3.-REDEMPTION.

"In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." (Eph. 1:7.)

Having seen, in some measure, what Scripture teaches us regarding man as he was when created and as he is now since the fall, and having found him a complete ruin, we come now to see what God's remedy for that state is. We will first seek to get a general view of that remedy, in its broad characteristics and far-reaching results ; afterward, if the Lord please, we shall go more into detail. Many words applying to a whole or part of this blessed manifestation of the grace of God are used in Scripture,-such, for instance, as "salvation," "forgiveness," "justification," and the like. For a general view, such as is now the object, perhaps the word " redemption " is more suitable than most others, occurring as it does in both Old and New Testaments, and possessing in both a clear and well-defined meaning, and that meaning the same in both portions of God's inspired Word. As linking closely with the previous subject, which might, indeed, have been called "The Need for Redemption," we will first consider who are the objects of redemption; secondly, the nature; thirdly, the manner; fourthly, the person of the Redeemer ; and lastly, the results of redemption.

First, the objects of redemption ; who are to benefit by it. This, as we have said, links closely with the subject of the preceding paper. Men are the objects of redemption. All men have sinned, all are therefore under the wrath of God-helpless and hopeless. This state is universal. Redemption is not a universal thing. Here, at first glance, there might seem to be a contradiction of the universality of the gospel offer, " Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." But this contradiction is only apparent. Redemption deals with results. Those who avail themselves of it, and only those will secure those results. " Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth the people which Thou hast redeemed." (Ex. 15:13.) This people God repeatedly speaks of as His-"Israel is My son, even My first-born ; and I say unto thee, Let My son go, that he may serve Me."(Ex. 4:22, 23.)-"Let My people go." (Ex. 5:1:) These people were the objects of His choice, and of His oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
These, and these only, were contemplated in the redemption from Egypt,-type, as we shall find, of that greater redemption for all His own. If we turn to the New Testament, we find the same to be true :redemption is for God's people. "In whom we have redemption."- "Who of God is made unto us redemption." For none but the people of God are the benefits, then, of redemption. How completely this takes the props away from the universalist, who would make these benefits, sooner or later, apply to all mankind. But is not the gospel for all? some one asks. Unquestionably; and men are besought,-nay, compelled, to come in ; but unless they do come, redemption is not for them. The two things-the exclusiveness of redemption and the inclusiveness of the offer are beautifully brought together when we ask, Who are God's people? what are they like? And we find they are sinners, undistinguishable from all other sinners, partakers of the common fallen nature, guilty of untold sins, and therefore under the wrath of God. The offer is made to them in no different way from others,-repentance and faith are necessary for their acceptance of the offered salvation. Let it not be thought that redemption is limited in its value, or that the offer of its benefits is restricted to any number. Should all the world avail themselves of it, it is sufficient,-nay, as much was needed to redeem one soul as to redeem the world. Its offer is, as we have seen, world-wide. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." All may become His people if they will. Those who do not, have only themselves to blame:"Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life." The objects, then, of redemption are those among the whole world of lost and guilty men who are willing to accept its benefits freely offered to them.

We have, in the second place, to inquire into the nature of redemption :what does it embrace? The verse at the head of this paper will give us the first answer.-" In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." The first need of an awakened sinner is, peace of conscience, which now is impossible, because of his sins. The first requirement likewise of divine righteousness for its action in grace is, the removal of that guilt which insures the righteous judgment of God. Both the need and the requirement are met by the forgiveness of sins, on grounds, as we shall see later, which fully vindicate God's righteousness. The blessedness of forgiveness ! who of God's children but delights again and again to dwell upon the precious theme? This forgiveness is immediate, upon the acceptance of redemption. " I have sinned," says David. "The Lord hath put away thy sin," is the immediate reply. "Father, I have sinned" is met at once by." Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him." It is full, embracing all sins. "Having forgiven you all trespasses." " Her sins, which are many, are forgiven." Iniquities more in number than the hairs of our head are all pardoned. This forgiveness is free. "When they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both." It is without works, money, or price. Lastly, it is eternal. "Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (Heb. 8:12.) Under the law, there was mention made of the same sins year after year. Christ has "entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption." (Heb. 9:12.) This means that the sinner once forgiven is forgiven forever. After the death of his father, Joseph's brethren came and prostrated themselves before him, asking again for that forgiveness which he had so freely given long before. Joseph wept. If such unbelief in his brethren grieved his heart, how much more does that doubt about eternal forgiveness grieve the heart"of our God. And this forgiveness is not of some offenses- of those before conversion, but of all :man is forgiven as a sinner, and it applies to all his acts as a sinner, even to the sins (alas that there should be such !) after conversion. This forgiveness means, then, redemption from the curse under which we were. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law." (Gal. 3:13.) This, applying, as far as the law is concerned, to the Jew only, refers to all who, having " sinned without law, shall also perish without law." (Rom. 2:12.) The type of it is seen in the passover in Egypt. Israel, like the Egyptians, were exposed to the sword of justice-they were sheltered and spared ; that was the first step in their redemption. But there was more than this in Israel's redemption, as there is more than deliverance from the curse in ours. Israel was in bondage to the Egyptians, and held in their land, away from the land of promise. Sheltered from wrath, they are next delivered from the power of Pharaoh and taken out of the land. This was effected by their passage through the Red Sea. Then redemption's song was sung (Ex. 15:). So for us,-we were in bondage to sin, captives in this world, Satan's servants. Redemption has loosed our chains. "That He might redeem us from all iniquity." (Tit. 2:14.) "Sin shall not have dominion over you." (Rom. 6:14 ) Satan, our master, has been "bound " and "destroyed" (Matt. 12:29; Heb. 2:14). The world has ceased to be a dwelling-place-a home for His redeemed people, and is now a wilderness through which they are to haste. Lastly, redemption applies to the body. "The redemption of the body" (Rom. 8:23) will take place at the "day of redemption" (Eph. 1:14; 4:30), when "this corruptible shall put on incorruption; this mortal, immortality." (i Cor. 15:) Such, then, is the nature of redemption; it delivers from the curse, from the bondage of sin, and from death.

Let us next see the manner of redemption ; how is it effected. "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, ….. but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (i Pet. 1:18, 19.) The meaning of the most common word for redemption, in Hebrew, is purchase, or buying back. For a just and holy God to redeem His people in the manner we have seen, means that there were sufficient grounds, a sufficient price. The price, the grounds, were furnished by the precious blood of Christ, typified in the passover-lamb, allusion to which is made in the verses just quoted. There could be no redemption without the price being paid. All through the Levitical ordinances we find redemption-of persons, of property, of land,-but never without the price. So for us there could be no redemption apart from its price. "The blood of Christ" means His life given up as a curse for us. " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." The blood spoke of judgment executed, of wrath visited, of justice satisfied. It tells us that the work is finished. The high-priest entered into the holiest, and there sprinkled the blood upon and before the mercy seat. So Christ entered, by His own blood, into heaven itself. That blood shed on Calvary speaks forever before God of redemption accomplished, and on the ground of that shed blood all the blessed fruits of redemption are ours. This is the manner of it. There is no other way. Let men sneer,-let them call it "the religion of the shambles," God calls it "the precious blood of Christ." Scripture is full of it. No more useful occupation could there be for a young Christian than to trace this "scarlet line" through Scripture, from the sacrifice of Abel to the chorus of praise which says, '' Thou art worthy, . . . for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed to God by Thy blood." (Rev. 5:9.)

We come, in the fourth place, to inquire as to the Redeemer,-the Person through whom the redemption is accomplished. Our verse at the head of this paper shows us this:"In whom we have redemption through His blood." Christ, Son of God, Son of Man, is the redeemer of God's people. The price, as we have seen, was His blood. To shed that, He had to "take part of flesh and blood." He thus became man,-a true and perfect one in all things. It is precious and touching to see the various meanings of the word for redeemer in the Old Testament, remembering that the One who only fully and perfectly exhibits these meanings is our blessed Lord. In Lev. 25:, when a man had, through poverty, lost his inheritance, one who was able could buy it back for him. We had lost all our possessions, and we know well who it is that has bought back more than we ever lost. But this purchaser was to be a kinsman. "If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold." (Lev. 25:25.) How preciously this reminds us of Him who is "not ashamed to call us brethren." Our redeemer He is; but to become that, He became man, and now in resurrection we are linked with Him. Oh how near He is to us ! But more,-the kinsman not only was to redeem the lost inheritance, but he was to marry the desolate widow. See the beautiful account in Ruth 4:An alien, of the condemned nation of Moabites, desolate, poor, a mere gleaner, Ruth is brought, not merely into the possession of vineyards and lands, but into the bosom of Boaz as the partner of his wealth. The bride, the Lamb's wife, is the Church, purchased by the precious blood of Christ, who is not ashamed to call us brethren, and soon to be associated with Him in His glory-partner of His joys! Such is the Redeemer. But there is also a solemn side to this bright picture. The name for revenger is the same as that for redeemer. "The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer; when he meeteth him, he shall slay him." (Num. 35:19.) The guilty one was to be slain. Our Lord is our avenger; our enemies are His, and soon will He avenge His people. "Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them which trouble you ; and to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven …. in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God." (2 Thess. 1:6-8.) He offers Himself to men as redeemer if they but accept the gospel; rejecting that, He will soon be the avenger for them. The lamb reminds us of His death, atoning for sin ; but for rejecters of the blood of the Lamb, there is nothing but the "wrath of the Lamb." How imperfect are our apprehensions of this blessed Person ! but, at least, we have seen some of His characteristics as Redeemer, Purchaser, Kinsman, Husband, Avenger.

Lastly, what are the results of redemption ? These we have been gleaning up all along. In a word, all blessings, all glories, present and future, are the results of redemption. In the present, we have justification ; that is not merely the pardon of our sins, but the positive acceptance of our persons as righteous, so that we can say, " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ? it is God that justifieth." But another precious result of redemption is, deliverance from the power of sin ; so that, as redeemed to God, we can now walk in newness of life-no longer the servants of sin. Pledge and earnest of the perfectness of redemption, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, whose blessed work it is to reveal these precious things to us through God's Word. But who shall speak of those glories, those joys, which have been purchased for us,-which await us at the coming of our Lord ? All, all has been secured to us "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Well may we sing,-

'It is finished, it is finished,
Who can tell redemption's worth ?
He who knows it, leads the singing,
Full the joy as fierce the wrath."

The Lord let none of Samuel's words fall to the I ground. Every thing that he said made an impression-carried conviction with it. This could never have been the case had he spoken hastily and carelessly. He had a realizing sense of the importance of speaking God's word faithfully-of bringing home to the consciences of his hearers the message he had for them. We are not prophets, but we are told, " If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God." How searching that is ! Do I speak as one who has God's mind to deliver ? What quietness, deliberateness, that consciousness will beget! How all confusion will be avoided ! and even in questions where we are not at one, but are seeking God's mind, all appearance of strife and debate would be absent. Much time would be spent in prayer, quiet pondering all that was before us, and God, who delights to help His children when in conscious weakness, would manifest Himself in a very real and precious way. Blessed be His name ! He knows how weak we are, and how easily we slip into the ways of men, and recognizes underneath much apparent confusion a real desire to gain His mind. But let this not make us indifferent to His way. Let remember that " in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin," and so be sober and careful, coveting earnestly that "sound speech " so helpful to all.

AN EXPOSITION OF REVELATION IV.-XXII.

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

The Little Season, (10:7-10.)

Of the millennial earth, not even the slightest sketch is given us here. The book of Revelation is the closing book of prophecy, with the rest of which we are supposed to be familiar; and it is the Christian book, which supplements it with the addition of what is heavenly. Thus the reign of the heavenly saints has just been shown us :for details as to the earth, we must go to the Old Testament.

In the millennium, the heavenly is displayed in connection with the earthly. The glory of God is manifested so that the earth is filled with the knowledge of it as the waters cover the sea. Righteousness rules, and evil is afraid to lift its head. The curse is taken from the ground, which responds with wondrous fruitfulness. Amid all this, the spiritual condition is by no means in correspondence with the outward blessing. Even the manifest connection of righteousness and prosperity cannot avail to make men love righteousness, nor the goodness of God, though evidenced on every side, to bring men to repentance. At the "four corners of the earth," retreating as far as possible from the central glory, there are still those who represent Israel's old antagonists, and thus are called by their names-"Gog and Magog." Nor are they remnants, but masses of population, brought together by sympathetic hatred of God and His people,- crowding alike out of light into the darkness :a last and terrible answer to the question, "Lord, what is man?"

The Gog, of the land of Magog, whose invasion of Israel is prophetically described in the book of Ezekiel (38:, 39:), is the prototype of these last invaders. There need be no confusion, however, between them; for the invasion in Ezekiel is premillennial, not postmillennial, as that in Revelation is. It is. then that Israel are just back in their land (38:14), and from that time God's name is known in Israel, and they pollute His holy name no more (39:7). The nations too learn to know Him (38:16, 23). There needs, therefore, no further inquiry to be sure that this is not after a thousand years of such knowledge.

But the Gog and Magog here follow in the track of men who have long before made God known in the judgment He executed,-follow them in awful, reckless disregard of the end before them. This is clearly due to the loosing once more of Satan. While he was restrained, the evil was there, but cowed and hidden. He gives it energy and daring. They go up now on the breadth of the earth-from which for the moment the divine shield seems to be removed, and compass the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city. The last is of course the earthly Jerusalem. The "camp of the saints" seems to be that of the heavenly saints, who are the Lord's host around it. The city is of course impregnable :the rebels are taken in the plain fact of hostility to God and His people; and judgment is swift and complete :"fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." The wicked are extinct out of the earth.

The arch-rebel now receives final judgment. "And the devil, that deceived them, was cast into a lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are; and they shall be tormented day and night for the ages of ages."

These words deserve most solemn consideration. They are plain enough indeed; but what is there from which man will not seek to escape, when his will is adverse ? The deniers of eternal punishment, both on the side of restitution and that of annihilation, are here confronted with a plain example of it. Two human beings, cast in alive into the lake of fire a thousand years before, are found there at the close of this long period still in existence ! How evident that this fire is not, therefore, like material fire, but something widely different! All the arguments as to the action of fire in consuming what is exposed to it are here at once shown to be vain. That which can remain a thousand years in the lake of fire unconsumed may remain, so far as one can see, forever; and it is forever that they here are plainly said to be tormented.

But it is objected that there is, in fact, no verb here:the sentence reads simply, "where the beast and the false prophet," and that to fill up the gap properly we must put "were cast" which would say nothing about continuance. But what, then, about the concluding statement, " and they"-for it is a plural,-"and they shall be tormented day and night for the ages of ages" ?

Finding this argument vain, or from the opposite interest of restitution, it is urged that " day and night" do not exist in eternity. But we are certainly brought here to eternity, and " for the ages of ages " means nothing else. It is the measure of the life of God Himself (4:10). No passage that occurs, even to the smoke of Babylon ascending up, can be shown to have a less significance.

Growing desperate, some have ventured to say that we should translate " till the ages of ages." But the other passages stand against this with an iron front, and forbid it. We are, in this little season, right on the verge of eternity itself. The same expression is used as to the judgment of the great white throne itself, which is in eternity. It will not do to say of God that He lives to the ages of ages, and not through them. The truth is very plain, then, that the punishment here decreed to three transgressors is, in the strictest sense, eternal.

Whether the same thing is true of all the wicked dead, we now go on to see.

The Judgment of the Dead.

The millennium is over:"And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life :and the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hades delivered up the dead which were in them:and they were judged every one according to their works. And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

This is the judgment of the dead alone, and must be kept perfectly distinct in our minds from the long previous judgment of the living. The judgment in Matt, 25:, for example, where the "sheep." are separated from the "goats," is a judgment of the living,-of the nations upon earth when the Lord comes. It is not, indeed, the warrior-judgment of those taken with arms in their hands, in open rebellion, which we have beheld in the premillennial vision. The nations are gathered before the Son of Man, who has just come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him; and that coming, as when elsewhere spoken of throughout the prophecy, is unquestionably premillennial. As mankind are divided into the three classes, "the Jew, the Gentile, and the Church of God," so the prophecy in relation to the Jew is to be found in chap. 24:1-42; that in relation to the professing Church, to the thirtieth verse of the next chapter; and the rest of it gives us the sessional judgment of the Gentiles, so far as they have been reached by the everlasting gospel. The judgment is not of all the deeds done in the body :it is as to how they have treated the brethren of the Lord (5:40) who have been among them, evidently as travelers, in rejection and peril. The Jewish point of view of the prophecy as a whole clearly points to Jewish messengers, who as such represent Israel's King (comp. Matt. 10:40). There is not a word about resurrection of the dead, which the time of this judgment excludes the possibility of as to the wicked. It is one partial as to its range, limited as to that of which it takes account, and in every way distinct from such a general judgment as the large part of Christendom even yet looks for.

Here in the vision before us there is simply the judgment of the dead; and although the word is not used, the account speaks plainly of resurrection. The sea gives up the dead which are in it, as well as by implication also, the dry land. Death, as well as hades, deliver up what they respectively hold; and as hades is unequivocally the receptacle of the soul (Acts 2:27), so must "death," on the other hand, which the soul survives (Matt. 10:28), stand here in connection with that over which it has supreme control-the body.

