Ques. 20.-What kingdom is meant in the prayer the Lord taught His disciples?

Ans.-It is the Father who is addressed in that prayer, and the kingdom therefore is His. But this does not seem to be in contrast with the kingdom of the Son of man, but rather with that of man and Satan as then existing. In Matt. 13:41, 43, we have the two expressions, "His kingdom" (of the Son of man) and kingdom of their Father, put closely together. The kingdom of the Father is a wider expression, aud links with eternity. Thus, in the petition the desire is for the Father in heaven's kingdom, rather than man's. That petition will be realized in the Millennium, when the Son shall have received the kingdom from the Father, but goes on fully to the eternal slate, when the Son shall have delivered it up again to the Father.

We have already had the last half of the prophet Isaiah, and during the present month will devote our attention to the first half of the same book. In many respects, it is the most remarkable of the prophets, as it is also the introductory one. Answering to its place at the head of the prophetic books, from the diversity of its subjects and the wide reach of the prophet's vision, it is appropriately a Genesis in the prophetic pentateuch. Its main theme, we might say, is the sovereignty of God. Things are looked at from a divine point of view, quite the reverse of the prophet Jeremiah, who takes his place in the midst of the people and largely gives us the human side even of the divine witness.

Our portion in Isaiah for the present month is chaps, 1:-39:These form the first four divisions of the book, as the last half of the prophecy gives us the remaining three. As has been frequently said, the theme of any prophet must be largely a reminder of the people's sin. As a matter of fact, the- prophetic office was instituted after the failure of the priest, and when the people were in a condition of departure from God which required a special ministry if His mercy was to abide with them. Morally, the character of the whole book of Isaiah and of all the prophets is the same as that of Samuel, the first of them. Indeed, when Moses takes the prophetic place, it is largely in foretelling the people's failure to meet their responsibilities.

But if the failure of the people is the dark background of all prophetic writing, it brings out into striking relief the glorious picture of future blessing through Christ:thus, parallel with the faithfulness which leaves no secret places where the people can hide themselves, no evils unreproved, are the promises of future recovery after their enemies have been judged, and they purged from their sins. The latter part of the prophet shows how this purgation was to be effected by the giving up of their Messiah to judgment, who thus made atonement for their sins.

Thus the two great themes of prophecy are, the sin of the people, and future glory. Along with these we have the character of the enemy, who constantly oppresses, ever ready to assail when the wickedness of the people necessitates God's permitting his oppression. The enemy, however, with all his malignity, is, after all, but the instrument in the hands of God; and when he has accomplished God's work in chastening the people, he himself will be broken and judged for the malignity shown and for his own deeper wickedness. Thus judgment upon the nations forms a salient feature of our prophet.

Having said thus much of prophecy in general, which applies in a marked way to the one we are considering, we will now look briefly at the four divisions of this portion of the book.

Div. 1:(Chaps, 1:-12:) The whole state of the people is gone into nationally, in relation to Christ and to their enemy used of God for their chastening. This last is the Assyrian.

The first four chapters of the book are more general, and of an introductory character.

Chap. 1:speaks largely of the sinful condition of the people, in spite of all their profession. The Lord was weary of their new moons and feast days, which had no effect upon their moral condition. He likens them to Sodom and Gomorrah, as we remember our Lord declares that it will be more tolerable for those cities in the day of judgment than for the Jews of His day. Along with this, in ver. 18, we have the most precious assurance of forgiveness, would they but turn to God in repentance. However, this is scarcely looked for, and the purgation of the people is to be effected by judgment.

Chap. 2:looks forward to this recovery (vers. 1-5), but the remainder of the chapter is devoted to declaring the people's sins and foretelling the awful judgments of the day of the Lord. In view of that, how paltry and worthless is man!

Chap. 3:continues the same general subject of sin and the judgment on it, while Chap. 4:, when evil seems to have reached its climax, dwells upon the coming of the Branch of the Lord-Christ,-beautiful and glorious, whose fruit shall be excellent and comely for the remnant of Israel.

Chap. 5:, in parabolic form, much after the manner of our Lord's parable of the vineyard, narrates the privileges enjoyed by Israel, and the judgment upon them because of failure. The six woes of this chapter (vers. 8, n, 18, 20, 21, 22) are very striking when taken in connection with the seventh, found in Chap. 6:, where not individual sins are spoken of, but the whole man.

Chap. 6:narrates the wondrous vision of the glory of the Lord by the prophet; his conviction, as the representative of the people, of sin, and the grace which has put it away.

Chaps, 7:and 8:are historical, and are introductory to the subject of the Assyrian, dwelt upon in chaps, 9:and 10:We have here the apostasy of king Ahaz associated with the even more apostate ten tribes. How beautifully God's grace comes out when the wicked king refuses the invitation of the prophet to seek a sign of the Lord, and the Lord Himself gives His own sign, the Son of the virgin, through whom indeed full blessing and deliverance will be brought to the people! .

Chap. 9:is quoted in the Gospel of Matthew, and also refers to the coming of our blessed Lord when darkness is prevailing. The enemy has been coming in like a flood. The people have been afflicted for their sins; but in the midst of it all, " Unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given "-the true Son of David, also the mighty God and the Father of eternity. What power of the enemy can prevail when this sign and this Ruler shall bring all things under the sway of peace ?

Chap. 10:shows that after Assyria, who is the rod of God's anger, has effected His whole purpose in humbling His people, he himself shall be broken. The high cedars of Lebanon shall be cut down.

Chap. 11:shows the springing up of a shoot from the stem of Jesse, the Branch of the Lord, who takes the place of all the proud cedars of Lebanon and fills the earth with the blessing of His reign. This is a most lovely chapter, and its pictures of millennial blessing are delightful indeed. The Gentiles shall be gathered to Him, and the entire nation of His beloved people-not only Judah, but the scattered ten tribes as well-shall be brought back to their inheritance, no more to be two kingdoms; the rod which has been broken in twain, taken up by His priestly hand, becomes one again, and the envy of Ephraim shall depart, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

Chap. 12:is the thanksgiving and worship when they behold this. What a delightful portion! We need not say how richly it will reward diligent, prayerful study.
Div. 2. (Chaps, 13:-27:) This portion is, we might say, an enlargement of the judgment already pronounced upon Assyria. Its general theme is the judgment on the nations; and significantly Babylon, which later on carries Judah into captivity, here has judgment pronounced upon it. In like manner, Moab is judged (chaps, 15:, 16:); Damascus and Syria, also Egypt, the land shadowing with wings (chaps, 18:-20:). The final doom of Babylon is narrated in Chap. 21:, while chap. 22:very strikingly associates Jerusalem with the rest, looked upon here in this way as a Gentile subject to judgment.

Chap. 23:declares the judgment of Tyre, while chap. 24:shows the desolation of the whole land, which may include not merely the land of Israel, but the whole habitable earth. Out of the midst of such desolations as are described in these chapters, the prophet raises his voice in exultation, praising God for these judgments, which have not hurt a single one of His loyal ones who have trusted in Him.

Chap. 26:continues the praise, while Chap. 27:concludes the general subject of judgment and of blessing after the storm.

Div. 3. (Chaps, 28:-35:) This portion is devoted to the moral condition of God's people, with particular reference to their condition in the latter days, and in view of the association of the mass of the people with the antichrist, the refuge of lies which the hail of God's judgment shall sweep away. This is figured under the warning as to seeking shelter in Egypt.

Chap. 32:gives a glimpse of the coming of Christ and the shelter from the coming storm from Him; while chap. 35:closes what would otherwise be a dark picture with the glorious description of the reign of our Lord in the earth when the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose.

Div. 4. (Chaps. 36:-39:). We have the historical account of the threatened Assyrian invasion, which was repulsed through the faith of Hezekiah. Alas for the most faithful of men! When fully tested, the subtle confidence in the arm of flesh is seen, and Hezekiah, who in the time of his weakness repelled the enemy, and when the sentence of death had been passed upon himself, was brought, as it were, from the very gates of the grave, yields to the blandishments of the king of Babylon and is obliged to hear of his people's captivity in that land.

The general theme of 2 Peter, which we also read, is similar to his first epistle, with special reference to the further decline and corruption, which have become more general. In the midst of all this, God's righteousness will maintain His people, bringing them safely through; but on their part they must give all diligence to grow in the truth which is already theirs (chap. 1:).

Chap. 2:speaks of the false prophets who come in with their seducing ways, leading many from the truth. This chapter has very much in common with the epistle to Jude, but with certain striking differences. Jude seems to dwell more upon the apostate condition of profession, while Peter speaks rather of the coming in of false prophets from outside.

Chap. 3:looks forward to the coming of the day of the Lord; yea, even, of the eternal state, the " new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness."

(A Word of Explanation.)

Our attention has been called by a brother to the above article, which appeared in our last month's issue. He points out that the expressions in the second head, if taken literally, would teach that man is brought into union with deity, just as Christ the divine Son took up as in less human nature into union with Himself." He is the first divine man ; " and this would imply that there are others.

We are grateful to our brother for calling attention to what most certainly, if taken literally, would teach dreadful error, and which should have been more carefully edited. We are equally sure no such error was in the mind of the writer of the article, who would, with all of us, shrink with horror from the thought of our Lord being but one man linked with deity, out of many others. We simply understood the writer to mean that the marriage was a figure of union of saved souls with Christ; and that this in its way was supernatural, even as, in another way, our Lord, in a supernatural way, united in Himself the human and divine natures, and as His birth was also miraculous.

We must take upon ourselves the responsibility and the blame of having allowed such expressions to go into print, and again thank our brother for his faithfulness in pointing out the error.

(Neh. 3:)

(Continued from page 213.)

"Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and
set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof."

Nature has its place in the economy of grace. Those who utterly decry it show but poor acquaintance with their Bibles. Our bodies, with all their marvelous members, belong to the old creation still; but He who will glorify them by and by finds use for them in His own service even now in the day of their humiliation.

Evil is not in natural things themselves, but is in the abuse of them. Every talent we have is to be used for His glory. Woe to the man who hides one of them away, under pretense that nature-in this sense-is opposed to grace!

I have thought the Old Gate might remind us of this. It has its place in the wall. It might speak of the old used in the new, and thus it would seem to say, " I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom 12:i). The child of God should remember that he has been bought with a price. His body is purchased with the blood of Christ. He is not called to "consecrate" himself, as people put it to-day, but to gladly own that he is already consecrated by the death of the Lord Jesus. The blood and oil have been placed on the ear, the hand, and the foot. He belongs to Christ:-the ear, to listen for His commandment; the hand, to do His bidding; the foot, to run in His ways.

Can any one truly enter into this, and yet be careless in regard to service ? Impossible. You are not only saved from hell, but purchased to be the bondman of Jesus Christ.

There is a depth of meaning in the word '' present, " as noted above. Your body is His already. He might simply demand His own. But in grace He says, " I beseech you . . . present your body." Have you done so ? Have you, in other words, owned His claims upon you ? If not, will you longer delay? O beloved, yield yourself unto Him, that thus you may bring forth fruit unto God. "Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit " (John 15:8).

I do not press it that the Old Gate was meant to intimate this special truth, and I trust none will quibble over an application. It might also suggest the judgment of the old man-the recognition that God has condemned him in toto, and the mortification of his deeds. Without this there can be no true service; and in fact the two things run very closely together.

But whatever the meaning one more spiritually-minded may discern, the fact remains that "ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price." It is this I seek to emphasize, for it is, with many, well-nigh forgotten. Vast numbers of Christians live as though their only thought was to enjoy the present scene, "on the east of Jordan;" pampering every whim of their blood-purchased bodies, and looking forward to going to heaven at last without having ever known the toil and conflict-yet the deep, hidden joy-of the servant's path.

Especially is this often so of those in comfortable and easy circumstances. The willing workers of verse 8 might well rebuke such. "Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries." I question if goldsmiths' and apothecaries' sons had known much of downright labor, but here we see them hard at work helping to fortify Jerusalem. God has not forgotten that their soft white hands became hardened and sun-burned as they used trowel and mortar on the walls of the holy city.

Nor does He forget the devoted women of verse 12. "Next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters." It must have been a grand sight to behold their ruler and his daughters so zealously affected in a good thing. Our sisters have here a bright example of devotedness to the Lord. Would that it might be followed by many today!

But if we are to be used of God there must be not only this recognizing of His claims upon us, but also that lowliness of spirit that ever commends a servant; and so we pass on to

THE VALLEY GATE.

" The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah" (ver. 13).

This surely suggests humility-a willingness to take a lowly place that thus the Lord may be exalted. One fears it is a gate little used by many of us nowadays.

Pride is ever characteristic of fallen creatures, who have nothing to be proud of; for "what hast thou that thou hast not received ? " Even in connection with- service for 'the Lord, how this unholy thing creeps in, leading one servant to be jealous of another, instead of catching the Master's voice as He says, " What is that to thee ? follow thou Me "!

What Cowper says of sin in general may be predicated of pride in particular:

" It twines itself about my thoughts, And slides Into my prayer."

It is indeed the root-sin of all. By it Satan himself fell, and one "being lifted up with pride, falls into the condemnation of the devil."

God has said, "To this man will I look; to him that is humble, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at My word." It is perhaps only a truism to write that, only as one walks humbly before Him, is he in a condition of soul to be safely used in service. I do not mean that God cannot overrule all things, and in a sense use even the basest of men. The devil himself has to serve. God used Balaam, and others equally ungodly. But in such cases it is to the condemnation of the very one used.

To go on preaching and handling the truth of God while the heart is lifted up and the eyes lofty is one of the most dangerous courses one can take, and certain to end in ruin and disaster.
We have much cause, as we contemplate our coldness and indifference, and the appalling power of the world over us, to be on our faces before God, instead of walking in pride, only to learn eventually that He "is able to abase" us, as in the case of Babylon's haughty king. If we humble not ourselves, He must humble us in His own way, for it is part of His purpose to "hide pride from man."

Keeping this, then, before our minds, we pass on to the solemn and much-needed lesson of

THE DUNG GATE.

"But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Beth-haccerem" (ver. 14).

Humbling work this, for a ruler, but necessary labor surely.

The Dung Gate was the port whence they carried forth the filth, that the city might not be denied. And so we read, " Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God " (2 Cor. 7:i).

Real blessing there cannot be if this is forgotten ; but if we have truly learned the lesson of the Valley Gate, that of the Dung Gate will be no difficulty. As saints and servants we are called, not to unclean-ness, but to holiness. We are to cleanse ourselves; that is, to judge, in the presence of God, and turn away from, all filthiness-let its form be the grosser one of the flesh, or the more unobjectionable (in the eyes of men) of the spirit.

In the first three chapters of Romans we have sharply delineated the naked hideousness of the filthiness of the flesh. In the first three chapters of 1st Corinthians we have unveiled the filthiness of the spirit :a mind exalting itself against God and His Christ-a wisdom that is earthly, sensual, devilish. So we read elsewhere of the "desires of the flesh and of the mind," in which we once walked. (See Eph. 2:)

From all these things we are now called to cleanse ourselves. Body and mind alike are to be preserved free from impurity, for the glory of God.

"Flee also youthful lusts" is a much-needed word. In the world about us, men live to pander to the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. It should be otherwise with the Christian, and must be otherwise if he is to be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

Down with the bars of the Dung Gate, brethren, out with the filth!"Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord." H. A. I.

(To be continued.)

THE MAN AFTER THE FLESH. PART II.

THE KING OF MAN'S CHOICE.

Chapter 8:TESTED AND FOUND WANTING.

(1 Sam. 12:, 13:14).

(Continued from page 201.)

Saul, at least, does not follow the people in their hiding. In fact, he abides at Gilgal, the place which Samuel had appointed for the meeting with himself, which was soon to take place. During all the time that had intervened between his anointing and the present, there had not been the real opportunity to manifest his true obedience to the prophet's directions (chap. 10:8).

