Our readers will have long since missed this familiar department of our little paper. Illness and other unavoidable reasons caused its temporary discontinuance, but we had no thought of allowing it to lapse or indeed to remain so long absent from our pages. We will be very happy if oar friends will again send questions for this department. We have already several on hand, which, with the Lord's help, we will seek to answer from time to time.

QUES. 1.-"What is meant by God's repenting? Can it ever be truly said that He does so? "

Ans.-"God is not a man that He should repent" is unquestionable true. "The gifts and calling of God are without repentance." Both of these quotations refer to His ways with Israel. Balaam was willing enough to curse the people in answer to the demand of Balak, king of Moab, but he was face to face with the unrepenting purpose of God. These were the people of His choice. He had appointed them for blessing; He had brought them out of their Bondage, was bringing them into their inheritance and would eventually fulfil every promise which He had made. How long those promises have been in abeyance, the whole intervening history will declare. The people are still unblest. In a certain sense the very desire of Balak, king of Moab, seems to have been accomplished, for apparently the curse of God rests upon them, and yet we know this is but temporary. He that scattered Israel will gather aim, and the later prophecies of poor Balaam will be fulfilled to :he letter in connection, too, with that "Star" which shall rise out )f Jacob.

This is but one illustration of the fact that God is unchanging in His purposes. We need hardly refer to another use of the word 'repent;" the one which must ever apply to us, where it means a judgment of that which has been contrary to God, a judgment of will and of that which is the root of all evil, the heart from which t springs. It would be blasphemy, of course, to think of God's repenting in this sense.

But there is a scriptural use of this term. God is said to have repented that He had made man. He also repented of His thought 😮 destroy Israel for the golden calf apostasy, and when the men of Nineveh repented, the Lord also repented of His purpose. But all these uses of the term are manifestly to bring within the range of our comprehension that which otherwise would remain above it. God’s's counsel and purpose had never changed, but His manifest action with regard to man was altered by certain results. So far is mere creation is concerned, it has been a complete failure. We can understand how complete, when God, to use our language, expresses regret that He ever made it. We know that back of this is the eternal purpose in Christ and the new creation, which rests solidly, not upon the first man, but the Second. It is this which will explain all similar passages. God is using language from our point of view, looking at outward events rather than His own secret purposes. This will really suffice to any one who will patiently take up all the references and apply the principle that we have been speaking of.