(Read John 14:2, 3, 28; 16:5, 7,; 17:11, 13; Luke 24:50, 51; Acts 1:9-11.)

The Ascension of Christ is so closely identified with His resurrection, and His resurrection with His death, that we can but begin our meditations at Calvary. It is written in Luke 24:26, "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory ?" And then in Rom. 4:25, " Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification." Also Heb. 4:14, "Seeing, then, that we have a great High-Priest, who is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession."

From these and many other scriptures we learn that man, being a sinner, is estranged from God-an enemy of God by wicked works, under His wrath and judgment; and ere God could be reconciled, a propitiatory offering must be made,-not the sacrifices of beasts, the blood of bulls, goats, or lambs, in which God could not take pleasure; but by "the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (i Pet. 1:19).

God be praised that we have not only a sacrifice that He can and has accepted to atone for the guilt of our sins; and also the resurrection of the same to assure us that we are justified in the sight of God, as a proof that God has accepted our sacrifice; but what is necessary to the complete manifestation of the work of redemption-the Ascension of our precious Saviour and Lord. He must needs ascend, in that He must needs go into the holiest,-not as of old, like Aaron, with "the blood of goats and calves; but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us " (Heb. 9:12).

Thus, He is not only the sacrifice, " of a sweet savor unto the Lord," a unique sacrifice, once for all, "by one offering perfecting forever, them that are sanctified" (Heb. 10:14); but He is also our High-Priest before God; not to continue in office for a few short years and then pass away as did the Aaronic priesthood, but a Priest after the order of Melchizedek,-a perpetual priesthood-"without father, without mother, without descent (or pedigree), having neither beginning of days nor end of life; . . . the Son of God; abideth a Priest continually" (Heb. 7:3),-a King and a Priest.

When we consider our weakness, frailty, and prone-ness to sin, how needful is our Mediator ! "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous ; and He is the propitiation or (mercy-seat) for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world" (I Jno. 2:1, 2, R. V.)

With such "precious blood," with such a complete sacrifice, " as of a lamb without blemish and without spot," with such a heavenly, eternal Mediator, Advocate, Intercessor, how we ought to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory ! what profound peace should be ours !

How triumphantly does the apostle Paul treat of this subject (or rather the Holy Spirit through him) when he says (Rom. 8:31-34), "What shall we say then to these things ? If God be for us, who can be against us ? He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things ? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is He that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.'"

We thus see that the ascension of Christ is a most important part of God's plan in His actings in our behalf. But there is a necessity of His ascension upon which we have not yet touched, and which indeed ought to have preceded what we have been saying. It will be found in the words of our Lord in John 16:7, 8-"It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment."

In these words we find the necessity to consist of a Comforter, a Teacher, a Guide for God's redeemed people; and also a Reprover of the world, a Convincer of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. This was mightily exemplified in the apostle's ministry, in that "as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled" (Acts 24:.25). It was the Holy Spirit who spoke with such power by the apostle;-yea, throughout his ministry, we find him a suited vessel through whom the Holy Spirit could speak to the comfort and consolation of God's people, and to the rebuke of iniquity and convincing of sin of the world.

Blessed was the personal presence of our Lord with His disciples ; but His holy, spotless, and undefiled life on earth could not atone for sin nor justify the sinner-confessed. It could only be a standing testimony against sin. A much-abused passage in this connection is found in Rom. 5:10-"For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." This has no reference to His spotless, unblemished earthly life, but to His priestly service for us in His resurrection-life above. Also ver. 19-" For as by one man's [1:e., one act of] disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One [or, one act of Christ's obedience unto death on Calvary's cross] shall many be made righteous." It is a mistake to suppose that Christ's personal righteousness is imputed to us, but He Himself is made unto us God's righteousness. (See i Cor. 1:30.) This is a distinction with quite a difference.

He must needs die on the cross under the judgment of God if our guilt is to be removed. He must needs rise from the dead the third day if the sinner-confessed is to be justified. He must needs ascend to the right hand of the Father, and take His rightful place as our High-Priest, Mediator, Advocate, Intercessor, that the justified one may be carried safely through the dangers and intricacies of this world- "kept by the power of God." He must needs ascend if the Holy Spirit is to do His part of God's purposes concerning this world.

But still there is another most blessed truth, so closely linked with His ascension that it is important
to remember. You will find it embodied in the words of our Lord in John 14:3-" If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." This precious fact for God's people calls forth a word of comfort from the Comforter-"Wherefore comfort one another with these words" (i Thess. 4:18).

This indeed is a wonderful cheer to the Church, espoused to Him in the night-time of His absence, and the long-anticipated event (though not understood) of all the rest who shall have part in the first resurrection (see Heb. 11:10,14,16,39,40). Such are called "blessed and holy" in Rev. 20:6, for they shall dwell in the New Jerusalem, which the Holy Spirit says is "the bride, the Lamb's wife" (Rev. 21:9, 10).
Such, then, for the heavenly people, is the culmination of the work of redemption by Him who came and delighted to do the Father's will.

But we have still another aspect of His coming, as expressed in Acts 1:ii-"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? this same Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." And then again we read Rev. 1:7, "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also who pierced him; and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so. Amen." Both these passages refer, not to His coming to meet His espoused bride in the air, as set forth in i Cor. 16:51-57 and i Thess. 4:13-18, but His after-coming to earth as set forth in Zech. 12:10 and Matt. 25:31. Thus we see again the need of His ascension in order that He, the despised and rejected One, might be vindicated by God as the Man of His choice – the Man whom He delighteth to honor, – yea, He "hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name ; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth ; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:9-11).

"All hail the power of Jesu's name ;
Let angels prostrate fall ;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all ! "

What glorious truths we find thus linked together in close proximity to the ascension of Christ ! May God grant that His redeemed people may delight to meditate upon them. R. S.

Continued from page 81.

For one thus abiding in the holy boldness of faith, whose mind and heart rise to heaven in the unclouded sense of God's continual favor, there is no longer the necessity of combat with a world of sin down here. Of course, the members are still in this scene, and it is the place of service. The mind must necessarily be much engaged with things down here, connected with daily toil and service, in all the legitimate relationships of the Christian. But let it be our habit of life to set the mind upon the things above, the instant we are released from necessary occupation with things here. Thus seeking the companionship of the Father and the Son in our moments of leisure, the things of vanity around will have less opportunity to rush in upon us. Yet let us remember that while we may "set the mind" on the things above, we cannot always engage the heart there. In the course even of rightful and necessary occupation with temporal things, the dust of the world unconsciously settles upon us. The harp of the heart gets out of tune, and the hand of the Chief Musician must key it up into harmony with Himself before there can be melody such as He loves to hear. How many times in the day do we turn to Him, asking Him to wash the soiled feet,-to cleanse the dust-defiled mind and heart,-in order that we may have part with Him? If we besought His priestly service in this way more constantly, how many moments and hours would be redeemed from vanity, and occupied in prayer, in praise from the heart, in study of His word in freshness, or in meditation in the word at His feet.

Moreover, in the necessary occupation of the mind in toil and service here, the judicial reckonings connected with the cross give continual deliverance, in proportion as they are kept before the soul in the power of faith. To walk by faith is to have the things which are real to faith constantly before the mind and heart. Faith engenders a kind of spiritual habit of thought, in which the eyes of the heart are fixed upon the unseen eternal things, even while the temporal things, with their stamp of corruption, assail the outward senses. Hence to walk through this scene with the judicial reckonings connected with the cross of our Lord before us, is, in a sense, to carry the cross with us as our protection and defense. The corruption around, instead of obtaining a hold upon us, but pains us, and reminds of that cross, where we were crucified to the world, and the world was crucified to us. Thus the saint has fellowship with the cross, and neither has fellowship with the world, nor pauses to engage it in combat. He has "died, with Christ, from the elements of the world" (Col. 2:20), and as one "dead" to them, he refuses to be occupied with them or entangled by them. Instead of recognizing a world needing to be battled with, he knows of one which His Lord has already overcome for him and judged. So the cross of Christ, where the world was judged, becomes the only object connected with the world with which the saint can have fellowship; and in the protecting shadow of the cross, meeting and answering for him all questions, all accusations, he walks securely amid a system of things of which Satan is the god. The world for him is thus a conquered world; not that he has waged successful warfare with it, nor needs to do so, but because "this is the victory which has gotten the victory over the world-our faith" (i Jno. 5:4). In Col' 2:10-15, therefore, the cross of Christ is seen looming up over every thing here. It is the saint's Gilgal, to be constantly returned to whenever a sign of defeat warns him that its glorious triumphs are not so freshly in mind as they should be. There he beholds himself judicially circumcised by God, in the stripping off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ. If any question is raised as to "the flesh," faith gazes at the cross and there sees it transfixed. "Our old man," "the sin in the flesh," "the body of the flesh," "the flesh, with its affections and its lusts," "I,"-all are "crucified."

And there the saint's faith sees all legal requirement,- the obligation to ordinances, which was against him,-cancelled and taken out of the way, nailed to the tree. And there the world hangs in judgment, with all its corruption, through lusts and the pride of life,–the whole thing lying in the wicked one. Moreover, the principalities and powers which preside over it are spoiled, made a spectacle of, openly, and triumphed over! What across! Such is the testimony of Col. 2:10-15, which is but a triumphant summary of the deliverances, or judicial reckonings, of Romans and Galatians. It is thus plain that the saint is to abide in the sense of this, maintaining these truths as the strength of his position in the face of the enemy. These glories of the cross, with the personal glories of the Head in heaven (Col. 1:), are the provision for faith which the apostle sets over against the two great snares in the world which in Colossians he calls attention to,-rationalism on the one side, fleshly religiousness on the other.

Thus is the saint fully equipped to pass through the world. He needs, further, only the energy of faith to hold to the glorified Head in heaven, in mind-and-heart occupation,-that glorious Head of Whom grace has made him a member, to Whom he , is united by the Spirit of God. As holding the Head, in the energy of faith, he becomes a vessel for edifying service; for he contributes to the increase of the body of Christ, with the increase of God, in proportion as his own moral intelligence and affections are refreshed and strengthened by occupation with Christ in glory. (See Col. 2:19.) If his attention be called to his feet, or to any thing round about, he is not overcome by it. This occupation with Christ is the very means of avoiding failures. But if we have been too long from our Gilgal, after having fed on something other than the Old Corn of the Land, and failure does overtake us, what can it do save to carry the chastened spirit back to the cross? This may not be the effect if we are legally-minded, and unbelief is at work. But if we are abiding in the sense of our judicial reckonings, even failure but serves to bow the soul in such sorrow as must direct the eyes of faith to the cross on which all contrary things are nailed-including this very failure, and the flesh in us which has wrought the sin. And to turn the saint to the cross, is to turn him also to the blessed Advocate, Who even now bears its scars in heaven. So perfect is the provision, indeed, in view of every emergency, that nothing is lacking save the passive surrender of ourselves to the Spirit of God. Were this not lacking, He would lead us in triumph through this scene, the savor of the knowledge of Christ radiating from us and illuminating the darkness, while its perfume filled the air. Would to God, that both writer and reader might know something of the power of this!

The practical result of the sanctifying power of the truth in Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians, in Colossians is seen flowering out into Christian fruit-bearing. The introduction of the epistle indicates that fruit-bearing is its theme. In Philippians all this is seen to be a preparation for the inestimable privilege of suffering in various ways for Christ, and in the furtherance of His interests. For this, the mind, or animus, which was in Him, must be in His members. In Paul we see a member in which this condition was fulfilled in large measure. And if the preparatory truth has in any degree wrought experimentally, in sanctifying" power, in our souls, as it did in Paul's, in that degree surely all the persecution, reproach and privation encountered will bear fruit in us as it did in him. It will not stir up the fallen nature. It will rather serve, in measure, to extract a sweet spirit of grace and love, just as was the case, in fulness, when Christ was so treated in His own Person while on earth. Blessed, indeed, is that servant who can find grace so to yield his poor body that Christ may use it thus, in some degree reproducing Himself in the world in His member! Would that Christ our Head might be permitted, now in spirit and by the Spirit, to serve in the world in this manner, in love and lowly humility, through His members,-answering all mal-treatment simply by the sweet display in us of His own gentle loveliness of mind and heart!

Beloved, that same Jesus who once so walked here below, though now personally in heaven, is still here in the Spirit's power, residing in His honored members! But how far are we yielding ourselves to have these vessels of earth,-these Gideon's pitchers,- broken, so that the moral glory of the Divine Treasure in us may shine out? How far have we the mind which was in our blessed Example, who was willing to be bruised and put to shame to the last extremity, in order that the glory of God might fully shine out from Him? And yet this is the greatest of all our privileges, in service, down here. How blessed, in our measure, to be baptized with the baptism wherewith He was baptized! to represent Him in the world as He represented the Father! to yield ourselves as vessels for the display of the moral glory of Christ, as He yielded Himself a Vessel for the display of the moral glory of God! Shall we truly seek the deliverance and power which God desires for us? Assuredly, then, it will not be for adornment of ourselves with display of knowledge and doctrine. Rather will it be the ministration of the courage of faith, to yield our bodies-ourselves-a living sacrifice, upon the altar of service, in displaying to the world the sweetness of the mind and heart of the One whom our soul loveth! Like the beloved Paul, himself lovely in our eyes because of his grace in reflecting the Altogether Lovely One, we will be ready to be sacrificed daily in this precious service, or to be poured out as a drink-offering on the sacrifice of others!

Do we long for more capacity to enjoy Christ as our Portion? Then let us remember that the suffering Philippian is the one who worships God in the Spirit and rejoices in Christ Jesus! whose soul pants for deeper and deeper droughts of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, his Lord, as one who hath verily fallen in love with the glorious Person of God's Beloved in glory! In the closing moments, before the coming in the air of Him whom we adore, in His marvelous grace may God every where raise up overcomers among His dear people, and teach us the power of these precious truths!

And next, Thessalonians, Corinthians, Hebrews, Timothy and Titus follow in order, the Colossian and Philippian point of view being maintained throughout. In these epistles we see, in some detail, how Paul met the condition of things found in the path of service, according to the grace given to him. We are to learn to follow him as we see he followed Christ. Paul, in the New Testament, answers to Caleb in the Old, as the latter moved in triumph through the wilderness in company with Joshua (type of the Spirit as Christ in us). Caleb went into Canaan and took possession in heart. He came back into the wilderness a heavenly man, with the sense of God's favor in his soul:"If the Lord delight in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it us "(Num. 14:8). Through the energy of his faith, Canaan ever remained the home of his heart. Therefore forty years with God's wandering people in the wilderness did not abate his strength (Josh. 14:ii). He could identify himself with a wandering people without his own heart wandering. He could suffer with them, suffer for them, minister to them, fight for them, because he knew that, with all their failures, they were the people of his God. God's Name in testimony was linked with them. He could seek to deliver them when they were being overcome, but without himself being overcome.

In Paul's second group, then,-the individual questions between the soul and its God having been settled, and faith's way of triumph over all opposing forces having been made known,-we have the path of service thus marked out for the man of God. He learns how to lay down his life for God's dear people, and for the lost of this world, laboring in prayer and service on their behalf. He learns how to encounter and deal with many forms of evil, yet without himself becoming entangled and overcome. Whatever may be his material circumstances, whatever his reception, he moves in his calling in the world as a dispenser of God's riches. He has a ministry of reconciliation for sinners, and he has service for the sheep and lambs of Christ, according to the measure of his gift and grace.

Moreover, he stands ready to unseat the Spirit's sword in spiritual warfare. For, strangely enough, he who finds deliverance in refusing battle with the world,-as a system of lusts and corruption which stirs up lusts and works corruption within himself,- is the very one who, thus drawn out of himself and self-occupation, is free for a higher and more far-reaching warfare. He stands as the witness of Christ and of God in this world,-as the champion of light and truth, and the enemy of spiritual darkness and error. Ensconced in the panoply of God, and with mighty spiritual weapons in his hands,-even the sayings of God, made good to him by God's Spirit, -he wars for the overthrow of the strongholds of error, the reasonings of unbelief, and every high thing that lifts itself up against the knowledge of God (Eph. 6:10-20; 2 Cor. 10:3-5). Men, as the mouth-pieces of Satan, are thus withstood. Yet this is not a warfare against men, but in behalf of men, against wicked spirits, the world-rulers of this darkness, who deceive men and hold them in error. The great motive for this warfare is that it is waged in maintenance of the Name and testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ in the world. But it is also for the people of God, to maintain for them the truth of God which sanctifies the soul. And, in the gospel, the fight is in the interest of lost and unbelieving sinners in the world, whose minds Satan, the god of this world, has blinded. And all this is the calling of every saint, and not merely of special "gifts."

But how can Christ wage such a warfare, through us as His members, unless we are "holding the Head "? He is our Captain, and a good soldier must keep in communication with headquarters. He is our Strength and our Refreshment, and a soldier cannot serve apart from the ammunition train and the commissary stores. The inward man must be renewed day by day. By combining the types of Caleb and Abraham, we doubtless have a picture of both sides here. Caleb suggests to us the wilderness-activities of one whose members are on the earth, though mind and heart have their home in heaven. Abraham suggests the Canaan-activities of the mind and heart, which are already dwelling in the land of promise by faith, possessing themselves of its fertile regions in communion with God. Faith and whole-heartedness are surely tested in the maintenance of this Abrahamic side, of mind-and-heart abstraction from this scene, so as to be dwelling much in the house of the Lord, beholding the beauty of the Lord and inquiring in His temple (Ps. 27:4). The freshness of the service in the wilderness hangs upon this. Upon the energy of faith for communion,- "holding the Head,"-all the practice in Colossians and the succeeding epistles depends.

But though we consent to all this and more, as doctrine, this in itself is not experimental deliverance. Faith must plant its feet upon this good land, exercised before God to enter into the power of such truth. And he who attempts this will confront the wiles of a crafty foe, who seeks to thwart spiritual progress. Our many failures are so many opportunities for him to launch against us the fiery darts of accusation, in order to rob us of the joy of the sense of God's favor in our souls, and stir up our legal mind and heart into the revolt of unbelief. Let us pause to seriously examine ourselves as to this. When we find ourselves downcast, under the sense of failure, what is the result? Is this sad consequence simply a monitor, to remind us of how we have slipped away from communion into occupation with defiling things, which have paved the way for the more pronounced sin, in thought or deed, which accuses us? And in the face of the shame, do we yet turn at once to our precious Advocate, to have Him wash our feet and restore our soul? Or do we mope under a sense of discouragement, as if our title to communion had been impugned-temporarily at least? If it be the latter, the enemy's fiery dart has found lodgment, and the unbelief of legal-mindedness is at work. We are acting as if our sin had dimmed the abiding efficacy of the cross, altered the grace in which we stand, beclouded our standing before God, or caused Him to withdraw His favor, temporarily at least. But He has not withdrawn from us; we have withdrawn from Him. His fellowship with us was ever on the basis of the cross alone, and not on the basis of anything in us. Our sin beclouds the sense of this in our own souls, because it turns our eyes from the cross, and from our Representative in heaven, to self-occupation. This is unbelief, and the Spirit within us is grieved by this dishonor to the work of Christ. Did we yield to His guidance, the moment there was the consciousness that sin and defilement had come in, He would lead us to the feet of our great High Priest for restoration.