Saul is at Gilgal, where, had he truly entered into the spirit of the place, he would have found an impregnable position, and from which he could have gone forth victoriously to triumph over all the host of the enemy. A few follow him also so tremblingly that evidently their eye is upon their human leader, and they have forgotten the living God. This wretched remnant of an army is really a mockery of any true resistance, and would have been found so, had it been tested. Even this little handful, Saul is not able to hold together. He must, according to the prophet's directions, remain seven days, or until Samuel appears to offer the appointed sacrifices. Surely without these, it would be madness to attempt to meet the enemy. It must be ever on the basis of a sacrifice that we dwell with God, and from the strength of His presence go out to meet the enemy. Saul recognizes this in his way, and evidently waits with impatience the coming of the prophet. Meanwhile, the people are melting away and he will be left alone, and this the flesh cannot endure. It has not God before it, and therefore must look upon apparent resources. With his army gone, what could the king do? Surely, God would not have this:therefore he must take some steps to inspire confidence in the people, and be prepared to go forth to fight.

Alas, we know something, doubtless, in our own experience, of this restlessness of the flesh, which recognizes that something must be done, but never does the only thing that is suitable,-wait upon God for His time.

So, Saul offers the sacrifices, intruding himself in this way into the priest's office and practically ignoring all need of that which was at the basis of sacrifice, a mediator. The flesh, with all its religiousness and punctiliousness, never grasps the fact that it has no standing before God. It would intrude into the holiest things, and, as we have already said, this is the very essence of Philistinism, which would thrust nature into the presence of God, and, according to its own thoughts, build up a system of approach to Him which would at the same time quiet natural conscience and foster the pride of the unregenerate heart.

This was an awful fall for the king. It was the very thing against which the prophet had guarded him in the beginning; the very thing, too, which was the peril of the people,-acting without God. Their choice of a king had really been this, and therefore all is in fitting keeping with that act of independence. Saul had ample warning, abundant opportunity to manifest his faith and obedience if he had any. The very place where he was had but lately witnessed the solemn testimony of Samuel, and heard the voice of Jehovah in thunder at the time of harvest. Had the fear of God really filled his soul, it would have eclipsed all other fear, and the king would have waited patiently, though he waited alone, for the word from the Lord. But he is tested and fails. So soon as the failure occurs, in divine mercy on the one hand, and justice on the other, Samuel appeal's on the scene.

What unavailing regrets doubtless filled Saul's bosom as he saw the prophet! Oh, had he only waited but a few moments longer! But this is not the point. God would test him to see whether he would wait. He had not almost held out, but he had simply manifested the state of his soul. There is no such thing as almost obeying the Lord. The heart that is truly His, will obey; and testing, no matter how far carried, will never bring out disobedience from a heart that is truly subject to God. How perfectly this was brought out in the life of our blessed Lord, who was constantly subjected to pressure in one form or another to depart from the path of simple obedience to God. There was no danger of waiting too long in His case. All the testing would only bring out the reality of that obedience which controlled His whole spirit, and He is the only true King of men, the only Man after God's heart to lead His people; and it is only as His Spirit fills our souls, that we will walk in His steps, having the mind in us which was in Christ.

Saul runs out officiously to greet the prophet, as he does in a more marked way after a still deeper failure a little later on; but there is no responsive greeting from the dear faithful servant of God whose soul burned with indignation at the king's palpable unbelief and disobedience. Sternly he asks, "What hast thou done ? " He need not go further with his question, nor can Saul pretend to be ignorant of what is meant. What he had done was in known violation of the prophet's word. Therefore he had practically forfeited all claim upon the prophet's service or the approval of God. He, however, puts up a feeble defense; and notice the character of that defense. "I saw that the people were scattered from me." In other words, his eye was on the people, who were as full of unbelief as himself, instead of upon God. Then, Samuel had not come during the appointed days. This, as we have already seen, was simply to test the genuineness of his faith.

And lastly, the Philistines were gathering together in great numbers. Not a word, we notice, of the Lord. Now, however, he says the enemy will come down to attack him (a most unlikely thing for an enemy to do in such a place as Gilgal) and he must make supplication unto the Lord. At last the Lord is brought in, but we notice that it is only in this feeble way. Really what filled the foreground of the king's vision was the melting of the people, the menace of the enemy's attack, and the absence of the human prop in Samuel. So he says:"I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt-offering." How many have fallen in the same way! His words are a confession that he knew he had disobeyed God in offering the sacrifices. It was contrary, he would have Samuel believe, to his own inclinations. He had to do it in spite of his convictions and desires. All the more, then, did it fully manifest the unbelief which will not cling to God, at all costs, in obedience. How much is excused in the same way! Human expedients are condoned, fleshly activity is encouraged, fellowship with the world is allowed, all under the plea of expediency. The reluctant conscience has to be forced, for it knows that these things are contrary to God; but force itself it will, if not subject to God in living faith.

In a minor way, how saints of God may dishonor Him in the assembly of His people by allowing the flesh to dictate what shall be done. It knows that what is being done is not according to God, and yet, for fear of man, forces itself to fall in with what others are doing. Thus, the Spirit is quenched and grieved. This will ever be the case where the flesh is allowed to dictate.

Samuel's reply is startlingly frank. Saul has done foolishly. He does not attempt to take up his reasons in detail. The people may have been scattered. He does not refer to that. The enemy may be threatening. He does not even explain his own tarrying, though its purpose was manifest. One thing he has to say to the king:"Thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God which He commanded thee." How all his paltry excuses are scattered to the winds by that solemn arraignment! What excuse can there be for disobedience? Then, too, as to the consequences of this they were not temporary, nor would they be immediately manifested, but this act had shown him to be utterly incapable of rule, to be certainly not the man after God's heart. If indeed he had stood this test, his kingdom would have been established, for it would have been seen that he was a man of genuine faith. One thing he lacked, and that one thing was absolutely needful. It was really everything. It was faith in God. Everything else may be present, but where this is wanting, one cannot be used of Him.

His kingdom, therefore, shall not continue. God must have a man after His own heart; one who knows Him and His goodness and love, and who, spite of many shortcomings, still has a true spirit of obedience to God, which springs from confidence in Him. A little later on will see poor Saul with wonderful zeal and rigidness of external obedience; but we will notice always that wherever the will of God came in conflict with the wishes of man or the desires of his own heart, Saul was wanting. How unspeakably sad and solemn is this, yea, how searching to our hearts! God grant that it may search out every vestige of self-confidence in us, every particle of unbelief which would turn us from obeying God rather than man!

(To be continued.)

'Those who have given themselves over entirely to the written word of God for a revelation of Himself may fail to realize what a powerful instrument of communication from God to man nature (whose God the Bible declares) is.

No doubt, while Adam and Eve were still in innocency, nature was God's voice in an unmistakable way. They could look to the heavens in the day, and lift their eyes up by night, and see the glory of God. They could study the mighty sun as he majestically ran his course, the moon in her reflected beauty, and the host of twinkling stars set like diamonds in the velvet of heaven, and stand in silent admiration at His handiwork. They could view the beautiful flowers sending back to the eye the sunlight in many and varied colors, the mighty trees of the earth, the feathered songsters, the waving grain of the fields, the crystal waters, and see God in it all, to His glory.

But sin has entered; and while all nature still is a true witness of God, man will not receive her message, be it ever so plain; and when taken by surprise, he will hear, yet deny, what she says. But
she is faithful, and her mute appeal never ceases :

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament showeth His handiwork.
Day unto day uttereth speech, and
Night unto night showeth knowledge.
There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard."

So important is this that men will be held accountable for the way they treat this voice of God. This is plainly set forth in Rom. 1:18-23. Here we are told that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." God is jealous of truth, and will hold all men accountable how they hold it:if in righteousness, well; if in unrighteousness, God's anger is aroused. The reason is, that truth reveals Him who is truth:this the next verse explains:"Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." Think of this! Could nature speak more clearly ? The fault is not in nature's voice, but in those who seeing God in nature, yet through pride and love of sin refuse the light, and are without excuse, "because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imagination," etc. What a responsibility men of science assume when they come into such close touch with nature, hear her voice, and deliberately turn upon their heel from the face of Him thus revealed, and who would welcome with delight a true confession of Himself by them! No! men will not "retain God in their knowledge" (Rom. 1:28).

I will give here an instance of how an eminent physicist came face to face with God through nature, and absolutely refused the light she had for him. Prof. Tyndall, in one of his lectures on light, summing up the wonders of light in relation to the eye, said:" Meanwhile we may profitably glance back on the web of relation which these experiments reveal to us. We have, in the first place, in solar light, an agent of exceeding complexity, composed of innumerable constituents, refrangible in different degrees. We find, secondly, the atoms and molecules of bodies gifted with the power of sifting solar light in the most various ways, and producing by the sifting the colors observable in nature and art. To do this they must possess a molecular structure commensurate in complexity with light itself. Thirdly, we have the human eye and brain so organized as to be able to take in and distinguish the multitude of impressions thus generated. The light, therefore, at starting, is complex:to sift and select it as they do, natural bodies must be complex; while, to take in the impression thus generated, the human eye and brain, however we may simplify our conception of their action, must be highly complex. Whence this triple complexity ? If what are called material purposes were the only end to be served, a much simpler mechanism would be sufficient. But, instead of simplicity, we have prodigality of relation and adaptation-and this, apparently, for the sole purpose of enabling us to see things robed in the splendor of color. Would it not seem that nature harbored the intention of educating us for other enjoyments than those derivable from meat and drink? At all events, whatever nature meant,-And it would be mere presumption to dogmatize as to what she meant,-we find ourselves here, as the upshot of her operation, endowed with capacities to enjoy not only the materially useful, but endowed with others of indefinite scope and application, which deal alone with the beautiful and the true."

What a testimony! What a blunder, writing Nature instead of God! We can but wish that the great scientist had not done so. Dear brethren, do we realize that God is speaking to us at every turn ? Do we see nothing more than an impersonal nature in it all ? If there are such stupendous responsibilities devolving upon us from the voice and witness of nature, what must it be to have the truth from God by direct revelation-the Scriptures ! May the Lord lay the importance of these things upon our hearts, that we might be found more and more walking softly in the very presence of God! F. H. J.

Man is a social being, and grace by no means ignores this characteristic. In fact, the joys of fellowship with fellow believers are infinitely greater than any earthly companionship ; and yet this fellowship must have a solid substratum of individuality, or it will be neither helpful nor lasting. There are a few scriptures which illustrate the dealings of our Lord with individuals, that will bring out the importance of this.

I. IN CONVICTION.

If there is to be genuine measurement of sin, it must be in the presence of God alone, with no distraction from one's fellows, which would either lessen the true sense of guilt, or so oppress the soul with shame that it will become self-occupation instead of self-judgment. A familiar example of how the Lord deals in a solitary way with a soul, to produce conviction, is found in the fourth of John, in the case of the woman of Samaria. It is scarcely necessary to more than mention this. No one is present to hear what she has to say to Him who discloses to her the fact that He knows all about her. Thus, quietly, she is brought to measure the solemn fact that God knows all her past and all the secrets of her heart. Everything is brought out into the light, and the effect of it is not to drive her away, nor to overwhelm her, but in all sobriety, knowing her true condition, to cast herself upon Him who had told her all things that ever she did.

Souls may be awakened in companies. As a matter of fact, conviction of sin may take place, and
often does, in the presence of others; but there is an isolation of spirit which answers to the case of the woman of Samaria. None is seen but the Lord and one's guilty soul. Everything else is forgotten or ignored; and until He has done His holy work, one's fellow men are entirely in the background. Where this is not the case, even when there is a genuine work of the Spirit of God, He is much hampered by the fear of man, or, what is perhaps worse, the comfort of man. It is far more dangerous to tell one that his case is not so bad or hopeless as it might be, than it would be to tell him there was no hope. Neither of these is done when the soul is alone with the Lord.

II. NEED MET.

We see twin mercies in the healing of the woman with the issue and the raising of Jairus' daughter. It is as our Lord was on the way to heal the latter, that the woman comes behind Him and touches the border of His garment. Strikingly, she had been afflicted twelve years, even as Jairus' daughter was twelve years of age. The life of a fallen creature, after all, is but a lingering disease, sure to end, unless grace interpose, in death. So, Jairus' daughter would represent the feebleness and decay of nature from the beginning, as the woman would suggest the defilement that comes in connection with that.

The crowd surges about our Lord, the multitudes throng Him and press Him, some with interest, some with hostility, many with indifference, probably merely attracted by the crowd. His disciples are close about Him; but in the midst of all that throng there is one spark of faith, one hand that is reached out to lay hold of the everlasting mercy that is there for her- equally there for all the crowd, who, alas, pass on with indifference, unconscious of their need. But oh, how good it is to think that He notes the faith which feels its need; He recognizes the reality of that which timidly and in secret, as it were, would lay hold upon His mercy! He recognizes and marks it all. Faith gets what it needs. This is ever true. Most blessed fact! Let the multitude press and throng. It cannot press away or check one single soul who would creep, with its need, to the border of Jesus' garment. And so, in this poor world, with its multitudes passing here and there, if our needy souls desire it, we can ever lay hold upon One who meets that need.

III. FINDING PEACE.

The scene in the seventh of Luke is in striking contrast with that in the fourth of John, so far as externals are concerned. Instead of a lonely seat by the well-side, speaking with the woman, we see Him at a feast in the Pharisee's house, with all its accompaniments. Is it possible that in such a presence as this there can be solitary dealing with a soul ? Most beautifully does the narrative of the woman that was a sinner answer this. She had an apprehension of the grace of Christ; how deep and full, we know not, but sufficiently so to have stirred the inmost depths of her soul, and to bring her, with her double gift of tears and precious ointment, to the feet of Him who would never spurn even such as she.

The crowd that is about her, the sneering Pharisees, with their self-complacency and contempt even
of Christ, are all ignored or forgotten by her. One only occupies her mind and heart, and that One is He who knows all about her, and, knowing it, does not turn her from Him. What boldness simple faith gives!-boldness in the presence of those who despise! She is not overwhelmed by their greatness or neglect. What overwhelms her is the sense of that wondrous grace that has stooped to meet her need and guilt. So she pours out together tears of bitter shame and sorrow-tears, too, of love; and, mingling with it, may we not say, not more fragrant or acceptable to our Lord, the sweet perfume that tells of the preciousness of His own name, which is like ointment poured forth.

How blessed it is to be alone with Him thus, alone even in the midst of everything that is contrary to Him and us, alone as worshipers where the cold smile of self-righteous contempt in vain would distract our hearts!

IV. TESTIMONY AND WORSHIP.

The blind man in John 9:illustrates a further phase of this solitary intercourse with Christ. His very blessings had isolated him. Until Christ opened his eyes, he at least had a home and a place in the synagogue, with the pity and the pittances of his coreligionists. All that is changed when he has a Hand laid upon his eyes and obeys the word which tells him to wash and receive his sight. He has eyes now, but he has lost apparently everything else. The men of the synagogue turn him out. His own parents refuse to stand by him. He is left all alone, no one apparently even to wish him joy with his new-found treasure; alone so far as man is concerned, but that loneliness is but the occasion for One to make His presence known which amply repays for every loss.

He had received blessing from the Lord as the Opener of his eyes, but he was now to use those eyes in beholding the Son of God. Our blessings, after all, are but means to enter more fully into the glories of the Person of Christ. There is no holier place, no more wonderful in all the Gospels, than the nameless place where Jesus found the man and manifested Himself to him as the Son of God. There the worship of heaven is anticipated, as the once sightless beggar bows prostrate at the feet of Him who is, for faith, "my Lord and my God!" Unquestionably, he will find his place later on in association with others who, like himself, have learned in solitude to know this blessed One:but who can intrude between the soul and this meeting with Him who has made Himself all in all to it?

V. SERVICE.

There was a subtle pride in Peter which led him to think more of his own devotion to Christ than of that of his brethren:"Though all men shall be offended because of Thee, yet will I never be offended." This savors little of that self-knowledge which would rather ask, "Lord, is it I?" Left to ourselves, what are we not capable of ? But the same grace that called Peter, and bore with him through all his waywardness and instructed him, is sufficient here too, and, though he must bitterly learn his lesson, when he has learned it, restores him fully to the joy of communion and of service again.

Simultaneously with his restoration to the Lord is his reinstatement in service. "Lovest them Me?" '' Feed My Lambs." '' Shepherd My sheep." It all goes together. If there is love to Christ, love that is deeper because based now upon self-distrust, it is to find expression in showing Christ's love to those who are its objects. Yet even here Peter forgets for a moment that to be alone in the path of service to the Lord must ever be first, and fellowship next. He had heard the words "Follow thou Me." Were not these sufficient ? He turns, however, to see another disciple whom Jesus loved, who also is following as surely he would, and the sudden question, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" shows occupation rather with his brother's service than his own. Our Lord's loving rebuke is a word for us all. " If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee ? Follow thou Me." Even should John be left here, spared from the cross which Peter was to endure, it was in the Hands of love and power, which could make no mistake. Peter's care was not to know what would befall John, but rather keeping so close to his Lord, to see that he was in the place where he could do and suffer for his Master.

