The Great Controversy The Great Controversy | Page 479

is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Philippians 4:4; 1
Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Such are the fruits of Bible conversion and sanctification; and it is
because the great principles of righteousness set forth in the law of God
are so indifferently regarded by the Christian world that these fruits are
so rarely witnessed. This is why there is manifest so little of that deep,
abiding work of the Spirit of God which marked revi vals in former years.
It is by beholding that we become changed. And as those sacred
precepts in which God has opened to men the perfection and holiness
of His character are neglected, and the minds of the people are attracted
to human teachings and theories, what marvel that there has followed
a decline of living piety in the church. Saith the Lord: “They have
forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns,
broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:13.
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly....
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate
day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” Psalm 1:1-3. It is only as the
law of God is restored to its rightful position that there can be a revival of
primitive faith and godliness among His professed people. “Thus saith
the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where
is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.”
Jeremiah 6:16.

478