Here it is that our faith must stand and do battle, as often as need be, to maintain the sin-accused soul in the sense of its judicial reckonings. Of what practical avail are these delivering truths, unless faith takes its stand upon them in the very face of the soul's sad failure, and the resulting accusations of heart and conscience ? Faith, Spirit-taught and Spirit-led, will triumph over the evil as soon as it is manifest, casting the sin-defiled soul upon Him who can wash the feet and restore the sense of favor in the soul. But fleshly religiousness, and an accusing enemy, would keep the work of the cross out of sight, pretending that through its sin the soul has temporarily forfeited its right of access into the sanctuary, and should submit to the discipline of forfeiture of communion for a long time to come, earning restoration to communion by some works meet for repentance. But if we acquiesce in this, as our hearts are too ready to do, it is plain that we consent to a policy which only insures failure upon failure. For so long as we remain out of communion, nothing but failure is possible.

Many, perhaps, who apprehend the judicial reckonings for faith, set forth in the Pauline ministry, come short of knowing their power because they are thus overcome. To this conflict, in which Satan would employ the shame of our ways to stir up unbelief in us, I believe we should apply the type of the warfare with Amalek in the wilderness. For Amalek seems to speak of the will, or animus, of the flesh, rather than of its gross lusts. But it is the indulgence of the flesh, defiling the conscience, which gives the enemy his opportunity, precipitating conflict with the unbelief and legality so natural to the flesh. Sin manifests itself in our life, and at once the accusing hosts of Amalek appear, to dispute our progress, to obscure our sense of God's favor toward us, and to keep us groveling in self-occupation. But are we to fall back again into the misery and discouragement from which we have sought deliverance? Are we to abandon our judicial reckonings, or to allow them to be obscured? God forbid! We are to stand and fight, in obedience to the command:" Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Gal. 5:i). Let faith turn from the sad failure, and, in the confidence that our judicial reckonings are holy, and to be acted upon, let it boldly enter the sanctuary to praise the Son of God, whose glorious cross has saved such a failing creature!

The exhortation to maintain ourselves in liberty of conscience before God, refusing the bondage of legal-mindedness, in thus an exhortation to abide in these judicial reckonings, as the secret of faith's continuance in the sense of favor even when failure has come in. Hence the conflict with Amalek is a fight for the truth, although not that-in service to others, -contemplated in 2 Cor. 10:When we lag behind, and fall into hurtful lusts, we must fight in order to retain the truth, in its sanctifying power, in our own souls. Until this victory is won for ourselves, we cannot go on to the proper Christian warfare,-contention for the truth to deliver others.

In this warfare with the unbelief of our own hearts, we triumph as our faith beholds the Advocate, representing us before the Father's face. Moses upon the mount, supported by Hur ("white"-righteousness) and Aaron, the high priest, is a type of our Advocate in heaven, as i John 2:i, 2, presents Him to us. In Moses,-the mediator of the people, in the sense of being their representative before God,-we see the Man, Jesus, in whose blessed Person we exist, judicially, before God. Hur reminds us that our Representative is "the Righteous" One, however unrighteous, in ourselves, the failure troubling us has just proven us to be. Aaron reminds us that our Representative is the "Christ," God's Anointed High Priest,-the Son and Priest appointed over His house. Despite all that can be charged against us, we have such an One as this to represent us in the Father's presence in heaven. And ever at our call is His priestly service, to bear us up in that Ineffable Presence, in the merit of what He has done, and in the fragrance of what He Himself is. He is ever living to make intercession for us in the very fact that He is thus ever before God as our Representative. His representation of us there is perpetual intercession. And if we sin, " He Himself" (Gr.),-as our Advocate, our Representative there,-"is a Propitiation for our sins." This is our Sanctuary of refuge, in passing through a wilderness where we may fail, and where the enemy stands ready to use any failure as the basis of his assault.

Thus we obtain this precious and most practical doctrine in i John, the sanctuary epistle of the wilderness group,- the Catholic epistles. In the first chapter, the apostle dwells upon the grace of our calling,-even to fellowship with the Father and the Son in the light. He declares our perfect and unchangeable judicial fitness for it, as cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, once for all, when we were saved,-when we repented as sinners, confessing our sins. But he establishes us in this grace, -of judicial perfection before God,-not that we may sin, but that we may sin not. It is Paul's principle, that the sense of pure grace in the soul, rather than the burden of legal requirement, is what sanctifies a quickened soul (Rom. 6:14). For if we are legal, we will enter, experimentally, very little into this fellowship with the Father and the Son in the light. One who thinks to bring some subjective fitness as his passport to such unfathomable favor as this, but grieves the Spirit, who is the Power for communion, and can know little of it. While he who thus deprives himself of this close walk with God, basking in the sense of His favor, is the very one who will be continually subject to shame and failure. Let our estimate of the value of the work of the cross be such that, in the holy boldness of faith, we can abide in confidence of a judicial fitness even for the infinite blaze of light and glory of the Father's Presence! Then will the energy of faith, in the Spirit's power, lift us up, in the experience of the soul, in communion with the God and Father who has begotten us! Then will the craving of the child's heart in us, and the longings of the Spirit of sonship in us, take hold of the Almighty in the holy liberty of filial love, delighting the heart of God! And the grace of this is the very means,-the only means,-of not sinning continually. Yet, at the best, we come sadly short of perfect self-surrender to the power of the grace of this sanctifying truth. And if we do sin, and are assailed in consequence, we need that which our faith can take hold upon to gain courage for surrender to the loving Priestly hands which wait to restore us. This is found in remembering that our failure has not changed the fact that we have an Advocate, a judicial Representative, in the Father's presence, even Jesus Christ, the Righteous. And He Himself,-His Person there being the living Memorial of His work for us,-is a Propitiation in respect to our sins, which otherwise, as it were, would rise to the Father as a stench from us. But they cannot so rise judicially. Nought can ascend from us to God, judicially, save the sweet fragrance of our Representative before His face! For as the Advocate is, there in heaven for us, so are we in this world! Indeed, His presence there, according to the same text (i John 2:i, 2), is even a Propitiation which satisfies the Father in respect to the present passing-over of the sins of the whole world, during this period of long-suffering.

Thus, fortified by Paul's judicial reckonings, and John's instruction for recovering the sense of them in the soul in case we sin,-in the fullest assurance of faith we may cast ourselves upon our Lord, for His blessed service of foot-washing and restoration, the instant we realize that we have defiled ourselves. If living faith in us makes these judicial reckonings the practical basis of our habit of life, that life cannot fail to become happy and fruitful. In the Spirit's power we shall be led through the enemy's country in holy joy and triumph. But let us lay hold of these things, practice them, live by them. We must not allow any creature, within or without, to separate us from the enjoyment of the love of God, the love of Christ. We must abide in the sunshine, if we would bear clusters of ripened fruit,-the restful and joyful soul's overflow of spontaneous worship Godward, and spontaneous service manward, in the sweetness of love and humility. We must abide in the sense of God's favor:we must keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 21).

May God show mercy in our meditation of a theme concerning which one must remain silent were its power in one's own life in question. But if it be of the truth, may God bless His word, and make its power known in reader and writer. F. A.

There is one principle of God's ways with man I which impresses itself more and more deeply the more we think of it. It is that equality of His dealings, that absolute righteousness expressed in the words, "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap" (Gal. 6:7.) The gospel, which is the glory of God, and according to which He freely forgives the repenting sinner who believes in Jesus, so far from setting aside this principle but emphasizes it. The apostle, in Romans, is most careful to establish the harmony between God's grace and His justice, both as regards the law and in connection with the history of His past dealings and future purposes with respect to Israel. As to the law, and its inflexible claims upon man, he shows how it is established by the gospel; for did not the spotless Lamb of God take the consequences of a broken law and endure the wrath and judgment? Thus and thus only did the love of God flow out unhindered to poor guilty man. "He is just and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus. " Then too how beautifully is brought out the responsibility of Israel, their disobedience and folly and the just results of that folly, and yet the grace and mercy which, through Christ, they will receive.

No doubt with many the side of responsibility and recompense is overlooked for a time at least. The great joy of salvation so eclipses all other thought that the new born soul thinks but little if at all of the ways of God. And without doubt this is well; it is like the gracious ways of the Spirit of God so to establish the soul in the love of God first, that all after lessons will be learned in the atmosphere of that love.

Later on, however, as the days and years go by, one finds that he is still in the body and still under the government of God. Sins long ago committed and long ago forgotten come back in one form and another. A dishonest act which caused the loss of reputation, though long ago repented of and all amends made, still lodges in the minds of some who, in enmity even, keep it fresh before the minds of others. Or the strength has been wasted in sinful pleasures; dissipations of youth, and excesses of riotous living, long ago repented of and forgiven through infinite grace, come back now in the form of bodily weakness, lassitude, and feebleness, to remind one of the solemn truth we have been considering.

And is it not well that this is so? Does it not deepen in the soul the sense of the exceeding sinful-ness of sin, and make us realize the ruin which has come into the whole world, upon every child of Adam, because of sin? Every form of sickness, every death, is a solemn reminder of the sway of sin in this world. Grace has not set this aside, and the mortal bodies in which we live must one day crumble into dust because of the presence of sin- unless, blessed be God, our soon-coming Lord call us hence before that time:for "we shall not all sleep."

Under the solemnizing effect of this thought let us follow further its leadings. We have been speaking of positive sin and its results. But apart from any trespass, we have all been entrusted with opportunities, abilities and much else of which we were to make proper use. We belong to God by the threefold right of creation, preservation and redemption. As His, all that we are and have is to be used for Him. So we find, in Luke 16:, the parable of stewardship and responsibility following the lovely unfoldings of grace in the fifteenth chapter. We are stewards only; our own things are not here; our portion and inheritance are where Christ has gone. The present time, with all that goes with it, is God's. So our Lord reminds us, and presses it home upon conscience and heart; " If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much:and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much."

Bearing in mind that this responsibility begins with life and only closes when we pass out of this scene, what a catalogue of failure confronts us! Let us dwell upon it a little, particularly in the light of another passage:" Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more" (Luke 11:48). We will be very simple, enumerating a few things which have been committed to us, and giving, in some sense, an account of our stewardship.

First of all, we have had entrusted to us the privilege of having been born where the light of God's truth shines and all the abundant blessings connected with that. With many of us it was also true that we were from childhood under the influence of that truth. This was committed to us:what use did we make of it? In immediate connection with the verse already quoted, we are told "he that knew his Lord's will and did it not shall be beaten with many stripes." The heathen, without all these privileges is responsible, surely, to God; but what shall we say of those equally disobedient with the heathen, but with God's light shining about them? Every saved man feels the loss of every day he lived without God, when he might have known Him.

Look a little at the bodily and mental faculties entrusted to us. Even after these centuries of moral separation from God, it can be said of us both bodily and mentally that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. What endowments, what capacity for acquiring knowledge, for training the mind, and making it the master of the body. It is no trifle to think how much has thus been committed to us. How did we use it?

The same can be said of our time and opportunities. How many golden hours-of youth and later years-have slipped through our fingers unused, or worse? Every day and hour should have been happily filled, with diligence turning over every occasion and making it an opportunity for doing the will of God and gaining the strength that comes from faithful labor. Wasted days! who can contemplate them without a solemnizing sense of how much has been committed to us in that way?

Passing now into the sphere of the Christian life, we find a fresh commitment of trusts with a knowledge of the love and grace of God, the gift of the Spirit, a new nature, and the precious word of God now luminous and vital; what a world of new responsibilities is opened up. Every original responsibility is now as it were intensified; time and strength, wealth and position; talents and opportunities now have a new meaning. It is not exactly that a new responsibility has displaced the old, as we shall presently see, but everything has a new sanction, and a new standard of valuation.

Where shall we begin to speak of Christian responsibilities? They are personal, mutual, and universal. Whatever there is in our lives, and wherever those lives come in contact with others, there is a commitment. Surely much has been committed to us. Look briefly at a few examples.

The believer is sealed and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, has the word of God in his hand, and mind and heart capable of enjoying it. Words fail to express the inestimable value of this trust. Will not much be required of those who are so endowed? If Enoch, Abraham, and Daniel were holy men, with the privileges they enjoyed, what manner of men, personally, ought we to be? What communion, what spiritual growth, what love and fervor should mark the increased light and knowledge that are ours. We need not specify; to do so would be to enumerate all the blessings of Christianity and all the fruits of the Christian graces. But here is food for meditation. The heritage is all ours, how much of the land have we taken possession of?

Here are our Bibles. They have not been committed to any one class of saints. The entire word of God is ours, to read, to live, to live by. What a responsibility goes with this. Beloved Christian reader, what are you doing with your Bible? Rest assured that much will be required from such a trust.

Then there are all the varied openings for service -seeking to build one another up, to help and encourage one another, to admonish and care for one another. There is but one answer to the question " Am I my brother's keeper?" There is not a member of the body of Christ so weak and obscure who can escape this responsibility, while the greater the endowments the greater the weight.

If they are anything, God's saints are an evangelizing people. So Scripture declares them-"lights in the world, holding forth the word of life." Winning souls, telling out the glad tidings-these things are to characterize Christians. A spiritually dumb saint is, in the sight of angels, a greater wonder than a physically dumb man. Oh, to awaken to these things.

Ere closing this side of our subject, let us mark the connection between responsibility and the judgment seat of Christ. We have been forever delivered from personal judgment, by Him who bore it for us. But now He is to be the judge of our life-work. If responsibility begins with early life and continues on to the end, then every portion of that life, both before and after conversion must come under the eye of the Saviour-judge. How solemnizing the thought -the record of the entire life is to be manifested before the judgment-seat of Christ. But knowing grace as we do, could we wish it otherwise?

Pausing now, as we review the subject of responsibility-much given, much required-what can we say? Must we not own that we are unfaithful stewards? Much is required, but we have it not;-and as we stand with well nigh empty hands what can we say?

But God does not leave us with the mere sense of responsibility as a motive. True, much is required of us, and this should spur us on to gather up the fragments of time still remaining. But this is not the motive.

"Her sins which are many are forgiven, for she loved much " (Luke 7:47). Here is a wrecked life:
family lost, good name, doubtless health – had been wasted in riotous living. There could be no comfort for her in the thought of responsibility, only shame and sorrow. Nor can the future, in this life, look very bright to one who must reap what she has sowed. And yet grace has freely forgiven her – and she realizes how great the debt was. Now she has a motive to control her whole being – "she loved ranch." The ointment in its alabaster box is a feeble expression of the mighty love that now controls her. What will her future be; what can it be with a love like that? Ah, brethren, here is a motive.

So Paul, chief of sinners and much forgiven, expresses it, "The love of Christ constraineth us." He realized the depth of his guilt, and the wonder of that grace which had saved him. He understood what it cost for the Lord to redeem him, and he says, " I must live for Him who died and rose again for me." How blessed it is that we have here a motive stronger ever then the sense of our failure.

Love does where even duty would fail, and how lovely it is to see a wrecked life, a shattered body, taken possession of by this new principle and transfigured.

" Oh for grace our hearts to soften ;
Teach us Lord at length to love."

In View of Questions Which Have Been Lately Raised.

3.LETTER AND SPIRIT.

We have not yet done, however, with doctrines which affect Scripture; and I place these first, because the character of all the teaching may be rightly judged by them. If that which is the standard of truth be taken from us,-if it be obscured even, or made less available to the common mass of Christians,-it is plain that this will have disastrous effect upon every truth drawn from it, or to be compared with it. Rome herself makes great parade of late of her reverence for the word of God. She will exalt it as much as you please,-and the more she does the more gain will it be to her,- if only you will let her interpret it for you. It is the interpretation that is the great point; and if a system of interpretation is adopted which takes this out of the reach of the simple man, then you have set up an esoteric teaching which is not subject to Scripture, however much you may accredit those who receive it (as it is quite easy to do) with a higher spirituality which enables them to do so. No doubt spirituality is of all importance in the things of God; but it is not this which will refuse to submit to the plain word of Scripture:"If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them " (Isa. 8:20).

Now the system before us, as represented in its chief exponent, avowedly sets aside the letter of Scripture, in the interests of what it is pleased to consider the "spirit" of it. Scripture, has been put alongside of a supposed faulty hymn, to say-"I do not read those hymns in the letter; I do not read Scripture in the letter:I try to get the spirit of the hymn, and I do." The self-complacence of the last two words is characteristic. Are we not left to infer that as with the hymns, so with Scripture, he not only seeks to get the spirit of Scripture, but he does? Most people would have left others to say that of them. Whatever conviction they might have as to their success in such a matter, they would not expect to move others by. their own conviction-at least those of the class that it would be worth while to convince:"let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth " (Pro. 27:2) is a rule which has long been commended to us as a maxim of wisdom.

But the important point is, that we are not, as it seems, to read Scripture in the letter. It would be gratifying to know whether this is what the Book itself teaches, and how it teaches it. The thought is not altogether a new one; others have equally proclaimed their belief in Scripture as '' read by the illumination of that Spirit of Christ which dwelleth in us," as contrasted with "the letter that killeth."* *Canon Farrar.* But one can hardly think of the one from whom I before quoted as meaning to refer us to a text which gives the contrast between the old covenant and the new, and this last even as ministered by grace to us in the present gospel. It could not be said indeed rightly of the new covenant in any wise that the letter killed, although as Gentiles we should not come under it. Those who do come under it will certainly not be killed, even by the letter of it. The spirit is the spirit of the letter and that is the sweetest grace.

In Romans again (7:6)," the oldness of the letter," in which as Christians we are not to serve, is that legal bondage which the old covenant implies, and has nothing to do with Scripture as such. For the Christian in the liberty to which God has called him, the very letter of the law as such remains, not only without injury, but with plenty of profit in it. There is absolutely no scripture which so much as suggests that the letter of God's blessed word is something to be put aside, even in favor of the spirit which resides in it. If I want to be in communion with the spirit of a man, I do not kill his body for that purpose; and grotesque as such a comparison may seem to be, it is a joy to me to believe that God's word is as it were a living organism, in which even far beyond what we find in man (as man is now) the spirit residing is expressed in every part; so that every jot and tittle has importance from it, and must be preserved, for the spirit to be in any proper manner realized.

I own, therefore, with gladness and thankfulness of heart, that I do read Scripture in the letter-that is, in the very form and expression which God has been pleased to give it-and that more and more. Can I give it a form more suited? To convey to another what I find in it I may use other terms, and find them useful, to break through that crust with which a mere external familiarity often encrusts them:-all well; yet shall I find that not only will the same crust form over these new inventions, so that to those familiar with them in the same external way they shall become still a lifeless verbiage, but also that, after all, the words by which I have expressed what I have found will in the end be proved too narrow to contain the fulness of the divine "meaning, if happily they may not be proved in some way inaccurate and really misleading. I do not deny at all the very great usefulness, therefore, of other phraseology than that of Scripture, for the explanation of Scripture; while yet I am sure that for the rectification of all our phrases, and also that Scripture may not be narrowed into the littleness of human conceptions, we must go back, and ever back, to refresh and purify and enlarge our thoughts by the very words-the only adequate, the divine words of the peerless Book which infinite grace has given us.

Distill the blessed words in your alembic and give me the result:to justify it, you must show both the material and the method. But to show me that what you have got is the full equivalent of all the material is still another matter; when your material is scripture, a very difficult thing indeed. But at least you must justify all that you speak of as the spirit by the letter, which is the only thing to begin with which we have. The Spirit within us does not give any new revelation, but "searches the deep things of God" which are contained in what has been already given. The spirit of Scripture is that contained in the letter:it is the spirit of the letter; I read it in the letter to get the spirit of it. The letter has the spirit in it, and more than all that we may please to call the spirit. How important to remember, when you contrast, as in this case, the letter and the spirit, that the letter is of God, the spirit is that in which you have to fear the intrusion of an element which is not of Him!

