"Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone ? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent ? If ye, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" (Matt. 7:7-11).

These words are indeed the key of an inexhaustible treasury. The apostle James draws from them a simple and irresistible conclusion (4:2, 3):"Ye lust, and have not:ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain; ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts (or pleasures)." How blessed, how divine, how solemn a word is here ! If we do indeed simply and without qualification, believe it, what an admonition we have as to the secret of so much poverty that our lives manifest, when all heaven's abundance is, as it were, poured out around us, with an earnest invitation to possess ourselves of it !

The words seem only too wonderful to be laid hold of as the simplicity of a child would lay hold of them :and yet here, if the lips of absolute truth are speaking to us,-if they are the words of One upon whom we rest with assurance for the fulfilment of all our "exceeding great and precious," yea, eternal, "promises,"-are we not to depend upon them, as having that fulness of meaning and literality which the Lord emphasizes in the reiteration, "every one that asketh receiveth," and the apostle in his application of them, "Ye have not because ye ask not"? Yet can that be the whole account of the matter ? We look back upon the long list of unfulfilled prayers – prayers put up, as we cannot but think, with much sincerity, often with much importunity, and ask, "can this be the whole account?" Were this the record of our own lives alone also, we might better accept it ; but think of how our own history is echoed in the experiences of all around us; listen to the testimony on every side:how can we disregard this ? And can we write upon all this tale of sorrow and unmet need, as the simple and sufficient account of it, "Ye have not because ye ask not" ?

And yet again we hear the words of Christ to His disciples that, " If ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you "(Matt. 17:20). And again, "Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, Whatsoever things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mk. 11:22-24). And again, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do; that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (Jno. 14:13). And still again, "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you " (Jno. 15:7). And yet once more, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name, He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My Name:ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" (16:23, 24).

These are all familiar texts to us, no doubt; but how much in earnest is the glorious Speaker, that we should believe their testimony! And this is no wonder, surely, when we hear with what He associates such petitions and their success:the Father's glory, and for His disciples, fulness of joy. Nor is it hard to understand this:heaven opened to men after this manner and its gifts poured out without stint upon earth; the people of God enriched, and proclaiming the fulness and glory of their ascended Head. This, as the end of such a testimony, is at once an enlightenment which makes it easy to realize the importance, and so the naturalness, of it. If God is acting for the glory of that beloved Son who on earth glorified Him and still does, by the revelation of His love and righteousness,-how much will suffice to show the delight He has in the Accomplisher and His accomplishment ? We stand before God as those who are the demonstration of its value, "made the " very "righteousness of God in Him," as well as to declare to the principalities and powers in heavenly places the exceeding riches of His grace. We bow our heads in adoration as we ask ourselves, What may we not expect from divine love which has displayed itself in such a place so given us ?

Yet it has been asserted, and not by an enemy, but by one zealous for the authority of Scripture, that "many there are, who in intensest earnestness have claimed such promises, and have reaped bitter disappointment which has staggered their faith. It is easy," the writer goes on, "to explain the failure by reading into the promise conditions of one kind or another, though the Lord Himself made no conditions whatever."He proposes therefore an-other solution of the matter in this way:-

" Here the striking fact claims attention that while the record of the Pentecostal dispensation presents us with the practical counterpart of all such promises, the epistles, which unfold the doctrine of the present dispensation, and describe the life which befits that doctrine,-the life of faith,-inculcate thoughts about prayer which are essentially different, and which are entirely in accord with the actual experience of spiritual Christians.

"Some perhaps may urge that while the earlier Gospels may be thus explained, St. John cannot be treated in this way. I can in reply but plead with the thoughtful reader to consider whether every word addressed to the apostles is intended to apply to believers at all times. Take Jno. 14:12 as a test of this. Is every believer to be endowed with miraculous powers equal to, or greater than those exercised by the Lord Himself? We are prepared at once to limit the scope of such words:is it so clear, then, that the words which immediately follow are of universal application? We have the fact, I repeat, that both these promises were proved to be true in the Pentecostal dispensation, and that neither has been proved to be true in the Christian Church. So also of chapter 15:16, and of 16:23, etc.

" But it will be asked, Is not the promise explicitly repeated in St. John's first epistle (i John 3:22 and 5:14, 15)? I think not. It seems to me that the apostles were in a special sense empowered both to act and to pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, where-as the Christian should bow in the presence of the words, ' according to His will.' As dean Alford remarks, ' If we knew His will thoroughly, and submitted to it heartily, it would be impossible to ask anything, for the spirit or for the body, which He should not hear and perform. And it is this ideal state, as always, which the apostle has in view.' But the Christian too commonly makes his own longings, or his supposed interests, and not the Divine will, the basis of his prayer; he goes on to persuade himself that his requests will be granted; he then regards this 'faith' as a pledge that he has been heard; and finally, when the issue belies his confident hopes, he gives way to bitterness and unbelief. True faith is always prepared for a refusal. Some, we read, 'through faith,' 'obtained promises;' but no less 'through faith,' 'others were tortured, not accepting deliverance.'"* *"The Silence of God," by E. Anderson, App. 187-189.*
I have quoted so much because of the great interest attaching to this subject; and because the quotation also furnishes us with most of the points to be considered. The discussion of them will involve all, or nearly all, that I have in mind to say with regard to it.

Now, in the first place, what Dr. Anderson cites from the late dean of Canterbury is undoubtedly the truth, and may be accepted heartily. The apostle has certainly in view an ideal state, and one below which we may be indefinitely; while nevertheless the attainment of it is to be our aim, and capable of being reached with regard to the matter of our prayers indefinitely also. We can hardly suppose that in the Lord's words, "Ye shall ask what ye will," He meant that His disciples were empowered to set aside God's will in favor of their own. An apostle could here have no advantage (if it were an advantage) beyond the least of all that have ever followed Him. And His connected condition, "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you," remind us plainly of this. It is only as Christ's words have place in us that we are capable of effectual prayer:and such conditions necessarily underlie all promises of this kind, whether they are expressed or not. They are fundamental in order to blessing; and no one with one right thought could desire it otherwise. As the Lord reasons with us in the passage with which we began, it is to a Father that we come, and that which is our fullest encouragement in coming, and the guarantee of abundant answer to our prayers, is that also which guards from abuse of privilege,-guards, therefore, our own best interests. Our Father will give good gifts to them that ask Him:could any other be counted or coveted as gifts at all? No distinctions to be made between any imaginary Pentecostal dispensation differing from the present need to be insisted on, therefore, to explain what is said to stumble so many. God never meant to put the reins of His own government into the hands of even the apostles; and Pentecostal times were not different in this respect. The need of miracles to call men to give heed to heaven's new proclamation has passed:no earthly wealth was ever so trumpeted abroad as the riches of God's grace have been; and it is no wonder if with the need of them, the miracles themselves have passed away. No paralytic need now arise and take up his bed to make men know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins; and if he did, it would scarcely add an appreciable particle of evidence to that which, through all the progress of the centuries, has been, in fact, piling itself mountains high. For the unbelief of the heart, alas, miracles are no cure; and that is all that hinders the knowledge of the glory of the Lord even now covering the earth as the waters cover the sea. This accounts for a wide difference, as to the display of power, between Pentecostal times and our own,-a display which none with intelligence of His Lord's will could seek or expect to revive now. What has been foretold as to the closing days of Christianity as a dispensation is rather the revival of Satan's power; and this is really what we are beginning to see in the marvels of spiritism and kindred things. But the limit which in this way we may find to the "all things whatsoever ye shall ask," and which is only part of that which has been already freely acknowledged, is no reason for taking away from us all promises of this nature, and relegating them either to past or to the future, in the manner attempted here. We may concede also "that the apostles were empowered in a special sense to act in the Name of the Lord Jesus," if by that is meant that they had authority to act in a certain way. That, of course, is implied in the fact that they were apostles. Nevertheless that does not in the least interfere with the fact on the other side, that we are to "do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus," as an apostle himself teaches the Colossians (chap. 3:17). Where we are taught that the apostles had any special right to "pray in His Name," I have not found; and I think no one can produce the passage. An official place, God-given among men, we must all acknowledge to be theirs:but as approaching God, Scripture does not teach us that apostleship conferred any special rights:it belonged to another sphere; and there all Christians as such are of a holy priesthood,-their one High-priest is Christ alone.

In fact, no Gospel is so unofficial as that of John, which furnishes us with the passages which speak of prayer in the name of Jesus. The very word "apostle " cannot be found in it. Christians would not readily resign, it may be hoped, their interest in these precious promises; and, instead of finding in that ideal state of knowledge which, according to dean Alford, they imply, a deterrent from putting in their claim to them, should surely recognize with joy and gratitude that God in them is calling them to a higher elevation and a nearer intimacy than they have yet perhaps even imagined possible. He has opened all His heart to us. And this privilege of praying in the Name of Jesus imports for us, not a mere asking for His sake, but God's identification of His people with Himself-with all the value that this Name has for Him. We represent Him; and His Spirit given to us is the practical qualification to represent Him. We are to do in His Name whatsoever we do, as those for whom their own wills are ended; their interests in His omnipotent Hand,- men who have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created Him:where there is neither Greek nor Jew, barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor free; but Christ is all, and in all (Col. 3:10, 11). How complete is this change of view! What a clearing of spiritual sight for those who have gained it!

Now to pray in His Name, how different is it from the mere dependence upon the efficacy of His atonement for our acceptance, the putting His Name in this way at the end of our prayers. It is the taking a place which at once declares what is to be the character of our petitions. It does not by any means rule out the personal element:on the contrary it opens before us a wondrous inheritance into which we are invited already by faith to enter, and make it our own. Here we may covet-covet-covet; and the more we do so, the more pleasing shall we be to God our Father, whose glorious gift to us it is. Here is a sphere in which prayer will never be denied, if it be the prayer of the whole-and not the halfhearted. Here are precious harvests to be reaped, of which yet the indifferent shall and can know nothing. While on the earth there are precious harvests too, and still spiritual harvests, in which the fruit of labor shall abide with us forever; when the very scene of man's gaudiest achievements in art, in science, in the various conquest of a world put under him, but in which he knows little more than a great Babylon which he has builded, is passed away like a shriveled scroll in the fire of God's anger!

But as fellow-laborers under God, there are still limits to successful prayer. Nor is it because the thing prayed for is in a certain sense undoubtedly according to His mind, that we can necessarily pray with full expectation of answer. There was with Paul, as we know, a heart that yearned after the salvation of Israel; yet the voice of the Lord sent him out from among them with the assurance, "They will not hearken to thy testimony concerning Me." And if all Christians were to unite in heart and voice to Him who willeth not that any should perish, for the salvation of the world en masse, who could rightly expect answer to such a prayer ? The word of God has barred it in the emphatic statement as to the Spirit of God, that "the world cannot receive Him" (John 14:17).

These are words absolutely plain, surely; but can we then wonder if we find the same principle applying in other relations ? If in the things which seem most manifestly according to the character of God we may yet need the check of His ever perfect will, how evident it is that we may much more need it in things of more doubtful nature. Here we are privileged still to make our requests to God, and never in vain; though the answer may be like that of the apostle's for the removal of the thorn in the flesh, in a very different way from that which we anticipated. Can we never, then, rise to that perfect certainty with regard to these which is implied in the exhortation, to believe that we receive them and we shall have them? Most surely we can; but there is no way to this but by drawing near enough to God to gain such assurance. Here is the high place in which we ought to dwell; nor can we expect to attain it when sought temporarily under the pressure of some present need, while content in general with a greater distance. Our weakness may indeed claim His strength, our ignorance His wisdom to enlighten us, but not our waywardness ability to use and cast Him off again,-to claim His gifts, with the best and highest of all unvalued. In the Christian place, where the Lamb is the light and glory, and in His light all is seen, what may we not attain ?

Beloved reader, how far do you and I know the reality of praying in His Name ? F. W. G.

THE MAN AFTER THE FLESH.

Chapter I. THE STATE OF THE PEOPLE. Continued from page 324.

"Returning for a little, we must look at the state of the people as exemplified in that of the priests, for as the Scripture shows, the one corresponds to the other. "The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love to have it so " (Jer. 5:31). Here we see the false prophets, claiming to reveal God's mind, and the priests bearing rule by this. But such a state would be impossible were the people not willing. The people, if only outwardly connected with God, are glad to have a carnal priesthood. So in the history of the professing church, with the awful iniquity of the priests, we must remember that it was but the reflection of the state of a carnal people; in name only the people of God. No doubt a godly priest would do much to check the abounding evil of the people, and a godless one would accelerate their decline. Hence, the solemn responsibility of those in such a place. But the point of importance to remember is that a people away from God make possible a wicked priesthood, as the latter intensifies the alienation of the people.

But what a picture of reckless blasphemy and grossest wickedness have we in these priests. One bears the honored name of a faithful predecessor and relative – Phinehas, "the mouth of brass." The name is suggestive of what he was, an unyielding witness for God in a day of apostasy and corruption, who by his faithfulness wrought righteousness, stayed the plague and obtained '' an everlasting priesthood," as type of the Priest who one day will put down all evil and maintain abiding relationship between God and His people (Num. 25:7-13). With this one, however, nothing remains but the name. Is it not suggestive also that Eli was not a descendent of Phinehas, but of Ithamar, the other son of Aaron? So that at this time, for some reason, the proper line of descent had not been observed, which in itself may indicate the disordered condition of everything. For Phinehas had been promised an abiding priesthood. "A mouth of brass" indeed had this younger Phinehas, but not on God's behalf, as a faithful witness for Him, Rather, he hardened himself against God, and would be one of those who would say, " Our lips are our own; who is lord over us? "

Hophni, too, while there is no historical connection with his name, seems to answer to it only in an evil way. " My hands," seems to be the meaning, which some have thought to suggest " fighter." But the root with which it is connected is used for de-scribing the hands as capable of holding, rather than of striking. Very noticeably it is applied to the priest entering the holiest on the day of atonement, "with his hands full of sweet incense" (Lev 16:12). It would thus be a good priestly name, and fitting companion for Phinehas. "Hands full" of incense and an unyielding testimony. Alas, the hands of Hophni were full, but not of the materials of praise. They were filled with ill-gotten gain and the fat of the Lord's offerings appropriated to his own use. The sin of these men was twofold, the one resulting from the other. In the judgment of the world they would not have seemed equally heinous. They were guilty of sacrilege and of gross immorality, the latter a fitting consequence of the former.

And is not this always the case? Where God is displaced, His service despised, is not the relation between man and man also corrupted ? The unspeakable corruption described in the early part of Romans is the direct result of man's turning from God. So here. The priests will have their own part out of the sacrifice-not that in mercy provided for them in the law of God, but of the best, and of that which belonged to Him alone. When the worshipers, with some remains of a tender conscience, would plead that God have His part first, the rough answer and threatened violence was all the satisfaction they could get. Thus the Lord's offering was despised, and the sin of the priests was "very great before the Lord."

If there is one form of sin more abhorrent than another, and which will bring more fearful punishment, it is that which disports itself in the presence of holy things. This is why religious corruption is the worst. The conscience is seared, and God's holy name is dragged into the most unholy associations. Will He allow it? Ah, He will no more allow it in a formal, Christless church than He would in a formal Israel. Men despised holy things, because of their abuse by the priests. And is it not true, not only in Rome past and present, but in the professing church to-day, that the world despises divine things because those who should be "holy priests," do not give God the chief place in their professed service of Him? When people cease to fear before God, when they see in His ministers mere selfish disregard of God's will, we have apostasy. It is not extravagant to say that such is largely the condition in Christendom to-day. The Lord's offering is despised.

Eli hears of all his sons' wickedness and calls them to account. His words are strong and good. But of what avail are good and strong words when the strong arm of judgment should fall? The law provided the penalty for such sacrilege as this, in death. Why did not Eli show himself to be truly zealous for the Lord's honor ? Ah, words, mere words no matter how strong are worse than guilty complicity. Worse, for the man who utters them knows the evil and goes on with it.

There is solemn instruction in this. It is not enough to see the wrong of a thing, or even to bear witness against it. Action is necessary. This is why so many-Lot like-fret and talk against evil and find no relief or help. Action must be taken, either by inflicting true discipline upon the evil-doer, or, if this be impossible, by separation from a state of things which makes it impossible. Otherwise men will be engulfed in the judgment of the very thing against which they so loudly declaim.

This may seem harsh, but it is in accord with the witness of the man of God who is sent to Eli. He associates Eli with his sons:" wherefore kick ye at My sacrifice and at My offering …. and honorest thy sons above Me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel My people!" Not one word of commendation for his own faithfulness, or personal piety. "Them that honor Me, I will honor." And so Eli and his house go down in a common dishonor, branded with the common shame of having despised the Lord. Would that the lesson of this could be fully learned. " Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

It is refreshing and yet most sad to think of the child Samuel growing up in an atmosphere like this. Refreshing, for the Lord kept him inviolate amidst "the obscene tumult which raged all around;" but sad that one so tender should not only witness, but be obliged to witness against this awful state of things. "But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod." "And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the Lord, and also with men." "And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli"(i Sam. 2:18, 26; 3:i). The mention of the ephod, the priestly garment, would suggest that on a little child had fallen the only spotless robe in the priesthood. He represents, as we might say, for the time being, the house of Aaron, fallen into ruins in the hands of Eli and his sons. The child grew on and ministered to the Lord before Eli.

Be he but a child, no one who is truly before God will be long without a message from God. So Samuel gets his first revelation from the One till then but dimly known by him. Poor Eli! eyesight has well nigh gone, as well as faithfulness, and lying down to slumber he fittingly suggests the spiritual state he was in. How hopeless, to human appearances, was the state. How unlikely that God would intervene. And yet it is just then that He does speak, and to a little child. Thrice He must call before it dawns upon Eli that the Lord is speaking to the child. He had told him to "go and lie down again, "even as many careless ones would seek to quiet those to whom God is speaking. But at last it dawns upon the old man that it is God who is there, and he dare not-weak as he may be with his sons-he would not silence that Voice, slow as he had been to obey it.

How touching and interesting is the scene which follows, familiar to every Christian child. What a moment in this child's life-God, the living God, deigns to call and to speak with him. What an honor; how lovely and yet how solemn. Well may the child say "Speak Lord for Thy servant heareth."

But what a message for a child's ears. Why should this awful story of sin and its judgment be the first words which the Lord should speak to the little one ? Does it not emphasize for us the fact that the judgment of sin is as necessary for the young as the old? and that God's messenger in a world like this must hear all His word ? How many plead that they are not suited for such testimony. They love to hear the sweet and precious things of the gospel, but when it comes to the solemn declarations as to the state of the Church and the path for faith, how many plead that they are not ready for such things. A child can hear and declare the message of God.

We can think of that little lad, lying open eyed till the morning, with the great awe of God's nearness upon him; and naturally shrinking from the responsibility of declaring this message to Eli. He quietly opens the doors of the Lord's house-significant act-fearing to speak of what he had heard. But Eli calls him, and, faithful to himself, if not to his sons, hears and bows to the awful sentence of God pronounced by the lips of a child.

(To be continued.)

THE MAN AFTER THE FLESH. THE STATE OF THE PEOPLE.

Chapter I.

In contrast with the book of Judges, and its supplement Ruth, the books of the Kings deal largely with the national center and the nation as connected with that, and a responsible head. The previous books had given the history of individuals and of separate portions of the nation. While the victories of the judges benefitted the people at large, there does not seem to be that cohesion, or that recognition of a divine center, so clearly provided for in the book of Deuteronomy. It is significant that the first allusion to Shiloh, in the book of Judges, is the mention of an idolatrous rival in the tribe of Dan (chap. 18:31).

The book of Samuel begins with Shiloh, and shows us the state of things there, as Judges had shown the general condition of the people. We have in the earlier chapters the state of the priesthood, in Eli and his sons. We might have hoped that, spite of national unfaithfulness, the priests, whose nearness to God was their special privilege, would remain faithful to Him. Alas for man! Be he never so near outwardly, and intrusted with the most priceless privileges, there is nothing in him to bind his heart to God. All must come from God alone; His grace must keep us, or we will not be kept.

There is no such thing as succession in grace. The son of the most faithful father needs to be born again as well as the most degraded of mankind. This is written clearly on many a page of the word of God. "Ye must be born again."

Eli, the high-priest, was personally righteous and loyal in heart to God, but he was weak. This is bad enough in any position, but when one is intrusted with the priesthood of a nation, responsible to maintain them in relationship with God, it is a crime. Eli's sons were godless men without conscience, and yet in the priests' place, and one of them successor to the high-priesthood.

The carelessness of Eli is so dreadful that nothing but the tragic circumstances of his and his sons' death, can fittingly express God's judgment. We will look at that later. We turn now to something brighter.

