When the Redeemer triumphant shall show All His redeemed ones made whiter than snow, Then will the light of eternity glow Through all those pages that once seemed so dim And that will be … glory for Him . . . Glory for Him . . . glory for Him … When from each land all His saved ones shall stand That will be glory, be glory for Him.

When the great kingdom made perfect shall be, And all mankind His salvation shall see, Then all the earth shall from bondage be free

While through all regions shall echo His call. And that will be … glory for all … Glory for all… glory for all … When without stain they with Jesus shall reign, That will be glory, be glory for all.

So, with rejoicing His banner we bear, Thankful that we in His service may share:

Gladly to all we His message declare

While for His coming our lamps we will trim. Thus render we … glory to Him .

Glory to Him . . . glory to Him . . . This be our aim all His truth to proclaim While we give glory, all glory to Him.

T. Watson

Keady, Ont, 1906
'THE WOMAN CLOTHED WITH THE SUN.'

Given at the New York Thanksgiving day Meeting, by S. R.

PSALM X CVII.

This psalm and others before and after it are a great Millennial group, which celebrate the kingdom of God set up in power on earth; set up in the second Man, in contrast with the first. In the 90th psalm is the declaration that nothing abiding comes from the failed first man; and in the 91st all is changed, and the titles of God speak of Millennial glory and blessing; it speaks also of the resurrection of our Lord. The 97th psalm celebrates the kingdom of the Lord; it is the Lord that reigneth.

The key to this psalm, as to all Scripture, is Christ; and we are not left in doubt as to who it is that reigneth. In Hebrews we have a direct quotation from this psalm, as applying to the Son set over all:"and let all the angels of God worship Him"-that is, those who are associated with God as servants and executors of His will recognize Him as no other than the Son of God who became man, and whose path here was lowly devotedness to God. God, who has highly exalted Him, now brings Him in as the rightful Ruler of the earth. So the key here is Christ, who unlocks the doors of blessing for a groaning earth, and makes the desert to blossom as the rose. This has been a groaning earth, by reason of he Fall made subject to vanity, and waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Today men's minds are largely turned to questions of rule and government, and we should unfeignedly thank our God for casting our lot where we can go on in simplicity, without molestation. The powers that be are ordained of God-whoever takes it ; the power is here for the glory of God and the blessing of His creatures. We probably fail in estimating how great these privileges are, in peace and safety to meet as we do now, in a world where the blessed Son of God found only rejection and a cross, and where thousands of His people have been put to death for holding less truth than we have to-day. As we see the confusion and disorder in other parts of the world, we need to remember that it is only mercy that spares us from being subjected to the same; and that, left without God, man's will must sooner or later develop into anarchy.

Man listening to Satan's lie-"ye shall be as God " -was where it came in at the beginning. Under the impulse of that awful suggestion, but incompetent, for he seeks his own glory. So we need not be surprised at hearing of disorder, anarchy and cruelty as we see the foundations of thrones being shaken.

What is the remedy ? Not looking for something set up by man-his culture, his liberty. We look for no relief to a groaning earth in that way-no hope for things to get better. Our "thanksgiving" is for the coming of the true King-the Lord, who reigneth. Christ is the true King, and He is the key. We were reminded this morning how He saved the one hanging at His side; the appeal was made to Him as King-"Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom." His accusation was that He was " King of the Jews," but it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin, suggesting His worldwide kingdom. He alone could make the earth rejoice, for He alone could banish sin and rebellion against God. The cross was the only throne the Son of God got here, but such a throne-where He could dispense salvation to the one dying at His side -not that it was peculiar to that sinner alone, but that sinner a type of our own selves! We have abused more privileges than he who hung there ever had. That blessed King, in rejection, opened the gates of Paradise to him; and associated with Jesus, he went in there to the kingdom of eternal glory and blessing.

So we can glory in Him, and all the grace that brought Him down to the cross, when, at the moment that men were glorying over Him, saying "Aha," we can bow and say, Jesus, Thou art the King.

In the time of this psalm we have the Lord brought into the Millennial earth as the one who has already by His Cross laid the foundation of His throne, which is to abide forever.

Were God to deal with us apart from the cross of Christ, what would it be ? Righteousness would demand righteousness on our part, and judgment would call for execution and our banishment forever from His presence. God dealt with Him as our Substitute, and the foundations of the throne of righteousness were eternally laid, and He now comes forth with all His power and glory to be the King-the Man after God's own heart, who is to rule in righteousness and extend God's kingdom to the ends of the earth. There are two ways of looking at it; 1st, as the rejected One; secondly, from God's side, how He wrought salvation, and makes the solitary place to rejoice and the desert to blossom as the rose.

Then this government and righteousness must be according to all that God is in His nature. He is a God of righteousness, and His throne must ever express all that God is.

"No man hath seen God at anytime; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." He had come, then, to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, and all divine mercy was shown by Him up to the cross, and since then the gospel of grace goes out to guilty sinners.

But, for the world that has rejected and refused God and served graven images, etc., the coming of the true King must be the setting aside in judgment of all that is contrary to Him. He is setting up His kingdom, and so "clouds and darkness are round about Him, righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne." The world that refuses His grace must bow under His awful judgment.

What has the believer before him in connection with this earth ? He knows that the Lord is coming for Him, and that judgment is waiting for the world, that it is going on to judgment. What are the moral effects of that-what should it produce in our souls ? We look to Calvary, and our-hearts are bowed. As to the world, we are to separate from that which belongs to the world-"they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world;" and this separation is from within outward; it is not the giving up of this or that, but the being separated in heart from the spirit and ways of the world, which is under judgment. Will not that solemnize the heart, and will it not produce an effort to win souls to Christ by His grace ? ' So it is a personal separation to the crucified Christ on one side, and a going out in love to souls on the other side.

Then we get, as to the personal side of things, not now the kingdom and glory, but the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. He has delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. As subjects, we are to be constrained by His love, to be held fast in simple love to Him, producing subjection to the authority of the Son as really as if He were personally reigning in Millennial glory. That is what should be produced in the heart-the love of Christ in constraining power producing in us a spirit of subjection that delights to bow to and own His authority.

The time in which we live is characterized by the rejection of authority, and the people of God themselves may, alas, partake of the same spirit. Unless kept by His grace, there may be a spirit of independence of the Father's will. May we so enter into what the kingdom is now, "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost," and be set at liberty to bow now to the King, to own His blessed authority now, and have no confidence in ourselves, but keep our eyes fixed on that blessed Savior, to know whom is fulness of joy.

(First published about 1870; by F. W. G.) SECOND LETTER.

My dear brother:-In my last letter we were speaking of the gathering as such, and necessarily somewhat of communion, as what is involved, or implied, in gathering. I want now to say a few words as to how far this is implied in it, and as to its true nature.

Our fellowship is first of all "with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ," and thus only, and in the measure in which this is attained, "with one another." We are united together by the Center, as the spokes of a wheel are with the nave. We are gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus, and find our place at His table as having individually heard Him say, " This do in remembrance of Me." This alone puts fellowship with one another in the right place, and, while it tests, maintains it. It makes my presence at the Lord's table a matter of loving obedience to Him whose voice alone I am to listen to, and not first of all a pledge of fellowship with all who may be there.

It is very needful to maintain this, as a point of duty to the Lord Himself; for, clearly, I must not make my remembrance of the Lord depend upon the right condition of those with whom I sit down at His table. I must be in my place with Him, whatever may be the state of others, so long as I can recognize that the place where I am is according to truth and righteousness. I can neither ensure nor assume a right state in all. I must be right myself, of course:"Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat."

And at this point let me diverge a little (if it be that) to say that the less we assume as to anything where we are concerned, the better. It is a day in which universal failure is the most patent of all things; and the more we are with God, the more we shall realize it. God has not failed-will never:we can answer for Him, and for no one else; for ourselves, certainly, least of all. Confession, not assumption, as with Daniel in his day, alone suits the real character of remnant times.

Suppose you put (as some incline to do) into the gracious promise in Matt. 18:, "Where two or three are gatherer together to My Name," the words "by the Holy Ghost"-could we always assure our-selves that without doubt our gathering was that, as to all in it? And if not, how far could we claim the promise, " there am I in the midst of them " ?

These words, " by the Holy Ghost," are not there, as, if they were essential, they certainly would be; nor does the word "gathered" necessarily imply them. All sorts of assemblages-of the multitudes, of the Pharisees, for example-are described in the same language precisely; and it is a great blessing to us that it is so, for only thus can we, without assumption or pretension of any kind, grasp in faith the promise upon which so much depends. We can be honest and real, lowly and self-suspecting, and yet draw near in confidence to Him who vouchsafes His presence in the midst.

Ought it, then, to be "by the Holy Ghost" that we are gathered ? Surely; and let us test and see how far it is so. Just as with communion, ought we not to be, each one of us and all together, in the enjoyment of this among ourselves? Yes, undoubtedly; but let us test ourselves as to this, and seek earnestly after it, and not assume it. We may be happy with each other in a very different way, and yet mistake it for that which alone can please God; and thus we may force Him even to come in, and break up what we deemed so happy, because we are assuming the sham to be the true, and because He would give us the true and not the sham.

But there is a danger with us, if "communion" takes the form of what is manward rather than what is Godward, that the first unhappiness between us and our brethren-the first suspicion, or perception, of what is wrong in them-should make us act as if it were the Lord we had fallen out with, by withdrawing from that which is the remembrance of Him, and the expression (in the first place) of fellowship with Him.

There is the more danger because that which brought Christians constantly together in the first fresh days of Christianity has ceased to be with most what it was of old. The coming together " to break bread " has been largely displaced by meetings for prayer and preaching, apart from this; and the value of the Lord's Supper is the less realized often even by those who do come together to it. The great meeting of the Church in which we recognize what the Lord is to us all, and what we are to one another, and in which He Himself has the central place, has given way to meetings over which preside officially-appointed teachers, and in which Church and world alike have place. The Lord's Supper would, they think, lose its solemnity by frequent repetition; whereas, in fact, it is thus it makes its mark upon us, bringing us back week by week face to face with those wondrous relationships which are established upon so dear a foundation as "the Lord's death," and to be realized in their fulness at that unknown but ever-looked-for time-His coming again.

To be with Him where He has especially promised His presence, looking back together to His death and forward to His coming-this is what preeminently characterizes the sweet and solemn meeting "to break bread; " in which surely He Himself has the central place, and fellowship with Him is the one great essential, which, if it be maintained, brings us into fellowship with all His people who are capable of, and enjoying, fellowship with Him.

This, of course, does not in the least set aside the obligation to promote the latter in every possible way; and it would be an immense thing if we realized each breach of fellowship, where such there is, as a breach with Him. How it would free us from the petty, personal feeling which so besets us, if we understood (as I have before said) our connection with one another to be by the Center, and only so! With what a different spirit we should take up anything of this kind, when we looked at it as somewhat between the Lord and one of His own, and only thus affecting us at all! Are we not apt to take such up in the very reverse way, and feel that which touches us, first and weightiest ? It is for this very reason that it is so safe to refuse ever to pursue what may be deemed our quarrel, and to leave it (if the first steps to "gain one's brother" are not effectual) in the hands of those who can give more dispassionate judgment than we may be capable of.

If we realized this connection by the Center, would not the bonds that bind us together bind us each more closely to the Lord, and the least relaxation of them be felt as introducing and implying less practical nearness ? And would not He be the One we turned to instinctively to settle things and get them right, instead of, first of all, the assembly ? Would not He be thus between us and our brethren, instead of (as it so easily may be) our brethren between us and Christ ?

You will understand that I am not making light of the necessity for holiness, or of scriptural discipline to maintain this. Here we cannot act singly:all must act together. To separate ourselves from the Lord's table, is to put ourselves where discipline is no longer practicable, and to leave the evil (if such there be) behind us at the table and to defile our brethren. Moreover, how large a class of things there is in which the assembly should never be called in at all! How many personal matters in which the apostle's question becomes pertinent, "Why do ye not rather take wrong ? " Above all, how needful to remember that grace is that which gives dominion over sin; as law, on the other hand, is its strength. We must not ever deem it as allowing unholiness, to show grace ; or imagine for a moment that there is no way of putting sin away except by judgment.

I feel I have spoken somewhat vaguely in all this ; yet after all Scripture gives mainly principles, leaving us to apply them to each case according to what the case is. Simplicity and dependence upon God alone can guide us aright.

Two more letters relating to this subject will, D. V., be published in consecutive numbers of HELP AND FOOD.

QUES. 4.- What is "the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints?-Eph. 1:18.

ANS.-It is what God is going to have and to enjoy when the work of His grace is accomplished for and in His saints and He sees them established in the bliss and the glories of His eternal purpose toward them. He is Light and He is Love; and, according to what He is, He is preparing a poor, fallen, degraded people to be His eternal enjoyment "to (he praise of the glory of His grace." And what shall we say in that day, we who will be thus His Inheritance and who will enjoy it with Him in all its fulness? At the thought of such praise as will then break out from the unnumbered hosts, what can we do but begin our praise now?

QUES. 5.-What does the expression "Gog and Magog" in Rev. 20:8, mean? Is it a special people? If so. how could it be addressed as being"in the four quarters of the earth"?