The principle which we have had asserted is, undoubtedly, one of contrast:" I do not read Scripture
in the letter;" but, if that which has been stated is the truth, then there is as to practical apprehension, in this case, no such contrast. The letter is but the wisest possible expression of that which you may express otherwise sometimes with benefit, no doubt, but yet in a way which is still in reality something less wise than the old one. How unsafe then would it be to say, " I do not read Scripture in the way it is written, but according to what I take to be the meaning of it"! Would it not assume, in fact, that wisdom was in my poor words, beyond that of those who wrote, "not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth?" (i Cor. 2:13). Where can you show me the spirit of Scripture in words which have the sanction that such words have? After all, will it not be your letter in contrast with the actual letter, neither more nor less?

The whole statement is such arrogant assumption that it is hard to believe that a spiritually sane man could make it. The effect of it, if carried out, would be to give us a Bible, or rather, Bibles many, which would be anything rather than the endeared, familiar, well-proved friend of all our hearts. The adoption of such a principle would be at once to blur all lines and bring in everywhere confusion and uncertainty. This is not the Voice of the Spirit that would enfeeble and degrade what the Spirit Himself has given, as this system does; putting it at one time in company with a faulty hymn, at another time with the speech (miraculous though it were) of Balaam's ass! I do not envy the quietness of those who can take all this (go with it or not, as they may) without a protest.

"I do not read Scripture in the letter"! Why, it is just the most literal part of it that of necessity must be used to interpret all the rest. That there are figures, types, parables in it, who is not aware? But who would like to build his soul upon things such as these, without the plain letter of doctrine which alone can interpret them definitely and surely? Is it not "letter" that "God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life"? Am I to read that in the spirit, and not in the letter? Who will stand forth then and tell me, in contrast with the letter, what the spirit of it is?

See now how it all works together:I am justified in accepting this guidance that is offered me, of one so spiritually wise and competent that he can give me the spirit of that which I, poor dullard, have been reading in the letter. What can I do but submit myself to this, and let the proof abide a more convenient season? I may be bewildered at first to find how things immediately begin to change, and how little remains absolutely what it was before. But then, if I am humble, this is all proof of how I needed a teacher,-how without a teacher (and indeed, with all the teachers I have had hitherto) I have been going astray. I learn to distrust myself the more, and cling to my guide. By and by indeed, I must come to a halt, and begin to see where I am,-to see if perchance anything may have gone wrong with me. I have heard that "in a day of evil it is of the utmost importance to prove all things, and not accept the dictum of anybody." That is all right, I suppose:it is the same guide says it; I am yet to prove all by Scripture! But Scripture, what Scripture? He does not read it in the letter; no more must I then, if I am to reach the same results! God has somehow provided me with a Bible in the letter; and this Bible in the spirit I have got to form for myself out of it, and by its help; or, at least, I have got to prove the new Bible in the spirit which has been put into my hand by that old Bible which is so different, and which it will be my wisdom in due time to give up! Think of the perplexity to a simple soul, of using in this way a standard which has to be renounced, and for the very purpose of being able to renounce it; while at the same time, it is capable in some way of putting me on a platform higher than itself! Must not all this end in inextricable confusion? Is it not, in fact, confusion all the way through? F. W. G.

(To be continued.)

I. THE LONELINESS OF DEPARTURE FROM GOD.

There is perhaps no sadder book in the Scriptures than the one tailed Judges. The darkness is not only intensified by contrast with the brilliant narrative of Joshua, but we are saddened at the thought that the state of things was foreseen by him, and was the result of the people's departure from God, spite of all warning.

Throughout the book, the darkness deepens. At the beginning, there is a crying to God, confession of sin, and recovery in His mercy; but the work of deliverance grows more and more shallow, the deliverers themselves less and less men of faith, until the last deliverer, Samson, himself dies in captivity. The remainder of the book contains the shameful narratives of idolatrous departure from God, and its concomitant corruption of man, with the bloody civil war that well-nigh exterminated an entire tribe. There are glimpses of God's mercy all through, so far as the wretched people would permit Him to show Himself in their behalf, but the tendency of everything is downward and away from the light. Nationally, the people were proving themselves without faith and everything pointed to the necessity of a new order. There was no king in Israel. While later they did have a king, it was only as a type of the true King for whom the nation must yet wait, whose coming shall be as the morning without clouds.

In Ruth we have the bright picture, not of man but of God's grace. It begins, morally, as we shall see, where Judges ends, in departure from God. But it is a history of mercy all through, mercy beyond all thought, abounding thus in the surprises which mercy delights to give. Historically, it is evidently the link between the times of the Judges and those of the Kings. It gives us the lineage of the man after God's heart, and typically shows how all blessing comes from David's Son.

Primarily, it has to do with Israel; and we shall find that it unfolds clearly the nation's past course, present condition and the way of future blessing. But grace is the same, whether shown to Israel or to the Gentiles; to a nation, or to the individual. It will be found therefore that, while the form is dispensational and national, the lesson can be applied to the individual as well. There is a common life and a common bond that links together all the people of God, in all dispensations. Family traits can be easily distinguished all through. Abraham is our father, and the family of faith is ever marked by the same humility, obedience and dependence that justified him before God and men.

We will find therefore in this book the history of blessing for the soul, as real and profitable for ourselves as for Israel of whom it is directly the type. While seeking to get the lesson in both, we will see the unity in all God's ways of grace.

The narrative begins at Bethlehem Judah, at a time of famine. The names here, as doubtless throughout the Scriptures, are significant. Bethlehem is "the House of Bread," fittingly the birthplace, long afterward, of Him who as the "Bread of God "came down from heaven to give life to the world. Judah, "praise," is the royal tribe through which in grace the "King" was to come. Praise ever flows from a knowledge of the fulness of blessing which is ours in Christ. Thus food and worship are intimately connected-Bethlehem is in Judah. And it is most natural to find them linked thus together:"I will abundantly bless her provision:I will satisfy her poor with bread. I will also clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy" (Ps. 132:15, 16).

It seems a strange contradiction to have a famine at Bethlehem. If there is no food at the "house of bread," where can it be found? And yet famines are not unknown in God's land. Abraham found one in his day, and so did Isaac. The character of the country, with its rugged hills and hot climate, without many perennial streams, made it particularly susceptible to drought. It was dependent upon the periodic rains, and if these failed there was no river, as in Egypt, to take their place. Thus the land was in a marked way dependent upon heaven, which but illustrates the spiritual meaning. Our heritage is a goodly one, none so fertile, and supplying spiritual food in abundance. But it must be in constant intercourse with heaven for this richness to be made good to us.

If then, for any reason, divine blessing is withheld, the house of bread becomes a place of famine. Well do we know that it is not the desire of God that His people should suffer. He is no niggard, and if the rain is withheld, the fault is with His people and not with Him. He had emphasized this for them, so that they well understood that when heaven was "shut up" it was in chastening.

It need hardly be said that for us the withdrawal is on our side, and that if joy and spiritual food and
power fail, we are straitened in ourselves alone. God does not hide Himself, the Spirit is not grieved away, but the barrenness and loneliness of soul are just as real as though it were so. Thanks to His grace, the presence of the Spirit with us is a pledge of our recovery to the joy of the Lord.

The famine then was God's call to repentance, and should ever have been so considered. "When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain because they have sinned against Thee." Even where there had been no public departure from God, such an affliction should always have brought them upon their faces, in heart-searching inquiry, Why is this?

Further, the saint's walk is not by sight, and God will sometimes test his faith. This seems to have been the reason for the famine in the time of Abraham. God would see whether he had such confidence in His goodness that even a famine could not shake it. Alas, Abraham did as we are all too prone to do; he sought relief from his difficulties, rather than profit from the trial. How true this is with most of us. Is sickness or distress of any kind sent? At once we seek to extricate ourselves from the trouble, rather than to learn the lesson God would teach us. In sickness more attention is given to thoughts of recovery, and to methods of healing rather than to hearing God's voice to us in sickness. Without doubt we should take knowledge of the sickness, and seek also to find relief. But that should not be our first thought.

We should be with God about our sickness, and after bowing under His mighty hand, we may rest assured that He will raise us up. This is not at all a question of so-called faith cure. There is often more pride in what is called that than in the humble employment of proper means for recovery. God may, and doubtless often does, heal in answer to prayer, and without the use of medicines, just as He often blesses the instrumentalities used. But the point of importance is that recovery is not the first object. What would God have us learn in our sickness? Has there been disobedience for which we are feeling His chastening hand? Or, if there has been no direct act of disobedience, has there been a low, carnal, worldly state, worse than actual outbreaking evil? How foolish to expect or want recovery to bodily health before the soul is healed.
So that along with prayerful use of means, or whatever one is led to do for recovery, there should be the ardent, constant prayer, "Search me O God and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Abraham failed here, and his failure had most disastrous and enduring results. He could not stay in the land and learn his lesson with God, but he must go down into Egypt, at a distance from Him, and there learn by shameful experience what it is to depart from God. May we, dear brethren, be kept from seeking relief in any but God's way.

We have dwelt upon this, for it is of the greatest importance, and explains what follows. No matter what the sorrow, how great the distress, it can never be right or wise to turn the back upon God. Relief can never come in that way. What seems to be that is but the prelude to deeper sorrow.

Moab, as we know, was the child of Lot's sin. Lot was a child of God, who was not content with the
life of obedient dependence upon Him, but had rather go down into Sodom for worldly advantage. Moab represents the results of this departure. It is fitting therefore that the nation springing from him should be typical of mere profession, an outward connection with God without any reality.

This man from Bethlehem, the house of bread, departs into the place of empty formalism. Perhaps the pressing distress was relieved for the moment, but at what a cost! the death of himself and his two sons. But let us look a little closely at what is here.

The man's name was Elimelech, "My God is King." He figures Israel under the benign government of God. What a blessed relationship, had there been faith to recognize it. Alas, the nation soon grew weary of the holy government of God, and desired a king" "like all the nations." The famine was but part of His government, and should have been accepted as that. Instead, they desired another ruler, and practically forsook their divine King. So it was when Saul was chosen.

The names of the two sons seem to show both the unbelief of the father and the results of God's chastening. Instead of giving them names suggesting His goodness and love, the parents fasten upon them that which was but a temporary cloud, and thus render it permanent by their unbelief, and prophetic of the final and sorrowful culmination.

Naomi, "pleasant," reminds us of those ways of wisdom which are that. Had the nation but remained in subjection to God, how pleasant would all have been. The very trials would have but sanctified them and brought them into a fuller knowledge of His love, holiness and care. But alas, they will not learn in that way. "Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, . . . behold the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many " (Isa. 8:6, 7). Because the nation would not remain in subjection, they must be given up to the enemy.

Elimelech dies. What else could there be for one who turns his back upon his King? When Israel turned from God, it gave Him up, and that, so far as relationship with Him was concerned, was the end of the nation. It is now, " Lo-Ammi," not my people. Naomi's pleasantness is turned to ashes. The nation has become a widow; God is no longer her King.

But the end has not yet been reached. There has been dreadful chastening but apparently without effect. Instead of turning to God in her affliction, the widowed mother stays on, and sees her two sons form permanent alliances with the enemies of her people, in direct disregard of God's prohibition. Evidently there is no remedy, no hope of recall for those who refuse even to hear the rod; and nothing remains but the final cutting off. Mahlon, "sick," and Chilion," pining," make good the names which apparently had described the state of their parents' hearts, long before. Their faith had been a sickly, pining thing before any outward sign of declension was visible, and now death puts its seal upon the unbelief of long years. The Lord in His mercy keep us, beloved brethren, from such weakness of faith:its end is the bitterness of death.

There seem to have been two stages in Israel's history, answering to the deaths successively of Elimelech and his two sons. The captivity to Babylon would seem to answer to the death of the father, for the nation was never recognized as the people of God after that. God was not their king, the scepter had been delivered to the Gentiles. After the seventy years, there was a restoration to the land in some measure; but " Elimelech " was not there. It was but a sickly, pining thing after all, that allied itself with mere pharisaic profession, and after the full period of responsibility had passed, the last vestige of national existence ceased in the destruction of Jerusalem, after the rejection and crucifixion of our blessed Lord.

Such now is the condition of Israel, a widow, hopeless and desolate, an alien from the home of her youth and from her God. The witness of her departure from God is seen in her Gentile daughters-in-law. So now the very existence of a Jewish people, scattered among the Gentiles, is a solemn witness that God has been forsaken by them, that they have no further claim upon Him. It is a widowed, desolate nation.

We need hardly speak of the application of all this to the individual soul. Alas, it is only too common, this declension from God in soul, and settling down into mere formalism. Christian parents have to mourn the spiritual death of children, who after all are but the reflection of their own hearts. There is no peace and no safety save as we abide near to God.

Are you alone, dear reader ? Have you lost the joy of God, and wandered into distance from Him? Pause and ask why it has all been. Go back to the time when your heart first became dissatisfied with God and His government, and there you will find the root of all your sorrow. Do you mourn that your children are unconverted ? Ask yourself if their state is not the result of your own sickly, pining faith. If you are a widow, let there be the widow's tears, the widow's heart-break. There is still One who is the Husband of the widows.

(To be continued, if the Lord please.)

"We worship God, and we have communion with God, while we dwell in spirit in heavenly places, where God Himself has given us our proper place. But if we get outside of it we can have no fellowship with Him, although He knows how to keep us by His grace and faithfulness." J. N. D.

"Strength begins from within. We first have the loins girded about with truth, the breast covered with righteousness, the feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, etc., and then we can take our only offensive weapon-'the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.' There is nothing more dangerous than to use the Word when it has not touched my conscience. I put myself into Satan's hands if I go beyond what I have from God, what is in possession of my soul, and use it in ministry or privately. There is nothing more dangerous than the handling of the Word apart from the guidance of the Spirit. To talk with saints on the things of God beyond what I hold in communion, is most pernicious. There would be a great deal not said that is said, were we watchful as to this, and the word not so used in an unclean way. I know of nothing that. more separates from God than truth spoken out of communion with God. There is uncommon danger in it." J. N. D.

The symptoms of spiritual decline are like those which attend the decay of bodily health. It generally commences with loss of appetite and a disrelish for wholesome food, prayer, reading the Scriptures and devotional books. Whenever you perceive these symptoms, be alarmed, for your spiritual health is in danger.-Payson.

(Continued from page 196 )

How then is this, His order and government to be maintained? And who are the responsible "overseers," made such by the Holy Ghost, according to Acts 20:28?-overseers to shepherd the flock of God. This is a wonderful thought, and it is a wonderful work beautifully illustrated in the apostle Paul himself. "And who is sufficient for these things"? Paul could say, and so can we; yet Paul was responsible according to the measure of the gift of Christ, and so are we; each in his, and her place.

We cannot recognize any one man, nor any body of men, as the head of authority and power to govern the Church. But we can recognize our own need, and our individuality, and responsibility to maintain God's government, and have a proper respect for God's holiness in ourselves. And if we maintain this in ourselves, we shall recognize God's true headship of the Church, His blessed Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is vested all power and authority in heaven and on earth. Thus we shall maintain in our own souls, and in the assembly of His saints, a proper regard for the holiness which becomes His presence, and "the joy of the Lord will be our strength." We shall sit down in the shadow of His presence with great delight. And then we shall be able to discern through the Spirit's guidance the "overseers," or "elders," whom God would have us respect as such.

And now let us bring this matter home practically, to our own hearts. Do we know what this guidance is? We may be able to say that such and such things are not the Spirit's guidance, but can we be as sure what is of the Spirit's guidance? If I am not sure that God has given me spiritual intelligence and discernment to detect what is, and what is not, of the Spirit's guidance, I should be very careful not to express my judgment. I should conclude, and rightly so, that I am not one of those made overseers by the Holy Ghost.

If we had always been careful as to this we should have escaped very much sorrow to ourselves, and dishonor to the Lord. For it is too often the case that it is those who have not this spiritual discernment who are foremost in seeking to rule. Have we not all seen this to our sorrow and shame? God has given us as we have seen in the Scriptures quoted His perfect standard. He could give nothing short of a perfect standard. But what does His perfect standard do for me?

It shows me just where I come short:which is a most wholesome lesson for me. If I heed it, I shall not be putting myself forward and meddling with things which I ought not to touch, neither shall I be dictating to others as to their path:but seek humbly to walk in my own. I shall not be hasty in judging others as to their path, for when it is a question of service, every one is individually responsible before God, and to God; not to men, not to elders, nor overseers, nor to bishops, (and these three words imply the same thing, so that the elder of i Tim. 3:covers the whole responsibility).

Is there then 110 such thing now as eldership in the gatherings of God's saints? Not of the apostolic pattern, surely. What then? Is there no provision for this need? We can hardly say that; for God
knew all about this as well as every other need, before He gave us His word, and we should not allow the thought that He has not provided for this also. But we must not forget that everything is in ruin and confusion, and that we ourselves are a part of that ruin:and what is more, God has provided for this very need in this state of ruin. Blessed be His name.

Let us then turn to the epistle of Paul to the Galatians, the sixth chapter. "Brethren if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself." And now the question is, who is the spiritual man? The Word answers that question in the closing of the foregoing chapter:'' Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. . . The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." Here we have the fruits by which every one can see who is the spiritual man, and such ones we should regard according to Heb. 13:7. " Remember them which have the rule over you, and have spoken to you the word of God; whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Christ Jesus the same yesterday, today, and forever."

And respect their judgment according to Heb. 13:17, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves:for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief:for that is unprofitable for you."

I venture to anticipate, and answer a few questions, as to the Spirit's guidance in meetings. And first of all, you may be sure of this, that it is not the Spirit's guiding when anything is brought in to cause distraction, contention or strife. Nothing should be allowed which does not savor of Christ, since the Holy Ghost cannot be the author of anything which dishonors Him, neither can we say that the Spirit is leading in anything which is not to His glory. For Jesus said of the Spirit," He shall glorify Me " (John 16:14).

And in view of this divine fact, we may always test ourselves by asking, What is my motive in doing or saying this? And if I cannot say honestly before God, that I am sure I have no other motive apart from seeking to honor and glorify Him, let it not be done or said. And mark this beloved, there can be no such thing as it being my duty to act, or to speak, anything which is not to glorify Him. If we can ever be mindful of this, there would be far less of fleshly and dishonoring exhibitions of merely human energy.

Further, it is never right to take up to criticize, or to correct what another has said, unless he has repeated it to the disturbing of the meeting. I should go to him privately about it.

If two brethren should give out a hymn at the same time, both should be silent, and leave the saints to judge which to sing, or to leave both, and wait on the Lord for another hymn, or for whatever He may lead to. Sometimes too many hymns are given out, and if this is the spiritual judgment of the saints, let them be silent, and wait on the Lord for the Spirit's leading. Hymns should never be given out because they are our favorites.

If a brother is addicted to giving out too many hymns, or because he wants to keep the meeting going, saints should simply wait on the Lord in silence:and if a brother is in the habit of occupying the time, but not to the edification of the saints, let them all as one, wait on the Lord in prayer, until he ceases. Many wrong things may be corrected in this way, without grieving the Spirit or disturbing the meeting, if saints are before the Lord, and cherish a proper regard for the holiness which becometh His presence. For all who are really in His presence; a few moments of profound silence is never lost time, but may, and often does, add to the power and joy of the meeting.

