THE CHURCH.–ITS ORGANIZATION.

(Continued from page 130.)

From what we have already seen, in considering the unity of the Church, it will be clear that what we have to say now regarding the organization of the local assembly, applies to the whole Body. There can be no such thing as different organizations for different localities. We are still dealing with the Church as a whole, though with local features.

We might say at the outset that Scripture gives no hint of looseness in the matter of church organization. It is becoming the habit of the times to speak with indifference of these things, and under the guise of broad-minded liberality to allow room for the greatest divergence of views on these questions. Nay, the effort is made to show that Scripture itself is, in the main, silent as to the matter, and has only given us the outline to be filled out in detail pretty much as men please, or as exigencies may arise in various places; that certain problems of organization were left to be solved by the sanctified reason of the church, which would gradually find out what plan was best suited to meet the varied and growing needs of a body, ever increasing in size and importance and whose interests would become with each year more complex. And so in this very premise men open the way for all manner of variety and of contradiction. What wonder then is it that we find sects without number, all contending for their own forms of existence and as a result dividing the one Church of Christ until it is almost beyond recognition? And then instead of being abashed by the havoc thus made, men tell us that these very divisions are a part of the beauty of church organization, intended by Providence to foster a spirit of generous rivalry and to increase by emulation the zeal of all! So far will even Christian men be led as apologists for their own. disobedience and neglect of Scripture.

The reason, perhaps, why scripture is thought to be silent as to the details of church organization, is that it is taken for granted that a varied and complicated mass of machinery is necessary. As in the gospel sinners stumble at the way of salvation, not because of any obscurity or complication in it but from its very simplicity, so saints fail to see the beauty and order of the Church as found in Scripture because of the absence of what is not only unnecessary to its well being but absolutely cumbersome. And yet does not nature itself teach us that simplicity as well as order is "nature's first law;" order, because of simplicity. All the great forces of nature-gravitation, the action of light, heat and electricity-are simple. It is man who makes machinery, but he is wise enough not to attempt to intrude it upon the domain of the great forces of nature. He does not attempt to assist them. If the Christian likewise would look for the Church and its organization apart from the machinery which he attempts to add to it, he would find it too in all its beauty and simplicity in the word of God.

It may naturally be asked what are the special hindrances to seeing the simplicity of church organization, and to this we may answer, Several principal ones.

I. The almost universal habit of giving a name to, some portion of the professing Church is one great barrier to a clear understanding of what church organization is. Of course the division lies deeper than the name, but that diverts the mind from the Scriptures and gives authority to the denomination and its rules. If we expect to find Scripture for the various forms of government prescribed by the different denominations we will be disappointed. Scripture knows neither the one nor the other, save to condemn both, (i Cor. 1:10-13; 7. 17; 2:19.)

2. Growing out of denominationalism, the next hindrance to a clear understanding of scripture teaching that we will mention is the use of creeds or confessions of faith. We need only point to the slight put upon the word of God by these human systems of doctrine, and ask can we expect them to aid in the understanding of that which they virtually displace? Take as an illustration the following definition of the Church, from the thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England:" A congregation of faithful men in the which the pure word of God is preached and the sacraments be duly administered according to Christ's ordinance in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same." Here we are held to a human priesthood and all else taught by that denomination as essential to a true church. Little wonder that an important requisite for church unity in their eyes is the maintenance of "the historic episcopate."

3. But this brings us to consider a third great obstacle to receiving the simple teaching of Scripture as to the organization of the Church;-the place occupied by the clergy both in the minds of the people and in economy of the various denominations. By clergy we mean that class of men who are supposed, by reason of their office, to have a special nearness to God and special rights in the way of ministry of the Word and administration of the "sacraments." Let us say at the outset that we have the highest regard for every devoted servant of Christ, wherever found or called by whatever name. That there are multitudes of such among the clergy we would not for a moment deny. What we have to say is not against men, but against a system which we are sure is not only a hindrance to blessing for the Church of God at large, but a great burden to many conscientious men who arc galled by its yoke.

The word clergy is derived from the Greek kleros, the primary meaning of which is "lot," and it is so used in describing the division of our Lord's clothing among the soldiers who crucified Him. (Matt, 27:35. etc.) We find it used in the same way in describing the appointment of Matthias (Acts 1:26.); but in that same connection we have that use of it, which has probably been the origin of the word as we know it. "For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part (Gk. lot) of this ministry." (Acts 1:17); also, 5:25.) This use of the word approaches the derived meaning, which is inheritance or portion, and which we find applied to the portion of all the people of God. (Acts 26:18. Col. 1:12.) In i Pet. 5:3. "Neither as being lords over God's heritage," the word "God's" is not in the original. The Revised Version renders it " Neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you." But a more evident, because more accurate, rendering would be, '' Not as lording it over your possessions"* ; the thought evidently being that they were not to rule God's people as if they were their own possessions. *J. N. D.'s version of the N. T., with note.* But the translation of the Revisers is significant as indicating the bias of a clerical position. They look upon a company of God's people as their " charge," their "flock" and in a sense their personal property, that which has been allotted to them, and so translate a passage which is meant to guard against this very thing. And this is the error that underlies all thoughts of a clergy whether it be of the priests of the church of Rome and England, or the more modified forms as found in the various Protestant denominations. They form a special class with distinct privileges and special duties, who thus assume a position, gradually and unintentionally no doubt at the first, utterly inconsistent with the rights of the Church as a whole. So true is this, that it may be almost said, as the French despot declared, "The state is myself," the clergy is the Church. The clergy must preach the Word, the clergy must administer the sacraments, the clergy must make the laws. A church without a clergyman is like a body without a head. Now with such thoughts of a special class in the Church of God, it is impossible to come to a right understanding of what that Church is. In a succeeding paper on the ministry of the Church we will have occasion to take up this subject of the clergy, in connection with ordination; what has been said is sufficient to show why the very idea of a clergyman which is nowhere mentioned in Scripture, is a veil over the truth as to church organization.

4. Similarly the sacraments, so-called, have become in the hands of those who misuse them a means of darkening truth. Baptism instead of a simple initiatory act, administered by any Christian man, becomes the door into the Church, is administered by the clergyman, and too often is regarded as an essential to salvation; or on the other side is pushed into undue prominence and made the sign of a party and the test of fellowship. The Lord's Supper, from a sweet and happy memorial feast, where all the Lord's people, gathered about Himself, recall His love stronger than death, becomes a formal, too often a superstitious act, presided over necessarily by a clergyman who is compelled to usurp all the functions of the whole people.

5. This brings us lastly to note the prevailing misconceptions about worship which also prove a barrier in the way of the simple seeker after God's order. Worship is a priestly act, and all God's people are priests. To confine it to one person, would tend to put him alone in the place of priest, and this Rome does and is followed at greater or less distance by all other denominations. To confound preaching of the Word with worship is another common mistake which tends in the same direction, as well as degrading worship to a subordinate position.

To recapitulate:a true knowledge of the scripture teaching as to church organization is hindered by general misconceptions as to the necessity of denominational names and creeds; as to the clergy, sacraments, and worship. One with such misconceptions would probably define a proper church organization to be one "formed by a company of Christians gathered under some denominational name, held together by the adoption of a doctrinal creed, presided over by a regularly ordained minister who administers the sacraments and presides over the worship." Does this sound like a libel? Our sad answer must be, Look around and you will find expression of scarcely anything else. But we are bold to say that, to get a scriptural idea of church organization, we must eliminate, or change almost beyond recognition, every feature given in the above definition.

Let us then come to the Word of God and seek from Him, His thoughts as to this most important subject.

(To be continued.)

CHAPTER IV. (Continued from page 68.)

But here we are made to realize the wondrous privilege that is ours,-the solemn responsibility that rests upon us. For we are sanctified unto the obedience of Christ, and He has left us an example, that we should follow in His steps (i Pet. 1:2; 2:21). The principle of His life, then, must be, above all, the principle of our lives. If with Him the governing motive was this, to do the will of God, -if He rejected every motive that could be urged from His own necessities,-how simple is it that, for us also, the will of God must be in the same way that which prompts to action; apart from this there is no right motive possible.

What a world, then, is this, in which the mass of men around us have no thought of God, no knowledge of His will, no desire to know it,-with whom life is little less than the instinctive animal life, disturbed more or less by conscience, that is, by the apprehension of God ! And as to Christians themselves, how easily are they persuaded that, with certain exceptions at important crises in their lives, the simple rule of right and wrong-often determined by custom of some kind, rather than the word of God- is sufficient to indicate for them the will of God, their own wills being thus left free within a variously limited area ?

The law, in fact, drew such a circle around men, and in mercy, as a sheepfold is the limit for the sheep. A class of actions is defined as evil, and forbidden; within these limits one may please oneself. Nor could law go further than this:for it the rigidity of a fixed code is a necessity. But Christ came into the fold to make His sheep hear His voice, and to lead them out:free, but where freedom would be safe as well as blessed, in following the living guidance of the Shepherd Himself. (John 10:) The rule is much stricter, even while freer. And the reality transcends the figure, just as the " Good Shepherd" Himself transcends every other shepherd, To a love like His, united with a wisdom absolutely perfect, no detail of our lives can be unimportant, as in the connection of these throughout, and of one life with another, none can be insignificant. Could it be imagined that any were so, yet which of us is competent to discern this in any instance? "Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth" is but the utterance of common experience. Who, then, that has learned to distrust himself at all, but must welcome deliverance from such an uncertainty, and find it joy to be guided at all times by higher wisdom !

Nothing makes this appear severe, nothing difficult except the love of our own way, and the unbelief which, having given up confidence in God, first sent man out from the bountiful garden, to toil and strive for himself in the world outside. But the divine love which has pursued us here, and given us Bethlehem as our "house of bread," should suffice to heal that insane suspicion, and close up the fountain of self-will within us :" He who spared not His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not, with Him also, freely give us all things?" The path ordained for us has, no doubt, its roughness, and the cloud hangs over it, but the cloud itself is but His tabernacle, and just in the very night it brightens into manifest glory. All differences are in the interests of the journey itself, as was said of Israel, that they might " go by day and by night." The record of experience adds to this the assurance, "They go from strength to strength."
No wonder ! if "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God doth man live." What a sustenance of the true life within to be thus, day by day, receiving the messages of His will, listening to that wondrous Voice, learning continually more His tender care for us :"He wakeneth morning by morning; He wakeneth mine ear to hear as a learner" (Isa. 1:4). This is the utterance prophetically of the Lord Himself :how blessed to be able to make it our own, and thus to have the, fulfillment of those words, "I will instruct thee, and teach thee, in the way in which thou shalt go :I will guide thee with Mine eye."

So, then, the first temptation is met and conquered; and with this, in fact, is conquered every after one:for he who walks with God, and waits on God, what shall ensnare him ? what enemy shall prevail against him ? It is plain that Satan has been hinting again here the lie with which of old he seduced the woman. And that, as in her case, "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the pride of life," came in through the door so opened, they were here effectually shut out. Satan might repeat and vary his efforts, but to one cleaving fast to God, God was the shield against which every shaft must be broken to pieces. How great the importance for us, then, of such a lesson !

But if we are to listen for the word of God, and our lives are to be shaped by it, we are called next to guard against the misuse of the word itself. This is Satan's next attempt. "Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down :for it is He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee, and in their hands they shall bear Thee tip, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone."

How careful should we be as to quotations from Scripture ? how little, in fact, we often are ! Scripture twisted but a little awry, the authority of God is made to sanction a lie, and our very faith in it betrays us to the enemy.

How important, too, becomes on this view the complete verbal inspiration of Scripture. If but the thought meant to be conveyed is guaranteed to us, but the wording is left to the choice of imperfect wisdom, then unless words mean nothing, we can never settle what the thought precisely is. If the words are possibly faulty, who can assure me of the exact truth hid under a faulty expression ?

Satan did but leave out two or three words of the original, "to keep Thee in all Thy ways;" but those words guard them against the abuse which he would make of them. The "ways" of Him who in the ninety-first psalm says of Jehovah, "in Him will I trust," could never be such as the unbelief would prompt which would make trial of Jehovah's words to see if they would be fulfilled. That is what the Lord's answer is, by another quotation, once more from that book of wilderness-lessons, Deuteronomy, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." This last text is one often enough misused to mean, Do not rely upon Him for too much :and the Lord's refusal to cast Himself down plausibly made an illustration of this meaning. But the whole question is of what has been settled in the first answer. If our ways are with God, directed according to His word, and following that living guidance of which even that of Israel of old was but a type and foreshadow, then we need never think that we shall tax the divine resources too much to sustain us in them. Had we His word, it would be only faith to cast ourselves down, when without it would be to "tempt" Him. Let us be assured, He will never say to us, " You trusted Me too much." There are abundance of possible sins without inventing an imaginary and impossible one.
Satan's argument is still grounded upon this:"If Thou be the Son of God;" but although He had just been declared that, He had come to submit to the conditions of humanity, to display under "these the moral perfection of that eternal life, which could best display itself in such humiliation. The revelation of God Himself could only be made aright upon the level of humanity; and the title which He constantly gives Himself is that of the Son of Man. This is the place He has come to take, and He cannot be moved from it:for thus alone can He be Mediator between God and men, and thus alone can He be also an example for us.

But in the third temptation Satan shifts his ground completely. He could not say, "If Thou be the Son of God, fall down and worship me." He suddenly seems to realize so the truth of His humanity that he will adventure fully upon it. If this be indeed One who is Son of man, shut off, as it were, from the claims and conditions of Deity;-if He has come in the very weakness of manhood itself to work the work committed to Him, then he will test Him by the appeal to that very weakness. All the kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them shall be flashed upon Him as in a moment; the power of which He came to possess Himself, He should have it by an easier path than He had chosen:"All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me."

For us who know His glory, this seems indeed only like the raving of despair. But however it may seem to be no longer temptation, but an awful insult to the divine glory vailed in humanity before him, it does not seem to be given us as this. The Lord answers it, as He does the rest, from Scripture, though with an indignation which He has not shown before. Satan has disclosed himself, and can be called by his name and bidden to be off. Yet the whole reads as if he had as much confidence in this attack as in the others. The change of address, no longer, "If thou be the Son of God," with the matter of what he says, seems to say that he has at last discovered and accepted the fact, that as his conflict had been all through with man, so now it was to be still with One, who, be he more than this or not, had indeed come to meet him as man only; and man he thought he knew. Granted the conflict were to be moral only, -granted, that the One he met had only the weapons of goodness, was here truly and only as Man,- this was the ground He had taken, simply obedient, dependent, believing:this, then, was not divine sovereignty, omnipotence, omniscience ; and human strength, what had He proved it to be !

In result, he has disclosed himself, and is defeated. There is still no display of Deity, no outburst of divine judgment or of power :" Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God :and Him only shalt thou serve." The sufficiency of the word of God as the divine weapon against him is thus seen all through:a great encouragement for us also in the irrepressible conflict which we have all to maintain :"the sword of the Spirit is the saying of God." (Eph. 6:17, Gk.) F. W. G.

(To be continued)

Dark days were fast settling down upon God's beloved people when Rehoboam came to the throne,- all the darker because in such marked contrast with the brilliant reign of Solomon. David had left everything stable,- neither adversary nor evil occurrent; and the first years of Solomon's rule almost seemed to give promise of blessing "so long as the moon endureth." But alas for man! Left to himself, his privileges do but raise him to an elevation which makes his fall all the more terrible. After building and dedicating the temple, having been endowed with amazing wisdom, king Solomon "loved many strange wives," who stole away his heart,- gradually, no doubt, but surely, until he turned away from his God to worship the abominations of the heathen. His position and endowments only mark the more clearly for us the lesson of man being but vanity, even at his best estate; and remind us of that Only One who has never failed, and who will yet restore to Israel her long-looked-for glory and blessing.

Even in Solomon's lifetime some of the results of his wrong-doing were manifest, and the Lord's chastening hand had been felt. The word had gone forth, through the prophet, that the kingdom was to be disrupted, and the instrument for its accomplishment was being prepared. As long as the king lived things were allowed to take their course,- partly, no doubt, because of a measure of administrative skill and energy still preserved in him, and partly because of the prestige of his great name.

With his death, however, and the accession of Rehoboam, the spell is broken, and there must be a fresh putting forth of power, or the hidden seeds of disintegration will soon bear their legitimate fruit. such crises are not uncommon among God's people at all times, the circumstances varying with the special conditions existing. How often has a great name held God's people together until some time of resting came. They were brought face to face with some question of faith or duty,- a question requiring immediate guidance, where tradition, no matter how exact, was impotent to help. Then it was that the latent weakness was brought to light:we may -be sure, however, that it had existed long before.

Would Rehoboam rise to the emergency ? Would He prove to be the man for the time ?

The place of his coronation is significant. David had been made king at Hebron, a city of Judah, and meaning "communion." Solomon had. gone to Gihon, apparently in great haste to anticipate Adonijah. It was a name given to a suburb of Jerusalem, from the fountain of water there. The name signifies "a breaking forth," as of a fountain from the earth. One of the four rivers of Paradise was so called. It might, therefore, fittingly represent that outflow of the Spirit of God which is to characterize the millennial reign of Christ, of which Solomon's was a type. Shechem means shoulder, suggesting service and perhaps rule ('' the government shall be upon His shoulder.") Its position in the tribe of Ephraim, fruitfulness, emphasizes the thought of service.

