Ques. 13.-"Please explain John 2:4. 'Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come"

Ans.-Mary, in common with the disciples of our Lord, did not realize that the path to the throne lay by the way of the cross. There was the constant tendency to think of the Kingdom as about to be set up immediately in power aud glory. Therefore this had to be checked. Besides a possible dictation of what was to be done by our Lord, His reply shows her that all must be left to His own judgment. The time had not yet come for the outward manifestation of the Kingdom, and she must leave Him free to act according to the Father's will and purposes into which she could not intrude.

But this rebuke is not, as we know, inconsistent with most perfect love for her, as witness her tender commitment to John by our Lord when He hung upon the cross. There we see perfect human love. Here we see that her love cannot intrude for a moment into God's things.

Ques. 14.-"What is the Christian's work? sowing and reaping, or reaping only?"

Ans.-We are still living in times spoken of in the parable of the sower. "In the morning sow thy seed" we might apply to the Pentecostal and early apostolic times; but, though darkness has come in and the day is far spent, it adds :"And in the evening withhold not thy hand." So, we continue to sow beside all waters the precious seed of the word of God, knowing that it will be our joy also to reap. Of course, in the full sense of the harvest, the time has not yet come when sheaves will be gathered in, but every precious soul brought to Christ is part of the first-fruits of that happy time. May we be diligent, both in sowing the seed and seeking to gather in precious souls also !

Ques. 15.-"What is the difference between the Jews' inquiry in Acts 2:37. 'What shall we do?' and that of the jailer in Acts 16:30?"

Ans.-There seems to be very little difference. Both are the question of awakened souls. That at Pentecost was under the direct preaching of the Word by Peter; and the Gentile's anxious inquiry was produced by the manifest power of God. The answer was suited to each case. To the Jews, Peter said:"Repent and be baptized, every one of yon in the came of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." This repentance and confession of Christ were called for. In the case of the jailer there was evident knowledge of his lost condition, so faith in Christ is what is presented. Q. 16.-In Col. 3:3 what life is "hid with Christ in God?" Ans.-The general connection shows that believers are dead with Christ to everything of human religiousness-"the rudiments of the world." He is also risen with Christ, associated with Him in the new place He occupies. The life then means both its sphere and its character. It is hid, so far as the world is concerned. "Therefore the world knoweth us not." The time of manifestation will be when Christ shall appear. The hidden life is a risen life, beyond the power of death, linked with Christ.

Ques. 17.-If the wretchedness described in Romans vii is not the normal condition of the believer, can we say that it must be the experience of every one?

Ans.-We must remember that true experiences are measured not by time nor by apparent intensity, but by their reality. Thus a conviction of sin may be instantaneous, yet most real. So also the conviction of helplessness of Rom. 7:With others there may be a prolonged struggle. Yet every child of God must and will learn the lesson of "no good thing in me."

Ques. 18.-Were the elders of James 5:14 officials, or elder brethren?

Ans.-It would seem they were officials of the Jewish assembly to which the Epistle of James refers.

Ques. 19.-If elder brethren should be called to the bedside of a sick brother, would there be any objection to anointing with oil?

Ans.-As the previous answer says, Elders are doubtless official, or at least suggest the assembly in an unfailed condition. In days of confusion where could we find the Elders of the assembly, which is so scattered? Then too the tone of James' Epistle is Jewish; the Lord's beloved people are not viewed as distinct yet from the nation. Anointing was a Jewish practice, and typical. For ns, we have the reality of the "prayer of faith,"and this surely should be sufficient.