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1 Collect your thoughts, aye collect them,–O nation, depressed! |
O nation – The Royal Priesthood, the Holy Nation. R996:4
Not desired – Despised by the world because of your faithfulness to God and the truth. R996:4
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2 Ere yet the decree, have given birth, like chaff, the day, have vanished,–ere yet shall come upon you, the glow of the anger of Yahweh, ere yet shall come upon you, the day of the anger of Yahweh. |
Bring forth – Before the decree brings forth its results. R996:4
Before the day – The day of trouble. A334
Pass as the chaff – As fire consuming chaff; quickly in comparison with the slow operation of past ages. A334; R996:4
Come upon you – There is no hope held out that this trouble can be averted. D540
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3 Seek Yahweh–all ye lowly of the land, who have wrought, what he appointed,–seek righteousness, seek humility, peradventure, ye shall be concealed, in the day of the anger of Yahweh? |
Seek ye the LORD – Exhorting the better elements of the world, not the Church, which is accounted worthy to escape those things coming upon the world. D68; R4997:4[R4997]; R2021:1; R5041:6[R5041]
Let him present himself wholly to God that he may know and do God's will, and thus prepare himself for the ushering in of the Kingdom. HG516:4
All ye – A class of the world not spirit-begotten. Q719:1; R5041:6, R1607:5
Meek of the earth – The humble of the world in general. A334; D68; F555
As well as the Body of Christ. A334
This class should include all mature children of the consecrated ones who have been rightly taught in the precepts of the Lord. F555
Few are in the attitude of mind to hear this message. OV86:4
No doubt the trouble will be equally upon the poor; but to them it will seem less severe since they have been accustomed to less. SM191:2
"Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left." (Isa. 24:6) R5041:6
Wrought his judgment – His will. A334
Who love justice and pursue peace. A334; D540
Seek righteousness – Justice. PD92/107
The right, the truth. R996:4
Practice righteousness, truth, godliness, kindness, benevolence, justice; trust in the Lord; seek to walk in his ways. R2564:5
The wise policy, to say nothing of principle, is to deal justly, generously and kindly with our fellow-men in every rank and condition of life. D67
The Lord will be pleased to select from among such penitent seekers of righteousness some as substitutes to complete his elect Church. R2564:5
Such will be the ones most ready to welcome our King and his Kingdom. R2564:5
Instead of seeking a non-existent place of safety, let us bring our selves in to a condition of safety. R2021:1; F554
Seek meekness – For those who are not seeking after righteousness and meekness, it will be better for them to go through the trouble in order to prepare them for the great blessing to come later. R5864:2
Seek the right and seek it meekly--the time is short. R996:5
The more meek and righteous men may be, the better they will be prepared for the awful shock and terrible distress of that day of trouble. R4997:5
During the time of trouble, for the first time in the world's history there will be a premium on meekness, patience, love, gentleness, goodness. R1963:6
Rely on the Lord and not on carnal weapons. SM191:2
It may be – As a consequence of seeking righteousness and meekness. R1607:5
Ye shall be hid – Partly hid. A334
Protected from at least some measure of trouble. R2021:1, R5864:2, R1607:5
In the French Revolution, which was a type of the Day of Vengeance, favors were shown to the just, generous and kind, and extreme wrath was visited upon oppressors. D67, D68
Not the Great Company--for they shall suffer the destruction of the flesh in this time of trouble. R5041:6, R1963:6
As the three Hebrews were preserved in the fiery furnace. R5041:6
Their manner of life, habits of thought and action, sympathies for the right, and appreciation of the Bible account of the trouble and its outcome, will all conspire to make them suffer less than others. A334
Words of wisdom to the world in general. The Little Flock is promised that they shall escape all those things coming upon the world. (Luke 21:36) D68
Day of the LORD'S anger – The anarchy of the French Revolution and the anarchy which overthrew the Jewish nation in AD70 are Scriptural illustrations of what may be expected soon. PD92/107
Against that evil day, we warn men that they repent and develop meekness and righteousness. R4433:1
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4 For, Gaza, forsaken, shall be, and, Ashkelon, a desolation,–Ashdod! at high noon, shall they drive her forth, and, Ekron, be uprooted: |
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5 Alas! for the inhabitants of the line of the sea, the nation of Kerethim,–The word of Yahweh, is against you, O Canaan of the land of the Philistines, therefore will I destroy thee, to the last inhabitant. |
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6 So shall the line of the sea become a meadow, the wells of shepherds, and the folds of flocks; |
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7 And the line shall belong to the remnant of the house of Judah, Thereon, shall they feed their flocks,–In the houses of Ashkelon, shall they, at eventide, lie down, for Yahweh their God will visit them, and bring their captives back. |
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8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the sons of Ammon,–who have reproached my people, and have magnified themselves up to their bounds. |
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9 Wherefore, as I live, declareth Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, Surely, Moab, like Sodom, shall become, and, the sons of Ammon, like Gomorrah, a possession for the thorn, and a pit of salt, Yea a desolation, unto times age-abiding: The remnant of my people, shall make of them a prey, and, the residue of my nation, shall inherit them.
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10 This, shall they have, instead of their pride,–because they reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Yahweh of hosts. |
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11 Terrible will Yahweh be against them, for he hath caused to waste away all the gods of the earth, that men may bow down to him, every one from his place, all the coastlands of the nations: |
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12 Even ye Ethiopians, the slain of my sword were they! |
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13 And may he stretch out his hand against the North, and destroy Assyria,–and may he make of Nineveh a desolation, dry as the desert! |
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14 So shall lie down in her midst–flocks, each living thing of a nation, both pelican and bittern, in her capitals, shall roost,–a voice, shall resound in the window, the bustard, on the sill, for he hath destroyed, hath laid bare. |
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15 This, is the city exultant, that sat secure, that said in her heart, I, [am]! and no one besides! How hath she become a desolation! a lair of beasts, every one passing, by her doth hiss, shaketh his hand. |
The rejoicing city – Babylon, Christendom. D527
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