Signs of His Coming

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying,

Tell us,
when shall these things be?
and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

And Jesus answered and said unto them,

Take heed that no man deceive you.

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;

and then shall the end come.
--Matthew 24 vs. 1-14

Give Me Mercy

Give me, Lord, sympathy and mercy
With my poor brethren in distress,
My bitt'rest foe to love and pity.
Thy love in death Thou didst confess.
Thy blood for sinners does implore:
Compassion! grace, forevermore.
--Zion's Harp #220 vs. 6

The Refiner's Fire

He sat by a fire of seven-fold heat,
As He watched by the precious ore,
And closer He bent with a searching gaze
As He heated it more and more.

He knew He had ore that could stand the test,
And He wanted the finest gold
To mould as a crown for the King to wear,
Set with gems with a price untold.

So He laid our gold in the burning fire,
Tho' we fain would have said Him 'Nay,'
And He watched the dross that we had not seen,
And it melted and passed away.

And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright,
But our eyes were so dim with tears,
We saw but the fire--not the Master's hand,
And questioned with anxious fears.

Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow,
As it mirrored a Form above,
That bent o'er the fire, tho' unseen by us,
With a look of ineffable love.

Can we think that it pleases His loving heart
To cause us a moment's pain?
Ah, no! but He saw through the present cross
The bliss of eternal gain.

So He waited there with a watchful eye,
With a love that is strong and sure,
And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat,
Than was needed to make it pure.

--Excerpt: Streams in the Desert

Let No Strife Divide Us

Then onward, sister, brother;
Let us go hand in hand,
With joy in one another,
In this bewild'ring land.
Oh, let us childlike be;
Let here no strife divide us!
The angels walk beside us,
God's children, they and we.
--Zion's Harp #185 vs. 13