FOR what nation is there so great," Moses asked, "who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?" (Deut. 4:7). He was speaking of the multitude of laws and statutes with which God had surrounded literal Israel for their protection and blessing. They covered every aspect of personal and national life eating, drinking, and dressing; hygiene, sanitation, and avoidance of contagion; community relations, property tenure, and the care of the poor; attendance at religious feasts, the sacrificial system, tithe and freewill offerings, and true worship.
So with spiritual Israel. The God who is so near to us has surrounded us also with much wise counsel applying to every phase of life today. It places restraints on our conduct, yes, but as has been and is being demonstrated repeatedly for our good. If we would whole-heartedly observe and obey the light given us, the world today would be saying, "Surely this great . . . [people] is a wise and understanding people. For what . . . [people] is there so great, who hath God so nigh. . . . That hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law?" (verses 6-8).
Our greatest need is that we as individuals, workers and members, become acquainted at first hand with the Spirit of Prophecy counsels. It is not enough to see and read quotations lifted from the books to emphasize points of truth, but we need to read and reread the counsels for ourselves, grasping their broad and balanced spectrum and understanding the setting in which they are given. This strengthens their significance, deepens real appreciation of them, and builds a firm faith in God, His Word, and His unfailing guidance of His people.
There is hardly a greater blessing that we could bring upon ourselves and our church in Europe than to make available to our people at reasonable prices good translations in their mother tongue of books such as the Conflict of the Ages Series, Christ's Objects Lessons, The Ministry of Healing, Early Writings, and the three volumes of Testimony Treasures. Would any other investment of means for the church be ultimately more profitable than that which such a project calls for? In the Northern European Division field it is our intention to trans late and print into the languages of our territories more and more books written by the messenger of the Lord.
These are solemn times. A determined and ruthless foe is deceiving the whole world and leading it in rebellion against God. His law and government. He not only fights on every front, but infiltrates every stronghold and organizes and unifies all opposition to Heaven. His implacable enmity to Christ leads him to attack Him in the person of His people and he is determined to destroy God's remnant and have his way with every believing soul.
It is for these times that God gave the Spirit of Prophecy counsels to His people. We must ensure that we do not serve the enemy's cause by failing to recognize his strategy and neglecting to do that which we must now do without further delay.
