(Continued from page 180.)

Subdivision 3.-Job's closing monologue (chaps. 27-31.)

The direct controversy closed with Job's reply to Bildad, chap. 26, but the sufferer has yet much to say before he has told out all his heart. The friends are apparently silenced, and he is left victor in the strife which has gone on so long. That there has been progress we have seen as we went along:on the part of the friends it has been a progress in failure to confirm their charges; with Job we have seen a progress upward, of faith laying hold on God in spite of all that seems so dark and inexplicable.

In this closing monologue we have the manifestation of Job's heart. He vindicates himself, refusing to acknowledge the charges of his friends, and by implication declares himself the possessor of the true wisdom-the fear of the Lord. He then reviews his past life of happiness, and contrasts it with his present degradation, and closes with renewed and complete protestations of righteousness.

This portion may be divided into three sections:

(1) Assertion of integrity, in contrast with the wicked and his doom (chap. 27).

(2) The wisdom which is above all price (chap. 28).

(3) Self-manifested (chaps. 29-31).

There are certain elements of confusion in this monologue. The first part is much of the same character with what had preceded. The closing part is a sad conclusion-self-occupation, self-vindication, self-righteousness. But imbedded between these two parts we have, in grand poetic beauty, a statement of what is wisdom, the true riches, unknown to the natural man. We cannot but feel that, with all he has yet to unlearn, Job has the elements of this wisdom. The root of the matter is in him, the pure gold is there, and the dross will soon be removed.

Section I.-Assertion of integrity, in contrast with the wicked and his doom (chap. 27).

This chapter while forming part of the monologue, is .closely linked with the reply to Bildad. We may consider it as addressed to the friends as a whole, a summing up of the controversy.

There are four main parts:

(1) He maintains his righteousness (vers. 1-7).

(2) The wicked's character contrasted (vers.8-12).

(3) The sure doom of the ungodly (vers. 13-18).

(4) Driven away in his wickedness (vers. 19-23).

There is an apparent lack of evenness in this section, and some have thought a lack of consistency with what Job has previously declared. The self-vindication is familiar enough, but when he begins to describe the character and doom of the wicked, we might almost imagine that one of the friends was speaking. Indeed, the latter half of the chapter has been considered as the third speech of Zophar, inadvertently dropped from its place and inserted here, with chapter 28 as Job's answer! But there is not the slightest indication of any such disturbance of the text. It is a theory used to explain an imagined difficulty, a difficulty whose solution is found in the study of the chapter itself.

(1) Job declares that he will never surrender to the unrighteous charges of the friends. Boldly he declares that God has taken away his right (not as in our version, his judgment), that is, has acted unjustly toward him; He has brought bitterness into the soul of one who did not deserve it!

The next verse, 3, has been variously rendered. In the A. V. Job is made to say that so long as his breath is in him, he will persist in maintaining his righteousness. But many regard the verse as a parenthetic explanation; "for still all my breath is in me," etc. He is in full possession of his consciousness, and speaks the truth deliberately, as he believes. Such a rendering and explanation seems to accord with the original.

He will not allow himself to bear false witness; till he dies he will hold fast his integrity. His heart does not condemn him, and in the survey of his past life there is not a day whose record furnishes ground for reproach! " My heart reproacheth not any of my days." We must take this as the sober statement of one who had "lived in all good conscience." But there is a sound of self-righteousness which does not accord with the knowledge of one's self in the presence of God. Job is no! there yet. It is the cry of an honest soul that does not fully see the light. Is there any unrighteousness ?- it is in his enemy, not in himself. We see therefore that Job was speaking as between man and man.

(2) Job now turns to the end of the wicked. What hope has he when God cuts him off, and takes away his soul ? What shall be the end of the man to whom God says, "Thou fool, this night thy soul
shall be required of thee ? " Will God hear his cry when it is too late ? Or has He not given the solemn warning, " I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh " (Prov. i:26)? Is it too late to call upon God when the present opportunities have been put off for a "more convenient season "-which never comes.

Is not all this self-evident? Job asks them. Do they not know the Lord's ways ? Why then do they indulge in such foolish and wrong thoughts as they had expressed, and charge him (a man whose uprightness they knew, and who was conscious of his own integrity) with having a character like this which he describes?

Here we reach the explanation of the apparent change in Job's attitude. Hitherto he had withstood the friends in their contention as to the wicked, because they ever linked him with their descriptions. He will now take up the same language to show how impossible it was to confound such an one as himself with the wicked with whom they identified him. It becomes thus a most potent reply to their charges. He had dwelt upon the many exceptions to God's dealings with the wicked, because the friends were making such a wrong use of these dealings. The force of what he says comes out even more strongly in the next portion.

(3) He now goes into the terrible and irrevocable doom that awaits the ungodly, and, in language equal to that of the friends, tells how they will at last be overtaken.

'' This is the portion of the wicked man with God." He has received wealth and pleasure and honor at the hands of man; but how different a heritage will they get from the Almighty whom they have despised. Have his children multiplied ? They are left to the devouring sword. Did they once live in luxury ? They will come to lack bread, and those who survive them will be swallowed up by death, and without friendly lamentations-" Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation " (Ps. 78:64).

Job thus dwells upon a sorrow in some respects similar to his own, and yet how different. He too had been bereft of his children, but was it as under the retributive wrath of God ? And did Job act as these wicked men whom he here describes? They may gather silver and wealth as the dust, only to have the righteous enjoy it-" The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just." Was Job's case thus ? Had the righteous obtained the wealth which once was his ? The grand dwellings of the ungodly, like the frail tenement of the moth, shall crumble into nothingness, or be as the watchman's transient booth, " as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers." The fact that Job can speak thus of the perishing things of this world's greatness shows that he was conscious of a far different heritage for himself. Let moth and rust corrupt, he seems to say that he knows he has a better and more enduring substance.

(4) He follows in his solemn description the course of the wicked to the end. The rich man lieth down not realizing it is for the last time. He lies down in usual comfort, he opens his eyes upon a new day, but not to resume the old employments and pleasures. He opens his eyes only to pass away. Those eyes, so long closed to all that God has witnessed, at last open to another world-" In hell (hades) he lifted up his eyes, being in torment."

Terror, so long kept at a distance as the warning voice of conscience spoke, now sweeps down upon him; as by a tempest in the night he is carried away. God brings him down, and men rejoice at the removal of their oppressor.

Thus Job calmly describes an end which he knows is not his. What has made the difference ? Is it not the faith which amidst all his distress has held fast to God ?-a God whom he so little knew, and at whose afflictions he had repined. S. R.

(To be continued)

(Ps. 17 :8.)

Hidden safely 'neath the shadow
Of Thy sheltering wing!
Joyous now, of Thee, blest Saviour,
Let me sing.

Trembling oft before the shadow
Of impending pain,
Thy love's care amid my weakness,
Proves true gain.

Felt by Thee is every burden
Pressing on my heart;
Linked with Thee, in bonds eternal,
Who can part ?

Roll on, then, ye waves of suffering,
O'er this feeble frame!
Love and strength are mine in Jesus,
Still the same.

Saviour, let mine eyes not wander
From Thy blessed face ;
Fearless then I'll meet life's billows,
By Thy grace.

Soon I'll hear the "trumpet" sounding,
And Thy welcome "shout,"
Calling all Thy saints to meet Thee-
None left out.

Here, O Lord, I'm but a stranger,
Whilst I wait for Thee,
Where they gave Thee for Thy portion
But the "tree."

Boundless grace! Thou art our portion-
God's beloved Son;
Caught up soon, the Bride shall meet Thee
Whom Thou'st won. G. W. Gray
" MY PRESENCE SHALL GO WITH THEE."

"Until the day shall break,"
For while the Sun is gone
It must be night. Soon, soon shall pass the night,
Soon break the glorious dawn
Upon our sight.

'Until the day shall break,
And shadows flee away,"
We wait for Thee.
The shadow of Thy cross
Lies heavy o'er the way,
But faith can see

That He who suffered there,
Our substitute to be, Will come again.
Then haste Thy coming, Lord;
We long Thy face to see
And with Thee reign.

'Until the day shall break,"
And we shall see Him crowned
In majesty,
Yea, crowned by God's own hand,
The King whom earth disowned
Despisedly.

Then shall the morning break,
And we with joy arise
Thy face to see.
And then forevermore
The glorious day shall break
For us, and Thee. H. McD

"Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came to Him a woman having an alabaster head, box of very precious ointment, and poured it upon his as he sat at table. But when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, To what purpose was this waste? For this might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. But Jesus, knowing it, said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman ? for she hath done me a good deed :for ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in pouring out this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her" (Matt. 26:6-13).

In sharpest contrast we see here the love that pours out its precious ointment upon the Lord, and the murmuring of the disciples, prompted, as we are elsewhere told, by one who could sell the Lord Himself for the price of a slave. The last finds its occasion in the first, love rousing and developing its awful opposite in the soul of this unhappy man, whom the defeat of his earthly ambitions and carnal hopes had already set in antagonism. He had begun to compensate himself, as best he could, with the contents of the common bag which carried all the means of subsistence of the little company. That pitiful compensation was coming to an end. Clearer sighted in his unbelief than his companions in their faith, he could understand the intimations, constantly now coming, of his Master's death. The enmity of the leaders of the people was too plain to need much 'other prophecy of what was to be. It might not come to that:at the end we find him possessed with the hope that it would not. Still he needed to make his escape from this ruined cause, and carry with him also what he could secure. The price of this ointment might well be coveted by one in such a position, and he breaks out openly with this complaint:"To what purpose is this waste ?"

She, too, who has come there with her ointment, has realized as those around Him have not yet, the death that is now drawn so near Him. But the effect is only, if possible, to make Him more absorbingly the object for her heart, and whatever is precious for her goes into death with Him. Her use of the ointment testifies of this, as well as of the fragrance of the death itself, which will abide with us for eternity, and in which we too abide, and shall abide, in the sweet savor of this wonderful obedience.

Even true disciples are caught by the cry of utilitarianism that which is spent upon Christ alone is "waste," and taken from the poor; and such pleas become for many effectual arguments against what true devotedness to Him demands. Those who would understand and appreciate the laying down of life for His sake, can often not understand the sacrifice of usefulness on His account, even though the demand come in the way of duty. They will say, indeed, that duty cannot really demand such sacrifice; but it does very often demand that we leave entirely out of question all consideration of results, and follow simply and without reserve the dictates of the Word. And it is certainly true that the thought of usefulness governs often disastrously even the interpretation of the word of God itself.

Results are never safe as guidance for our path, and this for at least two plain reasons. First, because they must follow the action, and therefore come too late to determine it; and secondly, if it be thought that we can profit by the experience of others, so many things combine to produce them that we are constantly in danger of mistaking the real cause. Of course, if God's word has spoken decisively, even in the least particular, then all consideration of results is mere unfaithfulness.
The Lord openly vindicates the act of-the woman. This devotedness shows itself at the right time to refresh His true human heart, afflicted with the treachery of Judas, and now in near prospect of the cross. She had manifested an appreciative love which those around Him were unable even to enter into, and He declares that wherever His gospel shall be preached among men, this deed of her's shall be told as a memorial of her. It may well be a corrective of that tendency of utilitarianism to invade the gospel itself, to the great harm and loss of souls ; and this is not unapt to be where salvation is freely preached, but more as a boon to man than a cost to God. Thus Christ is little known, little followed:to have salvation is to have all that the heart craves; yet it is not really satisfied thus, and the world comes in to fill the vacuum.