Let us hear that word for ourselves! We look at others who seem busily and happily engaged in the Lord's service, it may be, whose lot in life seems far happier than our own perhaps-who know nothing apparently of the ruggedness of the way; and are we not at times tempted to say, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" It maybe that we are called to some arduous service, or to that which is harder yet, the rasping of a position which ever lets us feel the thorns of the way. We are tempted to repine, to fret, and to look with longing at some one else who seems to have a smoother path. Let us never forget that the path which love has chosen for us is the best that love could choose, best even that divine love could possibly choose. If only Christ is seen in it, if it is only following Him individually, irrespective of all others, it will be a. path whose brightness increases more and more unto the perfect day.

Thus, having been dealt with in the solitude of our own bosoms, in the presence of the Lord, as to sin, as to need, as to peace with Himself, as to worship, and as to service, we are prepared for that fellowship of kindred minds which is our joy on earth. Others, too, have been led as we have. They, too, have been isolated, and felt it keenly. They, too, have found the sufficiency of Christ, all alone, with no one else, and, finding Him sufficient, are now ready both to help and to be helped by all the holy intercourse of those to whom Christ is all, and therefore His people are dear to them.

Ques. 13.-"Please explain John 2:4. 'Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come"

Ans.-Mary, in common with the disciples of our Lord, did not realize that the path to the throne lay by the way of the cross. There was the constant tendency to think of the Kingdom as about to be set up immediately in power aud glory. Therefore this had to be checked. Besides a possible dictation of what was to be done by our Lord, His reply shows her that all must be left to His own judgment. The time had not yet come for the outward manifestation of the Kingdom, and she must leave Him free to act according to the Father's will and purposes into which she could not intrude.

But this rebuke is not, as we know, inconsistent with most perfect love for her, as witness her tender commitment to John by our Lord when He hung upon the cross. There we see perfect human love. Here we see that her love cannot intrude for a moment into God's things.

Ques. 14.-"What is the Christian's work? sowing and reaping, or reaping only?"

Ans.-We are still living in times spoken of in the parable of the sower. "In the morning sow thy seed" we might apply to the Pentecostal and early apostolic times; but, though darkness has come in and the day is far spent, it adds :"And in the evening withhold not thy hand." So, we continue to sow beside all waters the precious seed of the word of God, knowing that it will be our joy also to reap. Of course, in the full sense of the harvest, the time has not yet come when sheaves will be gathered in, but every precious soul brought to Christ is part of the first-fruits of that happy time. May we be diligent, both in sowing the seed and seeking to gather in precious souls also !

Ques. 15.-"What is the difference between the Jews' inquiry in Acts 2:37. 'What shall we do?' and that of the jailer in Acts 16:30?"

Ans.-There seems to be very little difference. Both are the question of awakened souls. That at Pentecost was under the direct preaching of the Word by Peter; and the Gentile's anxious inquiry was produced by the manifest power of God. The answer was suited to each case. To the Jews, Peter said:"Repent and be baptized, every one of yon in the came of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." This repentance and confession of Christ were called for. In the case of the jailer there was evident knowledge of his lost condition, so faith in Christ is what is presented. Q. 16.-In Col. 3:3 what life is "hid with Christ in God?" Ans.-The general connection shows that believers are dead with Christ to everything of human religiousness-"the rudiments of the world." He is also risen with Christ, associated with Him in the new place He occupies. The life then means both its sphere and its character. It is hid, so far as the world is concerned. "Therefore the world knoweth us not." The time of manifestation will be when Christ shall appear. The hidden life is a risen life, beyond the power of death, linked with Christ.

Ques. 17.-If the wretchedness described in Romans vii is not the normal condition of the believer, can we say that it must be the experience of every one?

Ans.-We must remember that true experiences are measured not by time nor by apparent intensity, but by their reality. Thus a conviction of sin may be instantaneous, yet most real. So also the conviction of helplessness of Rom. 7:With others there may be a prolonged struggle. Yet every child of God must and will learn the lesson of "no good thing in me."

Ques. 18.-Were the elders of James 5:14 officials, or elder brethren?

Ans.-It would seem they were officials of the Jewish assembly to which the Epistle of James refers.

Ques. 19.-If elder brethren should be called to the bedside of a sick brother, would there be any objection to anointing with oil?

Ans.-As the previous answer says, Elders are doubtless official, or at least suggest the assembly in an unfailed condition. In days of confusion where could we find the Elders of the assembly, which is so scattered? Then too the tone of James' Epistle is Jewish; the Lord's beloved people are not viewed as distinct yet from the nation. Anointing was a Jewish practice, and typical. For ns, we have the reality of the "prayer of faith,"and this surely should be sufficient.

Quick temper is no trifle. The one sin recorded of Moses, and for which he was shut out of the land, was ' his hastiness which blinded his eyes to the true glory of God. The important question is how to get rid of it. This can never be done until we judge its root. We must see that it is but the fruit of that flesh which has been judged in the cross of Christ. If self is truly judged in the presence of God, we will walk in His fear, and there will be no place for quick temper.

From time to time during the remainder of the year, we trust to read through the entire book of Psalms. Our portion of these for the present month is Psa. 1:-62:,or the first two books of these. We would refer our readers to an article in the January number upon the Psalms in general, which will render unnecessary our going into the same details at this time. These first two books are perhaps the fullest of any in the entire collection of Psalms, especially the first (Psa. 1:-41:), the theme of which is God's sovereignty and purposes of blessing in Christ for His people. Of course the blessing here is considered primarily in relation to God's earthly people Israel, but where Christ is the theme, blessing cannot be limited. It is as wide as the sway which He will exercise over all creation. The main divisions of this first book are:1:(Psa. 1:-8:) Christ in His supremacy, King in Zion and Ruler over all creation.

We might say in general that there are two main features of all of the Psalms which it is necessary to distinguish if we are to understand their full, prophetic meaning. Christ is the theme, but He is seen in connection with His people, and even only a remnant of these. The times, prophetically speaking, to which the Psalms refer, are those of abounding national apostasy, when the mass of the people have no heart for God and when the enemy from outside also oppresses. This will help us to understand the frequent references to the oppression of the enemy and the heartlessness of the mass of the nation, also the exercise through which this remnant passes; for it is only too evident that they have but a partial apprehension of God's goodness and but little knowledge of His grace. They are unable to distinguish between His chastening hand upon them for their sins and their testing as they pass through affliction. Thus, from time to time, they are tempted to cry out under the hand of their oppressors and to appeal to God as though He had forgotten. Psalms which are devoted to such subjects as these, develop the varied exercises through which the remnant passes. We find in them much that is of God, a faith that lays hold upon Him, abhorrence of evil and a spirit of separation from the ungodly. On the other hand, we find an impatience and feebleness, a depression which, at times, is well nigh overwhelming, but faith gradually triumphs and emerges from the gloom all the brighter for its exercise.

We will find some of the psalms which apply exclusively to Christ, as the second and eighth. Others apply to Him to a certain extent and also to His people, as the first; while others give exclusively the exercise of the remnant, as Psa. 3:-7:

Space will not permit us to characterize each psalm in detail. It will be noticed that the first psalm is a general statement of the walk of the godly in separation from evil and in dependence upon God, feeding upon His Word. The results are fruitfulness and spiritual prosperity in contrast with the ungodly who will soon pass away in judgment. How perfectly our blessed Lord exemplified this godly separation unto His Father we need hardly say; and His people for all time, by His grace, will seek to walk in the same steps.

In Psa. 2:we have the opposition of the nations to God's King, who, however, is established by Him in Zion and will one day rule to the ends of the earth.

Psa. 3:-7:give the exercises of the remnant. Each of these has a different character. In Psa. Hi., faith seems to be prominent. God is unchanging and will protect the believer from those who have risen up against him.

Psa. 4:dwells upon this further, becoming bolder in one way as it challenges the evil men by whom it is surrounded. Psa. 5:emphasizes God's holiness, and under a sense of this, the wickedness of the world becomes all the more apparent, and faith clings to God's mercy.

In the sixth, however, the oppression of the enemy is felt so keenly that the soul is well nigh overwhelmed. Still it cries out to God for help and mercy, and in anticipation at least, rejoices in the victory which He will give.

Psa. 7:protests its own righteousness in the face of false accusation and persecution, and pleads for God's judgment to fall upon His enemies. As has been frequently said, the prayer for judgment is most appropriate to a people whose deliverance can only come through God's judgment upon His and their enemies. It is not as though there were still hope for them through the gospel. Many of them have doubtless been rejecters of that gospel and given over to believe the lie. They are utterly incorrigible, and a fresh presentation of divine mercy would simply be casting pearls before swine. They have manifested themselves to be that, and nothing but the judgment of the Lord upon His enemies will teach the inhabitants of the earth righteousness.

Psa. viii, as we have said, celebrates the glories of Christ as Son of man in a wider reign even than that over Israel. It is from this psalm that the apostle Paul so frequently quotes:"Thou hast put all things under His feet." We see Jesus, even now, crowned with glory and honor, anticipatively celebrating the dominion of the eighth psalm.

2. (Psa. ix-15:) Here we have, as a prominent theme, not Christ, but the enemy, not merely in the ungodly nation as a whole, but centered in the wicked one himself, (Psa. 9:, 10:) who has many features which would correspond to the Antichrist.

Then, from Psa. 11:-15:, we have the exercise of the remnant, in view of all this oppression of the enemy.

In Psa. 11:, God is seen as supreme, and the soul would put its trust in Him,-nor will it flee away to any mountain of human reliance.

Psa. 12:shows how suitably the word of God is in contrast with all the deceits of the enemy.

Psa. 13:cries unto God with that familiar expression of the remnant, " How long ?" from the very jaws of death, and counts upon His deliverance.

Psa. 14:shows how wide-spread evil is. God looks down upon the sons of men and finds them all gone astray. This is the moral condition of things at the present time, as the apostle says in the third chapter of Romans ; but it is particularly applicable to the last days, when iniquity shall abound.

Psa. 15:, in contrast with this iniquity, describes the righteous One who shall abide in God's tabernacle and dwell in His holy hill.

3. (Psa. 16:-41:) The preciousness of Christ in His person and work, with the exercise of His people in connection with Him.

Space will not permit our going into detail here. The psalms which particularly refer to our Lord are quite familiar. He is seen in His spotless humanity in the sixteenth ; as the Man separate from sinners, in the seventeenth ; and as the Victor, in the eighteenth. Psa. 19:shows God's glory in His works in the heavens above and in the Word in our hands, which speaks far more of the display of that glory than the starry worlds above us. Psa. 20:brings out the great truths of salvation through Christ the King. Psa. 21:- looks forward to the coming glory of Christ. Psa. 22:, we need hardly say, is the great sin-offering psalm; 23:, the resulting salvation; and 24:, Christ's manifestation in glory. Thus, the main theme of these nine psalms is Christ, a trinity of glories thrice repeated. Well may we see all the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in Him !

From Psa. 25:-41:, we have the exercises of faith in connection with this unfolding of Christ, into which we cannot enter with any further detail.

The second book, (Psa. 42:-72:) while dealing with the same general subjects, approaches them from another point of view-that of Israel's suffering under the hand of God in responsibility:but here, too, the Spirit of God leads the suffering saints, who feel the weight of His hand, up to occupation with Christ and the blessed results which flow from that.

1. Thus, Psa. 42:-44:are wails of distress. Psa. 45:shows us Christ in His glory as King, united with His people ; and, flowing from that, in Psa. 46:-49:, we have the glory of His reign. Psa. 1. is God's witness to His people of His own faithfulness, and their sin; while Psa. 51:is their response, which goes even more deeply to the root of sin, showing it to be blood-guiltiness in having rejected Christ.

2. (Psa. 52:-60:) Here we have quite similar exercises to those already looked at in the earlier psalms, and these lead up to joy in the Lord and triumph over evil through Him, as seen in Psa. 60:

3. (Psa. 61:-72:) Full blessing headed up in Christ.

In these psalms, our Lord is again prominent; in some of them perhaps not so distinctly as others. Still, it is His faith and dependence upon God and delight in Him that speak in the first three, while, of course, Psa. Ixix dwells upon His sufferings as the trespass-offering. His voice will be heard even in such psalms as 65:, while 68:of course is a majestic and beautiful celebration of His glory in connection with the throne of Jehovah.

Psa. Lxi. and 72:go beautifully together, the first being the pleadings of faith on the part of the nation seen, as we might say, in its age and decrepitude- while in the second, the King is before us in all His glory with dominion and blessing reaching to the ends of the earth All creation groans until the coming of that happy time Well may we sing:

"Hasten, Lord, the glorious time."

Only in John's Gospel is this miracle recorded. The other Gospels were written much earlier, but this first miracle, like every other portion of God's word, comes to us in its right place. It is in accord with John's Gospel because it is the foreshadowing of this new dispensation of the Spirit. Matthew, Mark and Luke were more on Jewish ground, when the Lord came to His own and His own received Him not; but in John almost the opening word is, "As many as did receive Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of god, even to them that believe on His name, who were born … of God." This is the first mention of the New Birth in Scripture.

In this miracle, opening, as it were, the new dispensation, we have in symbol its chief characteristics beautifully set forth.

First – It is the Third Day – resurrection day. Resurrection characterizes the dispensation. Our Lord rose from the dead on the third day, and the cross implies the end of man as before God. If God had not done with the Adam race-the natural man-Jesus need not have died. He could have come amongst us as a teacher, and thus brought the word of God to us. But so evil was our nature that, like the Jews, we never could have received Him as the declarer of God. This method had been tried throughout the world's history, and ended at the cross of Christ. Now is the circumcision truly. The end of the flesh has come. Man, to suit God, must be dead, buried, risen; which baptism figures. The Lord Jesus took the penalty of sin for us, and only asks of man to willingly accept death, burial, and resurrection-or a new life, giving up the old one and accepting the new by Jesus Christ the divine Man. So here in this first miracle of our Lord it is resurrection day-a new dispensation!

Second-It is a marriage, a union, and a union of God and man that is before us. Jesus the Lord is the Head of this new race. He is the first one in whom this union was ever effected. He is the first divine Man. And Mary "the mother of Jesus was there." It was in connection with her that the divine union was first miraculously wrought. Now, as ever, such a union can be effected only by the miraculous power of God. Every new-born soul is a miracle, and can only be wrought by almighty power. Hence it is, "born of god," "sons of God, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ! "-a miracle of grace! " By grace are ye saved, through faith; and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."

Third-"And both Jesus and His disciples were called to the marriage"-Jesus the power, and the disciples to be the subjects. They were as yet not fully initiated into this new life, but were disciples, learners. Here in the beginning it was symbolically set before them, to be sure; probably after many days to be dwelt upon and meditated upon after He had returned to His Father; even as we now dwell upon it with rapture in our hearts and thanksgivings on our lips.

Fourth.-No wine, no joy, no gladness. So was man in his sin, separated from God, in darkness and ruin, helpless, lost, all resting under the judgment of God, dead to Him.

Fifth-Nothing but '' earthen vessels "! What can they do ? Nothing but hold the water, which is a figure of the word of God. That makes up for everything else. Receive "the Word," and that brings the joy of salvation. There is now not only plenty of wine, but the vessels are "full to the brim," and everybody is full of joy. "Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures," "being born again by the word of God."

Sixth-'' Whatsoever He saith unto you do." Yes, do it. Obey Him, and all spiritual good follows. Miracles even follow obedience. " If any man will do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God or not." God will let him know by His Spirit. "In Him is life" (the new life), "and the life is the light of men." Men cannot see until they get this life. The Lord Jesus opens the eyes of the spiritually blind now, just as He did of the physically blind when He was down here among men-all the result of obedience, subjection to God. God must be God; man must be subject.

Seventh-"The best wine at the last"-the last administration, or dispensation, the best. It is even the eternal perfection of man with God. "Every man, when he is perfected, shall be as his Master" (Luke 6:40). Every true Christian shall be conformed to the image of his Master (Rom. 8:29). It is united to God in Christ, as our miracle sets forth in the most perfect and beautiful symbols.