No doubt expediency suggested the choice of the place of coronation in a tribe where the evidences of disaffection were already but too manifest. Again and again had the tribe of Ephraim shown its jealousy of the others. When Gideon pursued the defeated Midianites and overthrew them, he had to meet with the envious chidings of the men of Ephraim. His wisdom and soft answer averted a collision,- which, later on, in Jephthah's day, and under similar circumstances, was precipitated by the want of grace in that stern man. During all the time of David's rejection, and again after the rebellion of Absalom, this same spirit of tribal jealousy, with Ephraim doubtless in the lead, prevailed. The flames might only smoulder, but they were never quenched, and will not be until the restored nation will forget all else under the blessing of our Lord's gracious and wise rule. Then "the envy, also, of Ephraim shall depart, . . . Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim." (Isa. 11:13.)

The spiritual meaning of this is plain, whether in the history of the individual or of the Church. Works are arrayed against faith, service against worship, and the very blessings of grace too often made to appear antagonistic by Satan and his ready ally, the flesh. Judah, "praise," however, must lead; and Ephraim will find abundant fruit in the true spirit of subjection. '

It would seem, as has been said, that some sense of impending danger had taken hold of Rehoboam; and he seeks to avert disaster by this clumsy and apparent pandering to the jealousy of Ephraim. We may remark that in so doing he left the place of communion, Hebron, and of refreshment, Gihon, and so was in reality unfitted for service, Shechem, as the sequel shows.

Ephraim was not to be mollified by this. Real grievances were to be righted; and at Shechem the new king meets with a firm demand, in form as vet loyal:"Thy father made our yoke grievous; now, therefore, ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee." There need be no surprise that one who had forsaken his God as Solomon had, should oppress his fellow-men.

This is a critical moment with King Rehoboam, and he rightly asks time for a decision, applying to his counselors (did he also seek wisdom from God?) for advice. Their answers are characteristic. The older men, who had doubtless marked a gradual weakening of the bonds of loyalty, counseled gentleness:"If thou be kind to this people and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants forever." On the other hand, the young men, with a rashness that usually accompanies inexperience, put into form the thoughts, doubtless, of his own heart:"My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. . . . My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."

Little need be added. The schism is consummated; a few hot words, and the union of the twelve tribes, which had survived the chaotic independency of the times of the Judges, falls before the imperious will of this young man. In vain does he attempt to stem the torrent:the outraged pride of Ephraim refuses to listen to any overtures, and to restore peace by war was expressly forbidden.

Well may we pause here and contemplate the ruin thus wrought. That the ten tribes were guilty of revolt, that they soon deserted the temple of God for the calves of Dan and Bethel-starting upon a down-ward course of unbroken evil-stands out upon the face of the history of those times. Equally is it plain that the crown belonged to David's line:God's name had been put at Jerusalem, and the promises were centered there. But was not Ichabod written upon it all ? True, obedience to God would be shown by the recognition of His house, but the eye could never be closed to the fact that Israel was divided.

And as we look around at the divisions among the people of God, shame and sorrow become us rather than the pride of position, too common in all our hearts. The Lord give His people to see their common shame and weep over it,- realizing, each of us, our responsibility in having contributed to the general state. Nor is this in the least inconsistent with the maintenance in all firmness of those principles laid down in the word of God for the guidance of His people as to their corporate relationships.

But there are lessons of grave importance in connection with Rehoboam's action. There can be no question that his harshness precipitated the division. It is equally true that both Ephraim and Judah were ready to seize upon any pretext to separate:they were already divided in heart. Above all, the state of the whole nation, of the individuals composing it, rendered such a thing possible. What was needed was a man for the time,- a man who first of all would humble himself personally, and thus fit himself to be the instrument God could use to restore His people,- a man with a large and tender heart, as well as an enlightened conscience, who on the one hand could realize the claims of God, and on the other the weakness and needs of the people. Rehoboam, alas! was not such a man. His mother's name and lineage suggest the principles which governed him,- Naamah, an Ammonitess,- pleasure, at the expense of righteousness, a practical lapse into the heathenism of the children of Lot.

Then, too, a man for such emergencies must be one who inspires confidence. In his darkest days, the people believed in David, his sincerity and devoted-ness. Blundering, failure, there might be; but behind all that there was the conscience toward God, and a love and care for His people. Such characteristics seem to have been entirely wanting in Rehoboam.

And this brings us to look at the true principle of rule. It is service. Jotham's parable (Judges 9:) illustrates this. The trees want a king over them, and invite the olive, the vine, and the fig, successively, to take that place. But each is already engaged in fruit-bearing, supplying man's need, and will not leave the place of service "to wave over the trees." The healing, nourishing ministry of the Holy Spirit; the cheering, life-giving ministry of the precious blood of Christ; the varied fruits produced in the believer's life, are suggested by these trees; and what position or authority can compare with such service ? Only the thorny, worthless bramble, will consent to be king, and it only to devour the best. Naturalists tell us that the fruit of a tree is simply an arrested branch,- checked from bearing leaves and spreading further, and its strength given to the production of fruit and seed. Strange to say, the thorn is similarly a branch, but instead of the check upon its growth being turned to fruit and blessing, it shrinks into a useless spine which can only wound. God would arrest our growth in such a way, that, instead of making a show we might bear fruit; but we may be sure He would never have that arrested growth changed into a useless bramble that can but wound.

The true spirit of leadership is service. " I am among you as he that serveth " were? the words of the true king. All who would imitate him must walk in the same lowly path:" By love serve one another." "Neither as being lords o-ver God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock."

One of the greatest needs of the church of God today is pastors. Men who love and yearn over God's beloved people, because they are His; who will take the sorrows, cares, follies, and failures of the saints, and lay them before God alone; who can minister comfort where it is needed; who can heal the breach between brethren; who go in and out amongst the Lord's dear people, helping, guarding, cherishing them, as a nurse cherisheth her children. "Though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers." The reverse of the true pastor is seen in that solemn passage in Ezekiel:"The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and cruelty have ye ruled them." (Ezek. 34:4.)

Rehoboam followed the advice of the young men, whose lack of experience sadly unfitted them for such delicate work. Naturally God would use those whose maturity would give a breadth of view, a gentleness coupled with firmness, which come with years. Sad it is that these things should ever be lacking with gray hairs; and that God must pass by unprepared old age to use consecrated! youth, for a work most suited to mature years.

Rehoboam means "Room for the people." How sorrowfully he contradicted his name we have seen. Instead of breadth we have found narrowness; instead of enlargement, cutting off. The Lord give us grace to shun the errors into which he fell, for we are living in times which much resemble those days.

A Friend once turned to me and said, ''
"Why is the sun so dim to-day ? "
He held a glass of deepest red
Before its ray.

I answered not. He surely knows
Its glorious light is never dim;
When, to my wonder and amaze,
He asked again.

And then he strangely looked at me,
While, vivid, flashed across my mind
The meaning of the mystery,
So hard to find !

A fairer Sun, a brighter Light,
Had paled before my careless eyes,
And I had asked, "Why does the night
So dark arise ? "

O Saviour ! revelation bright
Of God's own glory and His grace,
Thou art not changed, but pleasure's blight
Has hid Thy face.

Remove the veil that dims my sight,
These earth-born wishes, floating round;
And let me learn, 'tis never night
Where Thou art found !

F. C. G.

For some years I had felt there was something wrong. Indeed, though at times earth's ambitions occupied heart and hands, yet there was an aching void – a spot within – which nothing had yet reached. The crisis had come at last. The awful truth had dawned upon me that all my past efforts had been in vain:after all, I was only a poor, helpless, incorrigible sinner. But at the same time a light, glorious as it was sweet, had shined into me. It was the revelation that Jesus had done the work which was necessary to save such a sinner. And what a revelation! What peace it gave! What assurance ! I could almost glory in being a sinner, since I had such a Saviour. If Jesus had made propitiation for my sins I was free. And indeed I was free, and praised God for it from the depths of my soul. Worship was no longer a form, confined to a place or a time,- it was "in spirit and in truth."

But sorrow was soon renewed. The company of God, my Father,- the fellowship of Christ, my Saviour, and Lord,- were the sweetest part of life now. To read the Scriptures, to sing, to pray, to meet with them who enjoyed what I did was a hundredfold more than I had ever found in anything in the world before. But, all of a sudden, while engaged in prayer perhaps, or reading the Scriptures, or other holy exercises, some unholy thought, unbidden and hateful, would pass through my heart. This startled me. The sight of Christ on the cross suffering the judgment of sin had been so vivid that nothing now could shake the assurance of the redemption which was mine through it, but how could I stay close to the God whose Presence I loved, with such unholy thoughts passing through me ? I could not, for I knew His holiness too well to think that He could allow that. If in prayer, I could only leap from my knees and flee, as a poor leper would have done had he suddenly found himself in the Temple of Jerusalem.

What could I do now? Nature perhaps was too well fed and cared for. Starve and subdue it then, and comfort will return. For one whole year that was tried, and with such austerity were its claims repressed that bones once well covered now stuck out. But all was of no effect:the sin was there at the end as at the beginning.

At the time when the case seemed hopeless I was reading the Epistle to the Colossians. Chapter III had been reached, and the first clause of its third verse had arrested my attention. It said "For ye are dead." I answered "O Lord, that I might be dead, and not be distressed any more by the sin that is in me!"

I returned to my verse, and it still said '' For ye are dead."And again I uttered the same prayer to God.

Once more, and with a strange emphasis, the verse said "For ye are dead," And now the sweet light which had broken in a year before broke in afresh. I had thought that to be "dead" was by some special experience:now it broke upon me that it Was a fact. God had put me to death in the death of Christ, and in that death I had died once and forever. So now He could say to me "For ye are dead,"-not ye ought to be, as I had thought. And if I had indeed thus been put to death in and with Christ, then had I also been raised up in and with Christ. So the first verse of my chapter spoke.

As the blessed truth of all this broke upon me, and illumined at once a vast portion of the Scriptures – indeed their great underlying mystery-I could but exclaim, What a fool I have been! Here have I been this long time trying to kill a man who was already dead.

Now I could stay on my knees, keep on peacefully in all intercourse with God despite the consciousness of sin within. That sin is the very nature of the man that God put to death on the cross of Christ – the "old man." The painful experience I had gone through had taught me to hate it, and made me thankful beyond expression at such a deliverance from it. Now, free from that dreadful self, I could "serve in newness of spirit," and "bring forth fruit unto God."

THE CHURCH.– ITS WORSHIP.

(Continued from page 204.)

The great occasion for Church worship is when believers are gathered together on the first day of the week to break bread:not that praise should be limited to that time, but then we have it in its completeness. We are then, or should be, "gathered to His name." (Matt. 18:20.) The Lord is in our midst, to lead our praises (Heb. 2:12). The Holy Spirit is present to guide, according to the word (i Cor. 14:25); and the memorials of our Saviour's dying love are there to be partaken of.

We cannot emphasize too strongly the importance, nor call the attention of believers too earnestly to the precious privilege of each Lord's day thus gathering about His person to offer true worship to His God and our God, and to Himself as well. It was the practice of the early Church (Acts 20:7), only discontinued when carnality, in the form of sacramentarian superstition, had crept in. Let us not be misunderstood. It is simply a memorial feast. It conveys no life nor grace of itself. The passage in John 6:docs not refer to it, but to the believing reception of Christ, who died for our sins. And yet who that has enjoyed the reality of the Lord's presence at. His table, has realized the presence and guidance of the Spirit of God, has had his heart lifted up in worship to his Father and God, and the soul of each knit like the soul of one man to his brethren's,- who that has enjoyed such a privilege would forego it, or lengthen the time between the holy, happy seasons ? Here it is the Church that worships, with none to preside, none to dictate the form, but each one free before God to be guided according to His word.

If it be asked what is the character of the worship, we must refer to the preceding pages. It is Christian worship in its fullest sense,-united, unhindered. If, now, Church worship is of such a character, we need not say that only Christians can truly join in it. If otherwise, either the sinner would be elevated to a place he could not occupy, or the saint would be degraded to the level of a pleader for mercy. How unseemly for one who knows Christ and God's love to pray for deliverance from His "wrath and everlasting damnation." How unseemly, on the other hand, to put such words in the sinner's mouth as "We praise Thee, O God:we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord." And how utterly inconsistent and perplexing to make each utter both!

From what we have just said we need hardly add that all Church worship should be in truth. How much this most palpable truth is ignored can be seen at a glance in any ordinary church hymn-book. Here for the sake of sentiment, poetry, or even rhyme, doctrines are presented utterly subversive of the truth of the gospel.

"Help me to watch and pray,
And on Thy grace rely,-
Assured if I my trust betray
I shall forever die"!

What worship can there be in words which every Spirit-taught believer knows are utterly unscriptural and misleading ?
We might multiply instances, but will leave this matter with the Christian reader, entreating him to make conscience of his singing, to refuse to utter the sweetest words (if such words could be sweet) which cast a doubt upon the grace and love of Christ.

We need hardly suggest that the meeting at the Lord's table being to remember Him, and so largely taken up with worship, should not be confounded with a teaching or preaching meeting. There may be teaching, but it should ever be of an appropriate character, calculated to elicit worship. On the other hand, there may be a need for a word of exhortation addressed to the conscience, but let the feast remain a feast to the Lord.

Beloved reader, having taken this imperfect survey of the worship of the Church, suffer a pointed question. How do you worship ? By the Spirit of God ? Where do you worship? In temples made with hands, or in the holiest ? Is your thought of praise, the music of the great organ, with trained and paid singers, or the melody of hearts, united to Christ and to one another, pouring out in worship the treasures of grace which have been made known to them ?

May the Lord touch the conscience of His beloved people, and woo them from the vanity of a mere form of worship by giving them to taste of its blessed reality.

VI.–MINISTRY.

We have now reached the point where we can safely take up the subject of Ministry without, by undue prominence, suggesting an overshadowing pre-eminence given to it in the thoughts of most.

In the previous papers we have seen the Church as the body of Christ, so contemplated in Scripture- as essentially, really, and organically one. We have seen the priesthood of all believers, and the prominence of worship in the Church economy. All these were matters of the first importance, needing to be clearly understood before we come to the subject of ministry. It may be a surprise to some to speak of ministry, as we now know it, as a temporary thing; and yet a moment's thought, with a glance at a few scriptures, will convince us that such is the case. In the list of gifts from an ascended Christ mentioned in Ephesians, we have both their continuity and their duration given:'' For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:till we all come, in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." (Eph. 4:12, 13.) Gifts will not fail so long as the body of Christ is being formed, and so long as it needs edifying, and the saints perfecting. They will continue "until we all come unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ," which will be when we arc with Him in glory. Then there will be no further need for, and hence no further existence of, ministry as we now know it. '' For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." (i Cor. 13:9, 10.) While saints were to covet earnestly the best gifts, they were shown a more excellent way-the following after love, which should endure when the necessity for gifts had passed (i Cor. 12:31).

We need hardly say that the results of ministry will abide forever, in the characters of the saints which have been formed thereby, and in the glory thus done to our blessed Lord; nor that rewards for faithful ministry will most surely be given and enjoyed through eternity. Rut this only shows that it is a thing of the past, the necessity for it gone with the earth-history of the Church.

So long, however, as the Church is upon earth, so long as sinners are to be brought into it, and saints to be edified, will there be absolute necessity for ministry, and that of a most varied and complete kind.

Let us now see what Scripture teaches as to the Source, Character, Power and Exercise of true ministry.

(I) The Source and Author of all true ministry is the glorified Head of the Church-the Lord Jesus Christ. '' Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men . . . and he gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints," etc. (Eph. 4:8-13.)

We are reminded in a parenthesis (10:9, 10) that all gifts are the purchase of the death of Christ, that His ascension was preceded by His descent first into the grave. So is our adorable Lord ever contemplated now, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen." (Rev. 1:18; Heb. 1:3; 2:6-9.) As glorified, He has bestowed gifts upon men. That Church which He loved and for which He gave Himself, has not been forgotten or neglected by her absent Lord. He has sent down from His own presence in the glory all that is needed for the ingathering and upbuilding of His beloved people. As we enjoy the varied gifts of ministry, let us every remember their source. In this way we gain a clear perception of two things:the love and care of Christ, and the dignity of all Christian ministry. "No man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth it, even as the Lord the Church." (Eph. 5:29.) In every gift, the more or less prominent, we see the love of Christ. True ministry there could be none apart from His gift. The effect, then, of enjoying it should ever be to lead our hearts, up in grateful, adoring love to Him. But if on the one hand His love is manifested, no less, on the other, do we see the dignity of all ministry and the responsibility attaching to it. '' Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20:24.) "For I neither received it" (the gospel) "of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." (Gal. 1:12.) Such and many other scriptures show the dignity attaching to a Christ-given ministry. Let no man despise it; in so doing he despises Christ.-"He that despiseth you, despiseth me." Nor let any man think to add to the dignity of Christian ministry by investing it with high-sounding names, official position and the circumstance attaching to human greatness. All this is but putting gaudy tinsel upon fine gold. If Christ is the source and author of ministry, it follows as self-evident that there is no place for, and certainly no need for, human authorization. Any attempt at such is but an interference, no matter how well meant, with the prerogatives of Another.

(2) As to the character of ministry, it is most varied and complete, taking in its range all manner of service needed for the Church. In the list already quoted from Ephesians 4:, we have apostles and prophets:these are connected with the foundation, "and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone." (Eph. 2:20.) We need hardly say that these are New Testament prophets, not Old- men who spoke directly for God, often indicating in a supernatural way His mind as to the present or future. The apostles were intrusted with the planting of the Church and nourishing its infancy, as well as providing it for its whole earthly history, along with the rest of Scripture, with an infallible guide. This we have in the apostolic writings, which arc equally with the whole sacred volume, absolutely and perfectly inspired. (2 Pet. 3:15, 16; i John 4:6.) Thus, while we have not personally with us the apostles, we have them in their writings.