God has always had a remnant among His people, even in darkest days, and it is most refreshing to see in Hannah a faith and a desire in lovely contrast with Eli's feebleness, and his sons' wickedness. She lays hold of God, and spite of nature's impotence, and the discouragement of a reproof from Eli, she holds fast. What a reproach to Eli ! He has no energy to control his wicked house, and therefore has no discernment in administering reproof outside.

Faith may wait and weep, but it has its joys later on, and in Hannah's song of praise we get fresh encouragement to pray and wait. "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." This remains ever true, for the individual saint and for the Lord's people at any time, and more particularly is it applicable to the remnant in the latter days who will in affliction stay themselves upon the Lord.

This narrative of Hannah gives us a glimpse of what may not have been entirely uncommon among the people, while the mass was in a state of declension. There were always, even in the darkest days, the Lord's "hidden ones," the salt of the earth who preserved the mass from utter corruption for a time at least. It is a comfort to think of this, and to remember that there is at the present time also, a remnant whose heart is turned to the Lord.

But this remnant was not among the official class. The leaders were either too weak or corrupt to help the people. There could be no relief through the ordinary channels, and God must therefore come in by a new way. Samuel, the child of this faith of the remnant, is the first of the prophets.

The prophet was God's special means of communication with the people when the ordinary means had failed. This explains why the message was largely one of sadness. God will intervene; He loves His people too much not to deal with them, but that dealing must be according to His nature and their condition. The presence therefore of the prophet tells the true condition of the people.

Hannah herself is practically a prophetess-all subsequent prophecy is foreshadowed in her song. She exults in the Lord over the conquest of her enemies; she celebrates the holiness of God and His stable purposes of mercy for His people. She rebukes the pride and arrogance of the scoffer, and rejoices in the overthrow of the mighty. The rich have been brought low and the needy lifted up. The barren has become the joyful mother of children. The Lord humbles and exalts-He is sovereign. His adversaries will be overthrown, and His King and His Christ shall be exalted.

Faith looks on ever to the end. If for a time there seem to be partial recovery, still faith does not rest until God can rest. Thus the prophets in a certain sense were not reformers. They accepted and rejoiced in a true turning to God, but they were not deceived by appearances. All reform was but partial and temporary, to be succeeded by still greater darkness. All things wait the coming of the King. He is the desire of all nations, and all who are awakened to see the true condition of the world and of the professed people of God, know there is no hope but in the coming of the Lord.

So too in the history of the individual, whether for salvation or deliverance, there is no expectation from the natural man. The eye of faith is turned from all human excellence to the Christ of God, What peace of soul, what Hannah-like exultation of spirit there is, when He is the object ! Christ alone the Saviour; Christ alone the One in whom is deliverance from the power of sin.

But this complete setting aside of the flesh in all its forms by Hannah, shows at once her own deliverance and the bondage of the mass of the nation by whom she was surrounded. The people's condition was the very opposite of hers, and their confidence and expectation was in man. In this negative way, then, we may learn the true state of the people,-a state of ease and self-sufficiency on the part of many, of more or less open enmity to God, and a weak, helpless sense of need on the part of those partially aroused to the true condition of things.

The state was similar, under altered circumstances, in the days just preceding our Lord's advent. Then too there was a feeble remnant which stayed itself upon God, and a self-satisfied, hypocritical clan of rulers, who led the people as they wished. Then, too, faith waited for divine consolation, and was rewarded with a sight of the wondrous Babe of whose coming Hannah's song spoke. She could well have mingled her praises with those of Mary. But how few felt the need which had been satisfied in those few who had turned entirely from themselves to God and His remedy.

(To be continued.)

O Soul Inspiring story
Of holy love and grace, In lustrous lines of glory
Engraved on Jesus' face!
Transfixed in contemplation
Of Thy transfiguring rays,
In fervent adoration
We hymn Immanuel's praise!

Blest Face, in what completeness
There Godhead-fulness dwells-
Outshines unearthly sweetness
That love in us compels!
The Father, oh, how sweetly
Unvailed to human scan-
Yea, God's own face completely
Revealed in that of Man!

Yet once, meek Face, afflicted,
Wan, haggard, vigil-worn-
In tender signs depicted,
Our griefs and sickness borne!
Thy sympathies how freighted!
Thy heart how burdened then!
Thy gentle frame how weighted
To bear the ills of men!

Ah, once depressed, dejected,
Thy lot the outcast's shame,
Thy love rebuffed, rejected-
Reviled and mocked Thy name:
Thy deep love's every token
Was pierced by hatred's dart,
Until reproach had broken
Thy lacerated heart!

And once marred, scarred, disfigured,
Dishonored, spit upon-
In mockery transfigured
With robe and thorny crown-
Scourged, crucified, torn, bleeding
In pain upon the tree-
Reviled, yet interceding
For those reviling Thee!
Then, love-bound Lamb, there taken
When ire 'gainst us awoke,
Thy bosom bared-forsaken-
To quench for us wrath's stroke!
Unfathomable anguish
In that appalling hour
Love bore for us to vanquish
In weakness Satan's power!

Amazing blaze of glory
Deep-carved in Jesus's face,
May Thy transcendent story
These hearts transform in grace;
Till soon, conformed completely,
With love-lit eyes we'll scan
God's features beaming sweetly
From Thine, Thou Son of Man!

F. A.

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe."

"The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as a high wall in his own conceit " (Prov. 18:10, 11).

Here we have two contrasted shelters-the name of the Lord and the rich man's wealth. The righteous runneth into his shelter-the name of the Lord -and is safe; the rich man surrounds himself, in his own conceit, with the wall of his wealth, and imagines he is safe. Which is our shelter?

AN ADDRESS BY S. R.

(Phil. 2:1-14; 3:1-14; Eph. 1:15-23.)

It is very striking, as you have often noticed, to find how the most precious portions of the word "of God spring out of apparently trivial and ordinary exhortations-exhortations which are well nigh commonplace in themselves, and which are so self-evident that one would scarcely say they required more than mere mention and a word of exhortation as to seeking to make them good.

But you find it is just in these places throughout the New Testament that God oftentimes brings in the most priceless illustrations of His truth, giving us that which is absolutely necessary to our knowledge of the truth, or illustrating it in a most striking and wonderful way. You all will think of passages which illustrate this point – how God brings the strongest motives to bear on the least duties. It reminds one of the border of blue on the fringe of the garment that trailed, as you might say, closest to earth, the color of heaven being that which was closest to earth.

It is heavenly truth we need for the daily path:we need the light and joy of heaven to carry out our daily responsibilities, and if we are realizing that this earth is indeed a wilderness, that it is a barren and empty waste, and if the routine of our daily life here is indeed dulness itself, all the more we need within the greatest motives, the strongest inducements and the mightiest power to enable us to go through it well. It is the place where God has left us; it is earth, nothing but earth, but we need heaven's light to go through the earth aright.

It is to those who are servants, to those who are in the place of lowliness and subjection that God
opens heaven, as it were. It is lowliness which gives the power for faithful service, because you will find that God never gives us truth merely to amuse us:

He never gives us truth merely for the sake of giving it:He gives us truth to give us power for the place He puts us in. " Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth."

In this second chapter of Philippians the apostle is exhorting the saints to let their conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ, and to walk in all lowliness."If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind;" and then he adds, "Let nothing be done through strife," on the one hand, "or vainglory " on the other; contention with one another, or else vainglory, seeking to be elevated the one above the other. "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves."

You might say, How are we going to do it ? The apostle says, " I will give you an example of lowliness of mind," and in giving the example, he gives the power for us to be lowly. But whom does he give as an example ? Select some faithful servant ? Unfold some precious truth of God as to our responsibility for walk ? If he is going to give us an example of lowliness, he selects the perfect lowly Man, he selects Christ Himself, and gives us His history. He traces Christ from His position on high. There He was with God and in the form of God, partaking of all the glory of God. He traces Him from that point down to the lowest point on earth here, and he says, "There you have an example of lowliness. There is One who had everything, and who had it by divine right, but who gave up everything willingly and gladly, and went down to death."

You cannot reach higher than the throne of God, and you cannot reach lower than the cross of Christ; these are the two limits, of glory and humiliation- from the glory down to the cross.

Does that take you in ? It takes in every one. It takes in all creation. So you have the example. One says there is a limit to all self-emptying, to humility. Yes, there is; the cross is the limit. One says, What must I give up? How far am I to go? How far did Christ go ? and in the light of that great humiliation we can only hide our faces and confess with shame how little we know of humility and of emptying of self. You have the example, you have more than the example, you have that which humbles you and breaks you down. It is that gives you power. Christ's humiliation gives us power to imitate Him in our feeble measure; and I ask if that precious wondrous humiliation of the Lord were present in our souls, in the Lord's people as they are gathered, in our intercourse with one another, do you think it would be hard to humble ourselves ?

We hear Him as His disciples were gathered to Him there, as He was going into the depths, and He had them around for that last supper, which meant so much for Him, and which means so much for us. We have Him there, and His poor disciples do not want to do a kindly act to one another; they are not willing to serve one another; they each of them wonder whether his dignity would not be offended if he were to undertake the office of servant; and what does the Lord do? He knew that He came forth from God, He knew His dignity, He knew He was going back to God, but in the full consciousness of all that He girds Himself, girds Himself with the linen girdle and takes His place at the feet of His disciples. I am sure as we see Him there and realize His glory, realize the place that He relinquished, we see what humility is. I look at my brother and I am tempted to say,'' I am as good as my brother, I have the same rights as my brother, and I am not going to relinquish my rights." I look at Christ, and I have no rights to relinquish. I look at Him, and I say:"Do not talk to me of my position and my rights and my dignity. Let me be but a faithful representation of Himself, the One who stooped from the glory that He might reach our feet. Let me be a faithful imitation of Him."

That is what gives power. The one thing that will give power-Christ Himself:He will give you power to imitate Himself, if you are occupied with Him.

The apostle sets Christ before you, and he says in a very strong and simple way, "Let that mind be in you." You cannot take your position as He took His, but you can get His mind,-the desire that your own dignity and your own position may be sacrificed in order that you may please God and serve God's people.

But I wanted to speak a little more particularly about our blessed Lord alone. We have Him in this passage traced from heaven's throne back to heaven's throne-alone as you might say. You do not find redemption in these verses. The cross of Christ is spoken of, and it is after all the cross which brings peace to the sinner. It is not considering the cross as where He was made sin for us. Here He is the burnt-offering. He goes down into death for God Himself, and He is brought up out of death for God Himself, and He takes His place on high for God Himself. God puts Him there. If there were not a sinner saved in all the universe of God, the emptying of Christ, and His death upon the cross would fill heaven with everlasting fragrance.

We sometimes say, and say rightly, that the Lord sees of the travail of His soul and is satisfied when poor sinners are saved. Blessed fact, it is true, and God's love comes out to the guilty lost ones, reaches out to them, but back of it all God has a delight in Christ, unaffected by the question of whether men are saved or whether they are lost. God has had Christ before Him, has Him before Him now, and in this wonderful description of our Lord's progress from the glory to the cross, there is no eye which watches Him as the eye of God, and apart from its effects for us, apart from our salvation we see God's delight in Christ. "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him and given Him " not a name, as it reads, but "the name which is above every name." There is only one such name, and that name, beloved, is connected with His emptying and obedience unto death, apart from our salvation at all.

And so it will do us good to stand afar off and see the burnt-offering ascend to God. Surely we can say our redemption is in it, our salvation is in it, but we want to see that God has His share, has His delight in Christ, and it is important that we should get God's point of view rather than our own.

How do you gauge spiritual things ? Which part of your Bible is most marked ? Which part of your Bible are you most familiar with ? I venture to say, that you are most familiar with the part that concerns you. We are all alike in that particular, the part of the Bible we are most familiar with is what concerns us. Our spiritual interests are selfish; we speak of our benefits through Christ and through His death, and we are losers oftentimes because we are not familiar with God's part, that which gives God's delight in Christ.

So you and I are left out of this part we have been reading-we are not there. God's eye is only for Christ in that passage. He is watching Him. He sees Him lay aside His glory, leave that place which He had with the Father before the world was, leave, all the glory by which He was surrounded, the place of dignity and the place of honor in heaven, being in the very form of God, the very dignity, honor, glory, which belonged to Him by right because He was God; He lays all that glory, all that dignity, all that honor aside. He counted it not a thing to be snatched at, not something to be grasped and held fast and clutched-we clutch our dignity, we hold fast to our reputation; the Lord did not esteem it a matter to be clutched and held fast that He should be equal with God. He humbled Himself, emptied Himself, made Himself of no reputation and took upon Him the form of a servant and became in the likeness of men.

God watched Him, God saw all He was doing, and I repeat it, it was God and Christ and none other. He saw Him humble Himself, He saw that wondrous, that amazing self-emptying:that relinquishment of His rights. It furnishes the object lesson for all eternity.

And so God's eye is upon Him. He goes down. He is found in fashion as a man. The manger is not the lowest point reached; His whole life is a downward path. At His birth the angels worshiped, and a few whose hearts were open to recognize. But He goes on down and down until He goes to Gethsemane, He goes to death, even the death of the cross. God heard the lonely Weeper in the garden of Gethsemane; God heard Him pouring out His soul with strong crying and tears. God heard Him who said, " O, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt."

What is God's answer to all that 1 Christ takes His place down in death. What is God's answer ? "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him." It was the Lord's will to humiliate Himself:it was God's to highly exalt Him, and give Him the Name which is above every name; and so we bow at that Name.

And so you have the whole course traced from the beginning until He is back there. We are to be occupied with that priceless, wondrous exhibition of obedience and lowliness. God is first to have leisure to see it, and then we are brought in as happy worshipers to bow at the name of Jesus.

Do you get the thought which I would seek to set before us. It is true that He came to seek and to save that which was lost; that He died the Just for the unjust. But leave your side a little, and take God's side; get God's thought and you will bow in the place that God would have you, bow at the name of Jesus, ever at the name of Jesus:

" The mention of Thy Name shall bow our hearts to worship Thee."

I rejoice and I am sure you rejoice that while He has saved us, delivered us from wrath and judgment, and given us a place in heaven, yet we can say somewhat as the poor Hindoo woman did that she was satisfied if she saw Jesus glorified, no matter what became of her.

You remember what Mephibosheth said. He is brought in from the distance, eats at the king's table. He says, " I am a dead dog." He is brought into that place by grace; the kindness of God is shown to him. David flees from the face of Absalom his son; he has been rejected. Mephibosheth has been misrepresented by Ziba as being desirous of claiming the throne again, and all that, and when he comes back David treats him severely, till Mephibosheth makes plain that David is under a mistake, and that Ziba has lied to him. David says, "Well, thou and Ziba divide the land." Oh, Mephibosheth says,"The land, I am not thinking about the land; let him take all; the king has come into his own again." And as we realize Christ glorified up there, we join in the acclaim which says He is worthy to be there, worthy to be in that place, for He humbled Himself down to death. Oh, that is the sweetest song in heaven, and that is the sweetest note we can strike upon earth; the unselfish devotion of hearts that have seen Christ glorified for what He did for the Father, apart entirely from what He did for us.

I would lay it on all our hearts:let us seek, let us crave, let us not rest until we enter into the thought that gives the Lord His place apart from ourselves, apart from blessing, that gives Him the place He has because God has put Him there. Oh, the joy, the rest, the exaltation of spirit that comes from seeing Christ in His highest glory, and seeing Him there for God, and we delighting in Him. We see what Christ is to God, we see Him as the burnt-offering which has gone up to God as a sweet savor, and the only response that God could give to it, the only response was to place Him on the throne.

In the third chapter the apostle Paul speaks of the Lord in glory in another way.

You know how the apostle shows that all fleshly excellence is nothing; that our own standing, our own righteousness, everything of that kind is fleshly. He says, " If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more;" and then he goes on through his whole little stock of righteousness, fleshly glory and honor-small enough it is when measured by Christ's glory. '' Circumcised the eighth day ; of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law a Pharisee concerning zeal, persecuting the Church; touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless." He has not much to say of his zeal, except that he was persecuting. He had been exceedingly diligent, exceedingly zealous. He says, "I will show you where my zeal was." "Concerning zeal persecuting the Church." He speaks of his righteousness, and then he says, "What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ."

Of what effect was the eighth day circumcision ? being an Israelite, a Benjamite ? what did the zeal amount to ? Go with him on his trip from Jerusalem to Damascus. He falls down before that light from heaven, and there his righteousness disappears. Damascus was called the pearl of the East. It is said of Mohammed that as he journeyed to Damascus, and reached the hills that overlooked it, and saw its lovely gardens and its white houses gleaming through the green, he said:"There is only one paradise we can enter and I want to enter heaven," so he would not go to Damascus. It was a lovely city, a beautiful place, everything was there to attract the eye. Here is one whose genealogy was above reproach, whose life was blameless, whose zeal was all that could be desired; here in mid-day glory, the fairest city of the East before him, into which he was about to enter and do what he thought a good work, and in a moment it has all crumbled into dust and blackness before him.

What makes the change ? It was God's Son whom he hated up to that time, whom he now saw in the glory of God. A voice comes to him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me." "Who art Thou Lord." He knew it was the Lord. He knew it was the Lord Jehovah. The Lord is Jehovah. Jehovah is Jesus whom he is persecuting! What was the result of his being in that place ? Like Job, he has heard of Him by the hearing of the ear, but now his eye sees Him. The light that is above the brightness of the sun is but the reflection of His glory; he sees Him, and all his mantle of self-righteousness, all he glories in drops off:"What things were gain to me those I counted loss for Christ."

He had seen Christ, he was convicted of his sin, and he lost his self-righteousness. There was an end of his self-righteousness; and if he had lost self-righteousness, what had he gained ? Christ was his righteousness.

"When it pleased God," he says, "who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace to" what? "to reveal His Son in me." That was it, Christ revealed in him; Christ now for him, his righteousness, his standing before God. Everything now is loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord. He has seen Christ, that is it; Christ in glory revealed in him, and the result is that all he had boasted in is disgusting and loathsome to him. Christ has been substituted, Christ in glory his righteousness; and he says:"For whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ." Not only that he may be my righteousness before God, but that it may be Christ who takes possession of my life, who fills my soul, who is also the measure of my standing before God. Christ eclipsed everything else, took possession of his soul; and Christ in glory marked the career of Paul from that day until he went home to be with the Lord.

Christ at God's right hand is now the measure of our standing, our acceptance, our righteousness. Talk about dignity, talk about righteousness, talk about law ? Where is that boasted circumcision, that self-righteousness ? Christ has eclipsed everything else.

And so the apostle says:"I count all things but loss"-not only these things I have mentioned, but "all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." There He is on high, my righteousness, but more than that-my Lord and my God.

Christ on high. What a. perfect righteousness. How well delighted God is with it; how satisfied God is. Your righteousness incomplete? then Christ will be incomplete. Is there anything lacking about Him? He has fully glorified God, He has fully magnified His will, and God has put the mark of His approval upon Him by placing Him there at His own right hand, and He is there as our righteousness, and if you want to get rid of self-righteousness completely, the only way is to behold Christ in glory, and as you behold Him in glory you will be delivered from the last shred of self-righteousness that you have here. That is Christ in glory for our righteousness, and as I say I want to keep that constantly before us-a glorified Christ as the measure of our standing before God. We want to keep fast hold of that. I believe Satan seeks to rob us of it. I believe he seeks to draw our minds away from the understanding of what our perfect standing before God is. Let us remember that we have the gospel of the glory of the blessed God as a testimony in this world. It is the gospel of the glory-Christ in the glory of God, the measure of the believer's standing before God. How many truths are connected with it, cluster about it.

Here is a poor soul groaning as if he might be lost. He may say, "Lest when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." What is the remedy? To see our standing before God as connected with a glorified Christ. We stand accepted in Him; He Himself beyond death, beyond judgment, beyond the question of sin. How could we be lost ? Could Christ descend from heaven? He is our righteousness up there.

That settles many a question. As I say, our security, our responsibility, and all that, is connected with Christ in glory.

Take another thing. You believe in the Lord Jesus, but you do not know whether you are saved. Satan perplexes you with doubts. He tells you it is right not to be too sure. But if Christ in glory is my righteousness, I cannot be lost. My assurance is Christ on high, and we will refer every doubt and every question to Christ on high, not to our feelings here.

Now in the latter part of the chapter, we have that he had not already apprehended. He has Christ for his righteousness, but he says, "I have not yet attained." What does he want? It is a wonderful thing. He wants more of Christ. Well, you say, have you not Christ perfectly for your righteousness. Oh yes, I have, but I want to be with Christ. I am in Christ, but I want to be with Christ.

People say to us:"Do you not get tired of preaching and speaking of only one Person all the time?" I do not, brethren; do you?

" Jesus, of Thee we ne'er would tire;
The new and living food
Can satisfy our heart's desire,
And life is in Thy blood."