Eighth-This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory, and His disciples believed on Him-set forth His glory to all creation. Here in the very beginning is the whole dispensation set out before us in figure, so that all men, once in the light of God, may see His purposes manifested from the very beginning of the Lord's public service. In it we see a magnificent prophecy of the glorious future for all the true saints of God. " Whom He did predestinate, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified" (Rom 8:30). "What then shall we say to these things ? If God be for us, who can be against us ?" (lb. 31 ) J. S. P.

(Neh. 3:)

In the New Jerusalem there are to be twelve gates (Rev. 21:12), and each several gate of one pearl; so that, look upon the city from whichever standpoint one may, he will be reminded of the precious truth that Christ "loved the Church, and gave Himself for it" (Eph. 5:25).He came from heaven asa merchant man seeking goodly pearls; and having found one pearl of great price, "though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor " by selling all that He had to buy it.

Jerusalem of old, as rebuilt in the revival days of Nehemiah, Ezra and Zerubbabel, had ten gates, the number that, it has well been said, sets forth responsibility towards God and man, of which the ten words in the law were the measure; while the twelve of the heavenly city (and note how many twelves there are in Rev. 21:), some have suggested, would set forth perfect administration, or governmental completeness, only to be known in the day that the kings of the earth bring the glory and the honor of the nations unto it.

I have thought there might be divine lessons for us in the names and order of the gates of the old city. That there is danger always of being fanciful, I realize, and would therefore seek to avoid letting an in subject imagination, which is only "evil continually " (Gen. 6:5), run riot in the holy things of the Lord.

But, in looking at these gates, it is not so much my thought to seek to give the interpretation of them as to make a practical application of truth which, I am convinced, is much needed in this Laodicean day. It is my thought, then, to look at the ten ports in order, just as we find them in the third of Nehemiah -an order which is, without doubt, divinely perfect.

We begin, then, with

THE SHEEP GATE,

of which we read in the first verse :" Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel." This was priestly work indeed, for through this gate the beasts were led whose death and blood-shedding were to picture the one Offering of the ninth of Hebrews. They pointed on to the perfect sacrifice of that unnamed One of Isaiah 53:, who was '' led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth."

Thankful we are that for us it is not necessary to ask, as did the eunuch, " Of whom speaketh the prophet this ? of himself, or of some other man ?" (Acts 8:34). The other Man is well known indeed to those of us who have been brought to trust the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all. In Him we have beheld the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

The Sheep Gate clearly speaks to us, then, of the Cross. Here the remnant of old began to build the wall, priestly hands piling stone upon stone, and setting up the beams and bars. And here every one must begin who has really to do with God other than in judgment. The wall speaks of holiness, which must shut out evil; but what evil is, we can never rightly know until we have understood in some measure the meaning of the Cross. It was there that all the iniquity of man's heart was fully revealed; there too that the absolute holiness of God's character was declared in an even more marked way than it will be made known in the lake of fire. In the Cross it was that mercy and truth met together, and that righteousness and peace kissed each other (Ps. 85:10).

" 'Tis in the cross of Christ we see
How God can save, yet righteous be."

The most important truth of Scripture is, that on the cross the judgment of a holy God against sin fell upon His spotless Son when He "suffered, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God" (i Pet. 3:18).There is nothing like the apprehension of this to give peace to a troubled soul. I have been awakened to see myself a lost, guilty sinner. Perhaps for years I have been going about to establish my own righteousness, and trusting that all would surely be well with me because of fancied merit in myself. I have deluded myself with the notion that God, who is love, must therefore allow sin to pass unpunished, or that my sin was, at any rate, of weight so light it would never sink me down to the pit of woe. But now all is changed. I have learned that I am a lost man! My sins, which once seemed like trifles, insignificant as molehills, now rise before my terrified vision as dark, shapeless mountains, which I fear will bury me beneath their awful weight in the nethermost depths of the abyss of divine wrath. I look on my right hand, but I find no helper. Refuge fails me. In my despair I cry out, " No man cares for my soul! " (Ps. 142:4); and in the hour of my deepest distress there comes to me one with feet beautiful upon the mountains, a messenger, one among a thousand, who tells me the good news that God, the God whom I have so grievously sinned against, and so flagrantly dishonored, has found a Ransom, and can thus deliver me from going down into the pit (Job 33:24).My sins and guilt have all been laid on Jesus. My judgment has fallen upon His holy head, and thus I can go righteously free.

Well does such a message deserve the name of '' gospel"! Good news indeed! more welcome than cold water to a thirsty soul.

As of old, when Noah took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt-offerings upon the altar (Gen. 8:20), so now Jehovah has looked upon the work of His beloved Son and " smelled a sweet savor," which is truly a "savor of rest" (margin); for sin is thus canceled, and God can be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.

Of all this, and much more, may the Sheep Gate remind us. A gate of judgment it is too; for of judgment, in Scripture, the gate often speaks. But here it is judgment falling, not upon the guilty, but upon the guiltless One who voluntarily stood in the place of the sinner. " He was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification; therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 4:25; 5:i).

Let me press it upon the reader-has all this been made good to your soul ? Is your confidence for eternity based upon the work of Christ ? Are you trusting alone in Jesus, who in those solemn hours of deeper than Egyptian darkness "fought the fight alone," vanquished Satan's power in resurrection, and is now exalted at God's right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour ?

O, be persuaded! If you are resting on anything short of this, your soul is in peril most grave and fearful; for it is only "the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, that cleanseth from all sin " (i John 1:7). If, however, this is the ground of your confidence, if you are saved and know it, if the lesson of the Sheep Gate has been truly learned in the presence of God, I ask you to pass on with me now to

THE FISH GATE

"But the Fish Gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof" (ver. 3).

The name of this port at once brings to mind the word of the Lord addressed to Simon and Andrew when He found them "casting a net into the sea." "He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Precious it is to learn that, without a word as to delay, they "straightway left their nets and followed Him" (Matt. 4:17-20).

It is a weighty truth, often I fear forgotten in this pushing, restless age, that the great business of those already saved should be to bring others to Christ. Alas, alas, the indifference as to this among many of the people of God is most appalling.

The Fish Gate is tightly closed, or fallen in ruins, and there are no devoted "sons of Hassenaah " who are enough in earnest about the condition of the lost to built it up again.

Shame, a crying shame, that it should ever be true of saints going to heaven that they are unconcerned about sinners going to hell! And God has said, "He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him."

Oh, the heartlessness of it! Souls perishing under one's very eyes, and no hand stretched out to help, no voice raised to proclaim God's message of love to the lost!

Brothers ! sisters ! be honest with God! Face the question in His presence, What are you doing for souls ? Will friends, neighbors, relatives, rise up in that day and cry in their anguish and woe, " I lived beside him for years. He knew I was going to hell. He never warned me. I'm damned, and he never told me how I might have been saved! "

Don't, I beseech you-don't turn it aside by a lot of unholy cant about "so much fleshly energy," and " the need of building up the saints." In the mouths of men who lift not a finger to keep others from going down to eternal ruin, such language is positively disgusting; yea, it is worse; for it is actually wicked and abhorrent in the ears of Him who saith, "He that is wise winneth souls." (R. V.)

Build up the Fish Gate, brethren; go out after the lost, and bring them inside the wall, where, after having been saved, they will be cared for and helped in the things of God.

I know all have not the same gift. All cannot preach to thousands. But surely it is not gift that is lacking so much as grace. It takes no special gift to distribute gospel tracts, or speak a loving word in season to needy souls. If you have "gift" enough to spend hours talking about the weather, or the various questions of domestic, business, or political life, you have all the gift that is needed to drop a tender, warning message in the ear of a careless one, or to point an anxious person to Christ.

Let none shirk this work. On another part of the wall labored the Tekoites; and the Holy Ghost has noted that "their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord " (ver. 5). They will have to face this record at the judgment-seat of Christ; and I fear there are some God-made, and many self-made, "nobles" among the people of the Lord to-day who manifest as gross indifference to the work of God.

That, on the other hand, mere fleshly zeal will not be owned of God I quite admit; and this brings before us the need of enforcing the lessons suggested by the next five gates. H. A. I.

(To be continued.)

O Lord, Thy gracious hand
In love, but heaviness,
Hath brought me once again
Submissively, (through pain
And grief) to lowliness,
To see how little like I am
To Christ, my Lord, Thy chosen Lamb.

I may not lift mine eyes
To Thee, my God, and say
I'm worthy of one thing
Thy grace to me doth bring.
Thy debtor every day
Yet, still, I plead Thine own sweet word,
Which casts me on Thy bounty, Lord.

O Christ, my heart's resource,
In whom all fulness is-
My life, my light, my joy,
My peace without alloy,
My everlasting bliss:
My longing soul desires to be
For Thee, my God, and only Thee.

How could this beggared world
Have anything to give?
The things my hands would hold
Might cost me pain untold;
My joy must be in Thee.
And so, I give them back to Thee
To keep and sanctify for me.

I know Thou wilt not choose
The heart, to be for Thee,
Overfilled with earthly things.
No heart like this e'er sings
The heavenly melody
Thou'lt ever stoop to hear
From those who thus draw near.

Nor wilt Thou choose, my God,
The hands to work for Thee
Overfilled with earthly fruits;
Whose e'er descending roots
Are drawing constantly,
Their sustenance, (of nothing worth,)
From out a ruined cursed earth.

Thou canst not satisfy,
With Thy sweet whisperings,
Th" unconsecrated ear
That seeks, and loves to hear
The fruits of fleshly things-
Which waste away the precious days,
And rob Thee of Thy rightful praise.

Thou'lt follow, but not walk
In close companionship
With those whose wayward feet
Have chosen paths unmeet,
Where they must surely slip.
What joy untold they, wilful, lose,
Who thus His blessed paths refuse.

Then mold this vessel frail,
With Thine unerring hand.
I dare not undertake-
Lest I might rudely break
Some tender chord or band:
Thou'lt shape it for eternity,
And none may do this work but Thee.

Thus, fashioned Lord by Thee,
I may not choose the way
Thou'lt seek my heart to prune,
Or set my harp in tune
For some sweet melody,
Or wake the new, old song again,
My first love's rapturous refrain.

H. McD.

When the Moravian missionaries went to Greenland, in 1733, they thought that the most rational way of instructing the heathen was to speak first of the existence and perfections of God, and to enforce obedience to the divine law; and they hoped by these means gradually to prepare -their minds for the reception of the gospel. But this proved wholly ineffectual. For five years they labored in this style, and could scarcely obtain a patient hearing from the savages. But circumstances, unexpected and uncontrived by themselves, led to an entire change of procedure.

In the beginning of June, 1738, Bro. Beck, one of the missionaries, was copying a translation of a portion of the Gospels. He read a few sentences to the heathen; and after some conversation with them, he gave them an account of the creation of the world, the fall of man, and his salvation by Christ. In speaking of the redemption of man, he enlarged with more than usual energy on the sufferings and death of our Saviour, and exhorted his hearers seriously to consider the vast expense at which Jesus had ransomed the souls of His people. He then read to them out of the New Testament the history of our Saviour's agony in the garden. Upon this, the Lord opened the heart of one of the company whose name was Kayarnak, who, stepping to the table, in an earnest manner exclaimed,"How was that? tell me that once more; for I too desire to be saved." These words, which were such as had never before been uttered by a Greenlander, penetrated the soul of Bro. Beck, who, with great emotion, gave them a fuller account of the life and death of our Saviour, and the scheme of salvation through Him. Some of the pagans laid their hands on their mouth (which is their usual custom when struck with amazement).On Kayarnak an impression was made that was not transient, but had taken deep root in his heart. By means of his conversation his family, or those who lived in the same tent with him, were brought under conviction; and before the end of the month three large families came with all their property and pitched their tents near the dwelling of the missionaries, in order, as they said, to hear the joyful news of man's redemption. Kayarnak became eminently serviceable to the mission as a teacher of his countrymen, and adorned his Christian profession until his death. The missionaries now understood the divine mode of reaching and changing the heart of savage or of civilized. They began to preach at once Christ, and Him crucified. And no sooner did they declare to the Greenlanders "the word of reconciliation" in its native simplicity than they beheld its converting and saving power. This reached the hearts of their audience, and produced the most astonishing effects. It opened a way to their consciences, and illuminated their understandings. They remained no longer the stupid and brutish creatures they had once been:they felt they were sinners, and trembled at their danger:they rejoiced in the Saviour, and were rendered capable of sublimer pleasures than those arising from plenty of seals, and the low gratification of sensual appetites. A sure foundation being thus laid in the knowledge of a crucified Redeemer, the missionaries soon found that this supplied their young converts with a powerful motive to the abhorrence of sin and the performance of every moral duty towards God and their neighbor. It taught them to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world; animated them with the glorious hope of life and immortality; and gave them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God as the Creator and Saviour of men. The missionaries themselves derived benefit from this. The doctrines of the cross of Christ warmed and enlivened their own souls in so powerful a manner that they could address the heathen with uncommon liberty and fervor, and were often astonished at each other's power of utterance.

And is this to be wondered at ? Is it not that which the apostle Paul taught of old:"The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:but we preach Christ crucified ; unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God" (i Cor. 1:22-24) ? The Christian ministry is one of "reconciliation," and its great theme is "that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." It was this "word of reconciliation" that the apostles addressed to the hearts and consciences of men to bring them back to God. "We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us:we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him " (2 Cor. 5:19-21). The death of Christ in man's stead is the only basis of reconciliation between the offended God and the offending creature; the announcement of it is the only means by which the heart of the offender can be subdued and won back to loyalty; and the belief of it the only means by which his conscience can be freed from the burden of guilt.

Selected.

THE MAN AFTER THE FLESH. PART II. THE KING OF MAN'S CHOICE.

Chapter 8:TESTED AND FOUND WANTING.
(1 Sam. 12:, 13:14).

(Continued from page 176.)

We come now to that which manifests the character of the new king in a far more searching-way than was possible in the matter of the children of Ammon, and this for two reasons. The enemy, the Philistines, were nearer at hand and had a longer and more complete hold upon Israel than the enemy on the east. Saul also was to be tested as to his dependence upon God, and patient waiting brings out the inherent unbelief of the heart more quickly than activity. The nature of the Philistine oppression has already been dwelt upon, and therefore there is little need to enlarge upon it again. We need only remark how natural such a state of bondage is where such a man as Saul is reigning. He exemplifies the condition of the people at large, and this is, after all, in a spiritual sense, Philistinism itself. The flesh can be religious. We shall find this as we go on with Saul. Philistinism stands for the religiousness of the flesh, and therefore is fittingly that which oppresses those who are walking according to the flesh. On the other hand, there is an apparent resistance of this enemy, with but little power, however.

After the scene at Gilgal, which we have dwelt upon, there was an apparent season of quiet, as suggested in the first verse of the thirteenth chapter. All Israel have returned to their various homes, save 3,000 men, chosen to be the personal guard about Saul; 2,000 of these are with himself, and 1,000 with Jonathan. We have here the first mention of that beautiful character whose presence relieves the gloom of Saul's history, and the pride and self-righteousness which developed apace. Jonathan was altogether a lovely character, a man of genuine faith and devotedness to God; as unlike his father as it is possible to conceive. It will be a pleasure to trace his course, which is brought into clearer relief by contrast with his father's.

Jonathan is really the forerunner of David, and in a marked way he is merged into the man after God's own heart. We will doubtless have occasion to speak of him in other respects at the proper time, but unquestionably the main lessons of his life are most profitable and attractive. From the very beginning, he takes the initiative against the proud enemy, and smites their garrison in Geba the fortified hill.

Of course this was most audacious on the part of a subject people, as evidently the Israelites had become, even so soon after the deliverance effected by Samuel. The Philistines hear of it, and of course at once begin to move against the people who were even in such little measure as this bestirring themselves. Faith does not fear to strike, no matter how absolute the oppression. Formalism may have laid its deadly hand upon the saints of God so completely that none dare lift his voice in protest; but faith will smite wherever there is an opportunity. It does not coldly calculate the effect, nor count up the numbers the enemy will be able to bring into the field to crush it. It counts rather upon God alone. Here is that which is not according to Him,- it must be denounced-it must be smitten. Such faith was that exhibited on many a page of Church history, where some genuine soul has seen and smitten abuses which had become so intrenched that it seemed an impossibility that God's people could ever be delivered from them,-and what results have followed!

