A RECORD OF THE SOUL’S PROGRESS, AND A WITNESS TO THE WORD.

Josh. 15:26-28.-(Continued from p. 209.)

Now in the third series to follow, it ought to be peculiarly the Spirit Himself that is before us, although as seen in His work, of course. And here, if the first name of the second series speaks of the rule of law, the first of the third may well illustrate the "dominion of the Spirit."Strange and startling will the name be, then, that we find here ! it is another " Hazar," "inclosure;" but no more the "conflict;" it is-

"Hazar-shual," the "inclosure of the jackal," the jackal-pen !

"Shual" is in our version always taken as the "fox," and this, it is believed, is sometimes the true meaning; but if so,'it must at least have a wider significance. Samson's " foxes," of which they collected three hundred, were more likely jackals, which are gregarious, as the fox is not, and could more easily have been found in number. But there is another passage more decisive, where, speaking of his enemies, the Psalmist says (Ps. 63:10), "They shall fall by the sword, they shall become a portion for foxes ; " for the jackal is a well-known carrion-feeder, as the fox again is not. The name "shual," which means " burrower," might apply to either.

But what are we to make of this word, then, with its sinister meaning, coming just where we might expect to find the dominion of the Spirit indicated ? is there indeed any kinship between such thoughts ? I believe so, assuredly; "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh:" what is that but saying, " Walk in the Spirit, and the jackal-nature is penned?" This unclean creature, with its earth-burrowing, carrion-feeding propensities, is it not an apt figure of what the flesh is whenever it has leave to show itself ? And under the rule of the Spirit, might we not expect that the first thing we should be taught would be the effect upon the evil in us, if it will be allowed that any evil is indeed left ?

I know that there are many Christians to-day who deny that in the " perfect man "-the saint in his matured and proper condition-the flesh still exists. Those Galatians, they tell us, of whom it is said, "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit," were no good examples of a Christian state. They may have had a jackal in a cage, perhaps scarcely so much as that. Had they kept him in, would he not have starved and died there ? and why should the noisome beast be kept alive ?It may be possible even to answer this. Even if it were not, the prior question to be settled is as to the fact.

Paul the apostle was certainly not himself a " foolish Galatian;" and if any mere man could be proposed for an example to others, he would be the man. Nay, he can even propose himself:three times over he says, " Be followers of me" (i Cor. 4:16; 11:i; Phil. 3:17); and in the last case adds, " And mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example."Who, indeed, of all the apostles labored so much as he ? or who could give such a record of what he had endured in service?"This one thing I do," speaks of the ardor of his concentration; and his "earnest expectation" and his hope is, in his own language, this:"that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also, Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death."
(Phil. 1:20.)

This being the man he was, what has he to say for himself of that absence of sin from his life of which many of its advocates can speak quite freely ? Of his faithfulness as a minister of Christ, in the very chapter in which he bids us be followers of him, and while his testimony shows abundantly his spiritual stature, he says, " For I know nothing against myself; yet am I not hereby justified, but He that judgeth me is the Lord." (i Cor. 4:4.) That is, where his conduct might seem to himself to be most blameless, he dare not assert it:only the Lord fully knew, and in that sense he protests, "Yea, I judge not mine own self."

When he had been caught up into the third heaven, and heard there unspeakable things, yet because there was still in him a capacity for self-exaltation, " There was given to me," he declares, "a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure." (2 Cor. 12:7.) How plain, then, that there may be in us tendencies which do not even come out, and for which God's dealings with us may be needed lest they should come out,-tendencies which may be hidden too from ourselves ! If such remained in this ardent apostle, spite of an activity, a zeal, a love, which had no equal, who shall dare to say that they are not in him? But these tendencies are the manifestations of a fallen nature,-of a heritage from her who fell by aspiring to be what she was not, and which were the successful work of him who himself fell by pride-"the condemnation of the devil."

Our rule is, to "walk as Christ walked:" how much here is it safe to claim ? How much of any claim may be due to self-ignorance, and little standing in the light of God!

Scripture is clear enough as to the fact:but why the fact ?-why merely pen the jackal ? Such an inquiry may be reverently as well as irreverently made. It can, I believe, be measurably answered. The living man bound to the carcass would learn at least a horror of corruption. An apprehension of sin in this way, in the very light of God's grace, may be a lesson profitable to all eternity. And it is surely a triumph over evil to make it thus subservient to holiness. A training in humility, in watchfulness, in the ways of a holy government to which we are ever subject, may be of infinite value in the eternity to come.

Only let us remember ! if we have the jackal, our responsibility is, to have the jackal penned. " Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." To walk in the Spirit is not to live a mere blameless life :it would be mere meaningless tautology to say, Walk blamelessly, and you will not do evil. To walk in the Spirit is to walk in occupation with Christ,-to "walk in Christ," -to live as identified by grace with Him who is our Representative in the presence of God. It is to walk as separate from the world, because belonging to heaven,- strangers and pilgrims, our hearts where our treasure is, to set our mind on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. With our hearts there, our eyes there, the world will not attract us, the lusts of the flesh will find no object, the jackal will be penned ! And for this we are responsible, and for this we have the power. The Spirit of God is surely abundant power, and it is practical infidelity to doubt it.

How much more would one desire to say, but we must go on to the second word in this series-a beautiful and a simple one :it is-
" Beersheba," "the well of seven," or "the well of the oath." It is both, really. The word "to swear" is in Hebrew the word "to seven "-to give complete assurance:"an oath for confirmation is an end of all strife." (Heb. 6:16.) At Beersheba also seven lambs were witness for Abraham that the well was his. For us, a perfect Christ before God has secured to us the well of water,-here, without any doubt, the type of the Spirit of God, the "living water." The numerical place is that of witness, as we know, and the Spirit of God as come into the world is indeed the Witness for Him who is gone out of it,-the joy and refreshment and power of the new life in the soul. Here we have, therefore, the positive side of that of which Hazar-shual gave us the negative side.

Blessed be God that we have the well of water ! Notice how accurate and beautiful is the figure here. Without water, the tree would die in the midst of abundant food. Water is needed both to prepare the nourishment for the root, and to enable the root to take in the nourishment. And in the human body, no less than in the vegetable, the necessity is similar. Men have, without a miracle, passed through forty days without food, but how long would any one succeed in living without water? Oh that we knew better the infinite need that we have of the Spirit of God!

But notice, again, how man's responsibility is insisted on in the matter. The earth's unseen channels may be flooded with what he needs, but the well speaks of energy in getting at it, and of care needed even after access has been got. Desert sands, no less than the hands of Philistines, may choke the well. Men have proved widely how in both these ways the treasures of the Spirit may be sealed up from them again after they have been fully in faith's possession. But after all, the thing most to be dreaded is our own neglect. Let us remember that we may and do limit blessings which on God's part He has not limited for us. With all the Scripture-research today (thank God for it!), yet, alas! how few of us even think of the abundance which God has made our own ! how few claim and realize the possession of the well!

"Water" stands, in Scripture, both for the Spirit and the Word. " Living water " is the Spirit of God acting in and vivifying the Word of God. The Word of God is the only test of what is of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God cannot set aside or ignore what He has Himself indited for us. Just as the Word without the Spirit leads to rationalism and the dishonor of the Word, so the claim of the Spirit where the Word is slighted leads to enthusiasm and fanaticism and the dishonor of the Spirit. How many are governed by their emotions, or their sense of the fitness of things ! How few of God's people are there that have not some reserve-ground, where tradition, reasoning, and other things are permitted to assume control, and God's voice is hushed before these ! Are we really "men of one book," proving how thoroughly Scripture can furnish to every good work ? Ah, beloved, need we have to study and remember the lesson of Beersheba.

One word more, and we have done. It is in the same line with the rest of this series, of course. It speaks of the Spirit; but not to repeat what we have already had. As the third name of the third series, it ought in fact to give us the fullest and highest thought of all in this direction :so we shall find it does; the name is-

"Biziothiah," and Dr. Young, in his concordance, renders it, "the house of Jah's olives." I think it is more literal, and gives a better meaning, if we render it simply " among Jah's olives."

And this ought not to be difficult to interpret either. The olive, in Israel, was that out of which the oil so constantly used and spoken of was obtained; and we have one solemn, blessed word which can never permit us to forget the method of its extraction :that word is, " Gethsemane," "the oil-press." It was the pressure of the cross, now just before the Lord, which wrung out of Him what shows at once the depths to which He was descending, and the absolute submission, even there, of One who had come into the world only to do the Father's will in it. It was under this infinite pressure that His unique glory was exhibited upon whom the Spirit of God had come "as a dove," the bird of love and sorrow,-of sorrow which was that of love itself, and into which love brought Him. All was according to the Spirit throughout:the sorest pressure only brought forth the oil. It is the invariable type of the Spirit in His work, and that with which the prophet, priest, and king were anointed. But the olive was the home of the oil, so to speak :there was its abiding-place; and if we are "among Jah's olives," then we are those not only ministered to, refreshed and sustained by the Spirit, but in whom the Spirit of God dwells:"Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, and ye are not your own ?" "For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, 'I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.' " (i Cor. 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16.)

Here, then, is the supremest point reached in this series, for it is the seal and crown of all the rest. It was Christ's own peculiar excellency, that, as with the high-priest of old, who was but His type, He could be anointed without blood. For us, as we see in the priests afterward, the oil must be upon the blood. It is the completeness of Christ's work for us, the power of His blood to cleanse us from all sin, the absolute perfection which we have in Him, which enables God to put upon us thus the seal of His Spirit. "Behold, thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee." The value of that changeless, perfect work is proclaimed in the power and joy of this abiding Presence. We are not our own :we are bought with a price :and because His who has redeemed us, the Spirit of God has come to take possession of us, to fill us with the brightness of His glory, to be in us the earnest of the inheritance, to display in us the power of the risen Lord our Saviour.

Only, in the mystery which reveals to us at once our height in creation, and at the same time the peril to which this necessarily links itself, it is for us still to say how far this blessedness shall be known by us,-how far we will yield ourselves to this sweet and marvelous control. Beloved, what do our hearts say to this magnificent grace of God ? Shall we yield freely to the compulsion of a love which is satisfied with nothing else than our free yielding? or shall we, by careless indifference and unbelief, do our best to limit the power of Omnipotence, and grieve the Holy Spirit of God by which we are sealed unto the day of redemption ? That is the momentous question, which no one of us can settle for another, which we must, each one for himself, decide. F. W. G.

(Continued from page 132.)

Now, coming to those on the eastern side of Jordan :we have, first, Bezer, nearly always spoken of as "in the wilderness." The word means, apparently, "precious ore." It occurs, and in this identical form, just twice; and that in Job, chap. 22:23-25, where Eliphaz tells Job that if he puts his treasure (bezer) with the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brook, (1:e., evidently, trusting not in earthly wealth,) then the Almighty shall be his treasure (bezer),-1:e., true riches (see R. V.). It is closely connected with, and is said to be derived from, "Bazar," which is constantly translated "fenced," "fortified." The idea, evidently, in the word is "riches," "treasure," "gold," looked upon as a source of confidence and strength. The verse quoted in Job gives us much help, for it shows that the word is applied, not only to the fleeting riches of earth, but the true riches,-"the Almighty shall be thy 'precious ore,' thy bezer, (or defense, or wealth)." Then may we not see in Bezer the resources, the wealth, the redeemed have in their Lord Jesus,-that of which they learn more and more as they go along, proving and experiencing the infinite depth of the wealth they have in Him, and so truly able to put other confidence "with the dust, and among the stones of the brook ?"

Bezer, too, is beautiful for situation. If "in the wilderness," it forms a lovely oasis therein. The dear apostle dwelt ever within its borders, and knew its language well. Would we hear its speech ? Then listen to him when addressing the Philippians. " Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound:everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound
and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me." And, again, he exhorts us to dwell in Bezer when he says, " Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, Rejoice."

Mark 4:19 is a strong, warning, on the other hand, against wandering from this refuge-city.

Now let us see what we have thus far in these names, and note the admirable correspondence with the summing up of the apostle in the epistle to the Hebrews, in chap. 10:The general thought of security in the idea of refuge itself -that thought so carefully wrought out in the epistle, and summed up in the words " By one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified," and "Where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sins." Then " Kedesh," the holiness of the place to which we are brought,-" Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus."

Then the activities of that place in service, " Shechem,"

-"Let us provoke one another to love and to good works." Then the sweet association thereof in " Hebron,"- "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together;" and lastly, the wealth-the precious treasure there, which, if I through faith grasp, then I can, as the Hebrews, take with joy the spoiling of goods of earth, knowing that I have "a better and an enduring substance." Surely there is some confirmation of the meanings and significance of the names of these cities in this harmony; nor does it conflict with this that Bezer is in the wilderness.

"Our whole resource along the road,
Nothing but Christ-the Christ of God."

It is there we realize and are made to realize our needs, and there realize how full and complete the resources- the wealth in Him. Wilderness needs cause us to dig for the precious ore, and then we find we have an inexhaustible "seam "of it. In the land, His people drank the water from the rills and brooks and fountains with which it abounded ; but in the wilderness their thirst was only quenched by the Rock that followed them ; and so for every need. Mark, with trembling, that in the end of church-days, the professing church forgets this entirely. She says she is " rich, and increased with goods, and has need of nothing," and knows not that she is "wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked ; she has forgotten the lesson of "Bezer in the wilderness." And, my soul, remember that thou art in these very days,-the spirit of the times in which we live is that:be jealous of any thing that clouds in the least the glory of Christ, or tends to the slightest independence of Him.

Does its being in the " plain " further harmonize with the significance of humility, dependence?

Ramoth in Gilead out of Gad. The word means, without any doubt whatever, "elevation " or "height," "eminence." " Ramoth," then, must speak to us of the moral superiority or elevation in which the believer in Christ is, -1:e., there is connected with his salvation a moral elevation above the world ; he lives in a higher moral atmosphere,-that is the air faith breathes. Ramoth is, in some sort, the opposite aspect to Bezer ; if the latter speaks of the infinite resources in Christ for the poor pilgrim here in the wilderness, Ramoth speaks rather of his life hid with Christ in God, and of the superiority this gives to all of earth ; hence, to carry on the comparison with the epistle to the Hebrews, of that elevated walk of faith as pictured in Heb. 11:And, my soul, listen to the words of the king of Israel, "Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours?" Alas! it gets so quickly into the enemies' hands, and has been there so long, that we actually forget that it belongs to us at all. But it does. The heights are ours.' If a Christian has learned what Bezer is,-has dwelt there till the resources and wealth he has in Christ have put in their true light all create resources, then is he at Ramoth too, walking, dwelling far above the level of the world in the heights of faith. " Cast not away such confidence," or we too may soon have to ask if Ramoth in Gilead be ours.

Shall we climb the hill-side, and examine Ramoth a little closer. As we reach the summit, and enter our city, we become blessedly conscious of a change of air. Our Lord Jesus Himself told us to expect it when He said, " These things have I spoken unto you that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have-tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." It is not exactly a change either-the tribulation has not gone; it is only unable to affect the quiet heavenly calm of Ramoth. As one of our own poets beautifully expresses it,-

"It is not that I feel less weak, but Thou
Wilt be my strength; it is not that I see
Less sin, but more of pardoning love with Thee,
And all-sufficient grace. Enough! And now
All fluttering thought is stilled; I only rest,
And feel that Thou art near, and know that I
am blest."

Ramoth is certainly not far from Bezer. One can see how near together they are in Gen. 14:, 15:-"I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet," said Abram:there is surely the moral elevation-the heights of Ramoth. Ramoth is too high for low, earthly motives to influence its people. " Fear not, Abram ; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward :" there are the divine resources of Bezer.

Nor can the terrors of the tyrant and persecutor reach the heights of our Ramoth. We see this shown in many of its blessed citizens in the record of God's Word, and we recognize the language of Ramoth in the three Hebrew youths when they said, " O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace ; and He will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." Glorious language this of Ramoth ! But 'tis the privilege of the feeblest believer in our Lord Jesus to speak this language. Ramoth is ours-no one must question that. It is not the language of nature, it is learned in faith's school; nor the courage of nature, it is the grace that is in Christ Jesus that gives it. May we too be strong therein. Amen.

Golan, in Bashan, out of Manasseh. The meaning of " Golan " is given by one authority as " Place of Pilgrimage," or " Exodus," from " Gahlah;" but the meanings to this word are very many,-all of them, however, may be reduced to two-"to uncover or reveal," and "to carry away (generally) captive."The word is used in the former sense in such passages as i Sam. 3:21-"The Lord revealed Himself to Samuel;" Is. 40:5-" And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed;" Ex. 20:26, etc.; and in the latter sense, Jer. 20:4-" And he shall carry them captive," etc. I think the word points, in connection with its position-the last of the cities, to that end of the goal when, in the full light of that day, all shall be revealed and brought to light; for He comes " who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each man have praise from God."The end of the pilgrimage !How happy to find there a word that speaks to us of no sorrow for the path run, no complaint for a life wasted, no disappointment at the goal reached; but, whilst all things revealed, every man to receive " praise from God " !We may well credit, then, those authorities who derive " Golan " from a word signifying " joy," for quite in harmony with its position would this be at the end of the course. The dear apostle longed, therefore, in the language of these cities, to reach Golan, when he said, "Neither count I my life dear unto me, that I may finish my course with joy." Nay, more :may we not reverently say that our Lord Jesus, the Perfect Example of the pilgrim's walk of faith, looked forward to "Golan " when he passed through the shame and suffering of the cross; despising the one and enduring the other, because of the clearness with which He saw that glorious end- " the joy set before Him " ? When we lose sight of Golan, hands and knees sink toward earth (Heb. 13:12). But he who, through grace, knows his blessed security in his Cities of Refuge, and learning the holy lesson of Kedesh, in cleansing himself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit in the fear of God, whilst walking in the fruitfulness of Shechem, the sweet communion of Hebron,-he who joys in his Bezer in the Lord Jesus, and consequently knows well that Ramoth is his, will be apt indeed to be able to see with a clear eye the Golan-the goal of his pilgrimage, and press on thereto with a patient race.

Will any one say that these lessons from these cities are the results of mere ingenuity, and not the distinct intention of the Spirit of God ? Surely this would require more credulity than to recognize the divine intention and design. For as each meaning shows its own beauty and harmony with the whole, so is the probability lessened of such meanings being the result of mere coincidence, until this becomes a sheer impossibility. So if we see further beauty and design in the way these cities are placed, (their very position confirming the meanings,)-three on one side and three on the other side of Jordan,-without controversy, we may have the comfort of the assurance that it is the finger of God, and we may rejoice in the works of His hands. Now there is very distinctly such harmony. We are reminded (and who shall question if it be intentional or not?), with the very first city on the east of Jordan, that it is " in the wilderness." Is it strange, then, that all of these cities bear meanings that may be helpful to us in our journey as pilgrims through the wilder-ness-whether they whisper to our hearts of our resources in Christ, of our peaceful calm elevation in Him amid a restless surging world, or of the blessed joyful goal at the end ? But cross the river of death-Jordan, and who will question the design in the gracious reminder of the character the redeemed shall bear forever-" He that is holy, let him be holy still" (Kedesh),-of the service which death itself only perfect, for there " His servants shall serve Him" (Shechem),-or of that communion only complete when those servants " shall see His face, and His name be in their foreheads" (Hebron) ? F. C. J.

4. JUSTIFICATION.

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom. 5:1:)

At the close of the preceding paper, we spoke of justification as one of the results of redemption ; let us now look at it a little in detail. It is a subject upon which many Christians are not clear, yet one upon which clearness is most important for settled peace and a true conception of the believers standing. Let us seek to gather from Scripture, first, a definition of justification; secondly, the ground upon which we are justified ; thirdly, the means ; and lastly, the effects.

"It is God that justifieth "-the One against whom man has sinned, the only One competent, or who has any right to do so. But what a view of grace it gives us. The insulted, wronged One declares the justification of those who had wronged and insulted Him. "That justifieth the ungodly"-sinners are the ones justified. It is as sinners that grace meets men, and justifies them where they are and as they are. A man's fitness for justification is his need of it, his title to it his sins. How much anxiety, useless efforts, vain struggles would be saved did the anxious sinner realize that he needed no fitness for justification but his sins; that his very struggles and efforts to be something else than a sinner only show that he wishes to justify himself, rather than let God justify him.