-From Numerical Bible on Matthew, pp. 244, 6.

The Testimony of a Saved Anarchist

Having pursued various courses in life in order to gain real happiness, and not finding it, I cast religion aside, as it did not give me what I could enjoy, but rather burdened me with duties which were distasteful to my wild and unruly nature.

Atheism seemed to suit me better, since it left me without responsibility to God, as I thought. I had things very much my own way, but I became more and more dissatisfied; adding rebellion to iniquity, I became an Anarchist. As such, I thought of myself as marching in the forefront of progress, believing that in anarchism I had something that would solve the problems of life. I thought that if only all governments and law could be abolished and men left to themselves, they would eventually do the right thing; all would have enough to enjoy, they would live to a good old age, becoming better and better, until each one would love his neighbor as himself, and true happiness; be restored.

I was soon disappointed. I began to find flaws in anarchism, and I gave up the hope of ever seeing these ideas realized in my lifetime. I was looking for something that would give me joy and comfort now. I occupied myself with art, literature, and music, and some baser sorts of pleasure, but without finding what I desired. I became a believer in the so-called " New Thought." "I will and I can " was my motto. Trusting in an invisible, infinite power within and around me, to do all things, I went on nicely for a time, thinking that at last I had discovered the secret of a happy and successful life. But I was again disappointed; I found that this power was a lying power (Eph. 2:2).

" I tried the broken cisterns, Lord,
But, ah, the waters failed.
E'en as I stooped to drink, they fled
And mocked me as I wailed."

Adversity in business, and sickness in my family, led me to ask myself if my sorrow and misery were not the result of my sin, and if the God of the Bible was not after all the true God who was against my plans. My conscience bore witness to the fact that I deserved the evil which had come upon me. I saw myself as never before-vile, corrupt, and depraved. Those who knew me might have thought otherwise, but I knew better than they what I was and what I had done. I saw myself as in the presence of a holy God, before whom there is no creature that is not manifest in His sight, "but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do" (Heb. 4:13).

I now wished things could be put right. At this time I heard a Christian, with whom I worked, saying, that if a man wanted to be saved, he did not need to pray, nor join a church, nor do any works, but only believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, quoting that beautiful verse:" For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3 :16).

This struck me at once as being the scriptural way of salvation. I now began honestly to investigate if the Bible was really the inspired word of God, and I determined in my own mind that if I was convinced that the Bible was what it claimed to be, I would believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for my salvation. After reading several discourses in defense of this precious book, I was convinced of its divine inspiration, especially upon the argument based upon the fact of fulfilled prophecy, and the unity of the books of the Bible. Admitting the Bible to be the word of God, I knew I was lost and needed a Saviour.

Coming back to John 3 :16, doubts arose in my mind concerning the deity of Christ. In reading the account of the miracles which Jesus wrought in the presence of so many people, learned and unlearned, I was convinced that He was a teacher sent from God.

This left me still in the same condition that Nicodemus was in, when he uttered the words recorded in John 3:2. I needed to be born again. I do not know the exact time when this took place in me, but I do know that I was fully convinced and satisfied concerning the deity of Christ after reading a little tract by Lord Lytton (himself an infidel at one time) on the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. In this tract he examines from every possible side the scriptural account of Saul's conversion, and points out how this haughty enemy of the Lord Jesus was, through hearing the glorified Redeemer, who met him when he was in the very act of persecuting the Church, turned into a meek and faithful servant, who was willing to suffer all things for Jesus' sake.. I was now convinced that Jesus had risen from the dead, that He was what He claimed to be, and for that reason sufficient for my need; I believed John 3:16. I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour, and found what I had been looking for-peace, rest, and happiness.

According to the word of God, I have now forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:14); eternal life (John 3 :16); and shall never come into judgment (John 5 :24). I am sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13); I am a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17); and am an heir of God and joint-heir with Christ (Rom. 8 :17). Heaven is henceforth my home, from whence also I look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change the body of our humiliation that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body Phil. 3:20,21).

My life is now filled with new motives, new purposes and new power. God has also put a new song in my mouth, even the praises of Him who has called me out of darkness into His marvelous light.

" Let one in his innocence glory,
Another in works he has done,
Thy BLOOD is my claim and my title,
Beside it, O Lord, I have none." G. M. Schmidt

In the 14th chapter of John's Gospel, verse 14, our Lord says, "If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." Are we getting those things which we ask ? Are our prayers being answered ? Or are we praying from day to day, because it is our habit, without looking for or receiving an answer to our petitions ?

Many of God's dear people seem to be doing so. May we therefore search our hearts, and God's Word also, to find why it is so.

Our Lord's promise to answer the prayers of His people is positive, and large:"Whatsoever ye shall ask;" "If we ask anything;" "All things whatsoever ye shall ask; " "Ask what ye will; " "Whatsoever we ask," are the measure of our privilege in coming to God; and His promise to hear is equally positive:"That will I do;" "He heareth us"; "Ye shall receive; " "It shall be done," "We receive " (John 14:13; i John 5:14; Matt. 21:22; John 15:7; i John 3:22). If the privilege of asking is large, and the promise to answer positive, what is it that hinders us from receiving what we ask ?

It is because there can be on God's part no unholy answering to the prayer a Christian may offer, nor a disregard of His honor and glory.

When the mother of Zebedee's children asked for her sons positions of honor in Christ's kingdom, Jesus answered, "Ye know not what ye ask " (Matt. 20:22). When Paul besought the Lord three times to remove the painful thorn which troubled him (2 Cor. 12:7), his prayer was answered in quite a different way than he had expected. Israel's prayer to satisfy their craving in the wilderness, was answered, but it brought leanness into their souls (Ps. 106:15). If God should hear every prayer offered, even by those who are His children, it would frequently be to their hurt instead of blessing. One would pray for wealth; another for position; another for worldly ease, etc. I have read of a celebrated general who always prayed to be successful in battle; and there have been Christiana on both sides of conflicting nations each praying for the success of their armies, rather than with humiliation before God and confession of what has caused the conflict. So the apostle James says, "Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts "(James 4:3).

Very often God's people are not in a condition to have their prayers answered (Isa. i:15),and God refuses to hear them, that their condition may be realized, and they be brought to repentance and brokenness of spirit-and this whether it be an individual or a nation. If my child is naughty and disobedient, and in that condition asks me for what may even be good for him, and which I intend to give him, I must withhold it for the moment, that he may realize his wrong-doing and seek forgiveness. So with us, God may refuse our request or delay His answer, that we may get in a right attitude before Him.

In those scriptures first quoted, which give us the broad promise of answer to our petitions, we also find the conditions for prevailing prayer.

In John 14:13, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." In 1 John 5:14," If we ask anything according to His will," points to the character of prayer we should offer. We could not associate the name of the Lord Jesus Christ with anything of a worldly or a selfish nature. Our prayer must be only such as we can rightly attach His name to. To such prayers we have the Lord's promise that they shall be answered. F.

(1 Sam. 25.)

The case of this remarkable woman is full of _L encouragement and instruction to all who may find themselves cramped and hindered by unavoidable connections and associations. To all such, the history of Abigail simply says, Be patient, wait on God, do not suppose yourself void of all opportunity for testimony. The Lord may be much glorified by meek subjection, and will, assuredly, give relief and victory in the end. True, some may have to reproach themselves for having formed such connections, or entered into such associations ; but even so, if the folly and evil are really felt, confessed, and judged before God, and the soul brought into an attitude of thorough subduedness, the end will be blessing and peace.

In Abigail we see one who was actually used to correct no less a personage than David himself. It may be that her course, up to the time at which the sacred historian introduces her to our notice, had been marked by much that was painful and trying; indeed, it could hardly have been otherwise, associated with such an one as Nabal. Time, however, brought to light the grace that was in her. She had suffered in obscurity, and was now about to be raised to an unusually high elevation. Few had seen her patient service and testimony, but many beheld her exaltation. The burden which she had borne in secret was about to drop off before many witnesses. The preciousness of Abigail's service did not consist in her having saved Nabal from the sword of David, but in keeping David from drawing the sword at all.

"Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him; and he hath requited me evil for good." This was terrible! And David was rashly taking himself out of the place of dependence – the only happy, the only holy place. Nor was it on behalf of the congregation of the Lord. No, it was to avenge himself on one who had treated him badly. Sad mistake! Happy was it for him that there was an Abigail in the house of Nabal, who was about to be used of God to keep him from answering a fool according to his folly. This was just what the enemy desired. Nabal's selfishness was used by Satan to ensnare David, and Abigail was the Lord's instrument to deliver him.

It is well when the man of God can detect Satan's working; to be able so to do, he must be much in the presence of God, for there alone can he find light and spiritual power to enable him to cope with such a foe. When out of communion, the soul becomes distracted by looking at secondary causes, and subordinate agents, just as David was distracted by looking at Nabal. Had he paused to view the matter calmly before God, we should not have had such words as, "In vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness;" he would have passed on and left " this fellow " to himself. Faith imparts real dignity to the character and superiority over the petty circumstances of this transient scene. Those who know themselves as pilgrims and strangers, will remember that the sorrows as well as the joys of this life are evanescent, and they will not be inordinately affected by either the one or the other. "Passing away" is written on everything ; the man of faith must, therefore, look upwards and onward.

Now Abigail, by the grace of God, delivered David from the unhappy influence of the present, by leading his soul onward into the future; we learn this from her exquisite address to him. "And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be; and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thy handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal [meaning foolish, fool] is his name, and folly is with him; but I thy handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal; . . . for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul; but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out as out of the middle of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall have done to my lord according to all the good that He hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel, that this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself; but when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid."

We can hardly conceive anything more touching than this address; every point in it was calculated to touch the heart. She presents to him the evil of seeking to avenge himself; the weakness and folly of the object of his revenge-she reminds him of his proper occupation, namely, "fighting the Lord's battles." This must have brought home to his heart the humiliating circumstances in which Abigail met him, even rushing on to fight his own battle.