The dead, then, here rise; and we have that from which the "blessed and holy" of the first resurrection are delivered-the " resurrection of judgment." (Jno. 5:29, R. V.) From personal judgment the Lord expressly assures us that the believer is exempt (5:24, R. V.) Here, not only are the works judged, which will be true of the believer "also, and for lasting blessing to him, but men are judged according to their works-a very different thing. Such a judgment would allow of no hope for the most upright and godly among mere men.

And this would seem to show that though a millennium has passed since the first resurrection, yet no righteous dead can stand among this throng. The suggestion of the "book of life" has seemed to many to imply that there are such; but it is not said that there are, and the words, "whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire," may be simply a solemn declaration (now affirmed by the result) that grace is man's only possible escape from the judgment. May it not even be intended to apply more widely than to the dead here, and take in the living saints of the millennium negatively, as showing how in fact they are not found before this judgment-seat?

At any rate, the principle of judgment-"according to their works"-seems to exclude absolutely any of those saved by grace. And there are intimations also, in the Old-Testament prophecies, as to the extension of life in the millennium, which seem well to consist with the complete arrest of death for the righteous during the whole period. If "as the days of a tree shall be the days of" God's "people" (Is. 65:22), and he who dies at a hundred years dies as a child yet, and for wickedness:because there shall be no more any one (apart from this) that shall not fill his days (5:20), it would almost seem to follow that there is no death. And to this the announcement as to the "sheep" in the judgment-scene in Matthew -that "the righteous shall go away into life eternal," strikingly corresponds. For to go into life eternal is not to possess life in the way that at present we may; in fact, as " righteous," they already did this :it means apparently nothing less than the complete canceling of the claim of death in their case.

And now death and hades are cast into the lake of fire, -that is, those who dwelt in them are cast there. These exist as it were but in those who fill them; and thus we learn that there is no exemption or escape from the last final doom for any who come into this judgment. The lake of fire is the second death. The first terminated in judgment man's career on earth; the second closes the intermediate state in adjudged alienation from the Source of life. The first is but the type of the second. As we have seen, it is not extinction at all; and indeed a resurrection merely for the sake of suffering before another extinction would seem self-contradictory. In fact, death-what we ordinarily call that-is now destroyed. "It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment," which is thenceforth, therefore, undying (Heb. 9:27).

With the great white throne set up, the earth and the heavens pass away, and there come into being a "new heaven and a new earth in which dwelleth righteousness." (2 Pet. 3:13.) F. W. G.

( To be continued.)

Lord, we would be growing stronger,
Would be pandering, lingering, longer
O'er the precious things we know.
As the day approaches nearer,
We would have our vision clearer,
And Thyself more precious grow.

Few the hours (and oh, how fleeting!)
Ere the promised, longed-for greeting
Calls us to the home above.
We would, till that blest reunion,
Spend the hours in sweet communion,
Learning all Thy heart of love.
Shall we spend these last few lingering
Moments o'er our troubles, hindering
Love, joy, peace,-the Spirit's fruit ?
O'er some brother's failings brooding,
Harboring unkind thoughts, intruding-
Nourishing some bitter root ?

No; we would be girded, waiting
Every hour that blest translating,
Longing, Lord, Thy face to see.
Watching for the glorious dawning
Of that one triumphant morning,
Jesus, occupied with Thee.

H. McD.

Plainfield.

The camel, at the close of day,
Kneels down upon the sandy plain
To have his burden lifted off,
And rest to gain.

My soul, thou too shouldst to thy knees
When daylight draweth to a close,
And let thy Master lift the load
And grant repose.

Else how couldst thou to-morrow meet,
With all to-morrow's work to do,
If thou thy burden all the night
Dost carry through?

The camel kneels at break of day
To have his guide replace his load,
Then rises up anew to take
The desert road.

So thou shouldst kneel at morning's dawn
That God may give thee daily care,
Assured that He no load too great
Will make thee bear.

"Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." (Matt. 11:29, 30.)

Q. 11.- "What is the meaning of Zech. 13:7- 'And I will turn mine hand upon the little ones'?" – A. T.

Ans. – In the first part of the verse, the sword of divine justice falls upon the Shepherd (who is also God's Fellow – His equal), and He is smitten, and the sheep, His people, scattered. This was fulfilled, in an illustrative way, when our Lord was seized and put to death. (Matt. 26:31.) His disciples were left without protection. But it will have its full accomplishment when, during the great tribulation, persecution after persecution will scatter the professed people of God. The "little ones" means, doubtless, the remnant – God's own, upon whom His protecting hand will be laid. "The third part shall be left therein." "I will turn My hand upon thee, and will purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin." (Is. 1:25.)

Q. 12.- "What is the meaning of Luke 18:8-' Shall He find faith on the earth?"- A. T.

Ans. – "When the Son of Man cometh" shows that it points to the last days, and to the earth. The question indicates that, spite of all His assurances of willingness to hear and help, the faith that takes hold of Him will be in very few, and in small degree.

A SEVENFOLD VIEW.

In his sermon in Acts 3:, Peter is led of the Spirit to speak of the Lord in four ways, answering to the four gospels, and then in three ways taken from Old-Testament predictions. The four are these:ver. 13-His "Servant "(not "Son"), as in Mark; ver. 14-"the Holy One," as in Luke (Luke 1:35-" That Holy thing which shall be born of thee"); "and the Just," as in Matthew (Matt. 27:19-"Have thou nothing to do with that Just Man); ver. 15-"the Prince (or Author) of life," as in John. These characters of the One crucified bring home to the people their guilt in a special way. But in ver. 18-22 and 25, He is presented from the Old Testament as the Christ, the Prophet, and the Seed. The fourfold presentation sets forth, as the number indicates, manifestation in the world, the threefold reference, the divine purpose as announced in prophecy. The fourfold presentation begins with words that tell of what God has done_"The God of our fathers hath glorified His Servant Jesus, whom ye delivered up, and denied" (5:13); the threefold prediction, with "Those things which God before had showed by the mouth of all His prophets" (5:18), -that is, the announcement of His purpose. This shows the perfection of Scripture-the perfection of the relationship of its parts, and how each word and group of words and titles falls into place, not only with exactness as in what we call the laws of nature, but with precious instructiveness, according to the meaning of numbers, more and more plainly manifest. E. S. L.

Q. 13 -"What is the meaning of the following:-(1) New Birth, (2) Regeneration, (3) Quickening. Is this the impartation of divine and eternal life ? (4) What is the difference between 'the old man' and ' the flesh,' or the old or evil nature, as we commonly call it ? (5) Is Rotherham's translation of Tit. 3:5 a correct one, viz., 'a bath of a new birth'? (6) The meaning of 'the new man.' " J. A. D.

Ans.-(1) New Birth is the impartation of divine and eternal life by the Spirit through the Word. (Jno. 3:5.) We are born children of God (Jno. 1:12, 13), and so members of His family. It does not touch the question of position, but of life and relationship, and hence is the common blessing of all God's children in all dispensations.

(2) Regeneration is ordinarily used by people to mean New Birth. In Matt. 19:28, however, the word so translated refers to the time when our Lord shall sit upon His throne, and His apostles be associated in His rule, during the millennium. Its use in Tit. 3:5 will be noted later.

(3) Quickening is out of. death; New Birth, an additional life independent of the old. In new birth, man is not looked at as dead; in quickening, he is; though the two come close together in their meaning, Forgiveness goes with quickening (Col. 2:13; Eph. 2. 5), and it is used in connection with Christ. Hence, while it is an impartation of life, we are reminded of Christ's resurrection , and incidentally of His death for our sins. So quickening seems to differ from new birth in this, that it is linked with Christ, new birth with the Spirit. Beyond doubt, it is the same life in either case, only different aspects of it.

(4) The "flesh" is the fallen, evil nature. The " old man" is the person who had that nature,-the responsible man who came to an end, in God's sight, by the cross (Rom. 6:6), in order that the body of sin-sin as a controlling power-might be annulled. This old man is "put off" when one believes,-that is, he no longer stands in that relationship to God, in which he could only produce evil and be condemned. (Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9.) Note that this is not something to be done constantly as to the old man, as it was done once for all by the cross.

(5) " Washing of regeneration " seems to be the proper rendering of Tit. 3:5, referring to that washing in the brazen laver which figured new birth; the application of the Word to the whole man corresponding very closely to Jno. 3:5, as it is also the work of the Holy Spirit.

(6) The "new man" is the opposite of the "old." It is the man as he is in Christ, a new creation, after God, in knowledge and holiness of truth. It is not the new nature, but the person who has the nature, as he stands before God.

Wells, in the east particularly, have a special importance and prominence. In the desert they form the oases, spots of life amid surrounding death, and even in fertile places water is so precious that the well is never ignored. It is the nucleus, the rallying-point, about which the people gather, and by which they are held together.

But wells are more than fountains, the latter springing up spontaneously, and offering their refreshing draughts to every passer by, beautiful type of that " fountain of the water of life," which flows freely for all that are athirst. Wells, "on the other hand, have to be dug, calling for labor, and each draught of water has to be brought up from its depths. Water is life, both literally and typically, and is constantly used thus in Scripture:"born of water," "a well of water in him," " rivers of water flowing from him," show us the Holy Spirit imparting, maintaining, and manifesting divine life. The well is particularly a type for the believer, yielding its waters to the digger, and rewarding with its never-failing refreshment him who will draw it up.

These wells which Isaac opened, had previously been dug by his father Abraham, and then choked by the Philistines, dwellers in the land, but without right there- types of professors laying claim to heavenly things, but without title to them. As has been noticed, these dwelt in the lowlands of Canaan, near neighbors to Egypt, a fact of significance in our present subject, as we shall soon see. These men choke the wells dug by Abraham. The precious truths, brought to light by godly servants of the Lord, in the energy and illumination of the Holy Spirit, are deprived of their life-giving force by those who are merely traders in the Word. The letter they may retain, as even Rome has in considerable measure the form of correct doctrine, but there is no power in connection with it. She has choked the wells, and while many correct statements of truth may be found in her writings, all is emasculated by the spirit of the world that pervades the mass and rules throughout. Nor is Protestantism without its Philistines:Reformation doctrines without Reformation piety and power are but choked wells. Such are creeds, in which much precious truth is contained, the expression, it may be at first, of what was a divine reality, but long since made by profession into a dry and empty thing-tombs of the prophets, memorials of what no longer exists for the ecclesiastical bodies holding them.

But do we individually know something of these closed wells? The joy of the Lord which once filled the heart and overflowed into the life has ebbed, it may be, until scarce manifest now. Love, zeal, power, progress, have all gone. The water, thank God, has not gone; but the well has been choked-filled with things of earth. Too easily has the charge been made that the Holy Spirit leaves the unfaithful believer. Such, we know, is never the case; but how often is He grieved and quenched! how often are His manifestations so checked that God and faith alone know He still remains ! A choked well! how useless ! Dear brother, what are you and I? Have we allowed our hearts to become filled with earth till the Holy Spirit no longer manifests His fruits? This is the work of the Philistines-both without and within. For it is not only true that there are people who answer to them, but there are in our hearts principles, habits of thought, and desires which also correspond to them. Outwardly, they are, as we have seen, those having the form of godliness, but denying its power. Inwardly, they are those habits of soul which do the same,-which would not have us give up our profession, our religious duties-prayers, Bible-reading, and such-like, but which deprive these things of their spiritual freshness, turning them into mere forms, food only for self-complacency, and leave our hearts the while empty and chill. Resting on past experience is a Philistine, choking up the well of present communion. Allowing sin to pass unjudged is another, quickly quenching the Holy Spirit-" hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." It is not necessary to approve sin; if it is neglected-allowed to pass the conscience unchallenged and unjudged, it soon hardens, the well is choked. We must live day by day in all reality, or we will soon find that the Philistines have been at work, the flow of service, love, and joy is checked.

It was in Gerar that Isaac met with the Philistines. The famine in the land tempted him to follow the steps of his father Abraham, who, under similar stress, went down into Egypt. But Gerar was on the border-land. It was the next thing to Egypt, though in the land of Canaan. To dwell there was taking low ground as compared with Hebron. So we see a corresponding moral state. Isaac had not courage to confess his wife (the sin of Abraham in Egypt), and though the Lord protected and blessed him, he does not seem the ideal pilgrim and stranger. His valley may be called "Gerar," "a place of sojourn," "a tarrying-place;" but, like everything under the power of the Philistines, it did not answer to its name. Most naturally, therefore, do we find the wells choked-the water stopped. The Holy Spirit cannot give joy and blessing where our ways so plainly contradict our knowledge. The Philistines, however, see beneath the unfaithfulness of the man a reality, and would have him leave them. " The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and these are contrary the one to the other."

If the choked wells bear witness to his condition, his effort to open them shows a desire not to continue in that condition. Very simple would seem to be the lesson for us in this. Has the well become choked in us ? dig out that" which has choked it,-remove the things of earth from their place of power in the heart, and the sweet refreshing of the Spirit will be quickly felt.

But it costs something to regain that which has been lost. The enemy will not quietly resign the place he has occupied, and will dispute our right to recovered joys. This we see in the four wells of Isaac, at once the evidence of the hostility of the Philistines and a test of his purpose of heart to recover what had been lost.

First, we have Esek, "strife," the name given to the first well, because they strove for it. How strange it seems that they should want a well which they themselves had choked. How like those who contend and fight over doctrines until they lose all sweetness to the soul, and become distasteful even to the child of God. Many a truth has been thus snatched out of their hands, and come to be the symbol, not of food for the soul, but the battle-cry of contending factions, until for very weariness the soul says, "Enough ! let us speak no more of this matter." So what should have refreshed becomes repulsive. Is not this true of the divine side of truth-election, final perseverance, and the like? Strife, discord, war of words, perverse disputings, have so choked the wells of divine truth that men have been ready to take one another by the throat in the maintenance of what they may hold. Within too, in the history of the soul, do we not see the same strife? The self-righteous spirit resisting, opposing that which is according to godliness, and such conflict waged about the very truth which would help ?

The effect of this conflict can be one of two. Either wearied with struggle, the baffled one may yield in despair, and no more seek for recovery of lost blessings; or, as in Isaac's case, he may turn his back upon Esek and dig again, well knowing that the water can surely be found. It is a good thing to know how to yield without giving up. Let men turn our wells, which we have dug at great. cost, and from which we have drawn refreshing streams,- let them turn them into scenes of strife :our love is for the water, not the well, and we can dig elsewhere. The time comes when the child of God must in faithfulness turn from what was once a well of springing water to him, and seek to find elsewhere the refreshment his soul craves. Inwardly, we are to abstain, withdraw, from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.

Next comes Sitnah. The water comes afresh, only to be the occasion of renewed conflict. "Sitnah "does not mean "hatred," as in the margin of our common version; but "accusation." It is from the same root as "Satan," " the accuser of the brethren ; " and if strife characterized the first well, more bitter and active enmity is shown here. Luther was accused of all sorts of blasphemies when he dug afresh the wells of truth at the Reformation. Accusations are a common weapon of attack by the enemy, and they are satanic weapons. Let them accuse; if still associated with them, we can withdraw, and leave to them what was a well of refreshing, only now designated by this name. Alas! how many wells have become Sitnahs -whispered accusations, backbitings, railings, turning the outflow of refreshing into waters of bitterness and sorrow !

But faith and a steadfast purpose knows how to turn from such scenes with the renewed determination to find what it longs for-unlimited fellowship with God. And surely every one with such a purpose will sooner or later come to Rehoboth, "room," rather "streets," an enlarged place, a broad highway, and the plural indicating abundance of enlargement. Ah ! here no enemy contends or accuses. We can look around and realize that at last we are away from the Philistines. Freedom to enjoy God is now ours. How significantly Rehoboth is the third well! resurrection-power and ground cannot be reached by outsiders. There is this place of enlargement. Have we reached it ? where we can call our wells no longer by names which remind us of strife and accusation, but of the liberty in which we now stand.

Beer-sheba completes the list, giving us the positive side. The well of the oath, while referring to the oath between Isaac and the Philistines, which ends their strife, also reminds us of that sure word of Him who cannot lie, and who will confirm all that He has spoken, making good to us the precious things which grace has given us. Here let us dwell, drinking daily more deeply of the pure waters of eternal love, growing more and more into the image of Him who loves us, as we drink. The Lord give us purpose of heart to reopen these wells with the determination to persevere until we reach Rehoboth and Beer-sheba.

To whom shall we go ?" Not "where." The world I had become to them an empty void. In the fourteenth chapter, the Lord is about to leave them, and there is really no one else for them to turn to; their hearts are attached to Him. Their hearts tremble in anticipation of His departure, and the Lord ministers to them. He seeks to take their affection away from this world altogether, by showing them their prospect in the Father's house, where He is going. They are looking for a place on earth:the Lord transfers their affections to heaven. He seems to take their attention right away from this scene, and leave them as strangers and pilgrims, but not as orphans. I need not say that it is only those who are out of this world in heart and affection who are fit to go through it according to what is of God.

These remarks remind us of one of the apostle's straits in the epistle to the Philippians. It was when he could say, " I have a desire to depart and be with Christ," that God could say, You are just the man I can leave down there. What for? For the "furtherance and joy of faith" of God's people. Nevertheless, though the hearts of the Lord's people were thus attached to Christ, we find here that even they go to their place of rest; but there is one here who seems for the moment to be in just the place Christ occupied in this world-no place to lay her head,-no place for her in this scene where her Lord was not. She is there at the sepulcher a mourner.