Just a word as to receiving persons to the Lord's table. No one should be received while there is one dissenting voice, if the person dissenting can give a good reason for his or her objection. Persons should be well-known, or commended by those who are well-known, and in whom the saints have confidence, before being received, if we would properly regard the holiness, order and government of God's assembly. " Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ hath received us to the glory of God." To the glory of God! Not to disturbing the peace of the saints.

The fact that a man claims to be a Christian is not a guarantee against evil doctrines, evil association and unholy walk. We are responsible to know where he is as to these things, before receiving him to the Lord's table. There is no half fellowship. If a person breaks bread with us, he should understand that he is in fellowship with us, in all that God has given to us:and that we are not in fellowship with what he has left behind. C. E. H.

"Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life" (John 6:27).

These words were spoken by the Lord Himself when here on earth, in connection with the feeding of the five thousand. He had taken the five barley loaves and the two fishes from the lad -everything speaking of weakness and insufficiency -and with them had fed the multitude. Wondrous was the love as well as the power expressed. The life given was also the life sustained. Our Lord is both the source and supply of the life He imparts, "The gift of God is eternal life in (Gk.) Christ Jesus our Lord." Hence He is presented to us as the Bread of Life. How precious is this thought:we are not only His workmanship, but the objects of His constant care; not only born of God, but nourished constantly by the same hand that gave us being.

Let us turn for a little to the table which He spreads for us in the presence of our enemies (Ps. 23:5), and view the bounty of Him who is ever the liberal Giver, not only supplying our need, but ministering most fully to our joy as well. As we feed upon this "bread of the mighty," we can hear Him saying, "Eat, O friends:drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved " (Song 5:i).

I. The Roast Lamb. (Ex. 12:1-13.) In the house sheltered by the sprinkled blood of the Passover Lamb we see a table furnished for those who had just been delivered from wrath and judgment. Their food was to be the roast lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs. When in the darkness and degradation of slavery, their food had been "the leeks, melons, onions and garlic." But now they have been delivered, not only from the curse, but from the ways of Egypt-all is changed, and their sustenance is changed with the rest :

"God thine everlasting portion,
Feeds thee with the mighty's meat;
Price of Egypt's hard extortion,
Egypt's food no more to eat."

It need not be said that the Lamb points to our Lord Jesus. "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." The lamb was roast with fire. It was not to be eaten raw, nor sodden with water. This reminds us that Jesus, the blessed One whom the believer knows, loves and feeds upon, was the One who bore His people's sins when He was slain upon the cross, and there endured not only death, but the wrath of God's judgment, the fire. Before He could be the food of His people, He must let this fire of judgment come upon Him. Thus forgiveness, peace and joy are the known portion of those who by faith feed upon Him.

The unleavened bread is what accompanies the roast Lamb, and gives its name to the whole feast- the feast of unleavened bread. A separate life of holiness is the fitting accompaniment of such redemption. The bitter herbs remind us of that "broken and contrite spirit" never despised by God, and without which even the roast lamb would be savorless. So true is it that pride, self-sufficiency or worldliness deprive us of all appreciation of Christ as our food. " Salt is good."

They fed upon this in Egypt-"Jesus Christ the same yesterday; " they fed; upon it also in the wilderness (Num. 9:)-Jesus Christ the same to-day; they fed upon the same when they crossed Jordan and entered the land-Jesus Christ the same forever.

2. The Manna. This bread from heaven was the suited food for the people of God in their wilderness journeyings. (Ex. 16:) In it we see the same Jesus as was foreshadowed by the Lamb, but now as the One who came down to earth and trod the desert sand, entering into all the circumstances of His people's life-apart from sin. Having gone over the whole path, well acquainted with it as Man, and having glorified God in it, He becomes the suited food for His people. They look back at the path He trod, His lonely separation to God, His faithfulness under all circumstances, and they find Him their stay, delight and strength. So precious was this life to God -a life never to be separated from His atoning death-that the memorial of it is ever before Him. They laid up a pot of the manna to be carried over Jordan, and laid up in the ark for a perpetual memorial. Thus Jesus has passed through the Jordan of death, and entered the Canaan of Heaven, and there is laid up as the food of His faithful overcomers. (Rev. 2:12.)

3. The Old Corn. We have here the same Jesus, but not as the Lamb enduring the fire of God's judgment, nor as the humbled One walking this earth, as in the Manna; we see Him now in heaven, His own native place. (Josh. 5:2:) This is where Saul of Tarsus first saw Him (Acts 9:), and this is where we all now behold Him:"We see Jesus . . . crowned with glory and honor " (Heb. 2:9). As we look upon Him there, in the light and glory of heaven, where sin, care and gloom are forever banished, we feed upon Him by faith as the "Bread of Heaven." Already we are there in spirit, and are strengthened to war a good warfare against the hosts of evil that would prevent our enjoyment and possession of our portion. In a little while we will not feed by faith, but by sight, and in heaven itself will find Christ the delight and joy of our hearts.

4. The Meal-Offering. Here we get fresh and broader lessons. (Lev. 2:) Volumes might be written on this subject, and the world could not contain the books that would be written. (Jno. 21:) The first portion of the Meal-Offering belonged to God. Who can measure the delight which the Father finds in His beloved Son ? The portion for God was placed upon the altar, and ascended as a sweet savor to Him. "Thou art My beloved Son in whom I have found My delight."

The next portion was for the priestly family, who partook of it inside the sacred enclosure, the court, feeding upon that which had also been offered to the Lord. Thus God and His people alike feed upon the same blessed Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is communion, where the same object is the delight of God's heart and the joy of the saints too. Truly they are a holy and a royal priesthood.

The fine flour was mingled with oil, and in this we get a glimpse of the wondrous truth of the incarnation. That " Holy One," born by the power of the Holy Spirit, is before us as the object of adoration and worship.

But the meal-offering was also anointed with oil, and this directs our view to Him as emerging from His life of quiet and retirement, and coming forth to take His place in public ministry among men. At His baptism by John the Holy Spirit comes upon Him, and He is anointed. As we behold Him in the manger, we feed upon Him ; as we follow Him through His life of service, listening to every word, marking every action, we feed also at the table so bounteously furnished with the choicest fare. Who can exhaust the theme ? where can we put a limit upon the delight of heart with which we dwell upon Him ?

In this connection we will follow the priests of old, and view them during the seven days of their consecration. (Lev. 8:, 9:) We will see our place as believers and our portion in Christ as well. They are washed, clothed, anointed, sanctified and consecrated-their hands filled. They are shut in for seven days, and during this whole time they eat those things wherewith atonement was made. (Ex. 28:33.) What a thought here engages the heart as we contemplate this priestly family, shut in with God seven days, and during the entire period feeding upon that which spoke of atonement ! Shut in with God ! shut out from the world ! and thus feeding upon Christ alone, the One through whom atonement has been accomplished.

At this time Jehovah has His portion-Ex. 29:15-25; Moses has his-ver. 26; and Aaron and his sons have theirs-vers. 27-33. The breast, the shoulder and the unleavened bread are theirs. The breast speaks of the deep and wondrous love of Christ; the shoulder, of that everlasting strength which bears us up before God and through all the trials and difficulties of our way here; and the unleavened bread, as we have already seen, tells of the separate life of the believer. This is the priests' food day by day until the end. The whole life through it is Jesus, in all His varied characters, and all the perfection of His work.

5. Let us now visit the Father's house (Luke 15:) and see there the Father and His once prodigal son seated at the same table, feeding upon the "fatted calf." This is not the manna, nor yet the old corn. Yet the company is the same-sinners saved by grace and brought to God, and in His presence sharing in His food and witnessing His joy. The strains of the sweet music fill every ear and every heart. The prodigal, once vile and rebellious, now is forgiven, cleansed and clothed with the best robe. Together with his Father he rejoices and feasts. Jesus is the joy of the Father's heart, and Jesus is also the joy and strength of the prodigal's. This will be our portion forever.

6. Let us next taste the "apples" and "wine" (Song 2:1-7). Here it is a banqueting house, and His banner over us is love. It is communion true and real, of a very high order. Yet the feasters are the same sinners, saved by grace, and the object is the same Jesus, whose name is as sweet ointment poured forth.

" How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds
And drives away his fear."

As the apple gives refreshment and comfort to the traveler in the east, wearied under the burning sun, so to the believer none can compare with Jesus. "As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow, with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste." This suggests the sweetness of communion, and its progress as well. We are not only protected, but are led on to further knowledge and enjoyment of our blessed Lord. "As new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that, ye may grow thereby, if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious" (i Pet. 2:2, 3). How preciously the Holy Spirit keeps Jesus our Lord and Saviour before the heart "He shall glorify Me; for He shall receive of Mine and shall show it unto you." Here the believer can taste, and eat, and drink.
Thus we have Jesus as the food of the soul-as the Roast Lamb, the Manna, the Old Corn, the Meal-Offering, the Fatted Calf and the Apples. All speak to the heart of Him, the delight, the joy and the comfort of His people now and forever. In His banquet hall, the heart is so overpowered by His love that it cries out, "Stay me with flagons, and comfort me with apples, for I am sick of love." Poor mortal flesh is too weak, its capacity is limited, so that even though redeemed by blood, and in the enjoyment of Christ's love, it is overpowered, and needs a fresh ministry of that love to buoy it up. It is not weary of His love, but overpowered. How good it is to know that there is suitability in Christ for this state, and that the Holy Spirit gives rest and calm in the enjoyment of the Lord, which is expressed in these words, " I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up nor awake my love till she please." A. E. B.

(1 Kings 18:41-46.)

When the public break with idolatry was made, the time of Israel's long famine came to an end. While there was not that penitence and self-abhorrence on their part which betoken a lasting work, there was at least sufficient public acknowledgment of God to permit His ever-ready mercy to act. Judgment is His strange work, but He delighteth in mercy. Of course, this mercy is sovereign, dependent upon Himself alone for its exercise; but it is of interest and profit to see how God uses the exercises of His people as channels for His blessings.

Thus we see that Elijah's faith foresees the abundance of rain, and he can confidently predict it to the king; but ere that fall of rain comes, for the man of God there is no eating and drinking, but the loneliness of Carmel and the wrestling in prayer. May we not say that we have here a pattern of God's ways with His people? It may not be all who are aroused; perhaps only some lonely Elijah is in travail, looking and waiting and still waiting till "patience hath its perfect work." It is a Gideon, hiding the wheat from the Midianites, as he weeps in secret over Israel's shame and misery, who is the instrument of deliverance for the nation.

Look at this lonely man upon Carmel:see his intense earnestness, his whole soul absorbed. Such men pray, and get answers to their prayers. It is no easy thing to pray thus. Everything suggests the oneness of purpose, the denial of self and the persistence that is a pledge of the answer before it comes. This is what is meant by fasting. Surely there is no merit in abstinence from food, nor is it even a means of grace. It is rather an indication of the state of soul, which cares for nothing till its prayer is answered. How much, dear brethren, do we know of this kind of prayer?

Elijah waits long for his answer, and when it comes there is nothing to indicate the mighty results that will eventually follow. After the seventh look, his servant reports "a little cloud, like a man's hand." But how inadequate such an answer to his prayer. However Elijah waits no longer, and soon the mighty rain justifies his expectations.

But does not the manner of the answer suit with all the rest, in fact an illustration of the very thing of which we have been speaking? God is going to interpose, but the cloud He sends is the size of a man's hand. He will suggest that His blessing are to flow through human channels, and in one sense are dependent upon them.

A man's hand is the measure of a man's capacity and therefore of his responsibility.

Its very form seems to suggest the union of spirit and matter-the four fingers controlled by the one thumb, which is also a type or that higher control of the Creator, so commonly suggested by the number five. It is suggestive thus of the exercise that comes the with sense of responsibility.

Let us now in a very simple way apply this lesson. Through their departure from Him, God's people bring upon themselves a famine, spiritually. When have we a sign that this season of drought is at an end? Does some Elijah-spirit look and wait for an answer? He will get it in the cloud the size of a man's hand.
We all crave the supernatural, the miraculous. It may sound like a paradox, but God does not usually work in a supernatural way,-at least He does not usually begin in that way. It is not His way to have a period of depression followed by one of feverish exhilaration and excitement. The latter is no more a sign of health than the former. In fact what are ordinarily called revivals in certain quarters are by no means signs of spiritual refreshment, but of carnal excitement, to be followed by a more deathlike depression. No, the sign of the blessing is the cloud like a man's hand.

"What is that in thine hand?" the Lord asked Moses, and with the shepherd's crook He gave witness of His presence and delivering power. The lad with five barley loaves and two fishes furnished the nucleus for the supply of the need of the five thousand. They were the cloud the size of a man's hand. When we see an awakening on the part of God's people to their responsibility, the indifference exchanged for earnest desire, we see this cloud, at least faith does. As was said, the very prayer for blessing is a pledge of the blessing.

We hear an unaccustomed voice in prayer-a brother long silent is pouring out his heart's longings, and we see a cloud. It is small, only a man's hand, but it is God's sign of blessing. Other lips long mute are opened and, under the exercise and awakening, we realize God is manifestly present. That holy presence begets an awe, a reverence followed by a reality that has power which lasts.

The same is seen in real obedience. Saints long for a great work in the gospel. They expect to see rooms filled with anxious enquirers, nightly meetings crowded, and all the accompaniments of what is considered a mighty work of grace. On the contrary, the only sign may be a parent's importunate prayer for the conversion of a child, which is answered. Or some wanderer is reclaimed, or some difference between saints is adjusted. Some sister whose quiet ministry in the distribution of tracts has seemed so long fruitless, has the joy of seeing a soul brought to Christ. One or two saints may be stirred to make special prayer for the gospel, following it with effort to get this or that acquaintance to the meeting. There is nothing special, nothing remarkable, but the small cloud is the harbinger of a sweet and gracious shower.

Oh for the sign of these small clouds. Oh for the Elijah-spirit that claims and must have them. Why, dear brethren, should there not be at this very time and through each one of us, some refreshing to the Church of God? We are not straitened in Him, but in ourselves alone. There is a dreadful lack in many of us. There is great unbelief and slowness of heart in those who think they are of no special use. When once the spiritual sloth that says this is shaken off, we will see the cloud, and have the rain. The Lord awaken us all.

The "occupation" of the Church ought to be constant, incessant reference to its Head. If its Head is not its first thought (and that is shown in thinking of its Head, and filling itself into all the thoughts and affections of its Head), it cannot act for Him. This is its grand occupation."We will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the Word."I must get through the crowd of Satan's power, and I must get beyond the crowd to my Head who is the only source of power. We should seek that kind of communion with the saints which living in spirit with the Head gives. We should get all who hear to join in the cry (Rev. 22:17.So should the Church have its own light, that is outside would be shutout. The apostle was living in a world of his own-he was filled with ideas of his own; but they were God's ideas, and he had power. It is not knowing the scene I have to act in that gives me power (we get no strength from the contemplation of that), but intercourse and living communion with the Head. We should get near enough to Christ to enjoy Him, and to know Him truly, and to gather up all that is like Him. If not separated by affection from the world, we shall be separated by discipline in the world. He will vex our souls to get us separate, if in spirit and in heart we are not separate. "Because thou servedst not Jehovah thy God with joy fulness, and with gladness of heart . . . therefore thou shall serve thine enemies which Jehovah thy God shall send against thee." J. N. D.

The true secret of all ministry is spiritual power.

It is not man's genius, or man's intellect, or man's energy, but simply the power of the Spirit of God. This was true in the days of Moses, and it is true now. "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." It is well for all ministers to bear this ever in mind. It will sustain the heart, and give constant freshness in ministry. A ministry which flows from abiding dependence upon the Holy Ghost can never become barren. If a man is drawing upon his own resources, he will soon run dry. It matters not what his powers may be, or how extensive his reading, or how vast his stores of information; if the Holy Ghost be not the spring and power of his ministry, it must sooner or later lose its freshness and its effectiveness.

How important, therefore, that all who minister in the Gospel, or in the Church of God, should lean continually and exclusively on the power of the Holy Ghost; He knows what souls need, and can supply it. But He must be trusted and used. It will not do to lean partly on self and partly on the Spirit of God. If there be aught of self-confidence, it will soon be made apparent. We must really get at the bottom of all that belongs to self, if we are to be the vessels of the Holy Ghost.

It is not-need we say it ?-that there should not be holy diligence and earnestness in the study of the word of God, and in the study too of the exercises, the trials, and the varied difficulties of souls. Quite the reverse. We feel persuaded that the more absolutely we lean in self-emptiness upon the mighty power of the Holy Ghost, the more diligently and earnestly we shall study both the book and the soul. It would be a fatal mistake for a man to use professed dependence upon the Spirit as a plea for neglecting prayerful study and meditation. "Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all" (1 Tim. 4:5).

But, after all, let it ever be remembered that the Holy Ghost is the ever-living, never-failing spring of ministry. It is He alone that can bring forth in divine freshness and fulness the treasures of God's Word, and apply them in heavenly power to the present need of the soul. It is not a question of bringing forth new truth, but simply of unfolding the word itself, and bringing it to bear upon the moral and spiritual condition of the people 0of God. This is true ministry. A man may speak a hundred times on the same portion of Scripture to the same people, and on each occasion he may minister Christ in spiritual freshness to their souls. And, on the other hand, a man may rack his brain to find out new subjects and new modes of handling old themes, and all the while there may not be one atom of Christ or of spiritual power in his ministry. . . .Notes on Numbers.

(Philippians 4:)

The great importance which the apostle attaches to a feeling of brotherhood in the ranks, is constantly breaking out, in what we may call this epistle of combat, and he himself is a living example of the affection and fellowship which should exist. "My joy and my crown." Such are the ardent words which run from his pen and flow from his heart, and the title to utter which he had proved in the yielding up for their sakes the sweet companionship of Epaphroditus. How often the mutual jealousies of earthly leaders have robbed some fair field of victory of its fruits, but how much direr are the results when strife and envy creep into the army of God. They blast and blight the whole. "Be ye souled together " (συμψυχoι) as we might paraphrase a verse in chap. 2:is all important, and this is shown in acts, not in words alone.

But the way in which those early Christians did love one another, would be a good subject of study today. It so touched the infidel Gibbon that when he had to speak of it he broke into glowing, rapturous eulogy. Yea, we remember that our Lord once said, "By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, that ye have love one to another." But have we? If not, are we then His disciples? This is a very practical question. It really measures our love to Christ; for the greater our love for Christ the greater will be that for our brethren.

In the battle, with the foe in front, while he gathers stronger and stronger to the attack, while within the camp itself his emissaries are sowing dissension, and he is seeking to corrupt the word of God, let every true hearted soldier of Christ stand shoulder to shoulder with his brother, and let not the breath of envy do its hateful work. Happy is that man who, when he lays his armor aside in the house of God, shall find no dint wrought by that weapon of the Adversary upon it. Would we know how to accomplish this best? The answer is before us:"So stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved."

The fact that this injunction is so constantly and earnestly reiterated, to an assembly in which everything seemed so bright, is well worthy of our serious consideration. "There is a tide in the affairs of men," says an earthly poet; and alas! how often are our flood tides the commencement of the ebb.

Did you ever think of those words, " The cock crew," in a spiritual way? The cock-crow was the sign of morning near. As Peter went out he may have seen the first glimmer of dawn breaking over the eastern hills, and have heard, as if to hail its advent, the voice of the herald of the dawn. The morning is near, poor Christ forgetter! The resurrection glory is breaking over the shores of time. "Stand fast in Christ" for the few fleeting moments ere He come and then stand ever in His presence, at home! How light will seem the trial then. How precious the present opportunity! And oh how sweet it will be, when that song, everlasting, because everlasting its cause, wakes the joyous voices of the morning, to think that in the night of His rejection, earth once heard it break from your lips, a true witness to Him.