Justification is connected with forgiveness of sins, though they are not identical. "Be it known unto you . that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things." (Acts 13:38, 39.) Forgiveness of sins is their pardon ; it is the removal of the debt; it is an act of mercy, though on just and sufficient grounds. Forgiveness alone would leave one with the stain, the shame of his sins still upon him ; justification does more; it declares the sinner to be righteous, to have a positive standing before God as though he had never sinned, nay a more certain standing than if he had never sinned, as we shall see when we come to examine the grounds of justification. The first part of the epistle to the Romans is the great treatise on justification. An ordinarily careful reading of the first five chapters will show how frequently the words "righteousness," "justify," and the like occur. First, after a short introduction, in which the theme is given-the righteousness of God-(chap. 1:17), we have the solemn and awful fact brought out that man has no righteousness of his own. Man is looked at from every point of view. In chap, 1:, we see the lowest degradation, morally, in those who, not wishing to retain God in their knowledge, were given up to all manner of uncleanness-even linking God's name and professed worship with their vile affections and practices. In chap, 2:, we have in the first part, those who are able to judge the evil spoken of in the previous chapter, and yet do the same things, a state of hardness and impenitence that will surely bring down God's judgment. These are Gentiles, and such is their condition. The Jews are treated of next ; they had the law, boasted in it, but their own conduct was condemned by it. The very height of privilege to which they had been lifted through the law, outward nearness to and knowledge of God, only made more awful their fall from that place. Thus, after giving an exhibition of man, both as without law, the Gentile, and under law, the Jew, the apostle sums up the whole matter:"We have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin . . . Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law :that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight:for by the law is the knowledge of sin." (Rom. 3:9, 19, 20.) This is the conclusion of the whole matter as to man's righteousness:he has none, whether Jew or Gentile :he is brought before the bar of God, aud tested by the light he has had, he is found guilty before Him. This, then, is man's standing before God naturally, without one particle of righteousness. Now comes in the display of another righteousness altogether-that of God. Naturally one would suppose that this righteousness could only be exercised against the sinner, that nothing but judgment could go forth against unrighteousness.
Here comes in, however, not only the grace, but the wisdom of God. He could not lay aside His righteousness, that would be to lay aside His being, an impossibility. Righteousness is in full exercise, but, amazing grace! for us- not against us. The very same justice which naturally would demand punishment, now not merely demands the pardon of the guilty, but declares him righteous before God. Pardon gives quietness in view of punishment, a knowledge that we have escaped it; justification enables one to ask, "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?" One can lift up the head, and look God in the face. God himself declares him to be just, that is, -positively righteous. It is just as if he had always been well pleasing to God. This is imputing righteousness to one who had none of his own. It is God's Tightness in full exercise, declaring the sinner who stands with closed mouth before Him to be clean every whit. This, then, in some sort, is the meaning of justification.

Next, let us see on what grounds so strange and amazing an act can take place. "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has forth to be a propitiation (or mercy seat) through faith in (or by) His blood, … to declare at this time His righteousness ; that He might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." (Rom. 3:24-26.) The grounds, or the reason why, God's righteousness is for instead of against the sinner are said here to be " the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,"-" a propitiatory through faith by His blood." The justice was turned against Him when He, as the substitute, took the place of the guilty. That wrath, in all its fulness and intensity, fell on Him. How well we know this ; but oh ! do we ever grow weary of it ? Blessed Jesus, Thou wast made sin for us, Thou didst bear our sins in Thine own body on the tree. The wrath spent itself on Him. Let the Christian be clear on this subject. Nothing can be more important than correct views of the atoning work of Christ. We are not saying that many who are saved do not fail to see the fullness and completeness of this work. If is sadly true that faulty or incomplete views of Christ's work are common, and the low state of soul resulting from this are also common. But for settled, abiding peace there must be the knowledge of wrath-bearing by our blessed Lord. We are justified by His blood, on that ground. – He has become the propitiatory-the mercy-seat where God meets the sinner. The mercy-seat was the cover of the ark, covering from view the law, preventing it, as it were, from being defiled by Israel and judging them. "Thy law is within My heart," said the Lord Jesus-perfectly loved and kept. But the mercy-seat was the place where the blood was sprinkled. The body of the beast was burned without the camp, as Christ suffered "without the gate," figure of that outer darkness of separation from the presence of God-"My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me." The blood of that beast burned at the greatest distance from God is brought within the vail and sprinkled upon the mercy-seat-the place of greatest nearness to God. So Christ entered by His own blood into heaven itself, there to appear in the presence of God for us. He is the mercy-seat, the meeting place where all the righteousness of God, instead of condemning the sinner, proclaims him free, nay, righteous. This is our standing,-the blood of Christ. On this rock we stand forever, not only forgiven, but having boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.
Thirdly, the means of justification. "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." (Rom. 3:28.) Law, works, wages, death. Such is the down grade for all who seek to be justified by the law. The whole fourth chapter of Romans is devoted to showing that the means by which we are justified are not works, but faith. Faith is the direct opposite of works. If it is by works, it could not be by faith. Faith is believing the record God has given. It is accepting a free gift. It is the acknowledgment that God is truce, that His love is real. Faith takes its stand before the mercy-seat at God's invitation. Many un-established souls stumble about this simple matter of faith, as though there was something difficult about it. Faith never occupies us with itself. We do not believe in our faith, but in Christ. Faith sees the blood, rests upon it, magnifies it. To be occupied with our faith is only another subtle kind of self-righteousness, which for the earnest soul is self-torture.

Lastly, what are the effects of justification? "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." How could there be any thing but peace when all wrath has been borne, all sins blotted out and forgotten ? Peace with God! feelings are not here thought of, but the relationship with God. We have now received the reconciliation. (Rom. 5:2:) "By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Nearness to God, boldness to enter into the holiest. A standing in grace; the glory our joy, so that the trials by the way are not to be compared with the glory soon to be revealed. But Christ was "raised again for our justification." His resurrection declared God's full acceptance of His death for our sins, and now as risen He stands before God as our righteousness. Not only are we regarded as righteous, but He is "made unto us righteousness," so that He is in the fullest sense our representative before God. A glorified Christ is the measure of our acceptance, of our righteousness. Is there fault, spot, or blemish in Him ? Then there is none in His people who are in Him. "The love of God (God's love to us) is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Justified by faith ; sealed with the Holy Ghost. Boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him. Joyful exultation in the bright hope of that glory which even now is our home, to which we shall soon be introduced by Him who has done' it all.

But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in the Christ." (2 Cor. 2:14.)

Such is the improved rendering of the verse. Victory, triumph, not through ourselves, but through God. David won the victory over the giant. A mere stripling-as such, type of One who took the place of weakness-with only such weapons as he could get from the brook, he meets the giant and lays him low. So our David too for us met the foe, for us won the victory. Sin was there as having had dominion over man since the fall; Satan was there with the power of death; the world was there, with all its hatred of Him. He met all, He conquered all, by His very death. " Having spoiled principalities and authorities, He made a show of them publicly, leading them in triumph by it." (Col. 2:15, new version.)The cross, which speaks of His shame, of His woe and death, was that by which He triumphed. And now the Victor has come forth from the grave-the Captain of our Salvation. He is the Leader of His people. He has gone up with a shout, passed through the heavens, and as an overcomer sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. That victory was won for us.

How blessed it is to dwell on that precious fact, to look calmly, again and again, at all that was against us, and to know that all those foes were vanquished. Take the matter of our sins-we were guilty, waiting but for judgment. By His death, He took that guilt and bore its consequences, bore them so perfectly that there is no wrath for us-simple truth this, so familiar, one might say, that there is danger of its being worn threadbare; but can there be such a danger? Is not the danger rather that we forget these things-lose the joy of them and the sense of victory.

Again, take Satan's power and authority over us. Man had put himself in Satan's hands as being willing to believe him rather than God; hence he was under his, power. Satan was the strong man, we were his goods, held with a grasp "which nothing could relax. But a stronger One came, and now we no longer belong to Satan :we are free through the One who has won the victory for us.

But let us look forward a little-a very little while. " Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (i Cor. 15:57.) This is the shout of victory in anticipation of the resurrection at the Lord's coming. These bodies, bodies of humiliation (Phil. 3:) are to feel the quickening power of that shout. (i Thess. 4:6.)That which has been the sad witness] to the ruin brought in by sin will then be witness to the! blessing brought in by Christ. No longer will weakness, nor even suffering be the position of His people, but victory enjoyed away even from the presence of the conquered. Christ will then be the object before a!4.He will be the Victor, but we will share in the results with Him who thus loves to have His people associated with Himself. What joy there will be then !How complete the triumph !

What are to do meanwhile? Are we victors when we look back at the cross, or when we look forward to the glory, only to be defeated in the time between ? Are we to run from the enemy or to hang our heads in shame now when in a little while we will be joining in the song of victory ? Our verse gives the answer, "Who always leads us in triumphant." Israel's journey should have been a triumphal procession from Egypt to Canaan. So should ours. The apostle-oppressed, opposed, mistrusted and persecuted-his walk through the world was a triumph. Wherever he might be, whatever his surroundings, always -in the jail at Philippi, on the sinking ship, before the Roman Emperor, he was a victor. Are we different from Paul ? Surely, his being an apostle did not make him victor,-he had no grace of which we too cannot make use. As Elijah, he was a man of like passions with ourselves. Then if he conquers, so can we. This verse can be true of us. The stages of our lives can be so many milestones in the path of our triumphant progress.

Let us illustrate a little. Take the serious matter of sin. As we well know, provision has been made for us to walk in freedom from it, "sin shall not have dominion over you ; for ye are not under law, but under grace." How familiar are the words-alas! do we in any good degree practically realize their truth ? Here we go on, year after year, and one must ask himself the question, "Is there any progress-any growth in holiness?" Or, again, as we consider our circumstances, can we say we are led in triumph through them. Trials in our business, in our homes,-all such things as would give us opportunity of testing God's grace for us-how are we meeting these ? Every thing that comes,-sickness, bereavement, poverty,-all should but furnish occasion for the truth of our verse to be shown. Especially in our intercourse with one another are we permitted to exemplify this truth. Differences will arise, and misunderstandings too. The question is, Are we to be conquered by these things or to be led in triumph through them. Alas ! Satan has too often been allowed to see discord and permanent weakness brought among God's people, instead of a little self-denial, which would have overcome all the difficulties. Satan triumphs over the these ruins of once happy fellowship and confidence. Shall he continue to do so?

But how was Paul always led in triumph ? It was the way of the cross. He followed the Master, and in bearing about in his body the dying of the Lord Jesus, His life was manifested in his poor body. May the Lord give us to know more of this way of triumph-this lowly way- passing through this world with a song in our hearts and on our lips as well.

AN EXPOSITION OF REVELATION IV.-XXII.

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

The Restraint upon Satan. (Chap. 20:1-3.)

The judgment upon living men is followed by that upon Satan their prince, though not yet is it final judgment. This partial dealing with the great deceiver means that the end of man's trial is not even yet reached. He is shut up in the abyss, or bottomless pit, of which we have read before, but not in hell (the lake of fire). As restraint, it is complete ; and with the devil, the host of fallen angels following him share his sentence. This is not merely an inference, however legitimate. Isaiah has long before anticipated what is here (chap, 24:21-23):"And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days they shall be visited. Then the moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed; for the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount Zion. and in Jerusalem, aud before His ancients gloriously."

Here the contemporaneous judgment of men and angels at the beginning of the millennium is clearly revealed, and just as clearly, that it is not yet final. The vision in Revelation is also clear. The descent of the angel with the key and chain certainly need not obscure the meaning. Nor could the shutting up of Satan mean any thing less than the stoppage of all temptation for the time indicated. The " dragon," too, is the symbol for the explanation of which we are (as in the twelfth chapter,) referred to Eden, "the ancient serpent," and then are told plainly, "who is the devil and Satan." It is simply inexcusable to make the interpretation of the symbol still symbolic, and to make the greater stand for the less -Satan the symbol of an earthly empire o.r any thing of the Sort. What plainer words could be used? which Isaiah's witness also abundantly confirms. God has been pleased to remove all vail from His words here, and it does look as if only willful perversity could misunderstand His speech.

That after all this he is to be let out to deceive the nations is no doubt at first sight hard to understand. It is all right to inquire reverently why it should be; and Scripture, if we have learnt Peter's way of putting it together,-no prophecy to be interpreted as apart from the general body of prophecy,-will give us satisfactory, if solemn, answer. The fact is revealed, if we could give no reason for it. Who are we to judge God's ways? and with which of us must He take counsel? It should be plain that for a thousand years Satan's temptations cease upon the earth; and then they are renewed and successful, the nations are once more deceived..

What makes it so difficult to understand is that many have a false idea of the millennial age, as if it were " righteousness dwelling" on the earth instead of " righteousness reigning" over it. It is said indeed of Israel, after they are brought to God nationally, "My people shall be all righteous" (Is. 60:21); but that is not the general condition. The eighteenth psalm, speaking prophetically of that time, declares, "The strangers shall submit themselves unto Me," which in the margin is given as "lie," or "yield feigned obedience." They submit to superior power, not in heart; and so it is added, " The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places." (Comp. 66:3; 81:15.) And Isaiah, speaking of the long length of years, says, "The child shall die a hundred years old," but adds, "and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed." (65:20.) So Zechariah pronounces the punishment of those who do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the glorious King (14:17).

The millennium is not eternal blessedness; it is not the Sabbath, to which so many would compare it. It answers rather to the sixth day than the seventh,-to the day when the man and woman (types of Christ and the Church) are set over the other creatures. The seventh is the type of the rest of God, which is the only true rest of the people of God (Heb. 4:9). The millennium is the last period of man's trial, and that is not rest:trial in circumstances the best that could be imagined, righteousness reigning, the course of the world changed, heaven open overhead, the earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of God, the history of past judgment to admonish for the future; the question will then be fully answered, whether sin is the mere fruit of ignorance, bad government, or any of the accidents of life to which it is so constantly imputed. Alas ! the issue, after a thousand years of blessing, when Satan is loosed out of his prison, will make all plain; the last lesson as to man will only then be fully learned.

The Resurrection and Reign of the Saints, (20:4-6.)

And now we have what requires more knowledge of the Word to understand it rightly; and here, more distinctly than before, there are vision and the interpretation of the vision, so that we will be inexcusable if we confound them. The vision is of thrones, and people sitting on them, judgment (that is, rule) being put into their hands. "The souls of those beheaded for the witness of Jesus and the word of God " are another company separate from these, but now associated with them; and "those who have not worshiped the beast" seem to be still another. All these live and reign with Christ a thousand years, and the rest of the dead do not live till the thousand years are ended.

That is the vision. The interpretation follows :" This," we are told, "is the first resurrection;" and that "blessed and holy is he who hath part in the first resurrection:upon these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."

We must look carefully at all this, and in its order. First, the thrones, aud those sitting on them:there should be no difficulty as to who these are, for we have already seen the elders crowned and seated in heaven, and before that have heard the Lord promise the overcomer in Laodicea that he should sit with Him upon His throne. That being now set up upon the earth, we find the saints throned with Him. In the interpretation, it is said they reign with Him a thousand years. The vision is thus far very simple.

Daniel has already spoken of these thrones:" I beheld," he says, "till the thrones were placed," (as the Revised Version rightly corrects the common one,) "and the Ancient of days did sit." (Chap. 7:9.) But there was then no word as to the occupants of the thrones. It is the part of Revelation to fill in the picture on its heavenly side, and to show us who these are. They are not angels, who, though there may be "principalities" among them, are never said to reign with Christ. They are redeemed men,-the saints caught up at the descent of the Lord into the air (i Thess. 4:), and who as the armies that were in heaven we have seen coming with the white-horsed King to the judgment of the earth.
This being so, it is evident that the " souls " next spoken of are a separate company from these, though joined to them as co-heirs of the kingdom. The folly that has been taught that they are "souls" simply, so that here we have a resurrection of souls, and not of bodies,-together with that which insists that it is a resurrection of truths or principles, or of a martyr-"spirit"-bursts like a bubble when we take into account the first company of living and throned saints. In the sense intended, Scripture never speaks of a resurrection of souls. "Soul "is here used for "person," as we use it still, and as Scripture often uses it; and the word "resurrection" is found, not in the vision, where its signification might be doubtful, but in the explanation, where we have no right to take it as other than literal. What is the use of explanation, except to explain?

The recognition of the first company here also removes another difficulty, which troubled those with whom the " blessed hope" revived at the end of the last century, that the first resurrection consisted wholly of martyrs. The second company does indeed consist of these, and for an evident reason. They are those who, converted after the Church is removed to heaven, would have their place naturally in earthly blessing with Israel and the saved nations. Slain for the Lord's sake, during the tribulation following, they necessarily are deprived of this :only to find themselves in the mercy of God made to fill a higher place, and to be added, by divine power raising them from the dead, to the heavenly saints. How sweet and comforting this assurance as to the sufferers in a time of un-equaled sorrow!

When we look further at this last company, we find, as already intimated, that it also consists of two parts:first, of those martyred in the time of the seals, and spoken of under the fifth seal; and secondly, the objects of the beast's wrath, as in chap. 13:7, 15. This particularization is a perfect proof of who are embraced in this vision, and that we must look to those first seen as sitting on the thrones for the whole multitude of the saints of the present and the past. To all of which it is added that "the rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished," when we find in fact the resurrection of judgment taking place (10:11-15). All ought to be simple, then. The "first resurrection" is a literal resurrection of all the dead in Christ from the foundation of the world, a certain group which might seem not to belong to it being specialized, as alone needing this. The first resurrection is "first" simply in contrast with that of the wicked, having different stages indeed, but only one character :" Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection ! upon such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."

To suppose that this passage stands alone and unsupported in the New Testament is to be ignorant of much that is written. " Resurrection from the dead," as distinct from the general truth of " resurrection of the dead," is special New-Testament truth. The Pharisees knew that there should be "a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." (Acts 24:15.) But when the Lord spake of the Son of Man rising from the dead, the disciples question among themselves what the rising from the dead could mean (Mark 9:9, 10.) Christ's own resurrection is the pattern of the believer's. The "order" of the resurrection is distinctly given us :" Christ the first-fruits ; afterward, they that are Christ's at His coming " (i Cor. 15:23):not a general, but a selective resurrection. Such was what the apostle would by any means gain:not, as in the common version, " the resurrection of" but "the resurrection from the dead." (Phil. 3:2:)

In his epistle to the Thessalonians, the same apostle instructs us more distinctly as to it, speaking in the way of special revelation, by "the word of the Lord:" "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent"-or, as the Revised Version, "precede"-"them that are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (i Thess. 4:15-17.) Thus before He appears shall His saints be with Him; and, of course, long before the resurrection of the lost.

But the Lord Himself has given us, in His answer to the Sadducees, what most clearly unites with this vision in Revelation (Luke 20:34-36). They had asked Him of one who had married seven brethren :" Whose wife shall she be in the resurrection ?" meaning, of course, to discredit it by the suggestion. "And Jesus said unto them, 'The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage; but they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; neither can they die any more ; for they are equal unto the angels ; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.' "

Clearly this asserts the fact and gives the character of the special resurrection which the vision here describes. It is one which we must be " accounted worthy" to obtain, not one which nobody can miss:it is grace that acts in giving any one his place in it. Those who have part in it are by that fact proclaimed to be the "children of God," thus again showing that it cannot be a general one. They die no more :that is, (as here) they are not hurt of the second death. They are equal to the angels:above the fleshly conditions of this present life. Finally, it is the resurrection from the dead, not of the dead merely. All this is so plain that there should be no possibility of mistaking it, one would say ; and yet it is no plainer than this scene in Revelation.

How dangerous must be the spell of a false system, which can so blind the eyes of multitudes of truly godly and otherwise intelligent persons to the plain meaning of such scriptures as these ! And how careful should we be to test every thing we receive by the Word, which alone is truth ! Even the " wise " virgins slumbered with the rest. Which shows us also, however, that error is connected with a spiritual condition, even in saints themselves. May we be kept from all that would thus cloud our perception of what, as truth, alone has power to bless and sanctify the soul! F. W. G.

(To be continued.)

Beloved brother,-I have just read the first few pages of an article on "Hannah and Eli:A Contrast," in help and food, which is, I believe, very timely. But there is one thought which I wish to suggest in connection with Eli's failure:a thought which the experiences of the last twenty years among brethren, or, perhaps more correctly, with my brethren, have intensified in my own soul, to such a degree, that if you consider it worth any thing, I should like to give it to others of your readers.

And I will first introduce the thought by a quotation from "Collected Writings," J. N. D., on "God is light." "There is nothing more dangerous than to use the Word when it has not touched my conscience. I put myself into Satan's hands if I go beyond what I have from God, what is in possession of my soul, and use it in ministry or privately. There is nothing more dangerous than the handling of the Word apart from the guidance of the Spirit. To talk with saints on the things of God beyond what I hold in communion is most pernicious. There would be a great deal not said, that is said, were we watchful as to this, and the Word not so used in an unclean way. I know of nothing that more separates from God than truth spoken out of communion with God; there is uncommon danger in it."

I would like to emphasize these lines and repeat them ! and underscore them and repeat them again:and double underscore them and add a voice-shall I say of thunder, earthquake, fire, and hail and tempest:or of the still small voice which goes home to the conscience with divine power, or both; for sometimes thunder is God's instrument to open the ear; and without an open ear, the conscience is never reached. Beloved, I only wish this truth could be emphasized in the soul of every one who reads these lines as it has been in my own. There can be no doubt but that the writer of these lines felt and realized the importance of the sacredness of sacred things ? He could not have intensified the thought as he has in this brief quotation, if it had not been a divine reality in his own soul. Let me appeal to my reader:Have you, in your soul, a proper regard for sacred things ? Now, don't be offended at the direct appeal ? I speak as before God. Let us face the question, "For the word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight; but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." (Heb. 4:12,13.)