As we "said, it is Jonathan who does this, and not Saul; but he will be at least a second in such work. His own pride, perhaps also a real interest on his part, would lead him not to be behindhand. He blows the trumpet, therefore, to assemble all Israel, saying:"Let the Hebrews hear." He does not use the familiar name "Israel," which had so many blessed suggestions in it; but rather the natural name of the people, going back to their descent from Abraham, the Hebrew. Of course there is a spiritual use of the word "Hebrew" which suggests pilgrim character, but this evidently is not in Saul's mind. He simply arrayed the nation of Hebrews against the Philistines. But there does not seem the same energy and decision that marked him in the case of Ammon. There, he would take no refusal of the people, but urged them with threats to go out with him and Samuel against the enemy. He is evidently on even lower ground here than there. Israel hears the report, too, of this preliminary victory of Jonathan, only ascribing it to Saul, as the prowess of many a subordinate has been ascribed to his commanding general.

The state of the people, however, is sadly brought out by the manner of their reception of the news. So far from it thrilling them with vigor and arming them as one man now to make an end of this proud enemy, they are filled with terror. They realize that they are now held in abomination by the Philistines, and are more occupied with that than the possibility of their deliverance from them. How like unbelief in all time is this! It fears the consequences of any measure of faithfulness." Know-est Thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?" said the disciples to our Lord when He had been boldly denouncing the formalism of the leaders of the "people. They were afraid of the consequences of such faithfulness, and while perhaps acknowledging the truth of what our Lord had said, shrank from stirring up opposition. Alas, we know much of this timidity in view of opposition. What will men say ? What will our friends say ?Oh, how often has this deterred many an one whose conscience has been awakened as to his path, from going on in simple obedience to God, regardless of what men say! Truly, "the fear of man bringeth a snare;" and to be occupied with the effect of our action upon the enemies of God, rather than with Himself, is indeed to invite defeat. Truly the Philistines had gathered together in enormous numbers to fight with Israel, chariots and horsemen and people as the sand on the seashore, a most formidable host; and if they have only conferred with flesh and blood, no wonder the children of Israel are terror-stricken. This is too sadly the case, and the people, instead of boldly confronting this host, remembering that it was against the Lord that they had come forth and not against His feeble people, they flee to the caves, and hide in the thickets and rocks, in high places and pits. Some of them also flee further yet, over to the east side of Jordan and the land of Gad and Gilead, and there is apparently utter nervelessness in the whole nation.

Poor material indeed is this, and yet doubtless many amongst this terror stricken people were groaning with the sense of the dishonor done to God by their subjection to this enemy.

(To be continued.)

Q. 12.-"Is not the first book of the New Testament entirely Jewish, the book of the Kingdom and not of the Church, which is future? Matt. 16:18. Do not even the parables of the thirteenth chapter apply to the Jews during the time of the tribulation, rather than to the present Church period?

Ans.-Unquestionably, Matthew is the Jewish Gospel and is closely linked with the Old Testament prophets. The Church, too, as in all the Gospels, is future, formed, as we well know, at Pentecost, by the descent of the Holy Ghost; but it would be a great mistake to think that the present period was entirely ignored in the prophetic outlook of that Gospel. The parables of the Kingdom, unquestionably many of them at least, have distinct reference to the present time, notably that of the sower, the mustard seed, the leaven and the pearl of great price. We must not forget that there is a Kingdom aspect of divine truth as well as a Church aspect. We cannot close our eyes to the fact that God holds all profession of allegiance to Himself, responsible. This if false could not be in the Church, which, as the body of Christ, is composed only of true believers. Neither is it in the world, for profession puts one in a different place. The parables in Matt. 13:show how clearly all applies to the Kingdom, that sphere of things where God's authority is outwardly acknowledged by a vast multitude, a part of whom also truly are His. Unquestionably, too, much in Matthew goes on to the resumption of God's ways with His earthly people in the latter days, but we believe it would be a great mistake to eliminate the present period from that Gospel. Much erroneous teaching would follow this; notably that, which we fear is beginning to make inroads already, the denial of water baptism as applicable to the present period. Let us be careful not to allow the entering wedge of any error. God's truth is self-consistent and perfect in its place. To ignore the Kingdom is both to degrade the Church from its high and heavenly place, and to lower the sense of responsibility to God on the part of all who profess the name of Christ.

Our reading during this month is the book of Job, a portion of Scripture with which most of God's people are little familiar, and yet its lessons are most important. There is but little of a dispensational or historical character in it. It is hardly a biography, but rather the narrative of God's ways in faithfulness with one of His own who had indeed lessons to learn. The age in which Job lived is not given in the book itself, though the whole scene is so patriarchal that it has been thought, with considerable degree of probability, that he lived in the time covered by the book of Genesis. He might well be one of those who had the true knowledge of God, though not of the chosen seed of Israel-one of Noah's descendants who maintained in his own life and walk a consistent testimony. Be that as it may, there is no indication whatever that he was an Israelite, and therefore his knowledge of the true God is suggestive. There may have been others also, and doubtless were, who had preserved the knowledge of the Lord in face of all idolatry; but it is significant that they were individuals and had but little influence out of their own ordinary circle.

The general theme of the book is clear, and is brought out in its divisions.

1. Job's prosperity, and his affliction at the hand of Satan (chaps, 1:and 2:).

2. Job's conversations with his friends, who accuse him of hypocrisy and outward unfaithfulness to God (chaps, 3:-31:).

3. Elihu's testimony against Job and his friends, witnessing for God (chaps, 32:-37:).

4. God's solemn testimony of His majesty and glory in creation, which brings Job to his face, acknowledging his utter helplessness (chaps, 38:-41:).

5. God's recovery of His penitent, and restoration of all his former prosperity (chap. 42:).

The great lesson of the whole book is the necessity of a true knowledge of one's self. Job was personally a righteous man, and evidently a child of God; but there was in him an undiscovered self-righteousness which indicated a failure to know himself. His righteousness makes him the object of Satan's malice, and we learn some very interesting things with regard to this enemy of man. He has access to the presence of God, along with the angels (chap. 1:). He there accuses God's faithful child, and demands that he be allowed to test the reality of his faith and obedience. Of course, God is over all, and has His own wise purposes in view. Satan is permitted to do just so much, and no more. Job may be bereft of his family, his property may be taken away, his own health may be shattered, but not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground without the knowledge of his God and Father. Satan can only do that which God allows.

In all this terrible trial Job's character comes out very beautifully. He is upright. He receives all at the hands of God. Satan is lost sight of, and all attempts to induce him to dishonor the Holy One who had hitherto blessed his life with temporal prosperity are thwarted. We hear no more of Satan after these first two chapters. But though Job has stood this test, there is still in him an enormous amount of pride, the bottom of which he has never reached, and this is brought out in his conversations with his three friends, who have themselves far less knowledge than Job of God's ways. Their general contention, through long and almost wearisome reiterations, is that God is good and righteous, and that if men are righteous they will be blessed in temporal things. They intimate more and more clearly and strongly that Job must have gone on with secret sin which God has now brought to the light. They reach no deeper, thus, than the surface, and Job indignantly repudiates all their charges; and the fact that he is the object of his friends' suspicion stirs up the corruption of his own heart of which he had not yet dreamed. Thus he manifests, in these conversations, his doubt of God's love, goodness, and justice, and finally exhibits, in the most offensive way, all his own faithfulness and uprightness in contrast with the apparent injustice of the Lord. This, indeed, is a sad fall for one in whom God Himself had found much to commend; but how good it is that the undiscovered evil of our hearts should be brought out, that we may see what we really are in ourselves ! However, in the midst of all this, there are bright gleams of faith in this dear man, who is indeed groping in darkness, but can say in the very depths of his suffering, " Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." This is a true mark of faith; and where it is present, we know that its trial, though more precious than of gold that perisheth, shall yet be found unto glory and honor.

Job's friends show their pitiable weakness and retire to silence, at last discomfited by the wordy self-righteousness of the poor man, who was afflicted more by his friends' suspicions and accusations than he was by the persecutions of Satan.

But God, in faithfulness, will not let His dear servant die, nor will He allow him to pass through such a dreadful experience without the salutary lessons which he needed to learn. So Elihu comes on the scene, one who speaks for God, and who yet is a man. In this way he seems strikingly to suggest the position of our blessed Lord, the Days man between God and us; One who knows the mind and heart of God, and yet can lay His hand upon the poor, trembling and distracted saint and speak words of wisdom and comfort to him. Elihu does not spare his friends nor Job, but in the midst of all that he has to say there is an evident opening up of relief in the only true direction. He would hide pride from man, and he would show man God's uprightness. If there were true brokenness and humility, he shows how God was ready at once to say, " Deliver him from going down to the pit:I have found a ransom."

Elihu's testimony opens the way for Jehovah Himself to speak in all His majesty. We have, in this marvelous address, simply the setting forth of God's greatness, power and wisdom in creation. These things declare His goodness and faithfulness also. They bring Job where he needed to be brought-into the presence of the infinite God. How puny is he, compared with this all-glorious, mighty One who has but shown a part of His power! But enough is said to recall Job to his true position, and also to put before his eye, not himself, boasting in his righteousness and maintaining his integrity and accusing God, as in the twenty-ninth chapter, but rather that God against whom his proud words have been directed. The effect is utter self-abasement. " I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth Thee; wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes."

Is this the man who had been glorying in himself, in his conflicts with his friends, and refusing to acknowledge that there was in him the slightest thing except goodness ? Thus God has had His own way, and brought His dear child to the only place where there can be blessing-in the dust in His presence. Now He can lift him up; and, instead of the pride which had been subtly developing through all his past prosperity, Job now, in his latter end, blessed more than at his beginning, can magnify the goodness of that God whom he had learned to know through darkness as he had never learned Him in the light of this world's prosperity.

We read, with Job, the first epistle of Peter, which is in many ways in keeping with that book. It presents the people of God as pilgrims in the wilderness, rather than worshipers in the sanctuary, as in Paul's epistles. The main theme throughout is suffering in the Christian's pilgrim way, and looking forward to the glory. Its divisions bring this out suggestively.

1. (Chap. 1:1-21.) God's people, chosen of Him to an inheritance which is reserved for them in heaven.

2. (Chaps, 1:22-2:10.) The development of divine life in His children:birth (vers. 22-25); growth (chap. 2:1-3); worship (chap. 2:4-10).

3. (Chaps, 2:n-3:9.) Practical sanctification in the daily life. Here, obedience to God is manifested in subjection to all forms of authority instituted by Him. Servants are to obey their masters even though unkind and unjust, following the example of our blessed Lord, "who, when He was reviled, reviled not again." Wives, in like manner,-are to obey their husbands, though they be fro-ward, seeking to win them without the Word, by their own lives illustrating that Word. Husbands also are to give honor to their wives and walk in holy fellowship as heirs together of the grace of life:

4. (Chaps, 3:lo-4:6.) Suffering for righteousness in a world where all is contrary to God.

This is illustrated in our Lord's own life; and as He has suffered for us in the flesh, we are to arm ourselves with the same mind.

5. (Chaps, 4:7-5:14.) Responsibilities flowing from our position. Here, love is to guide, a sense of stewardship, taking suffering with gladness, and caring for the beloved people of God; he exhorts them to be sober, and to remember that a subtle adversary is walking about, more dangerous than a roaring lion. Him they are to resist, well knowing that the God of all grace will soon bring them into His eternal glory. The sufferings of Christ are to be followed by the glory; and we too, after having suffered our appointed portion, shall enter into the rest and joy of our Lord.

Every right feeling in a creature must have an object, and, to be right, that object must be God, and God revealed in Christ as the Father; for in that way God possesses our souls. J. N. D.

M- Always had plenty of money from his very babyhood, but had known nothing of the Lord Jesus Christ, the true riches.

He grew up worldly, without a thought of God, went into business for a time to amuse himself, but tiring of that gave it up and devoted his entire time to the world, the flesh and the devil. He went into society and enjoyed to the full its pleasures and lusts. There was nothing seemingly that the heart desired that he did not have. Wickedness and sin had full sway over him, and he traveled at a very fast pace until, worn out in body and mind he came to a full and sudden stop in his career. His physician told him he must quit his fast life and take a complete rest, or he would find a place in the insane asylum.

M- stopped his mad career, obeyed the physician's orders and was put in charge of R-, a trained nurse.

But rest! Rest? As well tell the waves of ocean, as they break unceasingly night and day on the rock-bound coast to rest. The soul that has not known God, but gone on with a free-rein in sin, cannot rest. "There is no peace saith my God, to the wicked." There is a blessed word to the soul that rests in Jesus "My peace I give unto you," but not a word of peace to the wicked.

And so the restless M- found a vent for his feelings by endeavoring to make miserable the life of his nurse. Swearing, outbursts of passion, disagreement, disobedience to the doctor's orders, and doing whatever lay in his power to make R-'s work harder filled the hours of M-'s life. Always there was in return the same gentleness, love and courtesy. Firmness of course, but railing and cursing quietly borne, until at last M- wondered and said one day to R-, '' How is it R- that I treat you so and yet you are always kind and gentle?"

"The Lord is my Shepherd" answered R- "and if it were not for that I could not stand it. But He comforts and sustains me, and He would do the same for you too would you but let Him." And with many another precious passage from God's word did R- strive to point his patient to the Lamb of God who beareth away the sin of the world.

And finally he succeeded. The Spirit of God used and blessed R-'s efforts, and soon the nurse had the unequaled joy of seeing his patient a happy, humble Christian, sitting at the feet of Jesus, "clothed and in his right mind."

M-'s death-bed a short time afterward was a scene of happy, joyous faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. "None of us liveth to himself and no one dieth to himself." The persecutions meekly borne and the patient showing forth of the Christ-life on the part of the nurse led his patient first to wonder, then to love, and then to praise. We are influencing each day a friend or neighbor or companion. Let us influence them for the blessed Lord Jesus; and this will be possible only as we realize "whether we live or die, therefore, we are the Lord's. F.

"MACHPELAH, THE BURIAL-GROUND OF GENESIS:IT’S MEANING.

Before Abraham buried his dead, he had received Isaac in a figure from the dead, as seen in Gen. 22:

In Gen. 23:he buries Sarah.

Thus, before the first burial scene the hope of resurrection-the resurrection of Christ-is set before us in type.

How it tells of the tender mercy of God:"And Sarah died in Hebron, in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her"! How much is contained in these words, "to weep for her"!

"And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,

"I am a stranger and a sojourner with you:give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."

"His dead," the Spirit of God says. "My dead," the mourner says. The departed one still lives-the body is to be tenderly entombed, to await the resurrection. "Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's" (Rom. 14:).

He "stood up from before his dead." He had taken a last look. He arouses himself to face the cold world and the tomb.

Abraham conducts himself with dignity and with respect towards the sons of Heth, in securing from them a burial-place for Sarah.

"And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land." And then he offers money for the land, and pays it,-400 shekels of silver,-and the field was made sure to him "in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city."

This field for a burying-place, this first burial-ground recorded in the history of men, of God's people, is minutely described. Our attention seems to be invited to it.

"And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession."

'' And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre:the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan."

There is the "field" and the "trees;" it is not a barren spot; it is fruitful, and suggests what is pleasant, and peaceful, and restful. We are reminded of Eden, of the garden and its trees; that is, we have an object-lesson, for our benefit, of what was passing in Abraham's mind. We have suggested to us life out of death-resurrection; and the fruitfulness of God's salvation – the "paradise of God" and the "tree of life." This is the tender mercy and goodness of God.

We are reminded of the eleventh chapter of John, and of the tomb of Lazarus. He who wept with them that wept, and said, "I am the resurrection and the life," comforted Abraham in his sorrow, by the figurative resurrection of Isaac.

We can face death and the world, resting in the love of Christ, who died and rose again for us (2 Cor. 5:).

"Machpelah" is said to mean "turning back," and doubtless suggests resurrection. "Mamre" is fatness, and " Hebron" communion, or of kindred meaning, and no doubt,, from the connection, suggesting these precious appropriate thoughts. Throughout Genesis "Machpelah" is the burial-ground, and burial scenes are more or less prominent in this book of the first life, in the history of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.