Evangelists, as their names would suggest, are heralds of the glad tidings, preachers of the gospel of the grace of God, who awaken the careless and win souls to Christ. It is not every one who is an evangelist, though all should have the love of souls, and be ready to point the sinner to Christ. But men who are evangelists by gift have the true passion for souls, true longing and travailing in birth for them; they are instructed how to present the gospel, how to gather in the souls, to distinguish true anxiety from false, and reality from mere expression. It is their joy to bring sinners to Christ, to see those who were in the world brought into the Church. The evangelist is a man of prayer, for he realizes that the work is all of God, and that "methods " arc but of little worth. He is a man of faith, who counts on the living God. He is a student of Scripture, that he may present only the truth to souls. He is a man of courage, not fearing to go even where '' bonds and imprisonment" may await him, that he may carry the glorious gospel of the blessed God to the perishing. He is a man of energy, instant in season, out of season. He is a man of perseverance, never faltering, nor discouraged if he fails to see immediate fruit from his labor. Lastly, he is a man of humility, glorying in another's work and success, above all, saying from the heart, "yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

If it be asked where are there such men, our answer must be, The Master knoweth. Doubtless there are many who while not ideally what we might expect, are truly Christ's – evangelists endowed and sent forth by Him, and showing in the blessed results of their labors that they are His gifts. As we look upon a world lying in the wicked one-the millions of souls in heathen darkness who have never heard of Christ-the millions in the bondage of Rome -the millions in Protestant lands, strangers to the grace of God-the multitudes at our very doors who fill the churches and say, "Lord, Lord," but who, it is to be feared, know Him not-shall we not pray for evangelists ? that those already in service may be stripped for their task, and that others may be raised up to go everywhere preaching the Word ? Let the younger brethren ask themselves, in the presence of God, if He have not called them to this work. Let us all be more aroused to the need of a perishing world around us. and be more intensely in earnest. Above all, let us be more in prayer than ever.

(To be continued.)

" If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own ?"-Luke 16:12.

'This Scripture seems to reverse man's natural I thoughts, putting our own interests in the second place. We would say, if we were faithful in our own affairs we will doubtless take care of what belongs to another. Scripture reverses this. We are not really fit to care for our own interests if we have not been faithful in the concerns of others. God's interests are first, and we are His stewards. He has intrusted us with His things. Here nothing belongs to us:we have forfeited the right even to live. But God leaves us here, and intrusts us with time, talents, opportunities, means, influence,- all that comes into our life,-as His stewards. '' Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful." (i Cor. 4:2.) These things do not belong to us:if we think of them as ours we will make a wrong use of them, and be harmed by them as well. Our possessions are elsewhere,- reserved in heaven for us; and though through grace that inheritance does not depend upon our faithfulness here, a neglect of God's interests here would show a failure to rightly value our possessions there. Self must not be the center, the object, but God and His glory. Faithful in His things, we can even here enjoy those spiritual blessings which are ours.

The crown here is not the priestly mitre that Aaron the high-priest wore into the sanctuary; nor the " fair mitre " put on the head of Joshua Zech. 3:); nor is it the crown which rests by faith upon the head of every saint-God's free and individual gift to every sinner saved by grace. Every saved soul is a priest before God. Ye are "a holy priesthood" (i Pet. 2:5). How sweet to think that every child of God is a priest by birth as well as a child by birth! Ah, beloved brethren, there will be no brow in heaven upon which no crown will set! ' 'And upon the four and twenty thrones I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold."

This crown is scarcely the one alluded to in our verse.

Nor is it the crown of life promised to the faithful martyr (Rev. 2:10); nor to "them that love him" (James 1:12); nor the " crown of glory "which the prudent elder shall receive at the chief Shepherd's appearing (i Pet. 5:4); nor is it the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge shall give unto His faithful apostle in that day, and not unto him only, but unto all who love His appearing (2:Tim. 4:8). No, it is none of these.

Indeed, there is no name given it. It is a nameless crown. "Hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." The exhortation tests, not so much character, as one's confidence in God. Do I know my Father ? Knowing my Father, I can then see the end from the beginning. Those sons cultivating that farm through all manner of toil, enduring all manner of weariness, bringing in all manner of fruit in its season, know their father. They know, at the end of the toil of obedience, that father's voice will be heard in fullest approval; and so, moved by this sweet incentive, they go on in simplest contentment to the end.

Cannot I trust my Father ? Ah yes, for I know His love. This was proven by the cross. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son." And now I have His confidence, and He has committed to my keeping His Name and His words ; and at the end I know He has something suitable for me. A crown it is, surely; but it is nameless. Perhaps to name it would but tarnish its luster ; and though nameless, it may for that very reason shine out far above and beyond all crowns that are named, in its resplendency.

To whom, then, is this crown given, and what order of hand is it that holds it fast ?

Notice, it is not the glamour of success according to man's measure that secures it. Some of those who have the greatest success in bringing men openly to confess the name of Jesus refuse to take the humble position His name and word would give them, not having the simple confidence blind Bartimeus had to follow " Jesus in the way " (Mark 10:52). No, beloved brethren, let us not deceive ourselves, and be carried away with the false and illusive thought that this nameless crown of our text is obtained by such success. Witness an apostle's success :He walked in perpetual triumph among men, "making manifest the savor of His knowledge in every place," being thus "a sweet savor of Christ unto God " (2 Cor. 1:14-16). And what unparalleled success he achieved! The sad record is, that '' All they in Asia be turned away from me;"and" Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world " (2 Tim. 1:15; and 4:10).It is a crown obtained, not by success, but by holding fast His name and His word. The apostle won it:Demas lost it. This present world cheated him out of it. The world became his master. He loved his master's voice; and losing confidence in his Lord, he forgot the exhortation, gave up that precious name and word, and here in this life surrendered that crown and the joy of that blessed hope. "Shall it be mine?" may we not each say. Why should we be here to-day, few and feeble as we are, were it not that He hath committed to our keeping His name and His word ?What honor is this ! Think you He is indifferent to it ?Shall our Lord ever put to shame the confidence that holds fast these things that touch His honor ? Why should the name and glory of this present world for an instant charm our souls, since His voice declares,'' I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee" (Rev. 3:9)?These are not "idle words."I know my Father; and here is one of His promises that "hath great recompense of reward" (Heb. 10:35):"Behold, I come quickly:, hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown."Shall we cast it away, and lose that nameless crown, through love of this present evil world ?

How blest are they who overcome, and, as in Laodicea, sit down with Him in His throne, wearing that crown on their brow, and thus enter in fully with Him into His joy! W. H. J.

April 1st, 1894.

(PSALM CXXXIX.)

In the concluding book of the Psalms (107-150) we find the general characteristics of the book of Deuteronomy, to which it corresponds. There is retrospect, reiteration, and then a looking forward. The result of this is praise. It is good to know that such is the effect of a contemplation of all God's ways, whether past or to come, and that even our own follies have been but the occasion of fresh manifestation of Himself. So will it be at the end. All the path behind us, strewed as it is with wrecks of our unbelief, will speak of a love which never for one moment failed, of a purpose of grace which never faltered.

In the midst of these Psalms of experience we find this one, which seems in a special way adapted to God's people individually, in all dispensations. While it doubtless gives us the thoughts of the believer in the remnant times of Israel's trouble, there is but little that does not equally apply to us in this day of grace. It is heart-history, and the hearts of God's people have always been the same.

There seem to be four general divisions in the Psalm. We have, first, God's omniscience; secondly, His omnipresence; thirdly, His power manifested even when hidden from the eyes of men; and lastly, the testing and separating effect of this knowledge of God.

He begins with a general statement of God's knowledge:"Thou hast searched me and known me"; and then applies this knowledge to all his ways-my down-sitting and uprising, my thought, my path, my repose, my ways, my words. All, all is known to God. How solemn is the thought! He knows me better than I know myself; and no secret desire, no hasty word, nothing connected with me escapes His holy eye. Ah, it is with such a God we have to do. If we are to deal with Him, it is on the basis of truth. God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

But while this should hush us and solemnize our hearts, does it not give us a view of His grace? He knows us altogether, and yet has not turned from us; He knows us, and yet would bring us to know Himself. We stand detected in His presence, and yet attracted. Like the woman of Samaria, He has shown us all that ever we did, but shown us Himself as well. The light is perfect, but it reveals a God of perfect grace, as well as ourselves, so we need not shrink from it.

Did we so desire, where could we flee from His presence? He has beset us behind and before, and laid His hand upon us. He is in heaven; we meet Him also in the grave. Beyond the sea, in the midst of the thick darkness, we are still with God. Nor is this said in the restlessness of one who desires to get away from Him. It is rather the confidence of one who knows that wherever he may be he has God with him to lead and guide. Blessed fact! We cannot get away from God. Where would we be if we could? And yet, alas, is it not true that the heart sometimes shrinks from this Holy Presence? Do we wish to leave that Presence a moment, to enjoy a pleasure, to indulge a thought we would not wish Him to see ? Surely it would be vain to desire such a thing, but the flesh cannot glory in His presence:if we wish that to act, we must forget we are there.

And this omniscience, this intimate knowledge and presence, has been with us from the beginning. When our imperfect members were being secretly formed, curiously wrought, embroidered, as another has said, all was under His care and superintendence. Surely we can praise Him:we were formed for His praise.

And so the Psalmist goes on to dwell upon these wondrous thoughts of God,- their preciousness. But how great is their number! Where can we begin, and where leave off ? We who have the fuller revelation of God in Christ may well say, "If I should count them they are more in number than the sand." Ah, in presence of this fullness why should our hearts crave more ? Well may we repeat for ourselves the desire of the apostle for us:"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend, with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with [unto, Gk.] all the fullness of God." (Eph. 3:)

But there is the earth-side to this truth, and a most practical one. The wicked are to be judged:'' Depart from me, therefore, ye bloody men." Nay, so powerful is the effect upon him of God's presence that he counts as his enemies-he abhors-God's enemies. The soul that is at home in the presence of God will not look with indifference upon sin or sinners. True, grace has taught us to pity the lost, and declare to them the grace and love of God. We are not to hate them, but their sins. There is, indeed, a "perfect" hatred, an abhorrence of men who are the deliberate enemies of God. Would we knew more of it! – a holy abhorrence of avowed evil. In days like these, when the boundaries between the Church and the world have been well-nigh obliterated, we need to awake afresh to the seriousness and importance of separation unto God from the present evil world.

The Psalmist had begun with God's knowledge of him. This was beyond his control; he could not escape it if he would. It would seem as though dwelling upon these precious things on the one hand, and upon the evil by which he was surrounded on the other, had led him further. He asks now that God search him. He not merely submits to that from which he cannot flee,-he desires it. He cannot search his own heart:it is too dark and deceitful. He puts it in God's hands:" Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any way of grief [Heb.] in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Ah, beloved brethren, our ways – our wills – are but, in the end, ways of grief; and yet how we cling to them. Shall we shrink from making this prayer our own? – from putting our hearts into the hands of One who already knows them and us completely, but who would love to see this proof of our confidence in Himself. Need we fear ? Need we be ashamed? When did we ever meet with rebuff or reproaches from Him ? How has He revealed Himself to us ? In Christ. We are called into the light,- a light that detects all, but the blood is there before us, and we cannot fear.

Do our hearts long to know more of conscious abiding in the presence of God ? May it be the desire of the writer and reader of these lines. Amen!

was the portion of his goods which Jacob I promised to give the Lord in response to His wondrous revelation of Himself to the homeless wanderer at Bethel. There, in the vision of the Ladder, Jacob saw himself the object of divine grace and care ; and that there might be no doubt as to the meaning, it is confirmed by the words:"Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land:for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." (Gen. 28:15.)

On awaking, Jacob, terrified, but apparently not won, by this amazing manifestation, makes a vow, treating as conditional what God had made absolute:"If God will be with me … I will surely give the tenth unto Thee." This tenth we might well call the measure of Jacob's apprehension of God's grace on the one hand, and of his consecration on the other. It is therefore most appropriate that the tenth should be the prescribed proportion, the measure of consecration, under the law, which is indeed conditional in all its blessings (Lev. 27:30). "I give tithes of all that I possess," said the self-righteous pharisee.

But if a tenth will do for one under law-for one who fails to apprehend the true grace of God, what is the measure of consecration for us who are under perfect grace ? Will two tenths do ? one half ? nine tenths ? Ah! if God has given us His all-" He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for its all"-will any fraction do for our response to that grace? "The love of Christ constraineth us," says the apostle, and goes on to show that our life is to be now for Him who died for us and rose again. " To me to live is Christ." The law might demand one seventh of my time ; grace demands nothing, but should receive all – of time, means, opportunities, liabilities. Anything short of complete devotion of all to God means unhappiness-that is, if anything is purposely withheld. Nothing showed the heart of the elder brother more than the words, "Thou never gavest me a kid that I might make merry with my friends." He wanted to have something for himself, and this showed his real unwillingness to give his father anything If we wish but one hour of our time with God left out, it would show a practical desire to have it all, checked as that desire might be by grace.

This complete consecration, the apostle tells us (Rom. 12:.), is our "reasonable service." There is nothing harsh in it. "His commandments are not grievous," says the apostle of love. There is no constraint in it but the constraint of love; if otherwise, the devotion, would be worthless even did it reach to the bestowing all one's goods to feed the poor and giving the body to be burned. It simply flows from a knowledge of what absolute grace is. It is the response of the heart to One who has shown us all His heart; who loves us with an everlasting love; who can do for us exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think; who would share His pleasures with us ; who would make His joy our strength. Why should we wish to have anything for ourselves, when He provides all for us ? The prodigal made sad use of " the portion of goods " that fell to him; restored, he gets no further share-he lives with his father. Was not that enough ? Is not that enough for us ?

But let us look at ourselves and ask, Is this complete devotedness true of us ? and if it is not, what is the reason ? The answer, one answer at least, would be, Because of our failure to apprehend the absolute, perfect grace of God. The slightest tinge of legal-ism means self-interest. Ah ! we may know in a cold, intellectual way all the doctrines of grace, but when they are held in living power-rather, when their living power holds us-there is but one answer of the heart-" I am my Beloved's."

Beloved brethren, we are at best but learners in; this school of grace. Let us see to it that we are indeed learners increasing in the knowledge of what God's perfect grace is, that the fruits of it may increasingly be manifest in our lives.

If joy, rebuke, or grief, or pain,
Thou sendest, Lord, 'tis all my gain;
For all things work for good to one
Who loveth God and His dear Son.

Each sorrow Thou hast sent to me
Has only drawn me nearer Thee-
The place where most I love to hide,
Blest Saviour, in Thy wounded side.

Each step of mine that was unmeet
Has only brought me to Thy feet,
To learn, by these my willful ways,
The deeper story of Thy grace.

Each joy Thou giv'st me by the way
But tells me of that glorious day
When joy unspeakable, divine,
Shall fill Thy heart as well as mine.

If there are those who love me here,
It whispers of a love more dear,
More deep, more infinitely blest,
Unmixed with sorrow, full of rest.

If anguish fill my breaking heart
When called from one I love, to part,
It does but loose me from this shore,
And makes me long for Thee the more.

So, Lord, whate'er my lot may be,
If only I may walk with Thee,
And talk with Thee along the way,
I'll praise Thee for it all, some day.

H. McD.

PLAINFIELD, July 15th, 1894.

CHAPTER VIII. (Continued from page 212.)

Still continues the praise of "wisdom." For if, as the last verses of the previous chapters have shown, there be but very few that walk in her paths, she necessarily lifts those few far above the thoughtless mass of men; placing her distinguishing touch even on the features of her disciples, lighting them up with intelligence, and taking away the rudeness and pride that may be natural to them.

" Man's wisdom lighteth up his face-its aspect stern is changed."

If this, then, the result, listen to her counsels:" Honor the king," nor be connected with any conspiracy against him. .It is true that authorities arc as much "out of joint " as everything else under the sun ; and instead of being practically '' ministers of God for good," are but too often causes of further misery upon poor man; yet wisdom teaches to wait and watch. Everything has a time and season; and instead of seeking to put matters right by conspiracy, await the turn of the wheel; for this is most sure, that nothing is absolutely permanent here-the evil of a tyrant's life any more than good. His power shall not release him from paying the debt of nature; it helps him not to retain his spirit.

This too I saw,-'twas when I gave my heart
To every work that's done beneath the sun,-
That there's a time when man rules over man to his
own hurt.
'Twas when I saw the wicked dead interred,
And to and from the holy place (men) came and
went.
Then straight were they forgotten in the city of their
deeds.
Ah, this was vanity!

Thus our Preacher describes the end of the tyrant. Death ends his tyranny, as it does, for the time being at least, the misery of those who were under it. Men follow him to his burial, to the holy place, return to their usual avocations-all is over and forgotten. The splendor and power of monarchy now show their hollowness and vanity by so quickly disappearing, and even their memory vanishing, at the touch of death. And yet this retributive end is by no means speedy in every case. Sentence is often deferred, and the delay emboldens the heart of man to further wickedness. Still, he says, " I counsel to fear God, irrespective of present appearances. I am assured this is the better part:fear God, and, soon or ate, the end will justify thy choice."

