(Continued from p. 283.)

"Wherefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of His calling."

From the lofty heights of Ephesian blessing, radiant with the promises of God, the Blesser, with their vistas of past magnificent purpose, present glorious possession and future shining of consummation, we are now privileged to look into the heart of one of the noblest of Christian mountain-climbers, as he kneels in prayer at the summit of a lofty peak, listening to the shouts of other climbers, scaling in "faith and love" the same slopes that he has passed, a faith that is centered on the "Rock of Ages" and a love that embraces all their fellow-pilgrims, called "saints."

Here indeed is a lovely spectacle, fit companion view to the scenes we have been scanning, as the current of beautiful thought has lured us upward and onward. How like is the Apostle's heart to that of the Master, the "Captain of Salvation," on the mountain-tops of prayer and praise!

It is well to remember that it is the goodness of the Ephesian believers that occasions the prayer. Paul very often prays for those who seem least to need it. Such seeming, however, is mere dreaming, for it is very hard indeed to maintain a steady footing on the heights of Christian experience. It is so easy to slip, and the fall of leaders is more than disastrous for the rearguard. Therefore Satan spreads his most subtle and dangerous snares for the choicest of the faithful. He may leave the rest to the flesh and the world. For these the Apostle has his tears (Phil. 3:18) and supplications; for those his thanksgiving and petitioning.

Notice how suitably thanksgiving and supplication keep company. The faithful stand through God's goodness alone. It is in His strength that they are such successful climbers. So he can indeed give thanks. Snap the links that bind them to the Throne of Grace, however, and the steep slopes they have so successfully negotiated are then but perilous declivities, threatening destruction. The moments of self-confidence, born of success, are the danger-spots in Christian life. Therefore he supplicates. "Anchor, Hardy; anchor!" was the dying warning of a great sea-captain to his victorious fleet. The aftermath of victory was weakness, and a storm brewed. "Anchor, Christian; anchor!" we may well repeat, for the time of relaxation is big with danger, and the anchor of prayer, biting deep into the firm bottom of God's almighty power, will alone enable to outride the storm.

Shall we not then pray particularly for our pioneer missionaries and evangelists, our pioneer witnesses to the "truth as it is in Jesus," our pioneer thinkers, as they explore, with the Spirit, the deep things of God? They need prayer. It is the sustenance of their life. Paul, above all others eminent in these fields of Christian usefulness, realized this, and ever entreated the intercession of his brethren for himself.

Let us now consider the prayer a little more in detail. If the preceding portion of our chapter has been called by an able critic a "noble period" in Paul's writings, yet there is a loftiness of thought, a vigor of expression, a nicety of diction, in that which follows, that falls little short of it. Notice the discriminating use of God's names and titles here. "The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory," fit the theme of the prayer as no other titles would. "The God of our Lord Jesus Christ" is evidently God revealed in the Person of His Son, a magnificent revelation, unrivaled in grace and grandeur, which the expression "Father of glory" supplements, as if that Son were the very manifestation of the glory, its "effulgence," as indeed the 1st chapter of Hebrews proclaims Him.

Then consider how these two titles clothe the theme of grace and glory that like a golden web gathers the thought into itself. Had grace ever a more outstanding display than in the "hope of God's calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, the exceeding greatness of His power," towards these Ephesian believers? And has the glory of the Son ever better manifested the "Father of glory" than in the supreme glory to which the Son is raised, "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named…Head over all things to the Church?" (vers. 20-23).

So all dwellers in the universal temple may well shout "GLORY!" as did the dwellers in the tabernacle of old, and priests of God sing:

"Father of glory, thought beyond all thought,"

for such indeed He is.

But properly to appreciate these things, we must have the "spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him," "the eyes of our hearts" must be "enlightened," and for this Paul supplicates. The one "who was obedient unto the heavenly vision" in days of yore, sees in the heavenly vision, and sees, in "seeing Jesus" (Heb. 2:9), that ultimate glory whither the sons of God are being brought. If the Son of Man once said:"If ye understand not this parable, how then shall ye understand all parables?" may we not add, "If ye perceive not this vision, how then shall ye perceive all visions?" Herein is the living foundation of all Christian development.

Paul is not alone in this assertion. Peter, in entire accord with him, tells us that it is "through the knowledge of God" that "all things that pertain unto life and godliness" are made ours, while John makes the beginning and ending of Christian life to be "knowledge of the Father." knowledge of the One who is "from the beginning." And the Lord, Himself, emphasizes it when He asserts "eternal life" to be living acquaintance with "the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent" (John 17:3).

This then is that through which we gain experimental acquaintance with "the hope of His calling." As those in the second chapter of our epistle are "without hope" because "without God," so here hope finds its sustenance in the knowledge of God. For it is practical experience and not intellectual apprehension that is the object of attainment. Paul calls this calling "a high calling," a "heavenly calling." Samuel Rutherford, about to die, exclaimed:"Oh, for arms to embrace Him! Oh, for a well-tuned harp! I hear Him calling, 'Come up hither!' " At that moment, as never before, he knew thoroughly what the "hope" of God's calling meant. It was something for which the knowledge of His God and Saviour, so distinctive a feature of his life of sweet communion, had been preparing him, a final, triumphant experience. A. C. Warburton, head of the Y. M. C. A. movement in Canada, once said, "Boys, when you hear that I have gone, I want you to know that I went with a cheer." Samuel Rutherford "went with a cheer" because he knew God and Christ as not too many know Them. May our last end be like his, and all through this vale of tears may it be ours to,

"Hear Hope singing, sweetly singing,
Softly, in an undertone,
Singing, as if God had taught her,
'It is better further on.'"

That very able and learned woman, Harriet Martineau, once said to a Christian:"I do not believe in immortality, but if I did believe in it, I should live a far better life than you appear to live. I should strive more earnestly and bear more patiently. I do not think I should ever be troubled with a fear, or wearied with an earthly burden. I think it would be all sunlight and joy." She evidently considered Hope a singer. Let us set her singing then, for the sake of others, if not for our own. Inestimable, however, is this hope for us also. Alexander Maclaren writes:"It stimulates effort, calms sorrows, takes the fascination out of temptations, supplies a new aim for life and a new measure for the things of time and sense." F. C. Grant