ds, we would have held our peace." They are
hedged in with difficulties. Satan assails them with fierce temptations.
The work which they have undertaken seems far beyond their ability to
accomplish. They are threatened with destruction. The enthusiasm which
animated them is gone; yet they cannot turn back. Then, feeling their
utter helplessness, they flee to the Mighty One for strength. They
remember that the words which they have spoken were not theirs, but His
who bade them give the warning. God put the truth into their hearts, and
they could not forbear to proclaim it.

The same trials have been experienced by men of God in ages past.
Wycliffe, Huss, Luther, Tyndale, Baxter, Wesley, urged that all doctrines
be brought to the test of the Bible, and declared that they would renounce
everything which it condemned. Against these men, persecution raged with
relentless fury; yet they ceased not to declare the truth. Different
periods in the history of the church have each been marked by the
development of some special truth, adapted to the necessities of God's
people at that time. Every new truth has made its way against hatred and
opposition; those who were blessed with its light were tempted and tried.
The Lord gives a special truth for the people in an emergency. Who dare
refuse to publish it? He commands His servants to present the last
invitation of mercy to the world. They cannot remain silent, except at the
peril of their souls. Christ's ambassadors have nothing to do with
consequences. They must perform their duty, and leave results with God.

As the opposition rises to a fiercer height, the servants of God are again
perplexed; for it seems to them that they have brought the crisis. But
conscience and the word of God assure them that their course is right; and
although the trials continue, they are strengthened to bear them. The
contest grows closer and sharper, but their faith and courage rise with
the emergency. Their testimony is: "We dare not tamper with God's word,
dividing His holy law; calling one portion essential and another
non-essential, to gain the favor of the world. The Lord whom we serve is
able to deliver us. Christ has conquered the powers of earth; and shall we
be afraid of a world already conquered?"

Persecution in its varied forms is the development of a principle which
will exist as long as Satan exists and Christianity has vital power. No
man can serve God without enlisting against himself t