"In their hearts they turned back to Egypt," but the more we know of Christ, the more we want of Him. We can say with the poet:

"To Jesus, the crown of my hope,
My soul is in haste to be gone."

Why are we longing for the coming of the Lord ? Is it to get out of our troubles? People in the world would like to get out of their troubles. What makes us heavenly minded? It is the view of a glorified Christ. That is what makes us pilgrims here. That is what takes our feet out of the mire. That is what makes us racers. The prophet girded himself and ran before the chariot of Ahab. Our hearts have been taken captive by Christ on high. The apostle would not rest until he was with Christ in glory. He was pressing forward to the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

That is what makes heaven for us. Christ up there; that is what makes us pilgrims. We know Him. The Lord of glory appeared unto Stephen. That is it. Stephen had the glory in his heart; then they saw it in his face. The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, and took him from home and kindred, and everything else. It was a glory that made him a pilgrim to wait until he could enter into the glory. The glory will make you a pilgrim to the glory; it shines in the face of Jesus Christ. We are pilgrims here. We have no continuing city. It is not that we want to be pilgrims; we are pilgrims.

Suffer a word for our consciences just here. How is it with us? I have been speaking of Abraham, it was the glory that made him a pilgrim. Look at the other side-there is Lot. What was the matter with Lot? What was wrong with him? The poor man's life was the very opposite of the path of the just. It closes in that lonely mountain cave, and we draw the curtain on the scenes enacted there.

Lot went down. What made him go down? He was attracted by the plains of Sodom. It was not the wickedness of Sodom that attracted Lot. It was not the corruption of that city that drew him. What drew him? Self-interest. In this same chapter the apostle speaks of those who mind earthly things, whose god is their belly; it is characteristic of mere profession. Is there not a danger of our taking the place of Lot instead of the place of Abraham? Is there not a danger of our settling down? People say they do not want much here; still you want it here. That is the point. You want it here. But we are pilgrims; and we ought to want it there. In the sermon on the mount the Lord said, " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal."

How can you lay up treasures in heaven? If Christ is our treasure it is very simple, for He is there. Our treasure is laid up in heaven where Christ is, and our hearts are there because He is there.

I need not want to know what you are engaged with, if your heart is in heaven. If your heart is there, you will be satisfied only when you see Him, and your only desire will be to please Him. To know Christ where He is will make us pilgrims down here. To know Christ there makes us pilgrims here. What a blessed portion. What is wealth, position, dignity, reputation, compared with that? Who would exchange them for Christ in glory. Brethren, where is our treasure? Is it Christ on high? Then I am indeed a pilgrim here.
" 'Tis the treasure we have found in His love,
That has made us pilgrims below."

Let us look now at the passage in Ephesians. Ephesians gives us in an especial way the Church. You can say that the characteristic word of Ephesians is "in Christ." You have in a wondrous way His people associated with Him risen and glorified. In the second chapter the believer's position is seen as in Christ. We were dead in sins, but we are quickened together with Christ, and made to sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. That word "together" tells us something. "When we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ." It is not only that we are quickened, but quickened "together" with Christ. We, both Jews and Gentiles, are associated with Him. We are co-quickened, as you may say, with Christ. After the Lord rose, He said to Mary, "Tell my brethren." He did not call them His brethren until after His resurrection. There He associates them with Himself, "Go, tell my brethren," He says, "I ascend unto My Father and your Father; and to My God and your God." Thus He associates His people with Himself in glory, and sets aside all distinctions which would separate them from one another.

In the epistle to the Ephesians we have Christ in glory as the Head of His Church upon earth. You have Christ in glory as marking our corporate position. We have seen Christ in glory for God alone. We have seen Him as the measure of our standing, our righteousness. We have Christ in glory as the One toward whom we are to press on; but here you have a view of a glorified Christ as the center of gathering. The corporate view of our Lord in glory is one which we must not lose sight of.

Just let us look at it for a few moments. It is precious to those who understand it. If it is dull, it is dull only to those who do not understand it; but it is precious to those who do, and who are familiar with it; and this precious truth of the body of Christ, which is the precious truth of what the Church of God is, is doubly precious to those who are alive to the value of it, who dwell upon it and praise God for it.

He speaks of three things. In the eighteenth verse he says, "That ye may know what is the hope of His calling." He has called us for heaven. We are from heaven and heavenly men by birth. Exodus xii:"This month shall be unto you the beginning of months." That is our birth time; and the eighty-seventh psalm, "This man was born there." That is our birthplace.

The birthday. What is your birthday ? When you found the Lord Jesus Christ? You were born again. The day of your birth was the day on which you came under the precious blood of Christ. What is our birthplace? Where were we born? I was born again, one says, in this or that place. Do you know where you were born? You were born from heaven; that was your birthplace. The Lord said to Nicodemus that he must be born again. We must have a nature to fit us for heaven. It is not like one who has been away from the old country, the old homestead, and who says, "I would like to go back to the old place where I was born and see it again;" and he crosses the ocean, he sees the old house, but everything is changed; and he says, "After all, my birthplace is marked by the dear ones; it is not the house or the material, but it is marked by those who live there."

You do not have to go back to your spiritual birthplace. You have been born from above; we are born there and there we are. That is our birthplace. That is what the apostle is saying to these saints. He says, "I want you to know what the hope of your calling is."
Second, "The riches of the glory of God's inheritance in the saints." He wants them to know that. It is a wonderful expression, "God's inheritance in the saints." I suppose many think of it as God's inheritance in us. Israel went into Canaan; but it was God who went into Canaan in Israel. Israel took possession of the land, but it was God's land- His inheritance in Israel.

We are going to have an inheritance there, but after all what a joy it is to think that it is God's inheritance and not ours-His inheritance in us. It is like a father buys a farm, he stocks it, puts everything on it, and gives it to his son. He says, " My boy you live there and enjoy it, it is my place:I got it for you."

And so the inheritance is God's inheritance, but He inherits it in the saints, and our portion there is ours, because it is God's, and ours will be God's. You have known some fathers who have had sons to whom they could not give their property. They would have mortgaged it, or sold it, or done something unwise with it. The fathers have kept it.

God holds our inheritance. I have the blessedness of it, but God has the title. It is His inheritance, and it is in the saints. They enjoy, and He keeps it.

Third:"What is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places. Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come."

The power. How much power have you, how much have I? Do you say, very little-very little power to live and act for God. We see the saints have very little power. How much have we? What kind of power? How am I to know? It is feeble enough. But how am I to measure the power? Look at Christ; Christ raised from the dead; Christ lifted from earth to heaven; Christ exalted above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. God says He is the power. It is right in us-the resurrection power of Christ Himself.

You have got power, you have all the power of heaven. All the power of heaven has been shown in raising Christ on high, you have that power for present use.

The trouble is, beloved, that we have separated between the power and ourselves. We have not allowed the power to work. It is like some mighty engine:there is an immense amount of steam upon the boiler, but the engine is almost motionless, why? Because the throttle valve is closed. If you open the throttle the steam passes in, and you find that the engine is powerful. It had the power, but it was not in use. There was a hindrance. How often there is a hindrance to the working of God's mighty power, that resurrection power. There is a hindrance because of the throttle. Communication with God is closed, and there is no practical power in the life. The apostle speaks of this power, in the third chap-ter, as the power of the believer's life. "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." The very power that worketh in us is the power by which we are to be filled unto all the fulness of God. There is no limit-the only limit is God's fulness, and our capacity.
If we know the hope of His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and if we know the wondrous power that is in us,-what next? It is that Christ is Head of His Church; Lord and Head of His people, and when we see that truth we see what the Church is.

Christ in glory. Christ at God's right hand as Head of His Church, and if you realize that you are a member of a glorified Christ, a member of His body, I believe things will drop off; self-righteousness will drop off-all low thoughts of His Church- all thoughts of the Church as being divided by parties and that kind of thing, will drop off if you see Christ glorified as the Head of His Church.

If I see the Lord as Head of His Church, I will see that church-truth is not a theory. God has linked church-truth with Christ on high. If you say there is no church-truth, you may as well say, Christ is not glorified, that He had better get off the throne of God.

But He is Head of His Church. He is sovereign, His people are gathered to a glorified Christ. It is
the truth of a glorified Christ that will gather His people here. Some talk about our being all one. If there is anything further away than another from the truth of God as to the Church of Christ, it is that believers are all one, in themselves. "Let us merge our differences:let us all recognize one another as dear brethren; let us be one." If I could bring together every child of God on this globe by turning over a page of this book, I would not do it; it would be a failure, it would be the worst kind of pride.

Leave out Christ glorified, and put man in His place! Think of it. Put in the place of a glorified Christ your dear brethren, and what have you got? You have made an idol of man, and God is going to break your idol to pieces.

You have put something in the place of Christ. The only kind of unity that God recognizes, the only kind of unity that faith recognizes is the unity which puts Christ in His place, which gives Him His place as Head of His Church. There can be no unity that leaves out the person of Christ, and the authority of Christ, and the sovereign rule and direction of Christ Himself, who is the Governor of that Church which is linked to Himself as His body. Just as He said to Saul of Tarsus, "Why persecutest them Me." In persecuting the weakest and humblest of His people, he was persecuting Christ, so dear brethren, every believer is a member of the Church of Christ and therefore a member of Christ.

Do you see the point of view? Do you see that Christ in glory is Head of His Church, the body of Christ here? The Church is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all

When the doctrine of this one body, of which we are members, is seen as linked with Christ in glory, you have that which will deliver from many things. Only those who are occupied with a heavenly Christ, and whose souls are in obedience to a heavenly Christ, will form an expression here of the oneness of the body of Christ which His heart yearns to see.

The Lord's people are divided. You can bring them together only in one way, and that is in subjection to a glorified Christ, and you will have practical unity. Leave that out, and instead of doing away with divisions, you make trouble and strife.

No, we keep our eyes simply on Christ, and we have Christ's will and Christ's authority, and Christ's headship, and the truth of the body of Christ here on earth.

Let us fix our hearts upon Him alone. First; What He is to God alone. Second; We see Him in glory as our righteousness:we discard all forms of self-righteousness. We see Him there as the One on high who is beckoning us, who has taken our hearts.

And then we see Him as Head of His Church.

The apostle said, "To me to live is Christ." Beloved, may it be so for us all.

The subjoined testimony as to the condition of the heathen is inserted with the desire to remind the people of God of their true state. There is a tendency to think of them as merely unfortunate and scarcely responsible. It is even taught that many of them have the true knowledge of God, by the light of nature, or by some gracious work of God in their soul apart from revelation. The word of God says nothing of this, and leaves us to the awful conclusions stated in these remarks.

But what effect should this have upon those saved by the precious blood of Christ ? Will it give them a self-satisfied assurance that they hold the truth, or will it stir their souls afresh with ardent desire to carry the good news to the perishing millions who have never heard the gospel ? Surely every saved soul has a responsibility as to this. May we not pray to see awakened interest in sending the gospel to foreign lands, and may we not also ask that the Lord will raise up and send forth more laborers, more heralds of the gospel into the dark places of the earth ?

"The second speaker of the evening was Rev. L. D. Morse, returned missionary. Mr. Morse spoke of the doubts entertained by some Christians as to the condemnation and lost condition of the heathen. He had not to settle the fate of the heathen. But nothing could change the law of God. It is impossible that God can create sin. Paul teaches in Romans that the wrath of God is revealed against those who hold the truth in unrighteousness. The heathen have the testimony borne to God in nature;
and yet knowing God, they reverence Him not as God. It is not true that the heathen do not know sin, as their fierce condemnation of those who sin against them shows. There are plenty of words in the Telugu language to express the idea of sin. Their doctrine of transmigration and their confessions show it. Their sacrifices also show their consciousness of sin. The converted heathen never utter a word to indicate that they have hope of the salvation of their ancestors. He had not found men among the heathen seeking after God, until influenced by the Word and the Spirit, through the preaching of the Christian missionary. Let there be no doubt about these people needing the gospel in order to salvation. Of the 330 million gods of India, the vilest are the most popular. He had mingled with all kinds and castes of the heathen men, and had not found a holy man among them.

The pictures exhibited in their temples in the name of religion are altogether too vile for description. Have we any message, the speaker asked, for these people ? Let us go with the gospel to them and save them from sinning and suffering eternally. The great commission properly understood is the great condemnation of the heathen world. Christ came to save the lost, and if the heathen are not lost there is no reason why we should send the gospel to them. It was not for him, Mr Morse said, to say to any man that it was his duty to go to India but he could say to every one that it was his duty to be surrendered to God's will, and for himself he counted it joy to go where God wanted him to go and be what God wanted him to be. From the "Messenger and Victor."

It is characteristic of faith to reckon on God, not simply spite of difficulty, but spite of impossibility. Faith concerns not itself about means; it counts upon the promise of God. To the natural man the believer may seem to lack prudence; nevertheless, from the moment it becomes a question of means which render the thing easy to man, it is no longer God acting. It is no longer His work where means are looked to. When with man there is impossibility, God must come in; and it is so much the more evidenced to be the right way, since God only does that which He wills. Faith has reference to His will, and that only, thus it consults neither about the means nor the circumstances; in other words, it consults not with flesh and blood. Where faith is weak, external means are, beforehand, reckoned on in the work of God. Let us remember that where things are feasible to man, there is no longer need of faith, because there is no longer need of the energy of the Spirit. Christians do much and effect little-why ?

I ask and entreat you to look and to see, whether in the present time, when through mercy page upon page of Scripture has been brought out before us, we are walking in the power of the truth to the eye of God, to the eye of the Father who loves us, to the eye of Christ who cares about the state of our affections and of our thoughts. He is large-hearted enough to take notice of everything in each one of us; and He desires that we should be practically consistent, since we are sons, and therefore servants of God. G. V. W.

"Call upon Me in the day of trouble:I will deliver thee, and thou shall glorify Me" (Ps. 1. 15).

It has been said that man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. So that we may be quite sure a text such as this appeals to a great many-It presents to us four points, each of which is worthy of consideration. They are:First, "the day of trouble"; secondly, what we are to do in it-"call upon Me"; next, what God will do in answer to our call-"I will deliver thee"; lastly, the end God has in view-"them shalt glorify Me."

Let us notice first how comprehensive is the statement-"the day of trouble." It is not any particular trouble that is mentioned. This is a great comfort, for if any particular kind had been referred to it might not have been ours. Troubles are so varied; and the thing that is troubling you at the present moment may be altogether unknown to some others. Indeed, someone may be reading these lines who is ready to say, "Surely no one else has endured what I am now called to pass through." Even so, the text applies in your case, for does it not say "the day of trouble," without specifying what may be its nature ? "Call upon Me in the day of trouble."

There is the trouble of ill health, pain, weakness. How many wish they had never seen this day! Time was when they could go where they would, and do what they would. Like Peter, it could be said to them, "Thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldst." But now it is different. Nights of pain and days of weariness are a matter of constant experience. It is the day of trouble. What is to be done? We lately called to see one who, though once a very strong man, injured his spine, and is paralyzed. He frequently suffers intense pain, and for years has been confined to bed. This verse has been his comfort, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble:I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me." This is what we are to do. It is often said by those similarly placed that they cannot understand why God leaves them here. This is the explanation-"thou shalt glorify Me." No one can preach such a powerful sermon as a bed-ridden saint. Without uttering a word he or she may be a living sermon on patience, fortitude, and joy; in the midst of suffering setting forth the way in which the grace of Christ can enable them to endure. How is it to be done ? "Call upon Me:. . . I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me." Not deliver thee perhaps from the infirmity, but a greater deliverance- from being under the power of it.

But there are other troubles. Trouble which arises from poverty, or loss of property, or what is far worse, some loved one; trouble in connection with business and a thousand other things; trouble brought upon ourselves by our own failure, or what is even a darker trouble sometimes, through the sin and failure of others. Thank God, it is all included in "the day of trouble"-the anxious parent solicitous about the welfare of a child; the individual who finds life a long continued struggle; the tempted, the tried, the downtrodden, the oppressed, are all referred to here-"Call upon Me in the day of trouble:I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me."

But we surely need not enlarge upon this. "The day of trouble" is familiar to most of us in some form or other; we rather need to pay attention to the precious injunction with which the verse commences, "Call upon Me." This has a double value. In the first place it is an immense relief to be able to speak to anyone about our trouble, and in the next place that one is God.
It does not say how many times we are to call. Simply, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble." A call does, however, imply earnestness. It is not, "Speak to Me." We may sometimes speak to God as though we hardly meant what we said. But here it is more vehement-" Call upon Me," as though we were in real earnest to make God hear. A child in danger or fright calls to its parent, it does not speak as though nothing was the matter. Now while God knows everything, and can hear even a whisper and read even our thoughts, yet His direction here is, " Call upon Me." If you have called many times before and not yet been delivered, still continue calling. Deliverance will surely come in some form or other, and in the meantime the blessing to your own soul will be immense. You will learn more of God. For it says, "Call upon me." Upon God Himself.

'' I will deliver thee," "I will," not '' I may." No "perhaps." It is definite, certain-"I will deliver thee." Mark, it does not say when. We often fix a time; it must be immediately. And so we get disappointed. It does not say how. We would like it brought about in a way of our own; and because it does not appear to be coming in our way we are tempted to rebel. Nor does it say what form the deliverance will take. We have already made up our minds, perhaps, what form we would prefer; but it may be God has something better for us. Let us leave the form of the deliverance-the how and when -all to Him, resting only in the certainty of the fact "I will deliver thee."

There may be reasons why deliverance is delayed. God has other aims in connection with your life beside the immediate deliverance you are seeking. And He sees how He can in the end use the waiting time to achieve those ends. You have waited, not only days and weeks, but months or even years; and maybe you are still waiting. Sometimes you are almost tempted to think God has forgotten you; but remember, God is not to be hurried. He has His eye upon the whole of your life – yea, upon eternity; and God wants everything to work in for eternity.

"There with what joy reviewing
Past conflicts, dangers, fears ;
Thy hand our foes subduing,
And drying all our tears.
Our hearts with rapture burning,
The path we shall retrace,
Where now our souls are learning
The riches of Thy grace."

May we learn, then, to take a larger view of life, and not be occupied too exclusively with one point. The hour of our deliverance is fixed. It may take the form of actual deliverance, or it may come in the form of such an abundance of grace that, like the apostle Paul, we shall be enabled to take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in distresses, for Christ's sake. In either case may we remember these words, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble:I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me."

Yes, there is more than mere deliverance in view. "Thou shalt glorify Me." It is to come about in such a way that He should be glorified, not only in the deliverance itself, but afterwards. How blessed! We thought ourselves almost neglected, as though God had completely withdrawn His former loving-kindnesses, and we seemed like so much flotsam on the ocean of time. But now deliverance has come, and we learn the amazing fact from the very lips of the One we thought had left us to drift hither and thither, – "thou shalt glorify Me."

Can we desire anything more than this ? When we discover that God is working in and through our life, is it not complete ? Is the day of trouble a mistake if it leads to the glory of God ? When we see the end, can we regret the way which led to that end ? Not only was it not a mistake:it was a necessity. And that "day of trouble" is encircled with a threefold cord for the Christian, " Call upon Me," I will deliver thee," "thou shalt glorify Me." That threefold cord is God Himself.

But "the day of trouble," to one who knows not God, can only be a day of blank despair. Come it must to everyone, sooner or later. If one such should read these lines, may you turn to the God of all comfort through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, confessing your sins, and seeking pardon through His name.

Many of God's brightest saints have known full well the meaning of "the day of trouble." Abraham, when he had to cast out Ishmael, and when called upon to offer up Isaac. Joseph, when hated by his brethren and sold to the Midianites, who took him down into Egypt, where he became a servant, "whose feet they hurt with fetters:he was laid in iron:until the time that His word came:the word of the Lord tried him." Moses, when rejected and obliged to flee. But they were all delivered, and God was glorified. And it was not otherwise with David. Think of him at Ziklag on that day when he and his men found it burned with fire, and their wives carried away. The people too spake of stoning him. And this coming upon the top of all he had been suffering for years at the hands of Saul. Surely never did a mere man suffer more acute anguish than David at that moment. But we read he "encouraged himself in the Lord his God." Yes, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble:I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me."This was eminently true in his case, for he was delivered, and shortly after ascended the throne. One day to be stoned ; the next we might say, crowned. Such are the vicissitudes of God's people.

Reference might be made to Elijah, to Paul, and many others in a similar connection, but most wonderful of all is it to think that the Lord Jesus was not exempt from "the day of trouble." One of the most reassuring and comforting truths is this, that the Lord Jesus was acquainted with grief, and that He passed through a darker day than we can ever know, with unshakened trust and confidence in God. It is not that the human family alone knows what sorrow and suffering mean. God has taken His part in it in the person of His Son, and in a deeper way than any.