In Chap. 23:we have Sarah's burial; in Chap. 25:, Abraham's.

In the account of Isaac's burial, in chap. 35:, the burial-place is not mentioned, and Esau takes the lead in burying him. '' Esau and Jacob buried him." In all this there is something sadly in accord with Isaac's long dimness of sight and weakness towards Esau and his venison. But nevertheless Isaac was buried in Machpelah. It is recorded later, in Chap. xlix, 29, in Jacob's last words, "Bury me with my fathers, in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is opposite to Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought of Ephron the Hittite, along with the field, for a possession of a sepulcher."

And now follows a registration:'' There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife ; and there I buried Leah. The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth."

The careful and detailed way in which Jacob describes the ancestral burial-ground contrasts favorably with the case of Isaac. He was in Egypt, and dying, but type of a Christian who in a world of death calmly and peacefully looks for Him to come who is the Resurrection and the Life.

Thus there are six mentioned who were buried in Machpelah:Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. A seventh, whose death closes the Genesis record, is Joseph. He is not buried, but embalmed and put in a coffin in Egypt-a perpetual reminder of the departure of the one they had once despised and rejected, but equally an assurance of the certainty of deliverance at the appointed time.

Wonderfully associated thus with the history of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, whose history fills the main part of Genesis, are these burial scenes-all at the same ancestral burial-ground, Machpelah, which is intertwined with their history:these burial scenes being introduced by the figurative resurrection of Isaac; the name Machpelah, "turning back," confirming the thought of resurrection; and the description of the ground, with its trees,-a peaceful, Eden-like suggestion,-carrying the mind on to the paradise of God above, where the true Isaac, the Tree of Life, is in the midst.

Thus the Lord of life leads His own through a scene of death, comforting them, and assuring them by line upon line of precious and wonderful types.

The sons of Heth knew not Abraham's secret-his faith in God, who raises the dead:nor the meaning to him of "Machpelah." They were but onlookers, as are the people of the world now at a Christian funeral. Sad is the condition of the world, and God's people are ever distinguished from it. But the believer can look upon the open grave, and upon the world around, rejoicing inwardly in Jesus. His word always to us is, "I am the resurrection and the life:he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and he that liveth and believeth in Me shall never die."

Death may come, but "death is ours." We are victors in every direction, and the Lord's farewell word to us is, " Behold, I come quickly."

May this hope be real, and precious, and constant in our hearts. May we steadfastly follow in His steps who has gone through death for us, into the presence of God, to the "Father's house." What a life becomes us, if such is our character, and such our hope!

May things that make us halt, and linger, and turn aside, be put away. May we purify ourselves "as He is pure." Joy becomes the Christian, but not levity, or trifling, or self-indulgence; nor selfish aims; nor the "lust of the flesh, nor the lust of the eye, nor the pride of life."

All that passes away:the believer abides forever in Christ, who is "risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept." E. S. L.

Where hast thou been toiling all day, my child,
That thy brow is so burdened and sad?
The Master's work may make weary feet,
But it leaves the spirit glad.

Was thy garden nipped with the midnight frost,
Or scorched with the midday glare ?
Were thy vines laid low, or thy lilies crushed,
That thy face is so full of care ?

" No pleasant garden toils were mine-
I have sat on the judgment-seat,
Where the Master sits at eve, and calls
His servants around His feet."

How camest thou on the judgment-seat,
My child-who set thee there ?
'Tis a lonely and lofty seat for thee,
And well might fill thee with care.

"I climbed on the judgment-seat myself;
I have sat there alone all day;
For it grieved me to see the children around,
All idling their life away:

They wasted the Master's precious seed,
They wasted the precious hours,
They trained not the vines, nor gathered the fruits,
And they trampled the sweet-scented flowers."

And what hast thou done on the judgment-seat,
My child-what didst thou there ?
Would the idlers heed thy childish voice ?
Did the garden mend by thy care ?

" Nay, that grieved me more. I called and I cried,
But they left me there forlorn ;
My voice was weak, and they heeded not,
Or they laughed my words to scorn."

Ah! the judgment-seat was not for thee-
These servants, they were not thine:
And the Eye which adjudges the praise and the blame,
Sees further far than thine.
The Voice that shall sound there at eve, my child,
Will not raise its tones to be heard;
It will hush the earth, and hush the hearts,
And none will resist its word.

" Should I see my Master's treasures lost,
The stores that should feed His poor,
And not lift my voice-be it weak as it may-
And not be grieved sore?"

Wait till the evening falls, my child,
Wait till the evening falls;
The Master is near, and knoweth it all-
Wait till the Master calls.

But how fared thy garden-plot, my child,
While thou sattest on the judgment-seat?
Who watered thy roses, and trained thy vines,
And kept them from careless feet ?

" Nay, that is the saddest of all to me-
Oh, that is the saddest of all!
My vines are trailing, my roses are parched,
My lilies droop and fall."

Go back to thy garden-plot, my child-
Go back till the evening falls;
And bind thy lilies, and train thy vines,
Till for thee the Master calls.

Go make thy garden as fair as thou canst-
Thou workest never alone;
Perchance he whose plot is next to thine
Will see it, and mend his own.

And the next may copy his, my child,
Till all grows fair and sweet:
And when the Master conies at eve,
Happy faces His coming will greet.

And then shall thy joy be full, my child,
In the garden so fair to see,
In the Master's words of praise for all,
In a look of His own for thee.

Selected.
'NOTHING BUT CHRIST."

The word which is looked at as significant of present day advance is " Science;" and the great principle of science, so far as it is really that, is induction, or, to state it more fully, induction before deduction; which merely means that you must have your facts before you can argue upon them. Nobody, surely, would be likely to dispute that, and yet all error in reasoning comes from the disregard of it. Induction, or the gathering of facts, must be as full as possible in order that the result may be in any way a success. This, in what is commonly called " Science," creates indeed the Uncertainty of much that is counted so. The field is so vast, the facts are so many, who can be sure that he has gathered all that are necessary to be taken into account ? Theory will not do here. All theories are tentative merely. You must start with what cannot be questioned, or questions will grow upon you as you proceed.

What an immense advantage the study of Scripture has here when, in the mercy of God, we have His complete revelation, with all its immensity, nevertheless put for us in so small a compass ! But here also the trouble has been,-is constantly everywhere- in the incomplete gathering of the facts of Scripture. It is almost incredible, until you begin to search for yourself, how loosely Scripture has been read, how little it can be fairly said to have been studied. If it be the word of God, then it is a mere insult to Him to credit Him with any idle word. "All Scripture, given by inspiration of God, is profitable for doctrine." If that be true, then whatever be before us in it, it may be a date, it may be a list of names, it has to be accepted as in this way "profitable ; " not to enable men merely to write history, but "for doctrine"-for truth which is to be blessing to the soul. But who proceeds upon this principle altogether ? How much really has Scripture been studied after this fashion, every part of it given its place and its proportionate place ? Yet apart from this, any commentary upon it must of necessity be vitiated in result just as much as the conclusions of science from an imperfect induction.

It has long been my desire to take up once more the book of Genesis throughout, seeking to apply everywhere this principle, to leave no fact of Scripture unexamined, to treat nothing in it as of no importance (or even of little), but to seek, as God may enable, to get everywhere to the bottom of things, where assuredly we shall find the perfection of Scripture fully established in its blessing everywhere for the soul. Such an attempt as this will of necessity make one very conscious of utter feebleness, and that God alone, after all, can give us in any wise that which we seek. But the attempt, nevertheless, is that which alone can give Him fully the honor that is His due, and is therefore that in which one can count upon the fullest blessing.

It is proposed in this way to take up a book which is the introduction to all Scripture, the divine account of everything from its beginning, and which faith can surely receive as an account complete and even exhaustive for the purpose for which it is given. It is, however little as people may accredit it as that, the primary book of science itself, giving all the fundamental principles which are outside the reach of human investigation. What science can teach us of creation ? The beginning of everything is just that which is least of all accessible to man. The germs 'of all living things are perhaps as such undistinguishable from one another, yet in development the diversity of their nature soon becomes apparent. But think of an account of all this by the Author of it ! How can we talk of any science whatever that can be compared to this ? And people say Scripture is not intended to teach science ! Who told them so ? It was intended to teach just what it does teach. God's work is none of it without significance. Nature itself will be universally allowed to have much to teach us. Why should not God then teach us about nature ? How poor and unworthy must be that knowledge of things which it is unworthy of Himself to give us ! It is not so. The whole beautiful perfection of nature itself rebukes the supposition. Is there no message from God to us in all this ? Christians, alas, in their decision to think only of what they call spiritual, and let all material things drop almost out of account spiritually, have thus given the infidel the surest possible ground for his attack upon Scripture. If there are laws in nature, whose laws are they ? And will they reveal nothing of the Lawgiver ? If Christ is He in whom all things subsist, will not the whole frame of nature, His handiwork, declare Himself ? How false and dishonoring to Christ is any other thought ! It will be the endeavor, then, in this contemplated study of the book of Genesis, to follow every statement that we find in it, as far as possible, to its legitimate results; to seek to explore every track that leads into the known or into the unknown; not theorizing beforehand as to what we shall find there, nor seeking to do anything, but to allow Scripture to speak for itself, and to reveal its own perfection without any supplement of mere human thought or theory, yet not fearing to examine, by what will thus be divine light, whatever in human thought may seem to be in opposition to it. Are there not many to whom a voyage of discovery such as this may prove, will have not merely attraction for the mind, but be of deepest spiritual interest and importance ? Yet it is hoped in all this to preserve all practicable simplicity, that none of the Lord's people may be shut out from whatever is of Himself. If they are His, they have already within them that Spirit that "searcheth the deep things of God," and who is given to guide us into all truth. We must be subject to Him, to learn of Him, and there is no hope as to Scripture that any but the man of God will be "furnished" by it "thoroughly to every good work." For such, however, all truth will be found practical, and in all Scripture, from cover to cover, not a part of it that is not stored with divine riches, and accessible to us just so far as there is faith to lay hold of that which God has given. F. W. Grant. Nov. 1901

The above is inserted as being of touching interest as one of the last articles written by our beloved brother, who hoped to be permitted to take up more exhaustively than he had hitherto done, the study of the book of Genesis. But our God willed otherwise, and our brother has gone to his rest. But besides this, which we may call personal interest attaching to the article, it contains that which we believe will be for edification, and we trust a fresh stimulus to study the word of God. ed.

THE MAN AFTER THE FLESH. PART II. THE KING OF MAN'S CHOICE.

Chapter 7:THE NEW KING. (1 Sam. 10:17-11:)

(Continued from page 451.)

They had come to Gilgal at the invitation of I Samuel to renew the kingdom; and this he proceeds to do in the divine, rather than in the human way. Man's thought of reorganization, or renewal, is to strengthen everything on the basis upon which it rests. The people evidently had this in mind in connection with the celebration of their victory over the Ammonites, and the joy which accompanied it. Samuel, however, appropriately with the place, seeks to lead the people into deeper self-judgment, goes back indeed to the roots which had made possible their present condition, and shows how their desire for a king was connected with their sin and departure from God.

First of all, he speaks of himself. He is about to lay aside that government which, as judge, he had exercised for God. There was no longer need for a judge if they had a king. How significant it was that there was still the same need for him as ever, showing the utter incompetence of the king, who occupied a place officially which he could not actually fill! Samuel spreads his whole life before them, going back to his childhood days, when he had taken his place publicly before the nation as one who was to be a servant for God. From that day to the present he had walked before them. His sons also were with them. Of these indeed, as we have already seen, not much could be said, and yet the very contrast of their unfaithfulness with his uprightness would only serve to bring into bolder relief the integrity which had marked his entire course. He asks them to witness against him, even as Paul did at a later day. Had covetousness, self-interest in any of its forms, characterized him? Whom had he defrauded ? Whom had he oppressed ? From whom had he received a bribe, that he might pervert justice ? It is the last opportunity the people will have of having their wrongs righted, if indeed there were such. What a sense of integrity must have filled his heart thus to challenge their accusations !

Not even calumny can raise its voice against this faithful old man. His pure, unselfish life spoke for itself, and they can only reply, "Thou hast not defrauded us nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught out of any man's hand." He calls God to witness that they have made this statement; and in thus silently passing over rule to the hands of Saul, he calls him also to witness that there has been nothing unjust in all his past life. Again the people reply, "God is witness." Will they be able to say the same of the young king, flushed with his recent victory, and the man of their choice ? Will he prove as unselfish, as devoted, as single-eyed, as this aged servant of God, whose care is not so much for his own good name as for the honor of that gracious God whose servant and representative he has been ? Samuel would have shrunk from the thought that he in any way had been a king. All his authority was derived from God; all his appeal was to God, and he had never sought to interpose between the people and their direct obedience to their rightful King and Ruler, Jehovah.

This is ever the character of all true rule. Self is obliterated. If it speak of its own faithfulness, it is simply to silence false accusation, and to awaken conscience. Thus Paul, in the eleventh and thirteenth chapters of 2 Corinthians, is compelled to speak of his own course, but is well-nigh ashamed to do so. It is only to leave the Corinthians without excuse as to the character of ministry there had been amongst them.

True service, as we have said, ever has clean hands. Love, which is the spring of all service, "seeketh not her own." Fruit-bearing is for others, and not for our own enjoyment. Samuel never sought a place nor claimed dignities for himself. It was his one desire to witness for God and to be a help to His beloved people. This his whole well-spent life testified to.

It is a searching question for us:What is our motive in ministering to the saints of God ? Is it simply for the honor of our Lord and for the blessing of His people, or does self enter, as an important element, into it all ? The Lord keep us in that true lowliness of spirit which desires simply the blessing of others!

Having cleared his own skirts and secured from the people themselves a witness of his integrity, Samuel next speaks of the faithfulness of God, and with it of the unfaithfulness of His people. He goes back, as he had once before done, to Egypt, and rapidly reviews the salient features of their history. In their distress in Egypt they had cried to Him. Had He failed them ? He sent Moses and Aaron to deliver them out of their bondage and bring them into the place which they were now occupying. Moses and Aaron were not kings. They were God's instruments accomplishing His will; but so far from displacing Him, they were the means of preserving the people in closer relationship with Himself. So, too, in the trials which had beset them since their entering into the land:all these trials were produced by their own departure from God, and He had never delivered them into the hands of enemies save when they had forsaken Him. But even when, in faithfulness, He was compelled to turn them over to such enemies as Sisera in the north, or the Philistines in the west, or the Moabites on the east, it had only-been that they might learn the difference between serving God and serving evil. It would only intensify in their souls the absolute necessity of cleaving to the Lord in true-hearted obedience. As soon as they had begun to learn their lesson, how quickly did He respond to their cry! He had sent them one deliverer after another. Gideon, Jephthah, Barak, and Samuel himself, amongst others, had been used of God to rescue them from the most cruel bondage. But, as we have already seen, did these deliverers become kings ? Gideon distinctly refuses the crown, and even Jephthah, though he apparently dallied with it, never usurped full kingly authority; and as to Samuel, we have already seen.

Their past lessons should have taught the people, surely, both the cause of their trouble and the way of escape. What deliverance could be more brilliant and complete than that of Gideon, or of Barak? Was anything lacking in it? Had not Samuel led them victoriously against the Philistines ? Could a king do more than these had done? And yet, when a fresh evil menaces them, caused unquestionably by the same spirit of departure from God, they turn now to other relief than to the living God. The Ammonites assail, and instead of crying to God with confession of the sin which had made such an assault possible, they ask for a king, thus displacing Him who was King in Jeshurun. How faithfully the aged prophet shuts the people up to a sense of their folly! They cannot escape it. They have turned away from the One who has been their Saviour and Deliverer from Egypt to that present time. They have dishonored and rejected Him, and now they may look at their king. Surely his stature and goodly appearance would shrivel into nothingness in the presence of the mighty God whom the prophet had been holding up before them. Surely, if there was a heart to hearken, such a review as this could not fail to bring them to that true self-abasement which answers to Gilgal.