ANS.-In Ezek. 38:2, "Gog" is given as the "prince of Meshech and Tubal" his people. "The laud of Magog" is the country over which he rules and where his people dwell. There can be no reasonable doubt that it is the prince, the people, and the laud of Russia, the great enemy of the Jews, and the last one, with his allies, to try his hand at their destruction just before the Lord appears to establish His millennial reign. Ezek. 38:and 39:gives us his complete overthrow in the laud of Israel, by the hand of Israel's Protector and Deliverer.

The use of the names "Gog and Magog" in Rev. 20:is, we believe, not necessarily to be applied to the special ruler and people so named in Ezekiel, but symbolically to those who, from the far ends of the earth, bear still the same enmity toward Israel and her King", even though under His righteous rule they have for one thousand years enjoyed the rich blessings that flow from it. They are still proud enemies at heart, and need but the presence of the arch-leader in evil to manifest themselves. This ends all temporal judgments and" ushers in the eternal.

"Begin and end each day with God;
And in the hours between
Let love of self be crucified,
And be just what you seem."

ENTREATY AND WARNING. (Jer. 2:to 3:5.)

Jeremiah's first expostulation with his people at least, the first recorded-is certainly a most remarkable address for one who said, " I cannot speak, I am but a child." It would be difficult to find any portion of Scripture that would surpass it in genuine pathos and tenderness, not to speak of eloquence. The earnest pleading of the insulted and forgotten Lord, His grace and compassion towards the guilty nation, blended with solemn warnings of dreadful days to come if the heart is not turned back to Him-all together make up a discourse that might have moved the very stones; but alas we read of no response on the part of hardened, wilful Judah.

The opening words are remarkably beautiful. " I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the first-fruits of His increase. All that devour him shall offend:evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord" (vers. 1-3). How He delights to recall the first love of His people, when their hearts beat true to Himself and joy welled up in their souls at the thought of His dwelling among them (Ex. 16:)!

Do we. not well remember that it was so with us when first we knew Him to be really our Saviour-God and ourselves to be His forever, when the confidence of our hearts was established on His grace? How much He was to us then! What a poor thing this world seemed, with all its glittering baubles! How gladly we turned from everything we had once delighted in to go out after Himself revealed in Jesus! He was outside this scene, the rejected One; we too, then, must be separated from it. That which had before been as the well-watered plains of Egypt to us now became as a desert-parched and dry, in which was nothing for our hearts. With deepest joy we exclaimed, "All my springs are in Thee," and sang exultingly of the " treasure found in His love," which had indeed "made us pilgrims below." Those were truly bright and happy days when first Christ dwelt in our hearts by faith :days when He joyed in us and we in Him. But, may we not ask ourselves, is it so now? Must He look back and say, "I remember," or does He find us still occupied with Himself, still gladly and cheerfully counting all below as dross and dung for Him, still exclaiming, "One thing I do"? Alas that it should be ever otherwise! but the first com-plaint He had to make against the newly-founded Church, when all else was going on well and orderly, was this :"Thou hast left thy first love" (Rev. 2:).

"Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart" (Cant. 3:n). If our joy was great, how deep was His when first our hearts were won for Himself! Beloved, do we give Him joy now as to our practical ways, and our heart's affections from which our ways spring? or is His Spirit grieved on account of our cold-hearted indifference-our heartlessness? for is
it not worse than coldness? Let us turn, then, to His further gracious words in the portion before us. An extract from the now publishing No. of the '' treasury of Truth.'')

(1:) "There remaineth therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God" (Heb. 4:9).

" We are entering into rest, we who have believed; but we have not entered. From the nature of it, as described presently, no one could enter into it in this life. We are going on to it, and God has been always speaking of it, as in the Sabbath type, keeping it before men from the beginning. God rested on the seventh day from all His works. That was at the beginning; but man violated that rest, and it remains for us only a shadow of what is yet to come. The apostle quotes also David's words, long after Joshua's day, as showing that Israel's coming into the land was still not rest. After they had come in, it was still said, ' To-day, if ye will hear His voice.'The rest remains, then, a true 'keeping of Sabbath' for the people of God-a rest which will be God's rest also-or what good could be in it? A rest, too, in which he who rests ceases from all the labor which sin has imposed, Such a rest has not come for us. This carries us, in fact, on to eternity, the eternal rest, of which we have seen long since that the Sabbath is the type, and not of any Millennial anticipation of it. The thousand years are a time in which the earth has indeed come to its regeneration. Sin does not reign any more. Righteousness reigns, but still sin exists; and it is after the thousand years that death, 'the last enemy,' is put under Christ's feet, and the judgment of the dead comes with that. As a consequence, what we speak of sometimes as Millennial rest, is not strictly correct. God cannot rest except with the perfect accomplishment of perfect blessing. He cannot rest while there are enemies yet to be put under the feet before sin and death are cast alike into the lake of fire."F. W. G., Numerical Bible, " Notes on Heb. 4:9."

When all my labors and trials are o'er, And I am safe on that beautiful shore, Just to be near the dear Lord I adore Will through the ages be glory for me. Oh, that will be … glory for me … Glory for me… glory for me … When by His grace I shall look on His face, That will be glory, be glory for me.
C. H. Gabriel

There is a widely-spread belief that the dead are unconscious. Many who admit their existence deny their consciousness. Is it a belief founded on Scripture ?Does the word of God teach that the state of the dead is one of unconsciousness ?

Several persons are mentioned in the Bible who, having died, were brought back again to earthly life. Elijah, by the power of God, raised up the son of the widow of Zarephath (i Kings 17:17-23). Elisha raised the son of the great woman of Shunem (2 Kings 4:18-37). The man who was being hastily buried in the sepulcher of Elisha came back to earthly life again on coming into contact with the bones of Elisha (2 Kings 13:20, 21). Our Lord brought back from the death state the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:35-43), the widow's son of Nain (Luke 7:11-15), and Lazarus (John 11:). There are thus six instances mentioned in the Scriptures of the return of dead persons to earthly life.

Now it might be thought that these six persons would be good witnesses of the condition of the dead. Having been themselves in the death state, on their return to earthly life they might well give their testimony to their experiences while in the death condition. Whether they did so or not, we do not know. There is no record of any testimony given by them about the condition of the dead. No utterance of theirs concerning their experience in the place of the departed has come down to us, either by tradition or inspiration.

Will it do to assume, because they have told us nothing about the dead, that they must be regarded as showing that the dead are unconscious ? Must we take it for granted that, if the dead are conscious, they would certainly have been employed to tell us so ? The argument founded on this supposition cannot be trusted unless it is confirmed. These cases cannot be cited on one side of the question more than on the other. If it be said, They do not tell us that the dead are conscious, it may be answered, They do not deny their consciousness.

Plainly, then, we must look further to find the answer to the question, Are the dead unconscious ? We will inquire, then, Is there not something in Scripture directly referring to the state of the dead? Does it speak of any one in the dead condition ? Does it refer in any way to the experiences of dead people ?

In searching the word of God to find the answers. to these questions, we will find that it refers to Samuel as in the dead condition (i Sam. 28:3-20). On diligently examining what is recorded about dead Samuel, we will find the facts to be these :First, Samuel is dead. He is not, at the time when this record speaks of him, a living man on the earth-a living man among living men. Second, Saul, the king of Israel, is in great distress, and is exceedingly desirous of getting into communication with dead Samuel. Third, there was living at the time a woman who had a familiar spirit, a representative of a class of people who claimed to procure communications from the dead. Notice this carefully. Consulters with the dead do not engage to raise the dead, but only to get communications from them, Fourth, Saul, in inquiring of this woman who had a familiar spirit, only looked for a communication from dead Samuel. He said to her, "Divine unto me." It is plain he believed that Samuel was in conscious existence, even in the dead state. Fifth, the woman says, "I saw gods," 1:e., spirits. She did not pre-tend to bring Samuel out of the dead state. She only claims to have seen him as a spirit-a disembodied spirit. Furthermore, she saw more than one spirit; but among the spirits she saw, she could distinguish the spirit of Samuel. Sixth, Samuel as a spirit actually communicates with Saul. He communicates with him directly, not through the woman. Seventh, in his communication to Saul, Samuel tells him, "Tomorrow thou and thy sons shall be with me," 1:e., Saul and his sons were to die the next day, and be with Samuel in the spirit world.

Now it must be perfectly plain that the spirit of Samuel was conscious. Had he been unconscious, could he have carried on a conversation with Saul ? In this case, it was a direct communication. It was not the woman who told Saul what Samuel had to say to him, but it was Samuel himself speaking directly to Saul.

Now here we have a clear case of a person in the dead condition, and he is spoken of as being conscious. It is only one case, you say; but is it not a sample case ? If the Scriptures tell us plainly of one person in the death state who is conscious, does it not suggest at least that others are ? May we not say, rather, that it implies consciousness for all others ?

But as a matter of fact, it is not an isolated case. Scripture speaks of others besides Samuel as in the dead condition; and when we examine the other cases mentioned, we shall find that in every case the person is spoken of as conscious.

We will now look at Moses on the mount of transfiguration. Moses was a dead man. He had been dead over 1400 years. He was in the dead state. When the Lord was transfigured before three of His disciples, Moses, as well as Elias, appeared with Him (Matt. 17:, Mark 9:, and Luke 9:). For the
purpose of manifestation, he assumed the human, bodily form. He was not raised from the dead. The body he had when he was in this earthly life was not raised up out of its grave. The body in which he appeared on this occasion was an assumed body. Angels, and the Lord Himself, in Old Testament times, assumed the human, bodily form for the purpose of manifestation. There is no reason for thinking it was not the same with Moses here.

Now it is evident that Moses was conscious. He and Elias talked with the Lord about the decease He was to accomplish at Jerusalem. Hence we have another case like that of Samuel, where a dead man is referred to, and where he is spoken of as undoubtedly being conscious.

If there were no more testimony in the Scriptures on this subject than these two cases of Samuel and Moses, it would be quite sufficient for us to reject the belief of the unconsciousness of those who are in the death state. Scripture nowhere affirms the unconsciousness of the dead, and these two cases are not in any way treated as being exceptions. They argue irresistibly for the consciousness of the departed.

But these two cases are not the limit of the witness of Scripture on the subject. Another case of men spoken of as conscious in the death state is found in Luke 16:, where our Lord mentions the names of Lazarus and Dives. They were both once living men on earth. Both of them have died, and both are in the world of the departed. When in this earthly life, one had his "good things," the other his "evil things." In the world of spirits the order is reversed. The one who in earthly life had his good things is suffering "torments," while the one who had his evil things is "comforted." But without consciousness there can be neither suffering nor comfort. Thus it is plain our Lord speaks of these men as conscious in the death state. To say that the dead are unconscious is to call in question the authority of the teaching of Christ. It is to accuse Him of misrepresenting the actual condition of the dead. Notice, He represents. Dives as being tormented, as longing for relief from his torment, and as in anxious solicitude for the welfare of his brethren who are still in the earthly life. How could this be without consciousness ? To the mind that is subject to Scripture this is perfectly plain.

C. Crain

(To be concluded, D. V., in our next.)

At the Manchester, Kansas. Conference Oct., 1905. Chaps, 5:, 6:

(Concluded from page 18.)

These closing chapters of our Epistle are chiefly taken up with admonitions based upon the teaching we have gone through. Thus he exhorts them to stand fast in the liberty which the grace he has developed in his instruction has made theirs, and not be again under the yoke of law.

Ques. Why is Paul in verses 2 and 3 so much opposed to circumcision, whilst in Acts 16:he circumcises Timothy ?

Ans. Because here it means to put Christians under law, which is the destruction of Christianity; whilst in Timothy's case, being the son of a Jewess, he was classed as a Jew, yet, because of his Greek father, he had never been circumcised. He was thus justly under reproach among " the Jews which were in those quarters." In his case there was no principle involved; Paul therefore circumcises him to remove the prejudice that was against him. When there is no truth in question he makes himself all things to all men to better serve them.

With the Galatians it is all different. They are Gentiles, and to circumcise them is Satan's work, for it involves the whole principle of Christianity. It says, in principle, that Christianity is an appendage to Judaism, whilst in truth it is a wholly new thing, straight from heaven, delivering the Jew from Judaism and the Gentile from heathenism. Circumcision restores law and destroys grace. It makes
Christ useless. Law had proved the hopelessness of man in his sins. Now Christ had come, had died, had obtained an eternal redemption for us, and faith, appropriating this salvation, produced love to the Saviour-a love which desires to serve Him, and thus brings fruit to God. The moment law is introduced it interferes with these blessed ways of grace and ruins Christianity. And what is Christendom now, whether Protestant, Romish, or Greek, but a vast ruin of Christianity where grace has ceased to be known save by a few who are really strangers in it.

Note ver. 9. The same occurs in ver. 6 of 1:Cor. 5:There they harbor evil practice; here evil doc-trine. In both cases it "leavens the whole lump." A people linked together by one common tie are all affected if they allow evil to abide among them after due effort to correct it. "Israel hath sinned"said God in Josh. 7:though only one among them is the transgressor. The whole nation feel their responsibility and put it away. Had the Galatians judged that leaven among them, and the whole Church of God continued in that judgment, what a different condition of things would have resulted.