Can anything be sweeter to the heart that knows God than this-" Thou shalt glorify Me"? Who would have supposed "the day of trouble" could have yielded such rich fruit ? There are many men and women too on earth to-day who would not be what they are but for " the day of trouble." It may seem a dark foreground to the picture, but God's pictures have glorious background. "Call upon Me … I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me." What a cluster of jewels does this verse contain; and "the day of trouble " is like some dark stone in the center that makes the others shine the brighter. " O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones" (Isa. 54:11, 12). In this way will God be glorified.

"Call upon Me In the day of trouble :
I will deliver thee,
And thou shalt glorify Me."

R.E. "From "Simple Testimony."

Every event or fact recorded in Scripture is significant. There is some purpose in its being recorded. This is true not only of events or of facts that are directly stated, but also of those with which we become acquainted by comparing two or more passages. Our knowledge of those which belong to this latter class, of course depends on our diligence in the close study of the Word which such comparison of passages necessitates. But "the diligent soul shall be made fat." All effort of this kind, if really in humble faith, will result in abundant reward.

As an illustration I call attention to the fact of Hezekiah's association with his father Ahaz for about
two years. It is nowhere directly stated that it was so. But we know it was so by comparing the passages which describe the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and Hoshea king of Israel. Hoshea began to reign in the twelfth year of Ahaz (2 Kings 17:i), Hezekiah began to reign in the third year of Hoshea (2 Kings 18:i), and Ahaz reigned sixteen years (2 Kings 16:2). 2 Kings 18:9, 10 shows that the fourth and sixth years of Hezekiah respectively correspond with the seventh and ninth of Hoshea. At first sight it might be thought that these verses are in conflict with the first verse of the chapter which apparently makes the first year of Hezekiah correspond with Hoshea's third instead of with his fourth, as consistency with vers. 9, 10 requires. But it may be that in the troubled times which followed the death of Jeroboam II., the beginning of the year for the Israelitish kings was somewhat later than it was for the kings of Judah, even if it was not so from the revolt of the ten tribes under Jeroboam I. This supposition entirely meets the difficulty and avoids resorting to the conjecture of a scribal or copyist's error in ver. i as formerly I have done. If, then, Hoshea's third year began somewhat later than Ahaz's twelfth, it is easy to see how Hezekiah's first may have begun in Hoshea's third and yet for the most part have corresponded with his fourth. But Hoshea's first corresponds with Ahaz's twelfth, only beginning later; therefore Hoshea's fourth, corresponding with Hezekiah's first, corresponded also with Ahaz's fifteenth, and since Ahaz reigned sixteen years Hezekiah must have been associated with him for two years, or at least for parts of two years.

If now by the comparison of the passages we have deduced the fact, it is necessary to inquire what it signifies. For what purpose is it thus put on record? Has it any meaning? Is there any lesson to be learned from it ? That the fact is significant we need not doubt. Everything in Scripture has significance. That the Spirit of God had some purpose in putting it on record we must accept. That there is design in the form of the record is also evident, and the study needful in order to discover the fact and which is necessitated by the form of the record only the more emphasizes its importance. The trouble to which we are put in order to find out what the fact is fixes our attention upon it, arouses our interest in it and provokes in us the inquiry, What is its meaning ? The assertion that every scripture "is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness," impels us to ask, What doctrine, reproof, correction or instruction in righteousness has this fact to give us ? If the things that of old happened to Israel were for " ensamples," in what is this, then, an ensample ? If they were written for our learning, what, then, are we to learn from these two years' association of Hezekiah with Ahaz ?

A glance at the personal charter of Ahaz and the distinguishing features of his reign will start us on the road to what we are seeking for. Unbelief seems to have been the predominating element in Ahaz's character. He had no faith in God and put no reliance on His word. This principle of unbelief was accompanied with hypocritical pretension and mock humility. (See Is. 7:10-12). Being a man of such a character we need not wonder at the sad features of his reign. He did not take David for his pattern, but the kings of Israel. Prom the beginning of his reign, and as his own deliberate choice, he turned away from the path of faith to follow the wicked kings of Israel and to imitate their example in sin and disobedience. What an unhappy choice!

But one misstep leads to another, and so we are told next that he also imitated the heathen, making his son "to pass through the fire" and sacrificing and burning incense "in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree."

In subjection to the chastening hand of God is another element in the character of Ahaz. On account of his sins God delivered him into the hands of the kings of Syria and Israel, and also to the Edomites and Philistines, who inflicted upon him a terrible humiliation. They reduced him to very great distress, but instead of bowing to God in self-judgment and repentance he appeals to the king of Assyria for help. Isa. 7:shows, too, that he does this in the face of gracious encouragement and warning from God. It is therefore in headstrong self-will that he turns to the king of Assyria for aid. He will not submit to God, but he must have at all cost the help of man. He gave to the king of Assyria, to secure his help, not only the gold and silver in the treasuries of the king's house, but also that of the house of the Lord, appropriating thus what had been dedicated to God to his own personal ends.

Having thus voluntarily placed himself in the position of dependence upon the king of Assyria, he trespassed yet more against the Lord. He sacrificed to the gods of Syria, he put a stop to the worship of the Lord, closing the doors of His house, and established instead idolatry, making altars in every corner of Jerusalem and high places to burn incense to other gods in every city of Judah. He gathered together the vessels of the house of God, cutting them in pieces, and sent them to the king of Assyria, taking what belonged to God for his own uses.

What a dark picture! How plainly the reign of Ahaz sets forth the pre-dominance of those principles of unbelief by which the people of God are turned from walking in the steps of Christ-the one blessed path of faith, to perverting and corrupting the faith, and finally to the complete denial of it. It is a very solemn warning and example.

But we must turn now to the beginning of the reign of Hezekiah. While Ahaz is yet reigning Hezekiah is in some way, and for some reason that we are not told, put upon the throne. But whatever the reason and in whatever way, this is the simple fact. We cannot be far astray in supposing that there must have been great exercise on the part of those who sought to be faithful to the Lord in those exceedingly dark and difficult times. They may have urgently demanded the exaltation of Hezekiah to the throne. Discerning in the heir-apparent one who gave promise of the energy of faith, his association on the throne would satisfy them and rally them to a brave effort to reverse the obnoxious policy of Ahaz. But we need not speculate on what may have been. The one thing with which we are concerned is the fact that simultaneously with Hezekiah's coming to the throne a new movement began which gathered the faithful and true, and which under the wise counsel of Hezekiah, and by his authority, irresistibly established itself, and this, too, while Ahaz
was still living. The predominating forces were powerless to prevent it. The doors of the house of the Lord were opened, the priests and Levites sanctified themselves and cleansed the house of the Lord, and the worship of the Lord, in the form which He Himself had required, was again established. It was a return to faith, to the truth, to obedience to God and to dependence upon His word.

What a picture this movement under Hezekiah is of the recovery of the people of God to the faith once for all given them, and of the reestablishment of that faith at a time when they have been in departure from it and are giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils!

Now the point which I wish to emphasize above all others is that this movement was initiated and established before the death of Ahaz. Hezekiah, after coming to the throne, did not wait for Ahaz to die before he undertook to reverse the policy of his father. In his first year, and at the very beginning of the year too, he began the work which so distinguished his reign. This year we have seen corresponded with Ahaz's fifteenth year. He was then associated with Ahaz for two years. Is this fact significant ? Has it a lesson to teach us ? Let us see. Principles of unbelief are predominant now- principles which destroy our precious faith. How generally prevalent, too, they are. The word of God is ignored and set aside, the truth as He gave it is trampled on, pure human inventions are substituted in place of what has been ordered of God, and divine things prostituted to purely human ends. It is a time of departure from the faith and the truth which is from God. Such is the state of things which exists to-day. Figuratively speaking, Ahaz is reigning now. The principles for which he stands, and of which his reign is the expression, still prevail.

But must faith wait till they cease to act or exhaust themselves before it claims its God-given portion? No, thank God! Faith has a right to the word of God, to the truth as God has revealed it. Though unbelief in certain popular phases usurps it and uses it to further its own interests, Ahaz-like, still it is faith's prerogative to claim it. This is what we see in Hezekiah. He claimed and used his liberty to obey the word of God, to do what was right in the sight of the Lord, to pattern after David. He had the energy of faith to do it.

We do not read of any resistance to this movement on the part of Ahaz. But whether he assisted or not is no concern to us. Our picture is that of faith in irresistible strength on the one hand and of the powerlessness of unbelief on the other to hinder.

If there is energy of faith to claim and obey the word of God, unbelief is helpless. It cannot stand before one who submits in simplicity to the Scriptures. It is weak to hinder simple dependence upon God. Unbelieving principles, however prevailing, have no power to prevent faith's enjoyment of the things of God or hinder its efforts to recover and possess itself of the inheritance which belongs to it in the word of God.

Let us, then, be like Hezekiah. Let us follow his example. Let us waste no time in brooding over the ruin unbelief has wrought all around us, and in wishing the prevailing conditions about us to change, but in the face of them and in spite of them, let us put our trust in God, go forth to obey Him and live
in simple-hearted dependence upon His Word, that Word being our only warrant for the path of faith. In such a course we shall receive not simply greater, but higher blessing than that given to Hezekiah. C. C.

"What hour like thine is clothed in depth of gloom,
O Cross! thy speech is that of judgment for man's sin.

For in that hour the Christ of God is seen,
The Sinless burden Bearer of man's sin,
His breast all bared to ward the Judge's stroke;
The gathering clouds of wrath divine on Calvary's
hill-
They burst with anger on the center cross,
Whereon that precious Victim hung, the Life of men.

That cry speaks forth the sorrow of Thy heart,
And yet Thy voice sends forth its note of victory
Which tells of judgment passed, the work all done,
The darkness of that hour now pierced; the cloud,
too, gone,
The scabbard holds the sword; the sinner freed
And all the claims of righteousness are fully met
Whilst now the stream of love has found it's course.

O Cross! Thou tellest forth that God is love;
Thy story, too, the summing up of ages past-
The consummation of the sin of man.
Yet fully in it all we trace Divine decree
And see the shining of eternal truth!
There from the Lamb of sacrifice the blood has flowed
Which washeth every stain of sin away
And changes all the depth of sin's deep scarlet hue
To snow-white purity.

Thus opened are the channels of eternal love.
The purposes and counsels of the past eternity
Converge and meet, encircling round Thy thorn-
crowned brow-
Their answer fully given ; the heart of God is satisfied
In that blest One the cross has borne twixt earth
and heaven
For us to gaze upon, and life be given to every one
Who, with the heart believing, looks upon that
stricken One.

But, now we see Thee on the Father's throne
No longer stricken ; Thou art now the Glorified.
Thy once pierced brow is crowned with many crowns,
And with eternal glory Thy blest visage shines.
We gaze upon Thee there, we wait Thy call-
The Victor's shout, heraldic note, the angel's trump;
And with Thee we shall rise, and, like Thee; then
Forever in the glory Thou hast made our own
With Thee abide.

J. B. Jr.

THE MAN AFTER THE FLESH. INTRODUCTORY.

In a certain sense, a king is the product of the times in which he lives. He represents the thought and condition of the masses, and while he may be beyond the individuals composing the nation, he will represent the ideal, which they exhibit but partially in their several lives. The king, though above the masses, must be one of themselves, only a greater. Just as the gods of the heathen are but the personification of their own desires and passions enlarged.

In a similar way, every man is a representation of the world at large- a microcosm. He is a sample, as we might say, of the whole, having certain characteristics in greater or less proportion, certain ones obscured by the overshadowing prominence of others ; but all features which compose the mass as a whole, present in greater or less degree. It is a solemn thought, and illustrative of our Lord's words to Nicodemus, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh."

We have been looking simply at the natural man and from a natural standpoint. Every observant and thoughtful man will confirm what has been said. Water will not rise higher than its source, and the great leaders of men have been but great men, like the rest of their fellows, only with enlarged capacities and greater force. In fact, the world would boast of the truth of this, and glory in the fact that their great ones are but the exhibition of the qualities that mark all. Thus it makes demigods out of its heroes, and then claims kinship with them, thus climbing higher and exalting themselves. It is man's effort to make good the lie of the serpent, "Ye shall be as gods."

It need hardly be said that there is a distinct limit to all this greatness. Between man and God there is still the "great gulf" impossible to pass. Nor is this merely the gulf between creature and Creator, fixed eternally, and which it is the joy of the child of God to recognize-for our happiness is in keeping the creature place of subjection and of infinite inferiority to "God overall blessed forever"-but sin has made the impassable gulf between man and the true knowledge of God. All his development, knowledge, excellence and greatness, is on the side away from God, and every fresh instance of human greatness but emphasizes the fact that man is away from God. "Ye must be born again."

Looking, then, at this mass of humanity,"alienated from the life of God" – solemn and awful thought-we see here and there, towering above the rest, some prominent and striking character who naturally attracts our attention. Opportunity, ability, force of character, have separately or unitedly put him in the place of eminence. It will surely give us a clearer idea of humanity to study it in this more excellent form, just as the mineralogist would seek for the richest specimen of ore to determine the quality of the entire deposit. Having found that, he would then remember that this was the best, the rest not yielding so much as his specimen.

So we take up the great men of earth to see what is in man. We take the best specimens, where natural character, opportunity and education have combined to produce the nearest approach to perfection, and having learned thus what he is, we remember that the mass of humanity are but poor specimens of the same class. We will have to confess with the psalmist that "every man at his best state is vanity." Nor must we leave out the religious element in all this, but rather expect to find it prominent. Man is a religious being, and we will see where his religion leads. This may be a religion based upon God's revelation, and in outward connection with the ordinances of His own establishment. It may make "a fair show " in all this, and under the influence of God-given ministry seem well nigh to have reached the true knowledge of God, and be born anew. We will find food for most solemn thought in all this.

Such-a man was king Saul, the ideal of the times in which he lived, and combining in himself traits of character which all admire, and all possess in some degree. Added to this natural excellence, he was the favored son of a favored nation, with abundant opportunities for the knowledge of God, both by revelation and prophecy. He will be found to have possessed in himself those qualities of ability and excellence most admired by man, and added to them the nearest approach, at least, to the true knowledge of God. It will be our duty to decide, so far as man can decide, whether he was in any measure a true subject of grace.

But we have said that every man is but a specimen of the mass-possessing in greater measure what are the common characteristics of all. We can thus get help in determining the character of Saul by seeing the general state of the nation, more particularly at the time just prior to his reign; and our knowledge of Saul will in turn enable us more fully to put a just estimate upon the people.

We must also remember that Israel was representative of the whole human family. A vine was taken out of Egypt and planted in a fruitful hill, surrounded by a hedge and tilled with all the skill of a divine husbandman. He asks, "What could have been done more in My vineyard, than I have done in it?" (Isa. 5:4.) But it was a natural vine. It was simply the vine of earth given every opportunity to show what fruit it could produce. We therefore, and all humanity, are under review in this examination of king Saul.

So far we have looked merely at the natural man, leaving out of view that gracious work of God which imparts a new life and gives new relationships with Himself. This has doubtless gone on from the time of the fall; God has always had His children-"the sons of God" in the midst of an apostate, godless world. These, His children, have been born of the Spirit, and faith has ever been the characteristic of their life. Whatever the dispensation or the circumstances, faith has been the mark of the people of God, those possessed of life from Him.

We find, therefore, in the history of Israel, no matter how dark the days and how great the apostasy, a remnant of the true people of God who still held fast to Him. It will be for us also to trace the workings of this faith which marks out God's people from the mass of humanity; and here too we will find, no matter how bright the individual instance may be, that this divine life has a character common to all the saints of God. We may see it very clearly in a Hannah, and very dimly in an Eli; but there will be the same life in each. To trace this in contrast to the activities and excellences of the natural man will help us to understand each more clearly.

But here again we will find that our subject is more than a question of persons. We will find that in the same person both these principles may exist, and that this will explain the feebleness of manifestation of the divine life in some, and apparent inconsistencies in all. We will find, and Scripture confirms the truth, that the nature of man remains unchanged – flesh remains that, and spirit also remains spirit; '' that which is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

May we not, then, expect real profit from this study of Israel's first king ? Should it not give us a clearer view of the helpless and hopeless condition of the natural man, of the utter incorrigibility of "the flesh " in the believer, and enable us to discern more accurately than ever between these two natures in the people of God ? Thus we would answer more fully to the apostle's description of the true circumcision:"who worship by the Spirit of God, and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh."

Lastly, we will more fully understand the dispensational situation, and see how fully is illustrated the fact that all things wait necessarily for God's true King, for the Man after His own heart, of whom David was the type. King may succeed king, but it will be but the ever varying forms of human excellence as displayed in king Saul. Alas ! the true King did come, and the people desired one of the class of Saul – a Barabbas – rather than the True, for their king is but the expression of their own heart and life. Therefore it is only the "righteous nation " who will desire and have that King who shall "reign in righteousness."

(To be continued.) p. 320

Substance of an Address by A. E. B.

"And it came to pass, in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord" (i Kings 6:i).

There can be no mistake in the understanding of this statement, can there, beloved friends? .There is nothing ambiguous in it, as if it feared contradiction, is there ? But it has been contradicted-by bishop Colenso. He says he discovered that from Egypt to Solomon there are 573 years.

I believe we shall find blessing in looking into the matter.

In the thirteenth of Acts, eighteenth verse we read:"And about the time of forty years suffered He their manners in the wilderness." This gives us 4 years

Twentieth verse, "And after that He gave them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years." 450 "

Verse 21, "And afterward they desired a king:and God gave them Saul, the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years." 40 "

"And when He had removed him, He raised up unto them David to be their king." 40 "

Now turn to our chapter in the book of Kings-"The fourth year of Solomon's reign," gives us 3 years

Making a total of 573"

Is it not good that a man who does not believe the Bible should give us something ? Perhaps we would not have looked it up if the bishop had not disputed it. But Scripture is right, and the bishop wrong spite of appearances. Let us, my young brethren, take the shoes from off our feet and worship as we turn to Him who has inspired every iota of His word.

There are 573 years from the inspired record itself and yet we have seen in that same inspired record that there are 480 years. Where are we going to get light about the ninety-three years of difference? Go back to Judg. 3:7, 8, "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forget the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves. Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia:and the children of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years." Put down these 8 years

Vers. 12-14, "And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord; and He gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel and possessed the city of the palm-trees. So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years." Note down . … 18 "

Chap. 4:1-3, "And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead; and the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles. And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord:for he had 900 chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel." Note down ………… 20 years

Chap. 6:i, "And the children of Israel did evil, in the sight of the Lord:and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years." Note down ……. 7 "

Chap. 13:i, "And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years." Note down 40

Now sum up there are the these five captivities and-
there are the 93

Job says:"Doth He not see all my ways and count all my steps?" God goes over the whole history -573 years. The first eight years they were away from Him, and He will not count that. Next there are eighteen years of being away from the Lord; He says, Drop those out. The next twenty years under Jabin – drop those. Again seven years in captivity to Midian, the Lord drops them out ; then forty years they fall under the power of the Philistines, and God drops them out. He could not-He would not count the time when His people were out of their right place. Ninety-three years altogether His people were away from Him, and God counts them out and says, "Four hundred and eighty years." What a solemn lesson for us all, my brethren.

I was wondering what was going to be accomplished in our souls as the result of our coming together these few days; and I thought that among us, as Christians, I would like to see a deeper, a truer, a fuller work of the Spirit produced in us through the meeting, to the glory of God. I wonder if, in our meetings, some of God's people are not right with Him-if any of them are walking at a distance from Him and not in their right place. Let me tell you, dear brethren, at the judgment seat of Christ our time is all going to be counted. Abraham came out of Mesopotamia, and when they got away, as we have seen in the book of Judges, that is the place where they are carried back – carried back to the very place from which He brought them. We used to have card-parties in our parlors, but earnest evangelists came who gave us better things, and we gave them all up. If we should get the card-parties back there again, will that be to our reward? No, it is all lost for eternity. When we, as Christians get away from our God and under the power of any form of vice or evil, or wrong, mixed up with any worldly association whatever, walking in any wrong company, the Lord whose eyes are holy, who sees us through and through, says I cannot count that time, and that will all be deducted from your account of time before the judgment-seat of Christ.

A brother said to me once, " I see now, as I have never seen it before that the judgment-seat of Christ is going to be pay-day for believers. I had been absent from my work two weeks," he said, "and on the monthly pay-day I went down to get my wages; they handed me the slip, and there were just two weeks of time. There was not a word said about the two weeks I was away from my right place. I see now at the judgment-seat of Christ it is pay-day for the believer." Everyday, yes, every hour, yes, every moment that is spent out of communion with the Lord, He is going to deduct it from your time and you will get no reward for it.

