Calendar:Feb. 15th to March 15th.

DAILY BIBLE READING:……….Feb. 15th, Isa. 5; Feb. 28th, Isa. 18; Mar. 15th, Isa. 33.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING:….. Feb. 15th, Gal. 3; Feb. 28th, Phil. 4; Mar. 15th, 1 Tim. 3.

There is probably no portion of God's word with which many are less acquainted than the prophets. Isaiah is the great evangelical prophet, whose predictions as to the person, advent, kingdom and redemption of our Lord Jesus Christ stand out in wonderful clearness and grandeur. It is helpful to read with pen in hand, and to enter in a note-book various portions about the coming of our Lord. Chapter 53 stands out in holy solemnity, an epitome of the gospel. Mr. Moody once said, "My creed is in the 53rd of Isaiah." Certainly the foundation is there; and there are many other portions marvelously clear. It would be nice to write out a list of these, and their main subjects as you go along. The shorter epistles, in the "Supplementary Reading," are full of the "unsearchable riches of Christ," and would well repay memorizing. Quite a few have done this in past years, and would only need some "brushing up" to have all bright again.

Some Minutes of Y. B. D. Meetings

Perhaps these minutes of largely attended and active meetings may stir up interest in other places. And can we not have some accounts of similar meetings, where suggestive features also are brought in?

88th Meeting. Present, 35.

Meeting opened with singing of hymns and prayer. Subject was Prayer, and G. M. and L. M. had written essays which were very good. Very interesting discussion followed. New questions:H. G. Explain Mark 6:6, "He marvelled at their unbelief," and Matt. 8:10, "He marvelled at faith." Assigned to E. B. and G.B. R.R. Explain Luke 16:9-rich man and Lazarus. Is it a parable or not? Was it an actual happening? Assigned to H. F. and C. S.

Subject of "Praise" assigned to H. G. and B. S.

89th Meeting. Present, 41.

Meeting opened with prayer and singing of hymns.

Subject of "Praise" taken up. H. G. read his essay, and general discussion followed.

Mark 6:6 and Matt. 8:10 discussed as to thought of "He marveled." Takes in the manhood of the Lord Jesus. General discussion.

Is Luke 16:19 a parable, or something that actually took place? A general discussion followed, and it was decided that if this was but a picture what must the reality bel- It is as though God pulled aside a curtain and let us look beyond.

Questions for next month:B. S. asked:"What is the Kingdom of God?" as mentioned in Matt.6:33. Assigned to H. G., J. McG., L. LeC. and E. K.

D. F. asked explanation of 1 Tim. 6:12,19. "Lay hold on eternal life." Assigned to R. H., J. D., B. G. and L. D.

E. B. asked explanation of John 20:23. G. B., A. H., M. McT. H. F. asked:"I would like some good scriptural reasons on why we should come to meeting." Assigned to R. L., L. S., V. S. and R. D.

In approaching this question one can be thankful that God has long ago considered it in His Word, as He does all other questions of our life, even those of the least import. How marvelous that He has provided for His people thus! In what may seem small matters to some, He has by inspiration given directions to His people, so that the truly obedient heart can but acquiesce in His Word.

We may be sure that when God commands us not to do a certain thing we are all capable of doing it. Only His wondrous grace hinders us. Some of these commands bring to mind actions which show the terrible depravity of the human heart. How this should humble us, how it should put us on our guard as to our everyday conduct!

And so in answering this question I turn to Deut. 22:5. When God says, "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man," I believe a heart made sensitive by obedience can but shrink from even the thought of this; an exercised conscience can but say "no;" a Godfearing, Christ-honoring girl can but blush at the sight of our dear sisters being thus clothed. This embarrassment is further felt when these girls are seen in company with unbelievers, from whom there should be a marked difference.

Therefore I believe a subject heart can but say, "No; the Holy Spirit dwells in my body; I cannot indulge in any questionable line of conduct. Surely if we realize that our body is His temple it will be a powerful corrective along such lines. He cannot endure one thing which is unholy or unseemly. If we are ever tempted to indulge in any questionable line of conduct let us ever remember that He is in us. Surely this should provide a motive for purity of conduct, and a refined delicacy in personal habits. Thus a beautifully holy atmosphere would result, and others might be won by such an attitude toward these new customs.

Let us adorn ourselves with modesty and discretion (1 Tim. 2:9, J. N. D.), and thus honor Him.

Let us remember that immodest appearances only give others the opportunity to talk and think in unholy channels, while carefulness on our part may be "to the profit of many that they may be saved" (1 Cor. 10:33).

Modest, suitable dress, feminine in character, always creates approval amongst the right-minded.

Will you pray with me that these few thoughts may turn our hearts to Him, and thus preserve us from many unbecoming acts?

-Portion of a talk to a Sunday School Class.

It may be said that the prohibition as to men's apparel is in the Old Testament, and that Christians are "not under law." But grace is holy, and the principles laid down in the Old Testament are always applicable, not in a harsh, legal, or self-righteous spirit, but under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There is a clear line of demarcation between the Church and the world, which should be seen even in the outward dress.-[Ed.

It is evident in the parable of the ten virgins of Matt. 25, that the "foolish" virgins, or bridesmaids, had no intention of watching and waiting for the Bridegroom. The parable states that they, along with the "five… wise" companions, "went forth to meet the bridegroom." By the fact that they "took oil in their vessels with their lamps," the latter showed that they wanted to watch and wait till the bridegroom appeared. This preparation indicates their true wisdom, and also that they were true-hearted.

Yes, "They all slumbered and slept," wise and foolish alike. Yet there was a difference after all, even in this. The former grew weary of watching, and fell asleep under the soporific atmosphere of the world around them. But it was their intention to watch, and they had prepared themselves to do so. This reveals the purpose of heart they had. On the other hand, the "foolish" ones purposely omitted from their outfit the oil which afterwards they found so indispensable. This omission shows that they did not have a purpose of heart to watch for the Bridegroom, but were ready to sink down into slumber with the world. Ostensibly they "went forth to meet" Him, but they were going out under false colors. It was not mere forgetfulness, it was heartlessness.

The waking-time brings out this fact clearly. "At midnight there was a cry made, Behold the bridegroom cometh! Go ye out to meet him! Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps." Then it is that consternation and alarm rested on the five foolish virgins, whereas the wise are found calm and prepared. All they needed was to have their hearts stirred with the cry of the bridegroom's near approach. They awake and are ready to meet him. Not so the foolish ones, for their lamps have no oil to keep them burning. "Give us of your oil," is their frantic plea to the wise ones, who reply:"Lest there be not enough for us and you; go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves." When it is too late they discover what a fatal error it was for them to attempt to go forth without taking the oil with them. But since it was a deliberate omission, they are left to the sad results of their own choice. "While they went to buy the bridegroom came, and they that were ready (they who had the oil) went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut."

There is no doubt that oil, when used figuratively in Scripture, represents the Spirit of God. Here, then, is a class of people who by their profession, being outwardly identified with the family of God, are looking for Christ's return. But they have no reliance on the power of the Spirit; their boast is rather in what man is, or has, according to nature. It is a religion of the flesh, in which there is no real heart for Christ, nor any desire to have Him come back. Least of all do they know Him in the character of the BRIDEGROOM, in the joy of a known redemption, and in the hope of the glory of God with Christ. Their hearts are in the world, and they deliberately leave out of their Christian profession that which is designated by the oil. We repeat, it is not a mere mistake, which might be rectified. It is something definitely purposed in the heart. They "took no oil with them." The one great essential for those in their position, as going out to meet the bridegroom, is refused at the beginning, and at the end they find themselves refused. "Verily, I say unto you, I know you not."

There could not be this state of heart with anyone who had any sense of need before God. If we realize, even in a small degree, what our need is before Him, we look to Him to supply that need for us. And that is the very thing which the oil suggests. It is God's bountiful and gracious provision through His Spirit for all man's need. And since it is the provision of His grace, it fits us for meeting Christ at His return. We are then prepared to meet Him. It is not a kind of preparation which some believers may have and others not have. It is what all must have to go in "to the marriage," and without which one must be shut out. But it is what all have who look to God for their supply. Without this provision, we are "foolish" indeed; a provision rejected by those who know nothing at all of their need, but who regard themselves, like the Laodiceans, as "having need of nothing." W. M. Huss

The beautiful collection of songs, or psalms, contains -as will be seen by the accompanying key-a variety of subjects, the most precious and instructive, as they breathe the spirit of Christ; sometimes in association with the godly remnant of Israel, and at other times personally.

To the disciples, sorely perplexed and doubtful, the Lord appeared on the first day of the week, stilling their fears, bidding them behold His hands and His feet (Lk. 24:40), instructing them out of the Scriptures as to the things concerning Himself! What a memorable moment, when He unfolded from the Pentateuch, Prophets and Psalms, truths hitherto unknown, which so unmistakably spoke of His sufferings and the glory that should follow!

Let us, with unshod feet and chastened spirits, enter the "Holy of holies," and muse for awhile upon the varied unfoldings of glory which cluster round the adorable Person of our Holy Lord-blessed Antitype of the "Ark of the Covenant" with its accompanying "Mercy Seat."

What could be more fitting than that the entire collection of Psalms should be prefaced by two psalms which unmistakably speak of Christ!

Psalm 1 breathes the spirit of Christ in the separate-ness of His pathway.

"Blessed is the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But His delight is in the law of the Lord,
and in His law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree
planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither,
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

To whom could these words apply in their absoluteness, save our blessed Lord, in His holy humanity?

Who else could claim to measure up to these holy sentiments? Here in manhood, born of the Virgin, we read, "He grew in favor with God and man." Ever "that Holy Thing," there was no taint of sin in Him. That holy life was ever lived under the eye of the God He came to glorify.

Never a word spoken had He to retract, or a step taken had He to retrace. All found perfect acceptance with heaven. But not only all that was outward found fullest acceptance-which the human eye might have observed and appreciated-but those hidden energies which prompted the acts, seen only by the eye of God, were as precious ointment poured forth.

In the offerings, the fat, the kidneys, the caul, the liver (that which speaks of hidden energy), was the food of God-all was burned upon the burnt offering altar, and went up as a sweet savor to His throne.

Here, in the first Psalm, our Lord is seen in absolute separation from all that is contrary to God. Altogether apart from those things which characterize the natural man; "separate from sinners,"-no compromise, no association with evil, a Man wholly apart, and yet the most accessible!

One interesting feature in the Psalms is that frequently we find a psalm in one book which has a corresponding psalm in another! In this way, Psalm 1 and Psalm 119 are closely allied, and the latter gives the secret of power in the life of the godly man mentioned in Psalm 1. Ps. 1:2 says, "His delight is in the law of the Lord," while Psalm 119 shows the preservative power of God's law, Word, testimonies and statutes.

Day and night, the blessed Man meditated in Jehovah's precepts-they were His constant delight; and in all this, beloved, "He has left us an example that we should follow His steps." In Isaiah 53:2 it was predicated of Jehovah's servant, "He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground." The one green thing in the midst of a desert-world of sin, the blessed Lord ever provided refreshment for the eye and heart of God. "Like a tree, planted by the rivers of water," He found His sustenance in the will of the One He came to glorify. To His wondering disciples He said, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of." "I delight to do Thy will, O God," was ever the language of His heart. Like the evergreen tree, verdant and lovely, "His leaf also shall not wither," and the Father was glorified in the Son, by His bearing much fruit; thus He fulfilled the words of the psalm which says, "that bringeth forth His fruit in His season,.. and whatsoever He doeth shall prosper." Well might the crowd which thronged Him say, "He hath done all things well."

"Wherever we follow Thee, Lord,
Admiring, adoring, we see
That love which was stronger than death
Flow out without limit and free."

J. W. H. Nichols

(To be continued, D. V.)

Calendar:August 16th to Sept. 15th.

DAILY BIBLE READING ……… Aug. 16th, Hos. 4; Aug. 31st, Amos 2; Sept. 15th, Micah 3.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING … Aug. 16th, John 19; Aug. 31st, Acts 13; Sept. 15th, Acts 28.

Our reading during the present month is in the Minor Prophets. It need hardly be said that this designation does not mean that they are of lesser value or importance than those books which we have just gone through, but refers to their size. With the exception of Hosea and Zechariah, each having fourteen chapters, none reach the size of Daniel, which has twelve chapters. Of the Minor Prophets, three were connected with the northern kingdom-Hosea, Amos and Jonah; though the ministry of the latter prophet has a character all its own, and refers to God's mercy to Nineveh. Hosea means "Saviour," and in accord with the name, he tells of God's tender mercy to His people whom He calls to repentance. Joel, "Jehovah is God," prophesies judgment upon the nations; he has also the great prediction of the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost-a foreshadow of the final blessing preliminary to the Millennium. Amos, "burden," or "burden-bearer," appropriately with his name has the burden of judgment to declare, upon the neighboring nations to Judah and Israel, and upon these last for their iniquity. His ministry is chiefly in the northern kingdom. A note of mercy at the close is connected with the "tabernacle of David," which refers doubtless to David's Lord, through whom alone mercy and blessing can come. The single chapter of Obadiah gives God's judgment upon Edom, a type of the flesh, for "the kingdom shall be the Lord's." His name appropriately means, "servant of Jehovah." Jonah is largely narrative, and distinctly typical, as our Lord shows in His reference to his being three days in the belly of the great fish-a figure of His own death, burial and resurrection. His name, "Dove," may suggest the Spirit's testimony and power in resurrection. Micah, "Who is like Jehovah?" might be called a miniature Isaiah, both from the similar prophecy as to the last days (compare Isa.2 and Micah 4) and the Messianic prediction of chap. 5.

It would be a good thing to prepare a table of these prophets, and when they labored, as given in the opening of their prophecy.

Our supplementary reading includes the whole of the book of Acts, that wonderful history of the work of God after the ascent of our Lord. It is the only inspired "church history" we have-though we have abundant provision for its guidance through the whole time of its sojourn in the world, and the prophetic outline of the character and culmination of that sojourn in the first three chapters of Revelation. May we find special help and blessing in our study of the Acts at this time.

Greek Testament Lessons

LESSON 73. Page 68. Write out carefully the whole exercise at top of page-English into Greek. Select two verbs and give synopsis of the first in the Active Voice, and the second in the Middle and Passive Voices.