Ques. What would have become of Israel if they had refused to find out the transgressor and put the evil away from among them ?

Because of the unconditional covenant of God with Abraham, He would doubtless have preserved them as He is doing now for the fulfilment of that covenant, but they would have ceased to be able to conquer the land any further. They had already ceased by their defeat before Ai.

Ques. What is conquering the land a figure of for us ?

For us it is laying hold by faith of the purposes of God for us of all the blessed things which His grace has given us title to, and which He has revealed in His Word. We are spending a few days here together, not only to fortify ourselves in what we already possess, but to lay hold of more of that which belongs to us in Christ. If we knowingly, in indifference, allow evil of any character to abide among us, our progress in the things of God is at an end. We can conquer no more, but are more likely to lose what we have already got. You will always find that the men whom the Lord uses to recover fresh ground for His people, are men who have freed themselves from complicity with evil. They are thus " sanctified, and meet for the Master's use."

Mark ver. 2:Law brings no persecution, for it is a human principle-so much for so much-there-
fore man does not oppose it. But grace is ever persecuted, for it humiliates man. It flows from the Cross, and that, while it provides salvation for man, declares him an undone sinner needing that salvation indeed. Every revival by the Spirit of God is unfailingly marked by a fresh sense of the grace of God, and therefore by a fresh exaltation of the cross of Christ.

But, in ver. 13, this blessed liberty we have under grace is not to be used to please our evil nature. Liberty given to our souls is not for liberty to practice evil, but good. A man longs to please God but finds himself Incapable of it through sin. Redemption sets him free, not only from condemnation, but also from the enslaving power of sin, that now he may be free to do the will of God. The flesh is still there, as we see in ver. 17, to oppose the Spirit, but the Spirit is there too to oppose the flesh, and the spirit who dwells in us is stronger than our flesh, and, if ungrieved, gives us victory over it. Our flesh or old nature has no good in it; our new nature received in new birth has no power in itself, though pure and holy in all its aspirations and desires, but the Holy Spirit given to us gives power and effectiveness to the new nature, and so we have no excuse whatever for allowing our flesh ever to have the upper hand of us.

Note ver. 18. To go back to law for the rule of life is an insult to the Spirit, as going back to law for justification is an insult to Christ.

Then in vers. 19-23 we have the works of the flesh and the fruits of the Spirit contrasted-the course of the ungodly, and the character of the children of God. What an awful thing to think that "flesh," which can do such works, is, as implied in ver. 17. still in every child of God. How it should constrain us to abide in Christ, keep near to Him, lest it have power over us and produce any of those dreadful works.

On the other hand how lovely the chain of fruit-fulness, the development by the power of the Spirit of the divine nature which is in us. The law could never produce this. It can, and does, condemn the works of the flesh, but the Spirit of God alone, dwelling in us through grace, can produce the character which God loves, and which the law approves.

Ques. What is the force of ver. 25 ?

It teaches that if we are alive by the Spirit, that is, born of the Spirit, we are to act accordingly ; for by becoming Christ's we have pronounced death upon our flesh and all it likes and lasts after. We have given up the envies and emulations which activate this world, "to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven."

The first verse of chap. vi applies the Christian character toward one who is overtaken in a fault. It is not a wilful course of evil, but a fault into which a brother has fallen, and the way to restore him. We thus bear one another's burdens. But if we are proud, and think ourselves something while we really are nothing, we shall find at the end our true measure. God, who knows us well, and judges everything aright, will give us as we have sown. This is as inexorable as the sowing of your fields; If you sow oats you do not reap wheat. Let us then search ourselves earnestly, and court God's searching too, that we may be self-deceived in nothing. Only this brief life to live for Christ, to deny self, to suffer with and for Him, and then an eternity of glory.

In ver. 12 he returns to the great subject of his epistle to give a final word. Law has no persecution, and to avoid that it was being pressed upon the Galatians by certain teachers, though neither they nor any one else kept it; but in this way they could glory in man, in his morality and good deeds. "God forbid" adds the beloved apostle, "that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I unto the world." There is no honor in this, but only suffering. "A new creation," however, rises out of this, perfect and beautiful in the eye of God, and now for us the rule of life.

Ques. What are "the marks of the Lord Jesus " in ver. 17 ?

They are the scars he bears on his body from the blows and wounds he has received as a proclaimer of the Cross of Christ. Many among the Christians of his as of our day, sought to belittle, to ignore or set him aside, for the light he shed all around disturbed and condemned many, and hindered them from their selfish desires. His scars told what the motive of his life had been. Brethren, may it be ours.

Every conscientious Christian desires to be a witness for his Lord; but no one can be a true witness, unless he understand the nature of the Divine interests in which he is placed;-what they are intrinsically in the mind of God;-and how they are compromised and misrepresented among men. I must know, so to speak, not only the Divine idea of the Church, and the constitution of it, but I must also mark how and where it has fallen, or I cannot be an intelligent witness, apprehending the instruction given in Scripture to guide and sustain me at such a time. How can I appreciate instruction offered to me when the Church is in a low state, if I understand not its low state? and how can I discern its low state, unless I know what it should be if it had continued faithful to the mind of God? I must, therefore, first understand what the Church was when in order; and then, observing the present contrast, study and acquire the principles and conduct which becomes me as Christ's witness in such circumstances.

The Church in order was composed:-First, of members gathered out of the world unto the rejected Lord, on whom they believed unto salvation. "The Lord added unto the Church such as should be saved " (Acts 2:47).

Secondly, they neither had nor sought any rule of government but the Spirit's, owning Christ their Lord (see Acts 13:2).

Thirdly, they excommunicated from among themselves everyone "called a brother" whose evil was open and wilful (i Cor. 5:).

Fourthly, they sought and received edification through the gifts of the Spirit, conferred individually (i Cor. 12:and 14:).

Fifthly, they assembled around the Lord's table expressing their link in spirit with Him through His death, and presenting their true place and character in the world (Acts 2:42; i Cor. 11:26).

Sixthly, they were awaiting the return of their Lord from heaven (i Thess. 1:); they by faith sitting there together in Him (Eph. 2:).

Now the Church's decline, on the other hand, is marked by several traits. First of all, it has lost the true idea of being the habitation of God through the Spirit. The presence and direct rule of the Lord is unthought of, and there is no apprehension that a saint's place now is in Christ in heaven. Our true position with the Lord and for God is either unknown or ignored. Then the want of care for one another which crept in-the purity of the assembly, began to be disregarded, and each to consider only for himself; and from this the responsibility of one to another as members of the same body, became practically forgotten (i Cor. 11:19-22).

Another trait of decline is their turning aside from grace unto law (Gal. 3:).

Another, losing sight of the Lord's return, leaving their first love (Rev. 2:4).

Another, the admittance of many to communion without any careful scrutiny as to the ground of their adhesion, and thus the assembly ere long became "a great house," because wood, hay, and stubble were introduced into the building (Matt. 13:25; 2 Tim. 2:20).

And lastly, they abandoned spiritual ground and assumed natural ground in principle, as Core. They assumed to order themselves without the intervention of the Spirit of God (Jude; 3 John). Can any honest soul survey the present state of the Church, and not admit how these germs of evil, noticeable in the apostles' days, have sprung up and borne full grown fruit; and, that the Church now, instead of being the pillar and the ground of truth, is a "great house" wherein there are vessels to honor and vessels to dishonor. The more I contrast the present state of the house of God on earth with its original and normal state, and the designs of God therein, the more must I seek and endeavor to be as His mind instructs me, emerging out of confusion and walking according to His mind. The first question is, Is it according to the mind of God, that in the present ruin of the Church there should be any testimony of His mind and purpose in the Church? and, secondly, If He enjoins that there should be, what is the character and what the duties of the witness? Now, it is plain to any student of the Scripture that, so long as any circle or dispensation of God is not set aside by Him, so long is it the first duty of His people to own and support it; nay, the truer the heart of the disciple is to Him the more will he cling to and maintain the name of God in connection with that circle of interest with which He is engaged. How else could it be? If God have any distinct circle of interest into which He has called me, shall not I, according to my devotion to Him, own and support that circle of interest as He may enable me? Does it not both test, and distinguish the faithfulness of a servant, the extent and ability by which he supports and vindicates the purpose of God, when hope is almost gone? At the last extremity, Daniel, though the lions' den loomed before his own soul, yet as he prayed, his windows were opened toward Jerusalem the spot of God's interest on the earth. Now it is plain, and natural, that the true servant of God could never be the less faithful amid abounding un-faithfulness, but, on the contrary, more devoted to do what few others might care to do; pressed in his spirit to maintain the mind and intention of God in the circle in which he is called, because he sees it to be little or no where done:not that he is better than others, but in conscience and heart he feels called on to spend and be spent, and the more so because of the wide-spreading failure.

The Lord tells His disciples "ye are My witnesses," and we mark this in them, that, where the truth of God is misunderstood or compromised, they present an unflinching front to vindicate it and justify God. While the Church as a vessel of testimony, or any dispensation, was in freshness and power, there was a more defined and palpable line for the witness; the opposition was more open and discernible; but as the Church became corrupted and disorganized from within, the duty and service of the witness was not only more onerous, but his ability and competency to be a witness was the more severely tested. Unless he could grapple with the insidious and covert workings of Satan-now no longer an open enemy but transformed into an angel of light, through the members of the assembly-he was plainly unequal to the task of a witness in that state of things:and this is the cause of the unfitness and inadequacy which we mark in this day in so many earnest souls who desire to be witnesses. They do not see where the most deadly evil is working; for the deadliest evil is the one which feeds on the soul without detection, and so emasculates the truth of God that, in the end, it is left with a pretense of truth, which is worse than open evil.

It is plain, then, that the more fallen and disorganized the Church is, the more peculiar and trying must be the course of the witness. His one simple duty is to resist every inroad against the truth and counsel of God, and the more insidious and covered the attempt is, the more distinctly and openly to denounce and expose it. To be a witness of this order, the apostle Paul instructs Timothy in his second epistle to him. In that epistle, we find that the great point pressed on Timothy is clear and positive separation from profane and vain babblings. Previously, he had been exhorted to hold fast the form of sound words; and again, "rightly to divide the word of truth," thus intimating that his great and constant work would be to separate the precious from the vile in doctrine. What a state of things for a servant of God! His chief and most difficult enemies from within, corrupting and misrepresenting the truth of God which they professed to maintain. What a place of trial and proof! In such a state of things, the witness must purge himself from the vessels to dishonor; he must preserve as distinct a separation between himself and them, as a man washed has between that washed off and himself. The word of these babblers spreads as a gangrene; it is not merely leaven; it destroys vitality; it "overthrows the faith of some." The witness is required to separate in the most marked way from them. His separation marks his faithfulness. It is the distinctness of his separation that proves him a witness. When things had come to this, he has no other way to show himself as true to his mission but by separation, and the more unequivocal it is, the better witness he will be. A witness thinks not of trials and difficulties; he braves all, for he is on God's side; and he thinks not of them, however timid his nature, because he knows he is on God's side; he only thinks what is his appointed course, and on that, according to his faithfulness, he proceeds.

By the apostle's injunction we see that when profane and vain babbling is suffered in the assembly, the witness has no option but to clear himself as clear as washing could do of any connection or association with any such. The word "purge" implies the most stringent and practical separation. Leaven we find dealt with in another way (i Cor. 5:), but here, where the truth is compromised by teachers in the assembly, the witness is called not merely to denounce and repel such profanities, but in the most marked manner, and in his own person, to draw the line of separation between himself and them; and having done so, to seek association with them who call on the Lord in a like spirit, as I understand "pure heart;" and he was not, so to speak, qualified for this "pure" company unless he had in this absolute manner purged himself. One little comprehends how essential and imperative it is on the witness to be valiant for the truth; and even when some in heart desire it, how often do we find that they are entirely unable to bear against the evil, and simply because they have not rigidly adhered to God's counsel in this epistle. They controvert and disallow, but they do not "purge;" and, consequently, they are not witnesses in such times. In general, we are more distressed by immorality of conduct than by false teaching; but this only proves our lack of spiritual sense.

It is very evident that the Church at first had no list of those who should be excluded from the Lord's table; but when the spiritual sense was enfeebled the apostle gave them a list, though not including in it murderers, heretics, or the more heinous crimes, on the presumption that their spiritual sense was not yet so low as that; but now, when profane and vain babblings are suffered in the assembly, the apostle enjoins Timothy to purge himself from them:he cannot be a witness if he does not; nor is any one a Witness who does not. Has God revealed His word and mind, and in such a way and at such a cost, even by His own Son, and can I, as a witness, suffer any compromise or misrepresentation of it? True, I ought to be gentle, and to "instruct those that oppose themselves," but these must be persons who will listen. The devil was a liar from the beginning, and he used every artifice to mar and spoil the truth, and therefore the witness, at such a time as is here described, has a double work, subserving to the one end:one, rightly to divide the word of truth; and the other, to distance himself as positively and as openly as possible from every vain and profane babbler.
And not only this, but a witness for these days must " turn away " from them who are described as walking after their own lust, while having the form of godliness but denying the power of it. Now, of these, a worse class arise, who, like Jannes and Jambres, withstand the truth. They are still worse than the babblers; the witness knows them, but abides in the apostles' doctrine, and holds to the Scriptures as his authority. Nothing must discourage him in these disastrous times; the appearing of the Lord and His kingdom must stimulate and sustain him in proclaiming the Word; ever urgent, convicting, rebuking, encouraging with all patience and doctrine. And when the time comes when they who now hear him will no longer harken to sound doctrine, the witness is only to go on. And be sober, "exempted from false influences " in all things, bearing evils, doing the work of an evangelist; that is to say, as it appears to me, do everything from the very beginning, as it were, commencing anew, reverting to the foundation, and working from it. We are also instructed how a witness, even a woman, should act with reference to an unsound teacher (2 John), not only not to receive him, but not to greet him. Surely, when one considers the place of exclusiveness which this word demands, we must feel how few real godly witnesses there are in this day. As a rule, is there any of this decided animadversion of unsound teaching in this day? Whoever does not practice it, is not a witness, for he does not meet the exigency.

