Martyrs Mirror 973ARTICLE III Brief instruction concerning God, to learn to know Him, by His written name, glory, handiwork, wonderful deeds, voice, omnipotence, om; niscience, by His enemies, and the enemy o f His enemies, and the faithful succorer o f the pious, etc.

Mark, beloved, my simple children, this in the God of your father, the God of all the faithful, from the beginning of the world until now, the God of Abel, the God of Noah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel, the God of Jesus Christ, and of all the saints. And this is the God that is not made or worshiped by any man or by human hands, but the God that was from everlasting and before all things, and shall be forever, the God of whom and by whom all things are created and made, yea, heaven, earth, sea, and all the works that therein are, were made by His word, Spirit and omnipotence. This our God is good to the good, and very terrible to His enemies. His power extends over all kingdoms and kings, and He is the Lord of lords. There is none like unto Him. Thou art great, and Thy name is great, and Thou canst show it by the deed. Who should not fear Thee, Thou King of the heathen? Thou shouldest certainly be obeyed. His name is Governor, Lord, Lord Sabaoth, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel, and of the fathers; this is His name. His name is Wonderful, Counsellor, Power, Giant, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, His government abideth upon Him forever. Isa. 9:6 , 7 . His name is Immanuel, that is, God with us. 7:14. It is not possible fully to express His name; hence, for the completion of His impossible, unmentionable, inexpressible exalted name, He is further called Jehova, Shadai, Addonai, and by other names. Besides His general appellations, He is also called: Righteous, Merciful, Gracious God, Truth, Light, Right Hand, Holy consuming Fire.

See, my dear children, here you have heard of your father's God, of His eternity without beginning and without end, and of His glorious and exalted names in the Holy Scriptures. There follows further now, of His glorious, incomprehensible, immeasurable greatness, glory and the invisibleness of His divine shape, form and image; for God is a Spirit. Think, how great He must be heaven is the throne and the earth His footstool. Acts 7:49 . He sees, hears, and is, everywhere, and in all places: for thus He says through Jeremiah

"Am I a God at hand, and not afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord." Jeremiah 23:23 , 24 . And in another place the Scripture declares: "He spanneth heaven with his three fingers." Isa. 40:12 . When He walks, the mountains tremble, and the foundations of the earth quake. When He manifests Himself, or permits Himself to be heard, He causes fear and terror to come upon all men, as we read in Ex. 3 , that the thorn bush seemed to burn as a flame of fire when He called Moses to Him, to make him a prince over Israel, to lead them out of Egypt. And again, when Moses, while receiving the law of God, spoke with God on Mount Sinai, the mount smoked, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And the voice of the trumpet waxed louder and louder, with thunders and lightnings, which frightened the people. And also Moses was terrified, and trembled. No one was permitted to touch the mount; no one could endure His voice, save Moses, however, with fear. Ex. 19 . Thus does God show Himself, says Moses, that His fear should be before your eyes, and you might not sin. Well may Moses say: "The Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward." Deut. 10:17 .

Behold, my dear children, this great God alone is worthy to be feared, who can kill soul and body. Sirach says: "The whole heaven everywhere, the sea and the earth tremble; mountain and valley quake, when he visiteth them; and shall he not see thy heart?" Sir. 16:18 .

Again: "God is witness of all thoughts, and knoweth the conscience of every heart, and heareth every word. For the circuit of the world is full of the Spirit of the Lord [he says that the circuit of the world is full of the Spirit of the Lord], and he that knoweth the voice is everywhere; therefore he that speaketh unrighteous things cannot be hid." Wisd. 1:6 . Yea, my dear children, He knows who serves Him in appearance and in. the sight of the eyes, and who with a sincere heart. For the wisdom of God is great, and He is mighty, says Sirach, and beholdeth all things; and His eyes are upon them that fear Him, and He knoweth well, what is done in righteousness, and what is hypocrisy. Sir. 14 : 18. I say He is worthy that men should fear Him, keep His commandments, love Him, be very small and humble before Him, and this is what He requires of His people. Read Mic. 6 , the law of Moses, and the Gospel of Christ. For He would have obedience, and not the pomp and deceitful semblance of sacrifices, as is exemplified in Saul, I Sam. 15:22 . "Will ye not fear me, saith the Lord, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, that it cannot pass it?" Jeremiah 5:22 .

Ali, ah, dear children, how good is this fear of the Lord, for it is the beginning of wisdom. It is the root of wisdom, and its branches flourish forever. Wisd. 1:20 .

This fear of the Lord driveth out sin; for he that is without fear cannot be justified. Wisd. 1 : 21. For by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. Proverbs 16:6 . The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to depart from the snares of death, 14:27. For those that fear the Lord, my children, walk in the right way; but he that feareth Him not, or despiseth Him, departeth from His way. 14:2.

Hereby, and by the vain boasting or thinking of having the fear of God, you may perceive the fear of God, and know those who fear Him [and them that fear Him not].

Read who are the truly God fearing; Ps. 1:2 ; 119:120 ; Sir. 2:17 ; 15:1 ; 16:2 . Therefore, the fear of God is the sum and conclusion of all books. Read Eccl. 12:13 . And as you have now heard of the great glory of God, which is well worthy that men should fear Him on account of it, so I will now briefly show that He is also a most awful, terrible and inexorably stern avenger and enemy towards His enemies; and, on the other hand, a faithful succorer of His afflicted friends, as is written in Exodus: "I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." And again: "Shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." Exodus 20:5 , 6 .