If we cannot face it now, how shall we face it when we meet Him, " whose eyes are as a flame of fire"? Beloved, how little we realize what it Is to stand in the presence of the living God, with unshod feet! (Ex. 3:1-6.) Compare also with care the nineteenth chapter of Exodus, also Heb. 12:18-29. But do you say, " Oh, that was the ground of law, and a God of judgment; but we are on the ground of grace"? Yes, thank God we are, but is a God of grace any the less holy than the God of judgment ? And are we not in danger of "turning the grace of God into lasciviousness " ?

Think a moment, my brother, how do you handle sacred things? Do you say, "Not at all." Think again! Who is it that does not handle them at all ? Are you a member of the body of Christ ? Are you indwelt by the Holy Ghost ? Are you linked up with a risen and glorified Christ in heaven, and thus "made a king and a priest unto God ?" And have nothing to do with sacred things ? To say that you do not handle sacred things is to betray your lack of heart for your birthright, like Esau.
Beloved, I believe the root of the sin of Christendom is the confounding of sacred and profane things; and the result is the complete loss of conscience, even in religious people, many times. And there are no people in greater danger as to this than ourselves-myself and yourself.

Undue familiarity with sacred things, if not consciously in the Lord's presence, is most hardening.

This was the key to the sad failure of Eli; he had lost the sense of sacred things in his own soul; and hence had lost all power to restrain his sons; and this same failure may be read in the atmosphere and deportment of many a household.

Depend upon it my brother and my sister, if sacred things have not power to control you in the presence of your household, Satan will have power to control it and you. It is Christ to be honored or dishonored, just as you will have it:first, in your heart, then in your home, then out among men. Sacred things as herein contemplated are the things of Christ, not the things of religion :sacred things in religion, where the Holy Ghost is ignored and Christ is left out, are but superstition, and have power in the Cathedral and at the confessional, and it is the power of Satan; hence the Priest and the Prayer-book are held in authority, while Christ and the Word of God are left out, and Protestantism is hastening in the steps of her mother.

But to bring this question home once more in practical power for our own hearts. For there is one place above all others where we shall betray our lack of a proper sense of, and care for, sacred things, and is, at the Lord's table!

My reader, have you ever been there ? And who did you meet ? Your brethren ? Yes. And what would you have done if none of your brethren had come f Would you have gone to the window to look out for some one coming, or have gone out to find them ? Or would you, on entering the room, in a quiet and careful manner, have gone to your seat, as though in the presence of the King of glory, the blessed Lord Jesus Christ, to receive His recognition of your presence and joy as one who would "keep His word and not deny His name ?" and is this a divine reality to you ? and from which you could not afford to be absent, unless your responsibility to Him required your absence? Sickness in the family, faithfulness as a servant, or relieving distress of others, where the will of the Lord was plainly indicated, might be just as acceptable to Him and just as precious to you, if taken up in faith. But never to entertain company. To stay away from the Lord's table on account of company, shows a very sad lack of respect for the Lord Himself, and that you are willing to grieve the blessed Lord Jesus to please your company.

But let us take still another view. Did you ever on entering the room sit down or stand and talk awhile with this one or that one, not realizing that your first and best respects belong to Him who is Lord of the feast ? Or would you sit down as indifferently as you would in a hotel while waiting for your dinner ? Or interest yourself very diligently in studying your Bible or Hymn-book ?

Now, my dearly beloved, don't let any of these Questions bring you into bondage; but, if there is a needs be, let them wake you up to look carefully after your deportment in the presence of the Lord of glory.

Let them search you out as regards your care for sacred things, and your regard for the Lord's honor. Surely, He cannot be indifferent as to how we behave ourselves in His presence, and not only at His table, but always everywhere He is with us.

Yes, beloved, our estimate of Himself, the value we put upon His company, will surely form our manners on the road. For we always behave the best toward those we love the most.

"Keep thy heart with all diligence. . . . Put away from thee a froward mouth. . . . Lei thine eyes look right on. . . . Ponder the path of thy feet" (Prov. 4:23-28.)

" Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Ps. 119:105.)

Fellow -pilgrim, keep thy heart
With all diligence ;
Let thy Master rule and guide.
This is thy defense-
Peace thou canst not understand
Will thy subject heart command.

Put a guard upon thy lips.
Many a hurt and smart
This will spare thee by the way-
Many an aching heart.
Teach thee wholesome self-control,
Many a humbling spare Thy soul.

Let thine eyes look straight ahead
To the glorious end.
Though through window dimly now,
Faith doth comprehend.
Faith from heavy burdens frees us,
Links us with the risen Jesus.

Ponder o'er the way He leads thee,
Seek to know His will.
Turn not from His gracious guiding,
For He surely will
Give thee brightness more and more,
Till thy pilgrim journey's o'er.

Heart and lips and eyes and footsteps,
All in sweet accord.
Subject to His gentle leading
By His holy Word.
Thus Lord, if we follow Thee,
We shall never barren be.

" Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty :neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of his mother :my soul is even as a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and forever." (Ps. 131:)

The fifth book of which this psalm forms a part is the Deuteronomy of the book of Psalms. Corresponding to the last book of Moses it (in harmony with the significance of its number, five-God with man's weakness) recapitulates the experiences of the way, applying the principles of divine holiness, and looks forward as well to the end-sure and near-an end of such blessing that praise cannot be withheld, but bursts forth in fuller and fuller strains of music until at last the whole chorus of creation joins in the oft-repeated Halleluiahs. How cheering the thought that we are nearing the time when praise, feeble now, and mingled often with tears and prayers, shall be unhindered, full, and worthy of Him who is " above all blessing and praise."But meanwhile the lips need not be silent, nor the heart cold. " Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage."So here in this psalm we have something suited for the journey, something we can sing even now.

It is one of a group of fifteen " Songs of degrees, or Ascents." Whatever may be the opinions as to the exact and literal meaning of this expression, there need be no doubt that the thought to be conveyed is that these were songs which indicated approach, drawing near to God. "Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together :whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord." (Ps. 122:3, 4.) We see Israel, long estranged from their God, drawing near to Him and each step, as it were, is marked with a song. In captivity they cannot sing, " How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" (Ps. 137:4.), but now drawing near, "going up," their lips are again opened in song. These songs are fifteen in number, five, the number of the book, God with us, and three, complete manifestation. Such will be the experience of Israel returning to the Lord. Then will be completely manifested the fact that God is with them, the name of the city will be, Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there. (Ezek. 48:35.) The special psalm before us gives us the state of heart of the once proud and stubborn people, who had so long held out against the Lord with a brow of brass and a neck like an iron sinew. Now, their pride is broken, and in its place the simplicity of little children. In this childlike state they can at last say ''Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and forever."

But if we wish to see this state in its perfection, we need only look at One who could truly say, "I am meek and lowly in heart." He who emptied Himself, not of pride and haughtiness, as Israel must, for He had none of these, but of that which was His right, equality with God-equality of glory, as to His person He ever remained equal with God. Here we see meekness in all its perfection. That lowly One, who would have thought, save those with anointed eyes, that He was God over all blessed forever ? Obedience, dependence, subjection to the Father's will in all His intercourse with God :gentleness, kindness, sympathy, these characterized His intercourse with man. It was not difficult to approach Him ; little children were not afraid to be in His arms. Here was One who perfectly exemplified the spirit of our psalm.

Nor have we here merely that which is prophetic, or which gives us the picture of the Lord Jesus. We have as well something for our ourselves. This is the spirit for us to have, if we would know what real rest of soul is.''The proud He knoweth afar off." What, then, is a haughty heart? It is one that is satisfied with itself and occupied with itself. A heart whose personal interests are dearer than all else ; a heart which will brook no contradiction, allow no correction, for it is always right. Ah! such a heart may seem splendid to its owner, but how lonely and how cold !Now, if we are to enjoy God, the heart cannot be haughty. God has two dwelling-places :"I dwell in the high and holy place,"-heaven, surrounded by " light inapproachable," by seraphim who vail feet and faces before that Majesty. But God has another dwelling-place-"with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit." (Is. 57:15.)In the fourteenth chapter of John, our Lord speaks of these two dwelling-places:" In my Father's house are many mansions." (5:2.)"If a man love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him." (5:23.)The word for mansion and abode is the same in the Greek. But how precious is this thought :He who fills heaven with His glory is pleased to dwell in the hearts of His people, who are not haughty !But the childlike spirit does not come to us naturally. The cross must be known, not only as the place where our blessed Lord hung for our sins, but where we were judged and set aside as unfit for God. Then His love and our worthlessness are seen, and we can sing,

"When I survey the wondrous cross,
On which the Lord of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride."

Lord, give Thy people this meek and childlike spirit!

Having this spirit, the desire to be something, or to strain after what is beyond us, is checked. In one sense, we are never to settle down satisfied with present attainments. The spirit of Phil. 3:should ever be ours ; "not as though I had already attained." But there is a spirit of restlessness, of effort, which so far from indicating true progress, is a hindrance to it. " Not boasting of things without our measure," says the apostle whose motto was forward.

Beautifully exemplified is this spirit in Mary. Her sister Martha was exercising herself in great matters, in things too high for her unaided strength. Mary does nothing but drink in at the Master's feet what He has to say to her. "A weaned child." Isaac was circumcised the eighth day. It was a good while after that he was weaned. Circumcision is the seal of death put upon us, a sign, we might say, that we belong to God, through Christ's death. Weaning is the practical carrying out of that death in the daily life :it is the bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. (2 Cor. 4:10.) There was a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. Joy had its proper place there. Just as in the case of Israel sheltered by the blood of the Lamb in Egypt, it was not until they were weaned from that house of bondage, at least externally, that the joy of Exodus 15:, the song of deliverance bursts forth. Samuel was dedicated to the Lord before his birth, but it was not until he was weaned (i Sam. 1:24) that he was carried up to the house of the Lord, there to learn from Him.

A feast-the Lord's house-these are the thoughts connected with weaning. It is the giving up of the old things for that which is better. Many of God's children are babes, and remain so all their life. Such, the apostle says are carnal (i Cor. 3:) not able to eat strong meat. In another sense, we are to be babes always, " as new-born babe, desire milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby." (i Pet. 2:) We are to be always receivers from the Word, but we are not to be carnal, such as need the most elementary truths, and never get any further.

This brings us to the other thought about weaning- progress. " That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine . . . but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things which is the head even Christ." (Eph. 4:14, 15.) There is a great difference between being childish and childlike. When the apostle became a man, he put away childish things; but he ever retained the childlike spirit. In other, words, his soul was like a weaned child.

It is this spirit which enjoys the future, well knowing that with God for us no harm can befall. May we all know more of the spirit of this small but beautiful psalm. There is not the martial ring of conflict and victory in it, but there is the fulfillment of that word which says, " In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." (Is. 30:15.)

Whom have I in heaven but Thee ? and there is none upon earth I desire beside Thee." (Ps. 73:25.)

Lord Jesus, be Thou alone my heart's sole object;
Fill all its longings with Thy precious love,
Till I forget its weakness and its sin-stains,
In Thee, who didst Thy love so dearly prove.

Soothe every sorrow with Thy sweet consolation,
Change Thou my cry to sweetest songs of praise,
My close companion e'er, in rest or labor,
So shall I ne'er complain of lonely days.

And when, at evening, my sun of life is setting.
Touch Thou my sky with gleams from glory's light,
Then let me rest, as oft in life I 've rested,
On Thy dear breast, while faith gives place to sight

Then hushed forever all sounds of sin and sorrow,
Then nevermore the power to grieve Thy heart;
Then,-oh, the rapture !-earth's poor shackles broken,
Thee to behold, and nevermore to part.

H. McD.

THESE THREE, BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE."

Faith-blest answer to each yearning,
Hope-bright lamp so ceaseless burning,
Needed now our hearts to prove.
But beyond life's storms and tossings,
Earth's enticements and engrossings,
Stretches forth an endless Love.

Faith will cease when sight is given :
Hope is needed not in heaven,
But its atmosphere is Love.
Faith to keep our souls from drifting,
Hope our vain affections sifting,
But our rest is in His Love.

Higher than the heavens around us
Is the love that sought and found us,-
Free, unfathomable love.
Deeper than the depths of ocean,
Swifter than the lightning's motion :
Vain attempt its worth to prove.

He who doth so deeply love us,
And in faithfulness doth prove us,
Measures not His wealth of love.
Still for us too deep its meaning,
Till this moment's intervening
Fades, and we're caught up above.

Hope shall reap her full fruition
When each blood-bought son's petition
Comes in answer from above,
When the Lord, with shout descending,
Speaks the rapture now impending,-
" Rise, and come away, My love."

Faith and Hope forever ceasing,
Love eternally increasing.
Oh, the depth of Jesus' love !
We shall be forever learning.
Ever needing, ever yearning
For that priceless, precious love. H. McD.
Plainfield

These two songs give us the two great truths learned in connection with redemption. The first (Ex. 15:) is a celebration of God's victory and the deliverance of His people from the land of judgment and from the hand of the enemy ; the second celebrates God's faithfulness and goodness manifested in the midst of a disobedient and faithless people, as a witness against them and for Him. It is significant that whether in grace or in government, in redemption or responsibility, God will be glorified and praise shall flow forth. He inhabits the praises of His people (Ps. 22:), and all His ways end surely there. He is seeking worshipers (Jno. 4:). His object is not merely to snatch from destruction -from the horrible pit and miry clay-but to put a new song into our lips, even praise unto our God. For He who for our sakes went down into the pit, is also now the leader of His people's praises (Ps. 22:, Heb. 2:)-the leader that we may follow and join in that song. He would have us so to share in His joy that it may find expression in praise. The more clearly His grace and ways are understood, the more intelligent and full will be our praise. Heaven, the place of endless praise, is where God is manifested in unclouded light ; and earth only waits for His glory to be revealed here for all "the trees of the field to clap their hands."

The first song, as is well known, celebrates redemption, God's victory over the enemy, sung on the shore of the Red Sea, which but shortly before had been opened for the passage of Israel, and now rolled over their pursuers. As has been frequently remarked, as long as they remained in the land of Egypt, Israel had no heart for praise. Fears, murmurings, doubts, there might be and were in abundance; but not until they were beyond the sea, delivered from the power of the enemy, as well as from the judgment they themselves deserved, could they know the exultant joy which finds expression in " music and dancing."

"I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously."

Redemption is God's work. There is no room in this noble song for mention of Israel. "All things are of God." What could be said of them save that they had doubted and murmured ? So for us, in celebrating God's victory, we have nothing to say for ourselves-all the work was His-to Him, then, be all the praise.

" His be the victor's name,
Who fought the fight alone;
Triumphant saints no honor claim,
His conquest was their own."

The enemy has been destroyed. "Through death He destroyed him that had the power of death." It is when we thus see our enemies cast into that very sea of judgment and death, which we deserved ourselves, and when we see ourselves as " risen with Christ," that we can rejoice in the Lord. " The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation." The God who had wrought such havoc among the enemy is by that very act made known as the God of His people and their Saviour. That right hand, glorious in power, which has dashed in pieces the enemy, has led forth the people whom He has redeemed. The enemy in all his pride and haughtiness is contemplated as ready to destroy the feeble few, and just there where enmity and pride and apparently power are at their height, they are engulfed. It is not hard for the redeemed one to translate this, to use it as expressing that victory over Satan and the hosts of sin, smitten and destroyed at the hour of apparent victory, when our Lord bore death and judgment for us. Well may we say, " Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, . . . glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders."

But in this victory faith sees all victories. The inhabitants of Palestina, the dukes of Edom, the great ones-fear takes hold of them, and in silence and trembling they see God's people led on from strength to strength, the enemy cast out of the land and they settled there under the protection of their deliverer. So for us, the song of redemption does not merely look backward at the victory over Satan and sin on the cross, but onward to the full realization of all that victory meant-to the time when, in the land, the heavenly land, will be seen what God accomplishes for those whose cause He undertakes. Throughout the whole song there is no hint of sadness, no word of failure; all is bright and triumphant, for the very simple reason that all is of God from first to last. Well would it be for us if we more constantly sang this song, more constantly lived in the atmosphere of victory and joy which are about it. It is the failure to sing aright the first song which makes the second a necessity.

Turning now to that second song we see at once the contrast. It was given at the close of the wilderness journey, a journey which brought out the two great truths which form the theme of the song. It is a song of experience. God is here celebrated as before, His work is perfect, His ways are judgment, all is faithfulness on His part. He had proved to be same all through, as He had shown Himself at the beginning. But, alas! how is it with the people ? They have corrupted themselves. He who had hovered over them as an eagle-developing strength in them while at the same time He bore them on His wings, who provided them the richest of food, and the most constant care, He was forsaken; His very blessings turning away the fat hearts of His faithless people who depart from Him for those who are no gods. The result of this must be to bring the smitings of a rod which would have comforted them; and so they are made to feel what an evil and bitter thing it is thus to requite Him that bought them.

But in the midst of fearful judgments He remembers His name, and for the honor of that He has mercy on His people. When wrath is apparently at its height, He will remember mercy and bring blessing and peace upon His people and upon the Gentiles as well. One can be but struck by the strange contrast with that early song of triumph. And yet the end, blessing and peace, is the same in both songs. But in this second song, His people are seen under responsibility, as in. the first, they were seen under grace. Need we wonder at this song, we who know our own history? Can we not read much that is familiar in our own experience in it?-the pride of position leading to heart-wandering from Him who has our us in that position ; the very food, spiritual truths, on which we have grown fat, now used to exalt self, at the expense of Christ,-here are things familiar to us all, alas ! in our own experience. But how can such things form the theme of a song? The answer is, by being linked with the eternal love and patience of an unrepentant God of grace. He never alters His purposes of grace, never gives up those upon whom He has set His love. So there must be praise. But this song was to be a witness against the people, they were to be warned beforehand and taught that warning, that if they still went on in their course, the words of the song they had known so long would condemn them. It was then to be preventive. And can we not, learning from it what fool" ish and wandering hearts we have, take warning in time that we' go not astray, but cast ourselves on Him who with beautiful appropriateness amidst all the instability of His people, is called the Rock? But all things are hastening on to the great event, when God will be surely glorified, when His ways with His people, as well as His work for them will be seen to be perfect; and when from out the shame of their own follies and wanderings He will bring matter for praise. Nothing will taint or mar His glory. But are we to be " foolish and unwise " ? shall we be losers then? If not, let this song be a warning that it be not then a witness.

For every special object that is sought to be attained to-day, some sort of organization is considered a first necessity. So well is it understood that "union is strength," that to accomplish any end whatever,-political, social, moral, spiritual, men combine. Unions of the most varied kinds are thus multiplying day by day ; and that results justify them asa means of doing what individual effort would be powerless for is so evident that it would be a waste of time to try and prove this.

The character of the ends sought to be accomplished is not what concerns me now :it is simply the power that is gained by association ; and as an illustration helps largely the clearness of an argument, let us take one from what is before all our eyes to-day, the Salvation Army.

Now, there are, of course, many things beside their organization to be taken into account in such an example as this ; and the peculiarity of the organization itself along with all else. That in little over ten years they have girt the world with their mission stations is a fact not to be denied. "Between 1880 and 1890," says the Missionary Review, "this enterprise, beginning with God and nothing in a London slum, went from New Zealand to San Francisco, and from Cape Town almost to the North Cape ; leaped, as if the genii of Arab story, from 400 corps and 1,000 officers, to 4,289 corps, or separate religious societies, 10,000 officers, devoted solely to evangelization, and 13,000 non-commissioned officers rendering voluntary service ; captured 150,000 prisoners from Satan; created scores of new forms of religious and philanthropic activity; conquered the respect of the world ; and broached a stupendous scheme for the salvation of society."

A phenomenon of this kind is worthy of respectful attention on the part of those who believe that it is still incumbent upon those who would not incur the Lord's rebuke, as the men of old did, to " discern the signs of the times." Scripture should enable us to see what such things mean, and Christians should be humble enough to learn the lesson they convey. " Scripture," it may be said, "condemns these strange and burlesque methods." But the result, which cannot rightly be questioned, the salvation of souls from the lowest level of misery and degradation, cannot be the fruit of what is strange or un-scriptural. Figs do not grow on thistles; and fruit is found in a striking way in most places into which they come. The more we can see of what is unscriptural in their methods, the more it deserves to be considered why God should in this way bless them :for the salvation of souls is from Him. All the real success is not gained or even helped by drums and banners and military titles, drill, or discipline :otherwise figs do grow on thistles. But without association altogether I think it would be impossible to account for the way they have taken possession of the country,-almost of the world. One cannot attribute it to any remarkable gifts of preaching, to any special fullness of the gospel preached. Devotedness there is and self-denial, in a high degree often ; but there are plenty of devoted Christians in any considerable town into which they enter who have nothing of the success of the Salvation Army. Many beside have gone down to the depths of vice and poverty. On the other hand, none perhaps have so thoroughly acted on the principle of organization for evangelistic purposes ; and it scarcely needs to be said that apart from this organization the work that has been accomplished could not have been done.