In Jude, also, we are instructed that the witness's singular and distinct work is to ''contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints." Now, the very fact of such an injunction as this being needed, discloses the state of the Church. It is not, mark! the faith as it is held, but, as it was once delivered; and it is not in an easy compromising way, but in an energetic decided way that he is "earnestly " to contend for it.

The"beloved" are called on hereto maintain spiritual ground, and thus, as a matter of course, to be outside natural ground. Now spiritual ground in such a day as is here described, involves the necessity of scrutiny and patience with godly fear. Some are to be treated more leniently than others. "Of some have compassion, making a difference; others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." That is, they are to be rescued if possible, but with marked recognition and denunciation of their present place and standing. A true witness not only accords with and heartily accepts all this, stringent and trying as it must be to his natural mind, but, he hails the instructions as to what should be his course of action for meeting the interests of his Lord in an evil day; and never feels himself true to Him unless vindicating His name and truth on earth. How, in the face of these Scriptures, anyone can defend anything bordering on indifferentism or neutrality is unaccountable ! Anyone who does so is plainly not a witness; and, therefore, I can only say, the Lord teach us and stir up our hearts to be for Him as His witnesses, while He leaves us here.

One word more. From Rev. 2:and 3:, it is evident that to be a witness, in the state of things described there, you must be an overcomer (vικπvτι). And, this is self-evident; for, how could I be a witness for God against surrounding evil, unless I had overcome it? The blessings are for the overcomers; and the witness at such a time is one who testifies against the prevailing corruption, and is, therefore, characterized by the angel or messenger. This the whole assembly ought to be; but whoever is so, is one who, knowing the mind of the Lord, proclaims it and presses it on the conscience of his hearers. Calling on the saints to be overcomers, he presents the truth from which they have swerved, and which, if owned, would deliver them from the surrounding evil. He acts as the Lord's messenger, and, therefore, in keeping with His mind. And this puts him in the position of a pioneer, as well as a teacher, for the message which he delivers is to rally the overcomers, and to show them the way to take. And in order to deliver the message he must be on the vantage ground himself:a victor himself and one able to remove difficulties for those who would be victors, to shed the light of the truth on the scene in which they are, and thus practically to show them their way out of it.

Thus the witness must not compromise in anything which could obstruct the full free deliverance of the saints. He must repel all indifferentism to the truth or concession to error; because the whole value of his service lies in the power and distinctness with which he maintains the truth, which alone can emancipate. He has one simple thought and work, and that is, to deliver simply and unflatteringly his Lord's message. If it be not his Lord's message, it is not fit for the time, and, therefore, not worth anything, for it is only his own; but, if it be, the care of the witness is to guard it, and to press it on souls. The truth-the Lord's mind-His message for the moment, is to be his chief thought and care. To win adherents is not his aim; far less to compromise in order that he may; his business is with the truth. This is ever the duty and calling of a witness.

The Lord give us to understand how high and blessed it is to be His witness here in the evil day; and to estimate how great is the privilege to be entrusted with His mind and truth. May we show daily that this is our great care-and nothing short of it; not to gain adherents. Happy and encouraged we are by every true one with whom we can consort. He who walks in truth helps the other; but not seeking anything but the truth, of which we testify, and which will, in proportion as it acts on souls, unite them on the Lord's side, for He is Himself the only perfect expression of the truth-to whom be glory forever. Amen. From "The Present Testimony."

A HELP FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THE SCRIPTURES.

It is exceedingly helpful to an understanding of the three epistles to the Romans, Colossians, and Ephesians, to apprehend their distinctive features, and progressive nature. Thus the epistle to the Romans deals with man as on the earth alive in sins, with all his members warring against God (3:13, 19), and God's solemn verdict of "Guilty before God" pronounced upon him ; whereupon God sets forth Christ as a Mercy-seat through faith in His blood, so that His claims against sin having been met, He can act consistently with His own character in justifying him who believeth in Jesus (3:26). We shall find that this epistle views the believer throughout as a justified man indeed, but not viewed as risen, though Christ is so viewed (4:24, 25). Colossians, on the other hand, treats in general of the believer as formerly dead in sins (2:13), but quickened, out of that state of death, together with Christ, and risen with Him (3:i); Christ, indeed, ascended and sitting at God's right hand, while the believer, as risen (but not ascended), is bidden to seek those things that are above, where Christ sitteth. Ephesians treats of the believer as formerly dead in sins (2:5, 6), and of Christ as raised, ascended, and seated in the heavens, and the believer as quickened together with Christ, and raised up, and seated in the heavens in Him.

Thus, briefly, Romans gives us Christ raised, and the believer a justified man alive on earth. Colossians, Christ raised and ascended, and the believer, who was once dead in sins, risen. Ephesians, the believer who was once dead in sins, risen, and seated in the heavenlies in Christ, who is raised, ascended, and seated there.

But to turn to our subject. The epistle to the Romans is divided into four great sections, viz.:

Section I, from chapter 1:to chapter 5:ii; subject, the justification of the sinner.

Section II., from chapter 5:ii to the end of chapter 8:; subject, the deliverance of the saint.

Section III., from chapter 9:to the end of chapter 11:; subject, the reconciling of God's promises to Israel with His dealings with Israel and the Gentiles, and with His actings towards both in free grace.

Section IV., from chapter 12:to the end of the epistle; subject, exhortations and salutations.

In treating of God's salvation, it is with the first two sections that we have specially to do; and we find that they admit of several important sub-sections, the grasping of which will greatly help to elucidate the subject.

Section I., then, which treats of the justification of the sinner, is subdivided thus:sub-section.

(a) Chap. 1:1-17, being introductory.

(b) Chap. 1:18-32, taking up the state of the Gentiles in general.

(c) Chap. 2:1-16, taking up the state of the Gentile
moralist.

(d) Chap. 2:ly-3:20, taking up the state of the Jew. (The result of these sub-sections is to prove all the world, Jew and Gentile, guilty before God.)

(e) Chap. 3:21-4:25, showing that, man having no righteousness for God, God provides righteousness for man, and the testimony of Abraham is adduced to prove that righteousness is imputed on the principle of faith, not works; and of David to prove that it is to the sinner, and not to the righteous, that it is imputed.

(F) Chap. 5:i-ii gives us the results of what has preceded.

Section II. treats of the deliverance of the saint, and is subdivided thus :

SUB-SECTION.

(g) Chap. 5:12-6:23, Sin is considered, and the saint's deliverance from it.

(h) Chap. 7:i-8:10, Law is considered, and the saint's deliverance from it.

(i) Chap. 8:11-27, the saint's full and final deliverance at death, or at the rapture, by the redemption of the body.

(j) Chap. 8:28-39, being the conclusion of the subject.

John Fort

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

The doctrine by which Universalists are specially distinguished is that of the final holiness and happiness of all men. While they hold many doctrines commonly believed by others, this doctrine of the eventual salvation of the whole human race is what particularly characterizes them.

There are two classes of them. One class believe that there will be no punishment at all beyond death and the grave. The other admit that there will be punishment after death, but deny that it will be eternal. Both classes agree in holding that ultimately all men will be saved. They both hold that all punishment is disciplinary in character, and denounce punishment of any other character as cruel and unjust. They contend that punishment is a means to an end, and that end the final separation of men from sin to holiness. They teach that punishment is remedial, not penal.

I make a very few quotations from Whittmore's "Plain Guide to Universalism."

" Universalists are those who believe in the eventual holiness and happiness of all the human race " (page 7). "The sentiment by which Universalists are distinguished is this:that at last every individual of the human race shall become holy and, happy " (page 15). "It makes no difference what are the individual's views concerning punishment, if he holds the doctrine above described. There are some Universalists who hold to punishment after death; nevertheless we are glad to hail them as Universalists. They agree with us in our views of the great consummation:all punishment, in their view, is disciplinary; and they denounce punishment, either in this world or the next, having any other object, as cruel and unjust" (page 17).

These quotations show that I have fairly and truly characterized Universalism. I have given a statement of what Universalism is that Universalists themselves subscribe to. It is practically a description of their distinguishing doctrine in their own terms.

I shall now inquire:Is it the doctrine of the Scriptures ? Does the word of God teach that all men will eventually be saved ? Is it revealed that every member of the human race will ultimately be restored to eternal happiness ?

Now, to answer these questions, it will not be necessary to inquire into the way in which Universalists use and explain the Scriptures. If the Scriptures show that there is a place of everlasting punishment, and that at the end of time a portion of the human race are sent there, that this is their final disposition, then the Scriptures establish the doctrine of everlasting punishment, and the Universalist use and explanation of the Scriptures must be incorrect.

In Philippians 2:10 we read of three spheres, the inhabitants of each of which must ultimately, by means of, or in the power of (see the Greek) the name of Jesus, bow the knee. And the next verse tells us that without exception every one in each of these spheres will be compelled to confess the Lord-ship of the Man that in obedience to God submitted to the ignominious death of the cross. Some one may perhaps say:Why, here is the very doctrine of Universalism! But is it so ?Let us see.

The three spheres mentioned are :the heavenly places, the earthly places, and the subterranean places (see Greek). The latter might be called the under-world, or the infernal world. Now, bear in mind, the ultimate and complete subjection to the power of the name of Jesus of all who people these three spheres is not in question. Our Lord, in John 12:32, said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will drag (Greek)* all [men] unto Me." *I have changed the word "draw" of our common version here to " drag; " not that I particularly object to "draw," "but a meaning has been attached to it which is not in the word in the Greek, helkuso, the force of which may be seen by its use elsewhere ; e.g., John 21:6, 11, "not able to draw" the net; "and drew their net to land." Also, Acts 16:19, "they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the market-place, unto the rulers." It is plain the thought of compulsion is in the word.* He there proclaimed the same truth that is insisted on in Phil, 2:10, 11, that if He gave Himself up to death for the glory of God, every being in the whole universe would be forced to own the power of His name. All would, either willingly or unwillingly, submit to Him.

Let us turn now to Col. 1:20. Here we read of the reconciliation of two of the spheres mentioned in Phil. 2:There is to be a time when the heavenly and earthly spheres will not only be in subjection to the Man of the cross, but in happy reconciliation to this subjection. Has this reconciliation been brought about ? As yet, only in part. There can be no question that the holy and elect angels are happily reconciled to the power of the name of Jesus. It is equally true that all from among men who have believed in Him, whether as departed spirits or as still living in this world, are joyfully reconciled to the eternal supremacy and glory of Jesus. The apostle says, in ver. 21, "And you, that were some-time alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled." Thus far the reconciliation spoken of in ver. 21 has been accomplished. But more than this is to be looked for. Ver. 20 assures us that the time is coming when every being both in the heavenlies and the earthier will be reconciled, will be in willing and happy reconciliation to the power of the name of Jesus.

This is not true now of either the heavenlies or the earthier. Scripture teaches us that the heaven-lies are still defiled by the presence there of Satan and wicked spirits (these latter, of course, not the spirits of men). (See Job 1:6; 2:i; Ephesians 6:12, Greek.) But the time is coming when Satan and these wicked spirits will be cast out of the heaven-lies. (See Rev. 12:7-9.) This will be by the power of the name of Jesus, for it will be under the banner of the Man of the cross that Michael and his angels will fight. When this takes place, the heavenlies will be cleansed, and all beings remaining in them will be in happy reconciliation to the Lordship of Jesus. There will be there then the elect angels and the saints who will have been raised from among the dead, and have received their bodies like that of the Lord. There will not be one among either class but what will be in most hearty submission to Christ. The heavenlies will then be reconciled and will forever remain so.

But the earthier will not yet be reconciled. Later on, after three years and a half of great wrath upon the earth, Satan will be cast into a bottomless pit (chap. 20:3); and, no doubt, his angels will go there with him. But even this will not be the reconciliation of the earthier. It is true Christ will reign for a thousand years, but there will still be on the earth some who are not reconciled-some who will feign submission (see psalm 18:44, margin), though all openly in subject will have been cut off by the judgments of the Lord. When the thousand years of Christ's righteous reign have been fulfilled, then Satan will be let out of the pit, and he will gather the unreconciled in hostility against the earthly saints and the beloved city; but they will be all cut off by divine judgment. Satan will now, and only now, be cast into the lake of fire. When he is cast into the lake of fire, two men, the beast and the false prophet, will have been there one thousand years.
Now this casting of Satan into the lake of fire is his final disposition. He is sent there to remain there forever. We are told that the portion of Satan and these two men is to be tormented unceasingly and everlastingly.