There are different degrees of affection ; this none of us doubt. Sometimes Jonathan's affection to David is pointed to as a specimen of Christian devotedness. I would not in the slightest degree despise Jonathan's love; indeed, I think we may often take it as a reproach to ourselves, and ask ourselves if our love and devotedness to the Lord comes up to it; nevertheless, we have a standard, and we shall find, according to it, Christian love is higher than Jonathan's to David. Jonathan stripped himself of all that he possessed; he loved David as his own soul, and yet he returned to the palace. Even his love could have gone a step further, and therefore cannot be love of the highest degree, for he might have followed David into the cave. Love of the highest degree cannot, will not, rest short of the presence of its object. Orpah loved her mother-in-law, but went to her own country, which was something like the affection of Jonathan to David; but Ruth wept, and kissed her mother-in-law, and clave to her, saying, "Whither thou goest, I will go; and whither thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." Nothing but the presence and enjoyment of the company of its object could satisfy such love as this, and that is what we have here in Mary. Her affection for Christ makes her a mourner here in this world where He is rejected.

As she is there at the sepulcher, mourning the absence of her Lord, the angel asks the question, " Why weepest thou?" She gives the reason :"They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him." The absence of Christ was the cause of her mourning. Do we know, beloved brethren, what it is to mourn the absence of Christ in this world ? Everything tells of His absence. We have experienced, like Mary Magdalene, a great deliverance at His hands. Has He not won our hearts? Can we get along through such a world without Jesus? Are we mourners because of His absence?

Now the Lord appears. He appears to Mary, and repeats the angel's question, but asks another, which comes much nearer her heart:He says, " Why weepest thou ? whom seekest thou?" This seems to take Mary Magdalene right beyond herself, and she says, " Sir, if thou have borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away." Occupied as she is with her Lord, she concludes that he will know whom she means. It was the one who knew what it was to mourn the absence of her Lord who got the revelation of His presence. The more we mourn the absence of the Lord in this world, the more, I am sure, he will reveal Himself to our hearts; but if we think we can get along in this world without Him, He will leave us to ourselves until we turn to Him in contrition of heart.

Christ desires the company of His people. He has redeemed us, and He loves us; and love, with Him, will be satisfied with nothing less than the presence of its object. "That where I am, there ye maybe also." He desires us to be with Him forever. He desires that we may enjoy Him here, and that He may enjoy our company as we journey along through this world ; but if we are to company with Him, we must be suited to Himself. He will not suit Himself to our company, but we must be suited to His company.

Here we have a beautiful picture of the way the Lord fits us for His company. He has made provision for the removal of every thing that would hinder the enjoyment of His company, or that would make us unsuited to Himself. He desires our company, desires to dwell in our hearts,-not to come and visit now and then, but to dwell there. " That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith."

The Word says, and it is blessed, that God has two homes,-one in the highest heaven and the other in the lowest hearts. Listen to that beautiful verse in the fifty-seventh of Isaiah,-" For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is 'Holy,' 'I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a humble and contrite spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'" The One whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain dwells in the lowest hearts. What for? "To revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." He desires our hearts. Some give their fortune, but withhold their hearts ; their talents, but withhold their hearts; their time, but withhold their hearts:all these are nothing without the heart. He wants our hearts. If He has them, He has all,-all is held by Himself; but, how marvelous ! if we will not give Him His place there, He stands outside and knocks, saying, " Open unto Me, and I will come in, and sup with you and you with Me." I know it is wonderful, but there it is set forth as clearly as possible in the Revelation of God's Word. There is nothing more wonderful in Christianity, I am sure, than the thought that the Lord Jesus Christ desires the company of His people,-yea, that the affection of the Father requires the gratification of the Father's desire-our presence in the house above.

It is more real heart-work that is wanted amongst us, I am sure; I feel it for myself. "The trees of the Lord are full of sap:" all that He hath not planted will be plucked out. It is more real, genuine freshness and power that is needed in our hearts,-in our condition amongst ourselves :it is more real sap of the freshness and power of the truth of God. " The trees of the Lord are full of sap," and I believe the secret of it is, to have the companionship of Christ; and if we know what it is in any measure to mourn His absence in this world, He will reveal Himself to us,-I am sure He will.

Here we find that Christ must have the first place, as we find it all the way through the New Testament; and you never yet enjoyed the presence of Christ without getting something from Him. Did you ever enjoy the presence of Christ, sitting at His feet, without getting a communication or communications from Him ? So here, after He has revealed Himself to Mary, and satisfied her heart by such a revelation, she gets a communication from Himself. "Go to" My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God." What a revelation! In the previous chapter, He was under the same condemnation; here, He takes them into the same relationship in which He stands. " My Father and your Father, My God and your God."

Now follows something else. Getting a communication from Himself, she becomes His messenger. "Go to My brethren." She becomes a witness of what she has learned from Himself. These three things you find all the way through the New Testament:Christ must be first; then, communication from Himself; and, third, witness for Himself in this scene.

In the twenty-fourth of Luke, we get it. Christ appears in the midst of His disciples. The first thing is, the revelation of Himself, which dispels their fear:their terror gives way to joy and wonder; and now, having Himself before them, the Lord recounts the things concerning Himself; He opens their understanding, that they may understand the things concerning Himself. Third, He says, " Ye are witnesses of these things." There is a fourth thing there too ; it is the power in which the witness is. They had to wait for the power. Though we have not to wait for it, we should wait upon it.

There is another instance where we get this same order. When Ananias went to Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, . . . . the Lord hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know His will, and see -that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of His mouth. For thou shall be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard." (Acts 22:12-15.) First, "that thou shouldest see the Just One;" second, " that thou shouldest hear the voice of His mouth;" third, that thou shouldest be His witness among all nations." This is the order; and so we find the very first utterance of Mary, when she got to His disciples, was, " I have seen the Lord." If we can say this first, when we go forth to be a witness, or to comfort the downcast saint, we shall be able to say what He has said to us. No doubt it was her proclamation of the risen Lord that brought them together, for in the next verse they are together.

There are three places where He is in the midst. In the nineteenth chapter, " in the midst" of two thieves. "On either side one, and Jesus in the midst." In the twentieth chapter, ver. 19, " in the midst" of His gathered people; in the fifth chapter of the Revelation, we find Him " in the midst" again-" a Lamb as it had been slain," – and, I say, what is a gathering of saints if .the Lord is not in the midst ? Nay, more, what is heaven if Christ is not there ? For a moment, Christ is hidden from the view of heaven, and a question is raised that cannot be settled :who can settle the question apart from Christ? The question is, "Who is worthy?" For a moment, Christ is hidden from view, and John begins to weep. Though in heaven there, yet he begins to weep because no one is found worthy to open the book, neither to look thereon. One of the elders says, "Weep not; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." In a moment, his tears are dried up. What are we without Christ ?

"The person of the Christ,
Enfolding every grace ;
Once dead, but now alive again,
In heaven demands our praise."

J. H. B.
Plainfield , July, 1892

(Continued from page 162.)
Next, Hannah sees to the clothing of Samuel. Clothing, in Scripture, seems to mean those principles and habits according to which a person acts. Thus a garment of mixed texture-woolen and linen- was forbidden, as indicating mixed principles and habits _"neither cold nor hot." The woman was forbidden to wear a man's clothing, and the man that of the woman,- neither was to act in a manner unbecoming the sex. Leprosy in the garment had to be either torn out or the whole burned,-defilement in habits was to be purged away. The garment spotted by the flesh is in contrast with that pure religion which keeps itself unspotted from the world ; while, in glory, the fine white linen in which the saints are clothed is their "righteousnesses"-righteous acts. Thus the care for the clothing typifies that care for the habits, principles, and acts which go to make up the outward appearance of the child. Hannah could not change Samuel's heart; she could see to his outward appearance. Because parents are helpless as to regeneration, there is no reason why they should not be careful as to the conduct of their children. But mark the occasion when Hannah took the new garment to her child. It was when she went to offer sacrifices. As the precious truths of the atonement are set forth in these, so the effects of it are shown in the garment. Doubtless she sought to have the child enter with her into the precious meaning of the sacrifices, and thus he could appreciate that holiness which becometh God's house. So now, parents should ever connect in their own minds, and in the instruction of their children, these related truths. Constant care as to the behavior, apart from the blessed truths of Christ's redemption, would result in making the child either a self-righteous moralist or drive it to the opposite-extreme looseness and indulgence; while linked with the constraining power of Christ's great love, filling and overflowing the heart, behavior becomes but the natural outcome of that love, seen, believed, and received. For will not God bless His gospel in thus saving and keeping the children of believers ?

We come now to see the contrast in these two examples of the parent as last seen. Eli hears the doom of his house from the Lord, still allowing his sons to go on in their course. They are slain in battle, carrying the ark upon their shoulders, thus showing that God will never link His holiness with sin,-that His ark had better fall into the hands of enemies than be defended by defiled priests. Eli, as he hears the message of his own bereavement, but worst of all of what had befallen the ark, falls from his seat and dies. How sad the ending of a life which had such opportunities ! And when we ask why, our answer must be, in the words of Scripture, "Because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not." We know this marked an epoch in Israel's history, but we are speaking now of the simple but intensely solemn individual application for all parents. Hannah celebrates with a song God's goodness to her, and passes from her own personal joy to the complete victory God would soon secure in the earth. It is a song of triumph, sung by one who had passed through the darkness into the "large place" of deliverance. And what spirit can be so strong to deal with the difficult and real trials of bringing up a child for God as the spirit of exultant praise?-God has triumphed; He will do so still. And so the last we see of Hannah is thus praising God, still enjoying his blessing, and yearly going up to the house of God to offer sacrifices and see to the apparel of her child. How simple, how happy her life ! And what was the key to it all ? She took God into her thoughts, plans, and actions for her child.

Of the importance of this subject it is needless to speak. Every Christian parent with an awakened conscience has often thought and prayed about it. Many have the joy of seeing their prayers answered and their children growing up to be a comfort to them and an honor to God. Many, alas! are seeing the reverse, and their hearts are crushed with grief as they think of the ruin that has come into their own homes ; and multitudes of others are going on with unconcern, their children growing up in the world and of it. For these latter, surely some word of earnest warning is needed. Will they bring dishonor on God and the blessed name of the Lord Jesus? will they imperil the souls of their children by allowing in them habits or associations which can only bring damage ? But what can be said to those who have failed and are conscious of it? It is easy to point out the cause of the ruin, but is there not, in some measure at least, recovery for Eli ? The example of Jacob is an encouragement. His sons had made his name to stink among the Gentiles; but God calls him back to Bethel,-back to the place of meeting God, of seeing self in all its helplessness and God in His all-sufficiency. Under the power of that call, Jacob can speak to his family and be obeyed by them. There must a bowing under God's hand, and owning His chastening. There must also be a thorough restoration in one's soul to God,-the first love regained, and then taking up the broken and scattered threads of responsibility, the soul is to seek, in God's fear and by His help, that authority over, that respect in, the children had been lost. God blesses every sincere turning to Himself, though He does not pledge Himself to undo our misdoings. His holiness,_nay, our own needs require that we should taste some of the wholesome bitterness of that cup which a Father's love hands to us- "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

May our gracious God "Stir up the hearts of Christian parents to a firm faith in His power to save early in life their children, to a sense of responsibility in bringing them up for God, not for themselves. Were there this spirit of humiliation and prayer, how soon would weeping give place to joy, and Hannah's song be on many lips !

A LETTER IN REPLY TO THEIR CRITICISMS UPON THAT TRACT.

My dear brother,-Many thanks for sending me a copy of The Advent Review & Sabbath Review, for July 14th, '91, containing remarks by the editor (Uriah Smith) on my little tract, which you published, taking up their teaching on atonement. His personalities as to myself may be taken for what they are worth. As I read a paragraph, however, in his " Editorial Notes," p. 439, in which he contends for drawing a distinction between men and principles (the very thing I had done in my tract) ; as also the first sentence in his article ; I could not help thinking, What a pity the learned editor does not practice what he preaches! And the words " Physician heal thyself " rose instinctively to my lips. A refutation of my tract from Scripture would certainly have been much more weighty than the personalities and assumption which he so largely indulges in. The perusal of his article made me feel sorry (among other things) for the poor Adventists, if this is the way they are bolstered up in their faith ; especially seeing that these leaders are the men who are following "the advancing light " (?) while the rest of Christendom is left in the dark ! I only hope they may be led. to procure my little tract and read it for themselves.

The editor charges me with " not having discernment enough to understand their position, or, understanding it, not candor enough to state it correctly." And again, of " misstating and perverting their views." Bold words these are for Mr. Smith to write ! But I fear he has made a mistake this time ! He has turned his artillery the wrong way, and is blowing his friends to pieces ! I did not think he would have treated Mrs. White in such an unkind way. It is really too bad of him after all ! I have been led to understand that she is the great Oracle of the Seventh-Day Adventists ; (I don't mean this unkindly) ; and the way her books are pushed by their agents, especially " The Great Controversy," made one ' infer that it was a kind of text book, or " Confession of Faith,"among them, and inferior to none as an exposition of their doctrines ; not even excepting the large volumes of Uriah Smith himself, or those of others.

Now, as I not only quoted verbatim from " The Great Controversy," but gave page and line ; to be told I am "misstating and perverting their views " is certainly not very flattering to Mrs. White, who surely ought to know ! Moreover, when the editor himself subsequently acknowledges in his own article the correctness of my statements of their views, and which I sought to expose in my tract, and which he contends for as being according to Scripture, and " distinctions generally overlooked in the theological world," the charge of "misrepresenting and perverting" recoils on himself. Intelligent readers can see this for .themselves if they read my tract and his article.

But let us briefly glance at what Mr. Smith has to say for himself and his friends. He writes:"What is it he is so disturbed about ? Oh, we do not believe the atonement is yet finished. But what is there so terrible in this?" Let him read my little tract again, and he will find his answer. Nay, I will tell him once more, what is so terrible in this. If atonement is not completed, God is not glorified as to the question of sin, and therefore cannot act in righteousness in blessing sinners-Christ is not raised from the dead and could not be-no sinner is saved or ever can be-and the Bible is a lie. Jesus said, " I have glorified Thee on the earth. I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do." (Jno. 17:4.) And we are told that He "purged our sins, and forever sat down," yea, four times in that epistle to the Hebrews we are told that Christ has "sat down " (see 1:3 ; 8:i ; 10:12 ; 12:2, the everlasting witness of an accomplished work. Indeed the contrast is drawn by the apostle of the earthly priests ever "standing" because the sacrifices which they offered "could never take away sins (chap. 10:n), and the Lord, who has "-sat down" because His one sacrifice has done it, and gives the worshiper " no more conscience of sin." (chap. 10:2.) Therefore I say again, if the doctrines of the Seventh-Day Adventists be true, then the Bible is a lie. To Mr. Smith, these of course are " false and foolish conclusions." But to the simple-minded Christian, they are conclusions which Mr. S. has not met and cannot; and leave my charges of " blasphemous and abominable doctrines'" as proved against Seventh-Day Adventists.

If "assumption " were the standard by which to settle who is right, I would at once bow to the editor and his followers. Their assumption is prodigious. Indeed, it characterizes all their writings that I have taken up as yet. They assume certain things, and then reason and draw their conclusions and deductions, and set it down as truth which is settled and cannot be gainsaid, without one solitary proof from Scripture ; but with plenty of texts worked in to give the semblance of truth to those deductions and conclusions, and thus the more easily deceive those not taught in the Word.

Mr. Smith writes, "This man fails to see the distinction between Christ bearing our sins as a sacrifice, which He did upon the cross, and His bearing them as priest, which He does as our Mediator before God." This is a sample of what I have just said. And if it is not a piece of the grossest assumption, and a begging of the question, 1 confess I know not what is. Why has he not told us where Scripture makes such a distinction ? Simply because it does no such thing. It is all the imaginations of the leaders who have formulated this system of teaching, to bolster up their stupid blunder about the Lord coming in 1844.

Scripture does say of the Lord Jesus that " Once in the end of the world (or consummation of the ages) hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." (Heb. 9:26.) And as the result of that one offering, God can and does say of believers, "Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (Heb. 10:17.) But where is there such a thought in the New Testament as Christ in His character as Priest bearing our sins ? Nowhere ! His present priestly service on high is connected with our infirmities, and not our sins. (Heb. 4:15, 16.) The above passages, with hundreds of others, prove that the sin question was once and forever, settled ere Christ ascended. Yea, the reasoning of Paul in i Cor. 15:with regard to the question of resurrection puts that beyond dispute, for he says, " If Christ be not raised, ye are yet in your sins ; our preaching is vain ; your faith is vain." But if He is risen, the believer is not in his sins. Again, " He was raised again for our justification. (Rom. 4:25.) But how could God justify any one if the sin question was not settled? It would be impossible! The resurrection of Christ is God's public seal on the settlement of the sin question by His well beloved Son. At the same time Scripture as plainly teaches that Christ now carries on His present priestly service for us after the complete and perfect settlement of the sin question.

