What contrast in words is there in the beginning of this second chapter of Hebrews? The word of the Lord, and the word of the angels; and the word of the angels was steadfast. But what is the difference between the word spoken by the angels and the word spoken by the Lord? What word does the Lord speak?-Salvation. Did the angels speak that word?-No. See what the text says: "If the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward," then every neglect, every transgression, and every disobedience of the word which the angels spoke received a recompense of reward.
Now, what is the contrast? "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" And this great salvation was first spoken by the Lord, and then confirmed unto us by them that heard him.
Where do the angels come in in this work of salvation? They have a place, but not any place in the line of carrying the word. It first began to be spoken by the Lord, and then comes to us by them that heard it. Now, where do the angels come in in this spreading abroad of the word?-They do not come in. But what is their relation to it?-They are ministering servants,-waiters upon those who carry this word; and I say again, as I said yesterday, there comes over me every time I think of it, a most wonderful feeling of awe; it frightens me. And yet I am glad to think of the wonderful work committed to man, a work so great-just think of it! We need to dwell upon that to realize the glory of this ministry.
Now, that does not say that we are great. It is not saying that we are above the angels, because we are doing a work which is not committed to them, and a work that they cannot do. That work of salvation is spoken only by the Lord and them that hear him, but not by angels, because under them he hath not put into subjection the world to come. Then this proclamation of the word of salvation has an intimate relation with the world to come. And what is this world to come whereof we speak?-A new heavens and a new earth; the world has been put into subjection to man, according to the testimony of one who testified in a certain place about man, saying, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honor." A crown signifies a king; therefore when God made man he made him a king. He wore a crown of glory, signifying a kingdom of glory. O, the whole earth was full of the glory of God undimmed. Then man was a king of glory, and his kingdom was the earth. All things were put under him. There was nothing that was not put under him. Every living thing was put under him, and he was the ruler over all, and the earth itself was in subjection to him. But the power back of and in it all was God's power, for God alone has power.
Man was made in the image of God, of the dust of the earth. "The Lord God formed man dust," literally, not formed him of the dust, but formed him dust. He then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. But the man was dust, and after he was crowned with glory and honor he was nothing but dust. Now this dust that God took and formed into this shape, and crowned with glory and honor, he put over the works of his hands put under him all things, gave him dominion over all things; and so it was dust that had dominion over all things. He was still dust; and how much more power had this dust that was formed in this figure than that dust that still lay on the ground?-It had no more power. And that is demonstrated in the fact that when the breath which God puts in there is gone, it is just as helpless as it was before, or as that other dust. Then the power is not in the dust; and here is just where the world-all mankind-make the mistake. Man sees his face and form in the mirror, and admires himself, and he will not believe that he is dust; or, if he does acknowledge that he is dust, it is a different kind of dust than any other kind. The failure to recognize this is what makes one man assume lordship over another, to think himself better than another man; and the Lord wants us to keep to first principles all the time. Man at the best is nothing but dust. We cannot dwell upon that too much, because the forgetting of it is what led to all sin in the beginning. Satan said to Eve that she would become like God. Now, if she had remembered the Word, and her origin, could she have supposed that that would be true?- No. It is the forgetting of it that lifts up man and makes him proud. Man in his highest state is nothing but dust.
What is the difference between that dust thrown out there, and this here? God has chosen to use this dust in a little different way from what he uses that dust. God had a purpose in that dust; it is worth something; it will produce fruit. Here is dust that God has caused to bring forth another kind of fruit. How much more right has this dust that can walk about instead of being blown about by the wind, to boast of what it does than that dust out there in the field has. Out there you will see some beautiful, fine, rosycheeked apples. But it is not supposable that that dust in the field should begin to boast: Why, I am better than that dust in the road; that dust in the road does not do any good, but lies there day after day, and does not accomplish anything. See what I have done. And yet it has just as much right to do that as we have to boast of anything we have done.
Here is a lesson of encouragement of what God can do. Man, placed over the works of God's hands, crowned with glory and honor-only dust still-is an evidence of the power of God.
But now looking at that inanimate dust with all things put under him, what is the next thing we see?- The next thing is that all things are not under him. Still looking at that; what do we see?-We see Jesus. We see him made a little lower than the angels, right down where man fell. What has he now?-A crown of glory and honor. But before he got that crown of glory and honor, what did he have?-He took death; he tasted death.
