是一位不受宠的王爷,她是一位丞相府的嫡女。他们的命运因为联姻而纠缠在一起!片段一“南宫冥,杀了我吧!”卿儿一袭红衣跪坐在床榻旁眼睛紧闭心痛的说道。“朕不会让你死的!来人好好照顾请贵妃,不准她死!”南宫冥背过身不去看卿儿眉头紧锁沉重地说道。。。。片段二“四爷,我有了!”卿儿搂住南宫冥的脖子娇羞的说道。“真的吗?我们有孩子了?那我当爹了!!!”南宫冥抱住卿儿轻轻抚摸着卿儿的肚子。说好的执子之手与子偕老,到最后却变成了一场谎言与利用!如果可以,她宁愿这一生都不没有爱上他!如果可以,他宁愿拿所有的错误来惩罚自己!
  • 高血压科学保健指南

    高血压科学保健指南

    高血压是最常见的慢性病,也是心脑血管病最主要的危险因素,脑卒中、心肌梗死、心力衰竭及慢性肾脏病是其主要并发症。国内外的实践证明,高血压是可以预防和控制的疾病,降低高血压患者的血压水平,可明显减少脑卒中及心脏病事件,显著改善患者的生存质量,有效降低疾病负担。本书从高血压的症状,在日常生活中应该注意的事项等方面来说明应该怎样做才能预防和控制这种疾病!
  • 世界心

    世界心

    (他是一个先知,他拥有全世界女人都为之疯狂的面孔,拥有别人一辈子都挣不来的财富,一瞬间,他失去了所有。一个特殊的使命,一个特殊的交易,一个特殊的身份。从此,他有了新的生活,新的身份。)
  • 乾坤破戒

    乾坤破戒

    一不杀生,二不偷盗,三不邪淫,四不饮酒,五不两舌,六不恶口,七不妄语,八不贪,九不嗔,十不痴,此佛门十戒也!……然而,大唐王朝在一片歌舞升平中早已危机四伏,外戚当权、美人误国、宦官干政、藩镇割据,这看似繁华的背后却在酝酿着一场血雨腥风的沧桑突变。人世风云变换,佛门岂得清净?身世之谜,王权斗争,乱世风雨,儿女之情,看唐朝小和尚如何让江山皈依、乾坤破戒!
  • 离开地球之重返

    离开地球之重返

    描述男主人公叶天从一位普通大学生车祸奇迹生还后的一些特殊能力,认识志同道合的朋友打击罪犯,在执行最后一次任务后离奇穿越X未知星球发现那里人情味地下视人命如草芥,而后为了回到地球的愿望而奋斗...
  • 过仙九步

    过仙九步

    在一个光怪陆离的远古世界,一个拥有亿万生灵的星球。强者如云,凡人中梦想的仙侠世界,古国众多。天国,坐拥亿万里的江山。从开国到现在已有五万年,从不衰败。一个不平凡的少年从这里起步......