Then we are told that I " ignore Christ's service in the first apartment of the true sanctuary above into which Christ entered when He ascended, and where He was in the presence of God, just as much as He is in the second apartment." But I ask, What "first apartment" did Christ enter at His ascension? why did not the editor tell us from Scripture ? Does not Matthew tell us, " The vail was rent in twain from the top to the bottom." (Matt, 27:51.) How, then, could there be two apartments any longer when that which divided them and made them two was rent in twain by God Himself? I may be told I am confounding the earthly and the heavenly, the type and the antitype. But does not the Holy Ghost use this fact in Heb. 10:19, 20 in connection with the heavenly, when he tells us we have "boldness to enter into the holiest (not the first apartment) by the blood of Jesus; by a new and living way which He hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, His flesh"? The apostle shows in Heb. 9:8, that so long as the first apartment stood as such, "the way into the holiest was not made manifest." But now that the vail is rent, the way is made manifest and the believer has access to God as a purged worshiper. It is this which characterizes Christianity. We have a finished work-an opened heaven-the Holy Ghost dwelling within us-and liberty and ability to draw near to God, and worship in the holiest. Seventh-Day Adventism denies all this. It keeps up the vail and puts Christ only in the first apartment from His ascension till 1844. Afterward, it puts Him in the holiest to cleanse it, but with the vail still standing, shutting God in, and man out. It thus completely denies Christianity, and is in itself antichristian..

And here I should like to ask these people about another point they assume, but give no Scripture authority for ; and one I have never yet seen explained and proved from the Word in any of their writings that I have ever seen. If Christ only entered the holiest in 1844 to cleanse the sanctuary ; how did the sins get there ? Can they tell us this? Mrs. White says, "As the sins of the people were anciently transferred, in figure, to the earthly sanctuary by the blood of the sin-offering ; so our sins are, in fact, transferred to the heavenly sanctuary by the blood of Christ." This assumption, is of course, to be taken an explanation. What abominable blasphemy ! And this in the face of Lev. 17:ii :" It is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul ; " and "the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." (i Jno. 1:7.) God says the blood makes atonement, and cleanses from sin. Mrs. White says, and all the Adventists say, No! It is the means of conveying sins into the presence of God, and then it is the priest that carries them out, and it is the scape-goat (the devil) who takes them away and perishes with them ! !

But what I want to know is, How did the sins get there for the priest to carry them out? In the ritual on the day of atonement, no one but the priest went into the holiest once a year, and it was he who took in the blood. Now, if this teaching be true, there were no sins there till the priest took there by carrying in the blood. Then, as Christ is the Priest, there were no sins in the true sanctuary till He took them there. (God forgive the thought!) So we are asked by Adventists to believe that the blessed Lord Jesus defiled heaven by carrying sins there, and then had to cleanse away the defilement He Himself had taken there. Is this not awful blasphemy ? The question, however, is still left unanswered :How did the sins get into the holiest if He only entered it in 1844 to cleanse it ? If He went in to cleanse it-if that was the object for which He entered, there must have been something defiling already there. The sins must have been there before. How, and when did they get there ? The whole thing is a mass of nonsense and contradiction, not to speak of its blasphemous character, and is "a veritable Pandora's box of confusion," as Mr. Smith is pleased to term the views of the theologians which have so long " afflicted the religious world."

Are we to believe that Christ defiled the sanctuary in 1844, by carrying in the sins which He afterward has to carry out? If so, what becomes of the Holy Ghost's statements in Hebrews, that "Christ by Himself purged our sins and sad down on the right hand of the Majesty on high"? (chap. 1:3; 8:i; 10:12; 12:2.) Was all this true when it was written to the Hebrew Christians, or was it all a lie ? If Adventist doctrine is true, then it is all a lie ; and no amount of personalities or denial of these conclusions, or calling them "false and foolish," can make it otherwise. If Christ purges our sins, then, how can He be at present in heaven bearing them as the Priest ? It is absolute nonsense and contradiction.

Did Christ only go into the first apartment at His ascension as Mr. Smith affirms? Then till 1844 Judaism was still existing, with the vail between God and the people, and His claims had never yet been met by the blood on and before the mercy-seat, and Christianity was a mistake. But Heb. ix 24, says, " Christ is not entered into the holy place made with hands, figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." " Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus." (chap. 10:19.) Thus, Scripture says Christ is in the holiest
-in the presence of God (not in the first place with the vail shutting God in) and we have boldness to enter there also. Could any one enter the tabernacle, even into the first apartment, on the day of atonement before the whole day's ceremony was ended and atonement for the twelve months completed according to Jehovah's command ? Lev. 16:17 says, No ! Read it and see. Could then Heb. 10:19, be true either in Paul's day or at any time till 1844? Nay, it could not be true even now, if atonement is not completed, and if the Priest is still inside doing the work. Impossible ! It is because it is done, finished, completed, over eighteen hundred years ago, and Christ seated on high, as the proof of its accomplishment, that we have boldness to enter into the holiest, blessed be God. This alone shows the folly of their views.

Mr. Smith says that I " see no difference between one bearing sins as the priest did, to atone for them and put them away" (though he does not tell where that is taught), "and one bearing them as the scape-goat, to perish with them." True, I do not see the difference. Why ? Because it does not exist in Scripture. I have never yet seen such a thing, in Lev. 16:or in the pages of the New Testament. I have read that "Jehovah laid on Him (Christ) the iniquity of us all." (Is. 53:6.) And that Christ bare our sins in His own body on the tree." (i Pet. 2:24.) But where is there in such scriptures, any thing about " perishing with them " ? Instead of seeing all these various parts of the atonement fulfilled by our blessed Saviour, we are to believe (according to these new-fangled and blasphemous notions) that the devil is the scape-goat, and therefore he helps to make the atonement. Mr. Smith says that I " accuse them of having the devil make the atonement." I beg his pardon ; he had better read my tract again, and be more accurate in his statements. I did say, and do still say, with Lev. 16:
10, before me, that if their teaching is true, then the devil helps the Lord to make the atonement. And that we are indebted, not to the ever blessed Lord (as the true scape-goat), who, as our Substitute, bore our sins away forever; but to Satan, and although he helps to make the atonement, he is to be "blotted out" for his kindness !What a shocking and revolting thought !

Mr Smith asks, "Are sins atoned for before they are committed, repented of, or forgiven?" Let us turn the question, and ask him, Are sins only atoned for after they are committed, repented of, or forgiven ? If so, where is the righteousness of God in forgiving a sinner whose sins have not yet been atoned for ?What is the use of the epistle to the Romans if this be true ? It is quite evident the editor has not yet grasped the difference between the work of Christ as meeting God, and laying the basis for His righteously coming out in perfect grace toward all, and the purging of our consciences, and the forgiveness which we receive when we repent and believe the gospel. (Rom. 3:22.) A most important difference which Romans clearly teaches. As to the "Ultra doctrine of predestination, election, and reprobation " being true according to my teaching, as the editor remarks; these are conclusions which exist only in his own mind, or in some theological creeds; certainly not in Scripture, nor in the mind of the Spirit-taught Christian. Moreover, if Christ on the cross "bore the sins of the world," as Mr. Smith says (but which Scripture is most careful never to say), then universal salvation must be true. But it is only he who says so, not Scripture. And " the atonement coming at the conclusion, not at the beginning, of Christ's work as Priest," as he re-marks, shows plainly he has not grasped either the moral or the dispensational bearing of Lev. 16.

But I can say no more. One cannot take up everything they advance; it would occupy too much time. May God in His mercy deliver any of His own who may be exposed to these awful doctrines. It is by grace alone we stand. We need to be clad in the whole armor of God, to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. May we each be found "holding fast His Word, and not denying His name," not "carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but growing up unto Him in all things," till the summoning shout is heard which call us up to meet Him in the air, to be "ever with the Lord." W. E.

"How pleasant it is to live for an end, and for an end so worthy of our life ! that 'whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord; so that living or dying, we are the Lord's,' And in the meantime, what great lessons He is teaching us even the knowledge of Himself; and He is disciplining us, not only for our place in the Church below, but for the place in the kingdom for which He designs us in futurity. When the mother of Zebedee's children asked Him for the place on His right hand and left in His kingdom, He answers, 'Are ye able to drink of My cup, and to be baptized with My baptism?' as much as to say,- ' The path of sorrow, and that path alone, Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown.'

We have taken up our cross to follow the crucified One. We are to count the cost. To expect any thing else is unbelief. …..Our capacity of enjoyment, because the proper condition of a creature, consists, not in liberty, but in learning dependence and submission. If we knew it, it is happiness we are called to, in being required to be dependent one upon another. It will be so hereafter. We are called to nothing but what would be happiness could we submit to it. Pride is our misery, our greatest enemy. Blessed be His name ! He promises to resist it. Dependence and submission seemed a new happiness obtained by our blessed Master as a man. Not only did He submit to His Father, but see how He leaned on His brethren. 'He looked for some to have pity upon Him.' 'What, could ye not watch with Me one hour?' 'He came to His own, and His own received Him not.' 'I am as a sparrow alone upon the house-top.' 'I looked on the right hand, and there was none; and on the left, no man cared for me.' 'Refuge failed me. Then said I unto the Lord, Thou art my refuge and my portion.' Having to rule and reign with Christ, we must come to the same school to learn to govern. He was educated in our necessities. Whence comes all the sympathy we experience day by day, but because He suffered, being tempted ? Oh, yes! let us have patience. 'Let patience have her perfect work, . . . wanting nothing;' for 'the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.' I do not know if you will care for this, but I think you ought to care for all that concerns the glory of our beloved Lord. We need large hearts,- not only large enough to hold your small house, or your parish even, but to hold, not only the universe, but all the kingdom of heaven,-to hold God, and with Him all dear to Him. What a largeness !-all dear to Him who so loved the world as to give His only begotten Son, etc. ! Do you ever pray for me ? I pray for you. It is so pleasant, so profitable, to talk to the Lord about our friends. We send them sweet messages of love, by a faithful messenger. We do not know its sweetness till we try it. It is time well spent, to talk to Him of them, to talk to them of Him. We deprive ourselves of much real happiness by not living in heaven. Believers should be but as variegated lamps, hung out to lighten the feet of passengers from the kingdom of darkness. Our kingdom is not from hence. We should be looking at earth as from heaven, instead of looking at heaven from earth; as though present things were already past, and future things already present:and so they soon will be, for 'the fashion of this world passeth away.' "-(From Letters and Papers of Viscountess Powerscourt!)

(Job 6:24.)

They that go down to the sea in ships,
And in great waters reap,
These see the mighty works of God,
His wonders in the deep.
'Tis there we learn His mighty power,
In trial and in sorrow's hour.

For He the stormy wind commands,
Which lifteth up the waves;
They mount on high, then sink beneath,-
'T would seem they were our graves ;
But here we learn His matchless love,
'Tis here His faithfulness we prove.

When, reeling neath some crushing blow,
We stagger neath the pain,
Our own endeavors all, all, failed,
We turn to Him again,-
Ah, here we learn how far astray
The feet may lead the heart away.

Then as we cry unto the Lord,
All troubled and distressed,
He makes the mighty storm a calm,
And stills the waves to rest,-
'Tis then we learn the faithful hand
That could not let the vessel strand.

And when the stormy sea is crossed,
And wind and wave at rest,
And the desired haven reached,
Deep quiet fills the breast.
The One who kept through stormy days
Shall fill our hearts with love and praise, "
"There shall be no more sea," He says."

H. McD.

Plainfield.

Surely no part of God's most precious Word is more so to the believer than the record of those last scenes of our Lord's life, and especially of those last words, saturated, so to speak, with the tenderest affection, the most considerate thoughtfulness, and sweetest communications;-and of these, no portion has given, through the long centuries that have wearily revolved since He left, more comfort to the mourning, more confidence to the feeble, more cheer to those who were departing this life, than those words found in the fourteenth chapter of John's gospel. They appear to be the full, sweet, musical voice itself that spoke once long before, through the prophet of old :"' Comfort ye, comfort ye My people,' saith your God."

Let us, then, dear fellow-pilgrim, ponder a single clause of them together :" I go to prepare a place for you."

Have we not often asked in what possible way did any place in that glory called His " Father's house " need preparing for such poor things as we ? Could there be any thing there that lacked " preparation " for a poor redeemed sinner? No doubt, the Lord's people have ever fed upon the precious comfort of the words, and many a tempest-tossed spirit has been stilled, like unconscious Genesareth of old, by the infinitely tender considerate love that recognized something lacking even in His Father's house ere it could be said to be prepared for the reception of His redeemed, even though it might not grasp the full bearing of the words;-nay, I feel sure that to many who read this it will be no new thought; but such will not refuse to enjoy it with me again, whilst to some it may bring, in God's mercy, a little light on these few words that shall make Him who spoke them the dearer. So may it be !

Then let us look at it:-let our eyes follow Him into His Father's house, and view the scene there. We find the vail withdrawn in the epistle to the Hebrews-the heavens are opened, and we may make count of their glories:Angels and thrones and principalities and powers :all the beauty and wealth patterned by the tabernacle of old here seen in living reality:all, too, of one heart and mind, without discordant note, all filled with joy and praise. For so it has been ever. Praise has never lacked there. Every movement of God only gave fresh cause of joyful praise, as we see when the foundations of our earth were laid, " the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Ah, who can tell the glories of that scene? But is that what our hearts crave for to give them rest ? No, surely. Glories in themselves may be the opposite of restful. To illustrate:you are introduced into a palace on earth; every thing about you there is rich with the glories of earth; gold glitters on every hand, and each apartment, from floor to ceiling, is filled with its evidences of the wealth and refinement of the owner. Would all that make you feel the more at home? No, surely. Sad and lonely would your heart be amidst all that grandeur. It has been made with another capacity, and if that be lost sight of, every thing is gone. It must find love. It insists on that. But introduce the same one into the lowliest cottage, and there let him pillow his head on a breast he knows, of whose love and sympathy he is well assured, and this, he says, is my home, this is my rest. Now that is just the need that our blessed Saviour recognized in His grace; and He says, as it were, "I will go, so that when you reach My Father's house, you may find there what will make you feel at home-make it "home" for you.

Let us now throw the light of that beautiful scripture we were considering in the October number of help and food (p. 270). It was of very similar bearing. God Himself there was seeking a rest, and Solomon was " preparing a place " for Him. Nor did, in that case, "glories" satisfy God's heart any more than they would ours in this. Not till He heard the sound of joyful praise, which spoke of overfilled hearts that knew Him, did He fill it with His presence. Exactly the same here :our blessed Lord is fully acquainted with man's need, and meets it as perfectly as (speaking reverently) the trumpet-sound of praise met God's requirements in the case of His earthly house. Let me hear there the sound of a divine yet human voice; let that voice be of One who, whilst God Himself, has yet tasted every sorrow of a walk as a poor man through this world;-let me find One there on whose human sympathy none ever called in vain,-whose eyes have shed human tears (just like ours) in the presence of human sorrow and death that we know so well;-nay, more, One who, in His divine love for us, has washed us in His own blood from every thing that would make us unfitted for that place. Ah, my reader, can we not feel "at home" there, even in those courts ? Is not that the place in all the universe in which we should feel at home? Does not that meet the need of our hearts? Is not the "place prepared" now by His being in it?

But what spot in heaven is thus made "homelike" for a poor redeemed sinner? Just inside its gates? as some dear souls, with low thoughts of His love, speak. No; we should not feel at rest there. Amongst the angel-ranks, or in the courts of the principalities and powers of those bright scenes ? No, not there has He chosen for us. But see where He is !-sitting at the right hand of God in the place of nearness and power. There is He, and there, after He has fulfilled His word, and come again and received His own to Himself, we see, in Rev. 4:, the crowned throned elders nearest the throne of God-nearest the center of all glories, and yet perfectly at rest, perfectly at peace, perfectly at home,-they prepared perfectly for the place, and the place prepared as perfectly for them. F. C. J.

At the risk of speaking of what may be quite familiar to many of the readers of help and food, I would ask them to consider with me one lovely word of surpassing value to us found in 2 Chron. 5:The temple is completed. All that vast store of riches that the beloved king David has collected has been spent in it, covering it with beauty, and filling with wealth its treasuries. The ark has been brought up from Zion and placed in its appointed position under the sheltering wings of the cherubim. Can any thing be lacking in glory, beauty, or wealth to make that temple a fit and acceptable dwelling-place for God ? Yes, something is wanting still to make it answer to God's heart as a place where He can dwell and rest. It must be filled with praise. Oh, sweet and precious word, giving us a blessed insight, as it were, into the very heart of God. For have we not a saying, as true as it is trite, " A man is known by the company he keeps." We can judge a man's character by what he finds his pleasure in, by what he voluntarily surrounds himself with. Then apply that principle to this scene. As soon as, and not until, there is one sweet sound of melody-the voice of praise and thanksgiving, with no jarring note, "as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord," then God comes in His glory and says, as it were, Now I can rest. Oh, sweet and precious word, again I say ! for it tells us what God is. As long as there is one cry, one groan, one sorrow, that is the effect, or one sin that is its cause, He rests not, He cannot rest. Around Him must be full hearts-so full of bliss and joy as to overflow in song. Then, and only then, can He find a dwelling and resting-place that is suited to Him. Ah, may we not know Him by the company He keeps. Yes, He inhabits the praises of His people. Surely this scene, then, through which we are passing affords Him no rest. Sin-stained, sorrow-filled;-groans, tears, sighing, and death on every hand. " My Father worketh hitherto, and I work " is the divine word for such a scene,-a scene to which even the redeemed are still connected by their unredeemed bodies, and they groan amidst a groaning creation. But there is a temple to-day. " Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" "Ye are the temple of the living God, as God hath said, 'I will dwell among them and walk among them.' " Yes, there is one place still covered with the glory and beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ, and where the voice of harmonious, melodious praise may be heard, fitting it for His dwelling-place. It is not to be found in the old creation, but is in itself a part of that new creation where no sin is found, and consequently no sorrow can enter. Practically, then, beloved, may we not learn that we are intended to praise ? It should be the one thing that marks out all who are living stones in the Temple which He inhabits who inhabits the praises of His people. "In everything give thanks." It is suited to our God, it is His rest. But how can we in our trials, perplexities, difficulties, sorrows,-nay, failings and shortcomings, not to say sins,-how can we live in this atmosphere of praise? Surely only by recognizing, enjoying, being occupied with, that new-creation scene of which our blessed Lord is the Head, on whose perfect work it rests secure, who is Himself its one Exponent. Ah, keep the eye on Him, and the heart in the atmosphere of His love, and stripes, and stocks, and foulest dungeon, and darkest midnight, can hinder the springing up of that fountain of praise, not at all. So look forward a little to the coming Sabbath that remains for the people of God, when God's tender hand has touched every weeping eye, and the touch has dried every tear,-not merely, as here, in a few, and in them in part of their being only, but in all; and there shall be no more death, nor grief, nor cry, nor distress shall exist more. Then, and only then, shall it be said, " The tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them." Blessed be God forever ! F. C. J.