Beautiful and interesting it is thus to see man's unaided reason, his own intelligence, carrying him
to this conclusion, that there is nothing better than to " fear God;" and surely this approves itself to any intelligence. He has impressed the proofs of His glorious Being on every side of His creature, man. "Day unto day uttereth speech;" and the Sun, that rejoiceth as a strong man to run his race, voices aloud, in his wondrous adaptations to the needs of this creation on which he shines, His Being-His eternal power and godhead. Not only light but warmth he brings, for "there is nothing hid from the heat thereof," and in this twofold benevolence testifies again to his Creator, who is Love and Light. Further, wherever he shines he manifests infinite testimonies to the same truth. From the tiny insect that balances or disports itself with the joy of life in his beams, to the grandeur of the everlasting hills, or the majesty of the broad flood of ocean-all-all-with no dissentient, discordant voice, proclaim His being and utter ' His creative glory. Nor does darkness necessarily veil that glory:moon and stars take up the grand and holy strain; and what man can look at all-have all these witnesses reiterating day and night, with ever-fresh testimonies every season, the same refrain, "The Hand that made us is divine," and yet say, even in His heart, " There is no God! " Surely all reason, all wisdom, human or divine, says "Fool!" to such.

Thus, step by step, human wisdom treads on, and, as here, in her most worthy representative, "the king," concludes that it is most reasonable to give that glorious Creator the reverence due, and to "fear" Him.

But soon, very soon, poor reason has to stop, confounded., Something has come into the scene that throws her all astray:verse 14-

'Tis vanity, what's done upon the earth; for so it is,
That there are righteous to whom it haps as to the vile;
And sinners, too, whose lot is like the doings of the just.

For surely this is vanity, I said."

Yes, man's soul must be, if left to the light of nature, like that nature itself. If the sky be ever and always cloudless, then may a calm and unbroken faith be expected, when based on things seen. But it is not so. Storm and cloud again and again darken the light of nature, whether that light be physical or moral; and under these storms and clouds reason is swayed from her highest and best conclusions. And the contradictions without are faithfully reflected within the soul.

"And so I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry:for that shall abide with him of his labor the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun." Here we get the heralds of a storm indeed. They are the first big drops that bespeak the coming flood that shall sweep our writer from all reason's moorings; the play of a lightning that shall blind man's wisdom to its own light; the sigh of a wind that soon shall develop into a very blast of despair.

What a contradiction to the previous sober conclusion, "It shall be well with them that fear God"! Now, seeing that there is no apparent justice in the allotment of happiness here, and the fear of God is often followed by sorrow, while the lawless as often have the easy lot,-looking on this scene, I say, "Eat, drink, and be merry;" get what good you can out of life itself; for all is one inextricable confusion.

Oh, this awful tangle of providences! Everything is wrong! All is in confusion! There is law everywhere, and yet law-breaking everywhere. How is it ? Why is it ? Is not God the source of order and harmony ? Whence, then, the discord ? Is it all His retributive justice against sin ? Why, then, the thoroughly unequal allotment ? Here is a man born blind. Surely this cannot be because he sinned before his birth! But, then, is it on account of his parents' sinning ? Why, then, do the guilty go comparatively free, and the guiltless suffer ? Sin, surely, is the only cause of the infliction. So the disciples of old, brought face to face with exactly this same riddle, the same mystery, ask, "Master, who did sin- this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither." Another-higher, happier, more glorious reason, Jesus gives:"Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents:but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." So the afflicted parents weep over their sightless babe; so they nurse him through his helpless, darkened childhood, or guide him through his lonely youth, their hearts sorely tempted surely to rebel against the providence that has robbed their offspring of the light of heaven. Neighbors, too, can give but little comfort here. Why was he born blind ? Who did the sin that brought this evident punishment?

Oh wait, sorrowing parents! wait, foolish friends! One is even now on His glorious way who shall with a word unravel the mystery, ease your troubled hearts, quell each rebellious motion, till ye only sorrow that ever a disloyal thought of the God of Love and Light has been permitted; and, whilst overwhelming you with blessing, answer every question your hearts – nay, even your intelligences – could ask.

Oh wait, my beloved readers, wait! We, too, look on a world still all in confusion. Nay, ourselves suffer with many an afflictive stroke, whose cause, too, seems hidden from us, and to contradict the very character of the God we know. One only is worthy to unlock this, as every other, sealed book-wait! He must make Himself known ; and, apart from things being wrong, this were impossible. "The works of God must be made manifest." Precious thought! Blessed words! Sightless eyes are allowed for a little season, that He-God-may manifest. His work in giving them light-accompanied by an ever-lasting light that knows no dimming. Tears may fall in time, that God's gentle and tender touch may dry them, and that for ever and ever. Nay, Death himself, with all his awful powers shall be made to serve the same end, and, a captive foe, be compelled to utter forth His glory. Lazarus is suffering, and the sisters are torn with anxiety; but the Lord abides "two days still in the same place where he" is. Death is allowed to have his way for a little space- nay, grasp his victim, and shadow with his dark wing the home that Jesus loves; and still He moves not. Strange, mysterious patience! Does He not care? [s He calmly indifferent to the anguish in that far-off cottage ? Has He forgotten to be gracious ? or, most agonizing question of all. Has some inmate of that home sinned, and chilled thus His love ? How questions throng at such a time! But-patience! All shall be answered, every question settled-every one; and the glorious end shall fully, perfectly justify His " waiting. "

Let Death have his way. The power and dignity of his Conqueror will not permit Him to hasten. For haste would bespeak anxiety as to the result; and that result is in no sense doubtful. The body of the brother shall even see corruption, and begin to crumble into dust, under the firm and crushing hand of Death. Many a tear shall the sisters shed, and poor human sympathy tell out its helpless. But the Victor comes! In the calm of assured victory He comes. And the "express image of the substance." of the Living God stands face to face as Man with our awful foe, Death. And lo, He speaks but a word – " Lazarus, come forth ! " – and the glory of God shines forth with exceeding brightness and beauty! Oh, joyous scene! oh, bright figure of that morn, so soon approaching, when once again that blessed Voice shall lift itself up in a "shout," that shall be heard, not in one, but in every tomb of His people, and once more the glory of God shall so shine in the ranks upon ranks of those myriads, that all shall again fully justify His "waiting''!
It was indeed a blessed light that shone into the grave of Lazarus. Such was its glory, that our spirits may quietly rest forever; for we see our Lord and Eternal Lover is Conqueror and Lord of Death. Nor need we ask, with our "modern poet, who sings sweetly, but too much in the spirit of Ecclesiastes,

Where wert thou, brother, those
There lives no record of reply,
Which, telling what it is to die,
Had surely added praise to praise,

The resurrection of Lazarus does .tell us what it is for His redeemed to die. It tells that it is but a sleep for the body, till He come to awaken it,-that those who thus sleep are not beyond His power, and that a glorious resurrection shall soon "add praise to praise " indeed.

But do not these blessed words give us a hint, at least, of the answer to that most perplexing of all questions, Why was evil ever permitted to disturb the harmony and mar the beauty of God's primeval creation, defile heaven itself, fill earth with corruption and violence, and still exist even in eternity ? Ah, we tread on ground here where we need to be completely self-distrustful, and to cleave with absolute confidence and dependence to the revelation of Himself !

The works of God must be manifested; and He is Light and Love, and nothing but Light and Love. Every work of His, then, must speak the source whence it conies, and be an expression of Light or Love ; and the end, when He shall again-finding everything very good-rest from His work to enjoy that eternal sabbath, never to be broken, shall shew forth absolutely in heaven, in earth, and in hell, that He is Light and Love, and nothing but that.

Light and Love!-blending, harmonizing, in perfect equal manifestation, in the cross of the Lord Jesus, and-Light now approving Love's activity- in the righteous eternal redemption of all who believe on Him; banishing from the new creation every trace of sin, and its companion, sorrow; whilst the Lake of Fire itself shall prove the necessity of its own existence to display that same nature of God, and naught else-Love then approving the activity of Light, as we may say.

As Isaiah shows, in the millennial earth, in those

" Scenes surpassing fable, and yet .true-
Scenes of accomplished bliss "-

there is still sorrowful necessity for an everlasting memorial of His righteousness in "the carcases of those men that have transgressed against me:for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and (mark well the sympathies of that scene) they shall be an abhorring to all flesh." Love rejected, mercy neglected, truth despised, or held in unrighteousness, grace slighted,-nothing is left whereby the finally impenitent can justify their creation except in being everlasting testimonies to that side of God's nature, "Light," whilst "Love," and all who are in harmony therewith, unfeignedly approve. All shall be right. None shall then be perplexed because "there be just men, unto whom it, happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous." All shall be absolutely right. No whisper shall be heard, even in hell itself, of the charges that men so boldly and blasphemously cast at His holy name now.

God is all in all. His works arc manifested; and whilst it is His strange work, yet Judgment is His work, as every age in Time has shown; as the Eternal age, too, shall show-in time, this judgment is necessarily temporal; in eternity, where character, as all else, is fixed, it must as necessarily be eternal!

Solemn, and perhaps unwelcome, but wholesome theme! We live in a time peculiarly characterized by a lack of reverence for all authority. It is the spirit of the times, and against that spirit the saint must ever watch and guard himself by meditation on these solemn truths. Fear is a godly sentiment," a just emotion, in view of the holy character of our God. "I will forewarn whom ye shall fear," said the Lord Jesus:"Fear him which, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear him." The first Christians, walking in the fear of the Lord as well as the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied; and when Annanias and Sapphira fell under God's judgment, great fear came on all the church; whilst apostasy is marked by men feeding, themselves without fear.

All shall be "right." It is the wrong and disorder and unrighteous allotment prevailing here that caused the groans of our writer. Let us listen to them. Their doleful, despairing sound shall again add sweeter tone to the lovely music of God's revelation, speaking, as it does, of One who solves every mystery, answers every question, heals every hurt; yea, snatches His own from the very grasp of Death; for all is right, for all is light, where Jesus is, and He is coining. Patience! Wait! F. C. J.

(To be continued.)

Oh, happy day when Jesus comes
To call His ransomed home!
What joy 'twill be to see that One!
O come, Lord Jesus, come!

This world to me is not a home,
I only sojourn here,
Till that blest One "in beauty" come
To greet me "in the air."

Till then His presence is my home,
The sweetest home on earth;-
A real taste of home to come,-
The home now known to faith.

And soon will faith be lost in sight,
Then I shall share His home!
No sorrow there! a home how bright!
O come, Lord Jesus, come!

Come! take me to that home of love,-
Thy blood's my title there;
Oh, take me to Thyself above,
Thou Fairest of the fair.

Oh, happy day when Jesus comes
To call His ransomed home !
What joy 'twill be to sec that One !
O come, Lord Jesus, come !

R. H.

He never sinned, He never knew
Until from me He gently drew
The bitter dregs of that dark cup
The awful draught, and drank it up.

Yea, 'twas for me, a loathsome one,
A scoffer, scoffing at His love-
And He, God's well-beloved Son !
Adored by million worlds above.

Has Earth, with all her boasted store,
A candle to eclipse the sun ?
I stand upon the Ocean's shore,
I gaze upon th' Eternal One !

O Treasure infinite of grace !
O vast, deep, wide Eternity!
That sun may blush and hide its face,
To think that Thou shouldst die for me.

And yet 'tis so;-still bow and
weep.
For with those pierced hands of His
He stoops to wash my soil-stained feet,
And greet me with a Lover's kiss !

Thou sweet, divine, eternal Love !
To thine own ready arms I flee,
And there would nestle as a dove-
Abide for all eternity.

Here tempests break and fall away:
They cannot touch His sheltered lamb.
I'm only resting till the day
Awake me in Immanuel's land.

Question 4.-Will you please explain the difference between Gen. 10:31, "after their tongues," and Gen. 11:1, "The whole earth was of one language, and of one speech." J. B. F.

Answer.- Chapter 10:, giving the genealogies of the sons of Noah, goes beyond the time of the confusion of tongues at Babel, and so speaks not only of various tribes but of different languages. Chapter 11:gives the account of the origin of these various languages,- man exalting himself to make him a great name, is only brought to confusion. " Tongue," the word used in chapter 10:, is the ordinary one for language,- used now, as "foreign tongue." "Language," in chapter 11:, is literally "lip." The general thought is the same in both cases. If we are able to catch the shade of difference, it might be that "lip" suggests the outward form of the words, as we hear them; "tongue," the source of the language.

Question 5.- In Luke i, and Acts 1:was not Theophilus a Gentile, and was it not one and the same person to whom Luke addressed his two books? J. R. F.

Answer.-"The former treatise" shows clearly that the same person is addressed in Acts as in Luke. The Greek form of his name suggests that he was a Gentile, and the adjective "most excellent" that he was a person of position. Compare Acts 23:26; 24:3; 26:25. While there can be no question that he was a real person, not an imaginary one, the significance of his name, "the friend of God," is suggestive. "I have called you friends."

Question 6.- Please explain 1 Cor. especially last clause J. R. F.

Answer.-The proper rendering, "virginity," makes the meaning clear,-it being nearly synonymous with chastity. The latter part, "let him do what he will, he sinneth not," can only be explained by the last words, "let them marry." No other meaning is possible. Only a satanic perversion of words could suggest any other thought.

"Now If any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire."

It is evident, from these verses, that the grace of God has not only secured for all believers in Christ eternal salvation, but is reaching out to draw them into communion with Himself in the building upon the one blessed foundation in order that they may be laborers together with Him, and receive at His hands a reward according to their work. This is grace upon grace, for the grace which saves the sinner is God's gift through Jesus, and is the foundation that is laid,-other no man can lay,- and is separated from the portion provided for the believer as a reward for all true work built thereupon. The wood, hay, and stubble shall be burned, and the builder suffer loss; but his salvation through faith in Jesus cannot be touched. " He himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire." It is, then, grace upon grace that God thus invites us to be laborers with Him that He may, in that day that shall declare every man's work, fill our hands with His own reward for every bit of gold and silver and every precious stone built, through that grace, upon the foundation He has laid for us.

It will no doubt be accepted that, as in Rom. 3:, the sinner is not regarded as being righteous or doing good, notwithstanding the righteous and good acts he may do, because he is not actuated by a desire for God's glory, that just so will the believer's work be judged according to his motive rather than by his intelligence. It must also be true, however, that where the motive is right, God will give light to lead in the work most pleasing to Him.

The gold, silver, precious stones, evidently speak of the character of the work, and the reward will be according thereto; and if we believe that every word of Scripture is divinely chosen, we will see divine value in the gold and the silver, and divine beauty in the precious stones. If we go back to the account of the building of the tabernacle, where God in His grace took into His fellowship and made fellow-laborers with Him all the willing-hearted in they building of a dwelling-place for Himself on earth, and examine the typical meaning of the materials there selected, we should get some light upon the thoughts before us here. The work which we build, after being purged by the fire, will surely be that in which God will find a rest, and in which His glory will be displayed, for all must be in Christ and for, Christ.

How beautiful, then, to see that when God would express glory, divine glory, the gold is chosen. The acacia wood, setting forth the humanity of the Lord, was covered with the gold to show us the glory of His divinity, thus crowning it with, the highest honor, and shadowing forth the divine glories manifest in God's beloved Son, in whom God has found His delight. How blessed, then, that we should have before us as the one motive actuating every work for God, the glory of that divine One. If it is only a cup of cold water given in His name it is surely the "gold " built upon the foundation which shall receive its reward. How sweet, too, will be the reward, to receive at His own hands that which shall eternally associate us with the glories of His own person, all our work seen in Him, of Him, and for Him, that He may be glorified. Oh beloved, what an object! – the glory of Christ, God's glorified Son! How every other glory must fade before this; how everything that is of man must be set aside, that Christ and Christ alone may be seen. This surely is the test that will try every man's work of what sort it is. How really, too, we may thus be found in fellowship with the Father, who in answer to His prayer, "Father, glorify Thy Son," and in answer to His finished work, has glorified Him. "Now is the Son Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him." May it, indeed, be the only motive of our lives that He may be thus glorified in every work built upon the eternal foundation that is laid for us.

Silver, as Ex. 30:12, 16, shows us, was selected to serve as the atonement-money of the children of Israel; and in chapter 38:25-28, is seen as the material used in the tabernacle wherever God, in that wonderful type of Christ, would associate with Christ those for whom He died, and thus it tells us the wondrous story of redemptive love. How fitting again, then, that the divine glories of His person as seen in the gold, should be accompanied with the glories of redemption as seen in the silver, and how fitting that in the motive which actuates all work for God, there should not only be the glory of Christ's divine person before us, but also the glory of His work. With what joy, then, the laborers together with God should take the silver trumpet of the gospel of God's grace and go forth with the glad tidings of salvation accomplished through Christ, and as the poor perishing sinner turns to find in Him his acceptance with God, the forgiveness of his sins; the eternal joys that heaven alone can afford, it will surely be declared to be the "silver" built upon the foundation which is laid. How sweet, then, again, will be the reward, to be associated with the glories that cluster around the Son of Man as He is displayed as the blessed Redeemer, our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Then, again, how really we may be found in fellowship not only with the Father in seeking the glory of the person of His beloved Son, but also with the Son who took upon Himself the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men, that being found in fashion as a man he might humble Himself and become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Again, beloved, let it be said, what an object! the glory of Christ, in whom we have redemption, a glory reflected in every redeemed sinner, from whose face all traces of the burden of sin have been forever wiped away! Shall not all this be a fresh incentive to preach the word, to be instant in season and out of season, that more and more glory may be added to His peerless name?