However, the reader will perceive that the leading point in this address is the special reference to the future. "The Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house." "The soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God." "When the Lord shall have done to my lord," etc.; "and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel." All these allusions to David's future blessing and glory were eminently calculated to withdraw his heart from his present grievance. The sure house, the bundle of life, and the kingdom, were far better than Nabal's flocks and herds; and in the view of these glories, David could well afford to leave him to his portion, and his portion to him. To the heir of a kingdom, a few sheep could have but little attraction; and one who knew that he had the anointing oil of the Lord upon his head might easily bear to be called a runaway servant. All these things Abigail knew-knew as matters of faith. She knew David, and knew his high destinies. By faith she recognized in the despised outcast the future king of Israel. Nabal knew not David. He was a man of the world, swallowed up with present things. With him there was nothing more important, nothing more influential, than "my bread, my flesh, my shearers;" it was all self; there was no room for David or his claims. This might be expected from such an one; but surely it was not for David to go down from his elevation to grapple with a poor worldling about his perishable possessions. Ah, no ; the kingdom should have filled his eye and engaged his thoughts, and lifted his spirit above all lower influences. Look at the Master Himself, as He stood at the bar of a poor worm-the creation of His own hand -how did He conduct Himself ? Did He call upon His little band of followers to "gird on every man his sword ? " Did He say of the man who dared to sit as His judge, "In vain have I imparted unto this fellow all he is, and all he has ?" No ; He looked above and beyond Pilate, Herod, the chief priests and scribes. He could say, " The cup which my father hath given Me, shall I not drink it ? " This kept His spirit tranquil, while, at the same time, He could look forward into the future, and say, "hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Here was real power over present things. The millennial kingdom, with all its untold joys, with all its heights and depths of glory, glistened in the distance with everlasting light and brilliancy, and the eye of the Man of Sorrows rested upon it, in that dark hour when the scoffs and sneers, the taunts and reproaches of guilty sinners were falling upon His blessed person.

Dear Christian reader, this is our model; thus ought we to meet the trials and difficulties, the reproach, obloquy and desertion of this present time.

We should view all in the light of "hereafter." "Our light affliction," says an eminent sufferer, "which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.' Again, "But the God of all grace, who hath called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory ?" Yes ; suffering must come first and glory afterwards; and any one who, by his own hand, would seek to take off the edge of present suffering and reproach, proves that the kingdom is not filling the vision of his soul-that now is more influential with him than "hereafter." How we ought to bless our God for having opened to us such a vista of glory in the ages to come! How it enables us to tread, with a buoyant step, our rugged path through the wilderness! How it lifts us above the things which engross the children of this world!

"We're not of the world which fadeth away,
We're not of the night, but children of day;
The chains that once bound us by Jesus are riven,
We're strangers on earth, and our home is in heaven."

May we prove the sacred reality of this more, as we pass along through " this vale of tears." Truly the heart would sink and the spirit faint, were we not sustained by hope-even the hope of glory, which, thank God, maketh not ashamed, for the Spirit is the earnest of it in our hearts. C. H. M.

There are two expressions in the epistle to the Romans which indicate the special character of the apostle Paul's ministry. " The gospel of God" (an expression which occurs in the introductory verses of the epistle, chap, i:1-17) clearly points to the source of the gospel; while the other expression, "My gospel" (chap. 16:25), introduced in a sort of doxology, speaks of a blessed revelation, though not developed, which distinguished the apostle's teaching from other of the Lord's servants. It would be difficult to estimate our loss if we fail to grasp these two important truths.

We live in a day when the faith of God's people is sorely tried! Many are genuinely perplexed and distraught by the condition of things both in the political and religious world. This, doubtless, is the result of the soul not being established in the truth, and is often due to wrong teaching as to the scope and purpose of the gospel.

A question frequently made of late is no new one, though recent happenings in Europe have forced it more prominently on the attention of the thinking public. "Has Christianity failed in its mission? " was the query raised by a leading secular magazine some time ago. The writer was drawing attention to the existing awful conditions in war-riven Europe.

Such a question is raised on altogether wrong premises; it could never be asked, were the natural man's condition and the purpose of God in the gospel understood.

In the minds of most, an idea exists that God has sent out the gospel to improve the world, to make it a more congenial place for men to live in; and to find the world more hopelessly evil than ever, after strenuously preaching its improvement, has dismayed many a " 20th century " preacher, and thrown his listeners into confusion and despondency as to the outcome of what they thought was the gospel. Misapplied Scripture, often torn from its context, has been made use of to support the teaching that gradually the gospel preached must permeate the world and result in the establishment of the millennium-which, however, is entirely foreign to the Scriptures.

The Gospel of God

Nowhere do we find the apostleship of Paul placed on more positive ground than in the epistle to the Romans. He had not yet been at Rome, but, as the apostle of the Gentiles, he would fulfil his mission, which he had received from the Lord Himself for the Gentiles (Acts 26:17, 18). According to God's administrative order, Peter was specially commissioned to the circumcision; Paul to the nations, or Gentiles (Gal. 2:7, 8).

Little need be said here as to the character of Peter's ministry, but an interesting point may be referred to. This whole-hearted servant of the Lord preached (as recorded in the Acts) forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, but did not associate with this the truth of justification; while Paul, in his preaching, added this blessed truth:

"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses" (Acts 13:38, 39).
The gospel (or good news) was not about man- though it was sent to man; there was nothing joyous to say about him-in heathenism, wantonly corrupt; in philosophy, hypocritical; under law, a transgressor:every mouth was stopped and all the world was shown to be "guilty before God." Man conclusively proved himself unable to bring forth righteousness for God.

Concerning His Son

He is the blessed theme of the gospel; the glad tidings are concerning Him. He is presented in a two-fold way:First, in connection with the promises, "Seed of David according to the flesh," and, second, "Son of God with power" by resurrection of the dead ("the dead," here, is in the plural-dead ones).

The gospel of God had been announced by the prophets in the Old Testament; it had been promised before it came; thus every possible objection which might be raised should be silenced before the unfolding of what God's gospel is. In the person of the Son, God has found One able to undertake and accomplish all His purposes, and fully make known all His thoughts of love for men. He alone could solve the problem that man raised centimes before, and could not settle-the question of good and evil -and settle it to God's eternal glory. What marvelous grace that He should enter the dark domain of death where man lay in ruin and exposed to eternal wrath, taking upon Himself all the weakness of man, once and for ever rob the enemy of his spoils, take away the armor in which he boasted, and completely triumph in resurrection over all the enemy's power.

The new life received by the believer is a life given and founded on the eternal value of what has been accomplished by the Son of God. In this blessed gospel God reveals a righteousness/or man who has none ; but a righteousness from God-is revealed to, and on the principle of, faith. This is the grand theme of the epistle.

Into details we do not enter, only to point out what is its connection with the expression which titles this article. Let it suffice to say that in Romans the believer is looked at as justified, righteousness being imputed to him through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, that he may walk here in this world in the power of the risen life of Christ, having the glory in view.

This epistle, and that to the Ephesians, are the only two written by the apostle to the saints which are not corrective; the others had in view certain existing conditions to correct. In these two epistles we have the unfolding of positive truth:the former laying the sure foundation, and the latter giving the blessed structure built thereon. In a subsequent paper we may see what is God's purpose in sending forth the glad tidings. J. W. H. N.

(Continued from page 71.)

Having looked at the administration of the mystery in our previous paper, we will now look at the truths relating to it.

A Holy Temple and a Habitation.

These two thoughts are developed in the second chapter of Ephesians. Man is seen here as dead toward God-there is no pulsation of heart God-ward. Out of this state God quickens with Christ. All therefore must be in God's sovereign grace. Jews and Gentiles are seen in the very same condition. The "ye" in verse 2 are Gentiles, and the " we " in verse 3 refers to the Jews. All distinctions between Jews and Gentiles are obliterated, as in Rom. 3 ; but this all sets forth God's sovereign and pure grace towards both.

In the raising of Christ from among the dead, is viewed, according to God's purpose, the quickening with Him of those given to Him, who were dead toward God. It is new creation, therefore; Jew and Gentile being in the same condition, are both alike quickened and raised in connection with Christ. The division wall of ordinances that had been erected between Jews and Gentiles is broken down and removed. Being reconciled to God by the Cross, the enmity between them being done away, both then have equal access by one Spirit unto the Father; the Gentile is no longer alien, but a fellow-citizen, heavenly in character, and God has a household, a true house. The apostles and prophets are the foundation, the Lord Himself the chief cornerstone. Here we touch i Peter 2:4-9 and i Cor. 3.

In the first named we have the same aspect as in Ephesians, it is the work of God, hence there is no admixture; while in Corinthians man's responsibility is in view-"Let every man take heed."

The "temple," in Eph. 2 :21, is evidently not looked at as complete, but as building, until all believers are gathered in. As spoken of here, this house is set up by God, and composed of the subjects of His grace.

In this "holy temple" God the Spirit dwells, and in i Tim. 3 :15, we are told it is "the assembly of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." It must ever be that; for " testimony" and "truth" can only be found there. In that house has been deposited a priceless treasure :that grand essential truth, " the mystery of piety "-God manifest in flesh. Upon this revelation are founded all relationships of God with men. How blessed-the eternal God, the Creator, has revealed Himself in the person of Christ. If any man corrupt this temple (introduce doctrines subversive to the fundamental truth), him God shall destroy.

In i Cor. 3 the house is looked at in relation to man's responsibility:the foundation is sure, but as man is building, the warning is, " Let every man take heed how he buildeth thereon." All shall be tested; and that which is wood, hay or stubble, shall be destroyed. Confounding this aspect of the house, as under man's building, with the Body, formed by the Holy Spirit, has led to all kinds of error; it attributes to man's work what can only apply to God's work, resulting in the papacy and all that is allied to it.

In this connection it is interesting to compare the two epistles to Timothy. In the scripture already referred to (i Tim; 3 :15), the apostle says to his beloved son in the faith, "That thou mightest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God"-this, when all was in order. But in the second epistle the man of God is exhorted to purge himself from vessels to dishonor in what has become "a great house," in which are found both vessels unto honor and others to dishonor. This connects with i Cor. 3; for although the "great house" is not called "God's house," yet surely the same habitation is in view. We are assured of the stability of the foundation, but we are in company with those who "overthrow the faith of some." Profession then is here in view, called "a great house," in which " God knoweth them that are His." Here we must leave it. The danger is, when unity is recognized and has authority over the heart, that the individual may compromise and go on with that which is manifestly evil rather than break the external unity.

But the path of faithfulness is clear-God is holy -" Holiness becometh Thy house, O Lord, for ever," and those who name that holy name must dissociate themselves from all that is contrary to that name. This is individual; it is only thus we can cleanse ourselves from vessels to- dishonor. Personally cleansed (1:e., separated from that which involves fellowship with evil), such are meet for the Master's use. This is not the spirit of " I am holier than thou," but it is a question of individual responsibility to walk apart from that which dishonors the Lord and grieves the Holy Spirit who dwells in the house. Whatever may be the sorrowful condition of that which professes to be God's habitation, the individual Christian is called upon to be faithful to the Lord and His word. Indeed, the darker the day, and the greater the departure from the truth, the greater the privilege of the individual to witness for the Lord-both by our confession and the position taken.

We have reached the end of the dispensation; the early energy, when "mightily grew the word of God and prevailed," is no longer in evidence; but the Lord, writing to the assembly in Philadelphia, says :"Thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word and hast not denied my name," by which we see how He values any measure of faithfulness. Such may be of little consequence in the eyes of men, regarded as "narrow-minded," or " bigoted," but they are in the company of Him who was "despised and rejected of men," or, like the apostle, treated as the filth of the world and the off scouring of all things (i Cor. 4:10-13). What a rebuke were these words to the ease-loving, carnally-minded Corinthian Christians! "Ye are rich," says the apostle to them, "ye have reigned as kings without us!" How strikingly these two scriptures illustrate the difference between the Lord's commendation of Philadelphia and the solemn reproof of Laodicea.