AN EXPOSITION OF REVELATION IV.-XXII.

PART VI.(Chap, 17:-19:4.)-Continued. BABYLON AND HER OVERTHROW.

The eighteenth chapter gives the judgment from the divine side. The question has been naturally
raised, Is it another judgment ? There is nothing here about beast or horns,-nothing of man's intervention at all,-and there are signs apparently of another and deeper woe than human hands could inflict. It is this last which is most conclusive in the way of argument, and we shall examine it in its place.

Another angel descends out of heaven, having great authority:and the earth is lighted with his glory. Earth is indeed now to be lighted, and with a glory which is not of earth. Babylon is denounced as fallen,-not destroyed, as is plain by what follows, but given up to a condition which is a spiritual desolation, worse than the physical one of Babylon of old under which she has long lain, and from which the terms seem derived. She has become the dwelling-place of demons-"knowing ones;" Satan's, underlings, with the knowledge of many centuries of acquaintance with fallen men, and serpent-craft to use their knowledge; a "hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird." The parable of the mustard-seed comes necessarily to mind; and without confining the words here to that, it is amazing to see how deliberately filthy and impure Rome's system is. She binds her clergy to celibacy, forces them to pollute their minds with the study of every kind of wickedness, and then by her confessional system teaches them to pour this out into the minds of those to whom she at once gives them access and power over them in the name of religion itself!

What has brought a professing Christian body into so terrible a condition as this bespeaks ? We are answered here by reference once more to her spiritual fornication with the nations and with the kings of the earth, and to the profit which those make, who engage in her religious traffic. As worldly power is before all things her aim, and she has heaven to barter in return for it, the nations easily fall under her sway, and are intoxicated with the "wine of the fury"-the madness-"of her fornication." First of all, it is the masses at which she aims, and only as an expedient to secure these the better, with the kings of the earth. Thus she can pose as democratic among democrats, and as the protector of popular rights as against princes. In feudal times, the church alone could fuse into herself all conditions of men, turning the true and free equality of Christians into that which linked all together into vassalage to herself; and so the power grew which was power to debase herself to continually greater depths of evil. Simoniac to the finger-ends, with her it is a settled thing that the " gift of God can be purchased with money." And with her multiplicity of merchandise, which is put here in catalogue, there will naturally be an abundant harvest for brokers. With these, who live by her, she increases her ranks of zealous followers. "

Another voice now sounds from heaven,-"Come forth from her, my people, that ye partake not of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues; for her sins have heaped themselves to heaven, and God hath remembered "her unrighteousnesses."

Even in Babylon, and thus late, therefore, there are in her who are the people of God. But they are to separation. Rome is a false system which yet retains what is saving truth. Souls may be saved in it, but the truth it holds cannot save the false system in which it is found. Truth cannot save the error men would ally with it, nor error destroy the truth. There are children of God, alas! that "suffer Jezebel," but Jezebel's true children are another matter:" I will kill them with when the death " is God's emphatic word. The testing-time comes the roads that seemed to lie together are found to and then the necessity of separation comes. and error cannot lead to the same place, and he that pursues the road to the end will find what is at the end.

"Recompense to her as she recompensed; according to her works, double to her double :as she hath glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much torment sorrow give her. For she said in her heart, I sit a en, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore in one day shall her plagues come on her,-death and sorrow and famine; and she shall be burned up with fire:for strong is the Lord God who hath judged her." The government of God is equal-handed, and for it the day of retribution cannot be lacking. " God hath remembered" Babylon at last. In truth, He never lost sight of her for a moment. But the wheels of His chariot seem often slow in turning, and there is purpose in it :"I gave her space to repent," He says pitifully:but pity is not weakness,-nay, it is the consciousness of strength that may make one slow. There is no possibility of escape. No height or depth can hide from Him the object of His search:-no greatness, no littleness. The day of reckoning comes at last, and not an item will be dropped from the account.

Then follows the wail of the kings of the earth for her, while they stand off in fear for the calamity that is come upon her, more sentimental than the selfish cry of the merchants, whose business with regard to her has slipped out of their hands. And then comes the detail of it, article by article,-all the luxuries of life, each of which has its price, and ending with "slaves, and souls of men." If one had skill to run through the catalogue here, he would doubtless find that each had its meaning ; but we cannot attempt this now. The end of the traffic is at hand, and the Canaanite is to be cast out of the house of the Lord.

The lament of so many classes shows by how many links Rome has attached men to herself. Her vaunted unity is large enough to include the most various adaptations to the character of men. From the smoothest and most luxurious life to the hardest and most ascetic, she can provide for all grades, and leave room for large diversities of doctrine also. The suppleness of Jesuitism is only that of her trained athletes, and the elasticity of its ethics is only that of the subtlest ethereal distillation of her spirit. But though she may have allurements even for the people of God, she has yet no link with heaven; and while men are lamenting upon earth, heaven is bidden to rejoice above, because God is judging her with the judgment that saints and apostles and prophets have pronounced upon her.

Finally, and reminding us of the prophetic action as to her prototype, "a strong angel took up a great mill-stone, and cast it into the sea, saying, ' Thus with a mighty fall . shall Babylon the great city be cast down, and shall be found no more at all.' " And then comes the extreme announcement of her desolation. Not merely shall her merchandise be no more, there shall be no sign of life at all, no pleasant sound, no mechanic's craft, no menial work, no light of lamp, no voice of bridegroom or of bride; and then the reason of her doom is again given :"For thy merchants were the princes of the earth; for with thy sorcery were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth."

Interpretation is hardly needed in all this. The detail of judgment seems intended rather to fix the attention and give us serious consideration of what God judges at last in this unsparing way. Surely it is needed now, when Christian men are being taken with the wiles of one who in a day of conflict and uncertainty can hold out to them a rest which is not Christ's rest; who in the midst of defection from the faith can be the champion of orthodoxy while shutting up the word of life from men; who can be all. things to all men, not to save, but to destroy them :at such a time, how great a need is there for pondering her doom as the word of prophecy declares it, and the joy of heaven over the downfall of the sorceress at last. Heaven indeed is full of joy and gratulation and worship:"After these things, I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, ' Halleluiah ! salvation and honor and glory and power belong to our God ; for true and righteous are his judgments ; for He hath judged the great harlot which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand." And a second time they say, ' Halleluiah !' And her smoke goeth up forever and ever. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshiped God, saying, 'Amen :halleluiah !' "

We may now briefly discuss the question of how far there is indication here of a divine judgment, apart from what is inflicted by the wild beast and its horns. These, we have read, " shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire." 'In the present chapter, we have again, "And she shall be burned up with fire; for strong is the Lord God who hath judged her." The kings of the earth "wail over her when they look upon the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment." And so with the merchants and the mariners. And finally we read, " Her smoke goeth up forever and ever." Nothing in all this forces us to think of a special divine judgment outside of what is inflicted by human instruments, except the last. The last statement, I judge, does. It cannot but recall to our minds what is said of the worshipers of the beast and false prophet in the fourteenth chapter, where the same words are used ; but this is not a judgment on earth at all:could indeed "her smoke goeth up forever and ever" be said of any earthly judgment? The words used are such as imply strict eternity:no earthly judgment can endure in this way; and the language does not permit the idea that the persistency is only that of the effects. No, it is eternity ratifying the judgment of time, as it surely will do; and it is only when we have taken our place, as it were, amid the throng in heaven, that this is seen.

But thus, then, we seem to have here no positive declaration of any judgment of Babylon on earth, save by the hands of the last head of western empire and his kings. Yet the eighteenth chapter, we have still to re-member, says nothing of these kings:all is from God absolutely, and at least they are not considered. It has been also suggested that it is the "city" rather than the woman (the ecclesiastical system) that is before us in this. chapter; but much cannot be insisted on as to this, seeing that the identification of the woman with the city is plainly stated in the last verse of the previous one, and also that the terms even here suppose their identity. On the other side, there is in fact no absolute identity; nor is it difficult to think of the destruction of the religious system without its involving at all that of the city; nor, again, would one even suppose that the imperial head, with his subordinates, would utterly destroy the ancient seat of his own empire. Here a divine judgment, strictly and only that, taking up and enforcing the human one as of God, becomes at least a natural thought, and worthy of consideration.

Outside of the book of Revelation, Scripture is in full harmony with this. The millennial earth, as we may have occasion to see again, when we come to speak more of it, is certainly to have witnesses of this kind to the righteous judgment of God upon the objects of it. In it, as it were, heaven and hell are both to be represented before the eyes of men, that they may be fully warned of the wrath to come. During the present time, it is objected, there is not sufficient witness; in the millennium, therefore, there shall be no room left for doubt. Therefore while the cloud and fire rest as of old, but with wider stretch, as of sheltering wings, over Jerusalem (Isa. 4:5, 6; comp. Matt. 23:37), we have, on the other side, the open witness of the judgment upon transgressors which the Lord Himself renders as a type of the deeper judgment beyond. (Isa. 66:23, 24, comp. Mark 9:) Beside this, Edom remains desolate, and, to come near to what is before us, Babylon also, (Isa. 13:20; 34:9, 10.) How suitable that Rome, the seat of a power far worse and of far longer continuance should be so visited ! Such a judgment would fill out the prophecy most fully and exactly. What a picture of eternal judgment is that of Idumea, in that "year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion " ! "And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever." Rome is the great Edom as it is the great Babylon, and it would be really strange if there were not to be in her case a similar recompense. Barnes quotes from a traveler in Italy in 1850 what is only a striking confirmation of the story told by all who with eyes open have visited the country:"I behold everywhere, in Rome, near Rome, and through the whole region from Rome to Naples, the most astounding proofs, not merely of the possibility, but the probability, that the whole region of central Italy will one day be destroyed by such a catastrophe. The soil of Rome is tufa, with a volcanic subterranean action going on. At Naples, the boiling sulphur is to be seen bubbling near the surface of the earth. When I drew a stick along the ground, the sulphurous smoke followed the indentation. . . . The entire country and district is volcanic. It is saturated with beds of sulphur and the substrata of destruction. It seems as certainly prepared for the flames as the wood and coal on the hearth are prepared for the taper which shall kindle the fire to consume them. The divine hand alone seems to me to hold the fire in check by a miracle as great as that which protected the cities of the plain till the righteous Lot had made his escape to the mountains."

That Rome's doom will be as thus indicated, we may well believe. And it is in awful suitability that she that has kindled so often the fire for God's saints should thus be herself a monumental fire of His vengeance in the day in which He visits for these things! F. W. G.

(To be continued.)

AN EXPOSITION OF REVELATION IV.-XXII.

PART VI. (Chap. 17:-19:10.) BABYLON AND HER OVERTHROW.

Babylon is already announced as fallen in the fourteenth chapter, and as judged of God under the seventh vial ; but we have not yet seen what Babylon is, and we are not to be left to any uncertainty:she has figured too largely in human history, and is too significant a lesson every way, to be passed over in so brief a manner. We are therefore now to be taught the " mystery of the woman."

For she is a mystery ; not like the Babylon of old, the plain and straightforward enemy of the people of God :she is an enigma, a riddle, so hard to read that numbers of God's people in every age have taken her, harlot as she is, for the chaste spouse of the Lamb. Yet here for all ages the riddle has been solved for those who are close enough to God to understand it. And the figure is gaudy enough to attract all eyes to her-seeking even to do so. Let us look with care into what is before us in these chapters, in which the woman is evidently the central object, the beast on which she is sitting being only viewed in its relation to her.

It is one of the angels of the vials who exhibits her to the apostle, and his words naturally show us what she is characteristically as the object of divine judgment. As described by him, she is " the great whore that sitteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication."

As brought into sharp contrast with the beast that carries her, we see that she is a woman, has the human form, as the beast has not. A beast knows not God; and in Daniel we have found the Gentile power losing the human appearance which it has in the king's dream to take the bestial, as in the vision of the prophet. In Nebuchadnezzar personally we see what causes the change;-that it is pride of heart which forgets dependence upon God. The woman, on the other hand, professedly owns God, and moreover, as a woman, takes the place of subjection to the man,-in the symbol here, to Christ. When she is removed by judgment; the true bride is seen, to whom she is in contrast, and not (as so many think) to the woman of the twelfth chapter, who is mother, not bride, of Christ, and represents Israel.

But the woman here is a harlot, in guilty relation with the kings of the earth. Her lure is manifestly ambition, the desire of power on earth, the refusal of the cross of Christ,-the place of rejection ; and the wine-the intoxication-of her fornication makes drunk the "dwellers upon earth." These we have already seen to be a class of persons who with a higher profession have their hearts on earthly things. (Phil. 3:19:; Rev. 3:10; 11:10; 13:8.) These naturally drink in the poison of her doctrine.

To see her, John is carried away, however, into the wilderness; for the earth is that, and all the efforts of those who fain would do so cannot redeem it from this. There he sees the woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy ; easily identified as the beast of previous visions by its seven heads and ten horns.

The beast is in a subjection to the woman which we should not expect. It is the imperial power, but in a position contrary to its nature as imperial, in this harmonizing with the interpretation of the angel afterward,- the " beast that was, and is not." In some sort it is ; in some sort it is not; and this we have to remember, as we think of its heads and horns. If the beast "is not," necessarily its heads and horns are not. These are for identification, not as if they were existing while the woman is being carried by it. In fact, she is now its head, and reigns over its body, over the mass that was and that will be again the empire, but now " is not."

What are we to say of the scarlet color and the names of blasphemy? Are they prospective, like the horns? The latter seems so, evidently, and therefore it is more consistent to suppose the former also. The difficulty of which may be relieved somewhat by the evident fact, that of these seven heads, only one exists at a time, as we see by the angel's words:the seven seen at once are again for identification, not as existing simultaneously. The scarlet color is that which typifies earthly glory which is simply that :the beast's reign has no link with heaven. That it is full of names, not merely words, of blasphemy, speaks of the assumption of titles which are divine, and therefore blasphemous to assume. Altogether we see that it is the beast of the future that is presented here, but which could not really exist while carrying the woman. She could not exist in this relation to him, he being the beast that he is, and thus the expression is fully justified, -really alone explains the matter-the "beast that is not, and will be."

There is clearly an identification of a certain kind all through. While the woman reigns, that over which she reigns is still in nature but the beast that was, and that after her reign will again be. There is no fundamental change all through. The Romanized nations controlled by Rome are curbed, not changed. And breaking from the curb, as did revolutionary France at the close of the last century, the wild beast fangs and teeth at once display themselves.

But we are now called to the consideration of the woman, who, as reigning as the professed spouse of Christ over what was once the Roman empire, is clearly seen to be what, as a system, we still call Rome :" that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth ; " which did so even in John's time, although to him appearing in a garb so strange that when he sees her he wonders with a great wonder.

She is appareled in purple and scarlet, for she claims spiritual as well as earthly authority, and these are colors which Rome, as we know, affects, God thus allowing her even to the outward eye to assume the livery of her picture in Revelation. She is decked too with gold and precious stones and pearls, figures of really divine and spiritual truths, which, however, she only outwardly adorns herself with, and indeed uses to make more enticing the cup of her intoxication :" having a golden cup in her hand," says the apostle, " full of abominations and filthiness of her fornications." Now we have her name ; " And upon her forehead was a name written, ' Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.' "

Her name is Mystery, yet it is written in her forehead. Her character is plain if only you can read it. If you are pure, you may soon know that she is not. If you are true, you may quite easily detect her falsehood. In lands where she bears sway, as represented in this picture, she has managed to divorce morality from religion, that all the world knows the width of the breach. Her priests are used to convey the sacraments, and one need not look at the hands too closely that do so needful a work. In truth it is an affair of the hands, with the magic of a little breath, by means of which the most sinful of His creatures can create the God that made him, and easily new create another mortal like himself. This is a great mystery, which she herself conceives as "sacrament," and you may see this clearly on her forehead then. It is the trick of her trade, which without it could not exist. With it, a little oil and water and spittle become of marvelous efficacy, a capital stock at least out of which at the smallest cost the church creates riches and power, and much that has unquestionable value in her eyes.