He has now unburdened himself, and therefore next speaks of the future. Even though they have thus slighted the Lord, let the time past for all this suffice, and let them with their king now go on in obedience to His will; for, after all, the king, as the people, must be subject to God. If so, they will find that His path is still open for them, and blessing will follow them; but if they turn away from Him, and refuse the voice of the Lord, and depart from Him, His hand will be against them, and they will go on to the bitter end, to learn that God is as true as His word, and that departure from Him can only bring one result But he will not leave them even with this last word alone. There must be visible manifestation that he is speaking for God, and that God will speak with him. It is the time of their wheat harvest, a season when all nature seems at rest; but in answer to his cry, God will send storm and thunder as tokens of His displeasure at His people's course-a witness of His resistless majesty and power. As at Sinai, the people tremble. Alas, the flesh can only tremble in the presence of God. It cannot profit by the solemn lessons of His majesty. Its one desire is to get out of that Presence, that it may do its own will. So they seem contrite enough for the time being. They acknowledge their sin in having desired a king, and ask God's mercy. Alas, all this too is superficial, as is abundantly seen in a short time.

The prophet has not meant to overwhelm them, but only to test them. And so comes the reassuring word "Fear not:ye have done all this wickedness :yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart."

How patient and long-suffering is our gracious God! He will test the flesh down to the last, give opportunity after opportunity to see if there is still any true desire to cleave to Him. The prophet's one anxiety is that the people should not depart from God. There is no danger that the Lord would forsake them. For His own great name, for that grace which has set its love upon them, He will not depart from them. They are His people. The very chastenings which fall upon them are but a proof of this, and so far as He is concerned they can rest assured that His love will be with them to the end. So, too, the aged prophet will ever remain loyal to the people dearer to him than his own life. It would be a sin against God to cease to pray for them. He will continue, therefore, to be their intercessor, though they have rejected him as their leader. How beautiful and gracious is all this ! Into his retirement the servant bears no grudge against an ungrateful nation. He enters simply into his closet, there to pour into the willing ear of a loving God the needs of this foolish, self-confident, fickle people.

How beautifully all this speaks of the unchanging purpose of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we need hardly say. All on that side is secure:divine love and power pledged to bring us safely through, even in spite of the folly which would forget that grace alone can preserve. Our Intercessor abides before God, and bears His people's names and needs before His Father. So, too, will it be with all true ministry for God. One will not be soured by the indifference of those whom he is seeking to help. If he has truly been ministering for God, he will continue to pray for those who, for the time being, have no desire for his service, and are glorying in the flesh.

How the prophet rings the changes on his message ! '' Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great things He hath done for you "-words surely that need not exposition, but the impress of the Holy Spirit upon our own souls ! How great things has He done for us ! Shall we then for a moment boast in that flesh which He condemned by the cross ?

Lastly, there is a final word of warning:'' But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king." How solemnly this was fulfilled in their later history, the captivity of many a king, with the people too, makes only too manifest.

(To be continued.)

Ques. 8.-"Was the bread used at the Lord's Supper, leavened or not ? In 1 Cor. 10:16, ' the bread which we break' is the communion of the body of Christ. As there was no evil in Him, could that which speaks of evil be used in the symbol?"

Ans.-It is very likely that, the Lord's Supper being instituted at the close of the passover feast, where no leavened bread was allowed, our Lord used that which was at hand, the unleavened bread of the passover. We must remember, however, that for us, being no longer under Judaism, the significance of literal leaven in our daily use is entirely of the past. The point to note is that bread was used-the ordinary food of man. Our blessed Lord gave up His body unto death in order that He might be the food of His people. In taking, at the Lord's Table, that which ordinarily is our food, we do not raise the question at all whether it is leavened or unleavened. It is Christ Himself whom we remember and who is typified in the bread which we break.

Ques. 9,-"What is the meaning of Jude 6? ' Angels being kept in chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day?' Peter speaks of angels being cast down to hell and also of spirits in prison. Did the Lord Jesus preach to these when His holy body lay in the grave? Will both men and angels be judged at the Great White Throne ? "

Ans.-Jude teaches that a certain part of the fallen angels are reserved in chains. We know from the Gospels that another part were allowed to range the earth; and Eph. speaks of "wicked spirits in heavenly places." Without doubt, at least two classes of fallen spirits are suggested here, those who are in bondage and those who are free. Cannot divine wisdom be seen in this, as though God would show that neither repression nor liberty have changed their moral character?

The passage in 2 Peter 2:4 seems to refer to the class of angels who are kept in chains under darkness; but "the spirits in prison" evidently refer to the disembodied spirits of the sinners before the flood who, rejecting the preaching of Noah, perished then, and their spirits are now in prison. It was by the Holy Spirit in Noah that the Lord Jesus went and preached to these, and not during the time when His body lay in the grave. He, blessed be His name, was enjoying the Father's presence during that time, as He committed His Spirit into His Father's hands.

As to angels being judged at the Great White Throne, Scripture is silent, and so we must be content with the general statement of Jude; they will be judged at the great day. The apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 6:, tells us that we shall judge angels in association with Christ.

Ques. 10.-"Please explain 1 Cor. 11:33, 'Tarry one for another.'"

Ans.-It was evidently to correct the dreadful abuses which had fastened upon the observance of the Lord's Supper in connection perhaps with the "Love-feast" (agape] preceding it; feasting and exhibitions of pride were common. One was hungry and another drunken. Instead of all this fearful disorder, they were to satisfy their proper appetites at home, so that their coming together would be unitedly to show the Lord's death, and to remember Him. "Tarry one for another" would suggest the unity which is so essential for true remembrance of the Lord. No doubt there are many applications of this to present needs. The Lord's Supper is not to be taken merely in an individual way, that is, as though others were not present. Personally, we may be in communion with Him and yet others may need that waiting upon God which so searches the heart and brings us into His presence. Thus, due deliberation will mark the holy season.

On the other hand, we must guard against a slavish fear to take the bread, and beware of suspecting that others may not be in a proper spiritual condition for this. We ought to esteem others more highly than ourselves, and unless there is manifest proof that saints are eating unworthily, we should keep the feast with all confidence in the Lord and in one another through the Lord.

Q. 11.-"In the April number of Help & Food, p. 94, I find the expression, ' It must be one who nevertheless is a creature' etc. Is it ever proper to speak of the Lord in His humanity as in any sense a creature, even though by coming into the world by the gates of birth He took His body from creation ?''

Ans.-Perhaps the expression might have been more guarded. While the truth of incarnation is the thought presented, our questioner of course does not mean to say that our Lord's body merely was taken from creation. We know He had a human soul and spirit as well. The difficulty in the expression seems to be that the term "creature" suggests personality, and we know as to His personality, our blessed Lord was ever Son of God. He had a creature-nature, however, and this is all that is intended in the passage.

We continue our reading of the books of Chronicles during the present month. First Chronicles, as we saw, was largely devoted to David and his provision for the coming of the glorious reign of his son Solomon. The second book begins with that reign. In many ways it seems to be a wonderful new beginning. We are again introduced to the Tabernacle for the first time since the captivity of the Ark. True, it is not now at Shiloh, but is found at Gibeah (chap. 1:3). The Ark, however, had been brought by David up to Mount Zion and the place which he had prepared for it. The Brazen Altar, however, was still in connection with the Tabernacle, and it was to this that Solomon resorted. He offered multitudes of burnt-sacrifices there, and there God appeared to him. He asks him his wish, a most testing question, for it would bring out the state of the king. But there is evidently genuine faith in this young man, however much there was also of that which would subsequently prove a peril if it were not judged, and Solomon shows, in his desire for wisdom to reign in the fear of God over His people, that he appreciated the responsibilities and the needs of his position. God gives him not merely what he had asked, but that which he had not asked,- riches and glory.

The first part of the book is devoted to the account of his glorious reign. The house of God, provided for by David, is built largely through the help of the king of Tyre. Most of this is, as we have said, typical. In the assistance of the king of Tyre we have the coming in of the Gentiles in connection with our Lord's Millennial reign. "Gentiles shall come to thy light and kings to the brightness of thy rising" (Isa. 60:3).

The house of God is built in all its splendor, and many most interesting details are given here. Everything is in beautiful accord with the typical place which it occupies, looking forward, as we have said, to the splendor of the Millennial kingdom of our Lord. Solomon's priestly prayer would seem to be a typical fulfilment of the reign of our blessed Lord, who shall sit as a Priest upon His throne and between whom and Jehovah will be the counsel of abiding peace. He is the true Solomon, the peaceable One, the effect of whose righteousness shall be " quietness and assurance forever."

The closing chapter of his life (Chap. 9:) records the visit of the queen of Sheba, where we have in fuller measure even yet, the typical fulfilment of the gathering of the Gentiles to the Lord and to His house. No mention is made of Solomon's fearful failures. As we have said, the history is typical and dispensational, rather than personal, and we see the man laid quietly to rest without any account being given of the fearful fall and dishonor to God, of his later years.

From chap. 10:to the end of the book we have a sad contrast to the brilliancy of the reign of Solomon. That had given us typically our Lord's reign. Although, being but a type, it had in it the seeds of decay. These manifest themselves all too quickly after the king's death, and under his son Rehoboam, division comes in. From there to the close of the book, it is a narrative of departure from God on the part of the kings ; God's chastening of the people by allowing their enemy to prevail over them; the hostility of the ten tribes, who, under Jeroboam have apostatized from the true worship of God, worshiping Him, as distinctly forbidden, in the golden calves set up at Bethel and Dan.

As has already been said, the history is largely that of Judah. Many of the kings were men of faith and obedience to God, with considerable lowliness. Indeed, some of those who had grievously dishonored Him, still in the time of their strait turned to Him, and found Him the unchanging God who shows mercy.

Abijah, the successor of Rehoboam, is a man of considerable obedience and faith in God. He is succeeded by his son, Asa, who is particularly marked as a faithful man, especially at the beginning of his reign. He is correspondingly successful, purging out idolatry and even deposing the wicked queen-mother. His testing, alas, however, brings out elements of self-will unjudged, shown in the refusal of the message of God, and therefore chastening at His hands. He dies somewhat under a cloud, although in the main his life had been a faithful one.

Jehoshaphat, his son, succeeds him, also a man of fine and striking character, but much marred in his testimony by weakly joining affinity with the idolatrous king of the ten tribes. This unequal yoke brings its sure consequences, but in the main, personally, Jehoshaphat was a man of faith, although too weak to be a genuine deliverer for the people. However, in Chap. 20:, when there was an immense irruption of Moab and Ammon, Jehoshaphat laid fast hold upon God, and there was a wonderful victory.

Jehoram, his son, (Chap. 21:) was in sad contrast with Jehoshaphat, and a proof of the defiling nature of all unholy alliances. He united himself with the house of the wicked Ahab and showed fully the character that belongs to the northern kingdom.

His son, Ahaziah, shows this in even a more marked way, and his mother Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, does her utmost to blot out the whole family of king David. But God has other purposes in view surely, as His beloved Son is to come of the seed of David. Therefore, the little Joash is preserved, through the faithfulness of Jehoiada, the priest, in the midst of all this anarchy, and in due time is in his place as king (chaps, 23:, 24:).

Joash is a negative character, faithful so long as the strong hand of Jehoiada, the priest, is with him; but after his death, the king weakly yields to the seductions of the princes of Judah and departs from the Lord. His end is tragic. He is assassinated:an end which he had escaped in early childhood, through the faithfulness of one who was truly devoted to God (chap. 24:).

His son, Amaziah, makes a good beginning and is correspondingly successful; then falling into idolatry, he too comes under the judgment of God and is also slain (chap. 25:).

His son, Uzziah, called in Kings, Azariah, succeeds him. The same story is repeated here. Beginning in faithfulness, there is much blessing. Lifted up with pride, he intrudes into the priest's office and is smitten with leprosy and dies, a separated man, though having lived a long life. It is noteworthy that the prophetic ministry of Isaiah begins at this time.

Nothing special is laid to the charge of Jotham, his successor (Chap. 27:). Significantly it is said he "became mighty because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God." But he is succeeded (Chap. 28:) by that fearful apostate Ahaz, who deliberately turns away from God and follows idolatry.

After his death, we have the admirable reign of Hezekiah. How striking it is that an unfaithful king is succeeded by one who seeks to recover the people to God, as showing that the Spirit of God was still at work in this beloved nation of Judah! But things grow darker, though individually faith comes out brightly in the history of Hezekiah (chaps, xxix-32:).

Manasseh, his son, is in fearful contrast with the faithful Hezekiah, and yet here, God's mercy is brought out in the most striking way, for the wicked king is brought to repentance, after he was carried in captivity to Babylon. In answer to his repentant prayers, he is restored to Jerusalem. What a lesson this should have been to the people at large; but alas, their own unrepentant rebellion against God necessitated that they, too, should be carried to the very same place from which Manasseh had been restored.

Of Anion, his wicked son, we need say little, but faith shines out more brightly than ever in all this gloom, in king Josiah, whose life of devoted obedience to God is most edifying. In his reign the temple was restored, and the word of God given its proper place. But he passes away, and little is left but for the wretched unbelief and heartless disobedience of the people to manifest themselves in their kings until there is no remedy, and Jerusalem is captured, the temple destroyed, the people carried away captive to Babylon. But it is most beautiful to mark that the very close of the book (Chap. 36:22) gives the proclamation of Cyrus for the rebuilding of the Lord's house in Jerusalem. Thus there is an intimation of recovery at the very close.

We must also say a word as to the brief epistle to the Philippians, in the New Testament. This is so familiar to our readers that we need only mention that its theme throughout is Christ as the object of the heart. Each of the four chapters brings this out beautifully.

Chap. 1:, Christ is the Source and Object of our life; Chap. 2:, the Example; Chap. 3:, the Object before us in glory; Chap. 4:, the all-sufficient supply of our need in every circumstance.

It is said that eternal life could not have been possessed by the Old Testament saints, because of the word "the Son of man must be lifted up" that the believer might have eternal life. As well might it be said that they could not have been justified, for the Lord had not been delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. But Abraham we know was justified. But there is a reason why eternal life was not proclaimed in the Old Testament-though possessed then by the believer. After the first book of the Old Testament, which showed the end of the first life in death, Israel is called out, and put under the law. This occupies the rest of the Old Testament; man is on trial, under law, to see if he could get life. Naturally, therefore, the gospel proclaiming life and justification to the believer, is postponed until the close of the trial.

But the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him. Those who had learned their lesson by the law-the knowledge of sin-believed on the coming Saviour, and were born again-were possessors of eternal life. Thus Andrew said to Peter (John 1:41), "We have found the Messiah" that is, "the Christ." So Moses endured "the reproach of Christ." Enoch and Elijah went in triumph to heaven. Did they go to heaven without eternal life? Let us recall what was said to some by the Lord, "Ye do err not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God." E. S. L.

Holiness is not the absence of sin, but the non-allowance of it. If to live a holy life it were required that no sin be in me, then were it impossible for me to be holy, for sin is in me despite my being a child of God and the Holy Spirit's abode in me. Struggle to rid myself of it as I may, or make myself believe that I have succeeded, it nevertheless is there and will be there till the Lord comes. Then, and not till then, will that great change be accomplished "in the twinkling of an eye " which will make an end of the sin that dwells in me.

But let the child of God realize first in his soul that God has judged sin at the cross; that sin-indwelling sin-is therefore no more before God but put out of His sight forever. Let him learn thereby to abhor it as God abhors it, and judge every motion of it as God has judged it on the cross; and that man will be a holy man, will lead a holy life, will enjoy the grace of God, and will be "like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper " (Psa. 1:3). P. L. J.

(Col. 1:15-18.)

(Concluded.)

There is also another line of thought, which comes in here in connection with this first-born title of Christ. We have seen that pre-eminently connected with it is His headship of a new race, and that this race is formed from the material of the old. The formation of this new race is carried on in the world, and thus that which is the part of it on earth is constituted of weak and failing men, who are in creature-impotence as to the circumstances they are placed in. The Head of the race of which they form a part is in heaven on the Father's throne, their Forerunner, and upon Him, as the Head, devolves the responsibility to care for and succor those to whom He has communicated a life like His own, the proper sphere of which is heaven, where He is; but these are on earth, in the midst of a scene of evil and trial, filled with everything contrary to the life of the new race indwelling them.