The path of faithfulness and separation is not necessarily the path of isolation. God had, in Elijah's day reserved seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal, though Elijah thought himself the only faithful witness. He surely ought to have known some of them, and they him:herein is a lesson we do well to take to heart. Let us take heed to that exhortation in 2 Tim. 2 :22 :" Follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." Here we are in good company; our responsibility individually is to follow these things ; the Lord will manifest others like-minded, who call upon Him out of a pure heart. J. W. H. N.

( To be continued.)

The believer is so freed from eternal wrath, that if Satan and conscience say, " Thou art a sinner, and under the curse of the law," he can say, It is true, I am a sinner, but [I was hanged on a tree and died; I was made a curse in my Head and Representative, Christ, and His payment and Buffering is my payment and suffering.-Rutherford.

IT IS POSSIBLE, for those who really are willing to reckon on the power of the Lord for keeping and victory, to lead a life in which His promises are taken as they stand, and find them true.

IT IS POSSIBLE to cast all our care upon Him daily and to enjoy deep peace in doing it.

IT IS POSSIBLE to see the will of God in everything, and to receive it, not with repining and sighing, but with full resignation and joy.

IT IS POSSIBLE, by taking refuge in God and His grace, to become strong where our greatest weakness lay, with the blessed sense of His presence and power.

(Continued from page 245.)

Section 3.-Self-manifested. (chaps. 29-31.)

As already pointed out, there is greater or less inconsistency in Job's monologue, corresponding to the state of his heart, in which conflicting emotions, of conscious integrity before man, and of the fear of the Lord, are mingled with unhealthy reminiscences of past greatness, and laments over present degradation. The general tone, however, shows the need of God's dealing with his soul, and prepares us for what follows.

In this third section we have the manifestation of the man, the thoughts that nestled in his bosom, and while he concludes with unanswerable protestations of integrity, the impression left upon our mind is painful. The section may be divided into three parts, manifesting progressive stages of self-occupation.

1. Past greatness (chap. 29).

2. Present shame (chap. 30).

3. I am clean (chap. 31).

We may remark upon the entire section that Job is occupied with the wrong person. Even if all that he said were true-and we have no reason to doubt it was sincerely spoken-it ill becomes a man to dwell upon his own state. Unfallen man's happiness was to continue in God's goodness; turning from that, he fell into disobedience. For a sinner to dwell Upon his own goodness-of which he has none-is repulsive; and for a child of God to follow the same course, shows clearly that he has not yet learned his lesson. All this comes out clearly in the chapters we are considering.

Taking up these in order, we find in chapter 29 a number of distinctly marked divisions.

(1) Prosperity at home (vers. 1-6).

(2) Honor abroad (vers. 7-10).

(3) His benefactions praised him (vers. 11-17).

(4) Abiding prosperity in view (vers. 18-20).

(5) A comforter for the distressed (vers. 21-25),

(I) It is nearly always a sign of present decrepitude if we are obliged to look backward to the past for marks of God's favor. It is apt to be connected with pride in that past, as well as with discouragement in the present. In the things of God, we enjoy His personal favor; His lamp shines about us now; His blessing is upon our tribulation, and the future opens out sweetly before us-"we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." If we dwell upon the past, it is rather upon the grace which has saved us. The Christian's motto is, "Reaching forth unto those things which are before" (Phil. 3). Paul's past, in which he had gloried-in Judaism- he now counted loss for Christ. Even past service, communion and joy in Christ, is left behind. The manna of yesterday will not do for to-day. The bright light of yesterday's candle is the burnt wick of to-day. A present Christ in all His fulness; a present Spirit ministering the Word to our need- these are the believer's proper theme and occupation. Job thus at the outset is looking in the wrong direction.

Ver. 4 is literally, "in the days of autumn," and does not refer to the beginning of the civil year, but rather to the rich time of ingathering, of ripe maturity, when all was prosperous about him. His children, as described in the first chapter, were about him; he luxuriated in the abundance of his resources.

(2) Having surveyed his former prosperity at home, Job now, in memory, passes out of his gates to take his preeminent place among his fellows. It is pitiful to hear a truly great man describing his supremacy over others. The young men hid themselves, the elders rose up and remained standing until he took his seat. Ah, had not this sense of his greatness fostered a pride in Job which made his downfall a necessary dealing of God ? He was a prince of princes; nobles were struck dumb in his presence! He is describing His place among the councillors of the city; he was their president and chief.

(3) But this eminence was not due to wisdom and dignity alone. The ear which heard his voice blessed him; the eye looked upon a benefactor and a friend. It is indeed a beautiful picture, but marred by the pride of personal recital. "Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth.'" Job had won the respect and affection of all. He had been a succorer of the helpless, a friend of the orphan and the widow. He clothes himself with righteousness as with a garment, and binds it as a crown upon his brow. Verily, these are strong words, savoring little of the humility which becomes us. Job was a combination of the "righteous " man for whom one would scarcely die, and of the "good," benevolent man for whom, 'perhaps, some would even dare to die. Eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, diligently seeking out obscure cases of need; and withal meting out severe penalty upon the wrong-doer-truly he was a model man! But, for us, let it be far from us to glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(4) All this honor, coupled with beneficence on his part, made life very attractive to Job. The inevitable end, put off to a great distance, would find him comfortable in his "nest." He would prolong the days of his life as a multitude of grains of the sand, or, as some would have it, as the phoenix- the immortal bird of fable. The rendering of our version gives a simple and more worthy rendering, and one conformed to the usage of Scripture (i Ki. 4:29; Gen. 22:17). Another suggestion is that Job refers to the palm tree-"The righteous shall flourish as the palm tree." In any case the meaning is obvious :he would live on uninterruptedly and as a well-watered tree. So would the freshness of the dew be his, and his bow would abide in strength.

(5) The remainder of the chapter seems to recur to his greatness and wisdom. But there is a slight advance over the former expressions. The effect of his decisions is seen upon his beneficiaries rather than his fellow-councillors. His decision was for them the final word, calling for no response; and yet his words were not like the withering sentence of an inexorable judge, but like the gentle dew or the rain. His smile was as a ray of light to them. The thought here is slightly obscure. Does Job mean to say that his smile was a blessing to them; or the token of his abiding self-complacency ? The usual thought, however, is not obscure. If they were in doubt and trouble, his smile reassured them, and no grief on their part could alter his imperturbable cheerfulness. He was as a king among them, regarded with a reverence akin to worship. Ah, but where was all this honor now ? It could but intensify Job's present misery.

" This is truth the poet sings, That a sorrow's crown of sorrow Is remembering happier things."

The ashes of his past joys can give no warmth to his poor comfortless heart today; they can but feed the flame of that pride which burns all the more brightly amid the ruin of its past. S. R.

(To be continued.)

(Continued from page 22.)

CHAPTER X.

The Portion of the Just and of the Wicked in Sheol

If now we accept the fact-abundantly made evident in the Old Testament, as we have seen- that death does not end all; that at death men enter on another condition of conscious existence, an interesting and important question naturally arises:What is the difference between the portion of the righteous and of the wicked in the place of departed spirits ?

In answering this question we must remember that the Old Testament does not give the full light of the New, yet here and there we find statements which hint at what is the portion of the dead. We must also remember that the Old Testament treats of man's spirit as that which constitutes him a self-conscious, intelligent being. This is implied, and indeed involved, in being created in the image of God. As Proverbs 20:27 expresses it, "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord." And since our spirit is a conscious spirit in us now, it is but natural that it remain so in the time of separation from the body, with memory, realization of sin and guilt, and responsibility to God.

If, then, there has been no repentance before death, no taking refuge in the mercy of God, the spirit remains alienated from God and under His wrath in its new condition, and is sensible of it. Of those who died in faith I shall speak later; but, excepting these, there is nothing in the Old Testament to indicate that in Sheol they have not the same sense of guilt as they experienced upon earth. There is nothing whatever to militate against this inference, logically drawn from the nature and characteristics of the human spirit.

But we cannot leave it here; nor do the Old Testament Scriptures permit us to leave it here, for they contain very many allusions to Sheol. Anyone who will take pains to collect all the passages in the Old Testament referring to Sheol will find nothing to indicate that its inhabitants are in any way exposed to the temptations of Satan or to any interference by him. He may practice his delusive arts on men in this life, but not in the world of the dead. He may blind the eyes of men here, but he can do nothing there. Whatever influence he has wielded among the angels of heaven, and controls and uses those who have become evil spirits, it does not appear that access to the departed spirits of men is permitted him. When the dust returns to the dust, and the spirit to God who gave it (Eccl. 12:7), it is with God it has to do, not Satan.

I think we may accept it without hesitation that when the spirit is set free from the clogs of the material and the blinding influences of Satan, it then has a greatly enhanced realization of its sin and guilt. In this life, too, the energies of the spirit are largely taken up with pursuits in which much thought and labor are necessarily expended-things ordained of God as needful for men in this present world. We need to eat and drink, to sow and reap, to plant and build-all of them needful and sinless occupations. Caring for the physical and moral welfare of families are plain duties. In all these, and many other sinless pursuits, the mind is largely absorbed; and this mental absorption, according to its intensity, affords much relief from the burden of guilt with which the conscience is oppressed. If "the expectation of the wicked is wrath" (Prov. ii:23), whether it be as to time or eternity, relief from it is found in the occupations and cares of this life.

As we have seen, the Old Testament shows that when men die they are at rest as regards all this toil and exercise. We must infer, I think, that in that state there is no relief for those who die in their sins; but a constant memory of their sin and guilt, with the sense of God's disfavor and wrath.

In this life men often plunge into sinful pleasures to drown the voice of conscience, which ever and anon reminds them of their sin and God's reprobation of it. We may affirm, from what we have seen, that the departed are not able to seek relief in this way. No indulgence in the pleasures of sin are there; no opportunity to drown the voice of conscience; no means to efface the stains of sin and of outrage done to God, from whose wrath there can be no escape since His mercy was refused.

We have also seen that the Old Testament shows that death is but temporary; that the dead are to be raised. True, it says very little about the eternal state, yet it clearly implies, as we have seen, a permanent state of existence for both the righteous and the wicked, in which the spirit will not be apart from the body. The spirits of the departed constantly anticipate this final and permanent state of existence, but it gives no solace to the wicked dead.

Whether warned or unwarned the wicked die in their iniquity (see Ezek. 3:19; 33:9, 13). Death does not end the link with sin. To be of the seed or generation of Satan is a spiritual connection, and continues after the death of the body; they are still of his race when raised. They will be raised in their iniquity-not actively engaged in sinning, of course, but dying in their iniquity they continue to be of Satan's race, and subjects of God's wrath without hope of deliverance. The reflection that they refused what would have led them to reconciliation with the God they had sinned against will only make their condition the more bitter. The justice of God in abandoning them to eternal wrath must be an element of continual torture to the wicked dead – even to those of Old Testament times.