"Babylon the great" means "confusion the great." Greater confusion there cannot be than that which confounds matter and spirit, creature and Creator, makes water to wash the soul, and brings the flesh of the Lord in heaven to feed literally with it men on earth. Yet to this is the larger part of Christendom captive, feeding on ashes, turned aside by a deceived heart, and they cannot deliver their souls, nor say, " Is there not a lie in my right hand ?" (Is. 44:20.)

Nay, this frightful system has scattered wide the seed of its false doctrine, and the harlot mother has daughters like herself:she is the "mother of harlots and abominations of the earth." Solemn words from the Spirit of truth, which may well search many hearts in systems that seem severed far from Rome, as well as those that more openly approach her. Who dare, with these awful scriptures before them, speak smooth things as to the enormities of Rome? To be protestant is indeed in itself no sign of acceptance with God, but not to be protestant is certainly not to be with God in a most important matter. This Roman Babylon is not, moreover, some future form that is to be, though it may develop into worse yet than we have seen. "It is that which has been (in the paradox-al language which yet is so lively a representation of the truth) seated upon the beast while the beast " is not." It is Popery as we know it and have to do with it; and woe to kings and rulers who truckle to it, or (again in the bold Scripture words) commit fornication with it! " Come out from her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues !"

" And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus ; and when I saw her," says the apostle, " I wondered with a great wonder."

Romish apologists have been forced by the evidence to admit that it is Rome that is pictured here; but they say, and some Protestant interpreters have joined them in it, that it is pagan Rome. But how little cause of wonder to John in his Patmos banishment, that the heathen world should persecute the saints ! That this same Rome, professing Christianity, should do it, this would be indeed a marvel. With us it is simple matter of history, and we have ceased to wonder; while, alas ! it is true that many to-day no longer remember, and many more think we have no business to remember, the persecutor of old. It was the temper of those cruel times of old, many urge :nineteenth century civilization has tamed the tiger, and Rome now loves her enemies, as the Christian should. But abundant testimony shows how false is this assertion. Here, just before her judgment, the apostle pronounces her condemnation for the murder of God's saints still unrepented of. F. W. G.

(To be continued.)

AS CONTAINED IN DR. SANDAY’S LECTURES ON "THE ORACLES OF GOD."

2. The Human Element in the Bible.-Continued.

"It may be asked, then," he says, " independently of any I critical inquiries, Where can we draw the line, and say, 'Hitherto, and no further." ? We admit that the Bible has shared the fate of other books in its subsequent history. May it not also have shared the fate of other books in the circumstances
of its origin ?"

Surely it is impossible to argue from the one to the other. Are we to refuse to believe in the miracle of creation because natural law, as men say, rules in what has been created day by clay ? Must the Bible be written upon paper that cannot tear, or with ink that cannot be blotted, or all its copies be sealed manifestly with the seal of heaven, in order that we may believe in its absolute divinity? Christ was the "Word made flesh; "yet was He in the world with no visible exemption from the lot of other men, with no halo of divine glory to fence Him off from the persecution, the misrepresentation, the unbelief, the misunderstanding, of those around Him.

But we see how easily, if faith fails at one point, it will be forced to yield at every one. Satan knows the value of but one concession, and will not hesitate to press it to the full result. So Dr. Sanday :-

"We admit that the writers spoke and wrote in the language of their contemporaries,-with many at least of the same faults of style and diction, with some at least of the same defects of knowledge. But if with some, why not also with others? They were not perfectly acquainted with the facts of science :is it certain that they would be more perfectly acquainted with the facts of history?"

It is absurd to put questions of language side by side with questions of truth and accuracy. The Galilean dialect may serve the divine purpose, just as well as what they spoke at Jerusalem, and Hellenistic Greek convey the truth as accurately as that of Plato or Demosthenes. But even defects of knowledge may be readily owned in Moses or the apostles. We need not suppose the one to be "perfectly acquainted with the facts of science" in order to have written Gen. 1:aright; or either of them to be "perfectly acquainted with the facts of history." They needed, and they had, divine superintendence and guidance everywhere, and that where they knew, as well as where they did not know. Moses may have known very well Melchisedek's ancestry, the day of his birth and the day of his death, and he certainly did not know that to have put these into his narrative would have spoiled the apostle's argument more than fifteen centuries afterward. Yet it would, in fact, have done so none the less, as we see the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews (chap. 7:3) building upon these omissions.

But these "defects of knowledge" which Dr. Sanday is determined that we shall "admit," and as to which he emphatically denies that we know where to draw the line, if allowed, as he supposes, to appear in Scripture, would raise questions indeed. The cross and the resurrection are "facts of history;" have they come to us from the hands of ill-informed writers? And the nativity; as to which, they must have got their knowledge from others,- and indeed Luke tells us so, while he in no wise specifies his informants! All this probably put together after the fashion that the professor believes to have been the mode in which the Bible has been evolved,-that is the correct term to-day,-evolved for us. Here is the process :-

" In the secular writings of antiquity, there are many phenomena which are not in exact accordance with the literary practice of our own day. A later writer will incorporate the work of an older writer, often with but slight alteration. The annals that are transmitted from age to age receive gradual accretions in their course, and there is often no external mark to show where the older matter ends and the new begins. Institutions which are well established in one age are assumed to go back to an earlier age than can really be claimed for them. Certain great names stand out in the history round which stray documents and stray incidents appear to crystallize. When a group of writings is collected together, the name which stands at the head of the group is held to cover every member of it. And in like manner laws and customs which grow up by slow degrees are referred to some one great lawgiver who was the first to formulate the leading provisions of the code with which the are associated. There is no deception about it. It is the same sort of process that we see going on every day where oral tradition is at work. Wherever some notable character has passed over the stage, in after-time things come to be set clown to him with which he has no real connection. We must throw ourselves back into an age when writing is the exception and hearsay the rule. There comes a time when regular histories are written; but before that, tradition has been at work molding and combining the facts which history records."

So much for the credibility of the Bible. It is a patchwork of old with new, where only our great critics can distinguish the one from the other. All the evils of oral tradition which we had fondly imagined Scripture had been expressly given to preserve us from are found in that very Scripture. And in order that we may not resent this imputation of fiction or forgery, as contradictory to the whole character of purity and truthfulness which shines out everywhere in the Bible, we are gravely assured that there is "no deception about it"! though it must be confessed we have been deceived. We have merely forgotten to "throw ourselves back" into an uncritical age, when pious frauds were no frauds, or at least no harm, and we must not make harm of them.

" The body of proof is weighty, and cannot easily be rejected. Why should it be rejected ? The grounds, when we come to think of it, are mainly those of our own imagination."

And Dr. Sanday repeats his misapplied text as perfectly convincing, that "we have this treasure in earthen vessels," and fortifies it with another-that God's ways are not as our ways. Then, growing bolder, he observes,

"We can imagine the Bible in some of its accessories more perfect than it is-what we at least might think more perfect. But if it had been so, it could never have been in such close contact with human nature. Its message could never have come home to us so fresh and warm as it does. As it is, it speaks to the heart, and it does so because, according to a fine saying in the Talmud, it speaks in the tongue of the children of men." (!!)

Kind critics ! we have been ungrateful, as men indeed have so often been to their best benefactors! But how good it is to have an interpreter such as Dean Ireland's professor to explain this to us ! Who could have thought, simple as it is when you really believe it, that the " mis-takes of Moses," or the mistakes of others for him, the patchwork and pious frauds of his successors, shall make Scripture fresher and warmer to the heart than if all were proved true and perfect! Here, surely, we have a triumph over infidelity such as we could not have dared to imagine. Christian and unbeliever may now go on side by side, emulating each other in joyful discovery of the blunders of inspiration by means of which the fresh-ness and warmth of its message will be continually increased !

A note at the end of the lecture adds more confusion. it is intended to show "the gradual nature of the steps| which lead up from questions of what is called the lower criticism (which deals with the text,) to questions of the higher criticism (which deals with authorship, etc.), and the difficulty of drawing a hard and fast line between them." But there is really no difficulty, and his examples:prove none. The trustworthiness of a text is one thing ; the trustworthiness of the original, when plainly shown to be that, is quite another. No one pretends that the first. chapter of Genesis is not genuine; but there are unhappily many who treat it none the less as untrustworthy, as unscientific. Let the Lord's words be believed, that! "Scripture cannot be broken," and the disputation as to what is Scripture will be very little serious. But indeed the proofs also upon which the higher criticism relies little serious also :they are made to seem much only by! quantity being made to stand for quality; what is serious in them is but the unbelief of which they are the real and incontestable proof. F. W. G.

It is instructive to notice, in the case of Elisha and Elijah, and the case of Ruth and Naomi, as well as that of Abraham and Isaac, a phrase used by the Holy Spirit. "And they two went on,"or "both together," in the case of Abraham and Isaac. It pictures to us the devoted disciple and his Leader. No others are before us. These are the actors-others are but onlookers, or (as Orpahs) left behind. It presents to us, beautifully and affectingly, the path of the true disciple, alone with Christ. The disciple himself thinks only of his Master. The onlooker beholds, as it were, just the two-the disciple and the other-Christ, of whom the disciple bears witness. Others may remain at the foot of the hill, like Abraham's young men, or, like the fifty sons of the prophets, may stand to view "afar off," but "the two" went on.

Notice that the words "they two" are first used in the case of Elijah and Elisha when their faces are turned toward the Jordan (in 2 Kings 2:6). Elisha had followed his leader from Gilgal to Bethel, and from Bethel to Jericho, and had left the sons of the prophets behind; and now only the Jordan of death was before them, and immediately and for the first time the words are used "and they two went on." The difference is at once manifest between religious routine and real power. It was the same with Abraham and Isaac, and also with Ruth in following Naomi. Death was faced, and there was the leaving behind all that would naturally be clung to, through confidence in the one that was obeyed or followed.

"And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood to view afar off ; and they two stood by Jordan. Here is a test and a witness for God. There is neither halting nor haste. They face the difficulty before all. It was the same with Israel centuries before. "And Joshua rose early in the morning, and they removed from Shittim (no doubt significant) and came to Jordan-he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. That was the other side of Jordan, just opposite where the prophets stood. The prophets were going by the way of death-the death of the cross in figure, outside the land, "without the camp." And here, the others (the fifty) stopped short. They cluster together. We like company and numbers and popularity, without giving up religion. "They two" looked lonely. The others were looking at them. They were "a spectacle to angels and to men,"-the two, the leader and the follower. It was at such a pass that Peter shrank :" Far be it from Thee, Lord ; this shall not be unto Thee." Peter was still among the fifty. He savored, not the things that were of God, but those that were of men. " For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it."

Elijah and the Lord went outside the land for the same reason, because the nation was not in it according to God. The Lord went outside it and all its religion by the cross, and we are to go forth to Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. Then only can we return to our old circumstances as Elisha came back through the Jordan to his-in the power of God, we as risen with Christ.

Let us abhor that would make us compromise. It will be an infinite loss.

"And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground."

The follower was as safe as his leader. The channel was made bare. They passed by where the twelve stones had been placed five hundred years before by Joshua, when the ark was borne by the priests who "stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan." But these two are now going in the opposite direction ; and only two ! No army-not a nation, with an array of priests and warriors and the ark as of old. That was a type of how God's people are brought into their inheritance, and how we are dead and risen with Christ; but in this case (that of Elisha and Elijah) we have a different lesson, namely, the confession that God's people have failed in their witness, and the one who would be faithful to Christ must act now for himself, not waiting for his dearest friends or religious companions ; he must give up seeking the approval of the religious world, with its routine to promote self-complacency and hinder self-judgment; he must cross the Jordan,-he must put the cross between himself and all that is merely religious without Christ. What a test is here ! who is sufficient to bear it ? How troublesome to have to test by the Word all we are attached to !-so troublesome that the common thing with Christians is to refuse to be troubled about it. The reproach is too much, or the world has so blinded them that they have little or no exercise about bearing their cross and following Christ.

And now they have crossed the Jordan, and "they still went on and talked." It was solemn and joyous converse. The cross has been taken up, and the bliss of communion is being enjoyed-the reward of victory. We know well what they talked about-" the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." (i Pet. 1:11) They were beyond Jordan now, as the Lord was in Luke 24:, with His two companions when He talked with them and said, "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory ?" It was the same on the mount of transfiguration-they spoke of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem, that event of all events when the passing the Jordan would be forever fulfilled. There Elijah is again before us, and the cross is the shame. Brethren, may we follow the Lord for ourselves. It is a matter between one's own soul and Him. Alone with Christ is the Christian's pathway; the only way of true fellowship if with others.
E. S. L.

Fierce and frequent are the conflicts
Of Thy warriors, O our God;
But how sweet to know that Jesus
Every step the way hath trod.
Jesus, Captain of salvation,
Thou our battle-field hast tried;
Fear we not the foes of darkness,
Thou our armor hast supplied.

Thou art with us, thou art for us,
Thou hast 'gainst the tempter stood.
Thou our feebleness canst pity,-
Yea, and help, when none else could.
Many a silent conflict wages,
Fierce and oft within the breast
Of some silent saint who seemeth
Most of all to be at rest.

From the depth of every trial,
May our hearts still rest in Thee.
[Peace amid the fiercest fighting-
Calm upon the roughest sea.]
In the heat of hardest battle,
Look to Thee for victory.
Find the weapons of our warfare,
Saviour, all supplied in Thee.

H. McD.

Plainfield.

When will the sighing be over?
When will the groaning be done ?
When will the sorrow and weeping,
And all of earth's trials be gone ?

When will the sinning and failing?
When will the wanderings cease ?
When will the strife and division,
And all roots of bitterness cease ?

When will God's saints be united ?
When will their schisms all cease?
When will their love flow unhindered
In rivers of unruffled peace?

When will the deep "tribulations"
When will "afflictions" be gone?
When will the parting and dying
And sadness and anguish be done?

When will "our hope" be obtained ?
When will "our faith" merge in sight?
When will the living " be changed " ?
And dead saints raised into light ?

When Jesus our Lord shall return,
The things that are not shall then be.
The things that are now shall have vanished
When "caught up" His glory to see.

Then let us keep "watching" and "praying,"
And " waiting" that glory to share, "
Be steadfast" whilst on earth staying,
For Him we'll soon "meet in the air."

J. W. M.

So. Boston, May 26, 1892.

The great mistake made by many Christians with regard to prayer is that they only bring what they consider important matters to God, and attempt to manage smaller concerns themselves. This is really unbelief and self-confidence; for it is doubting His interest in us, and forgetting that word which says, "Without Me ye can do nothing." If we do not bring our little concerns to God, we attempt to bear them ourselves, only to prove our utter helplessness. Many a stumble has come about in this way. Then, too, we too often make the distinction between temporal and spiritual affairs, thinking the latter are proper subjects for prayer, not the former. If we do not bring our temporal affairs into God's presence, we fail to get His mind on them, and too often in this way let self-will have its way. For the root of all prayer is, "Thy will be done." If it is not God's will, it could not but be for our injury to have our prayers answered.

Are all our prayers answered ?

Yes, in God's way. The most perfect and earnest prayer-that in Gethsemane-was answered, but the cup was not removed. Paul thrice prayed that the thorn in the flesh might be removed, and had an answer which left the thorn, but along with it a word which sweetened the trial,-''My grace is sufficient for thee."

Do we watch for answers to prayer?

Elijah did, and was not disappointed. How needful this is-asking, and then waiting, and looking for the answer. This honors God. Nor must we forget another most important part of prayer-thanksgiving. Do we take our mercies without a word of thanks? How this must grieve our God ! How selfish it makes us !

Lastly, for what are we praying most?

Is it for greater practical likeness to Christ, fuller knowledge of self and of Him, a deeper insight into His Word? These, surely, are the great subjects . which should engage much of our time in prayer both for our-and others.

God reminds us at every meal of Christ as the food of the soul. Meat tells us of death by which we live ; bread (the "corn of wheat"), of resurrection; water, of Christ, the living source of refreshment, as of life.

Every thing is based upon atonement. So Israel was taught, and so we are taught, in Lev. 17:" What man soever there be of the house of Israel that killeth an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp, and bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, blood shall be imputed unto that man." It was to be offered for a peace-offering to the Lord.

How beautiful the every-day life of the Israelite ! Much more, how beautiful the every-day life of the Christian ! for that great Peace-Offering has been made by the blood of the cross, and upon that new and holy ground we eat and drink and live. What we eat and drink, the clothes we wear, the air we breathe, the light and sunshine we enjoy, the couch we rest on, the sleep that revives us, the house that shelters us,-all are different object-lessons telling us of Christ.

It was nothing but sin for an Israelite to partake of the beef he had killed, unless he had first offered of it to the Lord. Every part of his life was linked with and had its meaning as part of the life of a worshiper of Jehovah, who had redeemed him to Himself, for His own glory, leading him "by the hand" (Jer. 31:32), providing every thing for him. All this is a type of us. May the truth in its manifold teachings in the Word, and in created things, sanctify us, and fill us with reverence. If we
cultivate a spirit of worship, we shall be filled with joy in the common things of life. Read Lev. 17:" How blessed would it be for us if nature's real lessons were known and laid to heart after this manner continually, and our common every-day lives thus lifted into higher meaning! Thus would God make Christ to be ever before our eyes, and fellowship with Him to be confirmed and strengthened,-the things seen and temporal to minister to the things unseen and eternal.