" I beseech Euodias and I beseech Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord." We now come to the practical working of the love that animates the apostle. True affection cannot bear to see its objects at variance with one another, and so this petition comes in to remove all "root of bitterness." But how delicate and judicious in its framing! How well calculated to attain its end. He beseeches, and he beseeches both. No doubt one was more right than the other. Indeed there are very few questions in which this is not so. And yet the apostle ignores all that and leaves them to recognize it themselves. How much trouble would be avoided by God's people if there were ever such care and love exercised, and differences of opinion were removed ere separation of heart followed. But not only is this so but bonds must be strengthened, and so he goes on to say, "And I entreat thee also true yoke fellow help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also and with other my fellow laborers, whose names are written in the book of life." And then once more he breaks out, " Rejoice in the Lord alway and again I say, rejoice!" How wonderfully touching is this jubilant music from a prison. But this is after all the secret of all real service. One cannot labor with a sad heart. One cannot preach Christ unless he find Him a source of joy and blessing. The shout of triumph must ring in the heart of the speaker, and proclaim what a God he has-a God who stays the sun by man's feeble arm, who heals disease, who conquers sin, who preaches deliverance to the captives, recovers sight to the blind and, as the apostle puts it, " causeth us always to be led about in triumph in Christ."

And now that we are thinking about it, let us ask ourselves, how much we know about this. Is it true that the victor's song can be heard, or do the cares of this world stifle it in its birth? It is one thing to talk about it when there is nothing on any hand to put us to the test, and quite another when we are in the thick of the battle. Brass will glitter like gold, but there is a world of difference between them. Buoyancy of spirit will seem like the happiness of faith until it be tried in God's crucible. Dear brethren, how do we stand in the time of testing? It behooves us to ask ourselves this question very often. The next verse may be considered as a measuring-rod for the joy of the preceding. It is a little difficult to render so as to give the full force of the Greek. Primarily it is that which "fits to," and from this it might be translated " adaptability, "and as a special application of this latter meaning to the demands of others upon us, " yieldingness."

"Let your adaptability be known unto all men." If we are rejoicing in the Lord as the apostle wants us to, this will be comparatively easy, but if not, certainly impossible. I say " certainly impossible, "for I think the words imply a state of heart as well as of life. When rejoicing in the Lord, we are rich and can afford to yield and give way, and we continue rich. But if not, then we must necessarily cling to our own ways and fancies and to whatever else we count dear; for it is our all, and there be few that will let go their all.

In addition to this it says "let it be known!" Oh what a blessed testimony to Him, when men can say, He is so rich in Christ and the knowledge of His nearness that he does not care what you take from him. Truly that hymn is right which says it is

" Sweeter praise than tongue can tell, "
God is satisfied with Jesus,
"We are satisfied as well."

But then "satisfied" means a great deal and before leaving this point let us ask ourselves, "Are we really and absolutely satisfied with Him?"

The making known in the verse we have been considering is coupled with another making known in the verse which follows, "Be anxious about nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God."

In ver. 5, you are exhorted to let men draw as many drafts upon you as they wish, and then in ver. 6, God, in His wonderful grace says, "Come to Me, I will make up your shortage and fill your treasury to overflowing."

There are several things to be noted here. First of all it says, "in everything." How broad and inclusive is this invitation. We are to give God our full confidence. There is nothing in which He will not be interested, nothing too small for His care, nothing too great for His power. Then as to suitable manner of presentation it is " prayer and supplication with thanksgiving," and as to result, "The peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

If this peace then do not keep our hearts and minds, it is evident that we are not fulfilling the condition upon which it depends. It "passeth all understanding." How can men understand a peaceful mind where corroding anxieties would be natural? Do we know and possess that peace, dear brethren? If so we shall neither be fretful nor peevish though passing through painful circumstances. "But are we so? And if not, why not? Alas it is because we forget in everything with all prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, to make known our requests unto God. May we awake to our blessed privileges in this great grace of our God.

Prayer is a measure of our care for Him. If we do not pray much to Him we do not care much for Him. Is not that true? Let each of us make answer for himself. And should we, when thus before the bar of our conscience, feel compelled to return an answer of condemnation, may our cry be, ever increasingly, " Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold me by Thy free Spirit! "

Danger thickens about us on every hand. The adversary knows that his time is short, and as we near our journey's end, increased effort is being made by him, to ensnare us into sleep.

"Blessed is that man whom when his Lord cometh, He shall find watching." To wait for Him! To watch for Him! To long for Him! and all through this dark night to let the candles of faith, and hope, and love burn brightly until they be swallowed up in the glory of His Presence. This is our blessed privilege. Are we enjoying it? F. C. G.

(Phil. 2:25-30.)

The Character of Epaphroditus, of whom we have a glimpse in the passage referred to, is singularly beautiful and attractive. The apostle uses the strongest language of commendation in speaking of him :"my brother and companion in labor, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger and he that ministered to my" wants."He thus was associated with Paul in his labor, fully identifying himself with the "prisoner of the Lord," and working with all the vigor of "a good soldier of Jesus Christ." He was evidently not only a man of energetic spirit, but of marked sympathy and gentleness as well, a combination only too rare among the saints. So completely did he throw himself into the Lord's work, venturing his own life, that, humanly speaking, he seemed about to pay the penalty for what the world calls intemperate, rash zeal. But in the mercy of God he was raised from his sickness. His tender spirit had longed for the saints at Philippi, and was grieved that they should be made anxious as to his welfare. In sending him back, Paul says, "Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such in reputation; because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me."

There is no rebuke necessarily implied in these last words. The same expression is found where it would be impossible to so understand it. "That which is behind of the afflictions of Christ," could only mean afflictions still to be endured for the sake of the Church, Christ's body. (Col. 1:24.) The
apostle testifies that they had been careful to minister to him, but had "lacked opportunity " (Phil. 4:10). Epaphroditus, as their representative, was doing their work, because they lacked the opportunity to do it.

There is always need of this vicarious service. In one sense all service is vicarious. Every member of the body of Christ with his gift is but the representative of the whole body. It is the body, by the effectual working in the measure of every part, that makes increase of itself, unto the edifying of itself in love. (Eph. 4:16.)

But apart from this general identification of all the members in service, there is a special unity when the saints are sharers in the labor of those with whom they are specially identified. Thus an evangelist goes forth in his service from the bosom of an assembly, upheld by their prayers and sustained by the temporal support and practical sympathy of those whom he has left behind. They feel that in one sense they are preaching through him, that he is supplying what is lacking in their service, because of their absence. Without doubt this is a most important and interesting feature of the Lord's work ; may there be an increased realization of the privilege of thus being identified with ministry done through another.

Perhaps it may be as well to apply this while it is fresh in our minds. Where and how are the saints being identified with the work in the gospel ? If an evangelist labors at a place, naturally there is the fellowship of prayer and interest in his work. But should it cease there ? What, then, of the "regions beyond " ? Are we, dear brethren, preaching through others in the dark places of the earth ? Thank God for all there is of this, but surely we need to exhort one another to increased zeal. Think of the foreign work, of the dark places of ignorance in so-called Christian lands. Is some Epaphroditus at work there as our representative, supplying our lack of service ? Or, alas, is there but the "lack of service," without the supply ? We do well to say that service is an individual thing, and that none should venture to enter upon a path unless he is assured of the Lord's call and support. But does He not call all, in one way or another, to His service ? and is it not when a whole company of Christians is aroused, that He calls forth the individuals ? Witness the call of Barnabas and Saul (Acts 13:) from the bosom of the Assembly at Antioch, and where prayer and fasting showed the intensity of the interest in the things of God.

But we will return to something perhaps even more needed than what has been said. The apostle did not intend to intimate, as we have seen, that the saints at Philippi had been derelict in their duty, quite the reverse. But do not these words,'' your lack of service," suggest for us, perhaps, in their form at least, something that is more than lack of opportunity ?

Let us begin with the word of God. We rejoice to see one gifted in expounding its treasures to us and are perhaps quite content to let him continue to do so, without the thought entering our mind, that we also should be exploring those mines of wealth for ourselves. It was a rebuke the apostle gave to the Hebrews, "When for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again." He did not mean that they should dispense with teachers, but rather that they should be increasing their number. How many of the saints of God are original explorers in His word ? Lack of knowledge ? lack of ability? Ah, beloved, may be it is lack of heart. What losers we are thus. A few plod along, and are richly rewarded by what they find; while the many are content to take all they get at second hand, losing thus the great blessing of the exercise that is needful for searching the scriptures, and forgetting that "in all labor there is profit'" It is not a question of gift, but of hunger for the word of God, and of diligence in making it our own. The teacher will always have his place, and be far more useful and far more appreciated when all the saints are diligent students for themselves.

The same may be said as to the gospel. Do we love souls? We may not be evangelists, but we can point sinners to Christ. Without doubt, there will not be a genuine, widespread work of salvation apart from the interest, prayers and labors of the individual saints. Here is a work all can engage in. How much are we doing for the perishing around us ? May we not confess to much "lack of service" here ?

We come to a simpler matter yet, where there is a woeful lack, and about which we should be constantly exhorting one another. We have been speaking of service which requires, not exactly gift, but activity. Let us speak of what requires only a sense of need. We all know the need of prayer, in our closets first of all, but everywhere. "I will that the men pray everywhere" (i Tim. 2:8). Who can conceive of a Christian who does not pray in private ? Would not all resent the very thought ? But, beloved brethren, who can think of the Christian who does not have family prayer, or who can think of his not praying in public ?

Let us suffer a word of exhortation. It should be just as impossible to think of a brother never praying in private, as never doing so in public. We do not wish to put one another under law, still less to force to a meaningless form, but neither of these is necessary. Surely the Spirit of God must lead, but who dare say He will not lead all brothers to pray in public? Is it said one may not be in communion, and so not be in a fit state to pray ? Then the large majority of the brothers must be out of communion. No, clear brethren, we are persuaded that those who remain silent have an equal privilege and responsibility with those whose voices are heard in public!

Here is the meeting for remembering our Lord, when every heart should be attuned to His praise. Is it right that all audible worship should be laid upon the few ? Here are twenty brothers, and the voices of ten are never heard in a single word of thanks. Is that pleasing to the Lord ? As a result it gets to be almost understood that "the praying brethren " are a limited few. The same ones are heard, week after week, with but little variation. If these are silent, there is too often the barren pause, which occupies saints with one another, until one feels that it is more honoring to the Lord to break the silence and supply some one's lack of service.

Is this overdrawn ? does it sound bitter ? God forbid that we should accuse one another, but is there not a cause ?* There is danger on all sides, surely, and a restless activity of any or all is to be guarded against. *That feature is treated in an article entitled "I Forced Myself," in the February number of the current year, p. 29.* But is there not a great danger lest we lose that which should be the characteristic of the meetings of Christians ? A real freedom of worship, in the fear of God, a fulness in prayer, so that it is expected that each brother will be heard with greater or less frequency-surely this is not too much to expect.

We can prune a growing tree, we can guide a boat in motion, but growth is necessary for pruning, and motion for steering. So where there is activity and readiness to engage in prayer and praise, there will doubtless be need for a wholesome word of check here and there, and a sense of dependence upon the Spirit of God in all. But let as awake, nor be content with a modified clerisy, where all prayer and praise is in the hands, unwillingly enough, of a few.

It may be asked, What is the remedy for this silence on the part of many ? Undoubtedly there must be a walk with God, and a feeding upon His word. There must be the habit of secret prayer, or surely public prayer will be a mockery. Above all, there must be a desire for what we ask. How empty is formal prayer ! But we all need to be reminded of that.

Some do not pray in public because of timidity or diffidence. But is not that the fear of man and pride ? We do not pray because we cannot do as well as others ! How ugly it looks upon paper ! But let us be honest. The secret of dealing with God is reality. Let us come to Him with confession, acknowledging our emptiness and our pride, or whatever we know hinders us. Let us open our mouths wide to tell Him our emptiness, and He will soon fill them with prayers and thanksgivings.

Nor let us forget that this reticence is not a matter to be overcome at once, or by occasional participation in prayer. We must "strike the ground five or six times," if we are to have entire victory. The Lord awake His beloved people.

Ques. 1.-Please explain Luke 22:44, "His sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood." Is it meant it was blood, or only like blood f

Ans.-There could be little meaning in saying the sweat resembled blood, and was not really that. If we read with the emphasis upon the blood, the meaning is clear:"His sweat was as great drops of blood," instead of like drops of water, as in ordinary cases. This gives meaning to the passage, solemn and tender. From a toiling man the sweat pours like water, from the Lord, like blood. This seems to be a sort of anticipation of His death. He was to give up His life, and even in anticipation of it, the anguish is so intense that the blood oozes out. Was there ever sorrow like His ?

Ques. 2.-How can we reconcile Job's saying, " In my flesh I shall see God, and 2 Cor. 5:1, 2, our house which is from heaven " ? Is our resurrection body the same body we have now, except the mortality and all marks of sin withdrawn, or is it another body, as the plant of wheat is different from the grain that was sown ?

Ans.-While the passage quoted from Job is frequently used to prove the resurrection of the body, it does not necessarily refer to that. Indeed the connection would seem to show that Job was looking for vindication on the earth, in his "latter day." Our Lord's resurrection is clearly foretold, as in Ps. 16:, but it is hardly the custom of Scripture to speak so definitely in the Old Testament of the resurrection of the body, as this would be. But even did it so refer, there would be no contradiction with the passage in 2 Corinthians. There it is the body suitable for a heavenly habitation, as contrasted with the earthly. It is the spiritual, as contrasted with the natural, in 1 Cor. 15:The important fact connected with the resurrection of the body is that its identity is preserved. Its powers, beauty, and all else will as much transcend those of our present bodies as the blossoming field exceeds in beauty the "bare grain" that was planted. But the identity is preserved, so that there will be recognition and all that we are taught to crave, as connected with that.

It has become our privilege, through mercy, to "know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich." We have been begotten by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to our heavenly inheritance with Himself. This leaves us with a conclusion well-defined, that our earthly position and path are marked for us, as members of the One Body, the Church, the home of His presence here, the one green spot in all this desert world.

The Assembly is privileged to be a volume of homage to the Lord, in all its ways; as is said of the temple of old, "Every whit of it uttereth His glory " (Ps. 29:9). Every living stone in His Church is to the praise of His glory. May the longing be,

" E'en now let our ways, Lord,
Be bright with Thy praise, Lord."

If this be the heart's longing, we may be sure the royal road to it is the path of humility. "Thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit " (Is. 57:15).

This may well beget in us reverence and teach us to tread softly, yet with holy liberty, where all that is thought or done should be in His name, for His glory and His people's help.

A correct answer to the question, What should an assembly be, is found in seeing what manner of persons compose it. They are those who have been brought out of darkness into light, made members of Christ's body, and are waiting for Him from heaven. How wonderful the thought! What may an assembly not be, composed as it is of such, those who have life in Christ, and the Spirit of God to indwell. Such an assembly might be described "as a fruitful tree by a spring; the branches run over the wall." So Joseph was described, and so the Apostle sees the fruitfulness of the assembly at Philippi. " Even at Thessalonica, ye sent once and again to my necessity." A gift indeed it was, but the enjoyment of it lay in the fact that it was fruit to their account. So everything done to the Lord, and in a way pleasing to Him, is fruit running over the wall, which His eye always sees.

The apparently casual greetings and salutations of the apostle, the high and spiritual tone of all that he says as characteristic of assemblies, might well knock at the door of our assemblies to see how we do in these matters.

We sing at times,

"No more to view Thy chosen few,
In selfish strife divided."

as a word that tells of the future relief from the confusion of the present. But this confusion testifies against us, if not in open division, yet perhaps in the separation of heart, the evil speaking, the fleshly thoughts and conclusions concerning one another, instead of the sigh and the priestly intercession if there is carelessness or weakness among us.
The death of Christ may well speak afresh to us, if that awful self of ours be found parading in the midst of those who have put it to death. There is no allowance for anything of the old man, who is
accounted for in the cross. There the flesh received its sentence, and its exhibit of wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking is no more to be heard from; the corrupt thing is put away. We are born again, to live as those who remember their death. We are trees of His own planting, that in subjection to the Spirit and Word the fruitfulness and energy of our new life be manifest. Let us talk and walk so that the fact of our being in Christ may be emphasized, and the sweet savor of His name in our actions as an assembly show that the Spirit is enriching and giving tone to that which His power has formed.

May Daniel's purpose of heart, Caleb's wholly following the Lord, stir us up to emulation. Truth not only saves, but holds for God, and has ever been too strong a light for tradition or formality. There are some who traffic in truth without any thought of allowing it to show them a position which would judge their own. Others, with loyalty for a doctrine, have made it a center of gathering instead of Christ. While others, with zeal and numbers before them, have allowed the line of separation to become a faded thing.

We speak of this not to enlarge upon what is so well known, but to suggest the wisdom of avoiding the mere strife of tongues. Let us leave others with the Lord, and ourselves seek to be held by that which is unique of itself-the principle of assembly position and assembly order, with all that accompanies it.

Is it not time that we awake as individuals, that assemblies awake as one man-as assemblies with assemblies-to what is due to our glorious, life giving Head, ere He comes? There must be an uprising from the existing condition of things in our midst. Does not our Lord's honor in His assembly require it? Are we answering to His interest in us, to the love of His heart so free toward us? May the remembrance of what it cost Him to seat us at His table stir all our hearts. Shall it not be the individual purpose of heart that out of the individual we may have the collective, with Daniel, Caleb and others? It was their adherence to principle and their acting upon it that is given for our example.

Thus through us our Lord will be honored, and find a place for His own who sigh over the confusion of the day. Truth has been scattered broadcast, prized by the few and enjoyed in a measure by the many. Where are the persons who are being controlled by the truth? Let us get right in our assemblies, and the Lord will add others who are true-hearted for Himself. Have we not the sweet precious things that will feed the multitude? " Give them to eat," was the Master's word to His disciples. Are we His disciples, in the sense of being in the path for Him? If in this practical way our state commend itself to Him, it will be, " Feed My sheep."

The Lord give us grace to submit ourselves to the happy path of obedience, and to see that a chastened spirit keep us from allowing ourselves to be moved by feelings or prejudice, and thus hinder divine order and quench the Spirit in the Assembly. By Him actions are weighed, and though we have reason to be thankful for recovered truth, yet nothing less than embracing it as a fact, together with a whole-hearted embracing of the position it puts us in, will fit us for the need of the day. What is needed is loyalty from us as those upon whom the truth has a special claim. Let the bright rays of what an assembly should be according to scripture, wither up formality amongst us. Is there not a guard needed lest familiarity with divine things cause them for us to lose their lustre? There is need of a ray of His glory in the midst of His assembly to wither up that which is not of Himself. Surely we will be thankful for the withering up which leaves us a consciousness of His own blessed face of radiant grace shining upon us.

You silent one, will you not render to Him the audible homage, which the fear of man hinders? Is
it in your heart for Him? Then see no man save Jesus only (Matt. 17:8), and let the incense ascend. Your heart through grace has been fitted for this very thing, and our hearts to enjoy it with you as we offer it to Him.