First, we see man crowned with glory and honor, having dominion over the works of God, everything under him. We keep on looking, and we see not all things under him, but instead, we see Jesus down at the very place where man fell; and we keep on looking, and next we see him crowned with glory and honor. That is the order. He was made a little lower than the angels; he was man. So that when we consider him now, we consider him as man, and from this point through we have Jesus before us all the time, but always as man. Never forget that. When man in the beginning was made a little lower than the angels, and then Jesus made a little lower than the angels, what was the difference?-There is none. When God made Adam by his Word, the Word was made flesh. As God spoke all things into existence, his words went forth, and, lo! the earth appeared. His Word went forth; he spoke; he said, Trees, and they were there; he said, Grass, and it was; so that all these things that grow over the ground are visible manifestations of the Word. It is the Word of life, and these are simply some of the various forms of the life of the Word. And so with man formed there in the beginning. There we see the Word manifested as flesh. The power by which this was done was God's power, and so God was in the Word, and the Word was in Adam, so that this power could be manifested in him, God dwelling in him and working in him; God taking this dust and using it to do these wonderful things. It is God that worketh in you to will and to do his good pleasure. Now, if God is there, and I am here, that is altogether too far away. It is God that worketh in me. The Word was made flesh, and the life of Adam was the life of God. He has no other life. Now the blessedness of this is, when man fell, the Word was made flesh. But suppose God had forsaken him, and had not been willing to make the Word flesh; what would have become of him?- He would have returned to dust. But God continues his life to man. So when man fell, God goes right down there with him. Is that so, or is it some fancy? Did God continue life to man, notwithstanding he had sinned? We are here, are we not? We are sinners. We are living, are we not? Whose life is it manifested in us?-It is God's life. Then God continues his life to sinful men. When sin entered, death came; so when man sinned, death came upon him. God stayed with him; therefore, in that he stayed with man, although man had sinned, God took upon himself sinful flesh. And so he took upon himself death, for death had passed upon all the world.
Now, let us see further. All creation is continued until now "by the same Word." Everything in this world is kept by the same Word. Although everything is cursed, and everybody can see that, it is yet a fact that it continues; it is an evidence that God is there, Christ is there, the divine Word is there bearing the curse. But in what thing does Christ endure the curse? Where is that point where the curse falls upon Christ?-Sinful flesh. Not only sinful flesh, but that which stands as the symbol of the curse that falls upon Christ-the cross. What is the evidence that he bears the curse?-"Accursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." Death and the cross both together mean the curse; therefore wherever there is anything, there is the curse. Nevertheless, wherever there is anything, there is Christ. Wherever there is anything, then, that exists and bears the curse, there is Christ. But where Christ has the curse upon him, he bears the cross. Then do you not see the truthfulness of that statement which appeared from Sister White about a year ago, that "the cross of Christ is stamped upon every leaf in the forest?" And a little later than a year ago there appeared in a first-page article of the Review and Herald a statement that the very bread we eat is stamped with the cross. There is something wonderful in that. Perhaps when you read that in every blade, and every leaf, there is the cross of Christ, some of us read it over without thinking about it, and some of us simply said, with Nicodemus, how can this be? How soon do we find Christ crucified, then?-Just as soon as there was any curse. And he is risen again as well, because if you preach Christ crucified, his resurrection necessarily goes with that.
Now, see how God has proclaimed the gospel for our encouragement everywhere. People are inclined to get discouraged; Christians are likely to think, Well, the Lord has forgotten us. Did you ever think that way, as though the Lord didn't care for you;-that he has left you alone? Is there any one who has not felt that way, discouraged, in short? I am not of much importance in this world, we sometimes say; I am of no consequence; I am only one very insignificant and despised, and justly despised; I could drop out, and it wouldn't make any difference. He said that not a sparrow can fall to the ground without his notice; and why?-Because the life of God is there, and there is nothing that can come upon anything in this world that God does not feel. It touches him personally, because his life is all the sensibility that there is in this world. You are struck, you are beaten; you feel it. What makes you feel it? If you were dead you wouldn't feel it. Why do you feel it?-Because you are alive. Where do you get life?-It comes from God. It is God's own life isn't it? Then is it possible for a human being to be touched, just touched-not beaten, bruised, or despised-and the Lord not feel it? Can it be so, whether saint or sinner? Can anything happen to any creature in this world does God not feel? Whither shall I go from his presence, and where shall I go to be away from the presence of God? We cannot get away, because God's power is in everything; and therefore a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without the Lord knowing it. We live with all these infirmities. That is Christ in the flesh, then. Do you suppose that Christ would have endured all this, and stayed here all these years, with all this infirmity and wickedness and weakness and sin upon him, and then by and by step out and let it all drop? If he was to do that, he would have let it drop in the beginning; but the fact that he came in fallen humanity is an evidence of God's presence, and his presence to give life. And so God on everything has put the stamp of the cross,-upon every leaf, upon every blade of grass, upon everything that we have to do with. He simply means that everywhere we go, and everything we have to do, and everything we eat, and the air we breathe,-through these he is simply preaching the gospel to us, giving the gospel to us. Encouragement, strength, salvation!
"LIKE the roads of the South, the path of duty is hedged with everblooms, pure, and white as snow. It is only when we turn to the right or left that we are pierced by thorns, and concealed dangers."