Precious stones are seen in the breastplate of the high priest, pressing upon his heart as he goes into the presence of God for the people, twelve stones and the names of the twelve tribes of Israel engraved as the engraving of a signet upon them, and as lighted up in God's presence, together forming the Urim and Thummim, the lights and perfections of God. How fitting, then, that there should be associated with all the work built upon the foundation the glories of Christ, not only in the divine glory of His person, nor in the glories of redemption, but also in Him as the glorified One at God's right hand, – those deeper glories that the saints are led into as their hearts are opened and are able to receive the things that the Holy Spirit would minister unto them. For He is the gift to the children of God, consequent upon the glorification of Christ on high, the One of whom the Lord says "He shall glorify Me, for He shall take of the things of mine and show them unto you," the One whom the Lord calls the " Comforter," to abide with them forever-the Spirit of truth to guide them into all truth, the One who searcheth all things; yea, the deep things of God.

What, then, can there be built upon the foundation that will answer more clearly to the precious stones than the heart that in all its service has for its object Christ in all those deeper, richer glories that only God's Spirit can reveal. How deep will be the joys, how wondrous the revelation of those glories to our own hearts, as we seek by the light and power of the same Spirit to exalt our glorified Lord in the ministry of His things to His beloved saints. The things of Christ,- those deep things,- the things of God that no man knoweth but the Spirit of God. Once again, how sweet will be the reward to be forever associated with the glories that the Holy Spirit will bring to the name of Christ, when His ministry through His servants, and by the precious word of God, is made manifest in that day. And once again how really, too, we may be found in fellowship not only with the Father and with the Son, but also with the Holy Spirit. And thus, too, every believer who seeks only the glory of Christ may find a blessed place in real service and ministry for the glory of His name, The simplest child that can only lisp the name of Jesus, and thus speak of the person of Christ, the beloved Son of God, builds upon the foundation just as surely as the evangelist does, as in all the power and eloquence of his gift he sets forth the glories of His work, or as the teacher does, who through the Spirit of God brings forth from the depths of God's treasury the richer glories which are displayed in Christ at God's right hand.

Thus, beloved, will be found in that day that shall declare every man's work, that which shall abide,–the gold, silver, and precious stones built upon the foundation in fellowship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

May there be true purpose of heart to seek thus to exalt Him, that in His own glorious presence there may be eternal joy in His own eternal reward. J. F. P.

Oh, the Believing mind,
That sets the Lord above
The failure of my heart and hand
In constancy of love:
Impart it, Lord, to me;
Each moment may it reign,
In all its calm and brightness there,
My spirit's realm within!

Should busy memory wake
The slumbers of the past,
And o'er a present cloudless sky
Some gloomy shadow cast,
Then let believing thought
Arrest for Thee the place;
Fill the whole region of my soul
With glories of thy grace!

Should fear, with fruitful skill,
Image my days to come,
And bear my trembling footsteps on
Through dangers, snares, and gloom,
My faith, then eye the bow
Which spans the distant cloud,
And pledges safety to the end,
Though tempests surge around!

Let faith, with clear, calm light,
Thus measure all my days;
Keep my whole soul in constant peace,
And give it thoughts of praise:
In converse, Lord, with Thee,
My Savior, Guardian, Friend,
While onward still to glory's home
My guided footsteps tend! –

J. G. Bellett.

'' With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."(Is. 12:3.)

The verse preceding reads, "Behold, God is my salvation:I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is become my strength and song; He also is become my salvation;" then it is added, " therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."

This is a good word for faith to start out upon. The "wells of salvation" are the Scriptures, clearly, since in the Scripture water is often used as a symbol of the Word of God.

This is a millennial song, this twelfth chapter of Isaiah. "All things of God " in heaven and on earth. The glory of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. As in the days of Israel's journey from Egypt to Canaan the cloud covered them, and the mount of transfiguration the cloud covered them, so in millennial days will the cloud of glory cover the earth. See Is. 4:5-"And the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a naming fire by night; for upon all the glory shall be a defense"-["for from above, the glory shall be for a defense." marg.]

'' And this shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day-time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain." The marginal reading makes it clearer, and is the correct reading, no doubt.

And this is still more clearly seen when traced as looked at in connection with the deliverance out of Egypt. See Ex. 8:22, 23-"And Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven; and there was a darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:they saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings."

Now to the Egyptians, this was a darkness which they could not light up. Ordinarily they could light up their darkness. For seventy-two hours, day or night, they were bound by this spell of darkness-no man moved out of his place; but the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. What, then, do you suppose was the character of this light in the houses of the Hebrews ? Was it any thing which they had produced by their own means ? I think not; but a miraculous light,-a light which God gave, in contrast with the darkness given to the Egyptians. (Comp. Ex. 14:19, 20.) The Egyptians had a darkness which they could not light up, and the Hebrews had a light which they could not put out. Thank God! and at the appointed hour, and at the given word; this light led each family out of their dwellings into their proper places in the ranks of that wonderful procession of many miles in length.

Nor was it a mob, without order and arrangement, that came up "five in a rank," in battle-array, out of the land of Egypt. Six hundred thousand soldiers and their accompanying families, with flocks and herds-a mighty host-humanly speaking, an unmanageable multitude-were led without disorder through the Red Sea, and safely brought to the other shore to sing their song of deliverance.

And this is not a parable, but a matter of history; -typical as to practical lessons for us, no doubt, but real, actual facts of history, the "higher critics" to the contrary notwithstanding. Israel in their Egyptian bondage was a reality. Moses, under God, was their deliverer-a real and a true man, and a man of God in all that this word comprehends.

If any part of this can be gainsaid, then all of it can be gainsaid, and the whole book may be cast away as a deception and a fraud; for Christ and His apostles give their most absolute sanction to Moses and the prophets; and if Christ and His apostles are rejected, we have no revelation of God, and are thrown back into absolute atheism-no God. And can we consent to this ? By no means, thank God! For all that the higher critics can say is, that they don't know! while we can say that was not like the man in the ninth of John, when his eyes were opened, he could say, "One thing I know"! And the testimony of one man who does know is to be received, while the know-nothings are not received.

It reminds one of the man who was brought before a justice for stealing, and one witness was brought who testified that he saw the theft. "But," said the defendant, '' I can bring a dozen men who will say they did not see me." So it is with these wise men, these learned professors of agnosticism – know-nothingism; their wisdom proves their folly, and this, again, substantiates the Word of God. For God has said, "I will confound the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

Taking them on their own ground, they have no revelation of God,-hence, no knowledge of God, and no God. While the simplest and weakest believer in all the world can understand how it is and why it is that these wise (?) don't know. They have thrown away the key of knowledge-Christ, inasmuch as they reject God's testimony about His Son through Moses and the prophets, since Moses and the prophets testify of Him. They stand or fall together. But, thank God! they stand, while the wise men go down, like the fire and brimstone upon Sodom, to be engulfed in the flame which their own wisdom has kindled. They do not like to think of hell now. Will they like it any better when they get there ? They prefer great happiness in judging God's Word now ? Will they be as happy when God's Word judges them for this contempt of Moses and the prophets ?

But what a contrast to all this human emptiness is the fullness of God's precious Word, those wells that never run dry. "With joy,"-when the poor wise man and his day have passed,-with joy shall we drink of those wells. Let it be so even now. Those wells are open, and while Philistines may try to choke them, let it be our joy to open them, and to drink deeply ourselves and give also to the thirsting multitudes about us. C. E. H.

It was as much a miracle to call Matthew from the receipt of custom as to cure the paralytic. If the latter needed power to deliver him from the grasp of disease, no less did the former need it to set him free from the clutch of covetousness which held him fast at the money-table. But divine power is sufficient for all things, and He who set free the paralytic awakens a new life in Matthew.

And are not these two occurrences put together (Matt. 9:) to teach us the fullness of divine blessing? Our need is completely met; this we see in the paralytic. We are given power to walk in the path of obedience; and this is made plain in Matthew's case. Our Lord does not stop at half-way measures, nor should we. If our need is met, it should be our care to see that His will for us is accomplished. But, as we said, this last is as much a miracle as the first. The drawing of His love is as much divine as the putting forth of manifest power. Let it be ours to prove the reality of this, and thus provide a feast for Him who has called us to Himself.

"Lord, Thou hast drawn me after Thee;
Now let me run, and never tire."

Apparently, Caleb lost the best part of his life in the wilderness. Those forty years of aimless wandering were, to outward appearance, thrown away. Nor was he to blame. His faith was ready to take him into the land at Kadesh Barnea. He knew God was able to give the people their promised inheritance, and he was ready in the vigor of that assurance to act at once:'' Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it." But he, with Joshua, stood alone, and in vain attempted to stem the torrent of fear, unbelief, and rebellion which swept the whole congregation past this point of opportunity-opportunity never to come again to any of that unbelieving host. '' So then we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." And so he must be chained to a rebellious and unbelieving people, compelled to go up and down in a waste land, and all that time the home of his choice, fair Hebron, lay away off in that "pleasant land," which the people had despised. What did it cost him to walk those forty years in peace and patience ? He was suffering under the government of God, not for his own sin, but because he was identified with Israel and had to go through all the circumstances of trial, sorrow, and temporary cutting off which, in righteous chastening, God was bringing upon the people. Personally he was guiltless, but this enabled him the more clearly and fully to enter into the reality of it. In all this, he presents a vivid illustration of our blessed Lord as Messiah, Israel's King. In the gospel of Matthew, He had attracted the people and awakened their desire for the "kingdom of heaven;" He had shown them, as it were "spied out" for them, the holy principles of that kingdom, in the sermon on the mount; He had exhibited the "power of the coming age," Eshchol's fruit, in healing every kind of sickness and infirmity; only to find the same unbelief that existed in Caleb's day, culminating in the same rebellion and apostasy, even ascribing to Satan the works of the Holy Ghost ! How like Kadesh Barnea! and how similar in result! The people as a nation refuse to enter with Him into the blessings of the kingdom, and so from the thirteenth chapter of Matthew we see Him, Caleb-like, turn from the prospect of an immediate earthly kingdom to tread in patience the thorny path of rejection, ending in His being "cut off" as Messiah. "For the transgression of My people was He smitten." We well know, thanks be to God, that this rejection, this cutting off, only opened up the '' new and living way through His death;" but none the less real was the pressure upon His soul, the disappointment we may say, as He realized that the people Israel "could not enter in because of unbelief." But, blessed Master, if He could not enter in because of Israel's unbelief, He showed the meekness and patience of complete submission to God's chastening hand – chastening undeserved by Him, more lovely even than any earthly glory could have been. In all this He has "left us an example that we should follow His steps." In one sense, He, like Caleb, could say, "I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nought and in vain; " but how surely could He, and can all upon whom apparently adverse circumstances press, add, "Yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God." After the deliberate and formal refusal of the people to recognize Him, He was just as patient, just as loving. He had sorrow and tears for their unbelief, but never a thought of deserting them.

And Caleb, too, in his measure, no doubt exhibited this same patience in accompanying the people in their wanderings-to be sure it was the only thing for him to do, but he evidently did not succumb to the surrounding circumstances, for we hear him say, when at last the people under Joshua had entered the land, a new race, "And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as He said, these forty and five years . . . while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness:and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me; … for war, both to go out and to come in." (Josh. 14:10,11.) No man but one who had kept himself '' unspotted from the world " could have said that. Only of the "righteous" can it be said, "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and nourishing." (Ps. 92:14.) There is no need to mention the various instances where special patience, kindness, diligence was shown. His wilderness history is an unwritten one, to be filled out by each one who will walk in his steps.

And are not our circumstances very similar to Caleb's in many ways ? To be sure there is the added factor of personal failure and the need of realizing the chastening for this, but there are certain general characteristics which can be applied to us all.

To begin with the most general:we have an inheritance which is ours, purchased and assured, but we cannot yet enter upon it. This is not because of personal or general failure, but from the necessity of the case. The demoniac of Gadara longed to accompany the Lord, who had healed him, but was bidden wait awhile and testify what had been done for him. The new-born soul longs to be with Jesus, to see and worship Him, but must wait in the wilderness till the Lord's own time. Here is need for patience, and in a twofold way is the warning needed not to be "weary in well doing." One may be homesick for heaven and let that homesickness unfit him for service here. This is so rare that one almost is tempted to wish there were more such who were crying,

"Take me to love's own country."

But there is for those who so long and become faint the need to remember that service here is that to which the master calls, and it is only a "little while." More needed however is Caleb's example for those who, shut out for the time from their home, become absorbed with their surroundings and forget "the things that are before." Did not the memory of Hebron remain in Caleb's heart as fresh during all those years as at the first ? How is it with us, dear brethren? Is it a longing to be there? a desire to depart, if need be, and be with Christ ? Are our treasures realized to be there and not here? Let Caleb teach us, who, though his feet were in the desert, had his heart in the land. " Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." (Col. 3:2.)

But we can get help and encouragement from Caleb's example for individual cases. He was yoked with a carnal set, and had to outwardly follow where they were led. We, too, are in Christendom and
must accept, in a broad sense, the position brought upon it by unbelief. We have often heard it said that it is impossible to restore a ruin, and this is true, and we go wrong if we ignore it or attempt to extricate ourselves from the consequences of this ruin. Caleb could not leave the rest of the people, neither can we separate ourselves from the professing church; we must sorrowfully bear witness to the fact that we are in confusion (and who can, with Caleb, claim personal blamelessness in contributing to this confusion?) But, though outwardly with the people, who dreams of Caleb's taking part in, or by his presence countenancing the shameful scenes of Bethpeor ? So we have not the slightest excuse for mixing ourselves with practices which, if not so gross, are as much forbidden as the sin of Peor. Specification is not needed, '' Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." We are to hold ourselves ready to help in every way and minister to God's people wherever they are, but we are most assuredly not to partake in their unscriptural practices.

But we have lessons still more individual. One of the constant complaints of God's people, if not upon their lips, in their hearts at least, is that their circumstances are so unfavorable to a full enjoyment of divine things. One is hampered by absorbing business ; another is thrown with ungodly persons in the performance of his duty, a third has, it may be, a worldly family. If matters were different how much more would they enjoy the things of God,-congenial surroundings, pleasant associates, and so forth. Caleb teaches us to have the heart wholly set upon God's things, and then walk the path of duty. It is not said that we cannot alter some of our circumstances. We surely ought where they involve us in dishonor to God. But the vast mass will remain unchanged, and it will spoil us for service if we are going to be dragged down by it. Here is our lesson -to live with God and for Him where He puts us. Nay, we may have through unfaithfulness put ourselves in positions where we must quietly learn from God and glorify Him in the position.

What is the root of it all ? To be whole-hearted for God. If the Lord has not our whole heart, the world will, wedge like, enter and spoil all. Oh, for that confidence in His love, that conviction of His all-sufficiency which will abide with us in all our path, and give us such rest of soul that we may remain, like Caleb, fresh and full of vigor !

(Continued from p. 237.)

This knowledge of the Lord is truly blessed! It is divine! Flesh and blood does not give it, His kinsfolk had it not. They said of Him, when He was spending Himself in service, " He is beside Himself." But faith makes great discoveries of Him, and acts upon such discoveries. It may seem to carry us beyond due bounds at times, beyond the things that are orderly and well measured; but in God's esteem it never does. The multitude tell Bartimeus to hold his peace, but he will not ; for he knows Jesus as Levi knows Him.

It is His full work that we are not prepared for, and yet therein is its glory. He meets us in all our need, but, at the same time, He brings God in. He healed the sick, but He preached the kingdom also. This, however, did not suit man. Strange this may appear, for man knows full well how to value his own advantages. He knows the joy of restored nature. But such is the enmity of the carnal mind against God, that if blessing come in company with the presence of God, it will not receive a welcome. And from Christ it could not come in any other way. He will glorify as well as relieve the sinner. God has been dishonored in this world, as man has been ruined in it-self-ruined; and the Lord, the repairer of the breach, is doing a perfect work-vindicating the name and truth of God, declaring His kingdom and its rights, and manifesting His glory, just as much as He is redeeming and quickening the lost, dead sinner.

This will not do for man. He would be well taken care of himself, and let the glory of God fare as it may. Such is man. But when, through faith, any poor sinner is otherwise minded, and can indeed rejoice in the glory of God, very beautiful is the sight. And we see such a one in the Syrophenician. The glory of the ministry of Christ addressed itself to her soul brightly and powerfully. Apparently, in spite of her grief, the Lord Jesus asserts God's principles, and, as a stranger, he passes her by. "I am not sent," he says, "but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. … It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs." But she bows, she owns the Lord as the steward of the truth of God, and would not for a moment suppose that He would surrender that trust (the truth and principles of God) to her and her necessities. She would have God be glorified according to His own counsels, and Jesus continue the faithful witness of those counsels, and the servant of the divine good pleasure, be it to herself as it may. "Truth, Lord," she answers, vindicating all that he had said; but, in full consistency with it, she adds, "yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs."

All this is lovely-the fruit of divine light in her soul. The mother in Luke 2:is quite below this Gentile woman in Mark 7:She did not know that Jesus was to be about His Father's business, but this stranger knew that was the very business He was always to be about. She would let God's way, in the faithful hand of Christ, be exalted, though she herself were thereby set aside, even in her sorrows.

This was knowledge of Him indeed; this was accepting Him in His full work, as one who stood for God in a world that had rebelled against Him, as well as for the poor worthless sinner that had destroyed himself.

It is not well to be always understood. Our ways and habits should be those of strangers, citizens of a foreign country, whose language, and laws, and customs are but poorly known here. Flesh and blood cannot appreciate them, and therefore it is not well with the saints of God when the world understands them.