But further, after Satan is sent to his final and eternal doom, the great white throne will be placed, and the physical heavens and earth will flee away from before Him who will sit upon it. The process of this is given in 2 Pet. 3:10. It will be a dissolution of the elements by fire, the result of which will be a renewed physical heaven and earth-a new earthly sphere completely cleansed and fully reconciled to the power of the name of Jesus. Every inhabitant of this sphere, the new heaven and earth, will joyfully own Him as Lord of all. This will be the realization of the reconciliation of the earthier mentioned in Col. 1:20.

In this passage just referred to, there is no mention of the subterranean world. We never read of its reconciliation; for of this Phil. 2:10 does not speak. If now we turn to Rev. 20:12-15, we find ourselves at the end of time, and the beginning of eternity. A thousand years before this, the righteous dead have been raised, so that the dead now are all wicked dead. There is no question of anybody but the wicked here. They are raised and made to stand before the great white throne; and when judged according to what is written in the books, the records of their deeds, they are sent into the lake of fire- the place prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt, 25:41).Now it is plain that this is the final disposition of the wicked. They are here sent to Satan's final and eternal doom, and, like the two men cast into it a thousand years before Satan will be, are to share that doom with him. It is perpetual and everlasting torment.

Here, in unceasing and everlasting punishment, the Scriptures leave them. Never once do they declare their eventual recovery. Never once do they speak of their being finally saved out of the lake of fire. They tell us plainly that at the end of time they will be sent there. There is therefore punishment after death. This punishment is "day and night, forever and ever." Universalism, then, is unscriptural and untrue.

Beloved reader, if the word of God declares what the everlasting doom of those who are unreconciled to Christ is, it also asserts the right of Christ to give eternal life to all who put their trust in Him. This right He exercises freely toward all who turn to Him in this the day of His grace. He that believes will not come into judgment; but the wrath of God will abide forever on those who refuse to bend the knee while His grace gives them the opportunity voluntarily to do so. But how awful the torment of the man who, with an unreconciled will and heart, will be obliged, by the power of the name of Jesus, perpetually and eternally to declare the glory of a death he has despised! May the reader of this paper be saved from such an eternal doom. C. Crain

In the line of Current or Future events, it will be of interest to consider what may be the typical teaching of the battle of the four kings with five in Gen. 14:To some it would seem almost incomprehensible that God should be speaking so early in Genesis of events to transpire in the seventieth week of Daniel-centuries be-fore the prophecy concerning these weeks. But He has spoken in the opening chapter of the book of the whole course of time from the beginning to the end. We need not be surprised then if we find in subsequent chapters some hint of the events to occur by the way.

Every student of prophecy is familiar with what is called " the revived Roman empire," which will be composed of tea European kingdoms, bound together by mutual agreement to protect their common interests, and possessing a preponderance of power which will enable them to dictate to the rest of the world. The union will be of such magnitude that it will consider itself supreme over all powers of the earth and will assert world-wide dominion. It will be said, "Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him ?" (Rev. 13:4.)

Toward the end of the seventh seal, at the sounding of the sixth trumpet, it is said, "Loose the four angels which are bound in (by) the great river Euphrates." (See Rev. 9:14 and 16:12.) These evidently represent four great powers to the east of that river. It is also equally plain that they are powers opposed to the Roman empire, whose armies will be at that time in Palestine. These cross the Euphrates into the land to "slay the third part of men," 1:e., the armies of the Roman empire. Their number is 200,000,000 (Rev. 9:15, 16).

The German emperor was the first to suggest what he styled "the yellow peril." He meant by it that Japan being victorious over Russia, there was danger of the yellow race becoming more powerful in the world than the white race; and the fact that at the present time Japan is sending large numbers of her officers to China for the training of the Chinese troops is cause for apprehension to many. However this may be, or whether the vast and incomprehensible number (equal to half the population of China) is really literal or not, we cannot tell; but it is, we believe, representative of four allied powers of Asia who will sweep into Palestine, carrying all before them, and destroy the armies of the beast or Roman empire which will be thought to be invincible. It is, we believe, the fulfilment of the picture in Gen. 14:-the battle of the four kings with five, the coming one twice five, in which the four are victorious as in the days of Abram.

Arming his trained servants, born in his own house, Abram goes forth to rescue his brother Lot. Lot is dear to the heart of Abram by kindred relationship; and while the kings of the earth may destroy one another, when one of his own is involved he must assert himself and vindicate the rights of his own people. They had once walked together, but long since had been obliged to part company. Lot had found amongst the Gentiles a companionship congenial to him, while Abram had gone up from him to his own place of communion with the Father.

So Christ has gone on high. His own people Israel have turned their backs upon Him and are away amongst the nations. They have been diligently seeking their portion there, and will continue to do so until enemies on every hand bring them to the deepest and sorest time of misery and trial they have ever known. This was the case with Lot; when the enemies had triumphed over those in whom he trusted, Abram alone is able to deliver him. " As it was in the days of Lot, . . . even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed" (Luke 17:30).

May we not see in Melchizedek and Abram here the offices of Priest and King met together as in the Millennial day ? " He shall be a priest upon His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both " (Zech-6:13). R. B. E.

The way to make stony-ground hearers is to think lightly of conviction of sin. The fruit-bearer is the man that has had convictions, deep and many, and still has them, onward to the end.

(Concluded from page 211.)

If now we turn to Rev. 6:9-11, we read of a company-not an individual or two-but a company of men who, in a day yet to come, are to be "slain for the word of God." After they shall be slain, we are told, they will cry unto the Lord to judge and avenge their blood on their persecutors, and that they will be told that they must rest for a short season, until another company of their fellow-servants shall be slain in the same manner they have been. Here again consciousness is attributed to dead people. They are represented as realizing, in the dead condition, the great wrong that has been done to them in the taking of their lives. They are mentioned as intelligently entering into the great truth and fact that vengeance belongs to God. They are spoken of as making their appeal to Him, and they are comforted with the assurance that when another company of their fellow-servants shall have been slain as they have been, their great wrongs shall be redressed. All of this is absolutely inconsistent with the thought of their being in an unconscious state.

How this scripture confirms what the previous cases which we have considered have led us to ! And here objections which might be made to the cases of Samuel, and Moses, and Lazarus, and Dives, cannot apply. If it be said Samuel and Moses were exceptional cases-for special reasons, which, however, cannot be shown-it would involve the regarding of this company of slain ones as an exceptional company. But the fact of the company being so numerous would rather argue that if they are conscious in the death state, then we must believe all the dead are conscious. To suppose them to be an exceptional company is a strain on logic. Sound reasoning will not permit the suggestion. But what is still stronger evidence is, there is no hint in the Scriptures that this company of slain ones is treated as being an exception to the general rule. To believe that any dead are unconscious, we would need such a hint.

Again, it is sometimes said that the story of Lazarus and Dives is a parable. It is not so stated; but even if it is, it must set forth the truth. There is no suggestion of unconsciousness in it, whether it is a parable or actual history. But this account in Rev. 6:9-11 cannot be called a parable. It is a vision- a vision of something that is actually to take place. It is a vision of a company of dead people, and they are seen as a company who will be conscious when in the death state.

There is another scripture to which we will now turn-2 Cor. 12:2-4. Here we find the apostle Paul speaking of a man who was caught up to the third heaven. . He could not say whether he was carried there as in his body, or as disembodied; that is, as a spirit. The fact of being there he was conscious of, but he had no remembrance of having been conscious of his body while there. He had distinct remembrance of being conscious of things no human tongue could describe. He knew he heard "words " which can be spoken only in the spirit world.

Now it is clear that the apostle thought that it was possible that he might have died when he was caught up to Paradise. It is equally clear that he had no idea that a man in the disembodied condition, or death state, is unconscious. Whether he was in the body or out of it while he was there, he did not know; but he did know that he was consciously there. He thought, then, that there could be consciousness in the death state. He felt no difficulty in so representing it. Had he believed in the doctrine of the unconsciousness of the dead, there would have been a difficulty. He would have felt that his experiences in Paradise were inconsistent with his belief about the unconsciousness of the dead.

It has been said the apostle derived his ideas of the spirit world from his Pharisaical training. We need not discuss the question whether the belief of the Pharisees about the consciousness of the departed spirits was correct or not. All we need to reply is that the apostle is here writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He is expressing himself in Spirit-taught words. (See i Cor. 2:13.) Did, then, the Holy Spirit misstate the truth in inspiring the apostle to write 2 Cor. 12:2-4 ? It would be blasphemy to believe this. It would be to charge Him with being a deceiver; to accuse Him of lying. There is, then, no escape from the conclusion that in this passage the Spirit of God testifies to the truth of the consciousness of the dead.

We will not carry our inquiry into the teaching of Scripture on the subject of the consciousness of the dead any further. It is not necessary to do so, for Scripture cannot be inconsistent with itself. We have already seen that it does speak of men who are in the death state, and that it mentions them as being conscious there. This is simple fact. There can be no evasion of it. The statements of the scriptures we have examined are all direct. There is no ambiguity about them. They assert as the fact the consciousness of the dead.

We need not, then, spend any time on discussing the meaning of certain words commonly relied on to establish the doctrine that the dead are unconscious, such as "gathered to his fathers," "slept with his fathers," "sleep." It would be erroneous to give these expressions a meaning that would make them to be inconsistent with what is by Scripture established to be a fact. A surely attested fact cannot be denied for the sake of maintaining a definition arbitrarily given to a term. Besides, those who have scientifically investigated the subject of dreams tell us that they rather witness to consciousness in sleep, that sleep is the symbol of unconsciousness only in a 'limited sense. Its use in Scripture is therefore consistent, not only with the scriptural doctrine of consciousness after death, but its natural use as expressing a limited unconsciousness. That is, the dead are not actively engaged in the affairs of this earthly life, though they are awake to the realities of the life beyond, and in the midst of which they are.

The doctrine of the unconsciousness of the dead, then, is utterly unscriptural. There is no foundation in Scripture for believing it to be true. All who bow to Scripture must reject it as a false doctrine.

Furthermore, it is fundamentally erroneous, because it affects the character of the death of Christ, who died as a substitute for those who lay under the sentence of death as the penalty of sin. If death as the penalty of sin is the witness that the sinner is under the wrath of God, then the sinner in the death state must be in consciousness; he is conscious of the wrath of God, consciously waiting the final ratification of the judgment under which he lies, which will be at the great white throne, when, finally judged, he will be sent into the final and eternal doom of the wicked. Now Christ died for sinners. He took their doom-their portion, both in death and the judgment that comes after death. He was not unconscious when in that doom. He was conscious of all its dreadful reality. Death to Him was the penalty of sin, the witness and pledge of an eternal judgment after death. If death is unconsciousness, then death would be a deliverance from the witness and pledge of eternal judgment. Thus it is clear that the doctrine of the unconsciousness of the dead destroys entirely the character of the death of Christ as the sinner's substitute.
The Lord give grace to hold fast the truth, to maintain the true character of the death of Christ, to contend earnestly for the true meaning of death itself as the penalty of sin. Let there be no weakness in refusing the now widely spread doctrine of the unconsciousness of the dead. Let us awake to what is in question. May the Lord deliver those who are ensnared in error. May His people be preserved in the profession of truth, and in the sense of its value. C. Crain

Praises unto Jesus be!
From my sins He set me free,-
Paid in blood the dreadful score;
God remembers them no more.

Jesus is gone up on high,
Far above the azure sky:
'' To the face of God " is He; *
Yes, my soul, and there for thee.

He will come, and take me there-
What a meeting in the air!
He will take me to His home;
Come, Lord Jesus, come, O come!

Glory unto Jesus be!
He's forever all to me.
Glory unto Jesus be!
Now and to eternity.

*In the New Translation by J. N. D., Heb. 9:24 reads:"The Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us." He adds this note. "Literally, to the face." And anyone consulting the original will see that to the face of God is the exact rendering. Doubtless the word "before" gives the sense of the word ''to." Moses, mediator of the covenant of works could not be "to" or "before the face of God." The Lord said to him, "Thou canst not see My face ; for there shall no man see Me, and live" (Ex. 33:20).Thus the old covenant served to prove that man can not be saved or stand before God on the ground of what he is or his works. But the covenant of grace fully meets the deep need. Through Jesus the Mediator, and by His blood-the blood of that covenant-all who truly believe are saved. Because He lives before the face of God they live also. Precious truth to the eye of faith.* R. H.

8. I AM THE WAY, AND THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.

(Concluded-which was put by error to the previous article, p. 74.)