LESSON 74. John 1:35-38. Parse each word as in previous lessons.
Continue Galatians. -S. RIDOUT.

Meeting of Y. B. D., held, May 4, 1929. Present:40.
Meeting opened with prayer and singing of hymns.
Is Satan Omnipresent?

Different scriptures brought up-Job 2, Eph. 2, "Prince of the power of the air." "Since God is infinite the rest must be limited." According to Job the power is limited. The answer to the question is in the negative, that is, Omnipotence and Omnipresence are attributes of God, and only God is present everywhere. Satan was created, and all creatures have their limitations. Satan called the god of this world, and the prince of the power of the air. Ezek. 28:15; Rev. 20, 27; Rev. 12:9 prove that, as Satan is cast out and bound, he is not omnipresent.

"Satan trembles when he sees,
The weakest saint upon his knees."

Why does a Christian have conflict?

The Church, in the opening days, had a great deal of conflict, and that is when it thrived and had the most remarkable growth.

Satan will be bound in Millennium and there will be no conflict then. Flesh still in Christian and though we are to reckon it dead we do not always do so. Paul given a thorn that he should not be exalted above measure. Another reason for conflict, that we might know the pleasure of being "more than conquerors through Christ Jesus."

Question as to "seven devils being traits in character" to be discussed further.

Some thought "devils" was figurative language, but after discussion it was seen that they were actually spirits cast out, as they could speak, and they recognized the Lord, and said something as to future judgment (Mark 5:8-12).

The Lord was dealing with actual agents of Satan.

Was it a fate of man in that day only to be possessed of devils?

One said, "No, that there were cases" of demon-possession to-day; many in asylums who were in touch with demons, impersonating the departed." All demons not the same kind, some unclean spirits, lying spirits and destructive spirits. When the Lord was here He manifested His power over the demon world. Demon-possession much more common in pagan countries than in civilized lands. The Holy Spirit is in the world to-day and He is a restraining power. Even Antichrist cannot appear until Church and Holy Spirit removed from this scene.

Questions for next time.

From last month:
1.-Are demons the angels cast out with Satan? Given M. R.

2.-Acts 1:12; Explain "Sabbath Day's Journey," its length and why so called. Given L. D., R. S., D. M. and E.M.

New questions:

3.-What is it to be "more than conquerors?"-Rom. 8:27. Given to L. St. L., P. K., H. G.

4.-Is it right to ask that inbred sin be removed, that we be made pure? Given M. DeV., L. D., L.M.

5.-Whether there is one Person with three names or whether three names apply to three distinct Persons in the Trinity. Asked by E.

Given to E. and W. F. for next meeting.

One mentioned that there is a great mystery in the doctrine of the Trinity, but one can get considerable help by getting grounded on the person of Christ. He has manifested God-all fulness of Godhead dwelleth in Christ bodily, but looking upon Christ one could not say, "He is the Father," or, "He is the Spirit," but He has expressed the Father and has given the Spirit. The Father never became man, nor did the Spirit ever take upon Himself flesh, but the Son did. If you get to know the person of the Son it will keep distinct the three Persons. We never can comprehend Him, we can only apprehend Him. We can only touch Him, can never know Him wholly, but we can throw our arms around Christ, and say, "I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine."

(Psalm 36)

"The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes" (Ps. 36:1).

The action reveals the heart. The bitter waters of the stream show the bitter source from which they flow. The evil character of the fruit shows the wild nature of the tree. Written clear and plain is the serious fact "There is no fear of God before" them.

And as we look upon the wrong around, we are conscious of wrong within our own heart. The evil expressed in the acts of others is the same evil which is latent in our fallen nature and ready to manifest itself if occasion offer.

Sin is around. Sin is within. Man-self-cannot be trusted. This truth has been fully manifested in the rejection of Christ. Man at his best has been shown to be altogether vanity, and more, altogether evil (Gen. 6:5; 8:21). "The thought of his heart"-man's heart, your heart, my heart, by nature-"is evil continually."

Well it is if we have been brought to acknowledge this, and to turn from man in the flesh, with his fallen nature and evil course, to God Himself, and to find in Him our

SHELTER

present and everlasting. To those who do this in His grace, a new nature is given, and a new power to walk, for the glory of God and for the good of others.

"Oh, that another man might arise in me,
That the man that is might cease to be."

Such was the cry of the poet. It is this which comes to pass in the Christian. "Another Man," Christ, becomes the believer's life as He is 'the believer's salvation, and the Holy Spirit within the believer forms Christ within him that He may be expressed in the life. In the death of Christ "the man that is," "the man of sin and shame," has ceased to be, for God and for faith. In the risen life of Christ the Christian lives. Blessed indeed to be linked with Him. "I would be ashamed to be a man if it were not for Christ. I am glad to be a man because of Him," said one long since. We are now and for ever linked with Him who is the Man of God's pleasure, the Son of Man whom He has made strong for Himself (Ps. 80:17). In Him God has been glorified. Honor indeed it is to be associated with Him, His Father our Father, and His God our God.

The psalmist turns from sinful man as totally untrustworthy, and finds his refuge in God (Ps. 36:5).

"Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens." Above the reach of puny man is the mercy of God-that which is in His heart, that which He expresses towards man, His fallen creature. And nought but His mercy will do for any. Who of us has any claim upon God except for judgment? Mercy is His prerogative, and He shows it abundantly.

"Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds." He is true to His word, and ever fulfils His promises in His own time. "None can stay His hand or say, What doest Thou?"

"Thy righteousness is like the great mountains," stable, and sure, and strong, firm and towering in strength are all His dealings. And all are in perfect consistency with all that He is in His nature and in His attributes.

"Thy judgments are a great deep"-mighty and mysterious as the ocean. Fathomless are His ways to us oftentimes, but they are perfect. His actions are sublime.

Heaven, the clouds, the mountains, the deep, all are called in their vastness to figure for us the wonderful character of the workings of God with His own. And in His greatness as Creator He is thoughtful of His creatures, "Thou preservest man and beast."

As He ponders it all, David, the servant of the Lord, exclaims, "How excellent is Thy loving kindness, O God; therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings." Safe shelter this from sin around and sin within.

The God whose love has been shown in the cross, the God "who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all," that God is the Christian's shelter and salvation. He who knows all has provided for all in the work of His beloved Son. So faith sings,

"Under the shadow of Thy wings
Thy people dwell secure."

The present, permanent, perfect love of our God, is our abiding haven of peace and joy. And there is our

SATISFACTION

in God Himself and His provision.

"They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shall make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures."

The fatness and fulness of the entertainment put before the believer is past expression. The blessedness of the believer is "better felt than told," as the Scotch have it. The Holy Spirit gives the sense of abundant, abiding satisfaction, which is deeper than all words can express. We feed on the fatted calf, as the prodigal of Luke IS at his father's board in the joy of his father's blessing. Truly, "our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ." This is our portion even now. In a desert world where none can ever say, "Enough," here it is the heart is "satisfied with favor and full of the blessing of the Lord." The fatness and the fountain are for our enjoyment now as they will be in the Father's house eternally.

"For with Thee is the fountain of life; in Thy light shall we see light." All of blessing for us has its source in Him our God. Eternal life is ours. Christ the Son of God is that eternal life which was with the Father. He has been manifested here. "In Him was life and the life was the light of men.". That life is ours. To share with Him His delights, His joys before the Father's face, to share them now, to share them for ever-this is the gift of God to all who believe. In the light of the revelation we walk. There it is that we see light, and knowing the joyful sound of His salvation walk before Him in the light of His countenance. Blessing indeed is this.

All that is left is to add, "Oh, continue (draw out at length) Thy lovingkindness unto them that know Thee; and Thy righteousness to the upright in heart."

As to David of old, God has spoken of blessing for us for a great while to come. We can but say, "Do as Thou hast said."

The love that gave Christ rests upon us, and His saints shall be

SUSTAINED

till the travelling days are over and the threshold of the glorious home of our God shall be crossed.

Sheltered, satisfied, sustained. Well may our hearts sing praise unto our God.

"Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you" (1 Pet. 5:7).

A very beautiful thought is brought out by the French translation of this verse. Where our version reads "Casting," the French translation is "Unload." Have you ever seen a coal-cart unload? The man took out of the front of the heavy cart a little iron pin, and the cart was so balanced on the axle that then, with a slight pressure on the back of the cart, it would tip up and the whole load slide to the ground. You do not have to take up the load; just take out the little pin of your endeavors to help matters, and then, with your hands of faith and committal, tip up the big load, and go on, for "He careth for you."

It may be the daily responsibility. There is so much depending on it. Your family must be fed; your children educated; that sick wife or daughter must be tended. It is a heavy load. Little children keep continually on the go; they play from morning till night, and work so hard at it, you can scarcely get them to stop to sleep. It is a wonder to you how they ever manage to keep up their work and activity so long. The secret is:They do the work and let the father take the worry.

God has no children without sorrow, and in many cases the load seems too heavy to be borne; but His own invitation is:"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee." The thing that can most surely unload the heart is to come into a consciousness of the fact so plainly stated:"He careth for you." He loves us and sympathizes with us, and will exercise His strength in our behalf. God has not left us out of His mind or out of sight, but is "keeping watch over His own," and "will make all things work together for our good."

R. H. Hall and Chas. Lacey are laboring in the gospel in Porto Rico, distributing tracts and preaching as opportunity offers. A special feature is the painting of Scripture Texts on rocks, sides of buildings, etc. In one place a block and tackle was used to let brother Lacey down the side of a cliff where John 3:16 in Spanish was painted in large letters, the whole measuring about twenty feet square. May God abundantly bless His Word in .a country where Bibles are little known.

The Word of God in Kingwana

The Epistles to the Corinthians have now been translated by Mr. James Lowder, and printing is waiting for the necessary funds. Any desiring to have fellowship with the giving of the Scriptures to the people where our brethren Woodhams and Searle are working may send to the publishers. The portions already issued are Matthew, John, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians 1 and 2, Timothy 1 and 2, and John 1, 2 and 3. If the Lord permit, it is hoped to complete the New Testament in due course.

Shiprock, New Mexico. Dear brother:- Jan. 5,1929.

We are rejoicing in what we believe is some real evidence that God is working among our Navahos. One woman seems really to know the Lord. She and her ; husband are at work here at the mission. He too professes to be saved but does not know much of the truth. Hazel, his wife, reads and speaks English, and has known much more of the truth, and we see more evidence of the workings of the Spirit in her.

Several more have taken a stand for the Lord, but we do not feel so sure of them. All fairly well here at the .Mission and the work going on about as usual.

Affectionately,

H. A. Holcomb.

Irumu, Dec. 5,1928.

The Lord is working here, as also is Satan. There have been a number lately who have confessed Christ, several to-day in a meeting. Blessed be our Lord, who only doeth wondrous things!

You have probably heard about Dr. Woodhams' going on from here to the Walesi people to settle at Mombasa, west of us some ninety miles or so. It may likely be that Miss Wilson will go with them, but we are uncertain as to Miss DeJonge. Dr. Woodhams is about to start work, clearing the forest for his site. He awaits permission from the local administrator. Nyankundi has a large area to reach in almost all directions of the compass. We have the following tribes, portions of which (or the whole of which in the case of the Babiras) can be reached from this center, viz., Babira, Walesi, Bahama, Balendu, Banyali, Banguana, Bagaya, Bamboti (pygmies), and possibly some of the Babilas. The intertribal language called Kingwana is known by all. We feel the need of a translation of the Bible into Kingwana, and are very glad of Mr. J. Lowder's work on the New Testament books, having ourselves begun the same in the Old Testament. My wife and Miss DeJonge are translating John into Kibira (the native name for the Babira language).

Sometimes we go out for three or four days' or a week's safari (journey), visiting villages and preaching. We are opposed strongly by the Roman Catholics and their "white fathers" in some places.

The Lord be with you, dear brother. We thank you truly in His name for your help by prayer and handling of the business on our behalf. This is a real help and we appreciate it. Yours in Christ,

D. C. Gordon Searle.

Barbados, Jan. 9,1929.

Beloved brother in Christ:-

The meetings are still going steadily on. During the last two weeks of the "Christmas" season the nightly attendance had decreased considerably, but attendance is again increasing and with interest in the various subjects set forth. The plain simple gospel is still pressed upon the unsaved, and teaching for edification of fellow-believers for our practical walk in this scene, so as to enable us to walk worthy of the "calling wherewith we are called."

Your brother, and fellow-servant in the Lord,

Joseph B. Hoze.

Parintins(via Manaos)Amazonas, Brazil. Dear brother:- Dec. 18,1928.

At the dawn of another year I gladly rejoice with you for the unfailing mercies of the Lord and His patience and care of us and pray that God Himself be your ground and basis for success in the ensuing year.

I was blessed in my last trip around the district. Upon arriving home I found my wife in a very low condition, totally unfit for caring for the household, and needing rest. So I have been bound at home, serving the Lord as occasion offers itself. Please pray for my home of six children, that the mother be granted a prolongation of life, and for wisdom to me to see the Lord's way amidst these trials (Rom. 15:30).

Very thankfully, yours in Him,

J. P. Ribeiro.

N. B.-Our brother's address is changed to that at the head of this letter.

In our last number the grave illness of our brother Jonas Eck in Antwerp was mentioned. We now have to tell of our loss and his great gain in his death on January 13th.
Brother Kiehne of Bremen came and took entire charge of the funeral arrangements and a number of brethren gathered for this on Thursday the 17th. On that morning the American Consul received a cable from the parents who reside in Enid, Oklahoma, requesting that the body be sent back there. He therefore after the service took possession of the body and all of our brother Eck's personal effects. Mr. Boyd in whose home our brother had been, writes:

"In the last five or six months since he has been staying in this same house with us, we have been again and again delighted to see how the Lord had led and taught our brother.

The end of our brother was peace. After three weeks of the best care we knew how to bestow upon him in the house, we heard of a good hospital with a part for Protestants. Thither we had to send him as he was getting worse. There, perhaps, he had the best care and medical skill that Antwerp can supply and during his two weeks there we visited him daily. Three nights or two before he passed away he called, in his delirium, for his boots, hat and coat that he might go out and preach the gospel. But our all-wise Lord willed otherwise."