Am I going to urge that we should organize for a similar evangelistic effort? I am going to urge first, that if we had methods wholly scriptural, with a full gospel, and the effect of the truth that God has given us in our souls, we should not be a whit behind the Salvation Army in reaching the masses and bring men to God ; and that to deny this would involve just the folly of supposing that God is less wise than man ; or that His blessing is less with what is according to His will, than with that which is against it. Neither of these things can be ; and therefore what I have stated is rather an under- than an overstatement.

What then if we have dropped out of the scriptural method, and are really in some respects behind those whom we have perhaps thought unworthy of imitation for their unscripturalness ? Can we admit the possibility of such a thing? The Word of God certainly does not give us even a hint of organizing societies. It knows but of one organism sufficient for all purposes, and that is the Church, the body of Christ. Alas ! it is broken and scattered :we have found other names under which to gather than that of Christian ; and the bonds that unite us to all His members have but little practical recognition. Yet there is room still for faith to act; and God will own that which does so. Two or three gathered to His name can and should act upon the truth of the Church, if they cannot re-gather the Church together ; and such assemblies, though ever so few in individuals, yet with the door open for all that are Christ's and with Him, are not sectarian or human associations, but divinely constituted, though necessarily feeling the lack of the many from whom they are, not of their own will, separated.

Here, then, we have still our organization. We have but to avail ourselves of it to find how perfect it is, and entirely beyond all that man could form or imagine. Narrowness and sectarianism are forbidden in the very idea. Our rule is the Word of God, not a mere humanly imposed one. Conscience is thus free, and subjection to the indwelling Spirit gives unity of action and fellowship with one another. That which marks us for what we are is not an external badge, but the seal of the Spirit. We have one Lord to serve, who is Christ,-Love itself, Wisdom itself, and under whom no defeat is possible. We have no name to identify ourselves with but that of Christian.

For what are we organized ? For all that which shall glorify Christ, and for mutual help and service to one another. We are to be hands and feet to the Head above, representatives and ministers of Him who " went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil;" we are to be "the epistle"-not epistles-"of Christ, read and known of all men,"-as the context shows, His letters of commendation in the world.

Does not this constitute us, then, as a whole, the one great evangelization society of the world ? If we are as a whole to commend Christ and represent Him among men, can we do it without representing Him in that love for souls for which He gave Himself to a death of agony? Is not the body to be the servant of the Head in labor for Him on earth ? Does its work find its whole accomplishment in the edification of itself?

Such questions have but one answer that can be given them ; and there can be no more reason why our service should be simply individual, than why our learning of the truth should be apart from others, or our worship be in our chambers only. Fellowship in worship and mutual edification in the things of God naturally have their issue in corporate testimony, and the widest and fullest co-operation in the work of the Lord.

In all these things there is need, of course, and plenty of room for the maintenance of individuality. Every member of the body has its own place and function. There are special gifts,-evangelists, as well as pastors and teachers; but while special, these are not, even in their own sphere, exclusive. The church at Jerusalem, scattered abroad through the persecution that arose about Stephen, "went every where preaching the word." (Acts 8:4.) In our various ways, with various degrees of publicity, the evangelizing of the world is a duty that lies upon us all. It is withal so blessed a privilege, that if our hearts are right with God, we shall never be satisfied with doing it by proxy, or seek escape from the responsibility as to it. We shall not ask, What must I do? but what may I be permitted to do, to bring souls from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God? The Lord seeks volunteers ; and thus Scripture not so much prescribes a path to us, as leaves the field wide open before us. We do not need commissions according to our ability to relieve poverty, or to minister to the sick before our eyes :and here is a need for which every one who has bread for himself can feed another with it; and where the one remedy we cannot mistake in ministering. And yet there is need of finding help from one another, and in these living activities we learn that "two is better than one;" and how much combined effort may effect that individuals cannot. We need encouragement in the face of opposition, stimulus to perseverance, the help of example, of suggestion, the supplementing of individual deficiencies, the multiplication of force. Spiritually, as in other ways, our little with the aid of other littles may become much, and we are enabled thus to use with profit what by itself would have seemed useless:the fragments are gathered up, and nothing lost.

Why, then, in every place where two or three are gathered together, should there not be, as a thing of course, the meeting for mutual help in obeying the Lord's command to "preach the gospel to every creature," as it is a matter of course that there should be the prayer or the reading meeting ? A meeting, I mean, for counsel with one another, for encouragement, for review of the field together, for all the various purposes for which we shall soon find our need of one another as workers together in the field of the world ?

And while, undoubtedly, we should thus most effectually cooperate with the labors of the evangelist and fill the public halls for those who have special gift, our labor would, above all, be to reach the people with the gospel where they are, and while availing ourselves fully of the most helpful service of tracts and printed matter, yet to make it our aim to come face to face with souls, and to use that personal appeal which, when it is the appeal of divine love to heart and conscience, is what God most of all blesses.

Here is work for every one,-man, woman, and child, among us,-work in abundance to occupy every moment we can spare to it; and work so full of fruit and blessing, so grateful to the heart, so enriching to the life, so adapted to exercise us in all Christian activities, and to develop in us all Christlike affections, that the labor itself is its own abundant compensation, without thinking of those who may be thus our " hope and joy, and crown of rejoicing in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming."

For this personal work for the Lord, and with the souls He died for, nothing can be substituted. Neither prayer nor study of the Word, nor aught else. While it will give matter for our prayers, energy to our Word-studies, a realization and application of the truths of Scripture in their practical sufficiency for all human need and cravings, a knowledge of the heart as the true light manifests it, which will make the Bible more than ever that voice of the living God, which it should be felt to be. To scatter our riches is to multiply them; here, prodigality is the wisest economy, and to withhold from others starvation for ourselves. The manna could not be hoarded, and corrupted if it was. Christ dwelling in the heart throws open the doors of His habitation, and if we will entertain Him, we must do His royal errands. The height of His heaven has not put Him at a distance from the penury of earth.

" To the poor the gospel is preached," was one of the vouchers of His mission. Among the poor, even the degraded, is found most often the misery that needs and opens the door to Him. Do we not often speak of doors not being open, when the truth is, we have not stooped low enough to find the open door? Yet power is manifested in ability to go down:God's beloved Son, among us as One that serveth, may well endear the lowliest service to our hearts. If it is the nature of truth to sanctify, those who have most truth should exhibit most the mind of Christ.

The object of this paper is a very simple and practical one. It is to urge upon those who are gathered to the Lord's name the need that we have of such fellowship in the work of evangelization as I have briefly indicated,- need that we have ourselves of it, -need that there is around,-and that the Church of God is really already an organization for this among other purposes. I would press rather the privilege than the responsibility of gathering in this character, seeking to help and encourage one another in united effort to bring the gospel personally before all around us. I am persuaded that there is a lack in this respect, and that it would be for very great blessing every way that this should be supplied. Simply and earnestly acted upon, the test of experience will soon decide the value of an organization, not devised of our own will, but which the Lord has given us, and which we are responsible to Him to put in practical effect. F. W. G.

We thank Thee, Lord, for weary days,
When desert-streams were dry,
And first we knew what depth of need
Thy love could satisfy.

Days when beneath the desert sun
Along the toilsome road,
O'er roughest ways we walked with One-
That One, the Son of God.

We thank Thee for that rest in Him
The weary only know,-
The perfect, wondrous sympathy
We needs must learn below.

The sweet companionship of One
Who once the desert trod,
The glorious fellowship with One
Upon the throne of God.

The joy no desolations here
Can reach or cloud or dim,-
The present Lord, the living God,
And we alone with Him.

We know Him as we could not know
Through heaven's golden years;
We there shall see His glorious face,
But Mary saw His tears.

The touch that heals the broken heart
Is never felt above;
His angels know His blessedness,
His way-worn saints His love.

When in the glory and the rest
We joyfully adore,
Remembering the desert way,
We yet shall praise Him more.

Remembering now, amidst our toil,
Our conflict, and our sin,
He brought the waters for our thirst,
It cost His blood to win.
And now, in perfect peace we go
Along the way He trod,
Still learning, from all need below,
Depths of the heart of God.

(1.) "Keep thy Heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." (5:23.)

(2) "Put away from thee a froward Month, and perverse lips put far from thee." (5:24.)

(3) "Let thine Eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee." (5:25.)

(4) "Ponder the path of thy Feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left:remove thy foot from evil." (10:26, 27.)

The book of Proverbs is in the fourth group of the I Old-Testament books,-thus, as the number would indicate, belonging to that part which treats of the way, its trials and experiences. In this group it is fifth, a number which reminds us of "God with us" reviewing our path, and supplying us with wisdom for that which is before us-a wisdom which begins with "the fear of the Lord " (chap. 1:7), and keeps Him ever before the reader. God with man-He who was that, and who ever was Wisdom (chap, 8:), now the fullest exhibition of it- made that to us (i Cor. 1:30). If the book of Proverbs is really wisdom for our path, how important that we should study it, and so receive the benefit of that wisdom -so needed by us in our daily life! How it should illumine our path, especially as we have the added light of grace now shining through it!

In the portion before us, we have an exhortation which embraces the whole man as far as his earthly walk is concerned, applied to those parts of him of familiar significance from their frequent use in Scripture-the heart, mouth, eyes, and feet. Four is the number of testing and of walk ; so in this which is both a test and an exhortation we have this number, and each section of it also corresponds to the significance of its number.

(i) "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." The heart is the source from which the life issues. It is here put for the inner man-"the hidden man of the heart," as contrasted with the outer man. It is the man himself-that which controls and gives character to all the rest:"as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." (Prov. 23:7.) How appropriately, then, that this should be first in the exhortation-first in importance, because the source and controlling power in man! So the words, "with all diligence," might be rendered more closely to the original, "above all. thou guardest." Above all the outward life, careful as we should be as to that,-above our words; as the apostle says to the Philippians, "As ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence;" when his eye could not be upon them. Our outward life is largely before the eyes of man :let us remember that more important than what man sees is that which is hidden from him-the heart, and be doubly careful for that very reason. How important this is for the young Christian !

There are two ways in which we can look at this guarding or keeping the heart,-positive and negative, and we will look at the latter first. Scripture tells us that "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked," and that "he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool." While applying in its fullest extent to the unconverted, these words have an important reference to God's children as well :we have a traitor in our hearts who needs to be watched more carefully than an outside enemy. It is through this traitor, the flesh, that the heart is led astray. It is in the heart that declension begins. The evil servant said in his heart, "My lord delayeth his coming," before he began to beat his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken. Peter's heart was lifted up with pride and self-confidence which made him neglect the admonition " watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation," before he denied his Lord with oaths and cursings. Coming to our own history, ran we not trace a stumble or fall, or loss of communion, back to an unguarded heart. In the nineteenth chapter of Numbers we have a most striking illustration of defilement from an unguarded heart, in the vessel left uncovered in the chamber of death. It was made unclean, but if covered, the same presence of death had no power to defile. We are in a world which is a death chamber, and if the heart is not guarded, covered by that which excludes the world, how soon defilement results !

But this brings us to the positive way of keeping the heart. We are not set at the hopeless task of merely seeking to expel evil, or even to keep it down. Like a hydra-the more we strove to cut off this or that form of evil, the more quickly fresh forms would arise. No, the way of grace is, " overcome evil with good." A heart filled and occupied with good is one well guarded from evil. Beautifully connected are those two verses in Phil. 4:7, 8, " And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." The heart which casts all its care on God is well guarded by His peace ; but the atmosphere which that peace creates is that described in the next verse :it is occupation with good. No one feeds on poison, however much it may be necessary to know something of it, in order to avoid it. Good food makes the healthy man, and occupation with good is God's way to keep the heart. How important, then, for the young Christian, nay, for all, to be daily feeding upon God's precious Word, that Word of His grace, which is able to build him up, and to be asking in the' words of the psalmist, " Search me, O God, and know my heart:try me, and know my thoughts ; and see if there be any wicked way (literally, the way of grief,) in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

(2) "Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee." " Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Next, then, to the source, and depending upon it, is the expression of the thoughts through the lips. Second place, then, naturally belongs to the words. He who was the expression of God's nature was the second person in the Trinity and is called the Word. Two is the number of testimony, which is given by the lips. Salvation is another thought, and the word of truth is the gospel of our salvation. (Eph. 1:13.) In a bad sense, two speaks of discord, strife, waywardness, the thoughts conveyed by froward and perverse in this verse. The exhortation to put away perverse lips is appropriately in a second part, where the thought of severance is conveyed by the number. How needful is this admonition ! What is more common than an unruly tongue ? The meekest man spake unadvisedly with his lips. The great apostle Paul reviled God's high-priest. The apostle of love would call down fire from heaven. Only One ever trod this earth whose words were ever and only " words of grace." " Never man spake like this Man." "When He was reviled, He reviled not again." Words of love, words of truth, words of justice and of stern denunciation fell from his lips, each in their proper time, but perverse words, never. No matter how severe the test, how awful the anguish, even to the anguish of the cross, His words were perfect. Alas ! that peerless One stands alone in His unsinning perfection. " In many things we all offend. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man and able also to bridle the whole body." (Jas. 3:2.) He would, as far as his outward life went, be a perfect man. Controlling the tongue, he would be able to govern the whole body. On the other hand, failing in this, all is vitiated. " If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain." (Jas. 1:26.) His religion, that which is the fruit of the divine life, his testimony is destroyed. How careful, then, we should be of our words. If for every idle word the unsaved must give an account in the day of judgment, none the less holy and exact will be the judgment-seat of Christ. "The tongue can no man tame." Only grace can do that-the grace which could purge unclean lips, and make them God's messengers. There is only one thing to be done with perverse lips-they are to be put away. Evil cannot be improved, it can only be judged. Careless, loose speech must be trampled upon, or it will lead into sin. " He loveth transgression who loveth strife." " In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin." Ah, many who perhaps pride themselves on having a ready tongue-quick to give the sharp, witty reply-need to heed this exhortation. Specially in the matter of strife is this evil of the tongue to be guarded against. " The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water, therefore leave off contention before it be meddled with." The country of Holland is protected from the inroads of the sea by immense dykes which need to be watched, lest the smallest opening be made. Should there be even a little trickle it would soon swell until all embankments were swept away, and the fair landscape be deluged with the salt sea. So with strife. A little thoughtless remark may be made, and resented ; arguments arise, and before we are aware of it, "confusion and every evil work" have covered all that a little while before looked so bright and promising. 'Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth."

Is the reader of these lines given to careless speaking? Will he or she not now begin to ask with the psalmist, " Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth ; keep the door of my lips!" Have the heart filled with good, and put far away perverse lips.

(3) Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee." (5:25.) "Three" is the number of manifestation-of fullness. It is the number which speaks of resurrection as the manifestation of divine power. The light is what makes manifest, and as the eye takes in the light, it appropriately has the third place in the passage before us. For us it is the eye of faith ; " we walk by faith, not by sight." The very things which are said to be not seen are those we are to look upon. (2 Cor. 4:18.) Faith connects us with the other world -the resurrection side of things. It is the eye which speaks of this to us. Three is also the number of fullness, and it is only when faith is exchanged for sight that we shall "know even as also we are known." Meanwhile, as we have said, the eye of faith links us with these things, and draws us on till we shall no longer "see through a glass (dim window) darkly, but face to face." Now, what are we looking at? Temporal things? They will soon vanish. Are we looking at forbidden things? Remember Eve; to look is often to lust. David was led into the awful sins of adultery and murder by a careless look. Lot looked at the fertile plains of Sodom and the vision blinded his eye to the glorious promises of God, and he sank to the level, below the level of the worldling. The proper object, the only one for the child of God, is the Lord Jesus Christ. "We see Jesus," and having seen Him what else should have power to draw us aside? Two results come from having the eye fixed upon Him :first, sanctification ; second, progress. " We all beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory." We may struggle against sin, and struggle in vain. We may strive to form our characters, and find our efforts useless. We look upward at that blessed One, crowned with glory and honor, the One who once tasted death for us, and the world loses its attractiveness, sin its power. More than that, we are transformed into that image ; others can see we are growing like Him upon whom we are gazing. But there is more. Seeing Him draws us after Him. "Let us lay aside every weight, and run with, patience the race set before us"-how?-"looking unto Jesus." The word is stronger in the Greek:it is "looking off unto Jesus," looking away from everything that could allure, distract, or discourage-unto One who is Himself the leader of faith, the example for us to follow, and the finisher or perfecter of it. This is having the eyes look right on, and this means progress. "The light of the body is the eye ; if, therefore, thine eye be single thy whole body shall be full of light. A single eye, means an eye for one object. " The eyes of the fool are in the end of the earth," wandering every where, taking in every thing; and the eye is the gateway to the heart. No wonder, then, that it should be filled with vanity. And yet "the eye is not satisfied with seeing." Let the whole world be taken in, the heart is left hungry and empty. Only One can fill the heart. Let the eye be fixed on Him and, like Paul, we will find ourselves blinded to the things down here. This gives power for the path, and keeps from stumbling-forgetting the things which are behind and reaching forth unto those which are before, we will press toward the mark, other things will be baubles to be despised and laid aside as weights. And while thus looking forward, pressing forward, ere we know it faith will change to sight ; the One we have been speaking of, thinking of, will at last be before us, and "we shall be like Him." Meanwhile let the words of the hymn be our prayer :-

" O fix our earnest gaze
So wholly, Lord, on thee,
That with Thy beauty occupied,
We elsewhere none may see."

(4) "Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left :remove thy foot from evil." (10:26, 27.) When our Lord opened the eyes of Bartimeus He said to him, " Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole." But the way in which Bartimeus went was after Jesus, "he followed Jesus in the way." (Mark 10:52.) Where else could a man with eyes opened go ? So most appropriately here, the eyes are set right and the feet follow. Four, as we have already seen, signifies testing and the place where that testing takes place, the earth as we walk through it. It is the number which frequently speaks of weakness and failure, because, alas ! that is what we manifest in our wilderness walk. And yet why should there be failure? For us, as for Israel of old, eagle's wings are ready to bear us onward over every obstacle to the place of rest. If the feet do tread the desert sands, they do not swell ; the shoes, " the preparation of the gospel of peace," do not wear out. Four is the number of weakness, but weakness realized turns to strength if we lean on One who is mighty. And this is God's lesson for us-the secret of the walk. Paul realized his weakness, but he gloried in it because the power of Christ could rest upon him. The earthen vessel is good to show the excellency of the power to be of God and not of us. While four, then, speaks of wilderness walk, testing and weakness, it need not mean failure if we heed the exhortation given here appropriately in the fourth place. The word translated " ponder " is by some rendered "make level," perhaps the primary meaning; but both meanings are not inconsistent with each other. If the path be carefully weighed, pondered-looking to one who alone pan guide, it will be a level path, though it lead over rough seas, lonely deserts, into Gethsemane, on to Calvary. Our blessed Lord did not rush into His path not knowing where it would lead. " When the time came that He should be offered up He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." When Lazarus died, He would return there where of late the Jews had sought to kill Him. What a path ! along which we see scattered nothing but love to man, obedience to God. But He pondered His path, and so has left us an example that we should follow His steps. When there was a famine in the land and Abraham went down into Egypt, he did not ponder his path, and his sin about Sarah is the result. It probably seems an easy path to take, but it had thorns in it which pierced him at last. Pondering conveys the thought of carefully examining the way before we walk in it. " He that hasteth with his feet, sinneth." Joshua and the elders of Israel making a treaty with the Gibeonites show the danger of undue haste. Our ways are to be established, made firm, solid, unswerving. And how great is the need of this ! How many lame there are who will be turned out of the way unless we make straight paths for our feet. (Heb. 12:) The saddest part of a loose careless walk is that it leads others astray. Our God would make our feet like hinds feet (Hab. 3:19), sure and swift.

We have, then, looked at this fourfold exhortation, embracing the heart, lips, eyes, and feet. Linked together, yet distinct, they form a perfect whole, for our guidance and for our testing. May there be in us a heart to heed this exhortation and to prove for our own souls that " wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths peace."

"In every thing and in all things I am initiated both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer privation." (Phil. 4:2.-J. N. D.'s Version.)

Secrecy always has a charm for the natural man. It is this which in greatest measure attracts to the many orders and societies which profess to have knowledge of something hid from others. In religions also the same craving for secrets has been freely made use of by the priests of these false systems. Mysteries, strange and secret rites have been the attractions by which the unlearned have been allured,-mysteries which in many cases were but the " hidden things of darkness," revolting and degrading ceremonies which revealed only the utter corruption of the heart of man, and drew him on into still greater depths of evil. It was charged by the enemies of Christianity that, while its outward teachings were moral, its secret and hidden practices, known only to the initiated, were dark and terrible orgies, revolting even to the heathen mind. In reply, it could be truthfully said, of course, that this was utterly false,-that Christianity had no secrets, nothing for the initiated beyond the simple and clear and holy teachings of God's blessed Word. It is true indeed that " we speak wisdom among them that are perfect," but this is only the unfolding of that which every babe in Christ knows in an elementary way.