If we seem earnest about this, it is because one longs for reality, not mere activity. We long that the adoration, the praise that is hid in the heart that belongs to Christ may be told out to Him. It is part of the incense, as it were of the assembly. It is a spiritual sacrifice through Jesus Christ, the worship of a people marked for redemption glories. It is true all must flow out of a right state. Let us, therefore, as they of old, exhort one another that with purpose of heart we cleave unto the Lord (Acts 11:23). Surely as we are destined for the brightness of glory, we are also by grace fully provided for the path here, and the darker the night, the more brightly should we shine. But we must be in His presence to do this. he has given us a seat at His table, a wondrous seat, at such a cost. Let us account to Him if absent, and if present, have all flow out of the remembrance of Himself.

What is sweeter than communion? what is richer than praise? Occupation with Him in either holds the heart, and keeps from all restless activity or slothful silence. There will be no turning of leaves of our books while at His table, unless it be to seek a hymn wherewith to make melody in the heart, or a word under the guidance of the Spirit to shed forth His glory.

The knowledge of what lukewarmness is to our Lord should beget in us purpose of heart. The rebuke to Israel, "Ye dwell in ceiled houses, and My house lies waste" (Hag. 1:4), might serve in the way of showing that our Lord expects wholeheartedness in that which concerns Him, and in that with which He has connected us. It has been commended all along the stream of time.

This devotion and purpose of heart is seen in all that concerns our Lord, even the simple matter of giving of one's means; "As each one purposeth in his heart, so let him give " (2 Cor. 9:7). What a sweet thought; the open heart and the open hand, the savor of it borne witness to by Him who saw the widow's mite, and by Paul who speaks of it as to the Philippians as fruit to their account (Phil. 4:17), with a desire that all might abound in that grace also (2 Cor. 8:7).

This is but one of the fruits of the many which belong to an assembly, which, together with all else will be forthcoming if self is brought into captivity:"Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price."

"Naught that I have my own I call,
I hold it for the Giver;
For I am His and He is mine,
Forever and forever."

Another first day of the week, and afresh His word calls us into His presence. What is it then, beloved? We leave our homes, each step bringing us, like the cleansed leper of old, nearer His presence in the place where He is to be, in the midst of His own, there to occupy the place none other can occupy for us.

Let us remember that while the Lord enjoyed the homage of the one, He asked, Where are the nine. Let His precious love lead us where He is wont to be with His own at His table; that, shut up with Him, in the remembrance of Himself, as those whose hearts have been won, we may render Him the homage of His redeemed.

We are needy and ever will be; prayer becomes us. But let us dwell on our needs at a more seasonable time than this. To pray for my personal needs or in a general way at this time is to leave, as it were, the golden altar, to cause the burning of the incense to cease, to stop the spiritual sacrifice. It is remembering myself at a time when every heart should be held by the remembrance of Him.

Shall these several things exercise us? If so, shall we not speak to the Lord about them? Does our dimness call forth a sigh, a confession? He hears the sigh. Shall it not spring from us as a people who are in a special way responsible, because they are in a unique position? Can it not be a collective thing throughout the assemblies, understood by all, a state arrived at, of which He only knows the result?

Lord, may we hear Thy voice through some way of Thy ordering. A. McC.

3.THE RETURN TO BETHLEHEM. (Vers. 19-22.)

There are several features to note in connection with the return. When they reach Bethlehem, the whole place is moved, "Is this Naomi?" What havoc her departure had wrought, and she is forced to confess the sad truth herself. How her few words tell the story, her heart not yet fully restored. "Call me not Naomi (pleasant), call me Mara (bitter):for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me." She calls Him by that dread name which emphasizes His power rather than His love and care. As she thinks of her once happy home, forgetting her own responsibility for the change, she seems to charge the Almighty with it all. But the next words confess the truth, " I went out full." It was voluntary; she had not been compelled to go, and she was full when she went. " The Lord (Jehovah) hath brought me home again empty." Self-will took her away:grace brought her home (ah, it was home still). Is this not the confession of every restored soul? We may have made many excuses for our departure from God; circumstances were against us, friends became cold, we were misunderstood-ah multiply them as we will, the one reason for departure from God is expressed in that one brief sentence, "I went out full."

But in that confession the soul reaches God, for true confession can only be in His presence. So the next word is the covenant name, "Jehovah hath brought me home again." We would never come back ourselves. It is only the power of unchanging grace that restores the wanderer; but for that we would still remain in the land of Moab. Nor could we be brought back in any other condition than empty. There must be the brokenness suggested by that, to make the soul willing to yield to God's love.

But her condition is a witness of what an evil and bitter thing it is depart from the Lord-a warning to all against the folly of turning away from the house of plenty.

Dear brethren, look at that poor desolate widow, crushed with apparently hopeless sorrow, her brightness all behind her-and see a picture of the soul that wanders from God. Ah! how many blighted lives, filled with bitter, unavailing regrets are there among the saints of God.

" It might have been," says the aged man, looking back upon a lifetime of wasted energy and time. Who can measure the loss suffered by those who spend the life in gathering the "wood, hay, and stubble" of this world? Nor is such departure necessarily a moral declension. The world can be very upright, but it makes widows of God's people who yield to its seductions.

It is always the time of harvest when the wanderer returns. Ah, let the proud, stubborn will be broken, let there be the words of confession, and how soon will the poor wanderer find the ripened harvest with all its abundance and its joy.

Who but the God of all grace could have blessing for His people at all times, no matter how great their unfaithfulness. But in His presence, plenty abides. None can hunger there, and even for you, poor wandering child of His, there is more than enough. His voice is ever, Eat, yea drink abundantly, O beloved.
The prophets abound with pictures of this return of the widowed nation to God. The whole of the Lamentations of Jeremiah might be called Naomi. " How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! . . . She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks. . . . From the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed. . . . Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old. … Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me."

Here we see her wretched state, and a little later we hear the confession of the remnant:"The Lord is righteous; for I have rebelled against His commandment. … I have grievously rebelled. . . . My sighs are many and my heart is faint" (Lam. 1:).

We see too the recovering mercy of the Lord in the prophet Hosea, though there the house of Ephraim is prominent. "How shall I give thee up Ephraim ? how shall I deliver thee Israel? . . . My heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim:for I am God and not man" (Hos. 11:). "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely:for mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel:he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon."

Such passages abound throughout the prophets, showing the wretched yet repentant state of the nation on the one hand, and on the other the everlasting love of our God. What a day will it be when the Lord will again speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and when the land will again be married to Him. But before that time there must be a season of sorrow and deep exercise-the time of Jacob's trouble,- but at this we will look later.

( To be continued, if the Lord please.)

"God and the word of His grace are the refuge of His people. They can meet together, and Christ will be in their midst ; they can profit by the gifts He has granted according to His promise. The rules for our walk are contained in the Word ; but the apostleship, as a personal energy watching over the organization of the assembly, has disappeared, leaving no succession behind it.

This is a solemn truth, which must be well borne in mind. But we must never forget that Christ is always enough for the assembly ; that He is faithful in His care of it, and that He can never fail in strength, in love, or in faithfulness. What we have to do is to count on Him, and that with purpose of heart. Divine power is manifested more in Elijah and Elisha than in all the prophets of Jerusalem from the time of Moses himself. The Lord gives what is needful to His people." J. N. D.

Being humble before God is one thing; being humbled before God is altogether another thing. We are humbled before God because we have not been humble. We are humbled on account of sin; but had we been humble, we should have received grace to prevent it. "For God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble."

The only humble place is in the presence of God. It is only out of His presence that we are in danger of being lifted up. People indeed say that it is dangerous to be too often on the mount. But the danger is not in being on the mount, but in coming down from the mount. When we come down, we begin to think we have been there, and then pride comes in. Paul did not need a thorn when he was in the third heavens. But after his return, he was in danger of being exalted above measure by the thought that he had been where no one else had been.

True humility does not consist in thinking badly about ourselves, but in never thinking about ourselves at all. This is the place which is hard to reach -to get done with the constant repetition of I, I, I. People must be talking of themselves, and their pride is nourished by telling how evil they are, if this suits their theology; just as much as telling of their holiness and conquests, when that suits their theology. It is sadly curious to see some men change their tone, as they change their views; just as in the world men make a boast of their vices or of their virtues, as the one or the other may attract notice or admiration. But in either case, it is I, I, I. Some one has said, "If you begin a sentence with I, there is nothing that a person will not put after it." It is wonderful to hear how men will indulge in the use of that letter, under the plea of relating their experience; perhaps the boasting Pharisee called it relating his experience to the praise of God. At any rate, he showed how self-exaltation may be prefaced by, "God, I thank Thee;" as sometimes we find it in assemblies where Christ should be the theme.

"Safe in the arms of Jesus,"-
Safe in His arms of love;
Washed in the blood of Jesus,
Meet for the courts above.

"Safe in the arms of Jesus,"-
Safe in His arms of care;
Under the care of Jesus
Till with Him "over there."

"Safe in the arms of Jesus,"-
Safe in His arms of might;
Kept by the power of Jesus
Till faith be lost in sight.

" Safe in the arms of Jesus,"-
Safe, safe should death be near;
Then soon to be with Jesus,
His love forbids all fear.

" Safe in the arms of Jesus,"-
Safe, safe against that Day
When He will come in brightness
To bear His own away.

"Safe in the arms of Jesus,"-
Safe, safe from ev'ry foe;
To ever be with Jesus
Beyond the reach of woe!

" Safe in the arms of Jesus,"-
Safe, Safe for evermore!
To ever joy in Jesus
On yonder blissful shore!

"Safe in the arms of Jesus,"-
"The everlasting arms;"
To ever sing of Jesus,-
The Name that ever charms!

R. H.

'Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" . . . "I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake!"

The Christian soldier, ere the fray,
Goes to his Lord, aside, to pray
"What wilt Thou have me do this day?"
And Christ, in love, responds to prayer,
'The courage of the Cross is rare-
What canst thou for my name's sake bear?"
And foemen wonder at the might
With which he stands for God and right.

The sufferer of the Cross prays too-
"Though opportunities are few,
What wilt Thou, Lord, that I should do?"
And Jesus whispers, "Courage take-
No greater effort canst thou make
Than suffering for My name's sake!"
And people marvel, as they see
Affliction borne so patiently.

The soldier's discipline and drill
The sufferer's agony, while still,
Each perfectly reflect His will.
In answer to the humble prayer,
The Spirit and the Word prepare
Both, "for His name's sake," all to bear.
Thus, day by day, the servants learn
The Master's will, "till He return."

G. K.

QUES. 9.-Please explain Luke 7:28, which says of John the Baptist "Ha that is the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he." It has been said that the least in the Kingdom refers to Christ.

ANS.-We could not speak of our Lord as being in the Kingdom, for -He is the head of it. Most assuredly we could not speak of Him as least, who is over all things. The passage is very simple when we see the connection. Our Lord was speaking of position and privilege, not of personal character. So far as holiness and personal character were concerned, there was not a greater born of woman than John. But he was connected with the old dispensation, the earthly kingdom of Israel, though it was in ruins. He was the last of the prophets, and marked the close of that period of trial, before Christ. He was also the immediate forerunner of our Lord, and the herald of His Kingdom. But he was not in the Kingdom, for the reason that it was not then established. When our Lord departed, after His rejection, His Kingdom was set up. The privileges of Christianity are immeasurably above all that preceded it. Therefore the least in this dispensation has greater privileges than the prophets and kings before Christ. It is not the Church that our Lord speaks of, but the blessings of Christianity, as we might term it.

QUES. 10.-In Matt. 12:40, it is said our Lord was to be " three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." If He was crucified on Friday and rose on the first day of the week, He was only two nights in the grave. How is this to be understood?

ANS.-All through Scripture we have foreshadows of our Lord's resurrection. The case of Jonah mentioned in the immediate context is but one example of the use of the term, "three days," "the third day," etc. Of course, it is not the question of so many hours, but the spiritual significance and connection that is important. The Jewish method of computing time was this,-today, to-morrow, the third day. (See Luke 13:32, 33.) So the expression, "three days and three nights," is simply another way of saying our Lord was to be raised on the third day. It is literally true if we count, as the Jews did, each fraction of a day as a full day, that is, a clay and a night. Thus the evening and morning in Gen. 1:made a full day. So here the Lord was to be three days in the tomb. It can be counted as follows:part of Friday, called the first day and night (really but the afternoon of Friday); Friday night and Saturday, the second day and night (this one complete) ; third, Saturday night and the early dawn of the Lord's day. the third day and night. Of course in our phraseology this would not be done, but it was well understood by those to whom our Lord spoke, and was the usage of Scripture.

The reason for His rising on the third day is beautiful and simple. The first day saw the deed done, the second bore witness to its reality, and the third, the day of manifestation, showed all the power of God.

QUES. 11.-In Luke 5:whom does the Lord mean by "sons of the bride chamber" ? When are the days when they shall fast ? Also what is the connection between that and what He says about patching an old garment ? In John 3:29 the Baptist speaks of himself as the friend of the Bridegroom; as he does not speak of the Church, why does he not include himself ?

ANS.-The Bridegroom is, of course, our Lord. The sons of the bride chamber are not distinguished from the bride, who is not mentioned here. The presence of our Lord made it impossible for piety to mourn; that would have been formalism and a pretense. But after His rejection they would indeed mourn; " ye shall weep and lament." And this is the attitude and state of those who are now waiting for our Lord to come. They mourn an absent Bridegroom. It is not a dispensational statement, though the sons of the bride chamber were Jews, and after our Lord was taken away they were Christians.

He goes on next to speak of a new order, in which the old bottles of Jewish formalism would be set aside for the new-thing, the church, or the new creation, which would be a suited vessel for the new wine of the Spirit.

When John the Baptist calls himself the friend of the Bride-groom, he does not mean to exclude himself from Israel, the earthly bride, but to emphasize the fact that Christ is the Bridegroom, and that He is all. John was but the voice speaking of and pointing to Him. That was his official position; personally he was part of Israel. He will however, with all the Old Testament saints, have his place at the marriage supper of the Lamb, as one of those called to witness the union of the heavenly bride, the Church, with her Lord.

"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God " (Rev. 21:3).

This is the eternal state ; the fulfilment of God's desires, and the fruit of His labors. Therefore in this we see God's heart manifested. He finds His satisfaction in the midst of His people, a people who have their all in God.

But if this is the end of God's purposes, it was in His heart from the beginning. "While as yet He had not made the earth . . . My delights were with the sons of men," are the words of God the Son. Thus in anticipation God's heart was occupied with men, the only creature made in His image-who could have communion with Him.

When the first man is formed, the Creator has such pleasure in him that He brings to Adam every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, "to see what he would call them." God seeking him in the garden at the time of man's failure, and His promise of reconciliation through the woman's Seed, reveal His purposes of love and grace.

Though man was now estranged by sin, we may trace God's pleasure in men, in such, of course, as were cleansed by virtue of the promised sacrifice. " Enoch walked with God:and he was not; for God took him."

Blessed and wonderful companionship, in days when God as yet had been so little revealed, and when "the wickedness of man was great in the earth." " Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Abraham was "the friend of God,"so that God said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do ?" Jacob was made "a prince with God." "The Lord spake unto Moses, face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend." Daniel was a "man greatly beloved."

Thus God delights in His people, but only one man does He call a "man after His own heart." And why was David this, with his glaring sins, more than Abraham the man of faith ? or Joseph, that spotless character and type of Christ ? or Moses, the Christ-like mediator? or Elijah, God's hand and mouthpiece among an apostate people ? It was because David pre-eminently shared the desire of God's heart, that man should be for God, and God for man:as we read in the Psalms, " As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God:when shall I come and appear before God ? " And again he says, "A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand [in any other place]:I would choose rather to sit at the threshold [margin] in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness " (Ps. Ixxxiv. 10). David also was the one who brought the ark back to Jerusalem with great rejoicing, and he longed to build a house for God, who had so long dwelt within curtains. This he was not permitted to do, but he showed his love and zeal in the great stores of cedar and gold, silver and brass, which he gathered for its building. David's desires are thus so in line with God's, that when God is manifested in the flesh, he is "the Son of David," and for the same reason, David's writings, more than any others, are prophetically the words of Christ Himself.

But God was not satisfied that a few individuals should enter into His mind; He sought in Israel to have a people among whom He could dwell. "If therefore ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then shall ye be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people." He even desired them to build Him a tabernacle, that He might dwell in the midst of them. He labored through Moses and the prophets to bind the people to Himself, but man's perverseness compelled Him to say, "All day long I have stretched forth My hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people."

But we come to the perfect expression of God's heart, and what do we see ? God and man are no longer separated. The Son of God is the Man Christ Jesus. As man, He says, "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me." As Saviour-God He came to seek and save that which was lost; and transform them into worshipers, who worship in spirit and in truth. But the) most striking and wonderful proof of God's love for men is the Cross of Christ. In order to reconcile sinners to Himself He gave His Son, His only Son, whom He loved. Oh, what a shame that our hearts do not always glow in full return for such love !

But though Christ must return to the Father, (to prepare a place for His own) the companionship of God with man has not been broken. At one of the last meetings with His apostles, "He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost." And after He had gone up, a true Man, to the right hand of the Majesty on High, the Holy Spirit descends to dwell in every true disciple. What an evidence of the value and power of Christ's work, when God the Spirit can dwell in failing men by virtue of that washing which has made us clean every whit ! In this way God has already accomplished, in a spiritual from, the purposes of His heart. "Ye are the temple of the living God ; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (2 Cor. 6:16).

May we fear to grieve this holy Guest, by whom we are sealed, and who would lead us on to better acquaintance with Christ.

But though the Spirit is with us now, we are not home as yet; but we look on to the time when, with our own eyes, we shall see His face; when, free from sin within us, we shall gather round the throne of God, and spend the long eternal day praising and serving Him. Then shall the purpose of God be accomplished, " Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." A.

(Continued from page 265.)

5. RECOGNITION AND ENCOURAGEMENT.

(Chapter 2:Continued.)

The presence of a stranger is soon noticed by Boaz, whose question to the chief servant brings out Ruth's identity. She is described as the " Moabitess ", a name that would at once mark her out as separate from the daughters of Israel ; but along with that which declares her alien birth is mention of a faith which has led her to follow the widowed Naomi back to the land of Israel, in preference to returning to the house of her father with its false gods. In addition the servant tells of the desire on her part to glean, and of her diligence in the lowly task with its small remuneration (vers. 5-7).

Israel, as we have already seen, having forfeited all rights to a place before God in her own righteousness, must realize that she is nothing but a Gentile. When she turns to God, she must be willing to be described as a Moabite, a Gentile. Thus Jerusalem is described by the prophet in the pleading with the defiled and guilty people :" Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan ; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite" (Ezek. 16:3, 45). Samaria and Sodom are called her sisters, no more corrupt and guilty than she. When restored, it will be in association with these whom she had despised, and the effect of learning her own moral condition will for all time prevent her from that haughtiness which had marked the days of her assumed superiority over the nations. There was indeed a superiority of position, but where the grace of it is despised, circumcision becomes uncircumcision. The apostle dwells upon this in the second chapter of Romans, where, quoting from the prophets, he declares that God's name was blasphemed among the heathen through the sins of Jews (Rom. 2:17-29). Isaiah had addressed the leaders of the people as "rulers of Sodom" (Is. 1:10).

Had the people but entered into the thought of God, and accepted their true condition when in mercy they were laid hold of, there would have been no need to learn the lesson through bitter shame. For in connection with their entrance into the land at the first, when they were to offer the basket of first-fruits, this confession was put into their lips:"A Syrian ready to perish was my father " (Deut. 26:5). But prosperity and the evidence of God's special favor made them forget that all was of grace, and as a result in bitter sorrow and humiliation they will have to learn again the lesson. " Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee; know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God" (Jer. 2:19). So that the repentant remnant, with the first glimmer of faith, will not resent being looked upon as Gentiles, without a claim upon God. " Moabite" will properly designate them.