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all" (2 Cor. 13:14).

"THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST." This is the grace we know. The grace was expressed in all its fulness at Calvary.

It is of this the apostle speaks in the 8th chapter of this epistle, "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich" (ver. 9). Think of it in its detail-this verse so full of His bounty and blessing.

"For ye know." Blessed knowledge! Blessed assurance!

"The grace." Marvelous love working in the midst of evil and shown to unworthy objects.

"Of our Lord Jesus Christ." The exalted Saviour, the mighty Son of God, who once stooped to holy Manhood on our behalf.

"That though He was rich." In His eternal glory with the Father. He was ever poor in this world. His wealth preceded His incarnation.

"For your sakes." For the sake of guilty, ruined sinners- ourselves. Blessed possessive pronoun this – "your."

"He became poor." Not only to the manger cradle and the despised Nazareth workshop, not only to the Galilean fields where foxes had burrows and birds of the air roosting-places, and He had not where to lay His head, but also to the awful distance and darkness of Golgotha where He was forsaken of God in righteousness.

"That ye." Yes, we were in view. Such His love and goodness that He would have us blessed now and eternally.

"Through His poverty." There was no other way for our enrichment. He, the Son of Man, must be lifted up upon the cross, He, the Christ, must suffer. The "poverty" is unsearchable to our finite minds. The darkness into which He went is impenetrable. The distance He knew is immeasurable. Poverty unutterable indeed!

"Might be rich." Rich now, rich for ever. Rich in present relationship as sons of God, heirs of God, joint-heirs with Christ. Rich eternally when, in the Father's house, made like to Christ, suited to be His companions there forever.

What grace is this! "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ!" Happy are we who know it. May the sense of it be ever present with us.

"AND THE LOVE OF GOD." The grace of which we have spoken has cleared us from everything which was opposed to our blessing, and has opened the way for us to be in the presence of God without a fear and to enjoy His love. That love is our home, our dwelling-place, forever. There we find our heart's anchorage. There we are at rest.

"Keep yourselves in the love of God" is the word of exhortation. We have our place there. Let us see that we do not leave the radiance of its sunshine for the gloom of the shadow of the world which knows it not. Good it is, physically good, to sit or walk in the sun's rays without anything between. Good it is, spiritually good, to go in like David of old and sit "before the Lord." As we do this our souls will thrive, and we shall grow by and in the knowledge of God.

That love reached the meridian height of its expression at the Cross, and that sun never declines. "Hereby perceive we the love, because He laid down His life for us." "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us." So the love of God is commended to us. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

And the love displayed hi the past is the same in the present. It was "toward" us then, it is "to us" and "in us" now. John 17:26 shows its fulness. Our Lord Jesus says:"I have declared unto them Thy name and will declare it:that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them and I in them." This is the manner of the Father's love which we are called to contemplate- we who are now the children of God. "The Father Himself loveth" us. His heart of love is known now, and soon His house of joy will be known-the Father's house where are the many abodes.

While we wait for the glad hour of Christ's return, may "the Lord direct our hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ." He knows that love, and can lead our souls into its delights, and give us to enter into something of His endurance here on earth, while we wait for the fulness of blessing there on high.

"AND THE COMMUNION OF THE HOLY GHOST." The fellowship unto which the Holy Spirit leads, and of which He is the power, is rich indeed. "Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ." We are led by Him to think the thoughts of the Father about the Son, and to think the thoughts of the Son about the Father, to have common delights, common aspirations with our fellow-Christians, while journeying on to the goal set before us.

"I think Thy thoughts after Thee, O God," exclaimed an aged believer as he perused the Holy Scriptures. In those sacred writings God has unfolded His thoughts and counsels for the glory of His Son and for the fulfilment of His purposes of grace. He would have us to know them and find our pleasure where He finds His own. And the Holy Spirit dwells within us to conduct us into these joys even now.

In unbroken and unbreakable communion we shall be found in eternal days. There never a cloud will darken the sky of our spiritual delight. But now we may have a good foretaste of our everlasting bliss. "We have the best bit of heaven now in having the Holy Spirit," it has been remarked. If we walk in the power of the Holy Ghost we may be led to heights of bliss already and anticipate the gladness of the day of which the poet has sung,

"Oh, how I thirst these chains to burst,
Which weigh my spirit downward;
And there to flow, in love's full glow,
With hearts like Thine surrounded."

Then all will be in perfect accord with the mind of God. There the Spirit of God unhinderedly will engage our hearts with all that is of Himself. Now much of the energy is spent in maintaining us as we press forward against the wind and tide of opposition from the flesh within, the world around, and the devil about our goings. Then all this antagonism will cease and we shall be borne along without let or hindrance in the "pleasures for evermore," of the presence of our Lord. But all our riches will be "THROUGH HIS POVERTY."

Wonderful grace!
Wonderful love!
Wonderful fellowship!

May "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost" be with readers and writer, and with all His own, until the pilgrimage is over and the glory is gained. Inglis Fleming

I began my illness with the desire to live or die in fellowship with God, and that is what I want till the end. There is nothing greater; nothing else is worth anything. Tell them to drop everything else and to live and die in fellowship with God. There is nothing greater than to live and die in fellowship with the Father and the Son. My love to them all with this message. I am perfectly amazed at the fact that the Son of God has been down into this world to carry out and satisfy every claim of God, to undo the devil's work, to make propitiation for my sins, and to become acquainted with my sorrows. I want to see the Man who has done this. I want to see the Man who came here for me to make my soul secure for the eternal ages. Oh! I wish I could tell the people this. I wish I could tell the people of Him who came. Oh! to be without Him for the eternal ages-for the eternal ages.

I want to know more of the Burden-bearer. T. O.

Millennium anticipated

BOOK 1
Ps. 9, 14, 15, 18, 21, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34

BOOK 2
Ps. 50, 52, 53, 60, 65, 67

BOOK 3
Ps. 75, 78, 81, 82, 84, 85, 87, 89:1-18

BOOK 4
Ps. 95, 96, 97, 98, 101, 102, 104, Voice of Messiah, Ps. 106

BOOK 5
Ps. 107, 108, 110, 115, 116, 122, 126-129, 132

Millennium established

BOOK 1
Ps. 8, 24

BOOK 2
Ps. 45, 46-48, 66, 68, 72

BOOK 3
Ps. 76

BOOK 4
Ps. 93, 99, 100, 103, 105

BOOK 5
Ps. 117, 118, 133-136, 145

AFRICA

Dr. Woodhams writes us of the problem that faces him as to feeding the large number of helpers required at the new station. He says:

"My present object is to get rid of a little of the dense forest and make room for some buildings. Our first house is nearly finished now, and I have made it large enough to serve us for several years (D. V.), before we build of brick. As soon as the men finish this so that we can move, the next job I will put them on is to clear more forest, and plant at least two thousand banana trees- food for the men is the great problem, and the only solution is to grow our own. Two thousand trees planted will mean that when they bear, eleven months later, we shall be able to cut three hundred large bunches per week. Such a grove goes on bearing indefinitely, as long as cared for, for the banana replants itself, and around the first tree planted will be five or six others nearly as large as the mother. With this number plus a few tons of rice per season which we shall be able to buy from the Mangwanas, we shall be able to feed 150 natives. I will not want that number of workmen after the main buildings are up, though for hospital patients and school-boys, etc., we will always need a lot of food."

The following very interesting letter has also been received from him:

Mambasa, Irumu, Congo Beige, May 19, 1929.

"I am writing from the forest of Central Africa. My little room here may interest you. It is only 11 ft. square, thatched on top with forest leaves and on the sides with dried banana leaves. My "cook" has just put away the dishes and gone, and has left a fire crackling outside where he cooked me rice and sausage. I have a rough table, and above it, nailed to the wall, a kerosene box for books and papers. Another kerosene box with a shelf serves as a dish cupboard. Along one side of the room are three shelves made of poles. On these are piled about half a ton of rice-a bale of 50 blankets (one blanket lasts a native a year's contract), several sacks of cheap sweaters and short pants for the natives who sign up contracts for a year's work. On a third side is my camp cot and a mosquito net over it. In another corner is another series of shelves made of poles, and on these is a 200-lb. bag of salt, 45 axes, 40 hoes, 30 bush knives, 6 shovels and a few picks and crowbars, a cross-cut saw and two pit-saws, besides hammers, etc. The rest of the floor space is mostly filled by a steamer-chair, and I also have a fire in the center every evening, for it is now the rainy season and very damp here in the forest. So my 11 x 11 room is not idle. It has served me since I started coming here, as I do not usually stay more than a week at a time. My wife came over with me once and we managed to get two beds set up in this very room! Of course a lantern is on the wall. I will tear it down one of these days and move into our new house. The roof of the new house is thatched, and door frames all in, and we are now putting on the clay for the walls. This ought to be finished in less than a week. I will then keep big fires going in all the rooms to dry it as soon as possible. Then a second coat of mud to fill up the cracks, then a coat of white, and when that is dried we will move in. By the first part of June, D. V., the new road will be opened through, and before that date I have only one more trip to make by donkey, and then we expect to drive clear through. I have promised to bring the children with me on the first trip that I drive clear through for they have heard so much about the forest that they are anxious to come. John is especially interested in my account of the monkeys. The trees are full of monkeys some days -hundreds of them. A buffalo also walked across our clearing early one morning, and on another, leopard tracks were right outside my window; evidently he smelled the dog, which fortunately was not in my house but had gone to the natives' hut, but for all that it is not nearly so wild as either Chicago or New York, and I prefer it to either.

I must have given you a wrong impression, as we did not yet start the Lord's table with the natives. I believe we intended to at that time but for some reason delayed. It is now being announced for next Lord's Day, May 12th. I will tell of this afterward.

I was interested to hear further of your missionary meetings and of the good interest.

The drugs, hospital beds, etc., arrived in good condition, and I went for them last week. The supplies from Boston are surely appreciated, and represent a lot of work and time, a labor of love to our Lord. The dental chair is very satisfactory for my purpose and I used it at once, for scarcely a week goes by that I do not have several patients. It was a great relief to get the patient in a proper position.

With much love, your brother in Christ,

E. C. Woodhams, M. D. china

Brief mention was made in our last issue of the safe arrival of brother Kautto and his wife at Taitowying on May 9th. He writes in part as follows:

May 9th we arrived at Taitowying and found everything O. K. Immediately upon our arrival we set to work at house-cleaning. The house had been closed for a year, and we were quite busy getting things cleaned and dusted. Some parts needed repairs, painting, etc.

I left for Shuang Shan-tze last Saturday, and arrived here that evening all tired out, as I made the trip with bicycle, and I never seen the road in such poor condition. I had to push my wheel more than half of the 33 miles, the road being very rocky and steep.

Last Lord's Day was a day of marked blessing. We had many hearers, and I have seldom preached with such freedom and liberty. I took Romans 1:18-23 and Phil. 2:5-8 as my texts, and showed the root and beginning of idolatry and the prevision God had made in Christ Jesus. First, man's seven steps down to sin, and then God's seven steps down to meet the sinner's need..

For the past couple of days I have been busy trying to get the new place ready. We have plenty of room for a chapel, school-house and a couple of rooms for ourselves, also for a native teacher. Through the kindness of brethren in the States I was able to send $450 to the brethren in China towards the purchase of the place which was $500. They supplied the remaining $50. Although we have been offered $600 for it, we will not sell as it is now worth $1000, property increasing in value right along.

The native brethren have willingly offered themselves for whatever work they are able to do. They are glad too to give what material they have in their homes.
Next Saturday I am leaving for Mutow-teng, and expect to lead the meeting there next Lord's Day, D. V. I wish we had the roads and methods of travel to be found in the States, but here we must travel by pack-animal or walk. With much love in the Lord and my best wishes to all who are praying for us, I am,

Yours affectionately in Christ,

Charles O. Kautto. japan

The following item of news from Japan should be an encouragement for those who engage in tract distribution.

"Brother Fujimoto found an old lady living near him, who was treasuring some Christian tracts and a Bible in memory of her son who had died eight years before. He had been converted through the tracts, and had gotten a Bible which he diligently read while ill till unable to do so, and then got his mother to read to him. When she showed the tracts to brother Fujimoto, lo and behold, he found that they were tracts of our Bible Truth Mission. This is a great encouragement to the brethren and sisters in Japan in their tract distribution work. "Cast thy bread upon the waters, and thou shalt find it after many days."

HARBOR WORK

The following is a brief report from brother West in connection with his work among the seaman in an around the port of New York. Just recently brother West has found a new opening in being allowed to visit the sick seamen in St. Vincent's Hospital, and we should remember to pray for our brother in connection with this work:

(1) On the steamer "Alamo," a little coastwise freighter, I met an Argentine seaman, who had never seen a Bible! His family are Romanists and he has gone through much trial in the past few years. He listened keenly to the Word, and I was happy to have a John in Spanish for him, which he promised to read.

(2) I had splendid liberty, July 4th, on the steamer "Queen Maud." Brother Anderson wrote me of this ship, and I had some follow-up work to care for. The chief mate, and three engineers listened carefully for about 40 minutes to a plain discussion as to the merits or demerits of Evolution. I had, too, an excellent chance to present the gospel. The mate warmed up considerably during the conversation, and at the end took my hand with tears in his eyes and told me how much he appreciated what he heard. I believe the Lord is at work on this ship in some hearts.

(3) A few days ago the Lord gave me much grace to witness to a group of stewards on the White Star steamer "Adriatic." One of them, an Irish lad of Catholic persuasion, showed the greatest interest, and actually rebuked one of his companions for disturbing the message, and at the time I was comparing what Rome said with what Scripture said! May God save many out of this awful system!

(4) Through the generosity of some saints I have been able to purchase many "Traveler's Guides" for the work, some in English, and others in French and Italian, also in Portuguese. I have already distributed a number in the last-named language, and saints would be amply repaid to see the manner of reception on the part of Brazilian seamen.

In this connection, a good number of bags from sisters in different meetings have come to hand, and I have given out not a few to men. I often make it a point to give out bags to those who showed a fierce antagonism, generally making a second visit to the ship. This takes them by surprise and seldom fails to soften their hearts.

Ralph A. West.