I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman. … I am the Vine, ye are the branches." The Father purges the branches that they may bear more fruit; the Vine itself does not require this care and discipline. The vine is the plain type of fruitfulness; and while it always bears fruit,-for Christ would never be fruitless,-yet the branches, which we are, require the purging work that more fruit may be borne by them He is the root-stem from which all springs forth. In Him is the sap of life, which He presses into each branch, that it may bear fruit; as the vine-root, by what is called the "root-pressure," permeates the branches with the sap of life, which is in itself. The branch in Christ which is fruitless is without the life. Thus while outwardly in connection with the Vine, inwardly it has refused what would make it fruitful. Having no vital connection, it is in due time taken away; and finally all such are gathered and cast into the fire. To abide in Christ is the receptive condition of this life, and then, as a result, He abides in the branch. This is the only possible way to bring forth fruit. Apart from the Vine, the branch is dead; but if it abide in the Vine, it will bear much fruit.

The thought of Christ as "the true Vine" is that He alone-not Israel-has borne fruit for God. He
is the true Vine in contrast with Israel, who had so signally failed in a like character (Isa. 5:1-7). Man at his best had utterly failed as to the question of fruit-bearing. In the place of barrenness on which the curse abode, and from which no fruitful root had ever sprung, Christ grows up "as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground " (Isa. 53:2). He struck down deep into man's ruined condition in all its barrenness, and where the curse rested on every-thing. Thus we have suggested the depth of humiliation into which the Son of God came to bring forth fruit for God. It is the root planted in this way that shoots up into the light of heaven, making its branches spread out and bear fruit. So Christ entered into the darkness of death and judgment, suggested by the vine-root buried in the earth; and out of this He comes forth, raised up into the glory and light of heaven itself, with His many branches His saved people.

Thus we are identified with Him in resurrection, having first "become identified with Him in the like-ness of His death." And here the word '' identified " is literally "grown up with," even as the branches with the vine grow up together, and so are thoroughly one. He has linked Himself with us and endured the consequences in death and judgment; but having come out of this into the light, He has brought us, the branches, into the same light with Himself. We who were dead in sins God hath "quickened together with Christ, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:5, 6). Thus, out of death, fruit for eternity has been produced to God's praise and glory.

It is the divine perfection of Christian attainment which is presented to us in Christ as the Vine. A fitting climax to these titles which show His relation to the eternal life communicated and dependent in His people. A true seven, because manifestly we have reached the full height of Christian relation to Christ. Here it is, in plain language, we in Him and He in us Beyond this we cannot possibly go.

From what we have been considering, we see plainly that the two great thoughts connected with this figure of the vine is the depth of His humiliation, and the height of His glory in resurrection. The vine-root, first sunk into the earth, shoots up for fruit-bearing into the heavenly sunlight. Thus we have the complete setting aside of the natural man as worthless; and it is the Second Man, the Lord out of heaven, who is the Fruit-bearer. "He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things." We see this Vine spreading forth with its glorious fruit, to the praise and satisfaction of God. It is this which makes glad the heart of God; it is His joy, as it will, in a day to come, make the whole creation a temple of praise.

The lesson in this for us is an intensely practical one. In it lies the secret of how we can bear fruit for God. The life in Him is divine, eternal; and this life is also in us, since it is His life which He has communicated to us. Life, of course, must manifest itself. That, therefore, which should be manifested in us, is nothing less than the life of Christ. Let the question be turned in upon our hearts as to how far this is true of us. To what extent do we show forth that we are living branches of '' the True Vine ?" "He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:for apart from Me ye can do nothing." May God in His grace grant deep searching of heart in His presence, where the purging work of the Husbandman will bring forth more fruit. We cannot fail to see how far short we come in this respect. But the way of victory is in allowing Christ, the life-sap, to fill the branch with Himself. The result is the precious fruit-Christ manifest in us. In view of failure in this respect, how blessed to look forward to that coming eternity in which Christ, the True Vine, shall be displayed with all His branches displaying its precious fruit! Then will the Vine, we may say, be full grown, giving forth all the luxuriance of perfect fruit, to the praise and glory of God-to the joy and gladness of the whole creation. It is Christ and His members, the Vine and its branches, which will form the blessed center of blessing in eternity. But while we are left down here, it is to bear this same relation to a perishing world that we will then bear to a redeemed world. Christ is the divine depository of all blessing; we, as the branches in Him, are to be the means of blessing to others. All fulness is in Christ, and we therefore, the branch-pipes which lead from this glorious Vessel, should certainly overflow in blessing to all around. May it be so with us, to the praise and glory of His precious name! J. B. Jr.

Many of us, when children in school, looked forward with eager anticipation to the weekly or monthly display of the Honor Roll, when the names of all students who were accounted worthy of special commendation were enrolled where all might behold them. To be left out of the Honor Roll was a great disappointment.

God, too, has His Honor Roll. In the day of manifestation it will be publicly displayed. Fragments of it have been already put before us in His Word, as in the twenty-third of 2 Samuel, the eleventh of i Chronicles, the second of Ezra, and the seventh of Nehemiah; and, in the New Testament, the sixteenth of Romans and the eleventh of Hebrews. These interesting and instructive passages are well worthy of perusal, as setting forth the kind of persons who will be mentioned with honor at the judgment-seat of Christ; and, what is of equal solemnity and importance, the class who will be omitted.

Many names we might naturally expect to find there will be absent. Many we dreamed not of beholding will be there, emblazoned with glory.

Among the warriors of David, there was none more doughty than Joab, the captain of the host. Brave to rashness, loyal even to cruelty, he was through all the years of rejection one of David's most determined upholders. But there was a something about Joab that was ever lacking :he was an unbroken man.

He is the picture of some champions of the truth today, who boldly confess Christ and contend for the faith, but are after all men of will, who will rule or ruin.

Such men often rise up in the assemblies of God's saints. Characterized by spirit and ability, they soon forge their way to the front. Able exponents, perhaps, of the Scriptures, or gifted preachers of the gospel, they for a time carry everything before them. The young especially are often led blindly by men of this stamp; and even aged saints are bewildered by the force and energy, the brilliancy and knowledge, they display.

But those who walk with God discern a something which they often grieve and pray over in secret, yet would find it difficult to put into words. There is a lack of brokenness before God, a sense of fleshly determination that will brook no refusal.

When a crisis is reached in matters of difficulty, such as frequently arise in an assembly, men like these are noted, not for calm, dispassionate waiting upon God, but for an energetic taking of things into their own hands and forcing issues through, before more timid or more spiritual saints are fairly awake to the real question before them.

Such a man was Joab-a man who might have been one of the brightest stars in the circle that surrounded David, but a man whose luster was dimmed by pride and self-will.

It is most solemn that after all his energetic service, when the time came for making up the Honor Roll, Joab's name was omitted. You search in vain for any mention of it in the list, twice-given, of "David's mighty men." It is not there. Joab had failed after all for want of that spirit of self-judgment which should ever characterize one who goes forth to fight the battles of the Lord.

His two brothers, never so famous as he, Abishai and Asahel, are both there (2 Sam. 23:18, 24); but he, the brilliant man of the family, is omitted!

Yea, more, his very armor-bearer, a man never heard of before, is there, enrolled among the heroes; but the name of the master is conspicuous by its absence, save in connection with these three names, which only the more emphasizes the omission. In ver. 37 we read of " Nahari the Beerothite, armor-bearer to Joab the son of Zeruiah."

Through all the battles in which he served the chief captain, this man had steadily pursued the path of devotion to David; never once referred to, never brought to the front before. But now the Honor Roll is made up, and his name occupies a conspicuous place upon it, while the name of the doughty chief upon whom he attended is absent.

There are surely solemn lessons for each one in this, beloved brethren. Oh, to be "faithful in that which is least;" to go on cleaving to the Lord in simple dependence upon Himself till that day !

Then the Roll will be made up, when many a Joab will be missing, and a host of comparatively unknown Naharis, never heard of outside their small immediate circle, will receive the Lord's approbation and be found among the mighty men! H. A. I.

Every one knows the awful calamity which has befallen San Francisco-a great city well-nigh swept out of existence. A mighty earthquake has shaken it into ruins; and fire instantly breaking out everywhere has reduced those ruins to ashes and made an untimely end of many who were entombed beneath the fallen walls.

It is appalling, and it has stirred the heart of the whole nation to the help of the sufferers. Many even from foreign nations have sent practical and substantial proofs of their sympathy. Thus even calamities have their profitable side in the development of the sympathies of the human heart.

But what do such terrible happenings mean ? Can we tell ? And why have they been so frequent of late, not only in this land, which has had a large share of them, but in various parts of the world ?

If we turn to the infallible, unerring Book, we have no difficulty as to their meaning:Why was the Deluge? Why was the burning of Sodom ? Why was Nineveh threatened with destruction ? Why did God command the utter extermination of the seven nations of Canaan ? Why are the Jews without a country ? Why was Babylon overthrown in one night ? Let us quote Daniel's own words, for they give us God's unchangeable principle of action:"O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor:and for the majesty that He gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him. . . . But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him; . . . till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that He appointeth over it whomsoever He will. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know :and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified. … In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom" (Dan. v).

One watches in vain for any expression of humiliation and acknowledgment of the hand of God in these fearful events which follow each other in quick succession, and wonders what next must come to awaken a people who worship gold; who are going to master earthquakes by building in iron; who are giving free course to their licentious desires; and, worst of all, who are desecrating the holy things of God, despising His Word, and proudly asserting themselves and the thoughts of their foolish hearts. Will there be repentance and a turning to the Lord, that grace may continue its work; or will there be hardening of heart and increasing evil until the Lord Himself must come again to this earth, with power and glory, to sweep the wicked off its face and establish His rule in it?

One feature is comforting:Who knows how many, in the midst of the terrors which filled their hearts that morning in San Francisco, have cried like the jailer of Philippi in similar circumstances, "What must I do to be saved ?" Oh that many, by this sudden overthrow, may be turned from the vanities of things that perish, to seek and find the imperishable and true riches of acceptance and peace with God.

"Faith which works by love."

Love never works for wages. It has a different motive. It seeks not its own interest, but that of its object. It does not count how much it has already done, but keeps watch for what it may yet do. The hireling works for so much money; the legalist for so much happiness hereafter; the Christian works because he believes that God in love gave His Son for him, that Christ in love suffered to obtain his eternal salvation, and thus, his heart responsive to that love, animated by it, urges him to service for Christ's sake to all who have need of Christ. There is reward here and hereafter for such services, and God holds it up in His Word for encouragement, but the only motive with which the power of the Holy Spirit can be, is love.

(First published about 1870 by F. W. G.)

My dear brother:-It is upon my heart to write to you freely and familiarly, about some things affecting the practical state of the gatherings, which the Lord (we may trust) is bringing into being in so many places now, often in great weakness and isolation, separated by long distances from one another, as on this immense Continent of North America especially. The weakness, if only realized, would be indeed matter for thanksgiving and an occasion of real strength; and the isolation from other help should cast them more immediately upon the Church's living Head. I cannot speak then of felt weaknesses being really that, or lament that circumstances should be favorable to that walk with God alone, which is what at all times the Lord has called His people to. Still, these circumstances have their peculiar difficulties, and call for some special consideration, as I think,-some special attempt to minister to the need by those who have in some measure felt it, and who, by their very mistakes and failures, have been taught what they would desire others to learn in a better way. That so much of what we have to speak of has been knowledge acquired in this painful manner, may serve to free the writer from even the appearance of self-conceit in communicating it.

Without further preface, then, let me commence with some thoughts as to the gathering itself, which is indeed the first consideration, and a matter of all importance. For this very reason its beginning in any place is so critical a thing. A bad constitution at the beginning, just as in the physical condition of an individual, may lead to an unhealthy state which may never be recovered from. Let me say, then, that the first of all requisites for a true gathering to the Lord's name, is that it be of the Lord's making. You will understand that I do not mean by that merely that those gathered together should be themselves the Lord's. That is a matter of course, which I need not dwell on, for I am not now seeking to establish what the Church of God is, or what the gathering to Christ's name :I assume that as known and acknowledged by those I speak of. But I mean that their actual drawing together should be by the Spirit, working by the truth upon the heart, and by nothing else.

I believe the very thought of the unity of the Church of God may be unintelligently used to hinder
this. That every Christian (the maintenance of a Scriptural discipline being understood of course) has a right to the Lord's Table, may become an argument for methods of gathering which are quite unsuited to the days in which we live, and tend only to produce confusion instead of what will glorify God.

For real gathering the Holy Ghost must gather, and Christ therefore it is who must be the attractive object, for thus alone the Holy Ghost works. It is only weakness, for instance, where a wife follows a husband into fellowship, or a husband his wife, or children their parents, without personal exercise and conviction. Or where pleasant companionship is the object even in divine things. Or where people come in just because converted under one in fellowship; or where one's own personal blessing is the object sought. All these are motives short of Christ Himself, and all acting upon them should be as far as possible discouraged. We cannot indeed refuse Christians their place upon this ground only, but we can and aught to put them solemnly upon their responsibility to act as to and under the Lord alone.* *Without "refusing" a person, an assembly may well postpone the "receiving" until it is quite clear to do so. Ed.*
Intelligence as to more than fundamental truth we must not require.* *Intelligence in the truth is not the first thing, but singleness of eye. Ed.* When the Church first began, and disciples came together to break bread, the truth of the one Body was not yet known; and "babes" have their place at the Father's board as well as full-grown sons. On the other hand, profession is absolutely worthless except justified by the life; and we have to remember that our rule for a day of failure is to purge ourselves from the vessels to dishonor, and "follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." We do not pretend to judge who is who, as Christians ; we do not pretend, in refusing fellowship, to say the person is not a Christian:''the Lord knoweth them that are His," not we. But we cannot associate with "vessels to dishonor," and be ourselves "vessels to honor, sanctified and meet for the Master's use;" and we know the pure-hearted by the righteousness, as well as faith and love, that we-follow with them. In days of common and easy profession, the test which is not imposed by the circumstances amid which we move, must be only the more rigidly imposed by those with whom "truth in the inward parts" is recognized as the Lord's requirement.