Without any other witness, death itself testified to God's disfavor; it was the sign of His wrath. Quickly after sin came in, God announced a hope of eternal life; those who laid not hold on this hope died with no hope of deliverance after death. No intimation of any such deliverance is given anywhere in the Old Testament. It teaches a resurrection, both of the just and of the unjust, but no hope for those who laid not hold on the promise.

It is true the full reality of what comes after death is not declared in the Old Testament, but there are numerous hints of it. Many passages imply that the state of the wicked dead is one of distress and misery, that they are waiting for the reunion of the soul and body, and for a final and eternal recompense.

But we pass on to consider the condition of the departed righteous, as set forth in the Old Testament. It is certain that those who embraced the hope of eternal life, which God announced with the promised woman's Seed, did not die in despair. They did not lose their hope when they died, clearly. We have seen there was sufficient light for them to know that Sheol would not be a condition of unconsciousness, and that man's spirit must necessarily carry its knowledge with it while in Sheol; the spirit evidently retains the faculty of memory.

By way of illustration we may take the case of Abel. In the acceptance of his offering he must have seen his own acceptance. In coming to God with his sacrifice he could not doubt God's acceptance of him when he saw the sacrifice accepted. He could and must have reasoned thus:Inasmuch as God has accepted me on the ground of the sacrifice I have presented, God accounts to me a righteousness which entitles me to a place of favor before His face. This surely was his confidence – the faith in which he died, to which he was a martyr.

But can we think he lost his faith when he was slain by the hand of Cain ? Could his spirit, passing into Sheol, forget the hope that his faith had laid hold of ? Ah, no. Abel in Sheol cannot be tortured or oppressed by the sense of guilt; but appreciates rather, values, and rejoices in the grace and favor of God which his soul had realized before he died.

Of course they carried into Sheol only what light God had revealed before they died. We cannot speculate on what may be given them there. We have no pronouncement on that subject in the Old Testament. But we are fully warranted in thinking of the righteous and the wicked in contrasted portions, widely separated morally from each other; the one abiding in the consciousness of divine disfavor, without hope of deliverance; the other enjoying the favor of God, waiting in confidence for a resurrection in which both soul and body will share in eternal blessedness.

As further illustrative of the contrasted portions of the just and the unjust in Sheol from Old Testament testimony, we may mention the great fathers of Israel. We have already seen that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob regarded themselves as pilgrims throughout their earthly life. They knew themselves to be the objects of divine favor; they had revelations from God which not only secured to them great earthly blessing, but implied also eternal blessedness. They died without either having been fulfilled to them. They did not die in despair and un belief. "They died in faith." They carried their hopes with them into Sheol, both earthly and heavenly.

Abraham certainly knew that God accounted him . righteous (Gen. 15:6). Could he forget it in the disembodied state ? It is certain Abraham learned to believe in the resurrection. If God did not definitely declare it to him, He gave him numerous indications of it, besides all the testimony to it that came down to him from the times before him. The hopes of blessing beyond resurrection, which God had implanted in his breast while on earth, would surely be an ever-present cheer to him in the land of the departed-they could not be obliterated.

Again, Abraham and succeeding believers could have believed in the passing away of the old creation and the bringing in of a new. God certainly hinted at this in Gen. 8:22, when He said, "While the earth remaineth," or, more literally, "All the days of the earth." Faith, even in Old Testament times, could anticipate, not only the resurrection of the body, but also a final and permanent condition for creation-a new heaven and a new earth. This knowledge and hope remained with them when they died.

The conclusions we have reached, founded on divine testimony, make it unnecessary, in our judgment, to look for further testimony, so far as our present purpose is concerned. Later revelations cannot contradict, but enlarge upon, those we have contemplated. We do not say that God's children in Old Testament times conceived and realized the full reality of eternal things, but we do maintain that there is ample evidence to say there is a wide difference in the portion of those who passed from earth into Sheol; some passing to an unrelieved misery, which undoubtedly we cannot describe, but intensified by having no hope of a better portion; others, having received the revelation of God, carried with them the comfort of God's favor in which they stood as having received His word. C. Crain

(To be continued.)

Notes of a Lecture on Matt. chap. 11

There are three parts in this chapter, of which I desire JL to speak in an informal way. Let us, like sheep and lambs of a flock, lather round the fountain, that the Lord may roll away the stone that we may drink. The more this thought prevails, the more profit we shall reap.

There is a constant tendency in us to drop into a kind of religious routine. I abhor religious machinery-going through meetings as a routine. Let us beware of it. But how are we to escape it? By individually living in the presence of God, and when we come together, come with exercised hearts.

Blessing in our meetings depends as much on the hearers as on the speakers. If I come into a close room, my lungs soon feel it; and if I enter a dead meeting, shall not my spirit feel it? What shall we do? Try to get up steam as if to run machinery ? Nay; let us get down on our faces before God, then there will be power in the meeting.

There is a well-a full well; but the flock may not be watered ; there may be no one to remove the stone if we are not living in the presence of God. But let us turn to our chapter.

In the first part (vers. 1-6) the Lord is wounded, as we may say, by one of His friends; then He is rejected by those He had come to seek and to save (vers. 16-24). In the next place we see the resources He found in His Father's will (vers. 25, 26); and then, in unfathomable love, unchecked by man's evil, He calls every weary, burdened soul to come to Him, and He would give them rest (vers. 28-30).

How constantly our Lord's path was beset with trials, rebuffs and opposition here! You remember those words in Isaiah 49, " I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and in vain." These words applied to the Lord Jesus Christ, God's perfect Servant and perfect Workman. But He met with rebuffs and disappointments. You remember those words in Psalm 69, "I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none." He passed through every sorrow and pain possible for any human heart to feel. Do not suppose that, because He was " over all, God blessed for ever," He did not feel all these things as a perfect human heart would. We are apt sometimes to say, He was God, He did not feel things as we do. But it is a mistake. On the contrary, none could feel man's insults and the disciples' dulness and selfishness as He did. What did He say to Simon the Pharisee? " Thou gavest Me no water for my feet; thou gavest Me no kiss; my head with oil thou didst not anoint." He felt every slight, and let me add, He feels it still:not only as to His person, but every slight we put on Him by indifference and coldness. His heart is jealous over our hearts; He wants our affections. He feels everything. He felt all the rebuffs.

Think of John the Baptist wounding the heart of Christ! Some say he sent the question for the sake of his disciples. No such thing; he sent the question because his own faith was wavering for a moment. That man who once gave so magnificent a testimony to Christ, was now languishing in Herod's prison, and he sends his message to the Lord, "Art, Thou He that should come, or do we look for another?"
You may feel a difficulty in believing that John could waver like that; if so. it is because you do not know enough of that heart which beats in your bosom. You may say, How could John the Baptist waver, who bore such a testimony to Christ?-who talked to the Pharisees as he did; who said he was only "a voice"-not worthy to unloose the shoes of the One coming after him; and again, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." Well, it is one thing to start in the fervency and power of new life, and quite another, when we meet with unexpected trials, to hold fast.

Let me tell you that there is not one who has started in the path whose faith will not be tested. God loves us too well to leave us without trials. If you and I are going to follow Christ in the path of faith and of service, we must be prepared to meet trial and opposition. Do you suppose I want to frighten you ? God forbid. But 1 want you to feel the foundation under your feet; I want you to have such a sense of the heart of Christ that you may stand firm, come what may.

What then does John's message remind you of? It reminds me of Elijah under the juniper tree. The man who had stood for God before all the prophets of Baal, was' now fleeing from the woman Jezebel. But what was the end of the Lord ? Elijah is taken to heaven in a chariot of fire. Elijah was discouraged, and he says, "It is better to die than to live!" But what does the Lord say? I'll take you to heaven. John, too, was tried in the prison; alone, and as it were, forgotten; and he sends his question, "Art Thou He that should come, or do we look for another? " So the Lord sent back this message to John, " Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me." Mark these last words.

You will find this general principle in Scripture:the Lord never exposes His servants to others. He will expose us to ourselves-not to others. This is a great practical truth; you see it all through Scripture. These disciples are going back to John:is the Lord Jesus going to expose their master to them ? No, that's not His heart at all. He will speak to John's conscience. He will send an arrow that will reach John's heart, but He will enclose it in a ease so delicate that the disciples do not know what they are carrying.

This illustrates the wonderful grace of our Lord. Whatever may be our infirmity He never exposes us to others ; He will deal with us Himself. So He sends back this message to John, " Go, show John," etc. These signs ought tohave been far more convincing than if He had put forth His power to deliver John.

I suppose there is not one of us who has not some cross to bear ; it is a necessary ballast; we could not do without it. Some one may ask, Why should we not have a smooth path; could not the Lord give us it? I will ask you a question:Which would you rather have, the power of His hand, or the sympathy of His heart? You say, The sympathy of His heart. Well, you will not have that if you had the power of His hand. The Lord says to Paul, I will not take away the thorn ; I will do something better:My grace will be with you:"My grace is sufficient for thee:for my strength is made perfect in weakness."

If the Lord takes away the thorn something worse may come in. Perhaps you are looking at the weak constitution of your poor body, or something in your business ; or some person you have to do with is a constant trial, and that day after day. Perhaps you think that you could get on with anyone better than that person ; his or her temper is so trying! You would like to have a change. Well, if you get clear of that, you may get something worse. Victory over yourself is what you want, and a change will not do it. Your own will has not been subdued. It has been said that saints in domestic life are like bottles in a basket:if they have not plenty of hay round them they are always jarring together. They get on very well in the meeting-. room, and seem all that's nice there, but put them together in domestic life, and you find out what they are. Like the cogs of a machine, they grate together; they want oil. I see it in visiting people, who are ready to pour sad tales into your ear. I see saints in domestic life who do not get on well at all, because there is not self-subjugation, self-judgment. People say charity must begin at home. Ah, but self-judgment must begin at home too.

Mark this, the Lord Jesus does not expose us to another. So He sends back this message to John :Do you not see that what Scripture has spoken of is being done? "And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me." That is the arrow which was for John's own heart. The Lord Himself will deal with His servants. He does not let anyone else do the work.

Take another example. You remember the case of Abraham and Abimelech in Genesis 20. Abraham was quite wrong in denying his wife; but God will not allow Abimelech to tell him. On the contrary, He says, Take care what you do with that man, he is a servant of mine; God throws His mantle over him. He says to Abimelech, I will not let you touch him; but you shall be a debtor to his prayers for the restoration of your household.

Again :At the close of Israel's wilderness course, after all their murmurings and short-comings, Balak hires Balaam to come and curse them. They were not now in the freshness of their early days when they came victoriously out of Egypt, but at the close of their wilderness history. Out came Balaam; but God says, I won't allow v you to curse them. " I have not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither have I seen perverseness in Israel." Was it not there? "I have not beheld it" God says. How was it? You know what was the ground of all this; that every single thing was charged on that blessed One who was to hang on Calvary's tree. "Who His own Self bare our sins in His own body on the tree :" who bore the wrath on our behalf, and has brought us into a place where God does not see a spot on us, because Jesus has borne all that was against us.