And now dear brethren, receiving the truth is a sacred trust. We are responsible to commit that truth to others. Notice the difference between the little butterfly and the honey-bee. The butterfly will start out in the morning and go out in the garden, light on one flower after another, and then return. If you could talk with the butterfly and ask, Where have you been? it would say, "I have seen many things; heard many things, but brought nothing back. And sad to say, that is the way sometimes with people. They say, " I have read forty-five chapters this week." Well, what have you got from those forty-five chapters ? They cannot take and write down one thought that the Holy Ghost has given them. Now go to the little honey-bee, and ask, Where have you been? " Oh, just to one or two spots; I went to a flower and I went right down to the heart of the flower, and took a lot of honey there; then I brought it back, and here it is." I have thought as to this verse we have considered in the sixth chapter of Kings:Oh, that God would make us like that little honey-bee, to drink the precious honey we can find there.

QUES. 17.-What path is described in Job 28:7?

ANS.-The connection shows it is the path of wisdom. ''Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding (ver. 12) V Part at least of the answer is given in ver. 28, " unto man He saith, Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding."

QUES. 18.-What was the vow of Jephthah the Gileadite regarding his daughter? If the thought of putting her to death is here, kindly explain in full.

ANS.-" If Thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Am-mon into my hands, then it shall be that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me . . . shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering " (Judg. 11:30, 31). Ordinarily there would be no doubt that Jephthah meant to sacrifice in death whatever came out. It being his daughter has raised the question with thoughtful students of God's word whether he could have put her to death, so repulsive to nature and forbidden by the word of God. On the other hand, remembering the sternness of the man, his rashness and the generally lawless state of the people, it does not seem at all improbable that the first impression of every reader of the account is correct – that she was put to death as a sacrifice. This view can be seen at length in " Lectures on Judges."

QUES. 19.-Why were only eleven tribes mentioned by Ahijah the prophet, to Jeroboam (1 Ki. 11:31, 32).

ANS.-Benjamin is the one tribe who, with Judah the tribe of David, makes up the twelve. See chap. 12:21.

QUES. 20.-Please explain the words, " take, eat, this is my body." Do we in partaking of the Lord's supper literally partake of His body and blood?

ANS.-" I am the door," " I am the true vine." No one for a single moment mistakes the meaning of these words, or applies them literally to our Lord. As symbols they are beautiful ; force them in a literal way and all beauty and meaning is lost. So with the symbols of our Lord's body and blood. As symbols they are the sweet precious memorials of One who loved us unto death; taken literally, they become the food of superstition and a carnal religion. We need but to look at the blasphemous use Rome has made of the Lord's supper to see the danger of which we speak. Think of a few words of the priest creating Christ, and that in His divine character!

But even where such gross and blasphemous use is not made of the Lord's supper, any teaching that leads us to look at the bread and wine as anything but simple memorials, feeds superstition. It is Christ with whom we are to be occupied, arid we simply " do this " to call Him to mind.

QUES. 21.-What was involved in the act of Samuel in honoring Saul before the people (1 Sam. 15:30)?

ANS.-In refusing to obey God in the utter extermination of the Amalekites, Saul had fully manifested his unfitness for the throne. This Samuel faithfully and unflinchingly presses upon him, and refuses to sacrifice with him on that ground. As a last resort Saul, tacitly admitting the right of Samuel's refusal to go with him as one In whom God was pleased, asks simply that his office be recognized. There was nothing amiss in this, as it was not God's purpose Immediately to overthrow the disobedient king.

QUES. 22.-What does Scripture teach about Satan's ability- or inability-to know man's thoughts? Are all evil thoughts in man the product of his own wicked heart apart from Satan?

ANS.-We are not aware that Scripture directly teaches as to the first part of the question, and would be slow to assert positively as to it. We would suggest however that Satan, being a spirit, can detect the movements of man's mind, as man in the body could observe the physical movements of men. As to evil thoughts, Satan cannot give them, save as there is a readiness to receive them. Thus man Is fully responsible for what Satan has suggested. " Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost" (Acts 5:3)?

QUES. 23.-What is holiness according to Scripture? Was Adam holy before he sinned?

ANS.-Holiness is a positive, inherent character, the product of a nature. We would therefore prefer not applying the term to Adam, but rather to say he was innocent. Holiness is the character of God, and it is His children who through chastisement are made partakers of that.

7. NEARER THAN THE NEAREST.

Chapter 4:Continued from page 225.

As we have already seen, Boaz takes Ruth as his wife in the presence of the kinsman and of the witnesses. Nothing is "done in a corner," no righteous demands are ignored, or any necessary claim set aside. The very law which witnessed against the apostate nation will witness also to the righteousness of Him who restores to Himself on the basis of grace the penitent and believing remnant. The prophets bear abundant witness to this, linking, as we have already seen in some measure, the people's past unfaithfulness as Jehovah's espoused, and the future grace which will restore them. "Of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest playing the harlot" (Jer. 2:20). God had rescued them from Egypt, and they had promised, at Sinai, not to transgress. Alas, the golden calf was set up before the law was brought into camp, and the long list of subsequent idolatries told how they had broken the covenant."High places," for idolatrous worship had dotted the whole land, while in the shade of every green tree the abominations of heathenism had been practiced. Spiritually and literally did these unholy and unclean rites deserve the name of harlotry so frequently given them in the prophets. What could God do with such a nation but put them away?

"They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord." "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you." "Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord. . . . Return ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold we come unto Thee, for Thou art our God" (Jer. 3:). This whole portion of Jeremiah is exceedingly beautiful and touching. The tender pleadings of divine love to a bold, faithless, and wanton people, the assurances of forgiveness and everlasting mercy are touching in the extreme.

"Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant, . . . and I will establish My covenant with thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord" (Ezek. 16:60, 62). Here again, after depicting in the utmost faithfulness, the originally helpless condition of the people, their "time of love" and the beauty with which He adorned them, their wanton shameless, faithlessness, and hopeless degradation. God assures them of a recovery and a re-union in the bonds of a marriage covenant "never to be broken or forgotten."

Similarly, in the familiar passage in Hosea, the past unfaithfulness of the people, their present rejection as "Lo-ammi," and their future restoration are presented. " Behold I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness and speak comfortably unto her.

And I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. . . . And I will betroth thee unto me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness:and thou shalt know the Lord" (Hos. 2:14-23).

These touching and beautiful passages may well serve as the link between Naomi and Ruth. The nation departed as Naomi, they are restored-the remnant of them-as Ruth, in deep and true penitence and a faith which renounces all claims in themselves, yet for that reason cleaves all the more fully to the Lord and His grace.

So, as Boaz calls the elders and all the people to witness to his having purchased all the forfeited inheritance and the Gentile widow Ruth, will our Lord call all to witness to His redemption of His desolate people. "Comfort ye, comfort, ye My people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned:for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins" (Is. 40:1, 2). "With a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, the Lord hath redeemed His servant Jacob" (Is. 48:20).

The grace too which will redeem the people will also restore the land to them for their enjoyment. In fact all during their captivity and estrangement from God, the land has enjoyed its sabbaths-sign of the covenant between God and the people. So in a sense the very desolations of the land are a reminder of the unfailing promise of God, who would not give to others that which was reserved for His own. "Thus saith the Lord, Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. . . . Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses . . . for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the Lord " (Jer. 32:42, 44). "And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them as at the first. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against Me. . . . Again there shall be heard in this place . . . the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts; for the Lord is good; for His mercy endureth forever; and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land as at the first, saith the Lord " (Jer. 33:7, 10, 11). Mercy to the people must necessarily be accompanied by mercy to the land. The one will not be without the other. "He will be merciful unto His land and to His people " (Deut. 32:43). "I will hear the heavens and they shall hear the earth (or land); and the earth (or land) shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel" (Hos. 2:21, 22).

This is dwelt upon at length in the beautiful sixty-fifth psalm. Praise silently waits upon God in Zion until the hour appointed for the overthrow of enemies and the final establishment of peace in the land. Then God's mercy to His land will be celebrated; "Thou visitest the earth and waterest it; Thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water. . . . Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness, and Thy paths drop fatness. . . . The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing" (Ps. 65:9-13).

Thus the purchase of all that was Elimelech's and his two sons', the land and inheritance, includes also Ruth the widow. And Christ's redemption of His people includes the land as well. How suggestive it is that at this present time we have not only a people without a land, the Jews, but a land without a definitely settled people. Each is waiting for the other, and both, yea all things, wait His time who surely will fulfil all His word. "If My covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances, of heaven and earth; then will I cast away the seed of Jacob" (Jer. 33:25, 26).

Gladly do the witnesses respond to the declaration of Boaz. "And all the people that were in the gate" -the ten men, representing the law, and all the others-said, " We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel." These two mentioned were the mothers of the twelve patriarchs, the founders of the nation. When all has apparently failed, the Mighty One comes in and restores, nay far more, the nation to its original greatness. The original redemption from Egypt will no more be the standard, but that last and final one, when He will gather His beloved people, and Rachel, to whom allusion is here made, will refrain from weeping for her children. "There is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border" (Jer. 31:17).

They also allude to Tamar and her children-the one who, we might say, founded the tribe of Judah to which Boaz belonged. Looking back at that history, we find it a sadly blotted page. Sin seems to be written all over it, yet a faith that desires, and Jacob-like will get by artifice, the blessing. Here is the blessing without the stain, but reminding us, as we have been seeing, of grace to a sinful and unworthy people.

Thus the law, magnified and made honorable, not only transfers all its rights to Christ, but claims for the people-unfruitful so far as the law was concerned-a blessing beyond its own through this new relationship.

All is consummated and Boaz takes his bride to himself. Ah soon will the poor cast-off nation be gathered to the arms of Eternal love and "as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee."

A son is born to Ruth, but in a beautiful way it is not Ruth but Naomi who comes into prominence here. The aged mother, with blasted life and bitter memories, is before us now with the young babe in her arms. All the past is forgotten save to contrast it with the joyful present. They bless the Lord, as they rejoice, who has not left His desolate people without a Redeemer, and who is indeed "famous in Israel." Ruth too is not forgotten, and her faithful devotedness is acknowledged by all. " Thy daughter-in-law which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him." Israel according to the flesh would indeed have been utterly worthless towards restoring blessing, but this Gentile daughter-in-law-speaking, as we have seen, of faith and penitence-is better than all excellence of the flesh.

This child is to be, as they tell Naomi, "a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thy old age." So the child is called Obed, "servant."

Passing to the spiritual meaning of all this, we can hardly fail to connect this child with that other wondrous Child born of this same line, and who will invert while He makes good all we have been seeing, being Himself also Boaz, the Risen and glorified One; "For unto a Child is born, unto us a Son is given:and the government shall be upon His shoulder:and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace " (Is. 9:6).
It is fitting too that He should have this name of "servant." Israel was God's servant, but how unfaithful ! Then this faithful One comes, who is indeed God's servant, "Mine elect in whom My soul delighteth." Through Him and by His grace the remnant is called out and they too are designated by that same title; while finally all the nation will be restored and rejoice, as once they did in disobedience, to be called the servants of the Lord.

And how perfectly has our blessed Lord illustrated the beauty of faithful service! He came to do God's will, and His meat and drink it was to do it. All along His earthly path He was ministering to the suffering and the sin-sick. Upon the cross He served – blessed forever be His Name!- that we might never know the awful penalty of sin. All this He did gratuitously. He was one who owed no
service-the heifer upon which no yoke had come. Yet He took the form of a servant and did a servant's work-to God and for man's need. Even now in glory He serves His needy people by His Spirit, His word and His all availing work as advocate and intercessor, and His crowning act of service will be to gird Himself and serve His own faithful ones- faithful only by His grace-in token of His approval. Well has He gained this title, and for us no higher honor exists than to follow, in our measure, His own lowly path.

'' And Naomi took the child and laid it in her bosom." So the aged Simeon took the Babe in his arms and, as we might say, vanishes out of sight in his own song of praise, leaving us to gaze upon the cause of his joy. How the aged widow found joy and warmth as that fresh young life nestled near her heart. Ah, there is the nation's hope, and till He is taken to the people's heart they abide in widowed loneliness.

Returning to ourselves, here we see the one great remedy for all our wretchedness. Has the heart grown cold ? Has our joy like Naomi's waxed faint? It is our privilege in reality, as it was hers in type, to clasp to our bosom Him who once a Babe, still in glory yields Himself to His people's embraces. We never grow warm save as He has His place in the heart.

Grant, Lord, that we may know more of this- Thyself held fast to our hearts by a living faith, as we realize too a mightier love that holds us fast, for-evermore to Thee.

Concluded.

VII. THE GREAT FOES.

The child of God has three great enemies in his life on earth-seductive, selfish, unrelenting in their warfare. They are:

I. The World.-In the New Testament, "the world" is used for "the habitable earth," "the people dwelling on it," and the customs, habits, ways, usages etc. of the people (Rom. 12:2); and it is in this last sense we use it. "All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (i John 2:16). The child of God having been delivered from this present evil world (or age) Gal. 1:4. is to remember its "friendship is enmity with God" (James 4:4), and so is not to love it (i John 2:15), nor to be conformed to it in any manner (Rom. 12:2). Because "the whole world lieth in wickedness" (or the wicked one), (i John 5:19; 2 Cor. 4:4; i Pet. 4:3). The customs, society, usages, etc. of the world, would allure the child of God from whole heartedness to Christ, by their seductive attractions, amusements etc. ; just as the "mixed multitude" coming; out from Egypt with the Israelites "fell a lusting," and caused them to sigh for "the cucumbers and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic" of Egypt (Num. 11:). Following those who were sheltered from judgment by the blood of the Lamb (Ex. 12:), and delivered by passing the Red Sea (Ex. 14:), their heart goes back to the fruit of that from which they had escaped. Do we try to excuse or justify our action, by saying many "good people" do likewise? This, alas, may be only too true, but "thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil" (Ex. 23:2). It is not a question of approval or disapproval of "good people " but whether it is of God or not. 1 John 2:15 and i Cor. 10:31 should be decisive. It may be a matter of dress, some "harmless amusement" in these days of summer relaxation, the desire for the worldly position, or wealth, but, alas, if yielded to it may sever the saint's communion, grieve the Spirit, and cause much prayer, and brokenness of spirit ere it be restored.

" In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, in shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array" (i Tim. 2:9).

"They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things" (i Tim. 6:9-11). Beware of "the little foxes which spoil the vines" (Song 2:15). It is against a disposition to this "the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy," 1:e., earnestly desireth the whole heart for Christ.

2. The Flesh.-This is self, the most subtle enemy of the three; we may withdraw from the world's alluring power, and yet so vain is the natural heart, that it may gender in a Christian, a spirit of self-complacency, near akin to self-righteousness, or a "holier than thou" spirit, or self-gratification, vain display, either in dress or speech, or manner, so different from Him who has left us an example (i Pet. 2:21), "meek and lowly" (Matt. 11:29), and "made Himself of no reputation" (Phil. 2:7). The injunction is "Dearly beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lust which war against the soul" (i Pet. 2:ii). Is it some habit, considered by many as not inconsistent? "That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him, which died for them and rose again" (2 Cor. 5:15), and so we are not to fulfil the lusts of the flesh, for it is just as bad in the believer as in the unbeliever and cannot please God (Rom. 8:7). Thus we are to have no confidence in it (Phil. 3:3) and make no provision for it (Rom. 13:14).

3. The Devil.-He is the one who gives activity and power to the two former enemies, bringing them into living action against the child of God, with an energy which only the Son of God can overcome. " For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil " (i Jno. 3:8). Sometimes he appears in a most attractive garb, as "an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14) often hindering the movements of God's people (i Thess. 2:18), calling in question the truth of God's word and His love (Gen. 3:4; Matt. 4:3-11; Luke 4:3-13; Eph. 6:ii, 12), and in open opposition i Pet. 5:8. His great aim ever is to cast a slur or dishonor upon the name of our blessed Lord, or to mar His work, if such were possible. Imitation is his most powerful weapon in these days especially presenting "the form of godliness." Thus he works through the world by suggesting conformity to it, and through the flesh by pandering to its taste and gratifying self.

The relief, deliverance, and victory. There is but one method for this, and this is complete subjection to the word of God. God places every believer on His blessed Son before Him, as dead.

"For ye are dead" (Col. 3:3).

"Knowing this that our old man is crucified with Him " (Rom. 6:6).

"The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world " (Gal. 6:14).

Such is the position in which the weakest, youngest believer is placed before God, just as the Israelites were sheltered from judgment by the blood of the Lamb, and brought out of Egypt (a place of bondage, type of the world) given victory over the Egyptians, and Pharaoh (types of sins and sin) by the passage of the Red Sea, as God, in the death of Christ grants each believer shelter from a worse wrath, deliverance from a worse bondage; victory over spiritual foes, and places His people in a new position, on the resurrection side of the grave, and with a new life to live for Him. Victory is then not a matter of personal attainment in holiness of character, accomplished by some struggle, or yielding process, but is a matter of believing God's word, and reckoning oneself in the place practically in which God places such positionally (Rom. 6:4).

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead " (Rom. 6:11-13).

"And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him " (2 Cor. 5:15).

But it must ever be remembered that this is only accomplished by the energy of the Holy Spirit applying the word of God to the heart, for practical effect in life, and the believer recognizing his responsibility by complete obedience to the Word.
"Therefore brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die, but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Rom. 8:12, 13).

"This I say then, walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh:and these are contrary the one to the other:so that ye can not do the things that ye would. If we live in the Spirit let us also walk in the Spirit " (Gal. 5:16, 17, 25).

"And this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith" (i John 5:4).

'' And take . . . the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17).

Thus and thus alone can the child of God be fortified against these three foes or overcome them, and should he succumb to any of their attacks God's grace still provides a relief in the advocacy of Christ, and deep contrite confession of the sin.

"If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (i John 2:i; 1:9).

As to the devil, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (Jas. 4:7). He is a conquered foe, whom Christ has "destroyed" (Heb. 2:14). We need not fear one already overcome, but can overcome him practically in our daily life " steadfast in the faith." B. W. J.

Ere seeking to answer this question, which seems to be a perplexity to some, it might be well to state, as briefly as possible what is meant by the period of judgment, as this paper will probably fall into the hands of some, who, as yet have given but little attention to prophetic teaching. In doing this it will be necessary to do little more than refer to a large number of passages of Scripture, many of which lack of space will forbid quoting in full, but it is hoped the reader will refer to any that are unfamiliar to him.

First, then, let it be noted that Old Testament prophecy never refers to the dispensation in which we live (extending from Pentecost to the Lord's coming for His own) save in a most indefinite way as, for instance, in Dan. 9:26, a passage which will come before us a little farther down. From Moses to Malachi, Scripture is mainly occupied with one nation, Israel, (Amos 3:2; Deut. 7:6; Ps. 147:19, 20) and the hope of that nation, namely, the raising up of the Prophet (Deut. 8:15), Priest (Ps. ex. 4; Zech. 6:5), and King (Is. xxxii; Ps. 2:6), who is to bring them into everlasting blessing as a people (Ps. 132:11-18; Is. 35:10; 51:ii; 61:7), though not until they have been born again (Ezek. 36:24-30).

The Gentiles shall share in that blessing (Is. 56:6; 65:i) but not as on the same footing with Israel; rather in subjection to them (Is. 14:1-3; 60:3-5; 62:2, 3).

Ere the ushering in of that day of Jehovah's power and Messiah's glory the prophets, however, predicted the rejection of both the looked-for Redeemer (Is. 53:) and the nation (Is. 1.), the former by Israel to whom He came, the latter themselves set aside by God (Zech. 7:13-14) while the rejected Messiah takes His place in the heavens on Jehovah's throne (Ps. 110:i) which He will occupy until the future repentance of the people (Hosea 5:15). This setting aside of Israel is, however, not final, as the thirtieth and thirty-first chapters of Jeremiah, together with many other portions of the Word, plainly declare. But before their restoration to divine favor and the land of Palestine they must pass through a short period of unequaled persecution and chastisement called the "time of Jacob's trouble" in Jer. 30:7. At the close of this time they will be ready to acknowledge the crucified as their Lord and will '' mourn for Him as one mourneth for his only son" (Zech. 12:10-14; 13:6, 7). In the darkest hour of their sorrow when Jerusalem is compassed about with armies and they are in direst distress, He will appear as their Deliverer and to the destruction of their enemies, after which the tabernacle of David will be raised up and the reign of righteousness ushered in (Zech. 14:; Amos 9:8-15).

Thus far, the Old Testament. Turning now to the later revelation we find many new data introduced without which the present working of the Spirit of God in the world would be inexplicable. In Rom. 11:we are told that upon the breaking off of the natural branches (Israel) from the tree of promise, wild branches (Gentiles) are introduced in their place; in other words, Israel's rejection has but made way for unforetold grace to be shown to the nations though Old Testament prophecy of blessing to the heathen can be quoted as proof that such grace is not in collision with the Word. This special work among the Gentiles is not to go on forever though, for if these continue not in divine goodness they too shall be exit off and the natural branches grafted in again, for God is able.