And here let me insist a little,-for there is need, -that a most scriptural test, and an important one, is that of one's associations. Even the world has its proverbs bearing upon this. "Tell me who are your companions, and I will tell you who you are," says one of them; and as an estimate of moral character we recognize the truth of this. A man's moral level cannot be much above that of his voluntary associations. Above all, where Christ is denied or dishonored, one who winks at this dishonor is plainly unfit for communion with Himself. Let me illustrate this by an example. A freemason, if a Christian, is not only yoked unequally with unbelievers, but still more with those who purposely omit the Lord's name out of their corporate prayers, to accommodate Jews and unbelievers generally; he is openly linked thus with the Lord's dishonor. The same may be said of those who sit under the teaching of fundamental heresy, or who sit down in communion with it. The teaching of Scripture is that, "he that biddeth him God-speed," or gives him salutation, "is partaker of his evil deeds; "and that "if anyone purge himself from these (vessels to dishonor), he shall be a vessel unto honor." (2 John; ii Tim. ii). Have we then any right to count those vessels unto honor, who do not so purge themselves ?

It is a question thus of practical walk, this association ; and as truly a matter of discipline, or of exclusion, as any other. In these days in which "confederacy" is so leading a principle, it is one of very solemn importance.

Now a word or two as to reception. It is the act of the whole gathering in a place, just as much as is exclusion; whether there be "two or three" gathered, or two or three hundred. This leads to the practical necessity of submitting the name of any one to be received, to the whole gathering a sufficient time before reception, to allow of all to know and realize what they are doing. Practically it may be that there are a few who have the confidence of the assembly, upon whom the work of visiting and enquiry will usually devolve; but these ought never upon such ground to assume to act for the assembly, nor can the assembly rightly rest their responsibility upon these. Communion is a thing which concerns every individual; as to "receive one another" must of necessity be individual.

It has been objected that there is no scripture for making people wait a week or more, and it is quite true that in that shape there is none. But every text which enforces our responsibility as to our associations with others, enforces also the necessity of giving opportunity to all to be of one mind in such a matter as this. And a really godly person, who understands the reason of his being asked to wait to proceed from care for the Lord's glory, and to have fellowship a real thing, will be content to wait, if it were a month, rather than hinder this, nay, will be only too glad to see this care practically exercised.

This touches another point-the matter of introduction to fellowship, on the part of a brother or more, for one occasion, as of a person accidentally present, and known by him to be a Christian. Ought such individual judgment to be imposed on an assembly, without giving them time or opportunity to express their own mind intelligently about it ? It is my own clear and deliberate conviction, that this ought never to be done, and I think full and scriptural reason can be given for it.

The right of a Christian to communion is not in question:the question is who is to recognize the right? Is it the assembly, or is it the individual ? The two or three gathered to the name of the Lord have His promise to be with them; but they cannot transfer this to one or more among them acting for the rest. If it be allowed to all to introduce, how many are there whose judgment could not at all be trusted in a matter of the kind? If on the other hand it be only the privilege of a few to do so, an official class is set up, very hard to define, impossible to be allowed to define themselves, and wholly unknown to Scripture.

If it be said, this only applies to occasional, not regular communion, I answer, if a person be recognized as entitled to "break bread " for a single time, he cannot be rightly refused at any other; except of course in a case where discipline has to be maintained, to which all are equally subject who are at the table of the Lord. The place is the same for all exactly, and reception is exactly the same also. If we admitted the idea of "occasional"communion, we should make provision for what is contrary to the Lord's mind; for He certainly give's no permission to wander from His table. And while we cannot prevent this, nor require intelligence as a pre-requisite where the heart is really right with God, we cannot and may not on the other hand ourselves admit the title to wander.

I have said all this, dear brother, in so brief a way, that I feel there is need to ask you not to mistake brevity for dogmatism. I have indeed myself the strongest belief that what I have said will stand the fullest test of the word of God; and I trust and believe you will not receive anything on my part, that blessed Word does not authenticate. Here, for the present then, I close, though with much more upon my mind, to which at a future time I may ask you to listen.

Three more letters relating to this subject will, D. V., be published in consecutive Nos. of HELP AND FOOD.

"Let your conversation (behavior) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have:for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Heb. 13:5, 6).

What sweet, lovely liberty is here! No lusting for more. Content with what I have. In my God-appointed path, toiling faithfully as I go, making all my dependents as comfortable as lies in my power, and happy in the use of what I have. God, who cannot lie, who knows me, who loves me, who owns heaven and earth, who has all power, who notices even the fall of a sparrow, who never slumbers, who never forgets anything, promises never to leave me nor forsake me.

What then need I fear ? If in the path of obedience what matters it if even all men forsake me ? What matters it if He send me among the poor or the rich, among Christians or among heathen? There He is, there He sees; He will make His word good, even if the ravens have to be His messengers. What holy liberty for thee my soul is here ! What blessed elevation in a groveling, earth-craving world, whose covetous soul, like the grave, is never satisfied, never says, It is enough!

(Concluded from page 40 )

The subject of healing and cleansing in connection with leprosy must now command our consideration. It should be noticed that there is a distinction between these two things. Healing is not by cleansing, nor is cleansing by healing. It is the healed one who has to be cleansed.

Healing is that work of God in the soul that results in confession and self-judgment. The place of judgment is frankly accepted as duly required by the holiness of God. When the leper is thus healed, the fact of his healing must be clearly ascertained, and this is something for priestly discernment. His own profession is not the evidence. The priest must "look." His state of soul must be ascertained. The evidence of the healing will be that the spiritual life has asserted itself and opposition to God. has ceased. The acceptance of the place "outside the camp"- the place of judgment, not by profession merely, but as unreservedly submitting to God and His word will be proof of healing.

But now that the leper is healed he yet needs cleansing, and this is by priestly exercise. The priest sprinkled the healed leper with the blood of a sacrifice seven times. Typically, this sprinkling of blood upon the leper speaks of the ministry of the truth of the believer's association in heaven with the One who died for him, rose again, and has gone into heaven to appear there for him, and that as thus linked with Christ in heaven he is not alone delivered from the due of his sins, but also himself dead with the Christ who died for him to the world in all its extent. This had been forgotten, but by priestly activity it is now afresh ministered to the purification of the conscience. Thus restored to the enjoyment of the truth of association with Christ in heaven, the priest declares he is clean. A moral and spiritual purification by priestly service has been effected in the heart and conscience, and he is clean. The priest's declaration that he is clean is that priestly service by which under the government of God pardon is administered. This is a remission of sins which is committed to us to grant.

This will result in a purification of another kind. The work of recovery thus far effected will enable the one being cleansed to solemnly review his life in the light of the word of God and accept that word as applying both to his walk and to himself. This is what washing "his clothes" and "himself" and "shaving off all his hair " speaks of. It is his cleansing himself according to the word of God.

Now he finds liberty to take his place among the people of God, to "come into the camp." He is restored to the place of privilege and fellowship. But though clean for this, there is yet further recovery to be effected. After coming into the camp, we read, he "shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days." This suggests the need of practical intercourse with the people of God, the enjoyment with them of the portion and privileges that are theirs. This is progress in practical recovery, which results in his cleansing himself still more fully according to the truth of the word of God. This "seventh day" cleansing of himself is the effect, the fruit, of holy occupation with divine things in the practical enjoyment of them with the people of God.

Then on the "eighth day" he is by priestly ministry presented "before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." Sacrifices, all of which speak of Christ, are offered; and the blood applied to the "right ear" the "thumb of the right hand " and the " great toe of the right foot." Then after sprinkling the "oil seven times before the Lord," the oil is put where the blood has been put as also upon "the head." As thus sprinkled with blood and anointed with oil he stands at the door of the tabernacle, while priestly service goes on at the altar. All this clearly speaks of priestly ministry by which there is recovery to communion with God in His thoughts about Christ and His atoning work, and this too as realizing, what again had clearly been forgotten, the divine claims, on the ground of the blood of Christ, to ear, hand, and foot, and dependence on the Spirit of God to meet those claims, and preserve the mind in holy occupation with God's interest and joy in Christ and His sacrifice. It is this that completes not only the recovery, but also the cleansing. . While priestly service goes on at the altar and an odor of a sweet smell (the acceptability of the sacrifice of Christ) is delighting the heart of God, the recovered and cleansed leper stands before God with heart and conscience fully purged, to realize the blessedness of his portion as in communion with God. How much is thus implied in the words, "And he shall be clean"! He has got back to God to find with Him a happy dwelling-place. Into "his tent " he now goes in the realization that he is dwelling with God.

What a change this, from insubjection to God and perverse opposition to His will, to participation with God in His joy in Christ! But what grace in God to thus recover and cleanse one who has allowed his sinful, corrupt nature to have sway. But few words are needed to bring before us the cleansing of the garment in which the plague of leprosy has been healed. We have seen already that the garment has been washed. The specified waiting time has passed, and priestly discernment finds no evidence of leprosy being present in the garment, The simple instructions are, " then it shall be washed the second time and shall be clean."A second sub-mission of our ways and habits to examination by the light of the word of God will confirm us in ways that are suited to God, and thus are clean ways, May we welcome the scrutiny of our ways by the eye of God as we find how that holy eye looks upon them in the Scriptures which tell so perfectly what His will concerning us is.

The cleansing of the house in which there has been leprosy now demands our attention. We find that the same priestly ministry that was carried on to cleanse the individual leper, immediately after the priest looked on him and found him healed, is employed to cleanse the house. This teaches us that there is need of the ministry of the truth of association with Christ in heaven-the Christ who has died out of this world. Whether we apply the house to the home of a believer or to the local assembly, the need is the same. The ministry of such truth is clearly priestly work. The result of such priestly service is the recovery to, and enjoyment of the truth of identification with Christ in the possession of heavenly things. The effect of such recovery will be seen in a firm maintenance, of the claims of God on the ground of this identification. It is a moral change-a cleansing.

We have seen thus something of the teaching of the Spirit of God in connection with leprosy. Shall we take it to heart ? Shall we seek to conform ourselves to His mind and ways? It most surely is deepest blessing to do so. The admonition, the instruction, the solemn warnings are for our good. Shall we miss the good that is thus intended for us?

May God in His blessed grace grant us both to hear His voice and be subject to it. Let us seek to realize, as He surely desires that we should, that whether it be ourselves personally, our habits and ways, our homes or the assembly, He has claims upon us, by the death of Christ for us, that we should hold the sin that is still in us under the condemnation He has put upon it. May we remember He has "condemned sin in the flesh;" and this we shall always need to do if we seek to escape becoming leprous. C. Crain

We most take care not to administer help before faith is at work in the soul; for if we do, we spoil the soul for faith."

We purpose to trace out a little the Sabbath rest spoken of in Gen. 2:2, 3, and Heb. 4:1-9; for, we believe, the thoughts of Scripture as to this are vague in the minds of many, and that any light and help from the Scriptures will be welcomed by many lovers of the truth. "All Scripture is profitable," and we believe the lessons of Gen. 2:2, 3 and what they foreshadow, are seasonable and wholesome for our study and meditation.

The lessons we have in Heb. 4:open up the blessings God has in store for us, and are worthy of our careful inquiry; and the lessons, when read aright and compared with other lines of truth, are seen to harmonize and form a part of a complete, perfect whole.

The Word will bear searching:yea, we are blessed if we search it prayerfully and carefully with one thought before us-to acquire the knowledge of His will, to learn His truth. And as we open the precious volume, we feel there is much of this good land not yet possessed, though the whole land flows with milk and honey, and drinketh in the rain from heaven. Let us who have been privileged with much light, still approach the Book thus, and great and fuller blessing will be ours.

We will examine the subject before us under the following heads, which, we believe, give us the main lessons of the entire subject:

First-The historic Sabbath.

Second-The prophetic Sabbath.

Third-The typical lessons of the Sabbath-the full answer to the Sabbath type.

Fourth-The eighth day, and the place it occupies,

First.-In the opening of Genesis (chaps, 1:, 2:) we get the account of the six days' work, and at the close of all that vast work a seventh day, in which God rested. His work of creating and making was all finished, and He rested from all His work; then He blessed and sanctified that day.

This is the first Sabbath rest:but sin soon entered the world (Gen. 3:) and God's rest was broken; therefore the testimony of our Lord in healing on the Sabbath is, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17).