One may say, Does it not matter how we live, then? That is answered by the javelin of Phinehas-by present discipline on the transgressors. In God's words to Balaam you find the maintenance of their standing; in the javelin of Phinehas, you see God's judgment of their state. You get the grace of God, viewing them from the tops of the rocks:"From the hills I behold him." In connection with this read 1 Cor. 11:30-32.-[ED. Blessed way to look at saints! That is God's vision of them; and He says, "not a spot." Looked at from our point of view, we see this crookedness and that disagreeable disposition. What a crooked, sour temper, you say; can that be a saint of God? Yes, though I am not defending crooked tempers, for nothing brings so much trouble as crooked tempers, or is such a stumbling-block; and people say, There are your saints !

God forbid that I should hinder self-judgment. I wish to make no excuse for myself, though I would make every excuse for my brother or sister. Look at that poor cross-tempered person from the top of the rocks. Look for Christ in people, not at their blots. Let not our lips be opened to speak evil of a saint of God.

There are two classes of "biters,"-back-biters and face-biters-those who go behind your back and speak evil of you, or those that flatter you before your face. Both are of the devil. Don't be found doing the devil's work. Never utter a word of evil about others behind their backs. If you know anything against one, let him be the first and only one to hear it.

Let me tell you of a sure cure for back-biters; I have used it several times with success. When people come to talk about others, say, I shall go at once to the persons you speak of, and tell them all you have said, and give you as my authority; then, if you can't prove it, you must eat your own words. If you do this, you will not be troubled with backbiters. Is it that we are not to be faithful to others? Surely we are; but to do so in all lowliness, as Christ did. Take the basin and the towel and wash their feet.

Some dear saint once said, "I am determined never to speak of a saint's faults behind his back, and never to speak of his virtues before his face.'' We find this to perfection in the Lord. He could not say too much about John when He had sent this message to him. Of that man who said of himself he was only a voice, the Lord says he is more than A prophet; and of him who said he was not worthy to unloose His shoes, the Lord says there is not a greater born Of women. I am persuaded that the heart of the Lord was wounded by John's question, but there is not a single word about that to others ; but Christ sets him forth-garnishes him ; that is just the way He deals with us.

Lest some should raise the question, I don't understand how "he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater" than John the Baptist, I answer, That refers to the dispensational position. He further says, "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the. violent take it by force." The kingdom and the King were rejected by the leaders, and everyone who would enter had to do violence to all his surroundings. He says, The kingdom is not going to be set up in power now, but in mystery; so you must be willing to go against the tide.

As to these cities which had seen His mighty works and heard His words of grace, yet refused Him, He has to say, "Woe unto thee." Think of that voice of love having to say :"Thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell :for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day"-because they had not received His words, and had not regarded the time of their visitation with grace from on high.

Our Lord then retires, as it were, in the Father's will. "At that time," when all seemed to be against Him, He says, "I thank Thee, O Father." Thank God in the face of all these rebuffs? (Can we thank God when things go against us?) "I thank Thee, O Father. Lord of heaven and earth, . . . for so it seemeth good in Thy sight." He takes refuge in God. In Isaiah 49 He says "I have labored in vain." But what response does he get from God? "Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord … I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be my salvation to the ends of the earth." Magnificent result.! Though all may seem to fail at .present, Thou shalt be my salvation to the end of the earth-wave upon wave of blessing! Take it all in,, you that would serve Christ here. Perhaps you are a Sunday-school teacher; are you cast down about your work? You say, I don't see any results. It is very blessed to see results, but see that you are in your right place, and then go right on. Don't judge by results ; the harvest time will come; the reaping time will come. "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." How precious! Go, work on; this is the sowing time; the reaping time will come. Let your resources too be in God. In the last thirty-two years I have seen many who once stood well, but have gone back. I have known some who used their pen in the propagation of divine truth, then with the same pen contradict what they once held. Has Christ failed ? Has the truth changed ? No, for Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. What is the cause then ? They have not found what they expected, and have gone off in disappointment.

Looking for love from others brings disappointment. Let us not come looking for love in others, but show love ourselves, and joy in Christ; then, instead of hanging like an icicle from the roof of a house, we shall help to give warmth and comfort to all within. In the thirty-two years of my companionship and fellowship with saints, I have experienced more love than I ever expected or deserved. Why should we look for love? Our business is to show love. There is not a single line in Scripture to teach me to expect love, but plenty to teach me to show love. You know how hard it is to bring up water from a pump that has been dry for some time. But throw a little water in and you will soon get some out. If you come to saints and find them dead and cold, throw a little water in-show love, and you will soon see the effect.

Christ retires in the Father's will, as we have seen; then comes forth in the power of divine love and says, "Come unto Me . . . and I will give you rest." What fulness of grace ! Is there a conscience here that has not got peace, not got rest? I do not say heart-rest, for I believe this first rest is a rest of conscience. If you have not got rest of conscience, it is because you have not really come to Jesus. Thousands of religious people have not got rest because they have not come to Christ. They are occupied with their own feelings, and look to these for peace. How are you to get peace ? Simply by being satisfied with Jesus. God is satisfied with the work of Jesus; are you? He says, " Come unto Me and I will give you rest." You cannot have come to Him if you have not got this rest. Believe what He says; He desires to fill your own soul. There is no class of people I come in contact with, in whom I am so deeply interested, as anxious souls. Come to Jesus now:look off from self altogether-good self or bad self- and find in Jesus all you want. God is fully satisfied with the work that Christ has accomplished on the cross to put away sin. Why should not you be satisfied with it?

The soul that has come to Jesus has rest of conscience-has peace with God. But there is a rest of heart which is needed as we meet with the trials of every-day life. It is of this our Lord speaks when He adds, "Take My yoke upon you . . . and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Having peace with God, through Jesus who gives rest, we want now to bow our neck under His yoke-submit to His will -as He submitted to and found joy in the Father's will ; and in so doing, we find this heart-rest of which He speaks here. Are you restless, dissatisfied? Do you want a change to improve your circumstances? More wages? Then you have not got this rest. It is subjection of will to the Lord's that you need-submission under His yoke. Take your circumstances as His appointment for you, and you shall find rest of heart.

You get something like it in John 14 :27. The peace He "leaves" with them is peace of conscience. Then, "my peace give I unto you " is peace of heart. Many are troubled about their circumstances, etc., because they have not found this rest. "Take my yoke upon you aud learn of me" applies here.
Let me further add, If you and I retire in God's will, submitting to it, we will be coming out to make our returns with joy and praise. In place of being icicles, we shall be streams of blessing. The people around you will see Christ instead of that odious self. In the midst of your families, in your business, or in your workshops, you are called upon to be a living expression of Christ.

You will find it the best remedy, if you are bowed down in your spirit, or ready to complain of your lot, to go and visit the poor, or go to the bedside of some poor bed-ridden saint-try to relieve the need and the pain, seek to pour blessing into the wounded spirit, and you will find what relief you get in your own heart. Why ? Because you have got rid of yourself.

There are three sources of evil:a legal mind, a morbid conscience, and a self-occupied heart. The cure for a legal mind is grace; the cure for a morbid conscience is truth; the cure for a self-occupied heart is Christ. If I find a heart occupied with self, I say you want a new center-Christ. Revolve around that new center, and you will get its warming beams. When Christians move round that Center, they are catching its beams, and reflect them. Let us be working people, not talking people; but living, moving, breathing people. The Lord grant it may be so more and more.

"O patient, spotless One,
Our hearts in meekness train,
To hear Thy yoke, and learn of Thee,
That we may rest obtain."

C. H. M.

(Continued from page 127.)

Job's Reply to Eliphaz (chaps. 23, 24).

Job does not trouble himself to reply to the grievous charges of Eliphaz; the time for that has passed, and he has so repeatedly declared his righteousness that there is little need to reiterate it here. He will, before he is fully done, go completely into his self-vindication (chap. 31). Here his concern is with God. The cloud has again fallen and obscured Him from the view of faith which had shone out brightly a little while before. This sad eclipse leads Job to utter hard things against the Lord; but we can see it is from having lost sight of God, not the malice of one who turns against Him. But until God has probed into the recesses of Job's self-righteousness we may expect a recurrence of these clouds of unbelief.

When he comes to take up the argument of Eliphaz regarding the wicked, Job has the better of the contention, as will appear when we reach that part of his reply (chap. 24). The position of the friends is untenable, and while Job offers no true solution to the problem, he closes their mouths.

The reply maybe divided, as many of the others, into seven parts:

(1) His longing to lay his case before God (chap. 23:1-9).

(2) Protestations of righteousness (vers. 10-12).

(3) Afraid of God as his enemy (vers. 13-17).

(4) God's apparent failure in government (chap. 24:1-12).

(5) The wicked described (vers. 13-17).

(6) Their escape into Sheol (vers. 18-21).

(7) God seemingly their protector (vers. 22-25).

(i) " Even to-day" (after so much discussion and accusation by the friends) " my complaint still biddeth defiance."-so it has been rendered, rather than, "is bitter." It is the bitterness of resistance against their charges, rather than the bitterness of grief. He brings forth his groaning in protest against the unfairness of his treatment. This rendering seems in accord with the thought of protest on Job's part. It is not,'' My stroke is heavier than my groaning," as in our version,-he is not complaining of the bitterness of his suffering, but of its injustice. Ah, did he but know it, Job's acknowledgment would have been, "He hath not dealt with me after my sins." If we got our deserts, where would we be!

With this sense of outrage, Job desires to go before God and lay charges against Him! He would come boldly into His presence, in His very abode, and lay his case before Him, with his mouth full of arguments. He even challenges any reply from God, "I would know the words which He would answer me." So can a righteous man speak when at a distance from God. How different it was when he had his desire and God appeared to him!

And just here, when his almost insane defiance of God is at its height, there bursts forth a glance of that confidence in God which we have already had occasion to note. "Will He plead against me with His great power ! No! but He would put strength in me," or "regard me with compassion." These are surely not the words of an unbeliever. He doubts God's ways, accuses Him, but is confident that if he could only see Him all would be cleared. God would consider his "weak and wandering cries," and vindicate him from divine injustice! But what an anomaly-the righteous man disputing with Him, and delivered by the Judge Himself from His unjust severity! Strange contradiction it all is; yet better far thus to long to go before God, than the pride which would say to Him, " Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways." It is always better, to bring even our doubts of God to Himself, if we have nothing else to bring.

But where can God be found ? Job rushes forward, but He is not there; backward, but he cannot perceive Him. Turn to the right or the left, God still escapes him. He is left alone

" Upon the great world's altar stairs
That slope through darkness up to God "-

But God is not there! He can only

"Grope, and gather dust and chaff,
And cry to what I feel is Lord of all."

It is all most tragic; and if it were only Job seeking God, he might well sink in despair. But, all unknown to himself, God is seeking Job, and will find him too, ere long.