His kinsfolk were ignorant of Jesus. Did the mother know Him when she wanted Him to display
His power, and provide wine for the feast ? Did His brethren know Him when they said to Him, "If Thou do these things, show Thyself to the world." What a thought! an endeavor to lead the Lord Jesus to make Himself, as we say, "a man of the world! " Could there have been knowledge of Him in the hearts which indited such a thought as that ? Most distant, indeed, from such knowledge they were, and therefore it is immediately added by the evangelist, "for neither did His brethren believe in Him." (John 7:) They understood His power, but not His principles; for, after the manner of men, they connect the possession of power or talents with the serving of a man's interest in the world.

But Jesus was the contradiction of this, as I need not say; and the worldly-minded kindred in the flesh could not understand Him. His principles were foreign to such a world. They were despised, as was David's dancing before the ark in the thoughts of a daughter of king Saul.

But what attractiveness there would have been in Him for any eye or heart that had been opened by the Spirit! This is witnessed to us by the apostles. They knew but little about Him doctrinally, and they got nothing by remaining with Him-I mean, nothing in this world. Their condition in the world was anything but improved by their walking with Him; and it cannot be said that they availed themselves of His miraculous power. Indeed, they questioned it, rather than used it. And yet they clung to Him. They did not company with Him because they eyed Him as the full and ready storehouse of all provisions for them. On no one occasion, I believe we may say, did they use the power that was in Him for themselves. And yet, there they were with Him- troubled when He talked of leaving, and found weeping when they thought they had indeed lost Him.

Surely, we may again say, what attractiveness there must have been in Him for any eye or heart that had been opened by the Spirit, or drawn by the Father! And with what authority one look or one word from Him would enter at times! We see this in Matthew. That one word on the Lord's lips, "Follow me! "'was enough. And this authority and this attractiveness was felt by men of the most opposite temperaments. The slow-hearted, reasoning Thomas, and the ardent, uncalculating Peter, were alike kept near this wondrous center. Even Thomas would breathe in that presence the spirit of the earnest Peter, and say under force of this attraction, " Let us also go, that we may die with Him."

Shall we not say, What will it be to see and feel all this by and by in its perfection! when all, gathered from every clime, and color, and character, of the wide-spread human family-all nations, kindreds, peoples, and tongues, are with him and around him in a world worthy of Him! 'We may dwell, in memory, on these samples of His preciousness to hearts like our own, and welcome them as pledges of that which, in hope, is ours as well as theirs.

The light of God shines at times before us, leaving us, as we may have power, to discern it, to enjoy it, to use it, to follow it. It does not so much challenge us or exact of us; but, as I said, it shines before us, that we may reflect it, if we have grace. We see it doing its work after this manner in the early church at Jerusalem. The light of God there exacted nothing. It shone brightly and powerfully; but that was all. Peter spoke the language of that light, when he said to Ananias, "While it remained, was it not thine own ? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power ? " It had made no demands upon Ananias; it simply shone in its beauty beside him or before him, that he might walk in it according to his measure. And such, in a great sense, is the moral glory of the Lord Jesus. Our first duty to that light is to learn from it what He is. We are not to begin by anxiously and painfully measuring ourselves by it, but by calmly, and happily, and thankfully learning Him in all His perfect moral humanity. And surely this glory is departed ! There is no living image of it here. We have its record in the evangelists, but not its reflection anywhere.

But having its record, we may say, as one of our own poets has said, " There has one object been disclosed on earth That might commend the place :but now 'tis gone :Jesus is with the Father.''

But though not here, beloved, He is just what He was. We are to know Him, as it were, by memory; and memory has no capacity to weave fictions; memory can only turn over living, truthful pages. And thus we know Him for His own eternity. In an eminent sense, the disciples knew. Him personally, It was His person, His presence, Himself, that was their attraction. And if one may speak for others, it is more of this we need. We may be busy in acquainting ourselves with truths about Him, and we may make proficiency in that way; but with all our knowledge, and with all the disciples' ignorance/they may leave us far behind in the power of a commanding affection toward Himself. And surely, beloved, we will not refuse to say that it is well when the heart is drawn by Him beyond what the knowledge we have of Him may account for. It tells us that He Himself has been rightly apprehended. And there are simple souls still that exhibit this; but generally it is not so. Nowadays our light, our acquaintance with truth, is beyond the measure of the answer of our heart to Himself. And it is painful to us, if we have any just sensibilities at all, to discover this.

"The prerogative of our Christian faith," says one, "the secret of its strength, is this:that all which it has, and all which it offers, is laid up in a person. This is what has made it strong, while so much else has proved weak:that it has a Christ as its middle point ; that it has not a circumference without a center; that it has not merely deliverance but a deliverer; not redemption only, but a redeemer as well. This is what makes it fit for wayfaring men. This is what makes it sunlight, and all else, when compared with it, but as moonlight; fair it may be, but cold and ineffectual, while here the light and the life are one." And again he says, "And, oh, how great the difference between submitting ourselves to a complex of rules, and casting ourselves upon a beating heart, between accepting a system, and cleaving to a person. Our blessedness-and let us not miss it-is, that our treasures are treasured in a person, who is not for one generation a present teacher and a living Lord, and then for all succeeding generations a past and a dead one, but who is present and living for all." Good words, and seasonable words, I judge indeed, I may say these are.

A great combination of like moral glories in the Lord's ministry may be traced, as well as in His character. And in ministry we may look at Him in relation to God, to Satan, and to man. As to God, the Lord Jesus, in His own person and ways, was always representing man to God, as God would have him. He was rendering back human nature as a sacrifice of rest, or of sweet savor, as incense pure and fragrant, as a sheaf of untainted first-fruits out of the human soil. He restored to God His complacency in man, which sin, or Adam, had taken from him. God's repentance that He had made man (Gen. 6:6) was exchanged for delight and glory in man again. And this offering was made to God in the midst of all contradictions, all opposing circumstances, sorrows, fatigues, necessities, and heart-breaking disappointments. Wondrous altar ! wondrous offering ! A richer sacrifice it infinitely was than an eternity of Adam's innocency would have been. And as He was thus representing man to God, so was He representing God to man.

Through Adam's apostasy, God had been left without an image here; but now He gets a fuller, brighter image of Himself than Adam could ever have presented. Jesus was letting, not a fair creation, but a ruined, worthless world, know what God was, representing Him in grace, and saying, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." He declared God. All that is of God, all that can be known of "the light" which no man can approach unto, has now passed before us in Jesus.

And again, in the ministry of Christ, looked at in relation to God, we find Him ever mindful of God's rights, ever faithful to God's truth and principles, while in the daily, unwearied actions of relieving man's necessities. Let human sorrow address Him with what appeal it may, He never sacrificed or surrendered anything that was God's to it. " Glory to God in the highest" was heard over Him at His birth, as well as "on earth good-will to man;" and according to this, God's glory, all through His ministry, was as jealously consulted as the sinner's need and blessing were diligently served. The. echo of those voices, " Glory to God," and "Peace on earth,' was, as I may express it, heard on every occasion. The Syrophenician's case, already noticed, is a vivid sample of this. Till she took her place in relation to God's purposes and dispensations, He could do nothing for her; but then, everything.

Surely these are glories in the ministry of the Lord Jesus, in the relations of that ministry to God.

"Then as to Satan. In the first place, and seasonably and properly so, the Lord meets him as a tempter. Satan sought in the wilderness to impregnate Him with those moral corruptions which he had succeeded in implanting in Adam and the human nature. This victory over the tempter was the needed righteous introduction to all His works and doings touching him. It was therefore the Spirit that led Him up to this action. As we read, "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil." Ere the Son of God could go forth and spoil the house of the strong man, He must bind him. (Matt. 12:29.) Ere He could "reprove" the works of darkness, He must show that He had no fellowship with them. (Eph. 5:2:) He must withstand the enemy, and keep him outside Himself, ere He could enter his kingdom to destroy his works.

Jesus thus silenced Satan. He bound him. Satan had to withdraw as a thoroughly defeated tempter. He could not get anything of his into Him; he rather found that all that was there was of God. Christ kept outside all that which Adam, under a like temptation, had let inside ; and having thus stood the clean thing, He can go, under a perfect moral title, to reprove the unclean.

" Skin for skin," the accuser may have to say of another, and like words that charge and challenge the common corrupted nature; but he had nothing to do, as an accuser of Jesus, before the throne of God. He was silenced.

Thus His relationship to Satan begins. Upon this, He enters his house and spoils his goods. This world is that house, and there the Lord, in His ministry, is seen effacing various and deep expressions of the enemy's strength. Every deaf or blind one healed, every leper cleansed, every work under His repairing hand, of whatsoever sort it was, was this. It was a spoiling of the goods of the strong man in his own house. Having already bound him, He now spoiled his goods. At last he yields to Him as the One that had "the power of death." Calvary was the hour of the power of darkness. All Satan's resources were brought up there, and all his subtlety put forth; but he was overthrown. His captive was his conqueror. By death He destroyed him that had the power of it. He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. The head of the serpent was bruised; as another has said, that " death and not man was without strength."

Thus Jesus the Son of God was the bruiser of Satan, as before He had been his binder and his spoiler. But there is another moral glory that is seen to shine in the ministry of Christ, in the relation it bears to Satan. I mean this :He never allows him to bear witness to Him. The testimony may be true, and, as we say, flattering, good words and fair words, such as, "I know Thee who Thou art, the holy One of God," but Jesus suffered him not to speak. For His ministry was as pure as it was gracious. He would not be helped in His ministry by that which He came to destroy. He could have no fellowship with darkness, in His service, any more than in His nature. He could not act on expediency, therefore rebuke and silencing of him was the answer he got to his testimony.* *As far as the Lord's ministry in the gospel goes in relation to Satan, He is simply, as we have now seen, his hinder, his spoiler, his bruiser. In the Apocalypse, we follow Him in further relations to the same adversary. There we see Him " casting him down from heaven;" then, in due season, " putting him in the bottomless pit; " and afterward " leaving him in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone." (Rev. 12:, 20:) Ye thus track His conquest over him from the wilderness of the temptation to the lake of fire.* Then as to man, the moral glories which show themselves in the ministry of the Lord Jesus are bright and excellent indeed.

He was constantly relieving and serving man in all the variety of his misery; but He was as surely ex-posing him, showing him to have a nature fully departed from God in revolt and apostasy. But further:He was exercising him. This is much to be considered, though perhaps not so commonly noticed. In His teaching He exercised people in whatever relation to Himself they stood-disciples or the multitude, or those who brought their sorrows to Him, or those who were friendly, as I may call them, or those who, as enemies, were withstanding Him. The disciples He was continually putting through exercises of heart or conscience as He walked with them and taught them. This is so common that it need not be instanced. The multitude who followed Him He would treat likewise. "Hear and understand," He would say to them ; thus exercising their own minds as He was teaching them.

To some who brought their sorrows to Him He would say, " Believe ye that I can do this ?" or such like words. The Syrophenician is an eminent witness to its how He exercised this class of persons.

Addressing the friendly Simon in Luke 7:, after telling him the story of the man who had two debtors, "Tell me," says He, "therefore, which of them will love him most ? "

The Pharisees, His unwearied opposers, He was in like manner constantly calling into exercise. And there is such a voice in this, such a witness of what He is. It tells us that He was not performing summary judgment for them, but would fain lead them to repentance :and so, in calling disciples into exercise, he tells us that we learn His lessons only in a due manner, as far as we are drawn out, in some activity of understanding, heart, or conscience, over them. This exercising of those He was either leading or teaching is surely another of the moral glories which marked His ministry. But further :in His ministry toward man we see Him frequently as a reprover, needfully so, in the midst of such a thing as the human family; but His way in reproving shines with excellency that we may well admire. When He was rebuking the Pharisees, whom worldliness had set in opposition to Him, He uses a very solemn form of words:"He that is not with Me is against Me." But when He is alluding to those who owned Him and loved Him, but who needed further strength of faith or measure of light, so as to be in full company with Him, He spake in other terms:" He that is not against us is for us."

We notice Him again in this character in Matt, 20:, in the case of the ten and the two brethren. How does he temper His rebuke because of the good and the right that were in those whom He had to rebuke ? And in this He takes a place apart from His heated disciples, who would not have had their two brethren spared in any measure. He patiently sits over the whole material, and separates the precious from the vile that was in it.

So He is heard again as a reprover in the case of John, forbidding any to cast out devils in His name, if they would not walk with them. But at that moment John's spirit had been under chastening. In the light of the Lord's preceding words, he had been making discovery of the mistake he had committed, and he refers to that mistake, though the Lord Himself had in no way alluded to it. But this being so, John having already a sense of his mistake, and artlessly letting it tell itself out, the Lord deals with it in the greatest gentleness. (See Luke 9:46-50.)

So as to the Baptist:the Lord rebukes him with marked consideration. He was in prison then. What a fact that must have been in the esteem of the Lord at that moment! But he was to be rebuked for having sent a message to his Lord that reproached Him. But the delicacy of the rebuke is beautiful. He returns a message to John which none but John himself could estimate:"Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me." Even John's disciples, who carried the message between him and the Lord, could not have understood this. Jesus would expose John to himself, but neither to his disciples nor to the world.

So further, His rebuke of the two of Emmaus, and of Thomas after the resurrection, each has its own excellency. Peter, both in Matt. 16:and 17:, has to meet rebuke; but the rebuke is very differently ministered on each occasion.

But all this variety is full of moral beauty; and we may surely say, whether His style be peremptory or gentle, sharp or considerate; whether rebuke on His lips be so reduced as to be scarcely rebuke at all, or so heightened as almost to be the language of repulse and disclaimer; still, when the occasion is weighed, all this variety will be found to be but various perfections. All these His reproofs were "earrings of gold, and ornaments of fine gold," whether hung or not upon "obedient ears." (Prov. 25:12.) "Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness:and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head." (Psalm 141:5.) Surely the Lord gave His disciples to prove this. J. G. B.

(Concluded in our next.)

One more precious fact,-"We know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall sec Him as He is." (i Jno. 3:2.)What a destiny! to be like Him, – in the full image of the heavenly Man in glory-holy, pure, incorruptible!

We are now accepted in the Beloved,-the whole value of His person and work reckoned to us; reckoned dead with Him, and risen in Him, one with Him. But actually and everlastingly to be like Him! Do not our souls long for this ? and can we not say, "As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake with Thy likeness "? But, oh, most wondrous fact, is not this the language of Christ Himself ? So really we are one with Him that His own resurrection was but the first-fruits. And it will be when His body, the Church, raised from the dust, or changed in a moment, and the millions of the redeemed meet Him in His own likeness, then shall He see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied; sweetly shall we share His joy.

" He and I, in that bright glory one deep joy shall share :
Mine, to be forever with Him; His, that I am there."

From eternity has He looked forward to that moment, now so near, when the bride shall be presented to Himself; and when it comes, do we not hear Him up there in the heavens saying, '' Rise up, My love, My fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, . . Arise, My love, My fair one, and come away" ? And again:"Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee." (Song 2:10-13.) The Holy Ghost must use the sweetest poetry to express the heart of Christ.

"Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things:therefore thou shalt serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger and in thirst, and in nakedness and in want of all things." (Deut. 28:47, 48.)

In Thy presence is fullness of joy," and all true service is done in God's presence; therefore in all service there is joy. Such, at least, is God's thought. It is not meant by this that there are no sorrows connected with it, no pain for nature. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth in the carrying out of the service committed to him "out of much affliction and anguish of heart . . . with many tears." (2 Cor. 2:4.) But there was the rejoicing of a good conscience, and the comfortable assurance of God's good pleasure. Such service as that to which he alludes, too, is rather the exception. The main work in the Church of God, as in the family, is not discipline, but edification; and in our personal life the same is true. The morbid person may look within, and seek to bring a clean thing out of an unclean; the child of God, on the contrary, looks up at Christ, and at the things which are above, and in the joy of the possession of those things he can freely turn from other attractions.

God's mind for Israel was to enter upon their inheritance, and possess it, to eat of the fruit of it, and to rejoice before Him for all the good He had given them. The enemy was to be driven out, but they were not to be always fighting. And so with ourselves. Fight we must, but only that we may thrust out the enemy who would hinder our enjoyment of those things which are ours. Then we lay aside the sword for the plowshare, and in the development of our inheritance, in the gathering of its varied products, we will find ample employment and abundant joy.

Is joy low ? Something must be the matter, for this is not "the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning" us. "Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased." (Ps. 4:7.) But there must be a reason for the joy, and it is in the abundance of all that has been given us. Israel failed to enter upon this abundance, and so her joy failed. She did not take in her whole territory, so soon lost what she had. How many of us, in like manner, are content with but a small part of what is ours, find but little joy in that, and so soon lose even that joy. Our service becomes duty. "Ye said also, 'Behold, what a weariness is it!'" (Mal. 1:13.) And in the dull routine of private prayer, Scripture reading, and attendance upon meetings, there has been but little to refresh the heart. We are only speaking of what is possible, each must ask himself in what measure it is true of him.

We sometimes hear a desire expressed for a revival among God's people, and surely that is well. But what is a revival ? Is it not simply the re-possession of what is ours ? The book of Judges is a history of declension and revival, and when the revival came it was shown by the regaining of territory, the enjoyment of fruit which the enemy had taken. So with us, a revival would be shown not necessarily in the first place by increased numbers, or any such supposed accompaniments, but by an enlarged apprehension of the Word of God as for us, and greater joy in that apprehension. This indeed would attract others to us.