"As a provision against the wandering heart after other gods also, there is in all this deep significance. In truth, it is the unoccupied part of our lives, whatever in them is not positively consecrated to God, that betrays us to the enemy. We need to realize that, in an enemy's country as we are,-and no? only so, but on a daily battle-field,- there can be no neutral ground. Whatever, as well as whosoever, is not for Christ is against Him. There is no place where sin will not gain advantage over us except the presence of God." (Numerical Bible, Lev. 17:) E. S. L.

More literally, the expression might be rendered, " Buying up the opportunity ; " as the merchant, looking out for bargains, buys up every thing that promises profit. In the ordinary sense of the words, we can never redeem the time. Time once passed is gone forever, only to meet us with its record at the judgment-seat of Christ. We can never make it up if it has been misspent or wasted. Each hour carries its own responsibilities, and can never be made to atone for former wasted ones. Lost opportunities ! – what a solemn theme ! Wasted time ! Well may we pause at the close of another year, and think on the swift-flowing stream which has swept past us never to return, and ask ourselves how we have spent it. Humbling, no doubt, will it be to many of us to dwell on the past, but wholesome too if we take to heart the lessons it teaches, and learn from past follies to buy up present opportunities.

Opportunities are manifold, and each moment carries with it an opportunity. In general, they may be divided into two classes, given to us respectively in the two passages where the same expression is used. "See, then, that ye walk circumspectly; not as fools, but as wise ; redeeming the time, because the days are evil." (Eph. 5:15, 16.) "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." (Col. 4:5, 6.) The first of these passages gives us more particularly the opportunities which relate to ourselves-personal; the second, those which link us with others-relative.

We live in evil times. The whole tendency is away from God, and it is only too easy for us, if unwary, to be carried along with the stream. Hence the exhortation " See that ye walk circumspectly," or carefully. We absorb easily the flavor of our surroundings; let us, then, be careful. The days are evil:God is not known, loved, or honored. But though the clays are evil, they are none the less crowded with opportunities. There is the open page of God's precious Word ever ready to reward the diligent seeker; the throne of grace invites to believing prayer; while there is not a circumstance or event of our lives but affords golden opportunities to learn, to do, or to bear. And how fleeting these opportunities are !The quiet time for reading and prayer, if not availed of, gives place to the turmoil of every-day life. The solicitation of temptation, to evil thought or word or deed, soon passes into actual sin, or gives place to something else,-in either case, leaving a scar upon the soul, unless the opportunity is availed of to resist it in the energy of faith. The merchant eagerly seizes upon every bargain which will profit him; let us too learn to make use of the opportunities which crowd upon us. Naturally, we look for the great events of our lives, and usually wait in vain. Our lives are made up of little things, and unless we make use of these, we will have nothing.

In Colossians, it is our relation to our neighbor which is contemplated, particularly " those who are without." Man is a social being, made for intercourse with his fellows. Conversion does not alter our natural constitution and tendencies, nor is this to be desired. Separation from the world is in spirit, not in contact." I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldst keep them from the evil." We are thrown with men of the world, on every hand; in business and travel, intentionally and accidentally; we are visited by strangers, are accosted on the street, asked the way or the time. Do we realize that we in this way have thousands of opportunities for speaking to men of Christ ? and are we buying up these opportunities, making use of them? Many of these opportunities come but once; we cross a man's path, and may never see him again. We are not saying that every one we meet can be spoken to, or that a tract should be thrust upon persons, without seeking guidance. There may be very much legality in such work, bringing one into bondage instead of ministering joy. But the fact remains that we are brought into contact with persons daily, and have many opportunities for influencing them. " Walk in wisdom toward them that are without." Alas ! how often does folly rather than wisdom characterize Christians in their intercourse with those that are without ! The unprofitable conversation,-frivolous remarks, levity, worldliness,-too often is heard rather than speech with grace, seasoned with the salt of truth, pungent and painful though it may be. Do we realize the lost condition of those that are without? Did we but think that we would never in this life see again such, would our last words be of this world, or would we not seek for an opening to speak for God and their immortal souls-at least, would we not be praying for them ? Surely we have a responsibility in all this which we cannot shun, -nay, if the love of Christ constrains us, we will not desire to shun it.

Nor need we confine this responsibility in speech to our intercourse with the unsaved. There are countless opportunities of helping one another by a word of advice, or the mutual edification which comes from talking over the things in God's Word. But if we follow the usual course, and allow the things of sense to absorb our talk,-or worse, if criticism, backbiting, and railing are indulged in, we lose an opportunity never to be recovered.

All this is plain enough, and familiar to us all ; we all assent to it, but a little reminder may not be out of place. If there is aroused a spirit of self-examination, of prayerful desire to avail ourselves of the opportunities afforded us, the admonition of these verses will not be in vain.

But how, in brief, can we be ready to buy up the opportunity ? By being right in heart. If the heart is in communion with Christ,_if His Word fills and occupies our minds, we will almost involuntarily avail ourselves of openings. It is easy to tell sinners of a precious Saviour if our own hearts are overflowing with His love ; easy to have a suited word for all-sinners or saints,-a word in grace seasoned with salt, if we imitate Him whose ear was ever open to learn from God, and who therefore knew "how to speak a word in season to him that is weary."

David did not begin his reign at Jerusalem, but in the ancient and historic city of Hebron, whose origin dated back before that of Egypt's mighty city (Num. 13:22). If cities in Scripture are significant both from their names (as Bethel, Gilgal, etc.,) and from their associations (as Beersheba, Samaria, etc.), we may expect to find in the one where David was anointed additional light, both from the meaning of its name and the associations connected with it. As has been lately noticed by another, "Hebron" means "communion," and it was situated in Judah ("praise"). David, as we know, was a type of Christ, here at Hebron about to be recognized publicly as the king whom God had appointed. That appointment had taken place long before, when Samuel, guided by God, poured the oil upon the head of Jesse's youngest son. But he was recognized by none as the king so long as he remained in the house of Saul; only when driven out from his presence, and finding shelter in the cave of Adullam, did he gather to himself that little company who saw in him their king. "Adullam"- "rights of the people"-what a significant name as compared with "Laodicea," its Greek equivalent! In the latter, it is the synonym for lukewarmness and self-sufficiency,-Christ outside, apparently unheeded by those who have enough without Him ; in the former, it reminds us of a rejected Christ, and His people outside with Him. In Laodicea, we have the rights of the people sought and maintained by themselves ; in Adullam, the rights of the people, but only in connection with the rights of David. Without Christ, our rights, our excellences, only render us unfit for God's presence ; but merging all in His, having none of our own, we share, not merely His rejection, but His glory. Only a few were with David in Adullam, -men of valor and of faith,-whose names are kept for us, and some of their deeds. But we come now to Hebron, the place of general acknowledgment. Its name and location, we have seen, are significant. Communion, based on a flowing forth in praise ; praise, because we see with God's eyes-this is where Christ is recognized. He does not care for that cold acknowledgment of His rights which comes from an intellect convinced, but with heart unsubdued. It is in fellowship with the Father, and in the spirit of joyful praise, that we will give Him the true place claimed by God's counsels for Him, and "crown Him Lord of all."

But if the meaning and location of the city are significant, none the less so are its associations. It was, as we have said, an ancient place, reminding us, as another has remarked, of the deep roots of that spiritual life and communion which, as it antedates the best this world can give as to its origin, will also outlast it. Here it was that Abraham had his home and spread his tent, content to be a pilgrim in what had been promised him, and to call nothing his own save what spoke of death, apparently the end of all his hopes. But though a stranger dwelling in tents, he finds another Stranger, who is willing to be entertained by him, and who promises all blessings to him who is as good as dead. The recognition of Christ as Lord of all is in proportion as we realize, with Abraham, our strangership here. The tomb of that which is natural is a fitting place for the proper recognition of Him who can never die. Hebron was Caleb's inheritance. He seemed to have set his heart on it when he went with the twelve men to spy out the land, and all the forty years' wanderings in the wilderness could not obliterate it from his memory, nor the presence of the giants check his faith. God had promised it to him, and he "counted Him faithful that had promised." (Num. 13:22; Josh. 14:) Caleb is the man of faith-faith which lasts, and which overcomes. It is such men that recognize and own Christ as Lord. Hebron reminds us of this. But it was also one of the cities of refuge (Josh. 20:7), reminding us of Him who first sheltered us from wrath before we could recognize Him as Lord. Thus we see the place where Israel gathered to turn the kingdom to David was one fertile in suggestion of truths, both from the significance of its name and from the associations connected with it.

But let us see the subject in the light which applies directly to ourselves. God has glorified His Son Jesus, whom He had appointed heir of all things. He does not wait for us to give our poor sanction to what He has done. Jesus is " crowned with glory and honor." But He does permit us to see this, to own it, and to rejoice in it. In that sense, we can share in turning the kingdom to Him, in giving Him "the glory due unto His name." To recognize Him as Lord, however, implies subjection to Him. Not one of those who came to David at Hebron to acknowledge his rights but realized that by that very acknowledgment he placed himself in subjection to the king. We talk. about Jesus seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high ; we sing,-

"O Jesus, Lord, 'tis joy to know
Thy path is o'er of shame and woe;"

may we have grace to show, by the chastened spirit, in true subjection to Him, that we have been to Hebron, telling us of refuge, communion in praise, strangership, and that our hearts have owned Him whom God has crowned as our Lord to serve.

For, as we well know, there is no contradiction between the highest joy and the deepest subjection. He who has clearest views of a glorified Christ will show it in his life. Paul saw Him, and with the knowledge of Him exalted, and the joy of that knowledge filling his heart, could go forth any where, to meet bonds, imprisonment, or death for the name of the Lord Jesus.

Let us, then, come to Hebron to see Him whom man has rejected, but whom God has placed at His own right hand.

"Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh." (i Chron. 11:1:) The One on the throne is " not ashamed to call us brethren." He came down from glory to link Himself with us as man, not only by incarnation, but most effectually, and for our salvation, by His death. He is now in the glory as a man, who feels with us, who says of us, "He who sanctifieth, and those who are sanctified, are all of one." Faith recognizes this, and without boasting, without presumption, sees in the exalted Joseph a kinsman, and claims the relationship. It is one of the marvels of grace,-one of God's wondrous thoughts, to associate poor sinners from the dunghill, made meet by blood, with His spotless, glorified Son, and yet not to degrade Him in our thoughts, nor let us forget who and whence we are. Next, the people allude to the deliverances and victories wrought by David. We too can do the same. Christ has conquered, and conquered for us, snatched us from Satan's grasp, delivered us from bondage. Faith owns this, and on these grounds owns His rights as Lord, gladly bows to Him. Calvary and the throne are two successive steps in the eyes of His people-and the throne because of Calvary.

So we see the people flocking to Hebron with one object-to exalt David. As we look at them tribe by tribe, their numbers and accouterments and qualifications, we can learn many things for our own help, and see how that word, "I am glorified in them," can even here in some measure be fulfilled.

First comes Judah-David's own tribe, with shield and spear,-six thousand, eight hundred men. The smallness of this number is doubtless to be accounted for by the fact that already large numbers from that tribe had identified themselves with him. It is significant, however, that so many had up to this time been as strangers to the son of Jesse. " Neither did His brethren believe on Him." Often those nearest as to privilege are slowest to avail themselves of that privilege. "The first shall be last." Even when it is not a question of salvation, but of wholehearted surrender to Christ, how often are those who have been longest Christians, or enjoyed greater light, far behind the new convert or unlettered child of God. Are we, beloved brethren, among these laggards of Judah? These many years, have we known the Lord as Saviour? have we been to Hebron, and there fully seen what He is, and bowed in our inmost souls to Him and His rule ? But if late, they come at last, and doubtless bring great joy to David's heart, as all the Lord's own who, spite of delay, at last fully bow to Him give Him joy. These men come armed, with shield and spear. "The shield of faith, wherewith we quench all the fiery darts of the wicked :" this is the weapon of defense, to be used when attacked, as the spear is the weapon of offense, to be used in attacking the enemy. Our blessed Lord is pleased, not only to accept the homage of our hearts, but the service of our hands. He would have us "endure hardness, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ." To be good soldiers, we must be armed both for protection and assault. The enemies of Christ are our enemies. They are ever ready to assault Him. The infidel, the false professor, the secularist:we must be ready to meet these assaults with the shield of faith-faith instructed by and built upon the Word of God. "This is the victory which overcometh the world, even our faith." But it is not enough to resist and to parry blows, we must be ready to assault the enemy, and to drive him out. Many strongholds are held by the enemy. He often will not take the initiative, hence the spear is needful.

Simeon comes next; and if from the fact that he had no well-defined boundaries we might think he lacked in positiveness of character, we at least find here no lack of it. His men are mighty men of valor. Next to faith comes courage (2 Pet. 1:5). One may have armor both offensive and defensive, and yet be a poor soldier from lack of courage. " The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle." (Ps. 78:9.) How often was this exemplified in the history of Israel! It was not, after all, the weapons, but the heart behind them :-Shamgar's ox-goad would do if Shamgar's courage wielded it. We live in a day of vacillation, of compromise. We need the courage of the truth to proclaim it, to stand by it at all hazard. When Joshua was about to lead Israel into the land, the oft-repeated admonition was, "Be strong, and of good courage." How could they meet those hosts without courage ? and how can we meet the mightier powers of evil if we have not true valor,-not heedless rashness, which thinks not of danger till overwhelmed, but the firm, bold, uncompromising stand for the Lord. Let us take courage too from the fact that feeble Simeon supplies the mighty men of valor. We may be naturally feeble,-our past record may have been poor, but Hebron makes great changes.

Priests and Levites are never wanting when Christ has His true place. Service and worship, each in its proper place, and through proper channels, will always then be found.

In Benjamin's three thousand, we see a triumph of grace. All their natural feelings and prejudices allied them with Saul, and after his death, with his family. But the enmity has gone, prejudice has subsided, and here are the men to confess David. We too, like Benjamin, have known other lords,-can say with that one who was also " of the tribe of Benjamin," that we were blasphemers, injurious, persecutors, and yet, like him, have learned in some measure to say, " But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ."
Ephraim supplies a large contingent of mighty men of valor. Of old, this tribe had furnished the leader in Joshua, and later, it was the center of that jealousy which culminated in the disruption of the kingdom,-a jealousy which cropped out in the times of the judges once and again. But here, the enmity of Ephraim has departed- a foretaste of the time when it will really depart, as, gathered about the true David, they will vie with Judah in fighting the common enemy-not their brethren. These were famous men too; but how good to see them gathering to David !-just as it gives one joy to see the gifted, the wealthy, or the learned laying all their gifts, their reputation, at the feet of Jesus.

Manasseh is not far behind his younger brother in numbers; and of these eighteen thousand, we have the interesting mention that they were "expressed by name." We are units after all; and in all the innumerable company of the redeemed, there is not one whose name is not in the " Lamb's book of life." " I have called thee by name." Then, since He knows me, let me live as under His eye, as though there were none but me.

Issacher sent but two hundred. But two things change this small delegation into a very weighty one;-they represented all their tribe, and they had knowledge of the time's, and knew what Israel ought to do. Representation in secular or ecclesiastical politics is generally only such in name, and many might think there was no such thing as truly representing others. Here, however, we see it, and the reason is plain,-they had the same object as all their brethren-to make David king. When Christ Himself is our object and the object of our brethren, then we can truly represent them, act for them ; then the judgment of the few becomes that of the many,-the decision of one assembly, that of all. But another important principle is to be noted about these two hundred men,-they were leaders. Clerisy is one extreme ; a failure to recognize divine gifts, the other. No man or men has authority over us as being " lords over God's heritage ;" but we are bound to " know those that are over us in the Lord and admonish us, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake." In the epistle to the Hebrews, where Christ displaces angels, lawgivers, sacrifices, priests,-the saints are told to "remember," "obey," and "salute" their guides. And every right-feeling Christian will recognize the force of this, and will see in the gift, not the man, but the Lord the Giver, and obey, not the man, but the Lord. On the other hand, the true spirit of leadership is humility. The true leader is like Christ, and only in so far as he is, can he be followed. The moment one begins to presume on his position, on his gift or past record, and expect to be recognized, he is no longer a leader, but the reverse. It is when the man has but one object- to glorify Christ-and is truly in subjection to Him, can say, "I am less than the least of all saints," that he is fit to occupy the place and use the gifts the Lord has given him. These men had knowledge of the times, and knew what Israel ought to do; and oh, how much such men are needed now,-men who understand the difficult times in which we are, and who can in no uncertain way point out the true path for Christ's scattered and wandering sheep. There are such, but, alas! in the heat of controversy, the confusion ever increasing, we are apt to miss what they would tell us.

Zebulon, apparently obscure, when the test comes, throws fifty thousand men into the field, well accoutered, and expert in war. It would be interesting to take up the various instruments of war, and see their significance, -the sword for hand-to-hand conflict, the bow for long range; the javelin, the spear, and all the rest doubtless have their special meaning. But though so many, these men of Zebulon are not a mob ; they keep rank; each fills his proper place, and all act in unison. It is this which gives beauty to military maneuvers, and adds effectiveness to large numbers of men. Individuality is one side, fellowship the other. There is no such thing as saints acting oppositely if they have the same motives and the same light. The apostle, in speaking of his fellow-servants who had gone to Corinth (2 Cor. 12:), says, "Walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps." With one animating spirit, there could be but one path. Let us remember this; and though it is humbling to us to own it, see in the divergent paths of God's people, not the liberty of the Spirit, but the self-will of the flesh. But how can we keep rank ? One object before us, one guide, and, self judged, waiting on the Spirit, who will, as in the time of Pentecost, make all we say or do "with one accord."