(2) Not finding God, Job turns in self-occupation to himself, and renews his protestation of righteousness. God knows his way, "the way of the righteous" (Ps. i:6), and after due trial, he will come forth as gold. It is all true, and yet the evident self-righteousness in it vitiates the nobility of the words. It is not, " That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold which perisheth." We feel the real trial has not yet come. It is his personal uprightness that is maintained-not the sense of grace; he thinks it comes from his own heart. He. has kept God's commands, has held fast to the words' of His mouth more than to his "necessary food." Job has valued God's will more than his own.

(3) But how true it is that if we commend ourselves we condemn God. Thus Job adds that God is determined to punish him, and nothing can swerve Him from this purpose! Good it is for Job and ourselves that we have One with whom is "no variableness, neither shadow of turning." He has said, '' I am the Lord; I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Job thought that the thing appointed for him was but the misery and suffering through which he was passing, while it was rather the "needs be" which was "to work patience. Job did not see the appointed " end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy "-the end of a love too great to be swerved from His purposes of blessing by our complaint and unbelief. Yes, "many such like things are with Him:" the path for each of His children is different, but the end is the same.

The " patience of Job" is not apparent here. On the contrary, fears fill his heart. He dreads God as an enemy, and would shrink from the very presence which so lately he craved. He blames God with thus overwhelming him, and throwing his thoughts into utter confusion.

The closing verse of this section is somewhat obscure. In our Authorized Version, Job wishes he had been cut off before this darkness came upon him, that he might not have seen it. Another view, following more closely the context, makes him emphasize the dread of God; he does not shrink from his calamities, terrible as they are, but from this dread Being who fills his soul with dread. " I have not been destroyed before the darkness [of present affliction], and before my countenance [all disfigured with disease], which thick darkness covereth." Blessed be God, His perfect love in Christ has been revealed; all is bright there, and the darkness is but a passing cloud which cannot hide the glory of the love that shines down upon us.

(4) "Wherefore are not bounds reserved by the Almighty, and they who honor Him see not His days?" (ch. 24:i). Such is the rendering of a very competent scholar, which gives a clearer meaning than the somewhat obscure translation of our Version, although the meaning in both cases is similar. Job is about to dwell upon the apparent failure of God to judge the wicked, and begins by asking why God does not allow His saints to see a righteous judgment visited upon them. Why does He not set a limit to their impiety and wicked oppression ? Job enumerates some details of their evil course, which violate every principle of right:landmarks are removed; they steal their neighbor's flocks, and shepherd them as their own; the fatherless and widow are victims of their rapacity; they drive away the poor and the needy.

Then, in thought, Job follows these poor sufferers driven from their houses by the wicked, and describes their wretched struggle for existence in the nomad state into which they have been thrust
(vers. 5-8). In a few bold strokes, of one familiar with the scene, Job, depicts these poor starving sufferers, driven out like beasts, to gather a bare subsistence for their children as best they may. They seek employment even from their oppressors, and reap their fields and glean in their vineyards. Scarcely covered with rags, they shiver in the cold and rain as they seek for shelter in the rocks. "The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel," and the oppression of the poor and needy has cried to God throughout all man's history; yet God heareth not!

Job takes other cases to illustrate the same heartlessness. The wicked tear the fatherless from the breast; they defraud the poor. Why do his friends insinuate that he was guilty of such conduct, when glaring cases were manifest to them ? The poor are robbed of their very garments; they toil hungering among the sheaves; at the oil press, and in the vintage they are repressed from partaking; there is groaning of the oppressed in the city-and God takes no heed to it! It is an awful picture of facts only too well-known to them-and to us. How can Eliphaz make such facts fit in with his theory that evil is always punished in this life ? But, oh, how can God close His eyes to these things, and afflict a faithful man instead of these wrong doers? This is Job's great trouble, and for this he has found no solution.

(5) There is a morbid fascination about such themes as now occupied Job's mind, and he continues his description of the unrestrained course of the wicked. Here are men who hate the light, "because their deeds are evil." They choose the night for their "unfruitful works of darkness." The murderer lies in wait for the workman going at dawn to his labor, and turns to steal in the night. The adulterer lurks about for his abominations "in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and, dark night" (Prov. 7:9)-like other beasts of prey. " By day they shut themselves up" (ver. 16), and, how solemn, " they know not the light"-it manifests their shame and sin. "The morning is to them even as the shadow of death; if one know them they are in the terrors of the shadow of death" (ver. 17). This has been rendered, "The depth of night is to them even as the dawn of the morning "-they are at home in the night-it is their day.

(6) And how does this course of wickedness end ? Does God come in and make an example of them I Not always; on the contrary they pass away like a swiftly flowing stream, leaving their heritage to receive the curse of men instead of getting the just vengeance themselves. "The gallows is cheated," and the evil doers have departed from their vineyards where they might have been dealt with as they deserved. As drought and heat dry up snow waters, so Sheol causes the wicked to pass suddenly from view. They pass away, forgotten even by their mother, to be the food of worms ! Such is the end of the wicked oppressor. The general thought of this part of Job's reply is that in this life, and often up to the very end, men escape the penalties they deserve. He does not lift the curtain behind which the awful future is disclosed; his purpose is to reply to the contentions of his friends, and he answers them effectually.

(7) Job concludes with another feature of this awful anomaly. God seems to be on the side of the ungodly, preserving_ them by His almighty power when they might have been smitten down:"He preserveth the mighty by His strength; such an one rises again, though he despaired of life"(ver.22). How often have we seen the ungodly brought low in sickness and then raised up almost from the grave. We know it is the goodness of God that would lead them to repentance, but in Job's disordered view it seemed to be an indication of favor from God. They live on in security and God's eye seems to rest favorably upon them. This seems more in accord with Job.'s argument than the implication that, though God apparently sustains them, His eye is on their ways, and that He will judge them. Job dwells rather upon the absence of any special judgment. They are exalted in their life, and when the inevitable hour of death comes -appointed for all-they are no more; they are sunken away (in the grave), snatched away like all others. They are cut down like the ears of the ripe corn (ver. 24).

Job closes with a demand for an answer. Who can charge him with misrepresenting the truth, or rob his speech of its force as a reply to the arguments of the friends ?

It is a solemn conclusion. Not that Job has misstated facts :indeed, these are incontrovertible; but his deductions are dreadful. He follows his logic to the very brink of the precipice-that God deals unfairly. If so, He is not God. What a triumph would such a conclusion be to the malicious enemy who had instigated all this, and declared that if his prosperity were withdrawn, Job would "curse Thee to Thy face." Job has not done so, and Satan is defeated; but so far as the natural reasoning of Job goes, he might have done as Satan predicted and his wife advised. All unknown to himself grace had wrought, for he was a child of God:he was not permitted to go where his unbelieving thoughts led him. What a triumph too for the friends would such a conclusion be. They could have said, "We have stood for God, while Job has assailed His character." But neither side has convinced the other. While the advantage remains with Job, the disappointing character of his closing words makes necessary what we find in the last part of the book. But we have still to hear him pour forth all his heart, before God can be heard. S. R.

(To be continued.)

God reveals Himself to faith, and " without faith it is impossible to please Him," or to know Him.

For centuries science has been making its boast that it is "seeking truth." Its real object, however, has mostly been to set truth aside. A naturalist, one at the head of his profession, told me recently, " Science explains no mysteries; it deepens them." Yet this scholar turned away contemptuously from the Word which explains what otherwise is a mystery to man, and offers Christ to meet all the sinner's need. Like Solomon, this scientist desired to know " the reason of things," but he had not come to Solomon's conclusion to "Fear God," in the remembrance that " God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil" (Eccl. 12:13, 14). This man had burrowed in the earth, had excavated in deserts, blasted into hills, dug up bones and shells, searched seas, and climbed into mountains, to find what the word of God settles perfectly with very few words. And at the end he was as far from settling one doubt, or establishing one permanent theory as to the origin of things, as he was before he began his labors.

And this is but one of a class in this peculiar and fascinating school, who are studying, toiling and spinning continually, and producing nothing but perplexing theories that satisfy none-not even themselves.

One of the features of the Bible is the contrast between the New and the Old Testaments, while their moral teaching is found to be precisely the same when the soul, in humble dependence upon the Spirit of God, is made to see the character and object of each dispensation. One thing that has particularly impressed me is, that in the former the creatorial work of God is given a large and important place, while the New Testament is almost silent on that subject. What may seem to be a surprising silence in the New Testament upon the vexed question of the "origin of things" is of the deepest significance. Faithless inquisitors there were in those days as now; yet there is no record of any such questions being raised or answered in the New Testament.

And why should there be ? Had not God at the very beginning of the Old Testament given an outline of the facts and order of His works in creation for man to follow the clues there given, and reverently inquire in the book of Nature into which God introduces him ? To discuss or repeat them in the New Testament would only dishonor the Old. But " science" refuses to be so guided, and too often conducts its researches with a view to contradict what God has said. So it goes on building its theories which the next generation gives up, while seeking to establish new ones.

We might think that a chapter in one of the Gospels would have forever settled the strife and perplexities of Science; but Divine Wisdom would not permit this. To one who desired to have Lazarus return and testify to his brethren on earth, the answer is, "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them" (Luke 16:29). God has spoken; let men take heed; for He will not condescend to the world's debate on such matters. Yet in grace our Lord let fall a word which, if accepted, might lead Science into the secrets which it so vainly endeavors to discover. "Consider the lilies," He said. The great Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these; and He adds, "If God so clothe the grass"-it is God's handiwork; the very same who in Gen. i:n had said:" Let the earth bring forth . . . and it was so." But Science, cursed with an unbelieving, yet itching mind, has expended God-given energies in the fruitless task of approving truth!
And this scientific infidelity was never more active or pronounced than at present. Men of large means have placed their wealth in the hands of scholars who labor to construct a theory of creation, and the order of things "that were made," in the shells and fossils they are at such pains to collect and reconstruct.

In the vaunted "Origin of Species," as tabulated and arranged by Science, no place is given for an intelligent Creator. utility is its foundation for spontaneous generation. The earth stored coal, because cold was to be experienced; salt, because there was need of preservation from corruption; it produced herbs, fruit, and vegetables, because hunger was to be satisfied. Variations are the result of climate and a blind instinct of self-preservation, and so on. How this instinct came about is "a mystery." Thus through a long and heartless series of reasonings the Creator is sought to be eliminated from all His works. But creation itself-rebukes them. "Consider the lilies" ? Who painted their stripes ? Who formed their cups ? Who gave them their odor? Cattle do not browse them; man does not need them; if there was anything which the earth could have well done without it is the lily. Yet "Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Why expend all this splendor upon the useless lily ? Why should not Science "consider" them? The striations of bronze and purple and gold, the pistils and stamens, the calyx and hood, the perfume and shape, may make such revelations of His truth that " Science", abashed and repentant, may fall before the Divine Majesty and own its folly and sin. H. C. Christy

That city with foundations sure (Heb. 11:10),
How clear its glories shine (Rev. 21:23)!
Attracting us to where He's gone (Heb. 2:9),
That fair celestial clime (John 14:2).