Our blessed God does not wish forced service. What joy can be compared with finding that in His Word we have Him speaking to us, that in prayer we are speaking directly to Himself, that in our meeting together we are sharing the precious things which are our common possession, or unitedly praising the "Giver of all good "? If Israel in the feast of harvest, and of ingathering, was to rejoice before the Lord, "because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice" (Deut. 16:15), how much more should we, whose blessings are eternal, rejoice before Him !

It is from such joy that true service springs. The gospel flows forth like cool waters to a thirsty soul, from a full fountain; ministry to saints, in all places, becomes the natural communication of what has refreshed us, taking the place of that idle gossip, that fault-finding, which but too often mars the happiness of God's dear people.

On the other hand, what a sad picture we have of the opposite of this joyful service. God has not been delighted in, and the abundance which He has provided is changed for the hunger and nakedness of captivity. It reminds us of Laodicea, where this state of poverty exists while the unfortunate one is unconscious of it. And what is Laodicea? Self-sufficiency. God is not rejoiced in, the abundance of His things is not known, and the poor blind one, proud in and of his poverty, is of all men most miserable.

Beloved, let us not rest satisfied unless we are rejoicing in the abundance of God's inheritance. If we have lost that joy through worldliness or carelessness let us awake; let not the enemy any longer cheat us into thinking it is all well, but let us begin afresh to apprehend those "unsearchable riches of Christ," which lie all about us in God's Word.

" Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity." (i Cor. 16:13, 14.)

May God Himself expound this precious word to our hearts! Does He lead the flock to green pastures? Yes, but that is not the thought here. You do not lie down to feed, but to rest. He first serves the needy soul, then maketh him to lie down, because he is satisfied.

He knows my restlessness, and the strength and the activity of nature.

The blood of Christ has set you down in God's most holy presence,-not as a beggar, but as a worshiper. Here, then, it is not standing, for that would speak of service; nor walking, for that would tell of journeying; nor sitting, that would be to learn; but you lie down, happy and contented; it is the figure of calm, quiet, full repose.

Then He leads the sheep beside still waters, or waters of quietness, for it is the joy of the Shepherd to conduct the troubled hearts of His own into peaceful scenes of communion. There, the flock, under the watchful eye, and guided by the skillful hand of the Shepherd, are led along the banks of that river where neither wave nor ripple disturb the ransomed of the Lord. Yet a little while, and the banks of the river of life, with its ever-summer fruit, will be trod by the unwearied feet of the flock. "They shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy."

(Continued from p. 148.)

We see glories and humilities in our Redeemer:we do indeed; for we need each. The One who sat on the well in Sychar is He who now sits on high in heaven. He that ascended is He that descended. Dignities and condescensions are with Him;-a seat at the right hand of God, and yet a stooping to wash the feet of His saints here. What a combination ! No abatement of His honors, though suiting Himself to our poverty:nothing wanting that can serve us, though glorious and stainless and complete in Himself.

Selfishness is wearied by trespass and importunity. " He will not rise because he is his friend; but because of his importunity, he will rise and give him as much as he needeth." Thus it is with man, or selfishness; it is otherwise with God, or love; for God in Isaiah 7:is the contradiction of man in Luke 11:

It is the unbelief that would not draw on Him, that refused to ask a "blessing, and get it with a seal and a witness that wearied God,-not importunity, but, as I may say, the absence of it. And all this divine blessedness and excellency, which is thus seen in the Jehovah of the house of David in Isaiah 7:reappears in the Lord Jesus Christ of the evangelists, and in His different dealing with weak faith and full faith.

All these things that we are able to discover bespeak His perfections; but how small a part of them do we reach!

We are aware in how many different ways our fellow-disciples try and tempt us, as, no doubt, we do them. We see, or fancy we see, some bad quality in them, and we find it hard to go on in further company with them. And yet in all this, or in much of it, the fault may be with ourselves, mistaking a want of conformity, of taste or judgment, with ourselves for something to be condemned in them.

But the Lord could not be thus mistaken; and yet He was never "overcome of evil," but was ever "overcoming evil with good,"-the evil that was in them with the good that was in Himself. Vanity, ill-temper, indifference about others and carefulness about themselves, ignorance after painstaking to instruct, were of the things in them which He had to suffer continually. His walk with them, in its way and measure, was a day of provocation, as the forty years in the wilderness had been. Israel again tempted the Lord, I may say, but again proved Him. Blessed to tell it!-they provoked Him, but by this they proved Him. He suffered, but He took it patiently. He never gave them up. He warned and taught, rebuked and condemned "them, but never gave them up. Nay, at the end of their walk together He is nearer to them than ever.

Perfect and excellent this is, and comforting to us. The Lord's dealing with the conscience never touches His heart. We lose nothing by His rebukes. And He who does not withdraw His heart from us when He is dealing with our conscience is quick to restore our souls, that the conscience, so to express it, may be enabled soon to leave his school, and the heart find its happy freedom in His presence again. As expressed in that hymn, which some of us know,-

" Still sweet 'tis to discover,
If clouds have dimmed my sight,
When passed, Eternal Lover,
Toward me, as e'er, Thou art bright."

And I would further notice, that in the characters which in the course of His ministry He is called to take up (it may be for only an occasion, or a passing moment), we see the same perfection, the same moral glory, as in the path He treads daily. As, for instance, that of a Judge, as in Matt. 23:, and that of an Advocate or Pleader in Matt. 22:But I only suggest this:the theme is too abundant. Every step, word, and action carries with it a ray of this glory; and the eye of God had more to fill it in the life of Jesus than it would have had in an eternity of Adam's innocency. It was in the midst of our moral ruin Jesus walked; and from such a region as that He has sent up to the throne on high a richer sacrifice of sweet-smelling savor than Eden, and the Adam of Eden, had it continued unsoiled forever, would or could have rendered. Time made no change in the Lord. Kindred instances of grace and character in Him, before and after His resurrection, give us possession of this truth, which is of such importance to us. We know what He is this moment and what He will be forever from what he has already been-in character as in nature-in relationship to us as well as in Himself-"the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever." The very mention of this is blessed. Sometimes we may be grieved at changes, sometimes we may desire them. In different ways we all prove the fickle, uncertain nature of that which constitutes human life. Not only circumstances, which are changeful to a proverb, but associations, friendships, affections, characters, continually undergo variations which surprise and sadden us. We are hurried from stage to stage of life; but unchilled affections and . unsullied principles are rarely borne along with us, either in ourselves or our companions. But Jesus was the same after His resurrection as He had been before, though late events had put Him and His disciples at a greater distance than companions had ever known or could ever know. They had betrayed their unfaithful hearts, forsaking Him and fleeing in the hour of His weakness and need; while He for their sakes had gone through death-such a death as never could have been borne by another, as would have crushed the creature itself. They were still but poor feeble Galileans,-He was glorified with all power in heaven and on earth.

But these things worked no change; "nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature," as the apostle speaks, could do that. Love defies them all, and He returns to them the Jesus whom they had known before. He is their companion in labor after His resurrection,-nay, after His ascension, as He had been in the days of His ministry and sojourn with them. This we learn in the last verse of St. Mark. On the sea, in the day of Matt. 14:, they thought that they saw a spirit, and cried out for fear; but the Lord gave them to know that it was He Himself that was there, near to them, and in grace, though in divine strength and sovereignty over nature. And so in Luke 24:, or after He was risen, He takes the honeycomb and the fish, and eats before them, that with like certainty and ease of heart they might know that it was He Himself. And He would have them handle Him, and see; telling them that a spirit had not flesh and bones as they might then prove that He had.

In John 3:He led a slow-hearted Rabbi into the light and way of truth, bearing with him in all patient grace. And thus did He again in Luke 24:, after that He was risen, with the two slow-hearted ones who were finding their way home to Emmaus.

In Mark 4:He allayed the fears of His people ere He rebuked their unbelief. He said to the winds and the waves, "Peace:be still," before He said to the disciples, "How is it that ye have no faith?" and thus did He as the risen One in John 21:He sits and dines with Peter in full and free fellowship, as without a breach in the spirit, ere He challenges him and awakens his conscience by the words, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me ? "

The risen Jesus who appeared to Mary Magdalene, the evangelist takes care to tell us, was He who in other days had cast seven devils out of her-and she herself knew the voice that then called her by her name, as a voice that her ear had long been familiar with. What identity between the humbled and the glorified One,-the Healer of sinners and the Lord of the world to come! How all tell us that, in character as in divine personal glory, He that descended is the same also that ascended! John, too, in company with his risen Lord, is recognized as the one who had leaned on His bosom at the supper. " I am Jesus," was the answer from the ascended place-the very highest place in heaven-the right hand of the throne of the majesty there, when Saul of Tarsus demanded, "Who art Thou, Lord ? " (Acts 9:) And all this is so individual and personal in its application to us. It is our own very selves that are interested in this. Peter, for himself, knows his Master, the same to him before and after the resurrection. In Matt. 16:the Lord rebukes him, but shortly after takes him up to the hill with Him with as full freedom of heart as if nothing had happened. And so with the same Peter,-in John 21:he is again rebuked. He had been busy, as was his way, meddling with what was beyond him. " Lord, what shall this man do ? " says he, looking at John,-and his Master has again to rebuke him-"What is that to thee ? " But again, as in the face of this rebuke, sharp and peremptory as it was, the Lord immediately afterward has him, together with John, in His train, or in His company up to heaven. It was a rebuked Peter who had once gone with the Lord to the holy mount; and it is a rebuked Peter, the same rebuked Peter, who now goes with the Lord to heaven,-or, if we please, to the hill of glory, the mount of transfiguration, a second time.* * Some seem to judge that it was deep love in Peter to John that led him to ask the Lord about him.; I deny that.*

Full indeed of strong consolation is all this. This is Jesus our Lord,-the same yesterday, to-day, and forever,-the same in the day of His ministry, after His resurrection, now in the ascended heavens, and so forever; and as He sustains the same character, and approves Himself by the same grace after as before the resurrection, so does He redeem all His pledges left with His disciples.

Whether it be on His own lips or on the lips of His angels, it is still now as then-since He rose as before He suffered, "Fear not:" He had spoken to His disciples before of giving them His peace, and we find He does this afterward in the most emphatic manner. He pronounces peace upon them in the day of John 20:; and having done so, shows them His hands and His side; where, as in symbolic language, they might read their title to a peace wrought out and purchased for them by Himself,-His peace, entirely His own, as procured only by Himself, and now theirs by indefeasible, unchangeable title.

In earlier days the Lord said to them, "Because I live, ye shall live also;" and now in risen days, in the days of the risen Man, in possession of victorious life, He imparts that life to them in the most full and perfect measure of it, breathing on them, and saying, " Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

The world was not to see Him again, as He had also said to them; but they were to see Him. And so it comes to pass. He was seen of them for forty days, and He spake to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. But this was all in secret:the world has not seen Him since the hour of Calvary, nor will they till they see Him in judgment. J. G. B.

(To be continued.)

"Overcome evil with good." (Rom. 12:21.)

In the sevenfold picture of the church's history in Rev. 2:and 3:, we have a sevenfold promise to the " overcomer," and at the close of the book, after describing the eternal state, again the promise is given, '' He that overcometh shall inherit these things." We are in a race which only ends when we take our seats on high; in a warfare, a " good fight," which ceases when we leave this scene. Blessed is it to know that we "run, not as uncertainly," that the end is sure, though there be conflict on the way. We follow a Victor, One who has conquered for us, and this nerves us for the conflict, gives patience in all toil. Still, it is well to remember that there is a conflict, a race, and that grace, while making the end sure, has not obliterated the wilderness.

We can look at this overcoming, however, not as the final outcome of our life, but also as that which should characterize each day of that life. Taken as a whole, the life of each believer is a victory; in some in a very small degree; but taken in detail the lives of many show more defeat than victory, and in all there are some points where defeat comes in. It is rather at the details than at the final outcome we would look now, remembering, however, that details make up the total, and that "saved as by fire," and " an abundant entrance " are in contrast.

The conflict is with evil, and not mere impersonal evil, but the evil one and his emissaries. His devices are manifold, suited to those whom he assaults; and hidden that he may the better ensnare,-"the wiles of the devil." We meet evil in ourselves, our circumstances, our brethren, and in the world. The question is, How are we to overcome it ?

And the first answer must be, to know it as evil. Light shone into Paul's heart when (Rom. 7:) he distinguished between himself and sin that dwelt in him. This did not enable him to overcome it, it seemed to make the conflict more desperate, but he saw sin, knew it was that and what to expect of it. We must learn to call things by their right names, to recognize them, to judge them.

We do not fight evil for the sake of fighting. "Abstain, hold off from, fleshly lusts which war against the soul." It when evil has usurped some of our inheritance, our portion, as believers that we are to thrust it out. With Edom Israel would have no conflict, God would judge it in His time; but with the inhabitants of the land the case was different. They were occupying what belonged to Israel, and therefore must be expelled. So with us. With the flesh, the sinful nature as such, we are to have no conflict, knowing that sentence has been passed upon it on the cross, and that in a little while it will be obliterated, when "this mortal shall put on immortality."

But when this flesh, used of Satan, would intrude into our spiritual life, occupy our time, demand our attention, interfere with communion and service, and dim our conception of the portion that is ours in Christ,-then we must overcome the intruder and cast him out, or, like Israel, the good land will soon be out of our hands, and we will be driven to dwell in caves.

It is well to remark here that no compromises were to be made with the enemy in the land. "Ye shall make no league with the inhabitants." Led by Joshua, victorious Israel marched through the length and breadth of the land:this was victory in general. But when we come to individual history, we find the enemy unsubdued in many places, or if subdued, not exterminated, but made tributary. But who ever made evil tributary to good ? Apparently we may, but for a season only. Pride may thus be made to "ape humility." Emulation may seem to incite to as diligent service as zeal, but in a little while it will be manifest that the pride and the emulation have gained control of ourselves ; our tributaries have become our masters. There can be no compromise. Extermination is needful. Just here was the kernel of all Israel's failure, as a glance at the book of Judges will show, and a glance nearer home will doubtless show the same thing. Rome may make tributaries of the very sins it professes to forgive, but Rome is only a shining example of that of which we speak.

Conflict, then, there must be, and that until the foe is completely conquered. But how are we to fight? If we use Satan's weapons, we are not fighting God's battle. " The weapons of our warfare are
not carnal, but mighty through God." The short verse at the head of this paper tells us how. '' Overcome evil with good." The one thing Israel had to do with the land they conquered was to occupy it. Mere victory over the foe was but a negative advantage, preliminary to that practical appropriation of the land to their own use, which God had designed. So important was this that God made the extirpation of the enemy to be as gradual as their power to occupy the land. "And the Lord thy God will put out those nations before thee little by little :thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee." (Deut. 7:22.) The empty house of Matt. 12:is a solemn explanation of this. Our life is a positive thing; it must not only be not evil, but actually good.

And this is what our verse teaches us. Good will overcome evil. To him that hath shall be given. Our possessions well cultivated, fully occupied, and we will encroach on and drive out the next evil, in order that we may gain more of our inheritance. It is the good that we want, and we are to be only so far occupied with the evil as to see how far it hinders us, to judge it, and in the energy of faith overcome it by good. How does the farmer rid his field of weeds and briars ? Not by plowing and harrowing, for this would but sow a fresh crop of weeds, and by tearing the briar roots apart, cause two to grow where there had been but one before. He puts the field in wheat, fertilizing well, and sows thickly in grass. As a result, the wheat and grass give the weeds no room for growth, and they soon disappear. Let us learn from this, in our individual life and in relation to one another. We know evil is there. We do not shut our eyes to it, but we know it can be overcome in one way only-by the substitution of something better.

Is not this God's way ? What is the gospel of His grace but the overcoming of evil with good ? The law made the offense to abound. Grace came in and drove sin off the field. "The kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared," and that by the power of the Holy Spirit, subdued those who were "hateful and hating one another." The message of love to rebellious sinners was His '' soft answer which turneth away wrath." May we be imitators of God as dear children.

Sorrow over sin and folly there will be, firm judgment of evil and straightforward obedience; but this only confirms our truth; for these are in themselves powerless to overcome evil, they but prepare the way for the good.

It is most important to remember this in our relationships,-the family, the assembly, and even in the world. "Husbands, love your wives" is but one of the exhortations which press this principle and which if all followed, would make home what it should be, a foretaste of heaven. How many an assembly of God's people is kept feeble by a constant spirit of criticism. The good is forgotten, neglected, and instead of "taking forth the precious from the vile," the process is reversed, and the vile is taken. We need to "strengthen the things that remain, that are ready to die." Love is the only power by which evil can be overcome. Most of the failings in our brethren could be overcome in this way, while they are only multiplied when we attempt to pluck them out by the roots. The same could be said of worldliness in dress, habits, or conversation. Often it is mere emptiness, which can be filled with the precious things of Christ, to the joy of the person who would resent as impertinence any attempt at setting him right.

But what is good ? We answer simply, Christ in grace, known and loved. This embraces everything
-His word, His work, His person, His Church, -everything that concerns Him. Fix the center, and we can have as many circles about it as we may, they will all harmoniously be gathered about that center. It is this occupation with good, with Him who is perfect goodness, that is the secret of power and of joy. Oh, dear brethren, let us begin afresh with Him ? It is grace alone which gives power, and we would have firmness too; for love can be most firm when it is necessary. But it is love, and is manifest as that. May He whose perfect goodness in patience is dealing with all our waywardness teach us the full meaning of this, " Overcome evil with good."

AN EXPOSITION OF REVELATION IV.-XXII.

PART VII.(Chap, 19:5-22:) THE CONSUMMATION.