God, then, is doing a work, unmentioned in the Jewish oracles during the time that His earthly people are " Lo-ammi" ("not My people," Hosea 1:9:) and unacknowledged by Him, and "blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in " (Rom. 11:25). This, however, is a "mystery" (of which there are several), one of the secret things (Deut. 29:29) till now unrevealed. The Lord Jesus confirms this (but rather from the political side) in His prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem-the long period of desolation and Gentile supremacy following it, and finally the end in His personal appearing (Luke 21:). In verse 24 we read, "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."

This connects us again with Dan. 9:where we get the great prophecy of the "seventy weeks." A lengthy exposition of this passage cannot be attempted here, but we briefly notice the main points. From the cycle of time, seventy weeks (or sevens) of years (note the periods before the prophet's mind in ver. 2) making in all 490 years, are "determined" or "cut off " and given to Daniel's people, of course, the Jewish nation.

Ere this length of time expires six important events will have taken place:1st, transgression will
be finished; 2nd, an end will be made of sins; 3rd, atonement (rather than "reconciliation") will be made for iniquity; 4th, everlasting righteousness will be brought in; 5th, vision and prophecy will be sealed up, or finished, 1:e., all fulfilled; and 6th, the most holy, or holy of holies of the millennial temple at Jerusalem will be anointed (see Ezek 40:-xlviii).

The seventy weeks are divided into three unequal periods; 1st, seven weeks or forty-nine years; 2nd, sixty-two weeks, or 434 years; 3rd, one week or seven years. During the first seven weeks "the strait times " (see margin) the city and wall of Jerusalem were to be rebuilt. The date from which to count is found in Neh. 2:, when a "commandment went forth to restore and build Jerusalem." The sixty-two weeks seem to have immediately followed and ended in the coming of Messiah. After the conclusion of this period He was cut off and had nothing, but by this, atonement was made. Then comes in the present long interval of Jerusalem's treading down. The city is destroyed as our Lord foretold also, and "even unto the end shall be war "until one arises who confirms a covenant with the mass of the Jews for the last final week. Clearly, then, this week is still future. The prophetic clock stopped at Calvary. It will not start again till "the fulness of the Gentiles become in." The present is a timeless epoch, parenthetically introduced between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks, in which God is taking out from among the Gentiles a people to His Name (Acts 15:14). Not that He has utterly given up the Jew now, but both Jew and Gentile stand on one footing, "there is no difference for all have sinned" (Rom. 3:). Both alike are saved through faith in Christ, and all such are made members of the One Body, the Church, by the Holy Ghost, and united to the Lord Jesus Christ as Head in heaven, another mystery, hitherto unrevealed. (See Rom. 16:25-28; i Cor. 12:; Eph. 4:; Col. 1:24-29). This began with the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:; i Cor. 12:13). It will be completed at the coming of the Lord to call His Church to be forever with Himself, an event which may take place at any moment (i Thess. 4:15-18-; i Cor. 15:51-54; 2 Thess. 2:i). Then the long delayed seventieth week will begin to run its course. At its conclusion Daniel's prophecy (as all other millennial prophecy) will be entirely fulfilled. Atonement was made for iniquity after the expiration of the sixty-ninth week. Everlasting righteousness will be brought in at the end of the seventieth.

This brief period, though, will be one of judgment throughout, and that threefold. It will include judgment on apostate Christendom, on Israel, and on the nations at large. It is to be the awful result of the rejection of the Prince of Peace.

The book of Revelation from chap. 4:-19:is occupied entirely with its solemn events. The saints-of all prior dispensations, as well as the Church – are seen enthroned in heaven, as the twenty-four elders who have been redeemed with the blood of the Lamb (chap. 5:) at the beginning of the week. They ride forth as the "armies of heaven " with "The Word of God " at His glorious appearing at the close. The last three years and a half will be especially the time when Israel shall receive "of the Lord's hand double for all her sins" (Is. 40:2), the "time of Jacob's trouble " of Jer. 30:7 and Dan. 12:i, and the "great tribulation" of Matt. 24:and Rev. 7:14. The covenant-breaking prince of Dan. 9:is doubtless the beast, the head of the Roman empire who makes a league with the wilful king of chap. 11:36-39-the Antichrist of prophecy (i Jno. 2:18), the idol shepherd of Zech. 11:15-17, who will "come in his own name" as foretold by the Lord Jesus in Jno. 5:43, and be received by the mass of the Jews as Messiah, but who will become the cruel persecutor of a faithful company designated as " the remnant" (Is. 11:ii; Ezek. 6:8; Rev. 12:17, etc).

Trusting that the above will be clear to any who "search the Scriptures" to see "whether these things are so," we will now devote our attention to the subject proper of the paper. To many the preliminary remarks were doubtless quite unnecessary, but others may find them helpful.

The seventh of Revelation, with its sealed 144,000 of Israelites and white-robed multitude of saved Gentiles, is proof positive that many will be brought to know the Lord after the taking away of the church and before the establishment of the millennial kingdom. These are not saved for heaven, though we have an additional martyr company who are (Rev. 14:13; 15:2-4); but the companies of chap. 7:are saved for the earth. They will be "left" to enter into the kingdom as set up in power at the appearing of Jesus Christ, when others are "taken" away in judgment (Matt. 24:40; Luke 17:34-36), and are probably identical, as to the Gentiles, with the "righteous" of Matt. 25:31-46 who "inherit the kingdom."

Where then will they be found ? Will any who have rejected the gospel as now presented be among them ?

In 2 Thess. 2:we read of the hindrance to the full manifestation of the evil of the period of judgment referred to, which is evidently the presence of the Holy Ghost in the Church on earth. He "lets" or hinders until " He be taken out of the way." When He goes up with the Church at the Lord's descent into the air, "then the lawless one shall be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the breath of His mouth and shall annul by the appearing of His coming; whose coming is according to the working of Satan in all power and signs and wonders of falsehood, and in all deceit of unrighteousness to them that perish, because they have not received the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this reason God sends to them a working of error, that they should believe what is false, that all might be judged who have not believed the truth but have pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thess. 2:8-13, J. N. D's Trans.)."

This is certainly a most solemn passage deserving to be carefully weighed. It refers to something which may take place very, very soon; a state of affairs many living now may enter upon shortly. The more minutely it is examined the more clearly it will be seen that it cuts off all hope of any being saved in that coming "hour of temptation "'(Rev. 2:10) who have heard the gospel of the grace of God in this "day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2), but heard only to reject it. It puts a terrible responsibility on those who listen again and again to the proclamation of salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, yet have never rested in Him for themselves. To believers' children and unsaved members of their families it speaks loudly and warningly, for soon those who know the Lord will be "caught up"; then dire judgment will rest upon those who trusted Him not for themselves.

All who "believed not the truth" and who "received not the love of the truth" when it was presented to them are given up to a "working of error" or "strong delusion" that they might be judged. In the day when the truth was preached they turned carelessly from it because they had pleasure in unrighteousness. They were "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God " (2 Tim. 3:4). Now they are given up to error, and that by God Himself. Like Elymas the sorcerer, who rejected the light of the gospel and was smitten with blindness, so upon these, having turned from the truth, God sends the delusion that causes them to believe the lie of the Antichrist.

For former instances of God's sending men delusions and visiting them with judicial blindness, see the cases of Pharaoh (Ex. 11:10), of Ahab (2 Chron. 18:), and of the nation of Israel (Is. 6:9-10; Matt. 13:13-15), all who hear the gospel and believe it not are "condemned already " (Jno. 3:18). If the Lord comes while they are still in that state, the condemnation is final, and we note their dreadful doom in 2 Thess. 1:7-10, together with the contrast of the blessed place that might have been theirs, had they but believed the testimony so graciously given. "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; when He shall come to be glorified in His saints and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day." There could be no stronger declaration that all who reject the testimony now, will be unable to avail themselves of the testimony then, while the result of the outpouring of divine wrath upon the scene will only harden in place of bringing to repentance (Rev. 16:9, 10, 11, 21).

The teaching has become current among many that the taking away of the saved will result in an awakening in nominal Christendom, so that many who now have a name to live, but are dead, will in that day turn to the Lord. As to this, Scripture, as we have seen, states exactly the opposite, which is confirmed by the Lord Jesus in the Gospels. At the end of the age the tares are gathered in bundles and burned (Matt. 13:30, 40-42); the man without the wedding garment on, is cast into outer darkness (Matt. 22:13); the unfaithful servant is appointed his portion with the hypocrites (Matt. xxiv 48-51); the foolish virgins, though they go for oil, are shut outside the door (Matt. 25:ii); the unprofitable servant has even his profession taken away (vers. 28-30); those who neglected to enter in at the strait gate seek in vain to enter then (Luke 13:24); even as those who refused to be warned by Enoch and Noah perished in the flood, and those who listened not to Lot were destroyed in Sodom (Luke 17:26-30).

In short, we search Scripture in vain for one hint that any gospel rejecter will be saved in that clay. Nor does the expression in Rev. 7:9 militate against this:"Of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues," for manifestly none of Israel will be among them, as we see the 144,000 of the twelve tribes quite distinct from the great multitude. The expression really declares the universality of the response to the everlasting gospel among the heathen nations, but Christendom, as Israel, is not counted, unless indeed, there be found even there some who never heard the gospel before. We leave then this solemn part of the subject, to look at the other side of the question, Who then can be saved?

And, first of all, we are reminded that this will be the period of Israel's awakening, as we have already seen in several passages. In Dan. 12:3, we read, "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever," and this, as the first verse assures us, during the time of trouble, but "at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."

The hour of their darkest trouble and deepest sorrow will result in the elect among them returning to the Lord. The 144,000 of Rev. 7:picture to us those who will say, "Come, and let us return unto the Lord:for He hath torn and He will heal us; He hath smitten and He will bind us up " (Hosea 6:i). Zion's sore travail shall result in a great bringing forth of children as predicted in Micah 5:3, and Is. 66:8. We quote the latter passage, "Who hath heard such a thing ? who hath seen such things ? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day ? or shall a nation be born at once ? For as soon as Zion travailed she brought forth her children." The verses following are deserving also of special notice in this connection. See too Zech. 12:and 13:

And so the "blindness in part" is to be done away, the "fulness of the Gentiles" having come in, as shown also in Hosea 3:4, 5. "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim; afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God and David their king, and shall fear the Lord and His goodness, in the latter days." This is true not of the nation as a whole. (See Zech. 13:8, 9; Is. 24:13, also Ezek. 20:31-44), but of the remnant. The mass will be destroyed for their apostasy. The remnant will be acknowledged as the nation, "and so all Israel shall be saved" (Rom. 11:26). To be of the sons of Jacob even, does not insure an opportunity of grace. None who refuse the truth now, whether Jew or Gentile, can be saved then.

Through the Jew, the gospel of the Kingdom will, during this time, be preached in all the earth for a witness, ere the end shall come. Sent forth by the Spirit from on high they will proclaim far and wide the approach of the Kingdom and call upon men to repent as John the Baptist did of old. See Matt. 24:14.

The everlasting gospel of Rev. 14:6, 7 is probably identical with this. There it is the calling on the creature to acknowledge the Creator God in a day when all the world will be wondering after the beast (Rev. 13:). Is. 66:18-21 is instructive in this connection:"It shall come, that I will gather all nations, and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. And I will send a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Jovan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard My fame, neither have seen My glory; and they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles, and they shall bring your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses and in chariots and in litters, and upon mules and upon swift beasts, to My holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord." Here we doubtless have the ingathering of the ten tribes, for the Lord will "save the tents of Judah first" (Zech. 12:7). Connected with it however we see grace going out to the Gentiles who have not heard the truth previously. The great result of this is seen also in Zech. 8:20, 23.

A word on the judgment of Matt. 25:and we have done. This takes place at the Lord's coming to the earth. The living nations are gathered before Him. The separation is made according to the treatment accorded the Jewish missionaries mentioned above whom He owns as "My brethren." Intelligence in divine things is not marked in any, but at least they did not reject or neglect the messengers. They are saved and enter into the Kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. They are the " blessed of [His] Father."

And so even though the sword of judgment is unsheathed, grace is still exercised according to the word, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy "(Rom. 9:15). From Israel and the Gentiles a countless number will go into the millennial kingdom and acknowledge the sway of the blessed One, once made a curse for them, as for us. But not one who has spurned the Lamb of God in the present period will be among them.

There will, as briefly noticed above, be some who will be numbered with the heavenly saints after the Church is gone. They will be exclusively Jewish as evidenced by the fact that they sing "the song of Moses, the servant of God, and of the Lamb" (Rev. 15:3). Their part will be, not with the Church, the body of Christ and Eve of the Last Adam, but doubtless with those of old who "desired a better country, that is an heavenly" (Heb. 11:16). In Rev. 20:we see them enthroned with the rest who live and reign a thousand years. With the Lamb they will be forever, but not theirs will be the special place enjoyed by those who now believe in Him and who are identified with Him in the present hour of His rejection. H. A. I.

QUES. 14.-Please explain the meaning of the Rider on the white horse, Rev. 6:2. Does he go forth as an antichrist or as a warrior? Is he a real man or only a symbol?

ANS.-He goes forth "conquering and to conquer," so evidently he is not an antichrist, but a warrior. The bow also would speak of this. He thus stands for the victorious spread of power in the latter days. The horse is symbolic of power and rule, but the rider is something more than a symbol. Being the first to come forth, he seems to be the ruler of the revived Roman Empire. Later on we see this ruler as "the beast"(ch. 13:1), revived in satanic power after he had received the deadly wound.

It is of solemn interest to note that this Rider comes forth at the call of the first living creature-the Lion. Christ as King is represented as the lion, and if He is rejected by man, there is nothing left but this warrior ruler. The Jews declared " we have no king but Caesar," and in this last of the Caesars we see the heading up of that apostasy of the world from its rightful Ruler.

QUES. 15.-Please explain the expression " sons of God," Gen. 6:2. To my mind it seems undoubtedly to point to the children of Seth. Yet I believe some hold and speak of the words in Jude 6, 7, as pointing to another view.

ANS.-We have no doubt the first is the correct view. "Sons of God," it is true, is used of angels (Job 1:6; 38:7). But as in all Scripture, the connection must be examined. In Genesis there is no mention of angelic beings in connection with these times, on the other hand there is a distinction between the descendants of Seth and those of Cain. Let this be seen, and all is clear, while the other thought is not only incongruous, but contrary to the entire teaching of the word of God. The passage in Jude gives no support to the view mentioned. It treats of an entirely different subject-the fall of the angels, which occurred doubtless before the creation of man. There is no connection between vers. 6, 7 which is sought to be given.

QUES. 16.-Is there a difference in character between the judgment-seat of Christ and the great white Throne?

ANS.-Of course it is understood that there is the widest difference between these two judgments as to time and persons involved, as well as what comes into judgment. The judgment-seat of Christ takes place at the beginning, we might say, of the millennium, and that of the great white Throne at its close. Only the saved are at the former, and only the lost at the latter; while works are reviewed at the former and persons judged at the latter.

But as to the character of the judgment, of the holiness which is its basis, there is no difference. The light in which the saints' works will be manifested is just as intense as that which will search out "the hidden things of darkness "in the unsaved. Does not this explain the apostle's expression, "knowing therefore the terror of the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:11)? He would entreat sinners, in view of that judgment before them, to be reconciled to God, for he knew the solemn reality of that judgment which would search out all the life of the saints.

And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren :and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow." "And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that Thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested" (i Chron. 4:9, 10).

The fact that honorable mention is made of this man, and that God granted his request, should be sufficient to attract our attention and lead us to a closer inquiry, if we would seek His approval and
blessing. What is said in a general way of this man is, that "he was more honorable than his brethren."

This in itself surely is enough to stir our hearts to diligence to know what it is that God so honors, and makes honorable mention of. We shall find too, that such lessons will not be mere statements of doctrine or fact; but living lessons that appeal to our inmost being, and that will lead us to Christ.

As to the details recorded:"His mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow." Here at the beginning we may find connection with another "son of sorrow" called by his mother Benoni-that is, "Son of my sorrow"- called by his father, Benjamin, – "son of my right hand " (Gen. 35:18), pointing on as by the prophet's finger to the Christ, that should first suffer, and enter into His glory. And here may we not see, in a spiritual way, this man, put in company with his Master while waiting for the inheritance, cast upon God in true dependence?

Now, we behold him praying; simple, earnest, believing prayer, to "the God of Israel." He does not forget His connection with His beloved people chosen in grace, and destined for glory, while he turns to seek for himself faith's present portion.

"Oh that Thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! "

Four things are requested, and how suited! How short, how simple the earnest prayer! How full its blessed answer! "God granted him that which he requested."

"Oh that Thou wouldst bless me indeed."This is the simple language of trust, and although a "son of sorrow" he knows, that, "the blessing of the Lord it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it."

"The God of Israel is his God" and if sorrowful he may yet be "always rejoicing."

"Enlarge my coast." He asks no mean possessions of Him whose delight it is to give; but more land to till, more fruit to enjoy, more to "earnestly contend for" in the country surrounded with enemies. God had said, " I have given you the land," and faith takes Him at his word; and God honors the man that so honors Him.

He asks according to His word-His word was abiding in him-and he gets the sure answer.
Here, may we not say, he is in company with the wholehearted Caleb ? God is with him, and he has no cause to fear. Covetousness of such sort is not that "which is idolatry" (Eph. 1:15-23; 3:1-21; Col. 3:).

"And that Thine hand might be with me." Not "the wisdom of man" does his faith stand in; "but the power of God." "The mighty hand of God;" opened to satisfy "the need of every living thing," he would humble himself under. The guiding hand of Him who "knows the way He taketh" is the hand he desires should undertake for him; and lead him into his inheritance. And last, as one having "no confidence in the flesh;" and who would "with fear and trembling, work out his own salvation" prays; "That Thou wouldst keep me from evil."

Here we read the sweet testimony of what "the grace of God " does; grace that has brought salvation, and fixes the eyes on the glory of God, and assures the believing soul it is its own. Grace that teaches, not, "Let us do evil, that good may come," but, to abhor evil, and cleave to that which is good; "that having denied ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world."

The man born in sorrow, brought to know "the God of the living" as his God, received His promises in faith, learned to trust Him for every blessing, now prays in a day of failure, while waiting for the full possession and enjoyment of the promised inheritance, to be "kept from the evil;" adding, "that it may not grieve me." He thus witnesses to his soul's condition, and that which would grieve the Lord, into whose companionship he had been brought, would be a grief to him.

How quickly the eye is now turned from the man "more honorable than his brethren," to his yet more honorable Master, and to hear Him pray, as He considers His own yet in the world:

"Holy Father . . . keep them from the evil." He who was the true "Son of sorrow," born in the very midst of it, and in His life a '' man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," "who bare our griefs and carried our sorrows" in loving sympathy:and still more "who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree."

Then, if we have known sorrow, and sin which brought all the sorrow; if we have known that blessed Man that " was made sin for us " to save us from the sorrows of eternal judgment; if we have heard Him say, as He dies under the load that He took for us, when the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, "it is finished; " giving peace to our souls, shall we not uncover our heads, and bow our hearts, as we listen to Him pray:-

"Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as we are.

" While I was with them in the world I kept them in Thy name:those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves.

"I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

'' I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world; but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil," and add our earnest Amen! The same God that honored Jabez, and granted his request, "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," shall grant us His blessing, and keep us from falling.

May the Lord lead us for His own name's sake.

'' The Lord is faithful who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil" (2 Thess. 3:3). W. M. H.

Daniel 7:, having an important bearing on the beast of Revelation, I will first refer to that chapter. The fourth beast, or Roman empire, is here seen in vision by Daniel from its beginning in ver. 7, to its close in ver. 26. We find in the last clause of ver. 7, that "it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns;" while ver. 8 further states:"I considered the ten horns, and behold there came up among them another little horn before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots; and behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." It is these ten horns, and the little horn, with which we shall mainly have to do when we turn to Revelation, but principally the latter.

Now Daniel, we are told in ver. 19, would know the truth of the fourth beast; and this is given in vers. 23-25,-" The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth etc., and the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise; and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." It will be seen that the ten horns and the little horn, will be in existence at the same time, and it is of some importance to be clear as to this, as the kingdom in its revived form, will comprise the ten horns and the little horn, and will commence some time before, and run on to the close of Daniel's seventieth week.

Turning now to Rev. 13:, we get John's description of the beast. "And I stood upon the sand of the sea; and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads, as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast" (vers. 1-3). Also the last clause of ver. 5,-"And power (or authority) was given unto him to continue forty and two months."