Notice also the wonderful deeds of God in Egypt, on Pharaoh, who afflicted the children of Israel; how God afflicted the Egyptians in return, visiting their land with manifold plagues. Ultimately, how God delivered His people out of it, made a dry passage through the Red Sea, separated and protected them from Pharaoh by the dark pillar of cloud, and terrified Pharaoh and his host with a heavenly noise in the air, and drowned them all in the Red Sea, as a God of great power. Now when Israel had passed through the Red Sea, and was in the wilderness, King Amalek came to afflict them, whom God Himself resisted, however, through Joshua, and the enemy and his people were discomfited and destroyed. Thus, again, in the days of Joshua, God fought with hailstones, and Israel with the sword; the sun and moon for their benefit stood still the whole .day, as long as the battle lasted. Josh. 10 . Yea, God also fought from heaven against Sisera, and the stars in their courses fought. Judg. 5:20 . Again, at another time, when Samaria was besieged by the Syrians, God fought for Samaria, and terrified the enemies with a noise in the air, as the noise of chariots, horsemen and hosts, in the night, so that they fled and left everything behind them. II Kings 7:6 , 7 . Thus read also of Zerah the Ethiopian, with his host . of a thousand thousand, of whom not one escaped. II Chron. 14:9 . Thus also, the children of Ammon and Moab, from Syria, afflicted Israel; and God fought for Israel, while Israel stood still and he ordered it so that the enemies destroyed one another. II Chron. 20 .

In like manner we read concerning Gideon, that God so ordered it that the enemies, the Midianites, fell upon one another with their swords, and destroyed themselves, through the direction of God. Judg. 7:22 .

Behold, my dear children, what an awful, inexorable enemy of His enemies, and faithful and victorious protector of His friends He is; for when His people went to battle with God's consent, though they had neither bows, arrows, shields nor swords, God fought for them and gained the victory. No one could harm this people, save when they departed from the commandments of the Lord their God; then God delivered them into the hand of the enemy. We have a God that helps,, the Lord Sabaoth, who delivers from death; thus extol the saints the help of God. When the people of God, in former times, were encompassed and assailed with war, and by wicked nations and kings, and then cried with confidence to this their God for protection, behold, their God only sent an angel to their assistance, who was able to direct all and turned not away from thousands. Read II kings 19:35; Isa. 37:36 . Read further II Macc. 11:10 . We further read of five angels of God, armed and upon horses with bridles of gold, and what great execution they did. II Macc. 10:29 . God sent two angels to Sodom, for the destruction of the wicked, and the preservation of the good. And other such examples; read II Macc. 12 ; Judg. 7:22 ; I Sam. 14:20 ; 17:52 ; II Chron. 20:23 .

Behold, my dear children; the faithfulness of God towards His people, and His terribleness to the wicked, as has been heard; and this is only a moderate portion; much still remains to be told of so many examples contained in the holy Scriptures, and left for our confirmation, that we might hope in this God, suffer for His sake, and obey Him. However, it must be understood with a due distinction of times and laws, as regards the ancient warfares of Israel, the taking of revenge on enemies, fighting and killing in the time of the law, and previous to it, which then was done by the will, command, permission, and also, help, of God, under the Old Testament, it must not be so, and is now plainly prohibited, by the Word and example of Christ, Himself God and the Son of God, whose word must be heard. Prohibited, I say, plainly and clearly enough, not by men's commandments, but by God Himself; His people are denied and forbidden all revenge, and commanded to commit all vengeance unto God; not to resist evil; to give to him that taketh away the cloak also the coat, and to turn to him that smiteth thee on thy right cheek the other also, and the like; yea, to love one's enemies, to pray for your persecutors, and to flee from them from one city into another. Matt. 5:39 ; Rom. 12:17 ; I Thess. 5:15 . And they that are thus afflicted shall be blessed, and greatly comforted of God, with the promise of eternal life. In short, not to fight at all, and yet to fight, but this no longer with iron, steel, stone, wood, or any carnal weapons, but with spiritual weapons, mighty before God. II Cor. 10:4 . Read, my children, what weapons and warfare Christians now wield, as is plainly and very clearly set forth. Eph. 6 . Christians have no other warfare at the present time. For, understand, the prophecy is fulfilled which said with reference to this time, that such people have ,beaten their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into sickles, rest from their works, and truly observe the spiritual Sabbath. Isa. 2:4 ; Mic. 4:3 ; Ex. 20:10 , 11 . Hence Christians may now not wage war any more. However I refer you to ancient warfare and God's succor, as these are a demonstration and proof to you of the greatness and the terrible deeds of God; in order that you may learn to know, fear and obey Him in whose presence the earth shakes, and the mountains tremble; for the disobedient toward His Word, will and commandment shall find no hiding place from His face when He shall appear with His angels, in flames of fire, to execute vengeance on all the disobedient. II Esd. 16:9 .

Therefore, my children, learn to know and shun sin; for because of sin souls are damned forever.