But there are, in one sense, secrets in Christianity known only to the initiated,-secrets, not of the intellect, but of the heart, learned, not by study, but through experience. In blessed contrast to the empty husk that man has to offer as his secret, Christianity offers a solid reality. But one must be initiated to learn what these secrets are. They are not hidden from view, we can read in a few words what they are, and yet there must be initiation to properly appreciate them. There must be the learning, by experience, by. denying self, either as to worthiness or power, which answers to initiation.

What, then, was the secret the apostle had learned by initiation ? It was simply this:a satisfaction of soul under all circumstances, a quietness of heart no matter what need oppressed,-a quietness which, as it could not be disturbed by trial, could not either by prosperity. It does not seem to be a great secret at first sight, but the longer we dwell upon it, the more will we see how deep and far-reaching it is. With many, how easily does trial oppress ! They forget the admonition which speaketh to us as sons-" My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him." Trial comes, and it overwhelms them. It may be loss of property, and they mourn as though they had forgotten that "better and more enduring substance""reserved in heaven." Repining, they lose the opportunity of knowing the fellowship of Him who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor. They are not initiated. Or health fails, giving a good opportunity to show the precious truth that "though the outward man perish, the inward man is renewed day by day." But instead of bowing to a Father's loving dealings, the person grows morbid, selfish, becomes nervously sensitive, and exhibits not the power of grace, but of selfishness. Why this failure? The person has not been initiated, has not learned the secret how to suffer need. And so, without multiplying illustrations, whatever the circumstances of trial may be, if possessed of this happy secret, all is for our profit. Or, on the other hand, are our circumstances prosperous? unless possessed of this secret, we will not "know how to abound." Many a Christian who has walked humbly and closely with God in sorrow, poverty, obloquy, has grown cold and careless when earthly joy and wealth were given. Nor is this because there is inherent evil in wealth or prosperity; surely our God does not delight in making our circumstances uncomfortable. The trouble is with our corrupt hearts (Sodom's plains have allured many a poor Lot on to shipwreck),-hearts which cannot be trusted. What is the remedy ? Not the hair-cloth garment, or the vow of poverty, but the initiation into this secret.

But looking deeper, we find in this epistle to the Philippians the very root of the secret. It is the person of our blessed Lord as the object before the apostle's heart -he knew Him, longed to know Him more-that kept him above all circumstances whether of joy or sorrow. This epistle is precious to us all; it seems to carry us along with it, and yet it speaks of an experience which is that of but few. Take the second chapter, as giving the habit of mind in the believer, how little we know of it! or the third, where we see him pressing on with ever-increasing speed toward a prize, which is a precious, glorified Christ; and we do not wonder that the man whose whole heart is after that Object should know how to be abased or to abound. He was indeed initiated,-he had a secret which would take him through all circumstances, and show him how to distill sweetness and blessing from every bitter and baneful happening. The " fathers " in i Jno. 2:were initiated-they knew Him that is from the beginning. They need no warning so long as that One is before them.

But there is a counterfeit to all this. We have been speaking of that rest of soul with Christ for its object which is the secret to be learned by the believer, and which lifts him above circumstances. There is an indifference to circumstances which is nothing but selfish sloth. The truly initiated one is not unmoved by circumstances,-he weeps at sorrow and rejoices in blessing, but these things do not hold his heart captive. Let us beware of mere indifference; it is most benumbing and dangerous.

When a neophyte sought initiation into the mysteries of a heathen religion, he had to give himself up to his guide. He knew not what was before him; but at all cost, he was determined to learn. So if we are to learn-really learn the "secret of the Lord," there must be the abandonment of self, that Christ may be all.

Even here we can know something of the joy of having a secret with the Lord,-of getting a glimpse of that "white stone" which is given to those who in days of looseness hold fast to Him.

Our blessed Lord was indeed " a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief."Rejoicing, as He did, in unhindered communion with His Father, and in the consciousness of ever and only seeking His glory ; happy, too, to find here and there a faith which could recognize Him in spite of the vail of humiliation upon Him – rejoicing as He did in these, it remains true that what gave character to His life was the dark side, the sins and sorrows which so thickly strewed His path – sins, it is needless to add, with which He had nothing to do, sorrows brought in by man alone. It is a wholesome exercise to dwell upon the sufferings of Christ, forgetting for the time our own, which are indeed eclipsed by His. He suffered because He was a perfect man, the only righteous One, in the midst of all manner of evil, selfishness, and worldliness. What pain, constant pain, it must have been to Him, only desiring to please His Father, to find all only desiring to please themselves, and His Father set aside completely; to meet with no desires above this earth, to find no thought of that heaven where all His thoughts were, – these things, to say nothing of the grosser forms of sin, nor of the sad witness of man's alienation from God in the manifold forms of disease and infirmity which oppressed the people, made the world to Him the valley of the shadow of death. We read that He sighed deeply, that He wept :ah ! well He knew the sad necessity for sighing and tears in a world like this. But in passing, it is precious to note that neither the sorrows of earth nor its sins drove Him from it. At any moment He could have ascended up to where He was before, but no Such thought occurs to Him. The very sorrows, the very sins, were links which held Him here until He had accomplished that which would bring forgiveness and deliverance as regards the sin, and joy in place of the sorrow. So far, we have been speaking of the sufferings of our Lord from the mere fact that He was in a world like ours. His holy nature shrank from contact with its surroundings. But though exquisitely sensitive, He was no weakling to run away from conflict. He was here as the light to manifest the works of darkness, as the righteous One to reprove all unrighteousness, and the world hated Him for the testimony He bore, it persecuted Him as Cain did his brother Abel. At Nazareth, they sought to cast Him down from the brow of the hill because He bore witness to God's grace, and intimated that as they would not receive it, it would be presented to the Gentiles; His most wonderful miracles and His most striking teachings, (if we may so speak when all was divinely perfect and in its place absolutely the best to be done or said,) alike provoked enmity, hatred, persecution even unto death. For one view of the cross shows us man's hatred of God's Son. At last, when nailed there and lifted up from the earth, hatred had its full way. But what suffering all this entailed upon Him! Looked upon with suspicion, His words perverted, His life sought,-such was His pathway here, a pathway leading on, through ever-deepening gloom, to the culmination, when, delivered by His own people into the hands of the Gentiles, He was by them crucified and slain.

When we remember who He was-the Anointed of God, the Messiah, with special promises as the head of the Jewish nation ; when we see Him associating Himself with His people in their circumstances, and desiring, as only He could desire, their blessing and their glory, to find them unwilling to be blessed, unwilling to receive Him who came in the name of Jehovah, we can understand that outburst of sorrow, " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! " the same sorrow which led Him later, as He beheld the beloved city, to weep over it. This hardened state of the nation He well knew would be sure to bring upon them judgment from God, and would necessitate His own cutting off as Messiah, This must have been an added ingredient of bitterness in His cup of sorrow and suffering, which, present all through His public ministry, was intensified in the garden of Gethsemane when His soul was "exceeding sorrowful, even unto death," and He sweat as it were great drops of blood. Here He doubtless was realizing that every earthly prospect was to be sacrificed, and that as Shepherd of Israel He was to be smitten and the sheep scattered. But the shadow of a darker suffering, anguish more awful, was there pressing on Him. He was, in anticipation, entering into the sufferings of the cross, and His holy soul shrank in unutterable horror from the awful prospect.

The sufferings of Christ of which we have been speak-were not atoning. The direct question of sin and its penalty had not been entered into until the darkness which settled down on Calvary left Him alone to bear the full load of judgment, to drink to the last drop the cup of wrath which we deserved, and to accomplish eternal redemption for His people. We are here on most holy ground :reverence is most becoming; but for God's glory, for our own deeper acquaintance with our blessed Lord, let us pause and dwell upon this awful scene. The darkness about Him was but the fitting accompaniment of that more terrible darkness which pressed upon His soul when God withdrew His presence from Him. "Why hast Thou forsaken Me?" No answer, no help, no succor. He was made sin, though He knew no sin, and treated with that wrath deserved by the ungodly. It was not now a question of man's hatred, or Satan's either :what were they compared with the wrath of God, all the waves and billows going over His head ? Well may we wonder and adore.

But this brings us back to our subject. We have been seeing somewhat what the afflictions of Christ were ; and is not the question a natural one-Can there be any more of those afflictions? Did not He exhaust them all ? The scripture before us tells us that the apostle was filling up that which was behind, was still lacking in the sufferings of Christ. As to atonement, it is only blasphemy to hint that all was not completed when our blessed Lord finished the work on the cross, and was raised in token of God's acceptance of the sacrifice for sin. As to His sorrows as Messiah, and in anticipation of the cross, those were personal to Himself, though in some measure understood by him who once wished himself accursed from Christ for his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh (Rom. 9:3), and by all who know what the fear of wrath is. As to His sufferings for righteousness, all who will live godly in Christ Jesus will taste of that cup. "If they have persecuted Me, they will persecute you." But the afflictions alluded to here are specially for the Church, and in a peculiar way the apostle Paul filled up those sufferings. For as long as the Church is on earth, there is an opportunity for suffering-a necessity. Let us read a catalogue of some of those afflictions which the apostle went through for the sake of the Church :-

"Of the Jews, five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep ; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils by the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Besides those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?" (2 Cor. 11:24-29.)

What anguish there was in connection with the case of discipline at Corinth !The rod with which he smote them, he felt upon himself; sorrow, tears, fears, showed how great was his anxiety, how real his suffering. In difference to their welfare, to Christ's glory, might have spared him much pain, but he did not choose the easy path. He was here for the Church, and so ready to suffer for it. When the fundamental truth of justification by faith was in danger among the assemblies of Galatia, he lets us see; in the epistle he wrote them, the deep sorrow of soul through which he passed. " My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you."What love he had for that Church which had been purchased with the precious blood of Christ! In his measure, he would take up the work where his Master laid it down, and enter upon that path of unrequited love, for the sake of the Church. Our Lord can no longer suffer though He can sympathize with His people, and intercede for them in their constant needs; still He loves them with the same unchangeable love which led Him to the cross for them. Well, then, are the sorrows undergone for the welfare of that Church called " the afflictions of Christ."Does He not Himself say, "Why persecutest thou Me?"How edifying it is to see this devoted servant thus suffering for his Lord's Church. We know him as a man of wonderful gift, inspired to present us some of the richest and most important portions of the Word of God; we know him as successful in a marvelous degree, but let us remember him as one who rejoiced to suffer for the Church,-who appreciated the dignity of bearing a part in what he by inspiration calls " the afflictions of Christ."This very epistle to the Colossians, as well as others, was written from prison ; and one of its touching sentences at the close is, "Remember my bonds."

And now the question comes nearer home, and we are compelled to ask, if our blessed Lord, after enduring all that fitted us for eternal glory, still left a heritage of suffering for His servant, does there yet remain any thing which can be spoken of as that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ? The question can be answered by another:Is the Church still on earth? and has it needs, sorrows, and failures to be noted and met by us? Then, as long as this is the case, so long will there be something that is behind of the afflictions of Christ, for His body's sake, which is the Church. Let us, then, for our own consciences, see some of these needs, and where, it may be, we too, in our little measure, can be associated with the Great Sufferer.

Here is moral evil in the assembly; alas! that such a thing should be. It is not enough that we should judge it and put away the evil person. What about the confession of it, the bitter sorrow, the earnest prayer for the restoration of the wanderer ? But apart from that which requires extreme dealing, there is a vast mass of what needs correction if we are able to reach those affected. Just here do we need to learn how to suffer for the Church. How often do we allow personal prejudice or wounded feelings to rule us ! A brother has gone wrong, but he has misrepresented us, wounded us, and, lo ! we forget that he is a member of the body of Christ, and render ourselves utterly unfit to help him because of our personal relation to the trouble. Ah ! if we mourned over him,-if we felt in our soul how he had dishonored his and our Lord,-if we dropped the question of our rights, how soon would our sorrow melt him, and that hardness, which is visible enough, melt into grief and tenderness ! Let us remember that servant who had been forgiven a great debt, and who went out and took by the throat his fellow, demanding full payment of a small claim. In the light of our forgiveness, by God of that great debt, are we going to exact full penalty for every offense? How much more becoming, how much more like our Lord, did we mourn over the wrong-really suffer about it as an injury to the Church of Christ! Did we carry these things with real sorrow to our God, what help there would be!

If this spirit always animated us, we would not err so frequently on the side of legality. "The letter killeth;" and we can no more enforce the letter of some direction in the epistles, if we do it in a legal way, than we could an ordinance from Leviticus. There must be heart work in all these things, or our very righteousness will lead us astray. We are under grace, not only as before God, but in all the relationships of life. That grace is to characterize all our action, and no where more than in the assembly of God. How much friction might be avoided, and hopeless entanglements escaped, did we act on the principle of grace, and instead of maintaining our righteous opinions as judges, be real sufferers for Christ's body. But you will be misrepresented, misunderstood ; be it so; suffer that, if thereby you save further wandering in some sheep of Christ,-if you thereby heal a breach which otherwise might widen. Let the legend of the Roman patriot, who would close a chasm by leaping into it, find a truthful illustration by our sinking self and being healers of breaches, not makers of them. Oh, what matters it whether or not we are thought well of, if only we help the Church ?

But it may be asked, How are we to do this ? Is righteous principle to be sacrificed, or evil to be winked at ? Without attempting to answer definitely, we can only point to our verse and say, Seek to carry that out. Endure sorrow, bear pain for the sorrows of the Church, get into that state of soul, and then you will be able-not till then-to see what is righteousness and what is self-will.

Apply this truth to the too prevalent habit of criticism. It is easy to find faults. Alas ! there are too many in us all, and it needs no great discernment to detect them. But where is the benefit? Is criticism helping to fill up that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ ? Can we conceive of Him indulging such a spirit? There is nothing which so enfeebles the soul, and unfits for all helpful dealing with our brother, as this practice. Let us be mourners, not critics, and we will find that thus we will be helping saints, not contributing to the general confusion about us.

Notice, too, that in this we have the common privilege of all saints. No gift is needed to sorrow over evil,-no eloquence, no prominence. The obscurest brother, the weakest sister, have here a place from which none can thrust them but themselves. In times of special trial and distraction, when all seems to be in confusion, if there are sufferers,-those who feel, not anger or excitement or resentment, but grief at the injury done to the feeble flock of Christ, we have in that very fact a promise of recovery and blessing. What a name to give to the troubles and sorrows of the Church-"the afflictions of Christ" ! and what a privilege, what a dignity, to be called on to suffer for His sake ! To think of any little self-denial, any sinking of our own wishes, any enduring in silence, as being placed along-side the griefs of the Man of Sorrows ! Let us dwell upon His woes; and as our hearts are melted by their contemplation, let us anew seek to imitate Him " who when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not."

I should be thankful to share with the beloved readers of HELP AND FOOD the blessing derived from morning meditations on the Cities of Refuge. I have endeavored to seek out the lessons the Holy Spirit would teach, in dependence upon Himself, and without referring to what others have derived from them.

First, let us read the chapter, Josh, 20:, and I will quote the verses (7-9) giving the names of the cities.

"And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in Mount Naphtali, and Shechem in Mount Ephraim, and Kirjath-arba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh. These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation."

Now, in the first place, it goes without saying to the conscience and heart of every child of God, that our Father did not fill His Word with mere facts, and that in learning of these we had attained to all that He would have us get. This would surely be unworthy of a God of all grace, whose very name is Love, in giving a revelation to His creatures who so deeply need far more; therefore we may start with the assurance that there is something more in these verses than appears on the surface-something that shall be in harmony with the truth that God is Light and Love, and we His needy creatures, and, I trust, His beloved children through faith in Christ Jesus, with eternity before us. As the Holy Spirit teaches us, in writing to the Hebrews, "he that cometh to God must believe that He is;" so the first thing is, to grasp with assurance that in these cities there actually is something of infinite moment for us, worthy of Him who tells us of them.

Granting this much, we may fully expect that the names of these six cities will be found expressive of some characteristic or beauty or grace or quality in our Lord Jesus Christ, or of the salvation in Him. The first is apparently very plain :"Kedesh" is unmistakably "sanctuary;" and is used in Ex. 3:5-"The place whereon thou standest is holy" and so all through. It is more frequently translated "holy," or "holiness," than "sanctuary," and it would be of interest and value to note everywhere that this word is used for "sanctuary," for it would be full of the idea of holiness ; e.g., " send thee help from the sanctuary (kedesh)" is significant enough in Ps. 20:, the holiness of the help sought being the great point. Thus, then, if the names of the cities all are full of some beauty of our Lord Christ, or of some characteristic of those there protected, the first is holiness. And that is true; for whilst we should expect to find something speaking of salvation or security first, yet we must remember that is found in the very term "city of refuge."

First, we may say, then, these cities speak of refuge,- it is the first and broad idea connected with them; but immediately after that-what? Holiness. "To you first, God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities." The universal lesson of all Scripture,-holiness, consequent on, and immediately following, redemption. The same wall, therefore, that shut in the refugee in perfect peace and security, shut out all impurity and defilement. That is what, I judge, our God would teach us by the foremost place being given to Kedesh. Just as, long afterward, the same blessed Spirit, speaking, not by parables, nor pictures, but plainly, showed that the one death of Christ that delivered us from the judgment of a broken law delivered us also from the power of sin (cf. Rom. 7:and Rom. 6:) Here is a by-way along which the natural heart is prone to wander:"Saved from judgment by free grace ! then let us give grace an opportunity of abounding by continuing in sin." Ah, the deceitfulness of sin is well adapted to a heart "deceitful above all things;" hence plain words of solemn warning-"Be not deceived:God is not mocked:what a man soweth, that shall he also reap." And many a gracious finger-post, in type of various kinds, pointing, at this first by-path, to the straight and narrow way, and saying, "This is the way; walk ye in it." Thou art safe, my soul;-thou hast fled for refuge to the hope set before thee in the gospel. Hearken to the first word that strikes the saved ear-"Kedesh, Kedesh" nor move a step till the lesson has been in measure impressed upon the heart.

Kedesh was given to Gershom the stranger,-perhaps a further idea of separation and a pilgrim-character attached to it.

Shechem, meaning "shoulder," "back." Exactly the same word, " Shechem," is used in Gen. 9:23-" laid it upon their shoulders (shechem)"-that part of the body on which burdens or weights are carried. See also Gen. 49:15-"He bowed his shoulder (shechem) to bear, and became a servant under tribute. Hence the word seems connected with servitude. Look too at Ps. 81:6, Is. 9:4, 10:27; but Is. 9:6 seems very striking, as also connecting government with the "shoulder;" still the idea is the same,-it is that of carrying, bearing, supporting- He shall support, maintain, uphold, the government. (Compare also Is. 22:22.)Now these are not human definitions, but those of the inspired Word itself, and, gathering them together, we conclude that "Shechem" first bears the idea of "service; " (Gen. 49:15 is conclusive as to this,) and surely this follows in beautiful order after "refuge" and "holiness;" not till the meaning of these two earlier words is practically learned does "Shechem " come in, or is service acceptable. But here extremes meet-" he that is chief is as he that serves " (Luke 22:26), and He who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and was amongst His own "as he that serveth," is the only one fit or capable of maintaining government, which shall be upon His shoulder. Blessed principle! may we learn it, for we too shall, through grace unspeakable, reign with Him. But if so, we must learn that which is so closely connected with government, and must precede it (although never put aside as finished, for He serves ever; and we, in glory, serve) to serve. Blessed principle ! see it dwelt upon in the epistles-i Cor. 16:15:the house of Stephanas were far advanced in this school of service, hence rule, so the saints of Corinth are exhorted to submit themselves to them. (So Refuge, Kedesh, and Shechem once more press the lesson of the law of the sin-offering -Lev. 6:-salvation, holiness, service.) Shechem was situated in Ephraim,-1:e., "fruitfulness;" was it not well placed? The activities of love are the "fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ."

But let us stop a little at Shechem; "go round about her, tell the towers thereof." How much should we lack, lacking Shechem ! Made partakers of the divine nature-Love, and left in a world still lying in the wicked one, where on all sides his prisoners are met,-Shechem lacking, we should have no gospel for them, no deliverance to the captives to preach. The " poor always with" us, without Shechem there would be no ministry of love in doing good to them. The suffering of a groaning creation on every side, but no service of sympathy-weeping with them that weep, as well as rejoicing with them who do rejoice. Ah, should we not miss it were Shechem lacking? Were the outlets of that divine nature stopped, love barred from displaying itself, and shut in upon itself, should we not ourselves be prisoners, and long for the liberty of serving;-to have the "freedom" of this glorious city ours, for here the servants are the freemen ? (i Cor. 7:22.)

"My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." It is as if God Himself were hallowing Shechem with His presence, and He who was one with Him in life and nature were delighting to dwell there too. Consider her palaces, my soul! And this city is ours. Do we appreciate it? Are we enjoying our citizenship of this "no mean city"? or has the pendulum of our lives swung a little too far on the other side, -from the fleshly energy, restless activity, and legal labor which, alas ! so abounds everywhere in Christendom, to what may really largely be slothful ease, fruit of carnal security, whilst precious opportunities never to return are lost, and our ears are dull to hear the Spirit's call:" Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." And we have looked at Mary sitting at her Master's feet-listening, learning, and approved, till some of us have concluded that this attitude gives the only picture of Christian life; but the same Mary teaches us another lesson in Jno. 11:, nor is the service of Martha in that scene checked in the slightest, or out of harmony with it. The "care" and "trouble" of Luke 10:showed that she was not then true dweller in Shechem-her citizens serve with joy :'tis liberty and relief. An easy yoke, not cumbersome. Oh to breathe the healthful, bracing air of this lovely city-Shechem !