As in Dan. 7:, so here, the beast is seen to rise out of the sea, which is generally interpreted to mean, the multitudes in an unsettled state. And it may be well to note in passing, his close similarity to the dragon from whom he derives his power etc., which chap. 12:3, supplies,-"And behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns." The resemblance is striking and significant. It will also be seen that he combines in himself the leading distinctive features of the first three beasts of Dan. 7:,-viz. the leopard, the bear, and the lion; the order in which they are given in Daniel, being here reversed.

Before turning to other scriptures, it may perhaps be well to gather from those already before us, what they would seem to unfold concerning the beast. First then, Daniel's vision of the fourth beast, or Roman empire, clearly points, through the typical meaning of the ten horns, to another phase of this great empire, when it will be revived in a ten kingdom form; this we gather from chap. 7:24,-"And the ten horns out of this kingdom are" ten kings that shall arise; " from which it is evident that it looks forward to a future time. We are also told in the same verse that "another shall rise after them," foreshadowed by the little horn of ver. 8. Now it is this king, or little horn, which Rev. 13:speaks of as the beast.
In proof of this I would point to the striking similarity between the little horn of Daniel, and the beast of Revelation. Dan. 7:21 says, "The same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them." Rev. 13:7, "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them." Dan. 7:25, " And he shall speak great words against the Most High." Rev. 13:6, "And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God etc."-Dan. 7:25, "And they shall be given into his hand, until a time and times and the dividing of time." (The same period spoken of in Dan. 12:7, as "time, times, and an half;" or an exact period of 3 ½ years; a Jewish year consists of 360 days.) Turning to Rev. 13:5, we get the same period of time allotted to the beast. '' And power (or authority,) was given unto him to continue forty and two months," which is equivalent to 3 ½ years (1:e., Jewish months, which consist of 30 days each.) Thus the identity of the little horn of Dan. 7:, with the beast of Rev. 13:, is complete.

There are also other features connected with the beast of Revelation which demand some consideration. In chap. 13:i, he is seen to have "seven heads," which chap. 17:9, informs us are "seven mountains." I do not interpret this, as some have done, to mean "the seven hilled city of Rome," which I consider would destroy its significant meaning; but rather as seven states, or kingdoms. Now we are told in Dan. 7:24, that "the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise; and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings." As before stated, the Roman empire will be revived in a ten kingdom form, and the time of such revival will be soon after the rapture of the saints; then another king, or "the little horn," which we before saw to be identical with the beast of Rev. 13:, will arise and subdue three kings out of the ten, thus leaving seven; and I strongly incline to the belief, that these seven kings, or kingdoms, are symbolized by the "seven heads" of Rev. 13:i, and 17:9, and so identified are they with the beast, who now becomes their imperial head, that the woman, or harlot, of chap. 17:3, is seen sitting on the beast, having the seven heads and ten horns; while in ver. 9, the seven heads are viewed as seven mountains (or kingdoms) on which the woman sitteth.

It yet remains to account for the ten crowned horns of chap. 13:i, the angel's interpretation of which will be found in chap. 17:12, which reads:"And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast." That these ten kings are quite distinct from "the ten kings, or horns," of Dan. 7:, is clearly evidenced by the fact that three of their number are not subdued by the beast, but rather, under the hand of God, the whole ten "agree to give their kingdom unto the beast," ver. 17, for the destruction of the harlot (papal Rome) as ver. 16, shows-"And the ten horns which thou sawest, and (not ' upon') the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire."

Moreover we find these ten kings allied with the beast right up to the close of his career; this will be seen from ver. 14, where we are told-"these shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them etc.," thus running on to the same time when the beast himself shall be overcome and cast alive into the lake of fire (chap. 19:20). Viewed in another way, three of the first ten kings (1:e. of Dan. 7:) are subdued by the beast, and he becomes the imperial head of the remaining seven; whereas the last ten kings, as we have seen, are the beast's allies, " giving their power and strength to him," ver. 13, and thus under this second aspect, the two are manifestly distinct the one from the other.
Reverting again to chap. 13:ver. 3 gives us another event connected with the beast. "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed:and all the world wondered after the beast." I would gather from this scripture that the beast, or imperial head, will be subjected to some very severe reverse in battle, which the words "wounded to death," would imply; and the latter clause of ver. 14, would support this view, "that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live." This would seem to clearly point to a reverse in battle by the sword. But that this wound will only be partial may be gathered from the fact that, only one of his heads is seen as wounded to death, which would seem to me to imply, that his reverse will only be temporary, and his recovery so rapid, that all the world will wonder after him.

Turning to chap. 17:8, we get something further

-"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition; and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, . . . when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is," or "shall be present." This, taken in conjunction with ver. ii, "The beast that was and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." Also chap. 13:3, "And I saw one of his heads, as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast," forms an important factor in determining the identity of the beasts of the two chapters.

Reverting again to ver. ii, a difficulty presents itself as to how he (the beast) is the eighth, and yet of the seven. I think this may be explained as follows:

-The Roman empire, as we have before seen, will be revived in a ten kingdom form (the seventh phase of this great empire) three of these kingdoms being subdued by the beast, or little horn, who himself becomes the imperial head; and so it can be said of him, he is the eighth, and is of the seven. Chap. 17:10, also speaks of this seventh kingdom in the following words:"The other is not yet come; and when he cometh he must continue a short space." Why a short space ? Because the empire, 1:e., in its ten kingdom form, after a brief period of its restored existence, passes into the hands of the beast, who as its imperial head will form an eighth, which will further tend to explain the difficulty why he is the eighth, and yet of the seven.

I would here add another thought, that I believe the rider of the white horse of Rev. 6:2, is identical with the beast seen rising out of the sea in chap. 13:1; the latter showing his origin, while the former would point to the beginning of his victorious career. And if this be so, it adds force to my contention, as to "the other yet to come" of 17:10, and who continues for a short space; which I interpreted as the Roman empire in its revived, or seventh form of government. That it will only continue for "a short space" is evident as it will have ceased to exist in its ten kingdom form previous to the opening of the seals, when the rider of the white horse will have become its new imperial head. And I am more than ever convinced that it is in this last phase it is seen in chaps. 13:and 17:, and in no sense retrospective, as some have viewed it.

I might just add, for the sake of clearness, that where I have used the words, "the beast," throughout my remarks in connection with chaps, 13:and 17:, I have done so to preserve the scripture appellation, but in almost every instance it must be interpreted to mean the imperial head of the revived Roman empire. The empire may, in one or two instances, be associated with the head symbolically.

To these remarks I add a brief history of the beast:

I. The little horn of Dan. 7:8, 24. 2. The one who shall confirm a covenant with the mass of the Jewish people, and cause their sacrifice and oblation to cease in the midst of the week (Dan. 9:27).
3. The rider of the white horse commencing his career of conquest (Rev. 6:2). 4. First seen to arise out of the sea, (1:e., the multitudes in an unsettled state) and characterized by seven heads and ten horns (Rev. 13:i). The seven heads symbolizing seven mountains (chap. 17:9), 1:e., states or kingdoms, of which he becomes the imperial head. The ten horns symbolizing the ten kings of chap. 17:12, but wholly distinct, as I have shown, from the ten kings of Dan. 7:24. And here I would add an additional reason in support of this. The ten kings of Rev. 17:12, it will be seen, had "received no kingdom as yet," (ver. 12), whereas the ten kings of Dan. 7:24, were already reigning previous to the beast coming into power, for it is three of their number whom he subdues before he becomes the imperial head; whereas these latter ten kings, none of whom are subdued, "give their power and strength to the beast," (ver. 13), and are allied with him to the close of his eventful career. 5. Identified with the dragon (Satan), by the seven heads and ten horns, compare chap. 12:3. 6. Possesses the leading distinctive features of the first three beasts of Dan. 7:, and derives his power from Satan (chap. 13:3). 7. Receives a severe shock in his military career, described in chap. 13:3, as "one of his heads as it were wounded to death," see also last clause of ver. 14. I believe we get the symbol of this in the eighth chapter under the fourth trumpet, compare also chap. 17:8, 2:8. Becomes an object of Worship, (chap. 13:4, 8). 9. Becomes a blasphemer of God, and his name and temple and them that dwell in heaven, (chap. 13:6; compare Dan 7:25). 10. Makes war with the saints (chap. 13:7; compare Dan. 7:21). II. Upon the sounding of the sixth trumpet his time of power will be limited to forty-two months, or 3 ½ years, (chap. 13:5), being the same period as the two witnesses of chap. 11:3, whom he will overcome and kill (ver. 7). 12. Will favor the Antichrist, who will cause an image of the beast to be set up and worshiped (chap. 13:14, 15). 13. Will ultimately be associated with the harlot of chap. 17:, see vers. 2, 7, 9, and subsequently under the hand of God, aided by the ten kings of chap. 17:12, will destroy the harlot (1:e., papal Rome) see vers. 16, 17. 14. Finally assisted by the ten kings and others, will make war with the Lamb (chap. 16:13, 14; 17:12-14; 19:19). 15. His doom will be cast alive into the lake of fire (chap. 19:20).
H. M.

" It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Is thy cruse of comfort wasting?
Rise and share it with another,
And, through all the years of famine,
It shall serve thee and thy brother.
Love divine will fill thy storehouse,
Or thy handful still renew;
Scanty fare for one will often
Make a royal feast for two.

For the heart grows rich in giving;
All its wealth is living grain;
Seeds which mildew in the garner,
Scattered, fill with gold the plain.
Is thy burden hard and Heavy ?
Do thy steps drag wearily ?
Help to bear thy brother's burden:
God will bear both it and thee.

Numb and weary on the mountains,
Wouldst thou sleep amidst the snow ?
Chafe that frozen form beside thee,
And together both shall glow.
Art thou stricken in life's battle ?
Many round thee moan;
Lavish on their wounds thy balsams,
And that balm shall heal thine own.

Is the heart a well left empty ?
None but God its void can fill:
Nothing but a ceaseless fountain,
Can its ceaseless longing still.
Is the heart a living power ?
Self-entwined its strength sinks low;
It can only live in loving,
And by serving love will grow.

7. NEARER THAN THE NEAREST.

Chapter 4:Continued from page 161.

The nearest kinsman promptly consents to redeem the inheritance for Naomi. The law, as we have seen, had this merciful provision, and whenever one or the people turned truly to God and kept His law, He would be "merciful unto His land and to His people." So long as it was of Naomi's hand that the purchase was to be made, and for her, the kinsman consents at once, for she was the widow of "our brother Elimelech." So long as it is Israel according to the flesh, and merely disobedient, the law, with the merciful provision to which we have referred, could interpose and bring back the forfeited inheritance.

We have more or less complete illustrations of this in the history of the people. Again and again, during the period of the Judges, they sinned against the Lord, and were delivered over to the hands of their enemies to be oppressed. But when they turned in penitence to Him, He raised up a deliverer who restored them to their heritage. But the nation went on in the downward path of declension, until the ten tribes were carried off into hopeless captivity and merged into the Gentile nations by whom they were taken captive, beyond all human recognition. The two tribes also were carried off to Babylon and the throne of God, the ark of the covenant, permanently left Jerusalem. Truly a brighter Light shone in the temple at a later time, but not to be accepted by the people. Of this we will speak in a moment.

Even after the captivity at Babylon there was a partial recovery (though the throne had passed from the house of David to the Gentiles). It was as though the law, the nearest kinsman, was going as far as possible in seeking to buy up the inheritance.

But at last after the restoration from Babylon, God sends His Son, the rightful heir of the inheritance. "This is the heir, come let us kill him and the inheritance shall be ours "-how fully this shows a mind absolutely alienated from God and His thoughts. God's Son, the true redeemer, the only deliverer, is slain. The blinded leaders cry "we have no king but Caesar," and thus they deliberately and permanently forfeit all right to be considered the people of God. They have identified themselves absolutely with the Gentiles and are now on the same ground as the despised Moabites or Ammonites. They are " lo-ammi, not my people," and are as fully Gentiles as though they were not of the seed of Abraham.

The law, even with the most merciful construction, could no longer interpose. "An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord forever" (Deut. 23:3). The apostate people had deliberately given up all claim, and so far as the law was concerned, were cut off.

This explains why the kinsman, no matter how willing he might be to restore the heritage to Naomi, could not take it to raise up by Ruth the name of the deceased kinsman. His own inheritance would be marred. How truly that law, "holy, just and good" would be marred if the smallest jot or tittle of its righteous demands were abated. It abides in all its majesty and perfection. It is not made void, as it would be were a single item of its requirements ignored. So for the guilty people who rest in the law and vainly boast in their privileges as a nation there is nothing but condemnation. They are in the place of the Moabite.

But if the law does not and cannot do aught in such a case, it does and can relinquish all right to the inheritance, and transfers those claims to Another. The kinsman draws off his shoe, the usual mode of procedure when property changed hands. The shoe was that which trod upon the land, and to draw it off and pass it to another would seem to indicate that all claims upon the property had passed from the one to the other. How good it is to know that "the law was our schoolmaster till Christ." That it transfers all its own claims to Him.

But let us notice also that this is done before a jury of ten men, witnesses of the law and facts. These ten may well remind us of those "ten words" or commandments which bear full testimony to the claims of God, the ruin of man, and their own powerlessness to redeem. All is done legally. '' I through the law, died to the law," says the apostle. The law itself witnesses to its own powerlessness to redeem. "That I might live unto God," he adds-the law transfers its claims to Another. All is settled righteously and "witnessed by the law and the prophets." Thus "we establish the law."

Boaz is now left free for his heart to act upon its own gracious impulses, and in presence of the same ten who had witnessed the refusal of the first kinsman to purchase the inheritance he buys all-the inheritance and Ruth too, the Moabitess, as she is called to remind us of the grace of the transaction. It is now his, and she is his, truly owned as his bride, and yet linked with poor Naomi the barren, widow of the dead Elimelech.

How beautifully does all this speak of the grace of Christ shown to a poor and unworthy people! Christ risen, beyond death, beyond all claims of the law, betroths to Himself forever in righteousness; the poor stranger and the wanderer finds rest at last.

Such, in some feeble measure, is the teaching of this lovely portion, and we will presently look at the further teaching of the prophets upon this subject. But it is important to dispose of that which too often disturbs the beloved people of God, through ignorance or misapplication of the word of God.

This nearest kinsman, the law, was, as we have just seen, absolutely debarred from taking a gentile into association with himself. And yet, in face of this plain fact, Christians will persist in looking upon all men as under law, and then upon the saints now being still under it as a rule of life.

As to the first, the apostle in the early chapters of the epistle to the Romans, shows the difference between those "without law "-the Gentiles, and those "under law"-the Jews. The law was given only to Israel. God was trying man under the most favorable opportunities. A nation was rescued from servitude, brought into an inheritance and fenced off from the surrounding nations. They were the recipients of God's bounty, the object of His constant care. What more could He do for a people? He challenges the disobedient nation, and waits in vain for a reply. Thus the law was tried under the most favorable circumstances and proved helpless.

But this practically settled the question of justification by law for all mankind; so it is written, "By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Thus "every mouth is stopped, and all the world becomes guilty before God." In the trial of Israel, God has tried the world, and settled forever the question of justification by the law. That trial need never be repeated, it is final and conclusive.

But should one say that he desired to be put under the law, he is not as a fact under it, though as a matter of fact it always works in the same way, and he will find-if he truly and honestly makes the effort-that he is condemned before God. He will learn that God's trial of Israel was perfect and complete, and he has but confirmed the results of that divine probation.

A great deal has been made, however, of the distinction between the law for justification, and as a rule of life. It is impossible to separate these two- in fact Scripture does not separate them. Under law, in any way at all, is to be under the curse. The law can only pronounce a curse upon disobedience. Thus if a saint were under the law as a rule of life he is, "debtor to do the whole law," and if he sins in one point is guilty of all, and condemned. Sinai has but one voice. What folly to think of a rule of life from a place which but thunders out death and judgment for the least disobedience. " If there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law" (Gal. 3:21). As a matter of fact the law is "the strength of sin,' and the apostle, in that wondrous seventh chapter of Romans, shows that it is as powerless to produce righteousness in a saint as in a sinner. Would to God that His people realized this. How much abortive effort, and despairing longing would they be spared!

No, beloved brethren, we are in no sense under the law; as a matter of fact we never were. Let us then not mar that perfect witness which perfectly declares God's mind for man, but as perfectly declares he failed to answer to God's mind. We leave it with its testimony, and bow our heads to that testimony, humbly acknowledging that were life or liberty to be gained in that way our case was as hopeless as the widowed Naomi, or the Moabitess Ruth.

But, blessed be God, this leaves our risen Lord free to pour out His heart's love to us in fullest measure. We are dead to the law by the body of Christ that now we might bring forth fruit unto God, being joined in links of everlasting union to Another, even to Him who is raised from the dead. So our Lord has His way, and the very law but witnesses to it, and to its own relinquishment of every claim upon the poor helpless "sons of strangers," who find their home close the heart of the Mighty One.

( To be continued.)

119 GROVE ST., PLAINFIELD, N. J., July 12th, 1900.

BELOVED BROTHER,-I trust that this may be a first instalment, so far as correspondence goes, of a large indebtedness.

I am, through mercy, daily and uninterruptedly going on towards recovery. It has been that all round, and with a steadiness which surprises the doctor, who while not professing Christianity for himself, says that the prayers of Christians, and not his medicines, have brought about my recovery. May the after-fruit manifest still more that it is indeed the work of Him who delights to answer His people's prayers ; and whose every thought is blessing for them.

"Afterward, the peaceable fruits of righteousness" should now apply, although one feels the dreadful shallowness of our deepest convictions. The negative side of the world's worthlessness I can realize in good measure, but the touch of death naturally dispels illusion here. The positive enjoyment of our own things is where one's weakness shows itself, and in the dulness that thus creeps over the soul. The medicinal effect of evangelistic activity is I think of the highest use self-ward here, which no constancy of occupation with the Word even can replace; and the lack of general activity amongst us in this respect seems to lose for us often the brightness which many have with so much less light. I long for that combined evangelistic effort among us I have often advocated and yet, alas, let drop through lack of spiritual energy to persevere in face of the indifference which seemed to greet it. However, I am not upon this theme now, though I trust the future may have something for us in this. I am only, as it were, just lifting my head to look around, and my first duty to the Lord and to my brethren is to own with a thankful heart how He has been repeating to us in living example the first lessons of Paul as to ministry in the epistle of ministry (2 Cor. i), and how God has joined the body together so as to make this a necessary consequence of membership in it. My sickness has in this way gained me much by showing me what was indeed mine already but had not had the same opportunity of displaying itself. I thank the brethren heartily for the expression of a love which is rooted and grounded in that which is beyond knowledge. May we keep ourselves in the love of God, as the apostle enjoins,-in the enjoyment of the fulness which necessitates the outflow again of what we have received from Him. Let it only be remembered that now I need prayer for the fruitfulness of the life restored, and that the hand of God may manifestly not have wrought in vain.

We were glad to hear of the many at the T– meeting, trust for permanent blessing. There has been plenty of plowing of the soil there; may the time have come for the quiet growth of that which has been sown there, which has not been a little. It was my first place of meeting with J. N. D.;-of those who gathered round then how few remain. That, in the natural way, is not to be wondered at; but the spiritual history of many, alas, what has it been? A startling warning, surely, of the need we have of Philadelphia's exhortation. God is the God of resurrection, and the old fields can blossom afresh. This lesson well learnt, the discouragement becomes encouragement. We need not, because amid the fruits of a long history of failure, dwell under the shadow of this, but under His shadow, and still " with great delight."

I have really no news, arid can only cover paper with repetition of familiar things. Yet they are not things of which we weary. Please give my love and thanks to all, and let them give me large credit for what I do not say.

Very affectionately ever in Christ. F. W. G.

The revelation of the grace of God, the style of the revelation of it, is as wonderful and different from all beside, just as is the grace itself.

The love of God disclosed in the gospel is a love which passes knowledge. And yet the story of it is told without glowing expressions to give it effect, or any help, as from language or description, to set it off to the heart.

This is a wondrous thing. Attempts are not made in Scripture to carry the sense of this love to the soul beyond the simple telling of the tale of it. It is told, but told artlessly. This is the style, the general style or method, of the Book of God.

1 Cor. 4:20.

The Corinthian assembly was not walking in the truth and light as becometh the children of God, and Paul wrote his first epistle apparently for the purpose of instructing and admonishing them. They had but recently "turned to God from idols," as had the Thessalonians, "to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven," and consequently were not well instructed and established in the truth as it related to the assembly. Hence we have much of what may be called church or assembly truth set forth in this epistle.