Applying it to the soul seeking for the first time the mercy of God, the designation is no less appropriate. It reminds us how the Gentile centurion disclaimed all worthiness that the Lord should even enter under his roof, or, as we have just seen of the Syrophenician woman who does not refuse the name of "dog". How opposite to all self-righteousness is this lowliness which takes the lowest place.
But she came to glean, to get that which will satisfy her hunger, even if but little more than sufficient to prevent starvation. Faith while disclaiming all worthiness or right, has come to get something, nor will it lightly take a refusal. How the woman, oppressed by her adversary, and with a heartless judge to deal with, emphasizes this importunity of faith which takes no denial. We will remember, too, that the widow there figures the remnant just as Naomi and Ruth do here (Luke xviii). But faith is the same at all times, and whoever has set himself to seek the Lord's face will take no refusal. The necessity of the case compels to earnest perseverance, and this is in itself the pledge that the desires will be granted, for are not those desires themselves the proof of grace at work in the soul?

It is never wise nor right to occupy the soul with its own frames even when they are the product of the Spirit of God, but may we not remind ourselves that this lack of earnest purpose is the principle cause of so much superficial work? Earnestness that will glean with but small results, that will continue all day in the fields gathering little grains of blessing- such earnestness will reap far more than its expectations. Alas for the shallow convictions, the halfhearted desires, the feeble exercises of soul! We need not be surprised at the vast number of empty professions which like the seed upon stony ground, soon wither away, "wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.'' And even where grace has wrought, and there is but partial response to it, what feebleness of testimony and walk result, what world-bordering with all its attendant shipwrecks! May the Lord give more earnest seekers like Ruth.

This poor stranger girl, shrinking from every curious glance, and feeling most keenly her isolation, need not think she is unnoticed. Boaz at once marks her, and his enquiries tell of his true interest. Nor let us forget for a moment that the eye of our Lord falls at once upon each poor soul who is seeking for help. Joseph detected at once his brethren when they came down into Egypt at the time of famine to buy a little food for their hunger, and though he did not make himself known to them till after all needed exercises of soul had been gone through by them, yet he has seen and known them. So will it be at the very moment when the remnant turns to God, and so is it in the case of each soul. He sees, and He knows. What a comfort is this, and how it explains the fulness of grace, as we look back upon the Lord's ways with us in bringing us to Himself. He was thinking upon us when we least thought of it, and even before we turned to Him, He had turned in mercy to us. He knew and could distinguish the touch of faith from all the thronging and pressing of the careless crowd. Trembling soul, His eye of love is upon thee now.

But grace can never rest till it makes itself known, and so from looks and questions of interest, Boaz comes to words with the poor stranger. " Hearest thou not my daughter? Go not to glean in another field." The first word is not only one of welcome for whatever she may have already gleaned, but the positive command to continue where she had begun. Disciples may try to send away the seeking soul, but the Lord, never. No matter how apparently unsuccessful, with the consequent discouragement ; no matter how long the seeking has continued, the first word is, " Go not to another field." Many are the temptations to do this, both for the seeking soul now, and for the remnant in the coming day. How the enemy would allure away or drive away the soul from the word of God, the fields of grace. There are other and easier ways of getting peace; reformation, happy feelings, religious professions- thousands of substitutes are offered for the simple way of God. Or the soul is terrified, there is no hope for one so guilty and hardened, the day of grace is passed, why throw away even the few days that remain of life in futile efforts to get what never can be ours ? Ah, who that has been under exercise of soul can forget how many and often were the temptations to go to some other field. And how cheering is this word from the Lord of the field to remain where we are, to get nothing except from Himself.

We remember too what fearful inducements will be held out to the remnant, and the threats if they do not comply. When Jerusalem was besieged and apparently on the eve of capture by the Assyrians, the taunting Rabshakeh not only threatened the trembling people, but held out special inducements if they would yield to his master. But neither threats nor persuasions could move them from their loyalty to their king. In the latter days the bulk of the nation will have accepted the rule of the wilful king, all human prudence will dictate the same to the feeble few who are at his mercy. The great emperor whose image must be worshiped, it will be argued, will be the only one to acknowledge, for does not certain death threaten all those who fail to have his mark in hand or forehead ? But thank God, faith will ever hear the one word of Him whom she may but dimly know, and refuse to go to another field.

May it not be well too for us who know and love our blessed Lord to remember the folly of going elsewhere than to Him and His word for our food or help? Many alas of His own forget this, and bitterly have to regret wasted days of gleaning in what must ever be but fruitless fields for the child of God. How much that is plead for as needed change and recreation is but a snare to draw us away from One in whom we are to find "all our rest and pleasure."

"Fast by my maidens". There are others besides ourselves engaged in the fields of grace, and rare indeed is it when the soul cannot have help from those more advanced than itself. Ruth is to follow those connected with the household of Boaz, and enjoy the immunity from all molestation which his authority imposed. When the seeker in the Song of Solomon asks where her loved one feeds his flocks, and where they rest at noon, for she fears to turn aside to any other flock, the answer is similar:"If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents" (Song 1:7, 8). If there be but few in the narrow way, we can find sufficient companionship with that few. And while faith cannot imitate, it can follow the faith of those who love Christ. It is always dangerous when a soul loses taste for real fellowship with those who have a heart for the Lord.

Already, too, the tender pity of Boaz provides beyond what she can glean. She has need for drink as well as grain, and to that he now invites her:"When thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn". His servants are for her need too, their labor for her refreshment. How the ministry of the water of life, intended for the people of God, is also for every seeking soul, and how often does the stranger get a refreshment without which he would have fainted with despair. Well does our Lord know this, and often does He invite the thirsty soul-in all ages and dispensations-to come and drink. "Ho everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters "(Is. 55:i). "If any man thirst let him come to me and drink " (Jno. 7:37). "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17). Divine mercy would never refuse the water, so long as there is a soul that will have it. Only when in the eternal abode on the other side of the "great gulf" will the cry be unavailing for a drop of water. How this aggravates the guilt of those who despise the offers of grace and the pleadings of love.

Such grace, so unexpected, moves Ruth to deepest gratitude, and falling at his feet, she asks why he should show such kindness to a stranger like herself. His reply shows how familiar he is with her history, which he interprets as far more than filial kindness to her bereaved mother-in-law. She has come to find shelter under the protecting wings of the God of Israel, and her devotion to Naomi cannot be separated from that.

And has not the heart often asked a similar question of our Lord? He has manifested some special thought of us, given some refreshing to our thirsty souls, and we wonder why it should be so. Is not His answer to be found in the fact that He has marked our path, and seen the beginnings of that
faith which He now rewards. Nay, is not the faith itself the fruit of His own sovereign grace, and is He not but setting the seal upon His own divine work? He knows those whom He has drawn to Himself.

Ruth beautifully illustrates that lowliness which is the mark of a young faith:"Let me find favor in thy sight, my Lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken to the heart of thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens". Like Mephibosheth, when David showed him grace, she was humbled. She did not doubt the grace, much less did she refuse it, but she confesses her utter unworthiness. True humility does not doubt. How strange it is that it has been thought the mark of a lowly mind to question the sincerity of the grace that has been shown. Of course it is not put in that way, but the result is the same, God is doubted and the soul is unblessed. Let such treatment be called by its proper name, not humility, but the most contemptible form of pride, which would wear the garment of poverty to establish its claim to riches.

Humility confesses its unworthiness, but emphasizes the grace of God by accepting with thankful heart what He so freely offers.

We see now how she illustrates the principle "to him that hath shall more be given," though Boaz was but continuing his previous kindness. Grace leads the soul along by blessing. So she is now offered food, and wine, and parched corn, as much as she will.

(To be continued.)

" And being let go, they went to their own company " Acts 4:23.

After the miracle of healing the impotent man at the gate Beautiful, the apostles were the objects first of the admiration of the people, and next of the enmity of the leaders. Declining the first, they gave all the glory of the healing to Him whom it was their delight to confess; nor did they shrink from owning Him before those who had crucified Him, and would willingly have done the same to His disciples. It is indeed refreshing to see this loyalty in the face of danger, nor could the threats of prison or prohibition to speak any more in the name of Jesus hinder them in their work. The threats but bring forth fresh avowals to the very face of the chief priests, and for the present there was nothing to do but threaten again and then let them go.

They are free now to go where they will, and by watching where they go we can see what lies at the bottom of their character. Many a man may pose before the public as a person of rare devotedness, but if he could be seen when "let go" a very different impression would be given. ' These men go to their own company, that of the saints, and there pour out their heart in prayer to the Lord.

It is not our purpose to follow them further; we may safely leave any one at the mercy-seat in the company of the saints. But let us gather up a few of the thoughts suggested by this expression. Where do we go when let go?

There is much in the way of every day employment that is common ground for all men. Unless one is thrown closely with a person in his daily work there may be nothing special in the way he performs it to mark him as a Christian, save a careful, faithful doing what is given him, not with eye-service but as unto God. It is good to remember that the humblest life of toil offers such an opportunity to confess Christ.

In most kinds of work, too, not only the body but the mind has to be engaged, and it is no sign of spirituality to neglect proper attention to the work before us on the plea that we are occupied with the Lord. The mind must be occupied at least to a considerable extent with what is before it. But now the work is over, we are "let go " from the daily task- where do we go? where do our thoughts turn? Do they turn to the proper company of the Lord's people, as naturally as an elastic band returns to its normal condition after being stretched and then loosened? Do we gravitate toward divine things? So that without effort or the urging of conscience we turn to the Lord and His concerns?

Let us apply this very simply to what is a most practical matter, the attendance at the meetings of the Lord's people. You have been detained at work all day, returning weary at evening. You have been "let go" from the burdens of the day. There is a meeting of the saints, but you have been working hard all day and feel the need of bodily and mental rest. How often has there been the temptation to remain quietly at home instead of joining with those who feel a greater need for prayer and the study of the word of God than for bodily rest.

And yet, beloved brethren, we have no doubt as to what is our "own company." Through grace we have been brought to the Lord, and thus to "those that are His own." The sphere of our pleasure as well as of our responsibilities, for there cannot be two, lies within the circle of God's household. All that is needed is to act practically according to this truth. We have, we can have, but one company. Happy are we when we return to that company whenever we are "let go." If saints could tell the starting point of declension from God, it would most frequently be found to be in alienation from the fellowship of the Lord's people.

Why should the meeting for prayer be less fully attended than that for the breaking of bread? Why should the week-meetings be neglected by many who would be shocked at the thought of being kept, for the same reason, from the Lord's-day-meeting ?These are very simple matters, but they test us when we least expect it. Oh, may we gravitate to the company of the saints.

It is at once the reproach of the world and the glory of the gospel that it sets men free; the world says, free to sin, but grace says, free from sin to serve Christ. Is there not some ground for the world's reproach when the flesh is allowed to dictate as to our associations or conduct when released from needed occupations? The word for Lazarus was, "Loose him and let him go." It is the word for every soul set free by grace, and in the joy of that freedom we seek our own company. But the flesh must be judged, if there is to be this spontaneous turning to the Lord and His people. To set one free who has not learned the lesson of "no good in me," is to give loose rein to the fleshly man.

Transferring the words to another thought, how sweet it will be to be "let go " from this world! We are held here, as the hireling fills his appointed task, looking to the hour when the time of service will be over. Individually, the letting-go takes place at death, and in view of that the apostle could say, "Having a desire to depart and be with Christ which is far better." But what a happy time it will be when we are all set free by the shout of the Lord, who will descend to call His beloved saints to Himself! The earth will no longer hold us, the world will have no attraction even for those who have walked too close to it while their hearts have truly been Christ's. We will be "let go," and with delight will return to our "own company," the presence of the Lord and the goodly fellowship of all that are His.

"Lord haste that day of cloudless ray."

This is a mark, a fruit of love, and where there I is suspicion, evil surmisings, the first love has dimmed, its energy has been left, and evil is coming in. The first fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22, is "love," and love thinketh no evil. Now among the people of God Satan is ever laboring to bring about the opposite of this, seeking to lead Christians to think evil one of another. And it would be far better for them to know the danger, "and guard against it, than to be led into soul destroying suspicion and other sins. It is not the Holy Spirit which we have of God which leads us to watch our fellow believers, to see evils in them, to suspect evil where we do not see it, to attribute to them wrong motives, desires and aims. Remember this, and that all this vile brood are works of the flesh, are the old nature acting within us.

Love does not lead to any such feelings or uprisings from within. When it sees failure in others, it loves, pities, prays for the failing ones, is sorry for them, and carries them to the Lord. There is no rejoicing in the finding of evil in another, no publishing it abroad, but in humbleness confessing it to "God.

It is a fact that a great deal of the trouble which rises among the real people of God originates in thinking evil where there is none, or in thinking there is much more that is wrong than there really is. In other words, a lack of the love that thinketh no evil is the root from which many of the evils which afflict gatherings of believers spring. Whether there are two or two hundred or more children of God, they need to watch lest love ceases to burn brightly, and suspicion takes the place of true brotherly love. How often lack of true love has embittered the relations between two laborers who have been led to go out into the work together.

All saved ones need to recognize the danger of this, need to realize that the allowing of surmising, dwelling upon the failings and faults of others, talking about them, throwing out innuendoes, making disparaging remarks concerning those who are the children of God, all these are steps downward, steps away from the light and love of God, and that it is often from such beginnings that the greatest troubles among Christians arise.

We need to fear and hate all these actings of the flesh in ourselves, to go to the Lord for grace to deliver us from them. We need to have the ways of our Lord Jesus Christ always before us, the love that shone out in all His blessed life amid all the sad scenes through which He passed on His way to the cross. Love is to be without dissimulation, is to be humble and lowly, we are to ever esteem others better than ourselves. We need to be so very careful lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble us, and thereby many be denied. Love is the remedy for so many of the evils which afflict believers, and love is of God. He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen ? Let us remember that we may leave our first love, and that one of the symptoms of our having left it is the harboring suspicions against those who are the Lord's.

J. W. N.

1 John 3:1-3; Titus 2:11-14.

Behold the manner of His love
The Father's grace and mercy prove ;
For He has shown unto His own,
That they who once were sin-enthralled,
E'en now, the sons of God are called,
Though by the world, like Him unknown.

Beloved, now are we God's sons –
Through faith in Christ, begotten ones –
What we shall be we do not see ;
But on that grand Redemption Morn,
When we behold the great "First Born,"
As He is then, so shall we be.

When we upon the Word are fed,
And by the Holy Ghost are led,
Then grace has wrought, and we are taught
To look for Him who shall appear,
To ever count His coming near,
And with this " Hope " our lives are fraught.

G. K.

In View of Questions Which Have Been Lately Raised.

5. LIFE AND ETERNAL LIFE.

In considering the subject which is now before us, there are two questions which lie at the foundation :first, is there any spiritual life which is not eternal life? And then what is eternal life? I shall as usual state the view from which I dissent, and then give as clearly as possible the reason for my dissent.

1. Is there any life for the Christian which is not eternal life?

As to this we are told:In Romans you see life, but not eternal life. The two and a half tribes typically had life; they stopped this side of Jordan, but they had life. Everybody who has the Spirit has life, because the Spirit is life. In Rom. 8:life is the consequence of the presence of the Spirit in a believer; that is, "The body is dead on account of sin, but the Spirit is life on account of righteousness." But that is connected with the wilderness and practice, and is connected with your pathway, which will come to an end. You can very well understand that the experience of Romans 8:comes to an end. It is not eternal life, and yet life is there; life comes out morally, in view of righteousness; the evidence of life in the Christian is that he does righteousness; he proves that he is born of God. The Spirit takes that place in the Christian till he is quickened. You are not said to be quickened in Romans; but in our state down here the Spirit displaces the flesh, and takes the place of life in the Christian, in order that practical righteousness should be accomplished. In Colossians and Ephesians we get a step further, and that is, "you hath He quickened," but you must understand that in a limited, not in an absolute way. It is at the coming of Christ we are quickened; only it is anticipated in Colossians and Ephesians in a limited way as the work of God fitting us for the assembly. At the coming of the Lord we shall be quickened and raised up together, and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. [? !] In that chapter it is viewed as anticipated, 2. What then is eternal life?

The answer given is:It involves a state of blessing consequent on the setting aside of death. " Life for evermore " (Ps. 133:), in regard to Israel is in the public setting aside of death. We come to that on resurrection ground, that makes the difference between us and Israel:they don't come into resurrection, we do. A person cannot say that he has actually eternal life, unless he is clear of death. If he is going to die, how can he say he has actually got eternal life? For us, eternal life is the heavenly condition and blessedness in which in the Son man is now placed, and lives before the Father. It is a sphere and order of blessing. It is to live in the blessed consciousness of the love of God, in the out-of-the-world, heavenly condition in which Christ lives.

I believe persons have made great mistakes with regard to eternal life in viewing it as a something substantive which is communicated to us. I can understand life in God, because God is eternal; He lives, He is. But I live, and so does every saint, simply by the quickening power of God. I am made alive now in my soul together with Christ, after His order, and eventually I shall be made alive in body after His order. People have looked at it as if it were a kind of material thing given to a person. People think they have life in themselves instead of in Christ. It is life in Christ Jesus, yet the Spirit being in me, it is practically my life.

It used to be commonly said, I know that I have got eternal life. Why? Because the scripture says, "he that believeth has everlasting life." I say that you have thus the faith of eternal life, but that does not prove that you have the thing itself. Many a person has had a promise, but not the thing promised; that was the case largely with the Old Testament saints. It is the mind of God for every Christian, and God has put it there in His Son, and the whole question is as to reaching the Son. In the last chapter of John's epistle it says, "that ye may know that ye have eternal life "; because you are come to it; you are conscious of it, but not as a possession. If I talk about having the Son, the Son is not a possession, and yet I am said to have the Son, I have appropriated Him; affection has really reached Him:you cannot make the word "have "always mean possession. In scripture eternal life is not a subjective thought as a possession, but it is placed in the Son, and the whole point is reaching the Son.

This will probably be sufficient for quotation, at least for the present; we can see that there is an apparently careful grading and measurement of the spiritual life, supported by a few texts which, if we can overlook others, and accept the positiveness of an assertion as proof of its reliability, may be held for a success. Let us examine it, however, and see what may be the effect of introducing some omitted texts.

Is there a spiritual life which is not eternal life? Scripture emphatically denies this. The passages have been so often quoted, that one may fairly ask why they are not considered; especially as they used to be quite familiar texts, and face us in very familiar parts of Scripture. Here is one that will bear every effort that can be made to induce it to speak the doctrine that is being commended to us as truth, and will not do it,-one that is sufficient in itself to destroy the whole system down to the roots:-" Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you; whoso eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath eternal life " (Jno. 6:53, 54).

Notice how many things fundamental to the views we have been listening to are swept away for ever by words so plain as these. First, we have either no life or eternal life; if you eat not you have no life; if you eat, you have eternal life. Is there any possible middle ground between these alternatives? If there be, why not let us know it; if there be not, why not be candid enough to own that there is not.

But again, look at the alternatives:"ye have no life in you"; "hath eternal life." If eternal life is not really in you, then you may eat His flesh and drink His blood, and have no life in you still! Otherwise there is no antithesis, as is most plainly intended:whether you eat or do not eat, it is one and the same thing! Who can accredit the words with such absolute want of meaning?