Hebron, the third city, means "association, confederation," hence carries the idea of fellowship, communion. Jacob sent Joseph out of the vale of Hebron (where he was at home-loved, understood,-where heart answered heart in sweet communion,) to Shechem (service), for those who hated him and purposed to stay him. No communion there; " He came to His own, and His own received Him not;"-from the Father's bosom He came _the vale of Hebron. How sweetly, then, this name " Hebron" speaks to us, when taken in this opposite order after Shechem, of communion restored, of " fellowship with us (as John writes), and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ."For sent from Hebron to Shechem is John's gospel (chap, 1:), but here Hebron after Refuge and Kedesh and Shechem is John's epistle-He came from the Father's bosom to serve, He has gone back there-to Hebron; but not alone-He has taken His redeemed with Him:" Because I live, ye shall live also," He said; and, lo, we are in Hebron too. Fellowship with the Father !understanding, through the blessed Spirit, something of His heart, recognizing in whom that heart delights, and sharing (through that one blessed Spirit), in our feeble way, in that delight; entering a very little way, but still truly entering, led by divine power, into His thoughts of the Son; resting on His finished work, where God rests; gazing on His beauty with joy-a joy perfect in the Father's heart only. The Father's counsels and purposes all determining that He shall be exalted to highest glory, and our voices and hearts saying, "Amen! for He is worthy ! "-it is the vale of Hebron in which we are,-fellowship, too, with the Son ! What are His thoughts-that blessed Son? What is His delight, in which His people may, in measure, share ? The Father is perfectly glorified,-where He was dishonored, there far more exceeding glory has been His. The "fifth part" has been added to that which He had lost through sin staining His work-through the robbery of the first man, who sought to be equal with God :His will has been done. Blessed, precious, almighty will! Love and Light have each been perfectly accounted of, and God is no longer narrowed-straightened, with vail up, but can show Himself unhindered, "able to do exceeding, abundantly." We may, too, have fellowship with His praise. " We join the praises that He leadeth." " In the midst of the church will I sing praise unto Thee;" and we learn to say with Him, " Our God, our Father," as He said, " Go, tell My brethren that' I ascend unto My God and your God, to My Father and your Father." Yes, He has not gone back alone to that Bosom from which He came;- He has taken brethren with Him back to the vale of Hebron; He has brought us to His Father's house, and (think of it for thyself, my soul !) sinners of the Gentiles are "fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." Yes, as we walk on earth, this is fulfilled. The path that He trod is ours:if we suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him. And in all these things, and far more, we have fellowship with one another:-no lonely strangers are the Lord's people in Him; they are in sweet companionship; they are of one household; they share each other's joys, trials, burdens, after the pattern of their ever blessed Lord.

Hebron is in Judah-" praise," beautiful for situation again; for John writes, when, as we may say, inviting us to dwell at Hebron, (chap. 1:4), " that your joy may be full." And "full joy" means "melody in the heart," and that, most surely, is "praise." F. C. J.

( To be continued in next number.)

Q.5. _"How can we reconcile the statement that James, who was the Lord's brother, was also the son of Alpheus. It appears there were but two Jameses among the apostles, and James the less is the son of Alpheus, and identical with the apostle of that name referred to in Acts 15:13, 21:18, and Gal., 1:19, 2:9. Who is the James of Matt. 13:55 and Mark 6:3 ? It appears to the mind very evident that this is the Lord's brother, referred to by Paul; but how, then, is he the son of Alpheus?"
J.H.G.

Ans.-It is, as you say, evident that the James spoken of in passages is one person. He is the son of Mary (wife of Cleopas, the Hebrew form of "Alpheus" the Greek word). Mark 15:40; Matt, 27:50; Luke 24:10. This Mary was the sister of our Lord's mother (Jno. xix 25); so that, according to familiar Hebrew usage, her children, being near relatives of our Lord Jesus, were called His brethren. Jacob tells Rachel he was her father's brother; literally, he was nephew to Laban. Lot says to Abram, "We be brethren." Jude was another of these sons, and he was the brother of James. (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13; Jude 1.)

Q. 6.-" How are we to reconcile the call of Andrew and Peter seen in Jno. 1:(as it appears they met the Lord and began their discipleship down by the Jordan,) with that of Matt, 4:, where the Lord meets and calls them up by the sea of Galilee ?" J. H. C.

Ans. -The first call, at Jordan, was when John the Baptist had pointed out Jesus as the " Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world."They follow Jesus, and become acquainted Him. This was their salvation-call. Next, at Galilee, we their call from their nets, to be "fishers of men." This was their service-call. All the Lord's people have these two %-first, to Jesus as Saviour-the Lamb of God; second, as Lord and Master. So far from conflicting, they fill out and sup-" one another. After the first call, Andrew and Peter evidently did not give up their former occupation; after the second, they did.

Q. 7.-"How do we reconcile the account of the last passover Jesus kept with the disciples as seen in the synoptic gospels- Matthew, Mark, Luke, with the account in Jno. 13:? In Jno. 18:28 and 19:14, it appears the passover had not been observed by the Jews, while Jesus and His disciples had kept it; and the accounts in the three first gospels seem to be clear it was the regular time (14th Nisan) to observe it." J. B. G.

Ans.-There can be no question that our Lord and His disciples, ate the passover on the proper night. The Jews also, doubtless, ate it on the same night. The passages referred to in John do not mean that they had not eaten the passover-supper, but refer to the whole feast of unleavened bread, as in Luke 22:1-"Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the passover.""The preparation" in Jno. 19:14 is not the preparation for the passover, but for the Sabbath, following which was "an high day." (Luke 23:54; Mark 15:42; Jno. 19:31.)

Q. 8.-"Does the fact of the Lord Jesus being the first-fruits of the resurrection forbid the thought that the body of Moses was raised from among the dead ?How else could his body have been seen on the mount of transfiguration ? Could not Moses, and others mentioned in the New Testament have been raised in virtue of Christ's resurrection not yet accomplished ?"- S.A.C.
Ans.-It is evident that Scripture is purposely silent with regard to the resurrection of persons before that of our Lord took place. Not that it was impossible that such did take place, but they are not mentioned prominently, because Christ was not yet risen. There are but three cases which could have occurred,- that of Moses, who appeared glorified on the "holy mount" along with Elijah, who typified the " changed" saints, as Moses did the sleeping ones raised. Enoch was translated that he should not see death. He was not, for God took him. In both his case and that of Elijah, it seems a necessary inference that they were "changed," which answers to resurrection. But, as was said, all is left in obscurity till the resurrection of our Lord. Even those graves which were opened at our Lord's crucifixion did not yield up their dead till after His resurrection. (Matt, 27:51-53.) Besides these, there were in Old-Testament times, but specially in our Lord's life, many raisings from the dead; but these were only temporary. The persons were still mortal, and in due time again fell asleep.

The Light of heaven is the face of Jesus. The Joy of heaven is the presence of Jesus.

The Melody of heaven is the name of Jesus. The Harmony of heaven is the praise of Jesus. The Theme of heaven is the work of Jesus. The Employment of heaven is the service of Jesus. The Fullness of heaven is Jesus Himself.

It is not the Bride only, but the Spirit, knowing all the affections in the heart of Christ, says, "Come!" How sweet to have Christ wanting you to say "Come"! Have you known the sweetness when in solitude, when none have been near, of that thought in your heart, hardly breathed in words, "Come, Lord Jesus, come " ? G.V.W.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF HOLINESS.

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 3:18.)

The case of Stephen illustrates, explains, and applies I this far-reaching statement that we may not only take in its meaning, but see that it is intended to be proved by men like ourselves, and in a sphere where all in the world, even worldly religion, is marshaled against Christ. Like a friend of the writer's, now with the Lord, each believer may pull himself up when inclined to feel depressed, and say, " There is nothing between me and the Lord on yon throne but an open heaven." Faith
sees the Lord where he is, owned in His true character as the risen Savior, and the believer is raised superior to circumstances by the transforming object on whom his eye is fixed.

A captain, called to lead a forlorn hope, conscious that the eye of his general is eagerly watching him, is so controlled and sustained as to cause him to make light of danger and death. But in Stephen's case, we have not only affectionate devotion, such as no mere soldier can feel, but with and in him, in a new way, there is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the very power and Spirit through whom the Lord Himself triumphed over death. Gideon of old could say to his tested band, "Look on me, and do likewise ;" and "As I do, so shall ye do." With him the battle had still to be won ; he could not yet be seen as one who had triumphed :he might inspire others by his courageous example, but he could not give them the strength derived from his own faith and confidence in God. It is far otherwise with the One whom Stephen saw. Jesus had triumphed over
principalities and powers, over death and him who had the power of death, and was already crowned with glory and honor. Stephen, full of the Holy Ghost, saw this glorified Savior, acted by the same power, and in his measure, in the same way, prayed for his murderers, and commended his Spirit to the One in obedience to whose will he laid down his life.

Blessed and wonderful as Stephen's triumph may appear, the grace and power of God, as illustrated in the life of Paul, in some respects, may present a fuller manifestation of the possibilites which lie before a Christian through realizing the deliverance vouchsafed in communion with a triumphant Saviour. Stephen, like Nelson, was victorious in death. Paul, like Wellington, lived to enjoy and prove and further illustrate the fullness of the blessing. Paul, in speaking of his own example, is careful to say, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." The perfect Man, Christ Jesus, unlike Paul or any other, had nothing to attain. He did not esteem it something to be grasped at to be on an equality with God. (Phil. 2:6.) He had his equality to begin with, and "emptied Himself," "humbled Himself, and becoming obedient unto death, and that the death of the cross." This alone is the complete, divine ideal, and hence it is said, " Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ
Jesus."

It is worthy of notice here again that the standard and the power for attaining conformity to the mind of Christ Jesus are mentioned close together. In the same context we find "the fellowship of the Spirit." (Phil. 3:)In all our thoughts concerning devotedness to the Lord, therefore, we cannot give too much prominence to the important truths of the Lord being now a Man on the throne in heaven, and the Holy Spirit being now a Person on the earth. Like the two pillars in the temple of old they are the Jachin and the Boaz in connection with what the Lord is doing in this dispensation. As " Jachin " means " He shall establish," it answers well to what Jesus as Lord continues to do from the throne. "Boaz" signifies "in him is strength," so no more appropriate thought could be suggested than that in the Spirit now dwelling on the earth there is power to carry out the will of the One who is on the throne in heaven. Both pillars were connected with the one temple. To have had only the one would have left it incomplete. So both truths, the glorified Man and the personal presence of the Spirit are required to give completeness and stability to any thing done for the Lord now. If we thus think of Him it is the One who has passed through death. If we think of the abiding Spirit, it is as the one who has come to maintain the interests of the Lord in the place where He was rejected and crucified. It will appear then that death is on all here that is contrary to the will of the . Whatever is of the Lord, whatever is according to will in consistent conduct, in successful service, or in acceptable worship, must be the tracing again of something of that life which was a meat-offering fit for God. Hence, in troubles, perplexities, and persecutions, the apostle speaks of " Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be manifest in our body." (2 Cor. 4:10.) On all that is the flesh, as connected with our Adam-life, there must |,the acceptance of death. This is not improvement or amelioration of the flesh. Its desert and doom are set forth in the dying of Jesus. The means and manner of (-deliverance are thus distinctly manifested. Jesus has |, condemning sin in the flesh, rejecting all that peril to-the first man as unfit for the presence and service God, and leaving room for the display of the life of Jesus 'in the body. The person is the same; his old nature is neither terminated nor changed ; but he has a new nature, the life of Jesus. The presence of the old nature is felt, so there must be the constant withstanding or resistance of it, by carrying in heart and mind the fact that it was, positively, and still requires to be, practically set aside by the dying of Jesus. Like the salt kept on the stump of a shrub to prevent it from sprouting in a garden-path, faith continues to reckon that the flesh was cut down by the death of Jesus; and thus, though liable to sprout, through the salt of grace, the flesh may be repudiated and kept in the place of death. Those who yield to the new life may find that every trial and hindrance met with by the way when rightly used through grace are the means of giving over to death all that is of the flesh, that the new life, the life of Jesus, may have an unhindered display in their mortal flesh. Thus there is not only the setting aside of the evil nature in the believer, but there is the possibility of the positive expression by him of the beautiful life of Jesus.

Elisha may be said to have desired to have his own life supplanted by the life of Elijah. Elisha would be the same person as to the traits of his individuality, but his life and works would henceforth be those of the prophet caught up in the chariot of fire, so that Elijah might be said to live again in the one who received a double portion of His spirit. Was the setting aside and repudiating of his own old life not set forth in the rending of his mantle? Was the taking up and expressing of the life of Elijah not betokened by the taking of his mantle when it fell from the ascending prophet ? If not, why, in returning to Jordan, does Elisha smite the waters with the mantle saying, " Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" The divided waters, as in the days of old, show that the "living God " is acting there, and the new prophet passing over makes it clear that it is much the same as if Elijah was still the prophet of Israel. So, indeed, from the life and power displayed, it appears to the sons of the prophets at Jericho as they say, " The Spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. (2 Kings 2:) Thus, in a striking and instructive way, we find in the Old Testament, the shadowing forth of how the believer might be delivered from his old life and rise to newness of life, so as to have the life of "Jesus in some measure, lived again in the body of the saint here on earth. His longings after holiness are only met or realized in proportion as Christ is magnified in his body. W.C. J.
(To be continued.)

CONANT’S "HISTORY OF ENGLISH BIBLE TRANSLATION."

In 1377, Wickliffe twice escaped the snares of his enemies once at St. Paul's, when summoned before the bishop of London, and again at Lambeth, where he had boldly appeared alone before a synod ; and his peaceful deliverance amid confusion and strife on both occasions reminds us of the word, "But He, passing through the midst of them, went His way." (Luke 4:30.) It was the same power that wrought in London and at Nazareth, against which all efforts of man are idle. (Ps. 2:) On the first of these occasions he was accompanied before the bishop by two powerful friends-Lancaster and Percy, magnates of the realm. This so exasperated the bishop that he rebuked them in anger, and a tumult arose, during which Wickliffe quietly withdrew. On the second occasion (at Lambeth,) the people of London became concerned about his safety, and streamed toward the place of meeting, entered the building, and burst open the door of the council-room, and demanded Wickliffe, and, in the midst of all, a royal messenger entered, and "forbad any definite sentence" by the court. Wickliffe returned peaceably to Oxford, to lecture, write, and preach against the sins of popery with more zeal than ever. The hand of God thus shielded him from his enemies, and gave him boldness to still preach the truth. We can think with what joy he must have gone on his. way through the crowded street, hearing the word of the angel of the Lord, "Fear not" (Acts 27:24), and assured afresh that man's rage could only do that which God's " counsel determined before to be done" (Acts 4:. 28), and no doubt joining in the prayer, "And now, Lord, behold their threatenings; and grant unto Thy servants that with all boldness they may speak Thy Word." So at all times we can rest in the assuring word (Is. 57:17), " No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord."

Wickliffe had been one of a royal commission from England to the pope, in 1372, to remonstrate against existing evils. Like Luther on a similar occasion, he returned with a fresh impression of the corruptions of the papal system. Thus God was preparing him for the witness he was to bear. We may conclude he was not silent, since, not long .after, papal bulls against him were addressed to Oxford, to the king, to Canterbury, and London. That England had become the nurse of heresy is ascribed to " John Wickliffe, Master in Divinity-more properly Master in Error; who had proceeded to a degree of madness so detestable as not to fear to assert, dogmatize, and publicly teach opinions the most false and erroneous, contrary to the faith, and tending to the entire subversion of the church."

"Thus terrible," remarks the author, "to the kingdom of darkness is a man who gives fearless utterance to the truth."

" Contrary to the faith"!Alas ! how strong the tendency in us all to call that " contrary to the faith " which . does not please us, because subversive of error we have become attached to !If we are not willing to say, " I am wrong," we may be sure Satan has gained the mastery over us.

The parliament of England having appealed to Wickliffe for his opinion as to the pope's claim of tribute, Wickliffe's reply has the simplicity and wisdom that is always found with subjection to God's Word :-
"If thou wilt be a lord," he says to the church dignitaries " thou shalt lose thine apostleship ; or if thou wilt be an apostle, thou shalt lose thy lordship; for truly thou must depart from one of them. …. Now if it doth suffice thee to rule with the Lord, thou hast thy glory; but if we will keep what is forbidden, let us hear what He saith :' He that is greatest among you shall be as the least, and he which is highest shall be as a servant;' and, for an example, He set a child in the midst of them. So, then, this is the true form and institution of the apostle's trade':Lordship and rule is forbidden ; ministration and service commanded."

Such ministry was the shining of Scripture-light for all who were not blind. As to ministry, the office of priest was to Wickliffe simply that of one who was bound to faithfully preach the Word, and that even in spite of the prohibition of bishops ; and yet he did not quite attain to the scripture which lays upon each of us to minister according to the gift given us, and not by virtue of an "office," however truly he may have felt his own responsibility to Christ, and diligently acquitted himself to the end. Here is an eminently scriptural thought:" Every Christian should judge of the office of the clergy from what is taught in Scripture-especially in the epistles of Timothy and Titus, and should not admit the new inventions of Caesar."

"The highest service to which a man may attain on earth," he says, " is to preach the Word of God, …. and if our bishops preach not themselves, and hinder true priests from preaching, they are in the sin of the bishops who killed the Lord Jesus Christ."

He held that ministry should be supported simply by voluntary contributions of the people, according to the example of the Lord and the apostles; and that the Lord taught us to seek to be profitable to men everywhere, and not to forbear to preach to a people because they are few, and our name may not in consequence be great. We should labor for God, and from Him hope for our reward. "It was ever the manner of Jesus to speak the words of God wherever He knew they might be profitable to those who heard them. Hence Christ often preached now at meat, now at supper, and indeed at whatever time it was convenient for others to hear Him."

This reformer's instructions resulted in the going forth of a band of earnest missionaries through the country, who used occasions, (according to the author,) whether, in the church-yard, the market-place, or the fair; and we thankfully conclude the work was effectual, from the opposition aroused. The archbishop of Canterbury, bishops, and doctors were gathered together in council (See Acts 4:5), and appealed to royal authority to suppress the preachers, as men ".who were perverting the nation with their heretical and seditious doctrines."

" But these devices," says the author, " were not able to break again the ' apostolic succession' thus revived by Wickliffe. When persecuted in one place, they fled to another, and continued their work ; for the Lord was with them, and kings and prelates opposed in vain. To the poor the gospel was preached. This was to the glory of God. Wickliffe was a follower of Jesus, for he loved the poor."

"The Poor Caitiff* is a collection of short pieces. *One of humble condition.* (London Religious Tract Society.) With "simplicity, humility, and sweetness he speaks to the neglected and degraded poor these heavenly words of instruction and consolation." Here are a few passages from these little messengers of peace, which also show how the Spirit of Christ in every time leads the true servant in the path of meekness and love, that he may be able to minister the same thing to others-to the lambs and sheep of the flock :-

" To any degree of true love to Jesus no soul can attain unless he be truly meek. For a proud soul seeks to have his own will, and so he shall never come to any degree of God's love. Even the lower that a soul sitteth in the valley of meekness, so many the more streams of grace and love come thereto. And if the soul be high in the hills of pride, the wind of the fiend bloweth away all manner of goodness therefrom.

" Singular love is:when all solace and comfort is closed out of the heart but the love of Jesus alone, other delight and other joy pleases not; for the sweetness of Him is so comforting and lasting, His love is so burning and gladdening, that he who is in this degree, may well feel the fire of love burning in his soul. That fire is so pleasant that no man can tell but he that feeleth it (i Pet. 1:8), and not fully he. Then the soul is Jesus loving, on Jesus thinking, and Jesus desiring; only burning in coveting of Him ; singing in Him, resting on Him. Then the thought turns to song and melody.

"God playeth with His child when He suffereth him to be tempted ; as a mother riseth from her much beloved child and hides herself, and leaves him alone, and suffers him to cry, ' Mother! Mother!' so that he looks about, cries and weeps for a time; and, at last, when the child is ready to be overset with troubles and weeping, she comes again, clasps him in her arms, kisses him, and wipes away the tears. So our Lord suffereth His loved child to be tempted and troubled for a time, and withdrawing some of His solace and full protection, to see what His child will do, and when he is about to be overcome with temptations, then He defendeth him and comforteth him by His grace."

Note again Wickliffe's love, for the poor and his persuasion that the Word alone could supply their need in his introduction to Luke.

" Therefore a poor caitiff let from preaching for a time for causes known to God writeth the gospel of Luke in English, with a short exposition of old and holy doctors, to the poor men of his nation, which know little Latin or none, and be poor of wit and worldly chattel, and not the less rich in good will to please God!" And then referring to the hypocrisy of antichrist and his disciples (the papal system) he adds, " The best armor of Christian men against this crowned chieftain with his host is the text of holy writ."

