The Great Controversy The Great Controversy | Page 640

who died for them. A marvelous change has come over those who
have held fast their integrity in the very face of death. They have
been suddenly delivered from the dark and terrible tyranny of men
transformed to demons. Their faces, so lately pale, anxious, and
haggard, are now aglow with wonder, faith, and love. Their voices rise
in triumphant song: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help
in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and
though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the
waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with
the swelling thereof.” Psalm 46:1-3.
While these words of holy trust ascend to God, the clouds sweep
back, and the starry heavens are seen, unspeakably glorious in contrast
with the black and angry firmament on either side. The glory of the
celestial city streams from the gates ajar. Then there appears against
the sky a hand holding two tables of stone folded together. Says the
prophet: “The heavens shall declare His righteousness: for God is judge
Himself.” Psalm 50:6. That holy law, God’s righteousness, that amid
thunder and flame was proclaimed from Sinai as the guide of life, is now
revealed to men as the rule of judgment. The hand opens the tables, and
there are seen the precepts of the Decalogue, traced as with a pen of fire.
The words are so plain that all can read them. Memory is aroused, the
darkness of superstition and heresy is swept from every mind, and God’s
ten words, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, are presented to the
view of all the inhabitants of the earth.
It is impossible to describe the horror and despair of those who
have trampled upon God’s holy requirements. The Lord gave them His
law; they might have compared their characters with it and learned their
defects while there was yet opportunity for repentance and reform; but
in order to secure the favor of the world, they set aside its precepts and
taught others to transgress. They have endeavored to compel

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