Still again, it is the flesh and blood of the Son of man, of which the Lord speaks:if you eat the flesh of the Son of man, you have eternal life; but in what we have been looking at a distinction is made
between apprehension of the Son of man, and reaching the Son (of God); and it is only this last that gives eternal life. The Lord speaks quite differently here.

What remains of these subtle theories, if the words of the Lord are allowed any real force?

John supplements them with the remark, simple as it is, that "ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him" (i John 3:15); a strange sentence, according to this system, with all its self-evidence! For why speak of eternal life in this connection, when "many a good Christian" even has not eternal life? Would you not expect the apostle rather to say simply that he has not life? or, still better, that he is not born again? How strange a thing to associate a murderer, even by a negative, with the thought of eternal life, if this be an advanced condition, even for a Christian! What would you think if I asserted of a murderer, that he was not completely sanctified?

But again, he "hath not eternal life abiding in him!" Did not John know that there is not so much as a single Christian who has eternal life abiding in him? Did he not know that eternal life is a "sphere," of which you could not speak in such a way? If he did, how could he pen such an unmeaning sentence?

Once more:-it is the Lord who says, and in His strongest style of affirmation, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My words, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24). These words are actually used in the interests of the system we are reviewing, to show that it is the Christian that has to pass from death unto life, which here as elsewhere is not distinguished from eternal life! The Lord, we are told, is here speaking as the Son of God, and it is an advanced attainment to hear the words of the Son of God, and to believe on the Father as having sent His Son! Consequently a large number of Christians are dead and not alive. They may be born again, have the Spirit, have learned deliverance, and yet not have passed from death unto life. And this too although in having the Spirit, you have life "practically," because the Spirit is life! Yet this life is in Christ, and not in you, things which even seem to be considered in opposition to one another. But this we must look at elsewhere.

Now Scripture does indeed say that, "if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin ;" and it never speaks of the body being quickened before the Lord comes. It speaks also of the believer being dead with Christ to sin:a very different thing, of course, from that of which we are now speaking; but I am not aware that it ever speaks of the Christian being " dead " in any other sense. Most certainly, it never puts forward such a contradiction as that a man can be " practically " alive without being really so, nor makes in this way the blessed influence of the Spirit of God in such to be an effect produced upon a dead man-a life which does not make alive! Here it is no wonder if the things said should be in apparent conflict with one another, when practical life is yet taught not to be life, and he who is working righteousness in the power of the Spirit of God may yet, as we are assured, be waiting to be quickened!

Here is an argument we must not pass over:" It used to be commonly said, I know that I have got
eternal life. Why? Because the scripture says, He that believeth hath everlasting life." Well; is not that a straightforward conclusion, for one who knows himself to be a true believer? It seems not:we are to be taught a new logic, as all else. "I say that you have thus the faith of eternal life; but that does not prove that you have the thing itself. Many a person has had a promise, but not the thing promised. " Truly ! I suppose we shall all at once acquiesce in that; the misfortune is that it does not apply. The Lord's statement here is not a promise, but a direct assurance of the simplest kind. The believer has eternal life; I am a believer; I therefore have eternal life. If the premises are sure, how can the conclusion fail? If that may be doubted, how can any assurance be given, which cannot?

The argument fails so badly, that it is no wonder if another has to reinforce it. So we are told " have " does not always mean possession; "if I talk about having the Son, the Son is not a possession"(!) That is not argued, it is supposed not to need it; but is it the truth? Is not the Son ours in any sense now? Who will say so? Is having the Son a promise that we shall have Him? Clearly not. But it says, "He that hath the Son hath life;" does that mean, " He that hath the Son is going to have life ?" True, the Son is. not ours now in all the fulness of what eternity will give to this; and life too is not ours in such fulness either; for the body is still a mortal body, and will be quickened then. But there is a present "having" in both cases.

A false definition of eternal life is at the bottom of much of the confusion. Rightly enough connected with the Old Testament "life for evermore," it is forgotten that life and incorruption are brought to light through the gospel (2 Tim. 1:10), and that therefore we must not expect their definition to be gained from the Old Testament scriptures. New birth is not found in doctrinal statement in the Old Testament; and it is in new birth that we shall find what underlies the New Testament doctrine. One born of God is a child of God; the child derives its life from its father, and partakes of its father's nature. " That which is born of the Spirit is spirit;" and the life given is eternal life. Here is the fulness found of this expression:it is a life which not only has no end, but had no beginning either, being divine life. It is eternal in the full meaning of eternal, though in us, of course, beginning. This has been dismissed with the strange, curt remark, that "the life of divine Persons is themselves;" they cannot, therefore, it is meant, communicate themselves! But the statement and the reasoning are as crude as elsewhere, and are confuted at once by those facts of nature which God has given us as parables of spiritual things. The parents' life and nature in the child are not the parents ; they have a power of communicating life which, mystery as it is, is undeniable; and God has adopted our human language, based upon the facts of creation which He Himself has created, to give us at least such thoughts as we are capable of in regard to all these things, which the strange system before us rudely cuts across. It gives us birth without life, children who are not such by descent, a practical life in those that are still dead, and similar absurdities, against which nature protests absolutely, and Scripture no less.

In life, we are assured, nothing substantive is communicated; that there is nothing material, will not be disputed; nor that when we speak of life, we may be unable to define it. Infidel scientists have mocked at a vital principle on this account, and told us that we might as well talk of " aquosity " as the principle of water. Yet we believe in a vital force, as well as in vital phenomena. Spiritual life will be naturally still more difficult to define, but that is no reason for denying it to be more than phenomenal, and certainly not for defining it as a sphere, etc. Personality it is not; it is not a "self"; yet there is that which is born of the Spirit, which is spirit, and which gives character to the new-born soul. There is that which is communicated to us, and abides in us, an incorruptible seed that abides in us, and because of this, "whosoever is born of God doth not commit," or better, "practice," "sin" (i Jno. 3:9). The phenomenal life is just the display of this in its activities; in other words, there is a life by which we live, as well as a life we live:without the former there cannot be the latter. So Scripture, in harmony with nature, speaks; and in both ways of eternal life.

That in eternal life, according to its very nature, there is the setting aside of death, is too plain to be denied:yet here also, strange mistakes are possible; though to any one who has grasp of the doctrine they should not be possible. First, we are told, and rightly, -" I am made alive now in my soul together with Christ, after His order, and eventually I shall be made alive in body after His order." And yet with the most entire forgetfulness of this limitation, we are told elsewhere:"A person cannot say that he has actually eternal life, unless he is clear of death. If he is going to die, how can he say that he has actually got eternal life?" And this is made the ground for saying that while in Rom. 8:life is the consequence of the Spirit in the believer, yet the experience of Rom. 8:comes to an end. " It is not eternal life, and yet life is there!" and much doctrine is built upon this;-a mere and extraordinary piece of forgetfulness:for the experience is not the life, but the result of the life in the present circumstances. The death of the body brings this to an end, and the life is transferred to another sphere; but how does this prove that the life so transferred is not eternal life? Yet he must not say, it seems, that he has actually got eternal life (in his soul), because he has not yet got it in his body! A pebble indeed, to turn one from the path of truth!

Let us remember the words of Him who said, in the consciousness of what He is for men as the Resurrection and the Life, "He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and he that liveth and believeth in Me, shall never die" (Jno. 11:25, 26). Against the life, then, that He gives, which is eternal life, death has no claim,-over it no sovereignty. The body still awaits its change and its redemption; none the less is it true for the present partaker of His resurrection life, that death is behind, and not before him. For him, Christ has abolished death, and brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel. F. W. G.

(To be continued.)

In View of Questions Which Have Been Lately Raised.

2.WHAT IS THE VALUE OF THE WRITTEN WORD.

Makings must have come to a pass indeed, when I with Christians such as those for whom I am writing, one has to dwell upon – still more, defend-the value of the written Word. That which has been to us all the revelation of all the truth which we possess (and it is by the truth we are sanctified); that which alone brings into communion with the mind of God; that which, as inspired of God-"God-breathed "-furnishes the man of God to all good works;- how needless, how unutterably foolish it must appear, to tell any one who owes his all to it, the value of the written word of God!

Is this what those are thinking who, to one's utter astonishment to-day are letting pass without word of audible comment (that has had power, at least, to come across the breadth of the Atlantic) statements that would seem as if they should rouse to indignation impossible to be repressed every soul divinely taught as to what Scripture is? There is only one way besides in which this silence is comprehensible to me. Perhaps by some strange obliquity of mind words have lost for me their proper meaning, and I have failed to understand what I have had before me. If it be so, still let me state this figment of my imagination, and meet it as if it were a reality. How good it would be to get a strong knock-down reply from some one somewhere, to dispel for ever this delusion of mine, and assure me that I was dreaming! Why does not some one in pity to me, who, I think, have no evil intent, but a real longing over souls who seem drifting away from truth whither they know not, prick this bubble for me, and give relief to more than myself from as uncomfortable a nightmare of the imagination (if it be that) as for long has visited them?

The delusion which I am combating (whether mine or that of others) begins with fair speeches about Scripture (always written characteristically with a small "s") as being authoritative and the written word of God. It blurs this, however, immediately by saying, it is more the record of it than the thing itself. I suppose every higher critic of the decent kind would say as much. It warns us, for all that (as I have never known the decent critic do), enforcing this too by personal example, that one can study much, and that a Bible student is not much all; which means, of course, that the study of the Bible does not count for much. In fact, we are told, the method of learning truth by Scripture was not God's original plan at all:if the Church of God had remained in its first estate, we would not have wanted the Scriptures. The mind of God which is in the Scriptures would have been livingly expressed in the Church without them ; and that was the divine idea! A very important thought, as some one remarks, if true; and very important, of course, to know if it be true:for by it the whole Old Testament is practically discounted and set aside for us.

But how, then, without the Word, was the Church to become the "living expression" of the mind of God? Here a leaf is taken from an old book which is not Scripture, but which many will recognize. The truth is in the Church. The apostles had it and communicated it; Paul to Timothy; Timothy to faithful men, who were to teach others. Here are four generations:Paul; Timothy; faithful men; others:that is the way the truth was to be transmitted. It is the way which the church of Rome hold to-day; and the technical name for it is "Tradition."
But it failed! Yes; somehow it failed. Rome may be excusable here in believing that God's plan could not fail; but it could and did. Have you not observed that it is in the second epistle to Timothy, not the first, that Paul speaks of the Scriptures in that well known eulogy? That was when failure had fully set in; and then it was that the Scriptures came to be so important!

But at any rate, one would say, the method of teaching by Scripture is that by which we come into the truth today; and all that one can say of it in this respect today is fully justified! Ah, but we must not seize that comfort yet, or all that has been said just now must go for little. No, the old method has not been given up like that. The Church is still the method as before; only supplemented by Scripture because of the failure that has come in. It is a kind of humiliation to have to send the Bible to the heathen, and it is no good sending Bibles, if there are not preachers. People do not learn exactly from Scripture, but from the Spirit of truth; and if you say, "Granted that it is always by the Spirit of truth that any true work is done in the soul at all, but do you say that God will not use the Bible to a man's soul without a preacher?" well, it is difficult to put, it that way, because God is sovereign; in a day of decay and ruin, He may speak through an ass's mouth; but how shall they hear without a preacher? The divine way, undoubtedly, is preaching.

All as glibly said, as unquestioningly taken, even to the gross irreverence of putting the words of God alongside of the miracle of a speaking ass! Is it then a mistake of the apostle that they are "able to make wise unto salvation?" Well, that is asked and answered, if- any one is wise enough to interpret the answer:that "the man of God wants to be furnished with the Scriptures because of their disciplinary value"!-the relevancy of which I confess I do not understand; nor do I think that the apostle's words need any explanation. Why should we not inscribe them in every Bible sent to the heathen as an all-sufficient justification?

But how then with regard to the truth as ministered to the believer? Well, in general, in the early days, we are told that they had to take things on trust. The Old Testament did not give the truth of Christianity; and the New Testament was not written till the Church's decline, of course; otherwise, the whole system taught here would be subverted. The safeguard people had is said to be (what again is somewhat difficult to understand) that "the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets; " words which are. certainly found in Scripture, though scarcely in that connection. However, now that failure is come in, and Scripture as the resource in view of it, it is of the utmost importance to prove all things. Here the Bereans are commended to us as a model for imitation; somewhat in forgetfulness that this example comes to us from before the failure of the Church, and when it is supposed that another method was in order; yet it seems that they had Scriptures in their hands which they searched to some purpose. Only it is assured us that what they heard they first received; and only searched the Scriptures to get confirmation! A severe critic might say, perhaps, to see what mistakes they might have made in receiving it! Our day is an evil day; and God has given us the Scripture that we may have a standard of truth. Scripture is the limit; and though you don't exactly learn from Scripture (and indeed it is legality to want chapter and verse for doctrine) yet the more familiar people are with it the better:because a man's mind is thus continually pulled up in its tendency to go beyond the limit!

Thus for the outside world Scripture is not to be reckoned on for the conversion of souls. God may use it for that, because He is sovereign, and might be pleased to use the speech of an ass; while for the flock of Christ it is as it were a tether, to prevent their natural tendency to stray! You are right to search it for confirmation of what you hear; only you are to receive this first, and search afterwards. Even then remembering that it is legal to want chapter and verse for doctrines, and that it is possible to study the authority too much!

It would be perfectly natural to say that must be a caricature of anybody's teaching. My comfort is that, at least, those who think so cannot have received it themselves. If they can find no one who has, or who knows of its existence, that would only show to me how few take in what they read; perhaps even while they applaud it. However, let us make it an occasion for examining what is the use and value of the written Word.

Only think of it as that!-the written word of God! a word prepared for us as the outcome of past ages which have contributed, age after age, their quota to the full result; the whole, in every line and word of it, "God-breathed,"-the quickening breath of the Spirit in it!-from the heart of God to the heart of man! The more we look into it, the more in faith we credit it with a divine message and meaning, the more it responds and opens,-the more it draws and wins us to itself. Had I my life to live over again, I would study it more, not less, drink it in, live in it, have it my meditation all the day long. Where else shall I find the Voice of Him who seeks me for Himself? Can any one tell me where? Fancy one telling me that the use of Scripture is in its being a "limit" to my poor human thoughts; when it is that which, as far as may be, leads me out into the limitless,-into the "deep things of God"!Here are the things that the Spirit searches-the Spirit, wonderful to say, in me!-and which, having set before me the infinite, leads me into the measureless delight of exploring my inheritance! How many people, handing down to me with flawless accuracy, the traditional truth, could replace for me the scriptures of prophets and apostles which God has put into my hands, with their tale which they are never weary of telling,- which I can read and re-read, carry into my room, set down before me, pray over and look again,- listen to in the quiet of His Presence who is in them and with them, till the music of their chime begins in my soul, soothing, quickening, harmonizing, subduing all my nature to them! If I owe my possession of them to the failure of the Church, then blessed is that failure which, under God, has secured me so priceless a result. I speak soberly and deliberately while I say, that not the presence of the whole of the apostles with the Church to-day could replace for us the loss of Scripture. Could they all together give us one truth more than God has seen good to give us in it? Did they communicate, in fact, one truth besides, which we have lost? More than that, is it certain that they even knew all that was in their own communications? still more, can we believe that they knew all that all other inspired writers had communicated from the beginning? Have we one shred of truth, or of interpretation of Scripture even, which has come down to us by this so much lauded tradition, that any one can show us, much less show us value in to-day? What can we glean from apostolic " fathers "? Has not God been pleased to make a clean, broad mark of absolute limitation between Scripture and all else that went before or followed it, so that it should shine out to us in its own peerless character to-day? What has God given us through all the centuries since, which is more than a development from it,-a bit of the treasure from this exhaustless treasure-house ?

I do not expect, then, with whatever amount of prayer or meditation, to obtain from my poor thoughts, which have indeed to be kept in order so, one thing which directly or indirectly has not come to me from the Word. Nor can I think of anything higher for myself or any other, than to be an expositor of this glorious Word. Tell me, then how I can study it too much? You need not tell me that I can pray too little:Alas, I know that well.
I suppose, we have nothing to assure us how early in Christian times the Gospel of Matthew may have been written. It is pre-eminently, as all are aware, the Jewish Gospel; as the church in Jerusalem was for some time a Jewish remnant, and little more. Luke shows us at the end of his Gospel what special pains the Risen Saviour took to ground His disciples from the beginning in the Old Testament, and its relation to the New. Here their feet always stood firm; and the example of the Bereans a good while afterwards makes plain to what good use it could be put by those who had not had the advantage of such instruction. When they had thus assured conviction as to the trustworthiness of those through whom they had received the knowledge of the Saviour, and the pledge and witness of the Holy Spirit, there was of course abundant warrant for their reception through a channel so certified, of those additional communications which God was pleased to give. But notice here that the very slowness with which we know such communications came, gave the fullest opportunity to incorporate them one by one with all that they had known before; the scattering of the truth abroad being itself gradual, so as to carry better together the whole body of disciples. The more we reflect upon all this, the more we shall realize how fully from the beginning of Christianity the Lord grounded His people upon the written Word; and that this was no after-plan when the Church had fallen. Such thoughts may catch those who do not study Scripture too much; and alas, there are plenty of them. They are the mere vagaries of a dreaming mind, to which the word of God is not even a "limit."

We have no need to undervalue the preacher, because of the efficacy of the Word. I would emphasize it more, indeed, than all this system does. Instead of saying for instance, that God does not use us instrumentally as effecting anything, Scripture assures us that men can "so speak" that others shall believe (Acts 14:i). It makes the character of the speaking effective in the production of the result. But there is another reason for "how shall they hear without a preacher? " without dishonoring Scripture to furnish one; and that is serious and sad enough. It is that men, alas, have to be pursued by the grace that seeks them and the living voice of the preacher is the most effectual mean sin this way. Wisdom has to cry aloud, and utter her voice in the corners of the streets. "Go out into the highways and the hedges, and compel them to come in!"Scripture had always been, while necessarily safeguarded by the barrier-wall thrown around Israel, yet placed in the very center of the chief civilizations of the old world, and on the highways of commerce. Had men desired the treasures of it, they were readily accessible, and there was no prohibition of their acquirement; but they manifested no desire. And in the midst of Christendom today, with the completed Word in our hands, what would we do without that publication of it in various ways, by which it is forced upon the notice of the unwilling-hearted? That does not in the least affect the power existing in the Scriptures to make men wise unto salvation which they assuredly have-a power which is being proved continually.

We have spoken, perhaps, enough of the Bereans, and their readiness to receive the word preached to them. No doubt that there is in the truth always an inherent acceptability to an earnest mind. But the belief of it is distinctly put here after that searching of the Scriptures which they are praised for, not before it. Think of the consequences of a principle such as is advocated, of receiving first, before proving! when the proving will surely follow with a laggard and indifferent step; and during the delay how many falsehoods may spring out of one error received, which may not be destroyed, even when they have lost their attachment to the root from which they sprang! How would such a principle account for the rapid and wide spread of a movement like that which we are now contemplating, in which the captivating brilliancy of many new ideas may with the ready aid of the emotions sweep the traveler off his feet too far away for any present recovery. A voyage of exploration always has its charm; and to be told that you need not know whither you are going, but may give yourself up to the guidance of one who seems so impressively confident of his ability to carry you safely, is a luxury in itself. Certainly you make progress:everything moves. By and by you can take your bearings and see where you have arrived. You can return by the way you have come, if in the end you are not satisfied. But have you gaged then the strength of the stream that is bearing you on it? F. W. G.

(To be continued.)