The Holy City.

The last vision of Revelation is now before us :it is that of the city of God itself. But here, where one would desire above all to see clearly, we become most conscious of how feeble and dull is our apprehension of eternal things. They are words of an apostle which remind us that "we see through a glass darkly"- en ainigmati, in a riddle. Such a riddle, then, it is no wonder if the vision presents to us:the dream that we have here a literal description, even to the measurements, of the saints' eternal home, is one too foolish to need much comment. All other visions throughout the book have been symbolic :how much more here ! how little need we expect that the glimpse which is here given us into the unseen would reveal to us the shape of buildings, or the material used ! Scripture is reticent all through upon such subjects; and the impress to be left upon our souls is plainly spiritual, not of lines and hues, as for the natural senses. " Things which eye hath not seen " are not put before the eye.

On the other hand, that the "city" revealed to us here is not simply a figure of the saints themselves, as, from the term used for it, " the Bride, the Lamb's Wife," some have taken it to be, there are other scriptures which seem definitely to assure us. "Jerusalem, which is above, which is our mother" (Gal. 4:) could hardly be used in this way, though the Church is indeed so conceived of in patristic and medieval thought. But even thus it would not be spoken of naturally as "above."

In Heb. 12:we have a still more definite testimony. For there the "Church of the first-born ones which are written in heaven," as well as "the spirits of just men made perfect"-in other words, both Christians and the saints of the Old Testament-are mentioned as distinct from " the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem;" and this will not allow them to be the same thing, although, in another way, the identification of a city with its inhabitants is easy.

We are led in the same direction by the mention of the " tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God,"-something to which the apostle thought he might have been caught even bodily (2 Cor. 12:)-and here is the tree of life in the midst of the city beside the "river of the water of life" which flows from the throne of God. Figurative language all this surely; yet these passages combine to give us the thought of a heavenly abode, already existing, and which will be in due time revealed as the metropolis of the heavenly kingdom-what Jerusalem restored will be in the lower sphere. Indeed the earthly here so parallels and illustrates the heavenly as to be a most useful help in fixing, if not enlarging, our thoughts about it,- always while we realize, of course, the essential difference that Scripture itself makes clear to be between them. But this we shall have to look at as we proceed.

" The holy city, Jerusalem," is certainly intended to be a plain comparison with the earthly city. But that is the type only; this is the antitype, the true "foundation of peace," as the word means. What more comforting title, after all the scenes of strife, the fruit of the lusts that war in our members, which we have had to look upon ! Here is "peace" at last, and on a foundation that shall not be removed, but that stands fast forever. For this is emphatically "the city that hath foundations," and "whose builder and maker is God." (Heb. 11:10.) How blessed it is; too, that it should be just one of the seven angels that had the seven last plagues that shows John the city ! for no mere executioner of judgment we see is he :judgment (as with God, for it is God's) is also his "strange work." It had to come, and it has come:there was no help, no hope without it ; thus the stroke of the "rod of iron" was that of the shepherd's rod; it was the destruction of the destroyers only. But it is past, and here is the scene wherein his own heart rests, to which it returns with loyalty and devotion :here, where the water of life flows from the throne of God,-eternal, from the Eternal; refreshment, gladness, fruitfulness, and power are found in obedience.

But the city is the "Bride, the Lamb's wife." In the Old Testament, the figure of marriage is used in a similar way. Israel was thus Jehovah's "married wife" (Is. 54:1, Jer. 31:33), now divorced indeed for her unfaithfulness, but yet to return (Hos. 2:), and be received and reinstated. Her Maker will be then once more her husband, and more than the old blessing be restored. In the forty-fifth psalm, Israel's King, Messiah, is the Bridegroom; the Song of Solomon is the mystic song of His espousals. Jerusalem thus bears His name :" This is the name whereby she shall be called:'Jehovah our Righteousness.'" (Jer. 33:16, comp. 23:6.) The land too shall be "married." (Is. 62:4.)

In the New Testament, the same figure is still used in the same way. The Baptist speaks of his joy as the " friend of the Bridegroom," in hearing the Bridegroom's voice (Jno. 3:29); and in the parable of the virgins (Matt. 25:), where Christians are those who go forth to meet the Bridegroom, they are by that very fact not regarded as the Bride, which is still Israel, (according to the general character of the prophecy,) though not actually brought into the scene. Some may be able to see also in the marriage at Cana of Galilee (Jno. 2:i) the veiling of the same thought.

All this, therefore, is in that earthly sphere in which Israel's blessings lie; our own are " in heavenly places " (Eph. 1:3), and here it is we find, not the Bride of Messiah simply, but distinctively "the Bride of the Lamb." The "Lamb,"as a title, always keeps before us His death, and that by violence, "a Lamb as it had been slain" (Rev. 5:6); and it is thus that He has title to that redemption empire in which we find Him throughout this book. But "the Bride of the Lamb" is thus one espoused to Him in His rejection, sharer (though it be but in slight measure) of His reproach and sorrow, trained and disciplined for glory in a place of humiliation. And so it is said that "if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him;" and again, "If so be we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." (2 Tim. 2:12; Rom. 8:17.)

The saints in the millennium have no heritage of suffering such as this ; even those who pass through the trial which ushers it in, have not the same character of it, although we must not forget those associated with the Lamb upon Mount Zion, who illustrate the same truth, but upon a lower platform. Even these are not His Bride.

Ephesians, the epistle of the heavenly places, shows us the Church as Eve of the last Adam, whom Christ loves, and for whom He gave Himself. Formed out of Himself and for Himself, He now sanctifies and cleanses her with water-washing by the Word, that He may present her to Himself a holy Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. In another aspect, this Church is His body, formed by the baptism of the Spirit as at Pentecost, complete when those who are Christ's are caught up to meet Him in the air. The doctrine of this is, of course, not in Revelation :the difficulty is in seeing the conformity of Revelation with it.

Outside of Revelation even, there is a difficulty in the connection (if there be, as one would anticipate, a connection) between the Church as the body of Christ now, before our presentation to Him, and the " one flesh " which is the fruit of marriage. Israel was the married wife, and will be, though now for a time " desolate," as one divorced. The Church is " espoused " (2 Cor. 11:2), not married. Thus the "one body" and the "great mystery" of "one flesh," of which the apostle speaks (Eph. 5:29) must be distinct.

Looking back to Adam, to whom as a type he there refers us, we find that Eve is taken out of his side,-is thus really his " flesh " by her very making. Thus, as one with him in nature, she is united to him,-a union in which the prior unity finds its fit expression. The two things are therefore in this way very clearly and intimately connected. The being of Christ's body is that, then, which alone prepares and qualifies for the being of His bride hereafter; and body and bride must be strictly commensurate with each other.

The mystery here is great, as the apostle himself says ; nor is it to be affirmed that the type in all its features answers to the reality. It is easily seen that this could not be ; yet there is real correspondence and suitability thus far:according to it, the Church of Christ alone, from Pentecost to the rapture, is scripturally only (in a strict sense) the " Bride of the Lamb."

Yet can we confine the new Jerusalem to these? There would of course in this case be no difficulty as to the character of a city which it is given in this vision. A city is commonly enough identified with its inhabitants, so that the same term covers both place and persons. But are none to inhabit the new Jerusalem except the saints of Christian times ? Are none of those so illustrious in the Old Testament to find their place there? Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are among those with whom the Lord assures us we are to sit down in the kingdom of God (Luke 13:28, 29);-are they to be outside the heavenly city ?

This is positively answered otherwise, as it would seem, in Revelation itself. For while the general account of those who enter there is that they are those " written in the Lamb's book of life" (21:27), "without" the city are said to be only " dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie " (22:15).

In the eleventh of Hebrews, moreover, in a verse already quoted, "the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God," for which the patriarchs looked and waited, can surely be no other than that which we find here; and it is added that they desired "a better country, that is, a heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God :for He hath prepared for them a city." It could not be the New-Testament church for which Abraham looked; for this was as yet entirely hidden in God. (Eph. 3:9.) Another and larger meaning for the new Jerusalem must surely, therefore, be admitted.

And why should there not be in it the inclusion of both thoughts ? Why should it not be the bride-city, named from the bride-church, whose home it is, and yet containing other occupants? This alone would seem to cover the whole of the facts which Scripture gives us as to it; and the Jewish bride is in like manner sometimes a wider, sometimes a narrower conception ; sometimes the city Jerusalem, sometimes the people Israel Only that in the Old Testament the city is the narrower, the people the wider view; while in the New Testament this is reversed. And even this may be significant:the heavenly city, the dwelling-place of God, permitting none of the redeemed to be outside it, but opening its gates widely to all. A Bride City indeed, ever holding bridal festival, and having perpetual welcome for all that come:its freshness never fading, its joy never satiating ; blessed are they whose names are written there!

As before, the city is seen "descending out of heaven from God." We shall find, however, here, that the present vision goes back of the new heavens and earth to the millennial age,-that is, that while itself eternal, the city is seen in connection with the earth at this time. Not yet has it been said, " The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them." The descending city is not, therefore, in that settled and near intimacy with men outside of it in which it will be. A significant and perfect note of time it is that the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of nations (22:2). Tender as this grace is, the condition it shows could not be eternal.

All the nearer does it bring this vision of glory and of love, no more to be banished or dimmed by human sin or sorrow. The city has the glory of God ; and here is the goal of hope, complete fruition of that which but as hope outshines all that is known of brightness elsewhere. It cannot be painted with words. We cannot hope even to expand what the Holy Ghost has given us. But the blessedness itself we are soon to know. F. W. G.

(To be continued.)

We might say at the outset that for one who knows and loves Christ as a personal Savior, Christian Science can have no charms, and few dangers. If this should sound harsh, let it be remembered that this system completely subverts the whole of Christianity ; so that he who accepts the one, must give up the other. It is an application of our Lord's words, "No man can serve two masters." That we are justified in making such a statement will be seen in a moment as we compare a few of the teachings of Scripture on fundamental truths with the doctrines of Christian Science (a most misleading name).

I. As to the Person of Christ:" In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." "All things were made by Him." (John 1:i, 3.) "Who is the image of the invisible God." (Col. 1:15.) "Being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power." (Heb. 1:3.)

Here we have the divinity of the Son of God taught in the most absolute way.

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." (John 1:14.) " He made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." (Phil. 2:7.) "Who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh." (Rom. 1:3.) Here we have "the man Christ Jesus"-His humanity. "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth." (i Pet. 2:22.) "Holy, harmless, undefiled." (Heb. 7:26.)

These and such scriptures teach His absolute sinlessness.

Compare with these precious truths the following statements:* "Jesus Christ entered upon our false and terrible dream, experienced our evil conditions. . . . He put off everything derived from the mother. . . . He denied, rejected, overcame, and cast out, all our race-errors, . . . race-evils, including sin, sorrow, suffering, sickness, and death, derived through Mary. *Quotations are from a pamphlet entitled "Condensed Thoughts about Christian Science."Purtz Publishing Co., Chicago.*

He thus became the divine truth, one with the Father, or the divine love. To follow Him in the regeneration is, like Him, to be delivered from the illusions of sense, the bondage of error, the false claims of matter, the promptings of self-hood-to be reunited to God" (page 15).

Such language teaches the mere humanity of Christ, that He was defiled (so far as such a thing as defilement can be said to exist), that He derived all that is evil in nature through His mother, and then rejected it, thrust it off, thus becoming, what He was not before, divine truth. No comment upon such blasphemy is needed.

II. As to the work of Christ. "By one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." (Heb. 10:14.) "Made nigh by the blood of Christ." (Eph. 2:13.) " Being justified by faith.". . . "justified through His blood." (Rom. 5:i, 9.) The truth of atonement by substitution, of wrath-bearing for our justification, is here taught.

Contrast with these texts the following :'' The whole question of salvation depends upon ourselves, upon when, and how soon, we see our follies and errors, renounce our delusions, disrobe ourselves of our false opinions, accept the divine truth (that there is no such thing as evil), which is the light of heaven, awake from our dream of evil, and enter into the life of Christ" (page 22).

We extricate ourselves from an evil which has no existence, imitating Christ, who did the same; and this is redemption!

III. The existence of sin and death. "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin." (Rom. 5:12.) "Death reigned." (Rom. 5:14.) "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin." (John 8:34.) " The wages of sin is death." (Rom. 6:23.)

'' I deny that evil has any real existence or actual power in the presence of divine truth. I deny that sin, sorrow, suffering, sickness, or death, are realities or entities, or have any ground or reason to be" (page 32).

And this includes a denial of the personality of Satan and evil spirits, of hell, of responsibility before God.

IV. The word of God.'' All scripture is given by inspiration of God." (2 Tim. 3:16.)"The scripture cannot be broken." (John 10:35.)"Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." (Ps. 119:89.)

Christian Science says, '' The Spirit clothes itself with the letter, sometimes a tissue of appearances only (such as that God is angry, hell is eternal, etc.)." '' The Bible or word of God was written from this standpoint of mortal mind (the unreal state of human thought, with its misconceptions of the existence of sin, evil, suffering), and its letter often needs correction from the higher reason" (pages 14, 25).

V. The Lord's coming, heaven, etc. "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven:. . . and the dead in Christ shall rise first:then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:and; so shall we ever be with the Lord." (i Thess. 4:16, . 17.) " The hour is coming in the which all that .are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth." (John 5:28, 29.) "In my Father's house are many mansions. . . . I go to prepare a place for you. … I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." (John 14:2, 3.)

"The second coming of the Lord is a descent, from the heavens within us, into the body of humanity, (several lines missing from p. 331)

… placing side by side these statements of light and darkness, illustrating afresh each time what we said at the beginning, that the one is the exact opposite of the other. There is an appearance of piety in some phrases, an apparent approach to truth in some, and frequent quotations of Scripture misapplied. But any simple-hearted person can see that the whole thing is antichristian. It leaves us nothing–no personal God, no atonement, no Saviour, no heaven, no Word of God. It would take from the wicked the fear of hell and of the wrath of God.

The hold it has taken upon some is its claim to cure disease. This it does by denying the existence
of sickness, suffering, pain, or death. They are only imaginations. The poor, restless heart of the suffering one, who is ignorant of the grace of Christ or blinded by Satan, grasps at every straw. And so error spreads. Man will believe anything, everything, but God's truth. The times show how quickly is hastening on that hour when those who will not receive "the love of the truth that they might be saved," "shall believe a lie."

" But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast, an hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle" (2 Thess. 2:13-15).

From very familiarity with them, we may grow so accustomed to truths which '' many prophets and kings desired to see and did not see," that they lose their power over us, and we forget we are dealing with things that will fill heaven with praise and all intelligent creation with wonder. Oh, how it shames us that we can go over a long list of blessings, brought to us through the sufferings of Christ, with our cold hearts but little moved by them! Could we have a better proof of our nature than this, and at the same time a more touching illustration of that "patient and forbearing love that never turns aside "?

Such thoughts are suggested by the subject before us. We can enumerate the blessings attached to the Christian's position, but how do they affect us ? Not, let us trust, like Laodicea, saying, "I am rich;" rather like David, "Who am I?" The Father seeketh worshipers, and all the matchless grace shown to us is to end in that.

In the passage before us, we have an eightfold view of the Christian's position. The number is significant. It reminds us of new creation. "If any man be in Christ, it is new creation." We are on new ground, with new objects before us. These objects mentioned here are, (i) Mount Zion; (2) The
city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; (3) An innumerable company of angels, the general assembly; (4) The Church of the first-born, who are written in heaven ; (5) God the Judge of all; (6) The spirits of just men made perfect; (7) Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant; (8) The blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

(i) Mount Zion is in contrast to Mount Sinai, the mount that might be touched; and if touched by beast or man, death was the penalty. Covered by blackness, darkness, and tempest, burning with fire, it was a fitting place for the giving out of that law which could only condemn the guilty. The awful trumpet announcing the presence of a holy God, the voice of words declaring what He required of man for obedience-no wonder even Moses said, "I exceedingly fear and quake." The effect of Sinai was, to drive the people away. The voice of God struck terror to their guilty souls, they did not want to hear it again. And that fear was but a sample of that more awful terror that shall fill the hearts of all who stand before the great white throne. On the other hand, Mount Zion was the place where David dwelt. The man whom God raised up to be king of His people when they had failed under the judges and under Saul. He was the man after God's own heart, a beautiful and striking type of Him who alone could give unmingled delight to God. Zion suggests grace and blessing in contrast with the law and cursing of Sinai. God might come to Sinai, He did not dwell there. Of Zion it is said, " In Judah is God known, in Salem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling-place in Zion." (Ps. 76:) "The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her, and the Highest Himself shall establish her." (Ps. 87:) " Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion. . . . Walk about Zion, and go round about her:tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks." (Ps. 48:) "For the Lord hath chosen Zion; He hath desired it for His habitation. This is My rest forever:here will I dwell, for I have desired it." (Ps. 132:) These, from among many scriptures, show that Mount Zion is the center of God's gracious dealings on earth. The prophet Isaiah dwells much upon the future glories of that now apparently forsaken and rejected place. We are said to have come to Mount Zion in contrast to the law. We are in the place of grace, where blessing is centered in Christ and dependent upon Him. It is earthly blessing that is first contemplated. Zion is the earthly center. But how can Christians be said to have come to the place of earthly blessing ? First, as we have seen, grace in contrast to law. Then, too, there is a real sense in which we of this dispensation shall share in the joys and glory of the earthly scene, though our portion is above.

(2) So we come next, most naturally to what is distinctive of us as Christians. The city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.-

(To be continued.)