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Put not your trust in princes - Rely on God rather than on man, however exalted he may be. There is a work of protection and salvation which no man, however exalted he may be, can perform for you; a work which God alone, who is the Maker of all things, and who never dies, can accomplish. See the notes at Psalm 118:8-9. Compare also the notes at Isaiah 2:22: “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of?”

Nor in the son of man - Any son of man; any human being, no matter what his rank or power. The phrase is often used to denote man. See the notes at Psalm 8:4. The appellation “Son of man” was often applied by the Saviour to himself to express emphatically the idea that he was a man - that he had a human nature; that he was identified with the race; that he was a brother, a fellow-sufferer, a friend of man: that he was not a cold and abstract being so exalted that he could not feel or weep over the sins and woes of a fallen and suffering world. The language here, however, it is scarcely necessary to say, does not refer to him. It is right to put our trust in him; we have no other trust.

In whom there is no help - Margin, salvation. So the Hebrew. The idea is, that man cannot save us. He cannot save himself; he cannot save others.

And as believers are raised up and churches organized, such a school will be found of great value in promoting the permanence and stability of the work. Workers in new territory should not feel free to leave their field of labor till the needed facilities have been provided for the churches under their care. Not only should a humble house of worship be erected, but all necessary arrangements should be made for the permanent establishment of the church school. 6T 108.1

This matter has been plainly presented before me. I saw in different places new companies of believers being raised up and meetinghouses being erected. Those newly come to the faith were helping with willing hands, and those who had means were assisting with their means. In the basement of the church, above ground, I was shown a room provided for a school where the children could be educated in the truths of God's word. Consecrated teachers were selected to go to these places. The numbers in the school were not large, but it was a happy beginning. 6T 108.2

As the work was being pressed forward, I heard the voices of children and parents singing: 6T 108.3

It was a singular way of going to battle against the enemy's army—praising the Lord with singing, and exalting the God of Israel. This was their battle song. They possessed the beauty of holiness. If more praising of God were engaged in now, hope and courage and faith would steadily increase. And would not this strengthen the hands of the valiant soldiers who today are standing in defense of truth? PK 202.1

“The Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, everyone helped to destroy another. PK 202.2

“And when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.” Verses 22-24. PK 202.3

The promise, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it,” was literally fulfilled. Verse 9. “The elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar [the twelfth month], which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.” Ezra 6:14, 15. PK 596.1

Shortly afterward the restored temple was dedicated. “The children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy;” and “upon the fourteenth day of the first month” they “kept the Passover.” Verses 16, 17, 19. PK 596.2

The second temple did not equal the first in magnificence, nor was it hallowed by those visible tokens of the divine presence which pertained to the first temple. There was no manifestation of supernatural power to mark its dedication. No cloud of glory was seen to fill the newly erected sanctuary. No fire from heaven descended to consume the sacrifice upon its altar. The Shekinah no longer abode between the cherubim in the most holy place; the ark, the mercy seat, and the tables of testimony were not found there. No sign from heaven made known to the inquiring priest the will of Jehovah. PK 596.3

Those who connect with the office of publication should be men of sterling principle; men who will look to God daily; men who have learned thoroughly the fact that eternal vigilance is their only means of safety. If those who will be chosen to connect with the office choose to confederate with others to do the works that are now being done there, they will lose their integrity. Whoever dares to seek counsel of God and to put not his trust in the pretended purity and false piety of some of the workers now in the office will find it exceedingly difficult to maintain right principles; but the only safe course for any to pursue is to work in accordance with gospel principles, and to allow nothing to swerve him from them.—Manuscript 24, 1891. PM 151.1

The truth is now overcast in the world by clouds of error that prevail. He who can influence even the most lowly, and can win them to Christ, is co-operating with divine agencies in seeking to save that which is lost. In presenting to the sinner a personal, sin-pardoning Saviour, we reach a hand of sympathy and Christlike love to grasp the hand of one fallen, and, laying hold of the hand of Christ by faith, we form a link of union between the sinner and the Saviour. 9T 203.1

The end is near, and every soul is now to walk carefully, humbly, meekly with Christ Jesus. Our precious Saviour, from whom all the rays of truth radiate to the world, wants us to put not our trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help; but to lean wholly upon Him. He says: “Without Me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5. We need to look to Jesus constantly in order that He may impress upon us His own lovely image. We are to behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Then we shall reveal Christ to our fellow men. 9T 203.2

Every individual must seek by earnest prayer to know the Word of God for himself, and then to do it. Only in day by day putting his trust in God, and not in the arm of flesh, will any soul obtain the experience essential to answer the prayer of Christ, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). This is the lesson given to every soul who has commenced the new year. In all your temporal concerns, in all your cares and anxieties, wait upon the Lord. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the sons of man because they may be in positions of trust. The Lord has united your heart with Him. If you love Him, and are accepted in His service, bring all your burdens, both public and private, to the Lord and wait upon Him. You will then have an individual experience, a conviction of His presence and His readiness to hear your prayer for wisdom and for instruction that will give you assurance and confidence in the Lord's willingness to succor you in your perplexities.... TDG 82.3