In this relation comes in His title as Priest-the Priest forever after the order of Melchisedek. The office of the priest we know is that of presenting himself on behalf of others, so that the priesthood of Christ began on earth with the presentation of Himself as the sacrifice for sin. And this work being accomplished, He is perfected as the Originator of salvation to all them that obey Him. The full perfection of His authorship of eternal salvation is accomplished in resurrection, that being the answer to the perfect work wrought out by Him; and perfected in this way, He is saluted of God in resurrection a High Priest after the order of Melchisedek. Then we have His heavenly service as Priest on the throne; that is characterized by continual intercession, which is on behalf of our weakness and frailty, and with which He is fully acquainted, since He can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, having been tempted in like manner-sin apart.

He is thus able to help those who are being tempted, those whom He calls brethren, among whom He is First-born. His intercession, therefore, secures the working of the power of God on our behalf, by which we are kept unto salvation, so that it is said of Christ, as Priest, He is able to save completely, because He continues forever, therefore has an unchangeable priesthood, the surety of God's power working on our behalf for the accomplishment of all His purposes and counsels, which is really what to be saved completely implies.

Still another title comes in here. Connected with our weakness and frailty we find sin. And here we have Him as the Advocate. It implies the maintenance of our case before the bar of God's holiness and righteousness in heaven against the charge of the adversary. It is He Himself who is the Advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous. His occupation of the place upon the Father's throne is in itself the advocacy of our case. God, to silence all accusations against us, has but to turn to Christ; and is He not the propitiation for our sins ? And it is the being this, and as being this on the Father's throne, that constitutes the advocacy, and Him as the Advocate for us. But this has to do also with the maintenance of our communion. Sin is that which shuts the soul out from God and hinders the proper fellowship with Him. The removal of it, therefore, is an absolute necessity. Christ effects this on God's part, and repentance being wrought and confession made on our part, the way is open for the fullest fellowship between the Father and His child.

Briefly, these are the titles and characters which associate themselves with and are implied in these First-born titles of Christ. They are both in connection with His incarnation. We have seen how the first one implies all His glory as a divine person, and that it is the fact of this glory being His, that makes Him truly the First-born of all creation. He is supreme, and in the place of superiority, as a Man over every other creature. He occupies the foremost place as a Man in the creation; but this is not all God had in His mind; His purpose reached out to a new creation, in view of the failure of the first; and the new is to be the bringing of His glory out of the ruins of the first, a fallen one. The accomplishment of this is through death, as we have seen, and ensuing resurrection and the giving of a new life; and in the new race thus formed God is to find His center of exhibit for all His glory, and in it He is to rest with eternal complacency.

This being God's purpose, failure is impossible to come in; but this new creation will thus be the preeminent order of life in eternity, and the Head of it -for it must have a head also, in whom it stands or falls; the head of the old fell, and the creation linked with him fell of necessity-will therefore be the first and foremost in the eternal order, pre-eminent in this way above all else. Therefore, that Christ might have the first place in all things, He is not only the First-born of all creation, but also the Firstborn from among the dead, thus becoming the Head of the new creation, as we have been seeing. The divine reason for Him having taken the creature-place, suffered death and been raised up, the Communicant of the new life, is that in all things He might have the pre-eminence (Col. 1:18). Occupying the first place over all creation as a Man, He must also occupy the first place as being the Head of the new, in which all the purpose and glory of God is to find fulfilment.

Who can comprehend the wonderful thought that with this all-glorious One, the center of creation now and to come, in time and eternity, we are associated in the possession of life eternal, a life given to us by Him, so that in Him we have an inheritance ? We will be associated with Him in His headship during all eternity-we with Him the vessel of display for God's glory to every created intelligence. We are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power, blessed-oh how richly!-with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We can contemplate Him in the sorrow and trial of His path, the pain that rent His heart as He felt the keen edge, as none other could, of the scorn and hatred of men, who nevertheless were dependent upon Him for the very breath with which they cast their reproaches at Him. Alone. How trying to Him who found His delight in the sons of man, but with no response from them-alone in the uniqueness of His perfection and the depths of sufferings endured at the hand of those for whom His heart yearned with an eternal love! Man has counted the cross a fitting reward for His love and ministering power for every need. God has placed Him on the throne of glory, Head over all. What joy it is to think that He shall be manifested as this before the whole universe, and we manifested with Him! We are going on to this, it is the portion that God has set before us, but we are to enjoy by faith what He has been pleased in this connection to reveal to us.

What questions of the most practical importance this brings us to consider! Are we to be associated with Him in glory, and should we not, then, be also in His rejection and sorrow ? Can we be associated with a world which has cast Him out ? The world has not changed in its enmity and hatred to Him. Is He any more accepted by them now than when He was here ? How clear must be, if faithful to His name, the line of demarcation! and oh, for the grace to draw that line and maintain it for His glory! Shall we compare the sufferings of this little while with the glory that is to follow? Oh, I love to think how His smile will recompense it all! His face we shall gaze upon; God's glory we shall read where once were graven the lines of pain and sorrow, and that, beloved, for us. May the hope, the bright reality for faith now, of seeing Him face to face, make our hearts bound with that joy which shall fill us and lead our whole being out to Himself, so that every step of the path will then be ordered in conformity to His mind and heart's desire concerning us! Let us be careful not to grieve Him.

We need God's grace that it may be so. Surely, having suffered for us as He has, He is worthy of being now made glad by us. We know the way of it. His delight is to dwell with us, to have our hearts empty of all else that He may fill them, our communion thus to be with Him now as in eternity it shall be, when as perfected He shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied. What a heavenly privilege and portion is ours! May God in His grace awake us to it more fully, that faith may gain its victory for His name and glory! J. B. Jr.

Those words, "no tears," will look so sweet
To eyes grown dim from weeping;
Those words,"no death," will come so glad
To bodies graveward creeping.
" No sorrow " makes a thrill in hearts
Long dead to other thrilling;
" No crying" sounds so soft to ears
Earth's moan have long been filling.

"No night there" seems so bright to those
Whose sun sank back at dawning;
" No sea" sounds calm to those who sail
Long tempest tossed and mourning.
" No pain " drops blessed on aching hearts,
Which fear their deepest dreading;
" That rest" falls sweet on weary feet
Unchosen pathways treading.

(Selected.)

The butterfly has long been recognized as a type I of resurrection, though there is no statement of it in the Word. It is intimated that "there are other parables in nature than those explained, and that we are expected to know them. Mark 4:13; i Cor 11:14; Psa. 19:i; i Cor. 14:10; Psa. 3:2; Job 12:7-9; Prov. 6:6; Matt. 13:; Prov. 25:2.

The family Lepidoptera (scale wings) is the most conspicuous of a number of insects which go through a complete transformation in three stages. Those which fly by day and have knobbed antennae are called butterflies. The body is small compared with the size of wing, allowing the motion of the wings to be slow, and the insect often floats without any motion, thus displaying the brilliant colors to advantage.

Moths generally fly at night, evening, or morning, and have heavier bodies in proportion to size of wing. Hence the wing motion must be more rapid, sometimes like a humming bird, and the beauty is not seen. They generally hide by day, so the colors are sober, or match their hiding places in order to protect them from enemies; the antennae are never knobbed but clubbed, feathery, or thread-like. Butterflies as a rule are handsomer, and the finest varieties are found in the tropics.

The parent, with remarkable intelligence, lays the eggs on or near the leaves which are to be their future food, and leaves them to take care of themselves. After a number of moultings the pupa stops feeding. Then some varieties burrow in the earth, where they pass the pupa stage; others remain above ground, spinning cocoons or hanging to trees or bushes. After a longer or shorter time comes the phenomenon which has attracted so much attention- it breaks the case and comes out a perfect butterfly. All traces of the slow, crawling, despised worm have disappeared, and instead it has a new body, mouth, eyes, and wings-a being fitted for and belonging to the free air of heaven and the sunshine, with a wide range of vision, new powers and tastes, a spiral tongue fitted to sip the nectar from flowers-in short a perfect picture of a life of pleasure in a higher sphere.

This seems plainly a type of resurrection-when the Lord comes. Those transforming below ground (the grave) might suggest the sleeping saints, and those above ground the saints which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord (i Cor. 15:51, etc; i Thess. 4:13).

But the analogy does not end with this. In connection with the marvelous change, see i Cor. 15:42, 43; first a caterpillar, afterwards a butterfly. Vers. 47-49, whatever the butterfly was that laid the egg just such will the worm be, every one after its kind. 2 Cor. 5:1-9; i John 3:2; Phil. 3:20, 21. It is the butterfly that gives name to the caterpillar, though the latter may not look like its parent. Just so we are now children of God. This is only our larval stage, we do not look like heavenly beings, or different from the rest of the world, and the world knows us not (i John 3:i).

Who that had never seen or heard of it would believe this phenomenon? If God is left out it is contrary to reason, just as resurrection is. It is strangely interesting to note that Prof. Drummond, a pioneer in the line of things we are looking at, quotes approvingly a passage which distinctly denies resurrection, ("Natural Law in the Spiritual World," p. 236.) What would he have to say as to this type?
As to the change in the nature, who that knows and mourns the evil of his own heart could believe that at "that day" we shall leave all the evil, the flesh, the carnal mind (Rom. 8:1-8) forever behind? Rom. 8:29 and i John 3:2 refer not only to the body but the whole being. See again i Cor. 15:47-49.

"No stain within, no foes or snares around,
No jarring notes shall there discordant sound;
All pure without, all pure within the breast;
No thorns to wound, no toil to mar our rest."

MOTHS.

Butterflies flying by day seem to represent the children of light, Eph. 5:8; i Thess. 5:4-8; John 12:36; Prov. 4:18; and moths flying by night, the children of darkness, Eph. 5:6, 7. There shall be a resurrection of both, John 5:28, 29. Most of them shun the light, John 1:5; 3:19-21; Prov. 4:19; Rom. 1:21; Eph. 4:18; i Pet. 2:9; Jude 13; Col. 1:13, etc.

How striking that we find among the moths most of the remarkable cases of imitation or deception. They imitate the bark of the trees or bushes where they hide, or various leaves in color or shape so closely that it is difficult to recognize them, though looking at them. In the economy of nature this is a marvelous adaptation of means to an end-protection from their enemies displaying God's wisdom, Psa. Cxiv. 10; 19:2; 104:24. Still the spiritual lesson remains:deception is very naturally and suitably associated with darkness, and there should be no association of light with darkness, Gen. 1:4; Eph. 5:ii; 2 Cor. 6:14-18. The above as to deception applies rather to the winged insect than the worm, and there are exceptions. I have no doubt with more knowledge each variety would yield a special lesson.

The worm and the butterfly seem to be living pictures of 2 Cor. 5:1-9. The worm, like this earthly house in which we groan; and the butterfly, our house which is from heaven. Wings in nature seem always to speak in some way of heaven; and if so, what a simple language! In an evil sense, the birds of the air, Matt. 13:4-19; in a good sense, Isa. 6:2; Ezra 1:6; Psa. Ixxxiv. 3; and in Matt. 24:28, indicate that judgment will come from heaven.

The worm has two kinds of legs fitted for slow crawling. The butterfly has six legs, uses them only to crawl out of the cocoon and resting on flowers while feeding, but seldom walks. This only emphasizes the fact that it lives on the wing.

THE EYES.

The contrast between the eyes of the caterpillar and the butterfly is very marked:what is commonly supposed to be a large eye on each side of the head of the worm, is only the rudiment of what will be eyes in the butterfly. The real eyes are very small, twelve in number, and are set six on each side on the under side of the head. Apparently they are of not much use except to see what is close to the mouth. When they travel they raise the whole front of the body and move the head about, apparently indicating poor vision, 2 Cor. 5:7. As we constantly use sight as synonymous with knowledge this illustrates our scanty knowledge in the body of our humiliation in contrast with the future condition, Phil. 3:20, 21; i Cor. 13:9-12. (The butterfly has, in some of the varieties, as many as 30,000 eyes.) As twelve is the number of government, it shows we are now learning God's ways in government. The butterflies' eyes are arranged nearly like a ball to see perfectly in every direction-backward, forward, up, and down. Backward, to the present time; forward, into the future; upward, things in heaven; downward, things in hell; i Cor. 4:4, 5; Luke 12:2, 3.

Each of these 30,000 eyes is six-sided like a honeycomb, and six is the number of victory. This may perhaps indicate the manifestation then of our character now as overcomers, i John 5:4, 5; 4:4; 2:13, 14; Rev. 2:7, etc; 21:7; possibly that the whole scene in heaven is a scene of victory, and the Victor the one who fills the vision-the Center of the worshiping throng.

THE WINGS.

Butterflies are among the most beautiful things in nature. As we have seen, the beauty is mainly in the wings, due to the tiny scales which cover the colorless membrane. If you brush off the scales it can fly as well, so the beauty put upon the wing is not a necessary part of it. These scales are deeply corrugated to get more color in the same space; and moreover the color of each scale is due to the refraction of the light by its thin skin for the same reason that a soap bubble and mother of pearl are bright red, blue, etc.-no coloring matter in it, only the light refracted. If you look at a chromotype picture with a magnifying glass you will find all the delicate shades of color are made up by only three-red, blue, and yellow-arranged in such proportions and in such small spots that the general effect is of delicate shades and neutral tones. Just so the minute parts of each scale are of such thickness that the different pure colors are sent back to the eye in such proportions as result in the beautiful tints we see in the wings. When we consider the wonderful range of color, such an elaborate system to accomplish it becomes marvelous, especially when a simple pigment-like paint, would have answered just as well but for the spiritual truth involved which is this-that all the glory of the saint in heaven will not be due to what we have accumulated here, but that which comes directly and continually from the Sun of Righteousness, the glory of Christ reflected-not that which belongs to us naturally, even as saints.

"The bride eyes not her garments,
But her dear bridegroom's face;
I will not gaze at glory,
But on my King of Grace;
Not on the crown He giveth,
But on His pierced hand:-
The Lamb is all the glory
Of Immanuel's Land."

How suitable that the beauty should be on the wings which indicate the heavenly condition, and that the insect should fly by day in the sunshine!

God in all this has not omitted the question of our responsibility. One of the most prominent characteristics of the caterpillar is that it is an enormous feeder. In the economy of nature this fits it for a scourge as suggested in the Scriptures where the word is found. The spiritual lesson is that, if we are really God's caterpillars, we should be large spiritual feeders. The provision is the word of God, John 6:27, etc; Jer. 15:16; the only thing by which we can grow, i Pet. 2:2.

It is the worm that increases in size, not the butterfly. So our capacity for the enjoyment of heaven must be made here and now:there will be no increase of capacity up there. Each one will enjoy it to the full extent of his capacity, but a cup differs from a barrel though both may be full. Thousands of Christians who neglect their Bible here, expecting to make it up in heaven, will be woefully disappointed when it is too late. A neglected Bible and a lean soul go hand in hand.

There are those who hold that at death the soul sleeps in unconsciousness till the resurrection. The pupa answers to this period, and whenever it is handled it shows unmistakable signs of life and consciousness by its squirming. Does not this indicate that God has carefully guarded against the doctrine in question in type, as He surely has in the Word?

Caterpillars are often handsome, but not as compared with butterflies; and often the plainest worms become the handsomest butterflies, Luke 13:30.

One summer evening I stood in a crowd listening to the preaching of the gospel on the street. After a while I noticed an old woman who had gradually found her way to the front and stood, quite unconscious of those around, drinking in the glad tidings of God's grace. She was old, not handsome, and poorly dressed. I watched her with a good deal of interest, and after the speaker stopped I offered her a leaflet and said, " You know the Lord Jesus don't you?" "Oh yes," she said, "He's all I've got. Isn't it good! oh isn't it good!" Her hearty answer left no doubt that she was a child of God. I had a short conversation with her, then we noticed some well-dressed rude young men standing around ridiculing her. As she turned away she said, "You may make fun of a poor old woman, but I've got what you haven't-the Lord Jesus Christ." And I thought as she disappeared through the crowd, "Here is one of God's caterpillars, poor, unknown, and despised now; but wait till the resurrection, then the shriveled, homely old woman will be changed in a moment, with a body like His glorious body; and the old grey shawl and dilapidated straw hat will be exchanged for shining garments beautiful beyond anything on earth."

"We wait, blessed Lord, in Thy beauties to shine,
To see Thee in glory-the glory divine;
With all Thy redeemed, from the earth, from the tomb,
To be to-Thy praise, blessed Saviour at home."

T. M.