PACIFIC COAST

Brother J. A. White writing from Vancouver, B.C., says:There is a fine chance for Gospel work along this coast from here to Alaska if we had a gospel boat, as the coast is sheltered by islands, and there are many towns and small places where the gospel is never preached. South of here there are thousands of towns and villages along Puget Sound that could be reached by a gospel boat. The climate is mild even in the winter, but "Who will go for us?"

We pray for the Lord of the harvest to raise up laborers. As ever by grace,

J. Augustus White.
"ALL YOUR THINGS"

(Continued from p. 326.)

An entry in the diary of Frederic S. Arnot, devoted African pioneer missionary, reads:"It is refreshing to meet with a case of hearty gratitude from even one of those for whom one seeks to labor. A young man has been lame a long time from a broken toe which would not heal. I have been dressing and doctoring it for three weeks every day. He came to me to-day with his face beaming with joy, saying that at last he could walk. 'I have nothing but myself to pay you with,' he said, with tears in his eyes."

Paul is one of the grateful ones. "Wherever God's grace is discerned, there praise breaks forth as surely as earth answers the touch of spring with flowers." Sometimes he gives thanks, sometimes' be blesses, and as often as he catches sight of the Cross, God's great peroration of grace, "all the stops of his nature are pulled wide open, and his whole being vibrates" with laud to God.

Surely the heart of Him who once said, "Where are the nine?" and who had "meat to eat" that His disciples knew not of, listened oft in gladness to praising Paul.

And in our next verse it is our privilege to join our blessed Lord in His glad listening to, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ," a characteristic outburst of praise.

Now just as music is compounded of notes, so praise is compounded of words, and the study of Scriptural words is a highly remunerative investment. They are not merely used with wise discrimination but with lofty inspiration, and every nuance of meaning becomes a beacon light along the broad highway of truth. There are two words in the New Testament translated "blessed." "Makarlos" found over and over in the beatitudes of Matthew 5 was a term once used of the gods alone. It carried an implication of the divine with it. It laid stress on that which was intrinsic. The word in our text,"eulogetos," however, speaks rather of that which is extrinsic. It confers beatitude through speech. It is distilled like the dew in the warm intercourse of affection. We get our word "eulogy" from it, but eulogy here is too artificial and veneered to breathe its spirit. "Blessed" is unrivaled as a translation. It is solemn, joyous and inspiriting. "Hath blessed us" is not merely the equivalent of "hath given," as we might think when reading the text. There is an implication of speaking into blessedness. Something of this thought breathes through Faber's familiar words:

"Whate'er He blesses turns to good,
And unblessed good is 99:"

The word also has something of a religious atmosphere. It savors of the incense of the sanctuary. When John G. Paton, of the New Hebrides, was leaving the Mildmay Conference after delivering an address, the whole audience arose, and as he passed down the aisle, showered him with "God bless you's." Their effect upon Paton affords us something of that religious atmosphere. "Long ere I reached the door of the hall, my soul was already prostrated at the feet of my Lord that I had done so little for Him, and I bowed my head to cry, 'Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us.'"

The word "blessed," in this way, worshipfully introduces us to the Person whom Paul blesses and who blesses us, "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The great poet Goethe once flung aside the curtain of a window in his house, and pointing to the western sky uttered the simple word, "Klopstock!" Klopstock was the German Milton, and had painted magnificent poetic pictures of just such a scene as the bared window disclosed. For one who had read him, no word or paragraph or page could have so accurately sketched a scene otherwise beggaring description. The sky was unique in its heavenly glory. But for one who had not lived in Klopstock, the name would have meant practically nothing. So the precious words "of our Lord Jesus Christ" breathe out volumes, for those who know Him, as to the blessed Person from henceforth to be known as His God and Father. Personal, living, experimental, revelatory knowledge of Jesus Christ, imbibed from the Scriptures, from daily communion, from meditation on Christ's wonderful mission, these, and these alone, disclose in all its unrivaled splendor the magnificent import of a conception of God found in none of the religions, none of the philosophies, none of the poetic dreams of the poets of this world, nor yet in the visions of seers unilluminated from above. Even the Old Testament illuminate had but seen Him dimly, afar off, in the moments of their brightest revelations. When, however, "He who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light unapproachable," finally in "the-last of these days" spake "in Son," when "the effulgence of His glory and the express image of His Person" "tabernacled among men," when "the day-spring from on high" broke over the plains of Bethlehem, very soon the "people that sat in darkness saw a GREAT LIGHT, and to them that sat in the valley of the shadow of death light had sprung up." It was the "light of the glory of GOD in the face of Jesus Christ." In it God the Father "was declared." This is not poetry, it is glorious truth.

So we do not need the words of the rest of this precious verse to enlist our hearts in dear Paul's joyous doxology, "blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

But the text does not pause there. It singles out one of His transcendent glories. This God whom we know through Jesus Christ is a superlative giver. He first gave His Son, and then His Son gave Himself, and in rapture of delight the apostle exclaims, "How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" "All things" is even bigger than our text, is greater than "all spiritual blessings," yet "all spiritual blessings" are too big for us, with our feeble powers, to begin to properly appreciate.

Over the entrance to the palace at Versailles, there is an inscription, "A toutes les gloires de France" (To all the glories of France); and right over the portal to this wonderful epistle we seem to see inscribed, "All the blessings of Heaven," a striking synthesis to much of its content. And these blessings are ours. Yes, but how practically? Alas, how often we may burn into our hearts an Old Testament challenge, "Know ye that Ramoth Gilead is ours, and we take it not?"

The expression "spiritual blessings" has been variously interpreted by many preachers and commentators. These differences should not lead to our putting on theological war paint, showering our brethren with "shibboleths," with inevitable battle as a climax. There are many ambiguities in Scripture, words legitimately capable of variant interpretation. This does not require arguing. It is too patent for any candid reader to deny. It is not a defect in Scripture. Each interpretation has its blessing for us, and we should seek to reap a double harvest from them. Thus the expression now before us has been interpreted as "non-material good," "material good that blesses our spirits," while Alexander Maclaren, prince of excellent preachers, suggests; "He calls them spiritual because they are imparted to the waiting spirit by that Divine Spirit, who communicates to men all the most precious things of God." That is a rousing suggestion when we are numb from inability to grasp properly that which is ours. We must rely upon God's blessed Spirit. Oh, how near He comes to our need!

"Closer is He than breathing,
And nearer than hands or feet."

"All spiritual blessings" ours through Him? Let us then be filled with Him!

"In heavenly places in Christ." The close of the chapter clearly shows us the meaning of the expression "heavenly places." They are not on the earth, they are where Christ has gone; they are where Paul heard unutterable things, where he received abundant revelations, the bliss of which was to linger with him all his life; they are there where "neither moth nor rust corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal;" they are there, "far above all principality and power and might and dominion," there secured to us in Christ, who is God over all blessed forever. And we are going there.

An old ritual of the Mass opened with the words "Sursum corda" (Up with your hearts), and surely the call comes strong and clear to us from out of the depths of this truly expansive passage. It gathers strength from the glorious Cross on earth beneath and rises to the crown and throne in heaven. Sursum corda. "Cease, ye saints, your occupation with the sorrow scenes of earth;

Let the eye of faith be opened, use the sight of second birth."

"In Christ." We must not leave our subject without briefly considering this very important phrase. Linguists and theologians discuss at length its possibilities. In one place it may mean one thing, in another something else. To some it is merely "by." To others it is "atmosphere" and "identity," to others "representation." To others it is simply "in." They prefer an "aura of mystery" around the word. There are, perhaps, little difficulties inherent with each interpretation. For the purposes of this paper it is the golden cord on which, throughout the chapter, all the pearls of our blessings are strung. We pick it up in the very beginning, "faithful in Christ Jesus;" it gleams out in our present text "blessed.. .in Christ;" it shimmers through God's great election, "chosen us in Him;" it forms the solid substratum beneath the "favored in the Beloved;" it is a thread of Divine glory in the "redemption through His blood," and it flashes out in full splendor in God's magnificent purpose to head up all things "in Christ."

"In the dispensation of that glorious time,
When the bells of heaven, with melodious chime,
Ring in all the fulness of the plans of God,"

so that in view of it, we may well close with that grand Episcopalian doxology:

"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen." F. C. Grant

(To be continued, D. V.)

(2 Chron.8:14.)

The duty of every day! Truly every day brings its many duties of this life! But there is one often neglected-the sweet service of thanksgiving, praise, and worship. What a depth in the words, "My offering, and My bread.. .shall ye observe to offer unto Me in their due season.. .the one lamb shall thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even." Both the first thought and the last were to be for the Lord. David the man of God, followed by his son Solomon, sought to respond to the Lord's will in this manner; hence we read of the appointed service "as the duty of every day required."

How often the day is so full of earthly duties as to harass and burden! "How can I find time for more than a prayer and a hurried glance at my Bible? Thanksgiving, praise, and worship I must leave for the time usually appointed." Is this voicing the heart of the reader? Do we not know that the chief duties of every day are thanksgiving, praise, and worship?

It may be helpful to try to define the meaning of these terms. Thanksgiving is understood to be that grateful emotion called from the soul in return for the goodness bestowed upon us, the blessings of life-in whatever measure-and above all, the love of God expressed to all in the gift of His Son. Can we not raise the voice of thanksgiving for these great mercies? Furthermore, the believer can give "thanks unto the Father..who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." Here is chief employment for one of our little days.

Praise is understood to be that which springs up in the hearts of those who consider the ways the love of God has taken. He has (as often noticed) drained His treasury to bestow His best upon us. Thanksgiving may be expressed in a service of sacrifice; but, "I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness," is of a higher character, as we may gather from:"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise" (Ps. 100:4). The soul is thus conducted through these avenues of goodness and righteousness to the presence of Him who is revealed thus; and the result is worship.

Worship is understood to be the attitude produced, by the manifested presence of God. Worship, the bowing down of self, cannot be regulated by hours ; it is not limited through, or affected by, circumstances. This is an artificial age, and man has invented music and used all his powers to produce what he calls worship. But this is regulated by his efforts and limited to time, hence we have hours of divine worship.

True worship is known to the soul brought by love and righteousness into the presence of God:God fills the vision, the cup is full, and worship ensues. To any who speak of deferring this, we would ask:Is God only good and righteous on special occasions? Are our hearts to be dead with respect to worship till the set times? "The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth." Places and times of worship have no longer a place in the economy of God:"Neither' in this mountain (Gentile place of worship), nor yet at Jerusalem" (Jewish place of worship). It is the Father (God revealed in love and righteousness) who seeks worshipers in His family.
Shall we not then subjugate the ordinary duties of life to the greater duty? Some may say:"You do not know my troubles!" Perhaps not! But almost all the material of the Tabernacle, a type of Christ, was passed through pressure-"Of beaten work shalt thou make them." That which spoke of Christ came from the people's tents, and passed through pressure ! Now turn to Ps. 4:1, "In pressure Thou hast enlarged me" (New Tram.).

He whose love is eternal knows all about us, and has appointed us to the service of thanksgiving, praise, and worship. With a year of opportunities past and another beginning, let us call each other's attention to the importance of being more at home in that endeared Presence, finding the constant service of thanksgiving, praise, and worship "as the duty of every day requires."

"Eternal love their portion is,
Where love has found its rest;
And, filled with Thee, the constant mind
Eternally is blest."

E. Chas. Taylor

(Matt. 12:4.)

David was hungry. Moreover, he was in a low state of soul. Such statements as, "The king hath commanded me a business," and "The king's business required haste," are so far from the truth that only a careless disregard of the context would ever permit their use as slogans in the Lord's work. David was not telling the truth when he uttered them. Even a casual reading of 1 Samuel 20 and 21 will make this clear. But of all this the Lord says nothing in Matt. 12. There He simply says that David was hungry and that he went into the house of God and did eat.

No doubt there were a number of places in Nob to which David might have gone to beg supplies for himself and his fellows with less risk of being detected. Nevertheless he went into the house of God. "Common bread" would suffice, but He who is the Host there has something better for this hungry fugitive. "So the priest gave him hallowed bread," for there was no "common bread" there. What a provision for one who, a little later, was to prove himself more unworthy than ever by playing the madman at a heathen's gate. But such is divine grace!

David was a man of like passions with ourselves, and his experiences are recorded for our admonition. Our blessed Lord selects the one commendable thing in the whole circumstance and emphasizes it. "Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungered, and they that were with him; how he entered into the house of God, and did eat the showbread?" He knew where to turn in his need. Do we? And if we do, how often do we turn there? Alas, how many of God's dear children turn again to the husks that can not satisfy. Every worldly novelty finds hungry Christians ready to pay the price for the satisfaction offered. But,

"The world has nothing new to give;
It has no true, no pure delight."

There is only one Living Bread, only One who can truly satisfy the longing soul. Then "wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not?" "Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you." "Lord, evermore give us this bread." Hallowed bread indeed, to be enjoyed in His own blessed presence. Thither let us go and eat our bread continually at His table. C. Armstrong

(1 Sam. 19:10.)

Imagine the hero of Elah, the conqueror of the mighty Goliath, fleeing from his father-in-law! And that right after he had fought so valiantly with the Philistines, and had slain them with a great slaughter, and "they fled from him." It is on his return from that victory that he faces a far different foe. Within the family circle, in the house of Saul, he whose fingers had lately drawn the bow with telling effect plays on other strings to soothe his royal sire. But the music has no charms for him who is seeking even then to smite the sweet singer with his spear. Twice before he had sought to quench his jealous rage in the psalmist's blood. But David "slipped away out of Saul's presence," A most strategic retreat! Nothing cowardly about it, It was really the only course to pursue. This foe must be fled, not fought. "So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him."

Every child of God has similar foes, foes that he may not fight. "Flee fornication," "Flee idolatry," "Flee also youthful lusts," are the instructions of the Spirit of God. It is just as defiling to struggle with these things as to trifle with them. The smutty story, the salacious tale, the suggestive picture-avoid them! Defiling conversation, degrading influences, companions who resist the sweet overtures of divine grace-"Man of God, flee these things." Slip away to Him who dwells in Ramah's heights, tell Him all, and He will renew thy mind and refresh thy soul. Carl Armerding

Calendar:May 16th to June 15th

DAILY BIBLE READING:…….. May 16th, Jer. 29; May 31st, Jer. 44; June 15th, Ezek. 2.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING:…. May 16th, Rev. 17; May 31st, Matt. 10; June 15th, Matt. 25.