In that part now before us the apostle admonishes them of their ways as already reigning, while here in the world, and intimating that if they did reign here it must be as men in the flesh, because the Christian portion here cannot be in the pleasures of this world. He teaches them that in this world we must, if faithful to Christ, suffer with Him. That the world is necessarily in hostility to Christians, as it was to their Master and if they are reigning here something must be out of place with them. He cites the case of the apostles themselves who are suffering here as the outcasts of the world while some of the Corinthians are reveling in sensuous enjoyment. He then tells them that "some of them are puffed up as though I would not come to you, but I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the Kingdom of God is not in speech, but in power." "Puffed up" is never of the Spirit, but always of the flesh. "Puffed up by their fleshly minds " (Col. 2:18). The Spirit humbles. He teaches us our own nothingness. As to the flesh, "We are weak with Him; for He was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth by the power of God." So we, to faith, are crucified with Him, ended, dead men, as to the flesh; but we too, like Him, blessed One, live by the power of God !

This life is a new one. It is from above. It is out of death. It is a new creation. It is as born again. It is of God. It is resurrection life. It is beyond the Cross. It is beyond death and the grave. It is divine and eternal, therefore the power of this life is its source. It is of God by the Holy Spirit. "Of ourselves we are not sufficient to think anything, as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God." "We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us."

This is the power that Paul desired to see in the Corinthian assembly. It was not human power as manifested in eloquence of speech or the wisdom of human words, but the power of God in the demonstration of the Spirit. The power of the new life that is in Christians. " Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you." This is the power of Christian life, for worship and service of every sort and kind. Without Christ we can do nothing. With Him all things are possible. He acts in the assembly by the Holy Spirit when it is in the normal Christian condition. That is with every member conscious of his connection with the Head of the body, and of his place in the body, in full subjection to the Head, as the members of the human body, in health, are subject to its head; acting in obedience to the head. So in the assembly, all of one mind and heart, all in communion with the Father and the Son, having been once for all by the blood of Christ – cleansed from all sin. In this condition gathered by the Holy Spirit unto Christ the Head, He is there in the midst, leading by the Spirit, and His power is manifested; manifested through the earthen vessels.
It is-

" Our hearts are full of Christ, and long
Their glorious matter to declare!
Of Him we make our loftier song,-
We cannot from His praise forbear."

It is this power that is so much lacking in the assemblies of the saints. These cannot be worked by human power. It must be of God. The Holy Spirit not only dwells in individual saints but also in the assembly; and this is wherever two or three are gathered unto the name of Christ,-there He is in the midst; and "whatsoever ye shall ask it shall be done unto you." Of course, there will be no asking for any but spiritual blessings, and these God is concerned that we should ask and desire more and more. He is always pleased to give, and more willing than we are to receive.

In our normal place then as a Christian assembly there will be no lack of this power manifested, but we cannot expect it when an assembly is leavened with unbelief, worldliness and disobedience. It must be in the faith, by the power of God; man subjected, ended. "They that are in the flesh cannot please God." All must be of the Spirit. Neither should the enthusiasm of the flesh be mistaken for the power of the Spirit. The former excites, exhilarates; the latter subdues, humbles, subjects; so that like Paul when caught up into Paradise, we lose sight and knowledge of the body, the flesh altogether, and know not whether we are in it or out of it. J. S. P.

" By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down ; yea, we wept when we remembered Zion.

We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.

If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem ; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.

O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed, happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.

Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."

While this psalm, as may be plainly seen, applies primarily to a godly Jewish remnant in the days of the Babylonish captivity, yet it seems to be equally clear that it has a deep and very solemn meaning for ourselves, both as individuals, and as members of the true Church of God. It has lessons for these days in which, as all godly Christians must own, that which professes to be the Church has sadly departed from the truth and is, in great measure, under the control and influence of the world in its varied forms, as pictured in Babylon.

In ver. 1, we see these captives sitting down (under compulsion no doubt) by the rivers of Babylon. As these rivers were formed from the small brooks and streams which came from every part of the land, we find, in type, as they pass along before the eyes of these captives, the combined influence of the world in its most attractive forms presented to us. And what is the result? Do we, like these captives, turn away from it and with weeping "remember Zion," or does it attract our attention, occupy our time and engage our thought? Alas that such should be the case, that there should be so little weeping, so little turning away to the things of the Lord and to the city of His Name! The harp is silent, and in its place there is weeping and earnest prayer that, "in the day of Jerusalem," which to faith will surely come, vers. 7-9, vengeance may come upon those who now triumph over them.

The songs and mirth required (ver. 3) of these captives by their conquerors were probably a means of furnishing amusement and sport to these heartless victors. At least, the refusal to continue to "sing the Lord's song in a strange land" would seem to indicate as much. Surely had it been that some were really moved by the reality of these things in the hearts of the singers, there would have been no complaint whatever. As the apostle says, (i Pet. 4:14), "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye." The world, ruled over by Satan, "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4), is indeed a hard and heartless master. How sad it is to see the professing church so thoroughly submitting to his power without protest! Truly it is a cause for much weeping, prayer, and confession of sin to God.

But we can thank God that there are those who have been brought to realize that such a position is, in truth, "a strange land," and that "the Lord's song "cannot be sung there. Of the wicked, Jer. 12:2 says, " Thou (the Lord) art near in their mouth, and far from their reins." In contrast with this, John 4:23, 24; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16 all show that true worship and praise must come from the heart. If, in the first place, the heart is not right with God, we may be assured that all the cold formalism of so-called worship is nothing but a mockery. In view of this, is not the question of ver. 4 raised at once in the minds of honest Christians? If so, let us face the question squarely, let us remove that which so seriously hinders our spiritual growth, and so deeply dishonors the name of our blessed Lord, and let us not be satisfied with anything which deprives us of the great privilege of meeting together with His own where we can, "in spirit and in truth " sing "the songs of Zion."

Through God's goodness, this may now be the happy privilege of each one of us, but for the Jew of those days it was a glorious event for which, as we have already seen, faith was steadily and persistently watching, and in vers. 5 and 6 we see how this question so completely occupied the attention of this godly remnant, that other things which natural men regard as of utmost importance were not in any measure to be compared with it.

" If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning." All the natural skill, energy and strength so carefully trained and developed for providing the many necessary, useful or enjoyable things of life were to be entirely forgotten or laid aside. "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem." No other subject of conversation was to be considered of such importance, neither was any earthly pleasure to be allowed so large a place in the heart.

And why did Jerusalem fill such a place in the mind of the Jew? It was the city that the Lord had "chosen to place His Name there." It was here that the people came together for worship. It was indeed to them, as its name implies, the foundation of peace. To us it speaks, no doubt, of the presence of God reached through the cross, the true foundation of peace, where He "made peace through the blood of His cross " (Col. 1:20). It is on this ground that we may gather in His name to worship Him "in spirit and in truth " and to " sing the Lord's song" not "in a strange land" but in His very presence (Matt. 18:20).

In closing, I would simply call attention to the important spiritual application of vers. 5 and 6 to ourselves in the light of these things. May the sharp rebuke which is found there, right upon the surface, be taken home by each one of us and may it be blessed to us all, turning our hearts, our thoughts and our lives more and more away from this dark scene unto Him who loves us and gave Himself for us. We may be assured that such a return to the things of the Lord would be owned by Him and would result in large blessing and spiritual growth in our midst. In the words of the beautiful hymn-

Lord, let us ne'er forget
Thy rich, Thy precious love,
Our theme of joy and wonder here
Our endless song above.

O let Thy love constrain
Our souls to cleave to Thee,
And ever in our hearts remain
That word, "Remember Me."

F. W. H.

VI. SALVATION AND REWARDS

Heretofore we have been looking into God's Word with reference to the necessity, assurance, and blessings of salvation, and now it might not be amiss to look at the same unfailing source of truth concerning the distinction between salvation apart from the effort of man; and rewards as the result of the faithful service of believers. Some of God's saints seem to be confused upon this point, and are in distress of soul, or at least, not in assured peaceful rest, in consequence.

I. Salvation is God's free gift to any one who realizes himself or herself a poor, lost sinner.

In the fourth chapter of John's Gospel Jesus is seen speaking to a poor woman whose life was stained with sin of the most open and defiling kind. She "had five husbands " and he whom she then had was not her husband, and yet to her a despised Samaritan, Jesus breaks the blessed news that salvation is a free gift. "If thou knowest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water " (John 4:10).

What marvelous love, amazing grace, wonderful picture, the spotless One of heaven offering to the sin defiled of earth salvation as a free gift.

See also Rom. 6:23; Is. 55:1:2; Rev. 21:6; 22:17; John 3:16; 5:24; 10:28 etc.

So that the very first thing required of a sinner is that he or she accept the gift from God, and He publicly proclaims to all who take their place as such, forgiveness, justification, eternal life; in other words, salvation with all its attendant blessings.

On the contrary rewards are mentioned in Scripture as the outcome or result of faithfulness in the life and service of the believer, 1:e., the one who by simple faith, believing God's statement as to salvation accepts it as a free gift; so that while salvation is obtained by faith, rewards are obtained by works.

2. The apostle Paul writing to the Corinthian saints distinguishes clearly as to the distinction this article is intended to bring out.

In the third chapter of his first epistle to them he says the foundation "is Christ," and in vers. 14, 15 he speaks of those on the foundation as being saved, apart from their works, for which however a reward will be given if the works will stand the test, otherwise they will be burned up. " If any man's work abide which he hath built, he shall receive a reward.

" If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved:yet so as by fire." The believer is saved, because his salvation is the result of Christ's work-His death on the cross -but no reward for his works, unless they be able to stand the searching eye of God's holiness. How God's grace is thus seen in saving sinners apart from their works (Eph. 2:8, 9), and how His holiness is magnified in a test of the believer's works afterward, in that all that is done must have as a motive, not the benefit of man merely, nor in expectation of a reward, but for "the glory of God." "Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (i Cor. 10:31). This last verse will govern decision in every doubtful moment, and action.

See also Matt. 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:7, 8; i Cor. 9:24, 25; Rev. 2:10; Phil. 4:i; i Thess. 2:19; James 1:12; i Pet. 5:4, etc.

3. God's salvation is a present possession of the sinner the moment he accepts it by faith.

" He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life "… (John 3:36).

"As many as received Him, to them gave He power (right or privilege) to become the sons of God " (John 1:12).

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me hath everlasting life "… (John 5:24). See also John 6:37; 2 Tim. 1:9; i John 5:ii; i Cor. 1:18; Tit. 3:5. Notice the words " hath life," "are saved," "saved," "hath saved," as clearly showing a present position and standing before God.

We are nowhere told in Scripture that we have to wait until we come to die, either to be saved or to have knowledge of it. i John 5:13, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know"-that salvation is ours now, the moment we believe.

4. Just the reverse is the matter of rewards which will be future, conferred upon the believer at the judgment-seat of Christ, and manifested before the world at the coming of the Son of man. "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to "his works" (Matt. 16:27).

The apostle realizing his course on earth was about over, writes to Timothy:"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the righteous Judge shall give me at that day "… (2 Tim. 4:8). Surely he could not mean salvation here, or righteousness conferred, for he claims in his first letter to his "dearly beloved son " that he was saved, see i Tim. 1:9; and writing to the Corinthians claims that as sin and its judgment were borne by Christ, so he was made, as all believers are also, the righteousness of God, in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).

It is only necessary to read 2 Cor. 11:24-29 to see that Paul did not receive any reward here for his services, although in all his utterances stating he was saved.

See also i Pet. 5:4; 2 Tim. 4:8; Luke 14:14; Rev. 22:12; 2 Cor. 5:10; Matt. 25:19).

Thus as believers on the Lord Jesus Christ we have God's free gift now; and, with purpose of heart to serve Him, for "the glory of God," by life or in death, we may expect a reward hereafter, when with our blessed Lord in the glory. But we are not to labor or live with any lower standard than to be "acceptable" unto Him (2 Cor. 5:9); and even as Abraham looked for a city, so we have an expectation, we look "for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3:20).
May reader and writer ever have Him, and Him only, before them. B. W. J.

As earthward the Eternal from His throne
Gazed on His offspring earnestly and long
To know if any sought Him-found not one,
So o'er mankind this feebler eye hath hung
Wistful and sad and burning Searching around, within,
And through the grievous file of ages gone,
My aching vision yearning
In scene of curse and sin
Some purity of man to rest upon!

So flew the bird of sorrow and of love
Forth from her sanctuary in the ark,
With gentle eye strained anxiously above
The weary waste of waters wild and dark,
Dread depths of devastation
Wrapping with sullen shroud
Foul earth, whose guilt the wrathful heavens reprove-
Flew, in her desolation,
Restless above the flood,
Till homeward to the ark fluttered the dove!

Not so, alas! the brood of natural birth,
In sin conceived and cankered from the womb:
Once, like the raven, kindred with the dearth-
That evil spirit flapping through the gloom
Guided by vile attraction
Unto congenial rest
On the stale carrion floating o'er the earth-
Sin's ghastly satisfaction
Sated my filthy breast
Amid the wrath, lust, misery, and mirth!

Anon my quickened spirit, purified,
Forth from the Saviour's bosom like the dove
Flew with glad tidings o'er earth's troubled tide,
Expectant messenger of peace and love:
Found but rebuff, rejection,
Lewd man's imperious jeer-
Wedded to vanity in the bonds of pride,
With mine own heart's defection,
Her sin and legal fear-
Then to God's boson fled back terrified!

Vanish vain arts that flatter and allure,
That travesty the tragedy of life,
Tuning to ditties of the troubadour
The raging fury of man's covetous strife!
Ye bards and minstrels singing,
Ye weary the ear of God-
Piping to pride and glossing lusts impure!
Earth's cries to heaven are ringing
For wrath's avenging rod!
Think ye forever God's patience will endure?

Genius, thou spirit fallen, wouldst thou call
All things to pause to embalm thy rank conceit?
Thy painted forms and chiseled figures pall!
The slime-worm lurketh in thy poesy sweet-
Be it Homer's bloody story
Of lusting gods and men,
The pomp of Milton o'er hell's pride and fall,
The passion, filth, vain-glory
Reeking from Shakespeare's pen!
Away! away! degenerates are ye all!

On Thee, Thou Son of man, on Thee alone
My fainting soul may rest her weary eye,
Lost in a Life of love whose pureness shone
From God's own Self-to such vile worms drawn nigh !
Here in our land of mourning,
O lowly Man of grief,
Thy spotless Radiancy from heaven's throne
Passing through hate and scorning
Reached depths 'beyond belief-
For the hard hearts who mocked Thee to atone!

To me dost Thou the rest of God disclose-
Crowning each circle of Thy ransomed host,
The stainless purity of Love's repose
Shall flow from Father, Son, and Holy Ghost:
With Thee shall I inherit
Thy filial joys and place
Whilst God the riches of His love bestows;
And by Thy power and Spirit
In Love's own perfect grace
The current of communion ceaseless flows!

Thou vast Infinitude of love and light,
Bosom of God, abyss of bliss divine,
In Thee I hide me from the pain and blight-
In Thee, my Rest, my Refuge, and my Shrine!
By love-chains nought can sever
Bound to Thy Godhead-breast,
Enshrined in Triune depths of pure delight,
With deepening joy forever
Profoundly shall I rest
While endless ages trace their blissful flight!

F. A.

Although for well-nigh nineteen centuries, the people of God have been assembled to commemorate the Lord's supper, how wonderfully touching still are the thoughts that gather about it and what precious moments do those spend who weekly assemble to carry out our Lord's injunction "This do in remembrance of Me." To such one scarcely need apologize for treating of this theme and the search for the better comprehension of its veiled glories, and even should the search be unproductive of new discovery, it may prove an incentive to further effort.

Those, who spiritualize the memorial, miss one of its first, and a very salutary and blessed, lesson. The commemoration has to do with the "material;" it is not merely a memorial, but as being material, it becomes a reminder. It is a voice to those who are in the flesh, who are creatures of the dust and need as such a divinely given ordinance to remind them of Him, who instituted it and who was figured forth therein. It teaches us to be humble. O brethren, what a sweet, sad thought is here! We need reminder of Him. We stand in need of continual reminder of what He has done, of what He is. It is a sad thought. The " material" must speak to that which is still subject to the influence of the "material." It is a sweet thought. One thinks of the words of a little child, who when asked what was one of the sweetest things replied, " Repentance; it is so sweet to lie humbled before our God." Brother, do you feel thus, when you partake of that bread and wine? Do you recognize that it thus speaks?

But it is a simple memorial. Rome surrounds it with great pageant and forgets two things. Its simplicity is well adapted to commemorate the One who was despised and rejected. It is not so much the Son of God as the Man Christ Jesus, who is set forth therein. But she forgets also that frailty of which we have just been speaking. God ordained it to be simple. The "material" is needed to speak to our frailty but we are so frail that should we surround it with pageant, it would obscure Him, the material would become all. The simple ordinances of Christianity have been chosen with wonderful wisdom, but as with everything else, man has added his foolish adjuncts, and turned a help to a hindrance.

From Corinthians we find that the supper was instituted on the same night in which our Lord was betrayed, and from the Gospels that it was at the feast of the Passover. God's works are all wrought in "due time" and the proximity of the "delivering up" and the "feast" make an impressive combination.

The Passover was a commemoration of Israel's deliverance from judgment and is now associated with our Lord's "delivering up " to judgment. They who had just been celebrating their own deliverance, the deliverance of the first-born, set in judgment upon and condemn the "First-born" of God. Man's enmity and God's love are drawing nigh to that "crisis" of the ages wherein they meet, in the cross of Christ. What a wonderful juxtaposition. What awful hatred, what divine compassion! and as in Adam all die, how much more, in Christ shall all be made alive. Here is bread and wine; true sustenance for life.

But now please consider a fragmentary clause from Luke. "And gave unto them, saying" etc. I want you to notice that participation was a memorial of Him, though He was still with them. He does not say, " In the future this shall be done for remembrance of Me" but "this do in remembrance of Me." It was, if one may so call it, an anticipative retrospect. They were with Him and yet were called upon to remember Him. Him, not His death; Him! We show the Lord's death in partaking of the bread and wine, but in the act in which each too has part, though it be performed by one, we act in remembrance of Him. Oh that we might remember, that even though to-day He be present in our midst, and faith's vision may often behold Him, that it is still Him whom we have to call to remembrance, (strange word!) by His life given up. Not merely what He has done, brethren, but Him in what He has done. How sad when we think only of what He has done as a reminder of what we have got. " This do in remembrance of Me."

He distributes bread and wine to the group around. It is a domestic scene. It speaks in its character of home, the home where we shall be with Him. This He, in His death, has brought about. In such a scene He shone pre-eminently. He had such a way of breaking bread and inviting to a feast that upon two occasions after His resurrection, the disciples are overwhelmingly convinced that "it is the Lord."

No wonder then that the apostle in Corinthians remembers that we keep it until He come. "He will make them sit down and come forth and serve them."

"And He took bread and gave thanks and brake it." There are here several thoughts worthy of consideration. Let us notice first that He gives thanks before He breaks, while it is over the cup, wine already out-poured, that He gives thanks again. Here is divine order, and one may read easily the simple lesson. That time of agony would indeed be bitter to Him. He came for affection and found hatred; He came for a kingdom and found a cross; He came bringing in His own person, life, eternal life, and found death; and yet that Body, that holy Temple which they should destroy was gladly offered. He gave thanks that He had still an offering to bring. Of old had Abraham the father of the faithful found a ram caught in a thicket by its horns, but here is one not caught, only held. He gave thanks. Often may we find one who gives" thanks when he has already endured, but not often that he has means wherewith to endure. Surely, herein is love made manifest.

The bread speaks of the Person, His body given, the breaking, of His dying; while I think the cup speaks of life already outpoured, and thus it is wine that we find therein, that which gives joy to God and man. He gives thanks after its outpouring. It is the cup of blessing. How appropriate the symbol. It is wine-joy. How appropriate the time of thanksgiving; death past, judgment gone! Rememberer, enter now into the joy of your Lord. We have the fruit of the Vine, the result obtained.

" Now He praises in the assembly
Now the sorrow all is past;
His the earnest of our portion,
We must reach the goal at last."

He breaks the bread. " No man taketh it from me; I lay it down . . . and I take it again." The breaking of the bread is, as we have said, His dying, and so we get no pouring out of the wine, for the breaking of the bread is that, and there before us is the Cup.

Oh may the Lord grant us as we gather from week to week and year- to year and as the rolling years pass on "until He come," fresher, deeper, more real participation in a memorial which as divinely instituted, should so present Him as to make us cry yearningly, "Come Lord Jesus," and more and more may we, as images grow brighter unto the shining of the real, ourselves be merged into His image, until "these broken lights of Him " be swallowed up in His glory, who is "more than they." F. C. G.

In conflicts, not only is Satan defeated, but the tried saint learns fresh secrets about his own feebleness and the resources and grace of God. So, in the wanderings of the heart, in departure from the power of faith and hope, not only is the soul chastened and exercised, but it learns, to God's glory, that it must come back to that posture in which the Lord first set it. J. G. B.