In Gen. 2:we have the first stage of the Sabbath history-" God rested; " that is a thing of the past; for since sin entered, God does not and cannot rest- He "worketh," and so does our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Ex. 16:we have another stage of the historic Sabbath. In bringing His people Israel out of Egypt, and in the wilderness, God gave the Sabbath day to them for rest, and commanded them to observe and keep it sacred. It was a sign between Jehovah and Israel (Ex. 20:8-10; 31:12-17), and for them a day of rest-reminding them continually of God's rest (Gen. 2:1-3). But Israel failed (as did Adam in Gen. 3:) in this respect as in all else:from Num. 15:32-41 down through the prophecies we are reminded of this fact again and again. This Sabbath day (the seventh day) was never given to the Gentiles ; and we never read in the pages of the New Testament that such was given to the Church or the Christian:they observe another day-"the first day of the week "-the "Lord's day."

With these outlines of the historic seventh day, or Sabbath rest of the Old Testament, we may now further proceed:-

Second.-Israel failed, as we have said, to observe all that Jehovah had enjoined upon them; hence, the blessings promised them under law they lost by their disobedience. The golden calf shows how soon and how far they went astray, and other things follow.

But God abides faithful, notwithstanding all their failures and their sins. He sends His servants, the prophets, and they prophesy of a Deliverer, a Saviour, to deliver them from their sins ; and this places in their hands "the prophetic Scriptures." In them the dawn of a new day appears, and those who loved those sacred prophecies ever looked for this "day-dawn," when the shadows would pass away; yea, "the bright morning without clouds" (2 Sam. 23:3, 4; Sol. Song 2:17).

At the present time they are passing through the night of their sorrow; but the prophetic Scriptures are as a lamp that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn, and "the Sun of Righteousness arise" (Mal. 4:2). They look for this. The Church looks for " the Morning Star ; " and so heaven, not Palestine, is our hope (Rev. 2:28; chap. 22:16).

This new day that prophecy opens up for Israel and the earth, is called "the day of the Lord." The siege of Jerusalem (a. d. 70) was the beginning of sorrows (Matt. 24:8). The "great tribulation"
by and by will be, for "the remnant," their closing sorrows.

When "the Sun of Righteousness " arises, and His feet stand upon the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4), the sorrows of the nation will pass away (Isa. 35:10; Ix. 18-22), and "the day of the Lord,"the bright day of Millennial glory, will begin. Let us pause here a little, and examine those scriptures, lest we misapprehend what that "day" shall be.

The Millennial age is the great period kept in view for Israel and the earth in the prophecies; but this is not the eternal state. We get the Millennium in Rev. 20:; after that, the eternal state in Rev. 21:1-5-a very different thing. Israel and the earth look for "the day of the Lord, " of which the prophets speak very fully:but the New Testament carries us further, and tells us of another day-" the day of God."They look for the first; we Christians really look on to the latter. See 2 Peter 3:10-12.To distinguish them in 2 Peter 3:is a great help.

The Millennium is " the age to come" but the eternal state will be the "age of the ages,"Eph. 1:21, and Heb. 2:5, refer to "the age to come;" Eph. 3:21, to the eternal state.(See J. N. D.'s translation.) The Millennium will be the day when the Lord Jesus will rule and put down all His enemies-hence, "the day of the Lord."The eternal state will be the age that will have no end, when "God shall be all in all," and God shall rest-hence, "the day of God," "the day of eternity " (2 Pet. 3:18, J. N. D.'s
translation).

The 1000 years will begin by judgment and close with judgment:at the beginning, the Lord judges the quick, and at the close He judges the dead. The remnant of Israel delivered will be blessed on the earth during the 1000 years.

The nations converted at that time will also be blessed under Christ's rule, and enjoy the days of heaven upon the earth (Deut. 11:21).

Yet this Millennial Age does not give the full sum of blessing; there will not be perfection then, and therefore not perfect rest. This "day of the Lord" will be rather & preparatory age, preceding the eternal state, or "the age of the ages."

During the 1000 years there will be minor judgments also, whenever sin appears (see Psa. 101:6-8; Isa. 26:9; 28:17-19; Zeph. 3:5; Zech. 14:17-19). In view of this we could not rightly say God had His rest-the rest that Heb. 4:speaks of, and which Gen. 2:foreshadows.

In the Millennium righteousness will reign, and Christ will hold the rod of iron; yet some indeed will give but "feigned obedience" (Psa. 18:44; I 16:3, marg.). But in the eternal state ("the day of God," "the day of eternity," the "age of ages") we view a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness will dwell-not merely reign, as in the Millennium. In this new heaven and new earth sin shall never enter to break or disturb that rest of God.

In the Millennium Satan will be bound, shut up in the abyss; but in the eternal state he shall be cast into the lake of fire. In the Millennium sin will yet be in men's natures, on earth. In the eternal state there will be no more sin in either the new heavens or the new earth.

In that great and glorious scene, when all will be peace, joy, rest, righteousness, holiness, perfection, we will know better the value of two passages, John 1:29, and Isa. 9:6-"The Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world," and "The Father of Eternity."

As "the Lamb of God," He shall cleanse away the sin of the world on the basis of His work of atonement.

As "the Father of Eternity," He shall bring in the new and blessed scene, and fill it with those who shall be to His own praise and glory. Here, and here only, could God rest, and rest forever.

A careful reading of the prophecies will be a great help here. Rev. 20:gives us the 1000 years of Christ's reign. Then follows "the little season" when "Satan shall be loosed out of his prison," and men again break out in open rebellion, closed up by fiery judgment from heaven:then the last enemy- death itself-will be destroyed.

Let us now pass on to the seventh day of Gen. 2:-the Sabbath rest.

Third.-The typical lessons of the seventh day are now before us, and Hebrews 4:will open the subject. Whatever rest Israel enjoyed in Canaan in the days of Joshua, it was not what the seventh day of Gen. 2:foreshadows. Heb. 4:, quoting from Psa. 95:, is proof of this :'' There remaineth therefore a rest (Sabbath rest) for the people of God."

This verse carries us on to the end of all labor in a world where sin is, to that rest when creation shall rest with God forever.

And it is clear that Heb. 4:does not point to the Millennium (that was the theme of prophecies for Israel); but now we have, in this epistle, the Christian's blessings-and they are eternal. In Hebrews
we read of eternal salvation, eternal redemption, eternal inheritance, eternal covenant, eternal judgment, etc.; and if chap. 4:is read aright, it is the unbroken, undisturbed rest of God for all eternity which, in contrast with the present labor and toil, God's people are to enjoy with Him forever.

Now, to get the proper lay of these lessons, we will examine Gen. 1:and 2:more carefully. If those days in Genesis are carefully noted, we will see a contrast between the sixth day and the seventh. It closes the previous five, and contrasts with the seventh:it is, we believe, the first Millennial type of the Bible.

In the sixth day Adam got dominion over the whole earth:Adam is a figure of Christ (Rom. 5:14), whose dominion over the earth in the Millennial day we have in Psa. 8:He is the true Adam, the Head. His bride is with him the sixth day, and they receive dominion, and together are the beings of note that day. The seventh day, when all work is finished, God rests. And here looms up before us the first type of God's rest-eternity itself. There is no need of pressing the seventh day in Gen. 2:as a Millennial type-it strains the lesson out of shape, and will not fit.

But if the sixth day is taken as it is given, then we see a beautiful type of Christ, the last Adam in dominion and rule, and His companion-bride with Him over the whole earth; this is "the day of the Lord."

In the seventh day it is "God" who is foremost:He is the one who appears, and He rests. It was Adam in dominion on the sixth day; but God resting on the seventh.

The sixth day was the day of Adam.

The seventh day was "the day of God." One foreshadowed the Millennium; the other, the "day of God"-the eternal state. The Millennium will be partial .blessing; the eternal state, complete and perfect. The seventh day points to perfection as well as rest; the sixth does not.

Then again it will be noted that the sixth day (as the other five) has an evening and a morning (a beginning and an end); but when we read of the seventh, the typical day of eternity, there is no evening nor morning mentioned. Can we say this omission has no meaning when we see inspiration at every step and upon every line-yea, with every jot and tittle ? The omissions of the sacred Scriptures are for a purpose as well as what is given.

As we meditate on the seventh day, and look at the lessons there given, we think of the vastness of eternity ! There never was a morning there-never a beginning; and the sun will never set there- never a nightfall; it is " the perfect day" and has no end. A. E. B.

(To be concluded in our next.)

QUES. 14. What is it to be filled with the Spirit? There are people here around us who talk much about that, but most of them seem at the same time very deficient both in Christian character and ways, with .all their thoughts apparently centered upon themselves. It looks like self-exaltation, and surely that cannot be the work of the Holy Spirit.

ANS- The answer to your question is very plainly given in the Scriptures. Turning to a few of them will be sufficient:take first our Lord Himself. In Luke 4:1 He is said to be "full of the Holy Ghost;" and the following verses tells how He manifests it:He is met by the devil who seeks to turn Him from the path of obedience and dependence. Three times He defeats him by the suited use of the word of God. Fleshly men can argue, and be shrewd, but only a man full of the Holy Ghost can rightly use the Word of Truth, and shut the mouth of the enemy with it. Again in chap. 1:15 the birth of John the Baptist is announced, and that "he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb." Then the following verses tell how it will be shown. In the spirit of Elias of old he would bring home their sins to the people's consciences, and thus "make ready a people prepared for the Lord." To do such business for the Lord is great and glorious business, and there are great trials in it, requiring a man to be full of the Spirit.

Then in verse 41 "Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost," and how was this displayed ? The babe she bears, who is, as we have seen, himself filled with the Holy Ghost, leaps within her at the approach of the babe that Mary bears, and Elizabeth declares herself greatly honored in being visited by "the mother of my Lord." This coming Babe is the Center of all her words.

Again in verse 67 " Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost" and shows it by speaking of Christ, and by Him, of the fulfilment of all the promises.

One more instance in Acts 7:In verse 55 Stephen is said to be " fall of the Holy Ghost" and what is the result? He "looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." Then he kneels down and dies praying for his murderers. "We might multiply instances, but are not these sufficient witness that the man who is filled with the Holy Ghost does not speak or think of himself at all; is not even self-conscious, but wholly engrossed with Christ and His glories, His virtues and His interests. Self then is sunk into oblivion, good self and bad self, and Another, the worthy One, fills the vision.

"Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of" (Luke 9:55). Satan tempts saints to unholy wrath, and they do not know until, as here, He tells them where they got the coal that so heated them.

It is great presumption to send our passions upon God's errands, as it is also to palliate them with God's name. Zeal, dropped in love, is good; without it, good for nothing; for it devours all it touches. We will not overshoot the mark about others if first we have been with God about ourselves.

God's object and end ought to be ours. The means ought never to supersede the end with us. What a strength and power in the words, "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I might bear witness to the truth!" Paul says, he labors to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. What an aim was this!

A man's aim gives a character to all his acts. A low aim can never carry a man high, but a high one has power to attract from a very low position; and when it is divine, it will be like the path of the just, becoming more positive and clear, the more it is pursued. No minister of the gospel ought to be satisfied with a condition for any believer inferior to what would satisfy the heart of Christ, not only with regard to the infancy of such a soul, but to its fruitful maturity. "Feed My sheep," is the claim of true affection for Christ; but if His present organization for the Church, and His future glory in her, be now disregarded, or untaught, are not the most precious secrets of His love suppressed or overlooked? One, who, in ministering to God's people, proposes to himself God's end and object for them, and nothing short of it, while feeling increasingly the responsibility of the trust, knows also that he need only deal out honestly and faithfully what has been committed to him, and abundantly will the need be supplied.

Truth is so fallen in the streets in these days, that the call to each is to be valued for the truth, and not merely to be convinced of the Tightness of a position. Truth, being fully revealed by our Lord Jesus Christ, there will be no further revelation of it. If any part of it be misrepresented, there will be an imperfect evangelization; for the Gospel is, that "grace and truth are come by Jesus Christ." Are we sufficiently alive to the responsibility of seeing that the truth of God, so long undeclared, but now fully declared by our Lord Jesus Christ, should not suffer in our attempts to expound the fulness and greatness of it? What painful misrepresentations of our Lord's doings and intentions down here, do we find in the current religious publications of the day! Therefore, I am bold to say, that if a soul does not see how he is called to vindicate Christ in these days, I see little use in gaining his approval of my position. If we were called to vindicate God, we must at once retire from a work for which we are utterly incompetent; but the Lord Jesus has vindicated Him by declaring the truth; and it is only a veritable adherence to what He has done that we are called to. If the '''Spirit of truth" be working in a soul, there will be exercise as to what is truth, and, in teaching souls, how necessary to be assured that they are learning the truth, that the Spirit is thereby guiding them into it.

Full truth alone can keep us from slipping off from our proper place; the more fully we know it the better we know our position; for truth is but the mind and judgment of Him, whom the better we know, the more are we bound to love, for we thus find how absolutely He is for our blessing. The more one line of truth becomes diffused, the more does every other line require to be pressed, or there will be departure from the moral symmetry belonging to the body of Christ on earth. The Lord keep us loving His truth-the unfolding of Himself! He is but a poor friend who would not like to know more, and all about me, or I must be very unworthy. How blessed to be allowed of God to set the seeds of His truth in the souls of His people; and how we ought to rejoice at every apprehension a soul gets of the truth of our God!

"This God is our God for ever and ever:He shall be our Guide even unto death."
From "The Present Testimony"