Completing the prophecy of Jeremiah, and its companion supplement, the Lamentations, we enter upon the great prophet Ezekiel. We have already spoken of some of the characteristics of Jeremiah. It is well in these readings either to have a note book or to mark carefully in your Bibles the striking passages as we go on. Both methods could be followed. As to marking, do not attempt too much, and do neatly whatever is done. Passages which bring out the nature of sin, which show the character of God as abhorring evil, and those which point to His mercy for the penitent, could be marked, and specially those which point forward to the coming day of God's merciful restoration of the people to their land. Jeremiah is somewhat more engaged with the details of the people's sins and their judgment than Isaiah, while the latter abounds more fully in direct predictions as to the coming of Messiah. Can you find in Jeremiah any specific predictions as to our Lord Jesus?

The Lamentations are solemnly beautiful in their sorrows, with gleams of hope scattered here and there; for God's precious word is not a message of despair.

It may not be known by all that Lamentations is written, each chapter except the last, as an alphabetic acrostic. Each verse in the first four chapters begins with the appropriate letter of the Hebrew alphabet, after the manner of Ps. 119, and other acrostic psalms. The third chapter, which has three times as many verses as the others, devotes three verses to each letter. Do not these indicate that God would use all kinds of means to deepen interest and to fix in the memory His holy Word?

Coming to our supplementary reading, we have only a few more chapters to reach the close of Revelation. May the wonder of the whole Book grow on us as we read and study its divinely perfect pages.

Resuming Matthew, how would it do to read this time in Mr. Darby's Revised N. T.? While our Authorized Version must always be the ordinary and tegular book of our reading, it is well to become familiar with this excellent Revision. There are shades of meaning and more accurate renderings brought out than in our regular version; and yet we cannot but be impressed with the fidelity of translation and the beauty of the language of the older version. Perhaps you might have time to read both versions together, a few verses at a time. A few minutes' careful reading would complete the chapter for the day.

Greek Testament Lessons

LESSON 67. Page 66, Vocabulary, write out entire list of words, accenting and giving meanings from memory. Give the "principal parts" of each verb-present, future, aorist and perfect, in the active voice, and perfect and first aorist in the passive; but not the synopsis entire.

LESSON 68. John 1:23-25. Parse each word as in previous lessons.

For those who are well up with our lessons, I would now suggest in addition to the regular work, to begin, as a reading lesson, the epistle to the Galatians. I think your present knowledge of the verb and other verbal forms will enable you to read without much difficulty. At the close of each of your regular lessons you might add a literal translation of, say four, verses in consecutive order, of this epistle. -S. RIDOUT.

"The Kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened"-Matt. 13:33.

In Rom. 11 we see how God puts what He has formed at present on the earth to bear His name, in the position of a public visible system on the earth, as He did Israel. "Behold the goodness and severity of God ; on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness, otherwise thou shalt be cut off." God can cast off the professing church in perfect consistency with what He has revealed Himself to be, because it is not a question of His grace and goodness, or of individual salvation; but simply and only of responsibility. And this it is which makes His dealings with these churches a deep and positive warning to us, as the very same principle applies to Gentile as to Jewish testimony. God will accomplish, to the very word, every promise He has made to Israel. Yet we all know as a plain fact, that God has cast off Israel as visible witnesses to bear His name to the world. And He will, in the same way, cast off the Church, if it fails in its responsibility on the earth. Thus we see how God maintains His government in respect to the testimony which His people ought to bear under every dispensation, and that while individual salvation is forever secured to individuals in Israel and the Church, both will be set aside as to their public, visible testimony. Thus we get not only responsibility, but the results of failure.-J. N. D. * *"Lectures on the Addresses to the Seven Churches." -p. 37.* Selected by J. E. H.

We all know well John three and sixteen, the verse that Martin Luther called the miniature Bible; but we cannot be too familiar with it, the great verse that has so used of God in the salvation of precious souls for whom the Lord Jesus suffered, bled and died.

It begins with the GREAT GOD; there is no other God. Though there are "gods many and lords many," they are all without a capital letter for those that know the true and living God.

Next, His GREAT LOVE; was ever love like His? Nay, who would ever give his only and well beloved son to die for his enemies? No one.

Then His GREAT OBJECT, the WORLD. Yes, our God is no tribal God; nay, He is no respecter of persons. His love is for all the world.

And then we have the GREATEST GIFT! The Apostle Paul calls it, "His unspeakable gift." Paul had no trouble to find words to express anything else, but when he thought of God giving His Son as a gift to this world, words fail him, and so he says it is unspeakable.

Then the GREAT INVITATION! It is to who-so-ever, and none can say they are excluded.

"Yes, He included me,
Yes, He included me;
When my Lord said "who-so-ever,"
He included ME."

But then there is the Great Peril for those who refuse:the gracious offer. Perish they must. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?"

And last but not least we have the Greatest Blessing bestowed on all that believe; they have EVERLASTING LIFE. Surely it is a great verse.

Seven Great Things.

GREAT -God.
" -Love
" -Object.
" -Gift.
" -Invitation.
"-Peril.
" -Blessing.

There is another three and sixteen I would call attention to. It is found in 2 Tim. 3:16:"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable." How important it is to know this verse and believe it implicitly. I remember hearing a preacher speaking about the Word of God who said, "When I read the Bible I treat it the way I eat a fish. I eat the flesh and throw away the bones." But there are no bones in the Word of God ! It is all meat, or sincere milk, and all of it is profitable, none of it to be thrown away. Then I have heard others say, "Oh, David said that;" or, "It was Paul who wrote that, and while it suited his day it will not do to-day." We need ever to remember that "all Scripture is God-breathed"-as that passage is rightly translated-and "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

So when we come to the Word of God let it be God speaking to us, no matter where we read, whether Genesis, Chronicles, or Revelation.

There are things in the Scriptures hard to be understood, but why not expect that? "The Word WAS GOD," and to know all the Word "would be a calamity," as some one has said. But there is milk for those unskilled in the Word, the babes, and meat for those of full age, and, thank God, water of Life for those who are athirst.

Another important three sixteen is in 2 Timothy:"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:

God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. "God manifest!" No longer the unknown God, but well known ; "I know whom I have believed," are the words of the inspired apostle. And He was manifest "in flesh," or, as John says, "became flesh." The Holy Spirit justified Him in that lowly form, when on the banks of the Jordan He came in the form of a dove and abode upon Him. The Spirit is not given to Him by measure; "In Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily!"

"Seen of angels." How many thoughts come rushing to the mind as we think of these three words so full of significance to every devout child of God! What a bulwark of safety to fly to, as we are assailed by Modernists, who would rob Him of His Godhead glory because He passed by the angels and took hold of the seed of Abraham. Yes, those holy sinless beings chanted His praises when He came as it had been written in the volume of the book concerning Him:"I delight to do Thy will, O My God:yea, Thy law is within My heart" (Ps. 40:8).

But angels could not be cheated if men could; they knew Him and they sang His praises, as they did long ago when all things were brought into being by the Word of His power. They saw Him bring the worlds into being, they saw Him set the sun in the heavens, they saw the birth of creation, and shouted for joy. Now they see Him wrapped in swaddling-clothes and lying in a manger. Will they deny Him now? NEVER! "Unto you is born this day.. .a Saviour which is CHRIST THE LORD":

"See within the manger,
As a babe, in swaddling-clothes, the world's Creator lies;
Holy, Holy, Holy,
Come to earth so lowly,
Angels haste to feast on Him their holy eyes."

They see Him in the wilderness fasting alone in the desert, then attacked by Satan, who would have Him leave the true path of man. He said, "Command that these stones be made bread." But our LORD did not come to command, He came to obey, and was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross! Blessed Lord!

Again the holy angels see Him in Gethsemane. They hear His strong crying, they see His tears, as "He sweats, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground," and angels come and strengthen Him.

See them once more in the tomb where the Saviour lay; hear them saying, "He is not here, He is risen. Come, see the place where the Lord lay," and again, "Remember how He spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee," and they quote His exact words. Then those disciples "remembered His words." Ah, yes, angels do not forget what He said, and they know He is able to perform. Modernist, angels are against you!

"Preached unto the Gentiles," and at the beginning they were delighted to hear the message of grace (Acts 13:46, 38). But their prophesied end is sad, as we read (what we now see), "And they shall turn their ears away from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" (2 Tim. 4:1-3).

"Believed on in the world." Yes, thank God!

"Millions have reached that blest abode,
And millions more are on the road,
Will you go? Will you go?"

And now He is "received up into the glory." There He is with "the name which is above every name," not only in this world but in the world to come. "At His Name all the angels bow."

Have you bowed yet, Eventually, you must. Why not now, and be blessed? A. H. Stewart

Come-Isa. 1:18; Matt. 11:28; John 7:37.
Learn-Matt. 11:29; John 6:45; Rom. 15:4.
Follow-John 21:19,22; Luke 5:27,28; John 8:12;
10:27;12:26.

Read-Deut. 17:18,19; Neh. 8:18; Isa. 34:16; 1 Tim.
4:13; Rev. 1:3.

Pray-Luke 21:36; Acts 6:4; Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6;
Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:17.

Work-Neh. 4:6; Mark 13:34;1 Cor. 15:58;2 Cor. 9:8; Col. 1:10; 2 Tim. 2:15; Tit. 3:8.

Look-Phil. 3:20; Tit. 2:13; Heb. 9:28.

"But Christ is all and in all" (Col. 3:11). -F. L. F.

O friend of weary heart and burdened soul,
Hast thou not heard the Saviour's pleading call?
"Come unto Me, I've rest for laboring ones,
I'll gladly take thy cares, and carry all;
Come unto Me!"

The yoke I offer thee is never hard, '
Tis easy, and I promise thee 'tis best;
Obedience which springs from love is free
From bonds, the perfume of a heart at rest.
Take it, and see.

And is thy burden heavy? Lay it down.
I am thy Burden-bearer; toil not so;
I bore thy sins, and carry thee as well:
Tell Me, what have I left for thee to do?
Leave all to Me.

Learn meekness, and obedience will be
No hardship, but love's answer from the heart
To Him whose heart is one deep well of love,
Of which the subject soul is just a part,
And perfectly.

Yes, child of God, these lessons must be learned;
Submission to His will prepares the way,
Then, as the Spirit brings the things of Christ,
To learn is joy, and truth, ray after ray,
Is ecstasy.

He fills the vacuum with precious things,
When mind and heart are emptied of earth's dross,
He tells us all the secrets of His love,
Of glory soon to be, and of His cross,
And coming crown.

And of His fulness we shall drink, and be
Soul-satisfied, and find sufficiency
In Him who can alone our longings still,
And bid our hearts rejoice continually,
In Him alone.

Helen McDowell

Pride still lies dormant in the Christian's heart,
But sleeping, lives, and may awake to start
A furious flame, like powder touched by spark,
To spread destruction and to leave its mark
Of ruin far and wide.

Then while we move and carry with us still
This dangerous explosive, working ill,
Give grace, O Lord, that we may distant stay
From flattering lips, which bring the spark alway
That lights the charge of pride.

For truly ominous the doleful day
When proud hearts stop to hear what flatterers say.
When pride meets flattery, ah, then, and there,
Near by at hand is Lucifer. Beware!

E. H. Hageman

No life can e'er be lived for self alone,
Its influence on other lives will tell;
'Twill either help or hinder, it must be.
'Twill strengthen, or 'twill weaken, finally;
And we must give account of how we've spent
The life God did not give but only lent.

How do my ways affect my nearest friend?
-For I'm my brother's keeper. Do I give
That which commends the love of God to him?
Or do I for myself and pleasure live?
God looks to gather fruit from each of us,
He'd reap the harvest wrought by Jesus' cross.

Then if Thou livest for Him who died for thee.
Thou canst not but be helpful, constantly.

Helen McDowell

Lecture III.

THE PEACE OFFERING

Read Leviticus, chaps. 3; 7:11-34; Ps. 85.

(Continued from p. 81.)

The peace offering has a peculiar preciousness because of its unique character as an expression of fellowship with God based upon the work of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross. As already intimated, there can be no true communion with God if we ignore that finished work. The Unitarian may talk of enjoying fellowship with God, but he is simply mistaking religious emotions for spiritual communion, for the latter cannot exist apart from faith in the Lord Jesus as the eternal Son of the Father, and the soul's rest upon the work He accomplished upon the Tree.

The very fact that a peace offering is needed implies that something is wrong in regard to the relations between God and man. Man by nature since the fall is unfit for fellowship with God. He comes into this world a sinner, a sinner by nature; from the beginning his bent is toward that which is unholy rather than to that which is holy. It is very much easier for him to sin than it is to do that which is just and righteous; very much easier for him to go down than to rise up. I know it is fashionable nowadays to deny all this, and to teach that man has been on the upgrade throughout the centuries; but this is not so. Apart from the Word of God even, our actual experience teaches us that it is easier for man to do evil than to do good, and this is because of the corruption of his nature. David exclaimed in Psalm 51:5, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." By nature man understands not the things of God; he cannot commune with Him; he loves what God hates, and hates what God loves. God is infinitely holy; loving good and doing only good. Between man and God there is really nothing in common. Men are not only sinners by nature, but they have become transgressors by practice, deliberately, wilfully, violating the law, breaking the commandments, and acting in self-will. As the Word tells us, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isa.53:6). For God desires us to be at peace with Him, He longs to bring us into fellowship with Him. But this at once raises the questions, "How it is possible for sinful, polluted man ever to be at peace with God ? Can we ourselves make our peace with Him?" We often hear very well-meaning people urge Christless souls to make their peace with God. Now I don't want to be factious, I don't want to be hypercritical, I don't want to make a man an offender for a word, but I am convinced that this expression is thoroughly misleading. What they mean is quite right. They mean that men should repent of their sins, acknowledge their lost condition, and own their need of a Saviour. But no man can ever make his own peace with God. It is Christ who has made peace for us.

"Could my tears forever flow,
Could my zeal no languor know,
These for sin could not atone,
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
In my hand no price I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling."

