THE Lord calls to his people wherever they may be scattered in Babylon, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.” We live emphatically in the time for extending this cry, and we must extend it. The warning to those in danger, is a most righteous and benevolent warning, and those who hear it shall praise God forever, that it has reached their hearts, and induced them to abandon the devoted city. There is no escape for one soul, only by fleeing to the Lord, and that can only be done by abandoning all human laws, and adhering to the law of the Lord. “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh; for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven; whose voice then shook the earth; but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things that can not be shaken, may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which can not be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.” Thanks to Heaven, there is a kingdom that can not be moved. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but, he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.” “He,” says the Lord, “who hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man.” “He who hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, I will liken him to a foolish man.” Our work is to try and call the attention of all nations to the sayings of our Lord, and induce them to hear him. They must hear him, or be lost for ever.
Come out of Babylon, O you saints of the Lord, wherever you are, and commit yourselves to the hands of the Lord. “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.” Hear the holy John describe her destruction: “A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city, Babylon, be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.” “After these things, I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia: Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord, our God; for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again, they said, Alleluia, and her smoke rose up forever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped him that sat upon the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia! And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and his wife hath made herself ready.”
Wonderful things are before us, and let us be in readiness for their approach. When Paul was leaving the disciples, expecting to meet them no more in the flesh, he said, “I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified.” This same word, another Apostle says, is able to save your souls, and the Lord says, “The words which I speak to you shall judge you in the last day.” His word lives and abides forever and ever. If we were making our dying request, and that to the dearest friends we have on earth, we would request them to abandon all human authorities and hold on to the word of the Lord for ever.