In the year 1384, he completed the translation of the whole of the Old and New Testaments, making his translation from the Latin Vulgate;-that is, the Latin version made by Jerome from the Greek and Hebrew in the fourth century.

In the same year he was called to his rest. He had completed his task. He was seized with paralysis in the Church at Lutterworth, and after a few days of unconsciousness his soul "awoke in the joy of its Lord." E.S.L.

(To be continued.)

When Dathan and Abiram (Num. 16:) were acting out their rebellion against Moses as leader (type of Christ in His kingly authority), they let slip the secret of their thought both about the land of Egypt they had left, and the wilderness they were in. "Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of the land 'that floweth with milk and honey?" What a description to give of that land of brick-kiln bondage and divine judgments! How rebellion blinds the eyes! Whenever self-will is at work, the world, in some form or other, becomes the attraction, rather than Canaan:so that in the case before us, the very attractions of that land of promise are given to Egypt-Heaven's blessings ascribed to earth, not so uncommon in these days. As to the wilderness, Moses was going to kill them. It was not the place through which they were hurrying on to a rest sure and prepared; rather it was a place to die in-its dreary wastes marked their horizon, and there was no faith to see beyond. How different the view of faith! However trying and terrible the wilderness might be, springs are found in it, the valley of Baca becomes a well, and water ever flows from that Rock which follows them, "and that Rock was Christ;" while beyond it lies that land-not very far distant to its vision-which is " the glory of all lands." This is the normal attitude of the child of God; but let self-will get to work, and how soon all comforts flee, and we find out how true that word is, " The rebellious dwell in a dry land." Rebellion is against God's authority. It may be direct, as in Jonah's case, but far oftener it is concealed beneath the resistance, apparently, of the human instrument who makes known God's will. But God marks it, and when His Word is refused, no matter by whom presented, that marks rebellion in its essence. Blinded by prejudice, the person resists, he says, the man who bears the message, but he is really despising not man but God, who will most surely deal with him.

But perhaps the subtlest form of rebellion is that of resisting self-will by self-will. Here is Diotrephes acting with a high hand, and we resist him with a high hand,- we fight him with his own weapons. Now will in action is rebellion; for submission to God is ever our part, no matter how great the provocation may be. Need we be surprised, then, that the result of strife is dryness? If we were more honest with ourselves, doubtless much that passes for righteous zeal and care for the Lord's honor, is only self-will, and in the things of God what can be worse? But call it by what name we please, the tell-tale barrenness shows what is the matter. I have been unjustly dealt with by a brother, and I am applying Matt, 18:to him, but I lose in my own soul the sense of God's presence, because I am not seeking His will, but self-vindication. Or the person toward whom I may be thus acting resents my treatment, and he too, instead of learning God's mind in allowing this trial (even if wrongly dealt with) to come on him, lets self assert itself and we are both rebellious and of course in a dry land. Nothing but subjection to God will do, under all circumstances of trial, whether sickness, disappointment, misrepresentation or whatever may make life bitter and hard. How our
blessed Lord ever bowed to His Father, taking even the cup of death not from the hands of His enemies, but from the One whom it was His meat and drink to serve. No trial but would yield the " peaceable fruits of righteousness," if we received it from a Father's hand of love, in true submission to Him. Ah! if we saw God in it all.

Is there not in this a call to many individuals, to many assemblies of God's people as well ? Who will heed it, and look away from all second causes to God, in imitation of Him who could say, " The Lord God hath opened Mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away My back. I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheek to them that plucked off the hair:I hid not My face from shame and spitting" ?

Israelite was entirely dependent for the fruit of I the earth upon the rain. That which marked the superiority of his land (or, rather, God's land) over the land of Egypt was that, while the latter had its river, and water-courses, yearly overflowing and bringing fruit-fulness, his land was watered with the rain of heaven, and so also was one where water sprung from hillside and valley." For the land whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:but the land whither ye go in to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven:a land which the Lord thy God careth for:the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year, even unto the end of the year." (Deut. 11:10-12.)But from this very fact, while thus blessed with unsurpassed fertility when there was abundance of rain, if that was withheld, famine was the inevitable result. Blessed position for them, had they been but faithful to Him who never could disappoint those who looked to Him! We know that temporal prosperity was for Israel the sure index of their spiritual condition, hence as soon as unfaithfulness and sin on their part reached a climax, rain failed, and barrenness and poverty resulted. This was foretold while yet. they were in the wilderness:" If thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God . . . thy heaven that:is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust." (Deut. 28:15, 23, 24.) It was alluded to in Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple:"When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain because they have sinned against Thee." (i Kings 8:35.)It was illustrated in the history of Ahab. It was used as an argument by the prophets in leading Israel to repentance:"Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season:. . . Your iniquities have turned away these things." (Jer. 5:24, 25.)Sometimes, the more plainly to mark His dealings, He caused it to rain in one part of the land and not in another:"And I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city:. . . Yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the Lord." (Amos 4:7, 8.)The rain was needed at and soon after sowing time to cause the seed to sprout and grow-this was the early rain:it was also needed toward the close of the season, to bring to maturity what had progressed so far. If the early rain were withheld, there could be no sowing; if the latter rain failed, there could be no reaping.

Passing from the literal to that of which it was the type, we find Israel's history, both past and future, an illustration of God's dealings, as based upon their state. Beginning with the deliverance from Egypt, and planting in the land (which, in the mind of God, were consecutive events), we have what might be called " the early rain "- "the love of thine espousals. . . . Israel was holiness unto the Lord." (Jer. 2:2.) Under Samuel, David, Jehoshaphat, and other faithful ones, we have more showers of refreshing connected with this period of their history. A long period of spiritual death succeeds, until again God brings near a cloud, heavier, fuller of rain than any before; what would, in fact, have been (and will yet be) a cloud of the latter rain. The Lord Jesus Himself was presented to them, ready to pour forth all the rich blessings which are yet in reserve. The time of fruit was not to be yet, and rejecting Him they have been left in drought ever since, and will be until they repent, and having their sins blotted out, times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Meanwhile the vineyard, so long unfruitful, has been thrown open for the boar of the forest to waste (Isa. 5:) But what was in hardness refused, God, whose gifts and calling are without repentance, has yet in reserve for them. " He shall send Jesus which before was preached unto you." He, their true King, whose favor is as a cloud of the latter rain, shall come. He shall come as rain upon the mown grass, and poor Israel shall at last blossom and bud and fill the face of the earth with fruit. How beautiful it is to see all nature rejoicing, the trees of the field clapping their hands, the desert blossoming as the rose, shadows of that blooming forth and fruit-bearing of what will indeed be then God's "pleasant plant"! The nation at last, as a "watered garden," will say to Him, who long and often came seeking fruit in vain, "Let my Beloved come into His garden, and eat His pleasant fruits." (Song 4:16.)

It is well, however, to mark the stages of this blessing. " In those days, and at that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping:they shall go, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thither ward." (Jer. 1. 4, 5.) "I will pour upon the house of David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications:and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, . . . every family apart, and their wives apart." (Zech. 12:10,12.) When Israel repents, the latter rain will come; nay, their very repentance is, as it were, the first droppings of that mighty shower which bring all past flowers of promise to fruit of accomplishment. "Thou visitest the earth and waterest it:Thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God which is full of water:Thou preparest them corn, when Thou hast so provided for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly:Thou settlest the furrows thereof:Thou makest it soft with showers:Thou blessest the springing thereof. . . . The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing." (Ps. 65:9-13; Isa. 62:4, 5; Hos. 2:19-22.)

But deeply interesting and delightful as the consideration of all this is, have we not truth here which will apply to the Church of God ? Earthly things are types of heavenly, and principles remain unchanged. Beginning at Pentecost, we have the early rain-that shower which fell on dry soil and quickened dead souls, by the incorruptible seed of the Word of God, into life. How fresh and bright all was at the first! Neither property, as in the case of Barnabas, and many others, nor life itself, as with Stephen, could be withheld. But in a little while it had to be written of some, " I am afraid of you," of others, "Thou hast left thy first love." The subsequent history of the church has been but a repetition of Israel's departure from God, with resulting barrenness, and darkness deepening on, till God in mercy granted some measure of recovery. But it may be asked, Does not the Spirit dwell in the Church; do we have to wait "till the Spirit be poured out upon us from on high?" Surely not; yet where self-will and unbelief hinder and quench the Spirit, the effect is much the same as though He were not present. So we see to-day a dryness, not merely in the professing church, but even among God's own people. Then the longing question rises in the hearts of those who "sigh and cry," Is there riot something for the Church to answer to the latter rain in Israel? True, our coming Lord will forever banish all drought; but ere He comes, is there nothing of a general awakening amongst the saints of God-a bringing to maturity of some, at least, of that promise of fruit there was at the beginning ? We read that after the midnight cry had gone forth, all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. May there not be something corresponding to this ? The cry has gone forth, but has there been such a general response as we might be led to expect? We would not dictate to our ever blessed God, but we would learn from all His ways of love not to limit Him. Is there to be no going forth of the gospel in greater power and blessing, to gather in many precious souls ere the day of grace ends ? We may not answer definitely, but at least for us as for Israel the path is plain, – repentance, prayer, returning to the Lord, putting off all ornaments (all boasting in attainment) to see what He will do with us.
Coming nearer home is the wondrous testimony raised up in these last days, once characterized by faith, love, and hope, singleness of eye, devotedness of heart, loyalty to the Person of our ever blessed Lord-is this light to flicker out, quenched by pride, strife, worldliness? Enough has occurred, and is occurring, to make one tremble; on the one hand assumption, and a high hand, dangerously resembling Diotrephes, in 3 John; on the other, looseness and indifference to Christ's person and honor, which needs to heed the stimulating word in 2 John. What is to become of the testimony ? Is it any sign of a spiritual mind to quietly fold our hands and say, "God never restores a ruined testimony?" True, perhaps, but may He not strengthen and freshen the things that remain, and recover very many of His scattered sheep ? What limit is there here, but that which coldness and unbelief imposes ? If there is straitness, we know where it is. If the heart of an apostle was enlarged unto his brethren, what shall we say of His heart who gave His own blessed Son ?

To come nearer home still:to each one individually, there was a time when Christ was the chiefest among ten thousand, perhaps He is less so now. Once, God's Word was rejoiced in as when one findeth great spoil; now, perhaps, a hasty occasional glance, in a perfunctory way, is all that is given to it. Once, prayer, alone and in fellowship with others, was the " vital breath and native air." God was very near, unseen things were very real. Now, perhaps, all this is changed. Something has turned the heart from Christ, and oh! what leanness! It will not do to put off these things from us with a general acknowledgment that we all need a closer walk with God. We need to ask ourselves if this is true of us, and if so, does God intend that we should continue in such a state till death takes us to Christ, or He comes for us. Surely there is not a line of scripture to warrant such conclusion. Oh! beloved brethren! our God would have us each and all to taste and drink more deeply from the eternal fullness of that well which is even now within us. Let there be hearty confession, true lowliness, a rending of the heart-a cry to God, and would not that of itself be the beginning of a season of blessing to our own souls, overflowing into other souls, until, who knows where the blessed result would end ? Shall we say of these things as they did of Ezekiel's message, " Doth he not speak parables ?" or shall we bow our knees with our hearts in a whole-hearted prayer, " O Lord, revive Thy work "?

''Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." (2 Tim. 1:19 )

III. INTRODUCTORY.

Doctrine " means "teaching." All Scripture is profitable, among other things, for doctrine,-that is, for teaching the truths needful for the man of God to know. It is by doctrine, or teaching, that all the great realities of God, and our relations to Him,-of Christ, the Spirit, salvation, grace, glory, are made known to us. Therefore it is significant that in the "Church epistles "-those devoted to the Church order and life- we have the word " doctrine" mentioned so frequently (i and 2 Timothy and Titus). It is by doctrine (through the power of the Spirit) that the Church is built up and nourished. Where doctrine is set aside, all growth and testimony soon stops.

It is considered fashionable, in this day, to decry doctrine and uphold "practical Christianity," as it is called. These doctrines, we are told, are old-fashioned, and no longer suit those who live in this enlightened and progressive age. These thoughts, suggested by the spirit of evil, have crept like leaven into the professing church, until men fear to make known those grand, simple, and sanctifying doctrines of the Scripture, and have come down to the demands of the day for a broad creed- generalizations about the mercy of God-His universal Fatherhood and man's brotherhood-duties to one's neighbor or to the state. Or, where there is earnestness, it goes off into attacks upon some of the crying sins of the day, such as intemperance and the like. A glance at the Monday reports of sermons will show the current of the day-"the course of this world," and as one reads these reports of " stones for fish-scorpions for eggs," he is reminded of those solemn words, " The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." The effect of all this is infidelity. The precious doctrines of grace are set aside, along with the solemn doctrines of sin and future judgment. Nothing remains but man's religion, without Christ, and, we may add, " without hope in the world." Even where there is a holding to Bible-truth, and where through God's mercy souls are saved, this neglect of doctrinal preaching bears its true fruit. There is but little deep conviction of sin. Salvation is made a matter of " coming out on the Lord's side," by holding up the hand, or rising for prayers. As a consequence, vast numbers are swept into the church to swell its list; but, alas! the majority soon to fall back into the world, or, worse yet, to bring more of the world into the church. Not that we would deny for a moment that souls are saved during so-called " revival services," but they are few comparatively, and we believe this can be traced to the conspicuous lack of doctrinal preaching. And where souls are saved, how weak, how dim, is the faith and, as a result, unsteady the walk ! Years may pass, and the simple elements of the gospel remain unknown to many who we dare not doubt have trusted in Christ as their Savior. The weakening effect of this is seen in the impotence of the professing church to meet the tide of infidelity rising each year higher. On the other hand, contrast those who have been " established in the faith." No gilded lie of the enemy is believed, all is tested by the Word. Then, too, as to walk ; there is power in it-the,, power of truth and faith. To this it may be objected that doctrine does not necessarily transform. We answer, if the text at the beginning is noticed, we will see" the frame-work of all Scripture-doctrine-" in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." It is only when doctrine is made a matter of cold reason that it fails to have power. Christ the object of faith and of love-as well as their author-Christ brought before the soul a living Person, through the Spirit, by the use of doctrine, never fails to sanctify and strengthen. This answers the objection that doctrines are " dry." Doctrines, properly received, give us deeper knowledge of the fullness of God and of the unsearchable riches of Christ. No wonder, then, that in the wreck of all about him, the apostle exhorted Timothy to "hold fast the form of sound words." This has been rendered, "Have an outline of sound words" (J. N. D.'s Revised Version.)-a system of teaching under which we can group our knowledge of Scripture-truths. Nor is this having a creed. A creed is a human summary of doctrine for the acceptance of Christians upon which their reception into church-fellowship depends. An outline of doctrine is simply a presentation of Scripture-truth-to be tested by Scripture, for no purpose of testing fellowship, but for the edification of the saints. With such a purpose we would briefly examine some of the great doctrines of God's Word, looking for the Author of that Word to be our Enlightener and Guide.

(To be continued.)

q. 8.-" What is the difference between 'Sanctify them through Thy truth' (Jno. 17:17) and 'Sanctified in Christ Jesus' (1 Cor. 1:2)?"

Ans.-In the order of blessing, the passage in Corinthians comes first. It is a blessed fact that in Christ all our blessings are perfect. Attainment is not in question. All in Christ are sanctified, perfectly set apart to God, separated unto Him and for Him. This sanctification is perfect, it is the work of a moment, the portion of every believer. Hence our name, "saints." This is the position of all believers; but the passage in Jno. 17:is different. Our Lord is leaving His own in the world; His great desire is that they may be kept from evil, left here to represent Him. To do this, they must be holy. Hence the prayer, "Sanctify them through Thy truth." The practical walk is in question, and here sanctification is a gradual and progressive work. As the Word of God enters the heart, it shows us our unlikeness to Christ, then (by occupying us with Him,) fashions us into His image through the Spirit.

Q. 9.-"Does God own the gospel, or His Word, when preached by an unbeliever-1:e., an unredeemed person ?"

Ans.-Phil. 1:18 seems to give the answer clearly. It is His Word which God uses; and solemn as the handling of that Word by an unsaved person is, He may in His sovereign grace use it. So we can rejoice where Christ is preached, though the judgment on those who preach not sincerely will be sure.

Box 830, Los Angeles, Cal., April 13th, 1891.

My dear Brother,-

Your letter has lain unanswered for some days, having been received about a week ago. I was very thankful to receive the enclosed-sum of twenty dollars from the "Missionary Collection," of the Sunday-School, not only, or chiefly for the help ministered in spreading the gospel among those in darkness and ignorance of God, but because of the interest it manifests in the Sunday-School in that work which brought the Son of God into the world to die, that sinners might be reconciled to God, and receive the free gift of eternal life and glory. That this interest may deepen, and grow in the hearts of all of us is our prayer surely. In this age of indifference and hardness of heart and conscience, it is a comfort to know that the Lord is stirring some hearts to an increasing interest in His work and service, and some of us who are growing old are happy in the thought that the Lord is preparing others to serve Him, it is to be hoped more simply and devotedly, if He tarry yet a little,
when we have served our allotted time and are called hence.

The Lord's work involves a self-surrender and purpose of heart; and though it calls for giving up much that the rest esteem, yet I am sure no one who has truly and in sincerity of heart gone forth to serve Him in the gospel of His Son will have at the end a single regret for any thing they have given up for His sake:but rather regrets that it had not been more a great deal.

Love to Christ is the great motive that constrains-love to the One who gave Himself for us, surrendering every thing He could, and the need required, for such as we are. And well it is if this love has laid hold of us, and leads us to serve Him in that which is the fruit of eternal love and wisdom, the gospel of God, than which nothing can be higher and greater, though with men often debased and dishonored indeed.

To-day, as you well know, the gospel is going into many places which have been closed for centuries, many fields are unoccupied where there is at least liberty of access, and Satan is busy sowing his tares where the truth has gone, indeed, more earnest in the work of destruction than the children of God are in the work of salvation. Where the seed is being sown with some diligence, there is one felt need every where almost, and that is perhaps to teach us to wait upon God for it, I mean the power and working of the Holy Spirit, convicting and converting and leading to Christ. Yet doubtless there is much more than any are permitted to know of here going on, whilst what is known gives joy on earth, as it has in heaven, even if it be but one that repents.

But great mistakes are made in putting something else before the gospel, such as education and what is called civilization and many other things. Those who do this forget that it is alone the gospel that is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes. They forget, too, that God is able by the preached Word to bring from darkness to light, and from death to life, the most ignorant and hardened sinner that ever lived, and just in proportion to the measure in which men give up faith in God, and His Word, will they lean on something else, a something, too, that the natural man can work with, and it is not hard to tell what the result will be. David, the man of faith, could not meet the Philistine giant in Saul's armor, and Paul says, "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds," etc.

But I must close my already long letter with the prayer that the Lord's blessing may be with both teachers and taught in the Plainfleld Sunday-School, and grant through His grace much blessed fruit from His Word, and whilst thankful for the help sent for the work of the Lord, I do not doubt it will be accompanied with the prayers of those who have learned to value for themselves access to the throne of grace. I inclose a copy of an interesting letter from old Spain, a part the Lord has lately given us access to.

Affectionately in Christ,
ROBT. T. GRANT.

G., SPAIN, February 6th, 1891.

I am glad to tell you a little of the Lord's work in Spain, although speaking only of a single district, the province of L. So I will tell you a little of the blessings which I received of the Lord in my labors for His name; seeking to do what I can, scattering with a full hand in that virgin soil the holy seed of the gospel, trusting always in Him who has said, "My word shall not return unto Me void."

The journey to the mountains, notwithstanding the bad weather, snowing and raining, was for one very happy, receiving many blessings from above in all the towns I visited. In all, the power and Spirit of God were with me, strengthening me by the grace which is in Christ Jesus, that I might make known to the to the people His mercy and love. He who in His mercy chose me for it from the basest of the earth, cleansing me with His precious blood, and making me of service to the Lord, and
through the Spirit of God employing me in these towns, and, as Paul in Acts 28:31, "Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning our Lord Jesus Christ with all liberty, without hindrance."

In the city of T. I preached Christ two days following, some one hundred and twenty persons being present. In F. de O had a meeting at night in a coffee-room where about one hundred and ninety were gathered. In this small town there is much desire for the gospel. The priest has been in charge for fifteen months, and the poor man was complaining that in all that time there had not been a burial service. People are beginning to understand that salvation cannot be bought for money, and that it is already paid for by Jesus. My visit here troubled the priest, and the day after the meeting he met the town miller in the street, and called to him, asking, "Were you not last night with the Protestants?"

" Yes, sir," answered the miller. "And what did they say?"

"Much that was bad about you for taking away from people the fear of God, and much good of God and of Jesus Christ." " Were there many there ?" "The place was full." "Were they more quiet than at mass?"

"I did not hear any but the preacher, who said things that were very good, and full of gospel truth; that is religion, not what you teach, which is all money and fanaticism."