It is the glory of the gospel that it reveals the heart of God going out after men in their sins, and it tells what He has done in order that man may obtain peace with God. It tells of Christ come from the bosom of the Father, from the glory that He had with the Father before the worlds were made, become in grace a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, and going to the cross, that dreadful cross, where He was made a curse for us in order that God and man might be brought together in perfect harmony, and we might be reconciled to God by His death. "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." And yet that wondrous life could not in itself settle the sin question or recover man to God. In order to do this He must die, and having died He has manifested the fact that there is no enmity on God's part toward man; all the enmity is on our side; and now He is beseeching us to be reconciled to God.

We stand toward Him as debtors, debtors who owe an enormous sum, debtors whose credit is utterly gone, and who are therefore absolutely unable to meet their obligations. But we read of two men who were in just such circumstances, and we are told:"When they had nothing to pay He frankly forgave them both." And He does this on the basis of the peace offering:Christ has given Himself to meet our obligations. Col. 1:19, 20 states:"For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell; and having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven." This is the peace offering. He has made peace by the blood of His cross. In Eph. 2:13,14 we read:"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us." This is what is so beautifully illustrated in the peace offering of old. Christ Himself is our peace. As another has put it:

"Peace with God is Christ in glory,
God is Light and God is Love;
Jesus died to tell the story,
Foes to bring to God above."

Peace with God is not simply a happy, restful feeling in the soul, though he who enjoys peace with God cannot but be happy, for it is written that "being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Peace with God was made on the cross, and we enter into the good of it when we trust that blessed Saviour who died for us. God has found His satisfaction in that work, we find ours there, and so we enjoy Christ together. His delight is Christ and our delight is Christ; He enjoys Christ and we enjoy Christ; He feeds upon Christ and we feed upon Christ, and so we have communion, blessed happy fellowship, on the basis of that sweet savor offering.

In Leviticus 3 there are three different victims mentioned, any one of which might be brought to the altar as a peace offering. First we read, "If his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd, whether it be male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord" (ver. 1). Then in verse 6 we are told, "And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering unto the Lord, be of the flock, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. If he offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it before the Lord." Then again in verse 12, "If his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord." When looking at the burnt offering, we have already seen something of what these various creatures suggest in a typical way. The sacrifice of the herd speaks of Christ as the devoted Servant of God and man, and whether we think of Him as the rightfully independent One, as suggested by the male, or the subject One, as suggested by the female, we can have communion 'with God from either standpoint. Then the lamb speaks of Him as the One who was consecrated even unto death; and the goat, of the One who took the sinner's place.

We may not all have exactly the same apprehension of the value and the preciousness of Christ and His work, but if we really trust in Him, and come to God confessing Him, we are on the ground of peace, and may have fellowship with God to the full extent of our apprehension, and as we go on learning more and more of who Christ really is, and what He is to God, our communion will be deepened and intensified.

The offerer was to lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it himself at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. This again speaks of the identification of the offerer with his offering. It brings out most vividly the truth of substitution, and should impress upon every one of us the fact that we ourselves need a Substitute, a sinless Saviour who could suffer in our stead. Christ is that Substitute, and we are directly responsible for His death.

Unlike the burnt offering, the entire peace offering was not placed upon the altar; only a very small part of it, namely, "the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul which is above the liver with the kidneys" -these were the parts that were to be burned upon the altar as a sweet savor unto the Lord. And observe, these parts could only be reached by death." This speaks surely of the deepest inward emotions and sensibilities of the Lord leading Him out of love to the Father to devote Himself to death in order that men might be reconciled to God. Who can fathom the meaning of those words, "He poured out His soul unto death?"

When we turn to the law of the offering in chap. 7, beginning with verse 8, we see more clearly why this particular sacrifice is called the peace offering. We find God and His people enjoying it together. When the appointed portions were placed upon the altar for thanksgiving (ver. 12), there were offered with it various meal offerings, all speaking as we have seen of Christ's Person. Of these a small portion was burned upon the altar, and the rest was eaten by the priests. Then the breast of the offering, speaking of the affections of Christ, was given to Aaron and his sons, the priestly house; all of the priests feed upon that which speaks of the love of Christ, for this is what the breast typifies. The right shoulder speaking of the strength of the Lord, His omnipotent power, was the special portion of the offering priest himself. The rest of the sacrifice was taken away by the offerer, and he and his family and friends ate it together before the Lord, rejoicing in the fact that, typically, mercy and truth had met together, righteousness and peace had kissed each other. This is indeed a vivid and graphic picture of communion; God Himself, His anointed priests, the offerer and his friends, all feasting together upon the same victim, the sacrifice of peace offering.

But now, if I am really going to enjoy fellowship with God, I must be in a right state of soul. There can be no communion with unforgiven sin upon the conscience. In verse 20 we read:"But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people." Before God no true believer has uncleanness upon him-"The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin." When on that cross our iniquities were laid on Christ, He had no sin in Him, but He took our sins upon Him. We now have no sins upon us, but we do have sin within, but this sin should ever be judged in the light of the cross of Christ. This is illustrated for us in ver. 13:"Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings." Here is a direct instance where leavened bread was used with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of the peace offering. We have already seen that no leaven was permitted in the meal offering, but this particular sacrifice evidently typifies not Christ Himself but the worshiper who came to God bringing his peace offering. It was as though the man was confessing:"In myself I am a poor sinner, sin is in my very nature; because of that I dare not approach God without an offering." And on the basis of that offering he was accepted and could enter into fellowship with God.

Thus we see that we have here set forth an all-important New Testament truth. Every believer has sin in him, but no believer has sin on him. Attention has often been directed to the three crosses on Calvary. On the center cross hung that divine Man who had no sin in Him, but He did have sin on Him, for in that hour of His soul's anguish Jehovah laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He had no sins of His own, but He made Himself responsible for ours. They were all charged against His account, as Paul directed Philemon to charge the account of Onesimus against him. Paul became surety for Onesimus, and agreed to settle for him. This is but a faint picture of what Jesus did for sinners when "He bare our sins in His own body on the tree." The impenitent thief had sin in him and sin on him; he was both sinful by nature and by practice, and he spurned the only Saviour who could have delivered him from his load of guilt. So he went into the presence of God with all his sins upon his soul to answer for them in the day of judgment when God will judge every man according to his works. But how different was the case of the penitent thief! He, too, had been as vile and guilty as the other one, but when he turned in repentance to the Lord Jesus and put his trust in Him, while he still had sin in him, God no longer imputed sin to him. It was not upon him because God saw it all as transferred to Jesus.

I know that many Christians imagine they reach a state of grace where their sins are not only forgiven, but where inbred sin is by direct operation of the Holy Spirit removed from them, so that they claim to be sanctified wholly and are free from all inward tendency to sin. But this is a serious mistake and leads to serious consequences. Never in the Word of God are we so taught. As believers we carry about with us to the end of life our sinful nature, that carnal mind which is "not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be;" but then God says sin need not have dominion over us, yea, shall not, if we but apprehend the blessedness of the truth, "Ye are not under the law but under grace."* *I have tried to go into this with considerable fulness in my book entitled, "Holiness:the False and the True," and I venture to commend this to any who have trouble in regard to this subject.*

There is a great deal more in Leviticus 7 that we might profitably consider, but time forbids going into much of it in detail. One thing, however, I desire to press most earnestly ere I close, and that is the divine insistence that the eating of the sacrifice must not be separated from the offering on the altar. It was to be eaten the same day, under ordinary circumstances, or if a voluntary offering it might be eaten the day after, but later than that it was sternly commanded that whatever was left must be burned with fire. The meaning of this is plain; God will not permit us to separate communion with Him from the work of the Cross. Our fellowship with Him is based upon the one supreme sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ who there made peace for us. Communion, as we have already seen, does not consist simply in pious feeling; this may be the greatest delusion, and may be simply satisfaction with a fancied good self instead of heart-occupation with Christ. It is just as dangerous to be occupied with my good self as with my bad self. In the latter case I am likely to be completely discouraged and cast down, but in the former I become lifted up with pride and in grave danger of fancying my spiritual egotism to be communion with God.

It is right here that the Lord's Supper so speaks to the hearts of God's people. For at His table we are occupied with Christ Himself and with what He did for us when He stooped in grace to take our place in judgment and to make peace by the blood of His cross. As we meditate upon these sublime mysteries, our souls are led into the sanctuary, into the immediate presence of God, in hallowed fellowship and sweetest communion. We realize that the veil no longer hides God from us, nor hinders our access to Him. When Jesus cried, "It is finished," the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. It was God's hand that rent that veil, and now we are bidden to press boldly in to His immediate presence where we fall as worshipers before His face to bless and adore Him who gave Himself for us.

"The veil is rent, our souls draw near
Unto a throne of grace;
The merits of the Lord appear,
They fill the holy place.

His precious blood has spoken there,
Before and on the throne,
And His own wounds in Heaven declare
The atoning work is done.

''Tis finished!'-here our souls find rest,
His work can never fail,
By Him, our sacrifice and priest,
We pass within the veil."

And there, with all the blood-bought throng, we feast upon the sacrifice of peace offering as we dwell upon the infinite love and grace of Him who has so fully expressed the heart of God toward guilty man by giving up His holy life in death for us. To attempt to worship apart from this is but a mockery. All religious exercises and frames of feeling that are not linked with the work of the cross are simply delusive and deceive the soul, for there can be no true communion with God excepting in connection with the cross-work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I add a few additional remarks as to Psalm 85, which may well be called the Psalm of the peace offering. Notice verses 1 and 2, "Lord, Thou hast been favorable unto Thy land:Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of Thy people, Thou hast covered all their sin." Then observe verses 7 to 11, "Show us Thy mercy, 0 Lord, and grant us Thy salvation. I will hear what God the Lord will speak:for He will speak peace unto His people, and to His saints:but let them not turn again to folly. Surely His salvation is nigh them that fear Him; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other; truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven." It is God Himself who speaks peace to His people, for He alone could devise a plan whereby mercy and truth could meet together and righteousness and peace kiss each other. Truth and righteousness demanded the payment of our fearful debt ere mercy could be shown to the sinner. That man could not settle the differences between himself and God is evident; atone for his own sins he could not. It is written in Zechariah 6:12,13, "And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the Man whose name is The BRANCH; and He shall grow up out of His place, and He shall build the temple of the Lord :even He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne:and the counsel of peace shall be between Them both." The counsel of peace is between the Lord of hosts and the Man whose name is The Branch, or, to put it in New Testament language, it is between the Father and the Son. Peace was made when our Lord Jesus took our place upon the cross and met every claim of the outraged majesty of the throne of God. Now righteousness and peace are linked eternally together, and being justified by faith we have peace with God. This is not merely a sense of righteousness in our hearts; it is far more than that; it is a question settled between God and the sinner in perfect righteousness, so that grace can now go out to guilty man. When we believe this we enter into peace. We enjoy what Christ has effected.

There is an incident that has often been related, but well illustrates what I am trying to say. At the close of the war between the States, a party of Federal cavalrymen were riding along a road toward Richmond one day, when a poor scarecrow of a fellow, weak and emaciated, and clad only in the ragged remnants of a Confederate uniform, came out of the bushes on one side and attracted their attention by begging hoarsely for bread. He declared that he had been starving in the woods for a number of weeks, and subsisting only upon the few berries and roots he could find. They suggested that he go into Richmond with them and get what he needed. He demurred, saying that he was a deserter from the Confederate army, and he did not dare to show himself lest he be arrested and confined in prison, or possibly shot for desertion in time of war. They looked at him in amazement and asked, "Have you not heard the news?" "What news?" he anxiously enquired. "Why, the Confederacy no longer exists. General Lee surrendered to General Grant over a week ago, and peace is made." "Oh!" he exclaimed, "peace is made, and I have been starving in the woods because I did not know it." Believing the message, he went with them into the city to find comfort and food. Oh, unsaved one, let me press upon you the blessed truth that peace was made when our adorable Saviour died for our sins upon the cross of shame. Believe the message, then you enter into the good of it; and, remember, peace rests not on your frames or feelings but on His finished work.

"That which can shake the Cross,
Can shake the peace it gave,
Which tells me Christ has never died,
Nor ever left the grave."

As long as these blessed facts remain – the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ -our peace stands secure. H. I. Ironside

(concluded from p. 155.)

In our consideration of the earlier part of the fourth chapter of the epistle to the Philippians we have seen already that proper Christian practice flows from our knowledge of our position in Christ by the grace of God and our prospect of being "with Christ" in the glory of God. And we have noticed that we are called to Christian steadfastness, unity, helpfulness, joyfulness, and moderation.

Now let us think of

CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE AND DEPENDENCE

These come before us in verse six:"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God."

"Where anxiety begins faith ends, and where faith begins anxiety ends."

Nothing is to be allowed to overcharge our hearts, to render us anxious. The Lord is still at hand. Into His ear we may tell all our desires. To Him we may unbosom ourselves in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. "Careful for no thing, prayerful in every thing, thankful for any thing," as it has been said. Here is the Christian's safety-valve when pressure is great. He can ever turn to One who, infinite in understanding, and great in power, lifts up the meek and heals the broken-hearted, binding up their wounds (Ps. 147:3-6).

And we may tell Him all, keeping back nothing of all our longing and desire, while thanksgiving is mingled with our petitions as we remember all His goodness and His grace. We may freely confide in Him and fully depend upon Him. As we do this

CHRISTIAN CALMNESS

will be known. "The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Such is the promise. We shall be lifted in spirit above the circumstances through which we have to track our way.

Two friends were travelling together in Switzerland. One ascended the Rigi and stayed in the hotel at the top of the mountain. The other remained below. While they were separated a violent thunderstorm broke over .the valley. The friend down below, telegraphing to the friend on the summit, said:"There's an awful storm raging down here." The reply was, "Come up here; we're above the storms."

So it is that by the way of prayer and supplication with thanksgiving the believer is lifted into "the peace of God which passeth all understanding"-that unruffled calm which can never be disturbed.

There we may sing;

"The storm may roar around me,
My heart may low be laid;
But God is round about me,
And can I be dismayed?"

The next part of our practice to call for our attention is

CHRISTIAN OCCUPATION

It is the remark of an old writer, "The Christian's power is to be ever, only, always occupied with good." It is this to which we are called in verse eight:"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."

We become, unconsciously, like that with which we are occupied. We are formed by our thoughts. As a man "thinketh in his heart, so is he."