Naphtali shows us the place of leaders again.

Dan and Asher, and the tribes across the river, swell the numbers of those who are flocking to Hebron. Oh, to see something answering to all this to-day!

Now we see the results. There is great feasting. For David will not see those who are true to him suffer hunger. We, alas ! too often put our needs first and the glory of Christ last. We are selfish, and even in our study of the Word, or service, are perhaps thinking of the benefit to ourselves, rather than the honor done to the Lord. Put Him first, and how soon feasting follows! And with feasting comes joy-the blessed outflow of hearts that have an object, and filled unto all the fullness of God. Lord, gather Thy people to Thyself, occupy them with Thyself. We will not lack then in food or joy.

(Num. 7:)

In reading this very long chapter, the question naturally is asked, Why is there so much apparently needless space given to offerings the same in every particular in the case of each of the twelve princes ? The simple facts might have been stated in one twelfth the space, and not one item have been omitted. But we well know that here as everywhere else all is perfect; and if we have eyes to see, the very repetitions-never in God's Word " vain repetitions,"-convey to us lessons in a way more striking and forcible than could have been done by any other means.

The position of this chapter is note worthy. In the first chapter of the book, we have Israel ranged around the tabernacle in due order,-each tribe numbered and associated with its appropriate companions; next, we have the evil excluded from the camp; then, positive consecration, in the Nazarite ; finally, as the crown upon it all, the consecrated offerings of the twelve princes. All this has much that is simple in its application to ourselves. The proper center is Christ; round Him, in God's eyes, even if we fail to manifest it before the world, we are gathered. Each one numbered,-not one forgotten or left out." He calleth His own sheep by name"-none so insignificant as to be needless. Each, too, is in his proper position, associated with those to whom he ministers and from whom he receives that which is lacking in each-thus tempered together, " fitly framed together," no part lacking, the " whole body maketh increase unto the edifying of itself in love."Equally simple and important is the exclusion of defilement,-whether defiled persons, as in i Cor. 5:, or defiled things, as in Col. 3:, i Pet. 2:Resulting from this putting off the deeds of the old man is the full consecration, in a threefold measure, of the Nazarite, who shows us what the separation of Christ was,-" For their sakes I sanctify Myself," which is the example for us, " that they also might be sanctified through the truth."Now comes the presentation of offerings, acceptable and well pleasing, because in their proper position, springing out of proper relationships and conditions of heart.

The material of the offerings, whether of utensils or sacrifices, spoke of Christ. The bowls and chargers were of silver-the white metal of redemption,-in itself suggesting both the price paid and the effect wrought. This was the first part of the offering of each prince. God begins with redemption :it is for Him the ground upon which He can have to do with us in grace. He would have us remember this, and in our approaches to Him to have the same thoughts. These silver utensils were filled with fine flour mingled with oil. The flour reminds us of Him who as a perfect man walked here for God. Subjected to the grinding force of circumstances and trials, it only the more clearly manifested the fine flour of a perfect humanity. The oil mingled with the flour speaks of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit who was with Him, in Him from the moment of His conception. Here, then, we have the person of Christ. The gold was typical of divine glory, and so of Him who perfectly glorified God in what He was and what he did. He was the brightness-the effulgence of His glory, the express image of the character, the imprint of His person." I have glorified Thee on the earth."Fitly following the silver of redemption and the meal of His perfect humanity is this gold which tells how perfectly God was manifested and glorified. The incense was, to God, fragrant of Christ, all of whose garments smell of myrrh and cassia and aloes. " This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."God has found His delight in Him."His name is as ointment poured forth."Let us ever remember that Christ is inexpressibly dear to God. And how beautifully appropriate is it that the gold of divine glory should contain the incense of a precious Christ! It is so all through. When we see God's glory manifested, we will find the sweet savor of Christ present. Whether we look back at creation,-nay, before that (Prov. 8:), or at the incarnation, or up into those regions where all is gold, we will find that this gold-this manifestation of glory is, as it were, the receptacle for sweet incense, the means of presenting to us the value of Christ in God's eyes. Next come the sacrifices, beginning with the burnt-offering. " One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year."Unity seems to be suggested here, in the one, diversity in the three kinds of animals. There is but one burnt-offering; it is enough, and it is complete. The bullock, the animal of strength and service, shows us Christ in the perfection of His strength, in the full submission of His service, yielding Himself up wholly to God in death. The ram speaks of consecration-that obedience unto death which could stop at nothing short of that full measure of devotion. The lamb, again, reminds us of that meekness which could say, " Not as I will, but as Thou wilt." Blessed Lord !All, all was laid willingly upon the altar. " I delight to do Thy will " was the language of Thy heart; as the bullock in perfect strength, the ram in devotedness, the lamb in meekness, Thou didst lay down Thy life for God's glory !

For the sin-offering, there is but the single kid of the goats. One there must be, or the view of Christ's work would be incomplete; more than one was not needed, for here the single thought of judgment against sin, borne fully, was presented. There is no multiplication of the sin-offering. It was not a sweet savor unto God, it was a solemn reminder of our sins, and of penalty borne and debt paid; but this thought, while present, does not dominate God's view of Christ, nor should it our worship of Him.

Lastly come the peace-offerings, beginning with two, which would seem to remind us of God and man-food for both,-and then three series of fives-God with man perfectly manifested. What variety is here ! The ox, as we have seen, means service, strength. God calls us to share with Him in that view of Christ's work which is for us as well as for Him. " Five rams " gives us our share in
a devotedness which, while it was to God, was for us. The goats are not here sin-offerings, but sweet savors to God, yet of those animals which were ordinarily used for sin-offerings. He who was made sin for us was also most perfectly well pleasing to God-never more so than when made sin. He is also our food. How these twos and fives and threes tell us that God would have us " eat,- yea, drink abundantly"! The peace-offerings are not limited-their very numbers tell us this. "God with us " is the only measure of communion.

Such, imperfectly, is the character of these offerings of the twelve princes. Have we not seen, in going over them, why God could repeat each offering over in full at each presentation ? Christ is the subject, and He never becomes tedious to the Father. He dwells with delight upon each aspect of the Lord's person and work. He lingers over their descriptions, He goes back to them with fresh delight. He makes no general summary including all, but enters with keen delight into each detail.

Does not all this speak to our conscience and heart? If God thus protracts the enumeration of the oft-repeated excellencies of His Beloved, shall we not learn to imitate Him, and never grow weary of dwelling upon them and of speaking of them to one another. It is unfamiliarity with the subject which leads one soon to weary of it. The enthusiast never tires of thinking of what absorbs him,-the painter, his art,-the merchant, his business. So let it be with us. Let us learn, from those eighty-nine verses, to be such enthusiasts in regard to our blessed Lord,-so absorbed with Him, that we can truly say, "Jesus, of Thee we ne'er would tire."

Notice, too, that these princes have in their offerings a point of resemblance. Differing in name, each one significant of some special truth needed by their tribe; differing in tribe, each one with special weakness needing special grace ; they meet in a common point, and that is Christ. Here the need, whatever it may be, has been fully met:the grace, whatever it may be, is "the grace that is in Christ Jesus." They are linked together, and covered over, as it were, by their offerings. How simple the lesson ! Around Christ, occupied with Him, all His people find all their needs met, and themselves knit together by that which occupies them.

But, lastly, in this twelve fold repetition of the offerings, we see how God regards individual devotedness. The offering of each one is noted by itself. This shows us that we are individuals. Our service, our trials, our worship, is viewed separately, and "in that day," "every man shall have praise of God."

Within the vail! my blood-bought home!
Jesus is seated there,-
With Him I sit; His work is done;
By faith His rest I share.
In Him I died; in Him I rose;
In Him, ascended too, I sit within " the heavenlies,"
In God the Father's view.

He resteth now to show Himself
For me before the throne :
Not without blood He entered there,
Most precious blood, "His own!"
That blood redemption finished shows,
Sin "purged" and "put away,"
Else the sin-bearing Lamb could ne'er
His blood to God display.

My sins and guilt are in God's thought
Buried in Jesus' grave;
A worshiper once purged, by faith
A conscience free I have.
And should defilement by the way
Hinder my access free, '
Twould cast dishonor on the blood
Within the vail for me.

But I confess as all 'forgiven
Whatever from nature flows;
Judged aud condemned in Jesus' flesh,-
The blood its failure shows.
And would I rest within the vail
Unmoved, in God's own peace,
From confidence in aught that's mine
I evermore must cease.

Within the vail He's hidden now,
And now from human view
My " life is hid with Christ in God,"
My risen life, and true.
That life is His creation new:
" Christ in me," saith the word,
Eternal life !It cannot sin,
Because 'tis born of God.
My place of prayer! no more afar
From earth to heaven I cry,
But whisper in the Father's ear
Through Him who brought me nigh.
God hears the Spirit's pleading voice,
He knows the Spirit's mind,
And I in it the earnest have
Of what I see and find.

Within the vail! A royal priest-
Through Christ my lips may raise
Continually, as incense sweet,
Their sacrifice of praise.
A worshiper in spirit there,
My soul delighteth much
With God to rest, and feast on Christ:
"The Father seeketh such."

And, coming from my secret place
Beneath Jehovah's wings,
My happy spirit longs to tell
Of all these precious things
To those who know no light of life,
No home with Christ in God,
And of the way within the vail
Opened by Jesus' blood.

For soon from out the holy place
Our great High-Priest shall come,
To bless His waiting Bride, the Church,
And take her to His home.
And when in glory He appears,
His " wife" the Lamb will own ; "
Forever with" and "like" her Lord,
With her He shares His throne.

Q. 1.-" I should like light on Heb. 6:and 10:These two chapters seem to many minds to come against the truth of Jno. 10:28. I do not believe the Holy Spirit would allow that; but I am not clear, and cannot therefore give evidence to others that the Holy Spirit does not contradict Himself. Can you help me ?"

Ans.-"Concerning the question in your letter lately received, let me first say that as in creation, which is the work of God, not one thing contradicts another, however different it may be, so in revelation, which is the Word of God, not one passage contradicts another, whatever difference there may be between the subjects treated.

"Thus in John the subject especially treated is Eternal Life, introducing Christ Himself as that in the beginning of the book; then how it is imparted in chap. 3:; a case given in chap, 4:, with effects following; then further on, fuller details as to the grace that ministers it despite the thieves and robbers, who would gladly hinder it, the eternal security of those to whom He has given it, etc., etc.

"In Hebrews, it is quite another thing. It is a development of what Christianity is as contrasted with Judaism, and a warning as to the consequence of giving up the former to return to the latter. Its present application would be to the vast profession we call Christendom, a great portion of which gives little or no sign of being real.

"They are all alike-the real and the unreal-'partakers of the Holy Ghost;' not, of course, that He dwells in them all, but in the sense that Judas partook of all the blessings in the company of Christ just the same as the other apostles, and yet he was all the time ' a thief and ' a devil.'

"In Matt. 13:20, 21, we read of a class which 'heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it, yet hath he no root in himself, but dureth for a while,' etc.; so in Hebrews such are mentioned as having 'tasted the good word of God.'

"In Matt. 7:21-23, some can say (and the Lord does not contradict them), 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name ? and in Thy name have cast out devils ? and in Thy name done many wonderful works ?' This would seem indeed abounding and final proof that they were children of God, but it is not, and the Lord answers them, 'I never knew you.' Of those who are His real sheep He says, 'I know them.' But they are not sheep, whatever miraculous powers they had, and in Hebrews such are mentioned as having tasted 'the powers of the world to come.' All these things may be, and yet the persons to whom they apply be unsaved, and therefore without ' the fruits which accompany salvation.'

" Again, in Hebrews there is no forgiveness for ' sin,' because ' sin' there is not the immoral doing of the flesh, but apostasy. It is the repetition of Rom. 1:21, with this immense difference, that in Romans it is God as Creator; here, it is God as Redeemer. Thus as the sheep in John are saved once and forever, the apostates in Hebrews are irretrievably lost, inasmuch as God has nothing else for man after the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. That known and apostatized from leaves nothing but certain damnation. It is closely allied with the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, and the 'higher critics' of the present day are hastening multitudes with themselves into this terrible sin. At every step now you meet with men who, while they continue in the so-called orthodox bodies, will tell you that they ' no longer believe' in those doctrines of atonement and the judgment of sin in which they once professed to believe. Of such, Hebrews says, 'For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace.' (Chap. 10:26-29.)

"Mark too that in Hebrews sanctification is never by the Spirit, for that is inward, and marks the sheep. It is by the blood:that is outward only, and marks, therefore, every professing person. One cannot be wrought into by the Holy Ghost without being a child of God, and such have ever been and ever will be ' kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.' (1 Pet. 1:5.) But a man may have the most perfect creed possible, and fight hard for it too, yet finally be lost.

" But I think I have said enough on the subject. It has been, since I knew the Lord, one of many exercises of soul. It has therefore enlarged the heart, and extended the view of God's wonderful ways, and the end of this is worship in spirit and in truth. What exposes unreality stirs up and thereby the more establishes and strengthens reality." P. J. L.

Q. 2.-"In Acts 16:30, 'What must I do to be saved,' does the question indicate that the man was on legal ground ? " J. V.D.

Ans.-We should say, no. It is the cry of an awakened soul. He sees his danger, he wants to be rescued from the power of God, an exhibition of which he has just seen, and to which he realizes he is exposed. It is not a cool theological question, like that of the Pharisees in Jno. 6:2, but like the awakened cry of those convicted by the Spirit under Peter's preaching at Pentecost,-"Men and brethren, what shall we do ? (Acts 2:37.) At the same time the anxious one little dreams of the fullness of the precious answer, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Nothing to do, for all has been done.

Q. 3.-"In studying the second chapter of John's gospel, we find in the latter part of the eleventh verse, ' And His disciples believed on Him;' then again in the twenty-third verse, 'Many believed in His name when they saw His miracles;' and in the twenty-fourth verse, 'But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men.' Please show the thought conveyed." J. E. M.

Ans.-The word used is the same in all three verses-"Believe" or "trust." Jesus manifested forth His glory by changing the water into wine at Cana. The result was, His disciples believed on Him. Their faith was established. This is, true faith. Next, the multitudes believed in His name when they saw the miracles which He did. This was evidently an intellectual faith,-their judgment was convinced, and in a certain way they sincerely believed in His name; but there had been no plowing up of heart, no awakening of conscience, no conviction of sin. New birth was needed, as brought out in the next chapter, in the interview with Nicodemus, who was evidently one of these intellectual believers; for he knew that Jesus was a teacher come from God,-knew it by the miracles He did (Jno. 3:2). The result is, that such an intellectual faith cannot tempt Him. He does not commit or trust Himself to them. He knew what was in man, and that those who to-day thus in a mere intellectual way believed in Him would the next day turn their backs on Him, and the next would cry out, "Crucify him!" . But if He thus is reserved toward mere intellectual believers, how different is He toward those who, like His disciples, truly believe! If we believe in Him, He believes in us :if we trust Him, He trusts us. How beautifully this is seen in His last interview with them before His death! He opens the secrets of His heart to them- " Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; bat I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you." (Jno. 15:15.) He takes them into His closet and lets, them hear His prayer to the Father-such a prayer! Nor has He changed. He still commits Himself to trust those who have trusted Him. His interests, His honor, are in our hands- left there by Him. What a proof of His confidence! and how have we answered this confidence ?

Q. 4.-"Kindly explain the word 'driveth' which occurs in Mark 1:12. Is it the same in the original as Matt. 4:1, Luke 4:1?" " J.P. M.

Ans.-Three words are used in these three passages, correctly translated in our common version-"Led up," "driveth," "led," in Matthew, Mark, and Luke respectively. There seems but little difference between Matthew and Luke (in Matthew, "Led up from Jordan into the wilderness"). Both indicate the accompanying of the Spirit. In Mark, it is "driving"-the same word as in Jno. 2:15, where He drove the dealers out of the temple. It need not be said that there is no contradiction in these:both the driving and drawing of the Spirit were true in Him, and in us. There is the impulse, a constraint, as in Paul- "Necessity is laid upon me" (1 Cor. 9:16), not at all inconsistent with " I will very gladly spend and be spent for you." (2 Cor. 12:15.) May it be ours ever to yield to both the driving and the drawing of the Spirit, as He did who was perfect in all.

Q. 14.-"Please explain Matt. 5:8. Are there any ‘pure in heart.’ "

Ans.-Yes. That is the character of those who will see God. "Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord." The verse is true in the same way as 1 Jno. 3:9-" Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin."As born of God, he does not; bring into view the flesh, and he does when he fulfills its lusts. So with purity of heart; it is the broad line which separates God's children from the men of the world. But the flesh is there too, and to be watched-fleshly lusts to be abstained from. Coming
down to individual cases, surely the most spiritual will not claim for himself heart-purity in the sense generally understood-complete holiness. Above all, there is no such thing as a change of the natural heart." A new heart will I give unto you." The old remains there, a witness of what we were, and ever ready to assert itself in power again.