Then the priest abashed left without another word. Afterward I went to the town of C., where also I had a meeting at night, with one hundred and twenty persons present, orderly and respectful. The day following, having to go to the town of S. S., where they were expecting me, I was called expressly by the people of a mountain town called O., where they desired to hear the Word of God; to which I gladly yielded, seeing the good will of these simple and honorable people, considering them before those of S. S., for the latter had already heard the gospel on different occasions, are visited more frequently, on account of having better means of communication, whilst those of O. were new to this. Here I passed a Lord's day-a happy day, for in it, after having spoken of the Lord in private conversations among the people, I had a meeting in a barn to which all the people came, including the town council and secretary, who at my side all the time. In so small a town and for the [me I sold four Bibles and many portions of the Word, accompanied by a large number tracts given freely. They desired should visit them again. The only enemies here are the priest and his two housekeepers. The next day I spent at the town of V. de M., preaching Christ at night to some one hundred and fifty persons, and all obliged me to remain another day, wishing for another meeting, to which I yielded, believing it to be just and agreeable to the Word of God. At this second meeting, Kiboot two hundred were present, and all seemed pleased with the doctrines of the holy gospel, asking me to return and visit them again,, at least every mouth, if it was not possible every week. These wished to honor me with a band of music from the place of .meeting to the lodging, which I protested against, saying that my mission was a lowly one, far off from the glories of the world, following in the footsteps of the humble Master Jesus , Christ. Another day I spent at the little town of M., having here a true Christian meeting, about thirty-five persons attending. In this town there is one true Christian family. At other ,. places I visited it was impossible to have meetings, taut by the ' grace of God the ground might be prepared for another visit.

I may say that in this part of Spain the Lord has opened to us a new world, in which no doubt He has much people, and already is working in many hearts. What with public meetings, approved by the local authorities, and familiar conversations in "cafes," and with groups in houses, I preached the gospel to one thousand and more souls, men and women, many being glad and favorable to the gospel, desiring we should visit them again; but for the present they must be dealt with as babes, until the Lord shall do the rest, and give them new hearts. May the Lord aid and bless us, that what we do may be for the honor and glory of Christ our great Shepherd, and may He raise up laborers fitted for this service among these isolated people.

Your affectionate servant and brother in Christ,
J. M. R.S.
CUBA.

Dear Brother,-

After saluting you I give most hearty thanks for the tracts, etc., received, by the aid of which I have been able to present the beneficent light of the gospel to thousands of persons in this my unhappy country, where the darkness of Romanism has covered all, and where they fight without ceasing to quench the shining of the Word of God; but the seed has gone on growing, and, with the help of the Spirit, to-day there are one hundred members and many sympathizers in this congregation, and we are in hopes the Lord will call many more into the knowledge of the truth.

I have just completed a visit to the interior of the Island, in company with D. F. G., who has come to visit the work, and we have preached the gospel to a multitude of persons who never have heard the kingdom of God preached to them, and we have journeyed by rail about eighty Spanish leagues. The tracts we took have been received by the people with the greatest eagerness, and may our beloved Redeemer grant that the will of God may penetrate their hearts. Now we are expecting to visit other towns, and if it were possible that you could send us more tracts, we should value them much.

May the Lord Jesus Christ shed His rich blessing upon you and this blessed work, and grant us health and self-denial, that light may be given to those which are in darkness.

Your sincere brother in Christ,
E. P. C.

Others of interest have been received, but it would make this too long to insert them.

In S. A. a priest circulated a number of New Testaments, and found it made the people Protestants, so he burned the rest.

In Peru, the agent of the Bible Society was selling Bibles on the street when the bishop passed by, the latter sent the police at once to arrest him and he was cast into prison, contrary to the constitution of the country. He was afterward liberated, and then imprisoned again, where he now is. The Protestants of the Argentine .Republic are going to undertake the expense of his defense in the courts, and this, by the blessing of God, may be used to open the door there.

Men love darkness more than light when their deeds are evil. And what else can Jesuitism do but shut out the Word of God, the principle of their system being, " Let us do evil that good may come"? Of whom Paul says, "Whose damnation is just." R.T.G.

Box 830, Los Angeles.

AN EXPOSITION OF REVELATION IV.-XXII. PART III.-Continued.

THE TRINITY OF EVIL, AND THE MANIFESTATION OF THE WICKED ONE.

Antichrist. (Chap. 13:11-18.)

Along with the resurrection of the imperial power, we are now shown in the vision the uprise of another "wild beast," which we have nowhere else brought before us in this character. We shall have, therefore, more attentively to consider the description given, and what means we have for identification of the power or person who is described, so that the prophecy may be brought out of the isolation which would make it incapable of interpretation, and may speak at least with its full weight of moral instruction for our souls.

The one seen is "another wild beast," and this character is clear enough. The empires of Daniel are "beasts," in that they know not God; the thought of the wild beast adds to this that savage cruelty, which will, of course, display itself against those who are God's. Inasmuch as the other beasts are powers-empires,-it would seem as if here too were a power, royal or imperial; but this would not be certain, unless confirmed by other intimations.

It is seen rising up out of the earth, and not out of the sea. The latter symbol evidently applies to the nations, _the Gentiles; does not then this power rise out of the nations? It has been thought to mean a settled state of things into which the nations now had got,-a state of things unlikely at the period we are considering, and which would seem rather imageable as quiet water, than as "earth." Looking back to that first chapter of Genesis, in which we should surely get the essential meaning of these figures, and where typically the six days reveal the story of the dispensations on to the final Sabbath-rest of God, we shall find the earth, in its separation from the waters on the third day, speaking of Israel as separated from the Gentiles.* *See " Genesis in the light of the New Testament," or " The Numerical Bible."* If this be true interpretation, as I doubt not, it is an Israelitish power with which we are here brought face to face. Political events today look to a Jewish resurrection, as something in the near future scarcely problematical. Daniel's words (chap. 12:i) which apply to this, make it sure that this will not be all of God, but that "some" will rise "to shame and everlasting contempt. " Prophecies that we have already to some extent considered, intimate that Jewish unbelief is yet to unite with an apostasy of Christendom, and culminate in a "man of sin, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." (2 Thess. 2:3, 4.) Thus we may be prepared to find here a blasphemous persecuting power rising up in the restored nation. And this may help us to the awful significance of what follows in Revelation-"and he had two horns like a lamb, and spake as a dragon."

"Two horns like a lamb:" the "Lamb" is a title so significant in the present book, nay, of such controlling significance, that any reference to it must be considered of corresponding importance. The two horns, then, are of course an intimation that the power exercised by the one before us-for the "horn " is a well-known symbol of power-is two-fold, in some sense like that of a lamb:how then? What is the twofold character of the power here? It seems as if there could be but one meaning:Christ's power is twofold, as manifested in the day that comes; He is a priest upon the throne,"-a royal Priest, with spiritual authority as well as kingly. This the blasphemous usurper before us will assume; and this manifests him, without possibility of mistake that one can see, as ANTICHRIST.

He is betrayed by His voice:his speech is that of a dragon; he is inspired, in fact, by Satan. There is no sweet and gracious message upon His lips. It is not He who has been man's burden-bearer, and the sinner's Savior. No gentleness and meekness, but the tyranny of the destroyer; no heavenly wisdom, but Satan's craft, utters itself through him. Arrogant as he is, he is the miserable tool of man's worst enemy, and his own.

" And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast in his presence." He -is the representative of the newly constituted empire of the west, not locally merely, but throughout it; and thus, as-standing for another, he is still the awful mockery of Him who is on the throne of the world, the Father's representative. This is developed by the next words to its full extent:"and he causeth the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed; and he doeth great signs, so that he maketh fire to descend from heaven upon the earth before men." Here the very miracle which Elijah once had wrought to turn back the hearts of apostate Israel to the true God he is permitted to do to turn men to a false one. Men are given up to be deceived:God is sending them (as it is declared in Thessalonians) "strong delusion, that they may believe the lie . . . because they received not the love of the truth." The Word of God, announcing this beforehand, would, of course, be the perfect safeguard of those that trusted it; and this very miracle as it would appear, would be a sign to the elect, not of Christ, but of Antichrist. But to the men that dwell upon the earth, a moral characteristic distinguishing those who as apostate from Christianity have given up all their hope of heaven, and who are all through this part specially pointed out, heaven itself would seem to seal the pretensions of the deceiver. "And he deceiveth the dwellers upon the earth, by means of the signs which it was given him to do in the presence of the beast, saying to the dwellers upon earth, that they should make an image to the beast who had the wound by the sword and lived. And it was given him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause those that would not worship the image of the beast to be slain."

Is an actual image of the beast intended here ? or is it some representative of imperial authority, such as the historical interpreters in general (though in various ways) have made it out to be? Against the latter thought there is in itself no objection, but rather the reverse, the book being so symbolical throughout. But it is the second beast itself that is the representative of the authority of the first beast; and on the other hand an apparent creation-miracle would not be unlikely to be attempted by one claiming to be divine. Notice, that it is not" life " he gives to it, as in the common version, nor "spirit," though the word may be translated so, but "breath," which as the alternative rendering is plainly the right one, supposing it be a literal image.

Our Lord's words as to the " abomination of desolation standing in the holy place" (Matt. 24:15), are in evident connection with this, and confirm this thought. " Abomination " is the regular word in the Old Testament, to express what idolatry is in the sight of God; but here it is established in what was but awhile before professedly His temple. For until the middle of Daniel's seventieth week, from the beginning of it, sacrifice and oblation have been going on among the returned people in Jerusalem. This was under the shelter of the covenant with that Gentile " prince" of whom the prophet speaks as the " coming one." At first, he is clearly therefore not inspired with the malignity toward God which he afterwards displays. Now, energized by Satan, from whom he holds his throne, and incited by the dread power that holds Jerusalem itself, he makes his attack upon Jehovah's throne itself, and as represented by this image, takes his place in defiance in the sanctuary of the Most High.

The connection of this prophecy with those in Daniel and in Matthew make plain the reason of the image being made and worshiped. The head of the Roman earth, and of this last and worst idolatry, is not in Judaea, but at Rome; and he who is in Judaea, of whatever marvelous power possessed, is yet only the delegate of the Roman head. Thus the image is made to represent this supreme power, and the worship paid to it is in perfect accordance with this. Here in Judaea, where alone now there is any open pretension to worship the true God,-here there is call for the most decisive measures. And thus the death-penalty proclaimed for those who do not worship. Jerusalem is the center of the battle-field, and here the opposition must be smitten down. "And he causeth all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and bond, that they should give them a mark upon their right hand and upon their forehead, and that no one should be able to buy or sell except he have the mark, the name of the beast, or the number of his name."

Thus, then, is that "great tribulation" begun of which the Lord spoke in His prophecy in view of the temple. We can understand that the only hope while this evil is permitted to have its course is, that flight to the mountains which He enjoins on those who listen to His voice. Israel have refused that sheltering wing under which He would have so often gathered them, and they must be left to the awful "wing of abominations" (Dan. 9:27, Heb.) on account of which presently the "desolator" from the north swoops down upon the land. Still His pity whom they have forsaken has decreed a limit, and "for His elect's sake, whom He hath chosen, He hath shortened the days."

Why is it that breath is given to the image ? Is it in defiance of the prophet's challenge of the "dumb idols,"' which "speak not through their mouth"? Certainly to make an image speak in such a place against the Holy One would seem the climax of apostate insolence. But it only shows that the end is indeed near.

What can be said of the " number of the beast " ? The words, " Here is wisdom :let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast," seem directly to refer to those whom Daniel calls "the wise," or "they that understand among the people," of whom it is said, concerning the words of the vision "closed up and sealed till the time of the end," that "none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand." The "wise," or "they that understand," are in Hebrew the same word- the maskilim, and remind us again of certain psalms that are called maskil psalms, an important series of psalms in this connection, four of which (52:-55:) describe the wicked one of this time and his following; while the thirty-second speaks of forgiveness and a hiding-place in God, the forty-second comforts those cast out from the sanctuary, and the forty-fifth celebrates the victory of Christ, and His reign, and the submission of the nations. Again, the seventy-fourth pleads for the violated sanctuary; the seventy-eighth recites the many wanderings of the people from their God; the seventy-ninth is another mourning over the desolation of Jerusalem; the eighty-eighth bewails their condition under a broken law; and the eighty-ninth declares the "sure mercies of David. The hundred and forty-second is the only other maskil psalm.
Moll may well dispute Hengstenberg's assertion that these psalms are special instruction for the Church. On the other hand, the mere recital of them in this way may convince us how they furnish the very key-note to Israel's condition in the time of the end, and may well be used to give such instruction to the remnant amid the awful scenes of the great tribulation. In Revelation, it will not be doubtful, I think, to those who will attentively consider it, that we have in this place a nota bene for the maskilim.

Can we say nothing, then, as to the number of the beast ?

As to the individual application, certainly, I think, nothing. We cannot prophesy; and until the time comes, the vision in this respect is "sealed up." The historical interpreters, for whom indeed there should be no seal, if their interpretation be the whole of it, generally agree upon Lateinos (the Latin), which has, however, an e too much, and therefore would make but 661. Other words have been suggested, but it is needless to speak of them :the day will declare it.

Yet it does not follow but that there may be something for us in the number of significance spiritually. The 6 thrice repeated, while it speaks of labor and not rest,-of abortive effort after the divine 7, declares the evil in its highest to be limited and in God's hand. This number is but, after all, we 'are told, "the number of a man;" and what is man ? He may multiply responsibility and judgment; but the Sabbath is God's rest, and sanctified to Him:without God, he can have no Sabbath. This 6,6,6, is the number of a man who is but a beast, and doomed. F.W.G.

(To be continued.)

Q. 1.-"I have a difficulty in understanding 2 Thess. 2:3, 7, seeing the general teaching that the saints being caught away and the Holy Spirit gone with them, so the restraint being off, the mystery of iniquity would have full course, headed by the man of sin. But in Help and Food, April, 1889, in an article, 'Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven,' there was a different application of the third verse. In speaking of the separation (p. 91), we are told to look a little more closely at the manner of it. Gather together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them. It is a separation of tares, so as to leave the wheat distinct for the ingathering. On the 93rd page, we are told to distinguish the tares from the mere formalist and unfruitful professor of the truth, and yet the formalist will not escape, etc. Here is a simple question of good wheat for the granary or tares for the burning. Nothing else is in the field at all, all seem to have taken sides. And as a warrant for such an interpretation we are pointed to the second epistle to the Thessalonians.- 95th page, ' This passage exhibits the man of sin as the dis-tinct head and leader of the latter-day apostasy. The coming of the Wicked one is declared to be with terrible power of delusion, which will carry away captive the masses of unconverted among professing Christians, until none of that middle class re-main.' How are we to understand it? Does the delusion precede (to such a degree) the appearing of the Wicked one as to cause the separation? or does it mean that the appearing of the Wicked one causes it ? The latter is the way I thought the writer meant it until reading November Help and Food, where it speaks of the apostasy (p. 285) having its beginning under the fifth trumpet. This, then, does not harmonize with the thought in April number, 1889, that the unconverted among professing Christians will be carried away by the coming of the Wicked one, until only two classes remain in the field, because we know we shall be home in glory before the fifth trumpet sounds.

" But apart from all this, it seemed strange to me why the apostle should tell those Christians that day would not come until the falling away came first, if no Christians would be here when the falling away came, which, according to the general teaching, will be the case." A. DOYLE

Bedford, N. S.

Ans.-There is often a difficulty in the turning a parable (if I may so express it,) into direct prophecy, as the aim of the parable is rather to give moral principles for practical application, than the order of events. The statement in the paper on the " Mysteries" is more guarded than our correspondent has understood it to be. The passage reads, "All seem to have taken sides, before the solemn close of the time of harvest, either manifestly for Christ, or as manifestly against Him." It is not said that this is so before the wheat is taken away. The tares are bound in bundles before that, but how the paper refuses to say. The binding in bundles is angelic action, not apostasy, and tares are not necessarily open apostates. They are such as have received some satanic error, but have not necessarily openly rejected Christ, (which is the apostasy), though naturally on the road to that.

I do not believe the apostasy can come while the Spirit of God is here. Signs of its being at hand are all around us now, but it is not come; and I see not why the apostle should not point out to Christians that the day of the Lord had not come because the apostasy had not, though we shall not be here when it does come.

I quote a passage from the paper in question, which will show fully the view intended to be given there:-

"Thus terribly shall the history of Christendom close. The true saints once taken out of it, the door of grace will be closed forever on those who have rejected grace. They will be given over to become, as they speedily will become, from being unbelievers of the truth, believers of a lie." F.W.G.

This expression occurs in both the passages indicated. In the first, it relates to the deliverance of the body from the bondage of sin, to be yielded unto God; in the second, to freedom from man, that we might be servants unto God. Equally separated from the doctrine of perfectionism on the one hand, and from that which teaches the necessity of the believer's sinning is the truth as set forth here. Our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost; we are not our own, but bought with a price, and are therefore to glorify God in our body. Familiar truth, but of which we need constantly to be reminded-that
our body is the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit. Those words of promise when our Lord was about to leave His own which were in the world have been fulfilled-" He shall abide with you forever." What a Guest for such a habitation ! That blessed One who first rested upon the holy Jesus has now taken His abode with us. God the Spirit, the Regenerator, the Inspirer of the Word, the living power for all that is good, dwells in us, at once the seal of divine ownership and the earnest of the inheritance which awaits us. " If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." The Seal is God's mark of ownership. He has not put upon us a mark such as -man would, but has sent a living Person of divine dignity to abide with us. And this blessed Person does not rest satisfied to. abide, but He works, He reveals Christ, and He gives foretastes of a joy that awaits us. If we realized His presence, would there not be a powerful effect on our lives ? Would not sin be more hateful, the world less attractive, Christ more precious, the Word more luminous? In the immediate connection, the apostle uses this truth as a corrective of the grossest forms of sin-a connection we would shrink from making. Can we not apply it to other sins,-to that pride which clings so closely, that malice, that evil-speaking? Realizing who dwells in us would check the indulgence of these and other sins, which conscience, often disregarded, fails to make us feel.

We come next to see why the Holy Spirit dwells in us. " Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price." We may be sure that nothing in us warrants the Holy Spirit in abiding in us. He has taken up His abode because we have been purchased-" with the precious blood of Christ." What a proof of the value of that work in God's sight, and of the certainty of its having been applied to us ! Nothing less would justify the Spirit in dwelling in such places, yet nothing less would do to witness to the perfection of that sacrifice. God has been glorified, and He sends forth the Spirit to witness to it. We have believed, and this is the answer of God to our faith-weak as it is. If young Christians saw clearly why they had the Spirit,-that it was due to no exertions, prayers, or moral fitness on their part, but to the fact that they have been bought with a price, they would not have so many unscriptural thoughts about His ministry.

Now, if bought, we are not sin's servants ; and being free from it, we can yield ourselves up to God. This is what we have in the exhortation, "Glorify God in your body." How blessed that we who had come short of the glory of God can now glorify Him in our bodies ! How blessed, too, to see all linked with the precious blood of Christ! This shows us holiness as the fruit of redemption, and the Holy Spirit as the power for holiness. " Ye are not your own,"-how much this means ! " A peculiar people,"-rather " A people for His own possession." If this is realized, how it carries all else with it-as to the life. We dare not link sin or selfishness with God's ownership of us. How plain a certain course would appear did this thought govern us:I am not my own, therefore I cannot go there, do this, associate with these. No need for casuistry to decide questions for us.

But this redemption reaches not merely to the question of sin. The second verse shows that we have been set free from human bondage. " Be ye not the servants of men." There is no man in all this world to whom we owe subjection,-no ruler, no leader, no friend. We have been absolutely set free from man's ownership. This does not mean to encourage that disobedience to the powers that be which is one of the signs of the last days. Scripture clearly tells us that we are to be subject to these authorities,-to " render to all their dues:tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor." A respect for and obedience to his rulers, with prayer for them, will characterize the sober-minded. Neither does our scripture hint at neglect of submission to our spiritual guides and to one another. He shows a lawless spirit who holds lightly the judgment of his brethren. Nay, our text tells us we are now in the true position to render all due obedience -because it is unto the Lord. In obeying the powers that be, I obey the Lord :in receiving the judgment of my brethren with respect and attention, I do the same. Subjection to our fellow-Christians in any other way is the worst kind of bondage. We are not to be driven here and there like a herd of sheep-going blindly with the mass. Alas ! too much have we forgotten that we are not the servants of men. The result is, instead of happy, intelligent following the Lord, His people follow some man, only to find at last that they have gone far astray. This is the true spirit of unity :any thing else is a false union, soon to result in disunion. When all follow the Lord, they are of one mind, and must be together. Again let us note with what this freedom is linked-"Ye are bought with a price." That price appeals to our love, to our loyalty. The fear of man bringeth a snare, but to realize that we have been bought with a price-such a price- sets free from that snare. We can decide every question apart from all human influence,-rather, we must, to decide aright, do so. The Lord impress this precious truth on us so deeply that we shall walk here His freemen- free from sin, free from man,-yet ready to serve all, and realizing each one that we are "less than the least of all saints."