Happy is it to be engaged with all that is of God, and with what is in accordance with His Word. The path of the Lord Jesus portrayed in the pages of the Gospels above all should engage our attention. He is the "perpetual theme for our most exalted" contemplation. Then all that is of Him in our fellow-Christians may be the subject of consideration profitably, we delighting in beholding something of Himself coming out in each one of His own, and acknowledging everything which is in them in Christ Jesus.

THE CHRISTIAN EXAMPLE

of others will help us. "Those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me do; and the God of peace shall be with you." As we follow the example of those who follow Christ, and as we carry out that "form of doctrine" which we have had delivered to us in the Scriptures, so shall we have the sense of the presence of the God of peace Himself with us.

He has given to us all that pertains to life and godliness. For our pathway we have a perfect pattern in Christ, a perfect provision in the Scriptures, and a perfect power in the Holy Spirit. Walking thus we shall not only have the peace of God possessing our souls and garrisoning our hearts, "between us and all hostile surroundings," but we shall have the God of peace Himself walking with us and giving us the joy of communion with Him. The thinking of good and the doing of good is God-like.

CHRISTIAN GENEROSITY

is spoken of in verse ten. The Philippians had ministered in carnal things to the apostle, in his necessity sending once and again supply in his want. He could rejoice in this fruit abounding to their account. Our Lord Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." How perfectly did His whole course exemplify this truth. He said it in His deeds of love and mercy. He, the Son of Man, came not to be ministered unto but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. He has left us here to follow His steps. "To serve and to give," such is our mission. Never can any have part in His glorious redemption work; that completed sacrifice stands gloriously, eternally alone; but in the spirit of it we may seek to give of our best in spiritual and in carnal things for the help of all about us.

We are saved, not to sit still in self-love, but to serve steadily, seeking the benefit and blessing of others, giving out of a glad heart for the succor of the needy.

CHRISTIAN CONTENT

is expressed in the words of the apostle, "I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." He had within him a source of satisfaction, a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Thus he was independent of that which was around. Proverbs 14:14 declares, "A good man shall be satisfied from himself." Walking in the fear of God he has art inward testimony that he pleases God and an abiding contentment in the all-sufficiency of Christ.

Wonderful-is it not?-that in this dissatisfied, unsatisfying world (where men hurry and worry, seeking rest and finding it not) one should be able to say, "Enough!"

"I have no blanks now," said a Christian who was asked to go to places of sinful pleasure where once he had sought (but never found) heart-satisfaction. Heartsease is a flower which grows only in the knowledge of, company of, and service of Christ. But there it luxuriates. God who in His rich grace has provided heaven for us hereafter, knows how to provide happiness for us here and now.

This the apostle had learned:"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." He was a graduate in the university of adversity. And he was a man like to ourselves. Let us not forget this.

Finally let us think of

CHRISTIAN RESOURCE

"I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me." All that we have spoken of, all that is suitable for the believer in his earthly journeying, is possible through Christ.

He is our resource everywhere and at all times. He was enough for the saints of old, as Hebrews 11 shows so clearly. He was enough for the early Christians and for the apostle, in the midst of all their difficulties. And He is enough for us to-day. We are in danger of thinking that the difficulties of our day are greater than any known aforetime. But great as they are, and greater as they may become as we see the day approaching, Christ is always present with His own, and His power is ever adequate for every contingency.

To His disciples He could say, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore.'.'. and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the age." His power and His presence are .our competence. Relying on Him who fails not we may go forward without a misgiving.

Wonderful position! Wonderful prospect! Wonderful practice! "In Christ," "with Christ," "through Christ." Forever and in everything the Christian is linked up with Christ. The Christian in Christ and Christ in the Christian makes up true Christianity. May we all know more of it until we are in His presence and likeness. Inglis Fleming

(Gen. 22.)

This is a chapter of profound interest, because it is a divine picture of the place that God would have us reach in the history of our souls. To help us to understand it better I would ask you to look at some of the sacrifices in the previous chapters. In chapter 3 we have sinners, naked and guilty, standing before God, who "made coats and clothed them." This sacrifice as most of the Old Testament sacrifices, spoke of Christ:"In the roll of the book it is written of Me" (Heb. 10:7).

Let us notice that this sacrifice is God's, and quite apart from any exercise on the part of man. The naked sinner is clothed by the work of the Lord God; thus, we might say, the whole world came under the shelter of that sacrifice; judgment for a time was averted; and the sinner could have the season of grace to consider the words and act of the Lord God in connection with the Seed of the woman and the sacrifice, familiar figures of the Son of Man born of the Virgin and the work on the Cross. To my mind, the outstanding feature in this is the propitiation for the whole world (1 John 2:2, New Trans.).

Now turning to Gen. 4, where we get another sacrifice, this time it is in connection with exercised sinners. It is not now the naked sinner and the act of God towards him, but men who are in the light of that first sacrifice; for, no doubt, their parents had told them of the first estate and the banishment:also they would be clothed in the same fashion. They were in a world for which God has a propitiatory sacrifice; but they are exercised about acceptance with God. Each brought an offering.

One took the best of a cursed earth, the fruit of his toil; the other perpetuated the idea of sacrifice. If the Lord God was pleased to propitiate Himself with a sacrifice, perhaps He would accept, as a substitute, a sacrifice from an exercised sinner. We know the result. The Lord had respect to Abel and to his offering. It was the fat- the excellency-of the sacrifice that was offered. The new feature in this sacrifice is the substitute for an enlightened sinner.

In Gen. 8 we find a new condition of things. The earth had been swept clean of all that was offensive to God, and a new scene appears. It is now the act of one in whom there is a work of grace. The ark had provided what was found in the other sacrifices. It is the moral purity of the sacrifice and the sweet smell for God that commands the attention. The new feature is the altar. Truly, when it was a question of guilt and the curse, or the exercised sinner seeking acceptance with God, the altar could not appear. But grace had been shown, faith was- manifested, and the ark had borne its precious freight through the flood to that time when it could be said:"Behold, the face of the ground was dry." How everything preaches to us:"So if any one (be) in Christ, (there is) a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:17).

In the light of these things let us turn to Gen. 22, and read of another sacrifice, this time commanded of God. Many new features appear; the prominent are :love, obedience, worship and resurrection. Beloved reader, what are we to gather here? Is it not clear that God desires to engage us with the affection side of the sacrifice? The love of a father; the obedience of his son; all is intended to speak to us.

Let us look closer:"God tried Abraham, and said to him, Abraham, and he said, Here am I." What material there was for God; how near to His hand. I have often marvelled at the readiness of the Old Testament saints to be used of God. What delight, too, for Him to show off His gold!

How deliberately all is weighed out to this father! "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest." Blessed God! He knows how to call out the faith He has given. He knew the feelings of this father's heart. It was His own heart that was being told out in this. It was His only Son whom He loved that was to be given for men. Another has said:"Here we are apt to fail, not in over-estimate of the Son's sacrifice, but in losing sight of the Father's" (Rom. 8:32).

Abraham moves towards the place of which God had told him. It is very striking that this should be the place where Solomon laid the foundation for the house of God. How it edifies one to know that love is behind the purpose of God. Love ever was; and God formed His purpose in this before the questions in connection with sin could arise. That purpose was concerning His Son, and the working out is amidst scenes of sin, sorrow and death.

"I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." We have seen new features in the other sacrifices, but never before was resurrection one of these; but with language so plain, it must now appear, for He is "the Resurrection and the Life."

"And they went both of them together." What a picture of unity in thought and purpose! "That the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do," and, "I am not alone, for the Father is with Me" (John 14:31; 16:32). It is in this connection that we read of the "wood, fire and a knife." I would suggest that these things set forth what was plainly seen with our Lord Jesus Christ as He moved on, in obedience and love to His Father, to His Moriah where the foundation of the true house was laid (Heb. 3:4, 6; 1 Cor. 3:11).

"Wood of the burnt offering" could truly be seen in "the zeal of Thy house devours Me" (John 2:17, New Tram). If the dearest of ties would seem to interfere with that purpose, zeal was manifested immediately (John 2:4; Mark 8:32,33).

Fire-"Our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 11:29)- is that element of judgment so necessary in a scene of defilement. Not only was its principle applied to hypocrisy, but the Lord Himself, as the One to take upon Himself the judgment of sin, anticipated its awfulness (Matt. 22:23; Luke 22:41-44).

The knife, which was to slay Isaac, sets forth the principle of death. The fall of Adam involved all in the sentence of death; but the sacrifice showed how the death of Another could provide the remedy (Heb. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:10,11). The shadow of this was over the Lord from the 'moment of His birth till its full fury burst upon Him on the cross. True, Isaac was spared; but a ram was available, caught by its horns. It was taken captive in the seat of its power. How we are reminded of Him who said:"I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself" (John 10:18). It was not the power of men, but the power of His blessed life, namely, love, that took Him to that cross.

Isaac is received back as it were from the dead; and in the words, " In thy Seed shall all the nations be blessed," there is more than a hint of the "many sons" who are "all of one," and to whom He has declared the Father's name (Heb. 2:10-12). We can see why we are told of Abraham's kindred where Rebekah (the bride-to-be of this son) appears, in this same chapter.

How blessed to have a part in the wonderful purpose of God in connection with His risen Son; and to find employment for all eternity in the affection side of God's wonderful provision. Oh, that we too might move on together with the Father and the Son, displaying what is set forth in the "wood, fire and the knife" applied to ourselves; and seek to live before God in the constant attitude of love, obedience and worship. The spring for this is found in beholding the Lamb God has provided for Himself. Truly, Christ died for sinners; but the end in view was that the Father might be known and worshiped (John 4).

"Dwells in His bosom-knoweth all
That in that bosom lies,
And came to earth to make it known,
That we might share His joys."

E. Chas Taylor

The English poet, Keats, says that,

"A Thing of Beauty is a joy forever,"

and yet it is pathetically sad to think that beauty is usually of the most evanescent character. An expression of perfect harmonies, whether of form or color or sound, or thought, the harmony is so easily disturbed, that like the rainbow it glows softly for a moment and then fades away. This is also true of glory. Another poet speaks of,

"The glory that was Greece,
The grandeur that was Rome,"

but the Greece and Rome of which he writes are no more, and their glory and grandeur but the faded tapestries of worn-out tradition.

The Apostle Paul alludes to the transiency of glory in the "glory chapter" of the New Testament, the third chapter of the second Epistle to the Corinthians. Moses put a veil over his face that they might not look to "the end of that was being done away." It is no wonder that he then lingers over the "glory that abides"-the only glory that does so, thus in contrast with all others. So, later in the same chapter, he pictures a great shining pathway of glory, up which those gazing on the face of Christ are rapt forever and forever, through endless shining vistas.

Thank God, there is not only a glory that lasts but also a beauty that lasts, because it is the beauty of the ETERNAL, the beauty of Him that "remains" when all Creation crumbles and like a moth-eaten garment is folded up, the beauty of Jesus Christ, the same yesterday to-day and forever, in "whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning," This is the final beauty of which another poet has sung:

"If so it is, and in that Face for me,
The final beauty shines to birth,
And all things fair in heaven and earth
Are summed and centered in a mystery
Of loveliness, beyond compare,
How can my soul do less than worship Him
As Saviour and as God,
Dim though my vision be?"

This sanctuary we should approach, then, with reverent feet, with clarified understanding, with hearts "purged from an evil conscience, with bodies washed with pure water," with the whole being pervaded by the warmth of an adoring worship, humbly asking, as the Roman, Seneca, did, when contemplating the perfection of his ideally perfect man, "Is it permitted that we should draw nigh?"

There are a number of verses in the Scriptures that pair off most delightfully one with another, to present to us the beauties of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, on the one hand, and the corresponding imparted beauties that crown His own. There is in each pair a lesson for both heart and mind, a sort of kaleidoscopic mingling of ever-changing forms and colors, that all through gleam and glow with the light of a love beside which there is "no other." Herein are both love and loveliness that leave with us no other prayer than that of the poor demoniac of Gadara, "Lord, that I may be with Thee."

The first couplet comprises, however, a pair of "no beauties," the "no beauty" of the 53rd of Isaiah due to jaundiced vision, if we may so speak, and the "no beauty" of the 42nd of Job, of a man whose vision has been clarified by a sight of Jehovah "in the beauty of holiness."

"And when we shall see "Now my mine eye seeth Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him, a Man of sorrows, as one before whom one veils the face" (in reprehension).

Now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

The verse from Isaiah centres upon its "we," and the verse from Job centres about the "Thee" and "myself." As long as the "myself" of Job is "the admired of all observers," the "Him" of Isaiah has no beauty to be longed after. As soon as the "myself" of Job is "abhorred" ("shuddered away from," as the word "abhor" signifies), then the "Him" of Isaiah becomes the "chiefest among ten thousand and the altogether lovely." The whole chapter thus becomes suffused with a beauty found nowhere else. It is beautiful with the glow of an admirable word-picture, with its seer's vision of "good things to come," its moral loveliness of self-sacrifice, of the Lamb of God immolated on the central altar of the world's history, whom it discloses behind wreathing mists that slowly lift and float away, as the Sun of Righteousness "shines through" in the splendor of an eternal morning, a morning without clouds.

It was some such vision that our Scotch friend Yeddie saw at his first communion, and his stammering tongue was unloosed to speak of "YON LOVELY MAN."

But this is the theme of the second couplet of our meditation.

"Thou art fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured into thy lips."

"He shall give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning."

It is always well when we use Scripture to know from what we quote. Its context is of divine weaving. Thus the first quotation of the above couplet is from a "song of loves," the psalm of espousals for the King's Son and the King's daughter. The second member is from the 61st of Isaiah, and follows those memorable words applied by the Lord to Himself in the Synagogue of Nazareth, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor, He hath sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted." Grace was then fully poured into His lips, and all that were in the synagogue bore witness to the "gracious words that He spoke."

It is that gospel message of grace, based upon the truth of the 53rd of Isaiah, that makes the man of Job 42 utter the doxology of the psalm, "Thou art fairer than the sons of men." And it is when he utters these words that the words of Isaiah apply in all their wondrous grace to himself. See him there, sitting with dust and ashes upon his head, a man of sorrows for his own sins, acquainted with the grief in some small degree that, THAT OTHER ONE was to bear. See him now transfigured, his broken heart bound up, his festering sores healed, a garland of beauty upon his head, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the "garment of praise" instead of "heaviness." It would not be far wrong to imagine him singing:

"Majestic sweetness sits enthroned
Upon the Saviour's brow,
His head with radiant glories crowned,
His lips with grace o'erflow.
No mortal can with Him compare
Among the sons of men;
Fairer is He than all the fair
That fill the heavenly train."

Anyway, you and I can sing it; can we not?

The third couplet links arms with the second, in its consecutive pursuit of the theme. In the first member it psalms out the rapt longing of the ransomed soul to abide with the Lord. Its singer has a "single eye," a simple purpose, an undying longing. He is going to do one thing. Its second member shows us that same Lord lovingly engaged in a similar pursuit, however different in detail.

"One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to see the beauty of the Lord and inquire in His temple."

Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it; that I may dwell in that He might sanctify and cleanse it… that He might present it unto Himself a the beauty of the Lord and glorious Church having no spot or wrinkle."

David is the writer of the familiar words of the psalm -David the sinner and David the saint; David the warrior and David the seer; David the doer and David the dreamer. It is good to know that it was a man of that kind that uttered that longing, and that thus "on life's broad field of battle" some may, and indeed have, both fought the good fight of faith and, at the same time, dwelt in the house of the Lord, so that though a host encamp against them, as the Psalmist himself phrases it, the pleasant sanctuary of God loses none of its appeal even then. Here, the contemplative and the active, unite in single lives. It is sweet then, again I say it, to know it is David who desires this one thing for all the days of his life. Nevertheless if in some the contemplative life seem the only portion, it abides "that good part that shall not be taken from" them. Shift we then to the sanctuary at Bethany, to the feast where the Lord of Life is at table with His own, and as in reverie we view the blessed place with Christ within the doors, let us join in spirit with the dear anointer of His feet,

"Then one deep love doth supersede
All other while her ardent gaze
Roves from the living brother's face
And rests upon the Life Indeed."

How beautifully the words, "Christ loved the Church and …." link themselves with the above. He gave Himself for it; He did. And He did not then turn from it. No; He sanctified and cleansed it. He wished to say, "Thou art all fair, My love, there is no spot in thee." He washed it with the washing of water by the Word. It is moreover to be all the days of His life with Him in the heavenly sanctuary. He'll present it to Himself a glorious Church, no spot upon it, no wrinkle, not a cloud above, not a spot within. "How precious are Thy thoughts unto me, Lord, how great is the sum of them!" Surely one might become hysteric with joy and not be ashamed.

"Mine eyes shall see the King in His beauty, in the wide-stretching land (land of far distances)."

"In the beauties of holiness from the womb of the (the morning, for thee the dew of thy youth."

In these two quotations the music of the Psalms is mingling with "Isaiah's wild measure," and we are looking far on to the "home land," "Immanuel's land," and the fair glories of an eternal morning. It is, of course, true that Israel is here in view, but, a fortiori, the verses apply to the heavenly bride and the heavenly Bridegroom.

In the first quotation, however, the imagery changes from that of Bridegroom to "King" over a "wide-stretching land." In the second quotation it is the "Priest and King," Melchizedek, "first by interpretation King of Righteousness and then King of Salem," the heavenly city, as applied in Hebrews. So the members of the couplet link together, the "land where" and the "city where." Down here we sing:

"I see Thee not, I hear Thee not,
But oft art Thou with me,
And earth hath ne'er so dear a spot
As where I am with Thee."

And that spot is oftentimes just a little upper-story room, in the back of a small building, lost in a crowd of other buildings, known scarcely by any in "the populous city" where few indeed "cast up their eyes to the Lord." Perhaps it is in London's central roar, or amid the clanging traffic of swift-hurrying New York, but the people in the little, back upper-story room far away in "the land they love," in "the country they are seeking," in,

"Jerusalem the golden,
With milk and honey blest,"

for they are going there. And while the land and the city are both lovely, and they like to think about them, 'they would be nothing without the King, whose beauty is all the glory of that land, whose glory irradiates the city.

"Wi' e'en and wi' hert

Runnin ower they shall see
The King in His beauty,
In their ain countree."
But oh, brethren, is it not wonderful, that in that land "in the beauties of holiness," as eternity rolls in its tide of eternal day, they shall be for Him "the dew of His youth?"

"Time, thou speedest on but slowly!
Hours, how tardy is your pace!
Ere with Him, the High and Holy,
I hold converse face to face."

"Onward then, not long I wander,
Ere my Saviour comes for me,
And with Him, abiding yonder,
All His glory I shall see.
Oh, the music and the singing
Of the host redeemed by love!
Oh, the hallelujahs ringing
Through the halls of light above!"

F. C. Grant

I.

It is my purpose, God so willing and enabling, to briefly take up some of the more modern forms of error, seeking to point out from the Word of God (avoiding abstruse theological terms, so far as possible) the special way in which these systems deny the truth which the Holy Spirit has revealed for our acceptance, as to the Person and Work of our Lord Jesus Christ. For, be it remembered, all fundamental error is aimed at the truth of His Person and Work, and is intended by its Satanic author to deter anxious souls from trusting alone in our blessed Saviour for their present and final salvation. By detracting from His dignity as the "Word made flesh" they impugn the perfection of His atonement. Where there are differences of opinion that do not reflect on these great themes we may well bear with one another; but the voice of God speaks with no uncertain sound as to our responsibility where the truth as to Christ is assailed. "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine [or, teaching] of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine [teaching] of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine [teaching], receive him not into your house, neither bid him God-speed; for he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds" (2 John 9-11). The force of the original is even stronger, for it is really, "Neither greet him"; for he that greeteth him," etc. By "the teaching" of Christ we are to understand both what He Himself taught while "in the days of His flesh," and what the Holy Spirit later revealed concerning Him.

It is necessary therefore, ere examining errors, that we should be clear as to what is really involved in the teaching, or doctrine, of Christ.

According to Scripture Christ Jesus is God from all eternity, the ever-living uncreated Word (John 1:1), whose glorious title is the Son, the Creator of the world and all things, who upholds all that exists (John 1:3,10; Col. 1:13-17; Heb. 1:1-3); and because He underwent no change in all the past ages, He is of necessity "the Eternal Son" (John 1:2). "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). He did not become the Son after He was given. He was ever that.

He became Man, the divine glory tabernacling in human flesh, God and man united in one wondrous Person-a mystery beyond our understanding, but revealed to faith by the Spirit through the Word (1 Tim. 3:16; John 1:14). As such He is Son of God in a new sense, as begotten in the Virgin's womb (Ps. 2). It was of this that the Father said, "Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee." He who had ever been God the Son was henceforth the Son of God as Man born into the world without a human father. "That Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God"(Lk. l :35). As Man He was possessed of a spirit and soul and body. Otherwise He would only have had the appearance of a man; but He became truly "the Man Christ Jesus," being made in all things like unto His brethren (Heb. 2:17). But He was both God and Man in one Person, and He so abides for all eternity. Being truly Man, He grew in grace and in wisdom as He increased in stature;. yet He was ever the Eternal Wisdom, "the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). That there is great mystery here, utterly beyond human comprehension, we readily confess, but faith believes what God has revealed, although reason may not be able to clearly define it.

His humanity is and ever was, from the incarnation, holy and unspotted. Sin was ever to Him abhorrent. He knew no sin, either inward or outward. Yet in infinite grace He was made sin for us on the cross, when God's judgment fell on Him that we might be delivered from the coming wrath (Lk. 1:35; Heb. 2:14; 4:15; 2 Cor. 5:21).

Made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, He has been raised from the dead in the same prepared body in which He died, and now, as Man, sits, in that very body, glorified, on the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, God over all, blessed forevermore (Heb. 2:9; 13:20; John 20:27; Acts 1:9; Heb. 1:3; Rom. 9:5).

He is coming again, unchanged and unchangeable forevermore, to be revealed as the Judge of the living and dead (Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:16; John 5:26-29; 1 Pet.4:5; 2 Tim.4:1).

This is the Christ who saves. Any other is an Antichrist, and he who proclaims another is anti-christian.

In the light of these truths we shall endeavor, therefore, to examine some of these popular systems.

" 'What think ye of Christ?' is the test
To try both your state and your scheme;
You cannot be right in the rest,
Unless you think rightly of Him."

H. A. Ironside

(To be continued, D. V.)

In the year 1553 Pope Julius III. requested three Bishops to give their counsel as to the best means of strengthening the Roman Catholic Church. Their reply dated Oct. 20, 1553, has been preserved, and the document is in the British Museum (7, C, 10, 11, Fasciculum Rerum, 1690, Folio). It is also preserved at the Imperial (National) Library in Paris. The conclusion is as follows:

"Lastly of all the advice we can give your Beatitude, we have reserved to the end the most important, viz.:that as little as possible of the gospel-especially in the mother-tongue-be used in countries subject to your jurisdiction. The little which is really read at Mass is sufficient, and beyond that no one whatever must be permitted to read. When men were content with that little, your interests prospered, but when more was read, your interests began to decay. To sum up all, that book (the Bible) is the one which, more than any other, has raised up against us those whirlwinds and tempests whereby we were almost swept away, and, in fact, if any one examines it diligently, and then confronts therewith the practices of your Church, he will perceive great discordance, and that our doctrine is utterly different from, and often contrary to it; which thing, if the people understand, they will not cease their clamor against us, till all be divulged, and then we shall become the objects of scorn and hatred. Wherefore, then, these few lines must be put away, but with considerable wariness and caution, lest so doing should raise great uproars and tumults."

"What fellowship hath light with darkness?" So the darkness of Rome and the light of God's word cannot accord. As late as 1887, three hundred years later than the Bishops' letter, a "Decree" was issued by Pope Leo XIII., as follows:

"The Sacred Congregation of the Most Eminent _ Reverend Cardinals of the Holy Catholic- Church-b Our Most Holy Lord Pope Leo XIII., and the Holy Apostolic See, appointed and delegated for the index of books of degraded doctrine, and for proscribing, expurgating, and sanctioning the same throughout the whole Christian States-held in Apostolic Palace of the Vatican on Dec. 19, 1887, hath condemned, and doth condemn hath proscribed and doth proscribe, or if otherwise condemned and proscribed, hath commanded and doth command, the following works to be put on the index of forbidden books:

"Les Saintes Evangiles, traduction nouvelle, par Henri Lasserre, Paris, 1887.

"And let no one of whatever rank or condition, dare in any place or in any tongue, either publish in the future, or if published, to read or retain the fore-mentioned condemned and proscribed works, but let him be held bound to deliver them to the Ordinaries of the place, or to the Inquisitors of heretical iniquity, under penalties proclaimed in the Index of forbidden books. These having been referred to Our Most Holy Lord Pope Leo XIII. by me the undersigned Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of the Index, His Holiness approved the decree and ordered it to be issued. In token whereof, etc.

Granted at Rome on 20th December, 1887.

Fr. Thomas Maria Card:Martinelli."

The books referred to in this edict were the four Gospels translated into French by a devout Romanist named Henri Lasserre. One day he came across an old copy of the Gospels, and being struck with their beauty he longed that his people should read them too. It seemed so strange to him that his countrymen should not have such a blessed history of Christ, for he knew that hundreds who were devout church-goers had never read a page of them. These regrets he communicated to some of the Church dignitaries. They agreed with him, and so he commenced the work of translation which he completed in the most beautiful French. This he submitted to the Archbishop of Paris and the Pope himself. It was published in 1886, and bore on its first page a letter from the Archbishop, containing the sanction and approval of the Pope. Twenty-five editions were published, so great was the demand, and when these were exhausted the people clamored for more.

The Church authorities grew alarmed, made representation to the Pope, with the result that Lasserre and his translations fell into disrepute and the Gospels became forbidden books. "The entrance of the Word giveth light." Why then should its freest distribution be hindered? Surely, the words of the three bishops tell their own story! Rome never changes.

May those to whom the Word is precious cling with greater tenacity to it, finding in its blessed unfoldings, comfort, direction, and help for the way, that we may be able to say, "How sweet are Thy words unto my taste; yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth" (Ps. 119:103). J. W. H. Nichols

"Wherefore also we pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling and fulfil all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power; that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and ye in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess. 1:11,12).

It is marvelous how much the Scriptures can reveal in a few sentences. This passage, for instance, shows us not only God's plan for our lives, but the result if this plan is followed, and then the means God uses to help us to conform to His plan. The calling, of which the apostle prayed that the Thessalonians might be worthy, was their calling as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. They showed that they were worthy by their patience and faith under persecution, as recorded in the fourth verse of this chapter, "We ourselves glory in you.. .for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure." It reminds us of Peter and John in Acts 5:41, who, after they had been beaten for their faithful testimony, rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. When we think of the high calling of God which we have in Christ Jesus can we truthfully say that by His grace we are trying to walk worthily of that high calling? Are we faithfully witnessing to the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord, whenever the way is opened for us to do so?

Next, we see that God has a purpose for each one of us. He will fulfil all the good pleasure of His goodness in us and through us, if we yield ourselves wholly to Him. He will fulfil the work of faith with power. The Thessalonians' outward working of their faith was their witness to their Lord in spite of persecutions. God gave power to their act of faith. Their loyalty to their Saviour may have been the means of drawing many others to Him. In 1 John 5:4 we read, "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." If we live a life of faith God will supply the power.

In the twelfth verse we have the blessed results which follow true consecration to God. The name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in us. Is not that wonderful ? God counting us worthy to glorify His Name ! Truly, ours is a high calling! How humble we should be, how dependent on Him, that we may not do anything to dishonor that Name but always bring glory to it. We read further that we will be glorified in Him. As we grow in likeness to Christ, as we reckon ourselves dead and live unto Him, we will be glorified in Him. When Christ occupies the chief place in a believer's heart something of Christ's glory is revealed through that believer's life. Wonderful grace of God that He should be willing to show forth His glory through us. It is this grace that enables us to persevere in this high calling. His grace is sufficient for us, for His strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ… to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:3,6). E. W. Carlile

It is where the rough waves roar and the rattling shingle is tossed about that we find the pebbles rounded-and polished. So the Lord is shaping the storm-tossed life, perfecting its graces, making it lustrous to His glory.