Brought from the earth and from the sea (1 Ths.4:16),
Loved ones whom death did part (Heb. n:13),
Eternally like Him to be (Rom. 8:29),
Sweet prospect for the heart (Phil. 3:21)!
Sweeter by far His love to share (Eph. 5:2),
Eager His praises to declare (Rev. 5:9),
Desire of all to meet Him there (Phil, i:23).

Hope to an anchor is compared (Heb. 6:19),
On oath this hope was given (Gen. 22:16),
Pointing us onward to the bliss (Rom. 8:21),
Expectant heirs of heaven (i Pet. i:4). Js. Fs.

" I am more and more thankful for the Numerical Bible. We have been reading it for years, ever since the first part in pamphlet form was issued, and I know it has had a very great deal to do with our spiritual life and growth in grace. It is so wide in its scope, covers such a range of subjects, is so illuminating in every way. We are now reading of Absalom's rebellion; and the wonderful way Scripture has of teaching moral lessons is brought out most vividly by Mr. Grant. We read the volumes through by course, and when we get to the end of the last, begin at the beginning of the first I know this has largely made up for our lack of other ministry." J. W. N.

QUES. 6.-A brother here has joined a Masonic Lodge, and though there has been prayer to the Lord to show him the wrong, he has not been convinced as to it. Do you think that Rom. 14 gives permission to receive a brother who is weak, and does not see the wrong of such connection ?

ANS.-Read the pamphlet,"Secret Societies:can a Christian belong to them and still honor Christ? " It is true that some Christians who are members of secret societies do not know what it involves, as members of " Unions " do not see that it often associates them with criminals. Postpaid, 6 cents
They are not helped, however, by ignoring or condoning the offence against Christ, which a brotherly, but firm resistance would probably do.

As to Rom. 14 you can see how a Jew, brought up in Judaism, might not readily be delivered from his religious scruples as to eating certain meats, or the keeping of holy days, Sabbaths, New moons-according to the Mosaic law; his conscience therefore should be regarded while seeking to enlighten him. This is entirely different from one wilfully entering into fellowship with despisers or enemies of Christ.

QUES. 7.-Will you please give a few words on 2 Cor. 6:17? Some say that it applies to idol-worshipers. Has Heb. 13 :13 a similar meaning?

ANS.-"What concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an unbeliever?" (Revised Version, ver. 15), is the subject of the apostle's rebuke to the Corinthians here. Ver. 16, "What agreement hath the temple of God (which Christians are) with idols?" does speak of separation from idolatry ; but to make this the only separation that verse 17 demands is a grave error.

The apostle was deeply grieved with the Corinthians' assimilation to the world ; therefore he beseeches them that the grace of God shown them might not be without its legitimate fruits (ver. 1). Then he shows them in what manner of life his ministry was exercised, as an example to all the people of God (vers. 4-10). Then he breaks out in longing desire that they might give heart-answer to what they had seen in him among them (vers. 11-13). He concludes with this, that the character of Christ is incompatible with, cannot associate with, that of the natural man, and that- as God's temple amongst whom He dwells and walks-separation from the world to Him is the only way in which He may openly own us as His sons and daughters.

The view in Heb. 13:13 is different in this, that it calls the Hebrew Christians to depart from Judaism (which they had been following still after conversion-see Acts 21 :19-21), as God was now about to sweep it away, allowing the Romans to destroy Jerusalem and its temple, which was no more God's house since they had crucified His Son.

QUES. 9.-Will you please answer in Help and Food the following questions:

(1) In the 17th chapter of Isaiah to the sixth verse, does the prophet deal with the ten tribes only ?

(2) In the 3rd verse," They shall be as the glory of the children of Israel"-what was the glory, and did Israel represent the ten tribes? What was the glory of Jacob?

(3) From the 6th to the 9th verses mercy is reserved:Is this for the ten tribes only?

(4) Verses 9 to 11, the prophet returns to foretell the woeful desolations that should be made in the land of Israel by the army of the Assyrians. Is that only against the ten tribes ?

(5) In the 7th chapter, ver. 1, was Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, king of the ten tribes only ?

ANS.-To answer these questions intelligently it is necessary to briefly state the historical conditions at the time the prophecy of Isaiah 17 was given. , In Isaiah 7, and also 2 Kings 16:5, we learn there was a conspiracy on the part of Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel, the object of which was to dethrone Ahaz, king of Judah. Ahaz appealed to Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, who in response, went against Damascus, captured it and put Rezin to death (see 2 Kings 16 :9). 2 Kings 15:29 shows that a little later the king of Assyria overran northern Israel and deported its inhabitants.

In these circumstances Isaiah, illuminated by the Spirit of God, saw a picture of a greater desolation of Israel's land at the end of her history, as a disobedient and rebellious people, when Israel will be confederated with the Roman Beast against Christ. In the days of this confederacy the land of Israel will be overrun and .desolated by armies of which the army of Tiglath-pileser was a type (see Isaiah 10). So great will 'be the destruction and desolation that those spared shall but a small remnant.

Isaiah 17 is called, "The burden of Damascus." The evident object of the Spirit in Isaiah in dwelling at such length on this "day of grief and desperate sorrow" for the land of Israel is to remind Syria that if the Lord puts His hand so heavily upon His own people-the nation that is the object of His special favor- what hope can she have of escaping the power of His hand when He rises up to settle His controversy with the enemies of His people (see verse 3) ?

(1) Isaiah 17:4-6 is not so much what will happen to the ten tribes as what will take place in the land of Israel.

(2) It was the glory of the children of Israel to be God's special people-the nation which was the object of His special favor. The glory of Jacob has tho same significance. Israel refers to what God made them ; "Jacob " to what they are in themselves.

(3) The mercy suggested in verses 6-9 is the mercy God will show in His sovereign grace in sparing and protecting a remnant in the land of Israel, when it will be overrun by the scourge.
(4) It is rather the land of Israel.

(5) Pekah was king over the ten tribes, but as in the land.

C. Crain.

"And Jesus went round all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every bodily weakness. But when He saw the crowds He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed, and cast away as sheep not having a shepherd. Then saith He to His disciples, The harvest is great and the workmen are few; supplicate therefore the-Lord of the harvest, that He send forth workmen unto His harvest" (Matt. 9:36-38, N. Tr.).

What renewed soul can read such compassionate words as these without being moved in the inmost heart? Is not this inspired record a model for evangelization at all times? True, it is not for us in these times of ruin to go "healing every disease" of the physical man, but the soul's spiritual ills are still marvelously healed by the Holy Spirit through us.

We have now with us a dear sister whose conversion awakened me to pen these lines. Some three weeks ago we had the pleasure of seeing Mr. D. F., a traveling clerk, who preaches the gospel wherever he goes. At the hotel he gave out gospel tracts, and persuaded some girls of a shameful life to read them. Some two or three days after one of them came to the meeting-room. He introduced her to us, and asked for prayers.

The next morning she was found reading her Testament and trying to sing a hymn. On seeing us she burst into tears. Then she began to relate the miseries of her soul, the sores of her spirit, and even the brands of sin in her body. We tried to soothe her by presenting to her the precious gospel of God's pardoning love. Her life has been changed, and it was a gladdening sight to see this girl attend all the meetings since that day. Being of some education and of a good family, we were very glad when she spoke of her wish to return unto her mother's, who lives some five hundred miles away. A collection was made among ourselves for her journey, and now she is on her way homeward. Is not, this a case of "healing"? Ah, blessed Lord Jesus, would that we followed Thee a little more in this "compassion" for souls! What is John 3:16 but the fullest expression of it? May this be our motto; and since "the harvest is great and the workmen are few," let us obey our Lord who asked us to supplicate for the sending forth of workmen unto His harvest. Let us not rest satisfied with helping the gospel with our money, but be ourselves seekers for souls. J. P. Ribeiro, Para Brazil

The Divine Center:what is it? And how shall we define this important truth ? What does the Word of God give us as to this? Most important it is for us to be clear on this matter.

If we look back to Israel's history, we plainly see what was their Center. They were gathered around the Tabernacle, in which was the Ark with its cherubim-shadowed and blood-sprinkled mercy-seat, and the other holy vessels. As it was the center in their encampment, so it was their leader in every forward movement, remaining central even in the march. We know it was essentially a type of christ,-Christ in the varied aspects of His work, person, position, and relation to His people, who through divine grace find their place in all by virtue of Himself; so after all it is "Christ everything, and in all" (Col. 3:n), as the New Testament plainly teaches.

When we come together to show forth the Lord's death in the breaking of bread, it is the communion of His body and the communion of His blood. We remember HIM. We are gathered unto His name-to all that His name represents-not to any special one of His titles, as Jesus, or Christ, or Head of the Body-precious as everyone of these titles is. A special name or title indicates the relation or position in some special way, but would fall short of conveying the whole character of the person. It is "unto my Name," which means His authority, His character, all that He is. To be thus gathered means, essentially, that our Center is what the Tabernacle typically represents to us. Therefore it is not the company of people who constitute the Divine Center; nor is it a doctrine, though many doctrines are linked with this; but it is the living, glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In His address to the assembly at Philadelphia, the Lord presents Himself as this Center; it is "My Word," "My Name," "My patience." In this we have epitomized the whole of our testimony. His "Word " is the whole compass of divine revelation. His " Name" stands for the whole truth of His blessed person. His " patience " expresses His character in the present dispensation. He is waiting in patience until the time of taking His kingdom, and we are to wait and watch as one with Him. And, for eternity, it is to have a place in the "temple of my God," He says. To have written upon us, as by His hand," the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God which comes down out of heaven from my God;" and finally,"my new name"-His name as known in the kingdom and glory. How touchingly personal all is here. He is the blessed Center from which all radiates.

Now all believers, as members of the one Body, are linked with this divine Center. But how few in the present state of ruin, gather together in the real and practical acknowledgment of this ! Does it follow that those who so gather become the center to which other believers are to gather? Never! -that were indeed to dishonor Christ. But the business of those who so gather, feeble remnant though they be, is to hold up Christ as the Center, unto whom the gathering is to be. Those who are gathered to Christ, are to be governed by God's holy Word, by its precepts and examples. Of necessity it is in separation from whatever refuses the divine principles which govern such fellowship. The unholy, or unruly are excluded from it, until restoration to God and His ways is effected.

Note that the Lord says of him who will not hear the Assembly, "Let him be to thee as one of the nations"; he is outside the fellowship in the truth. But He does not say, He is to Me such; which would mean nothing less than that Christ had cast off the erring one. It is, rather, when one is in this outside place that the gracious Lord begins to work in a special way to effect repentance which will make it meet for His people to restore such an one to the fellowship of His Assembly.

All this plainly teaches us the oneness of the fellowship in the truth; it clearly shows that whatever relates to fellowship is the concern of all. Individuals in one assembly are not independent of one another, neither are assemblies independent one of another. They are all one in Christ, and this is to be practically recognized by all those who profess subjection to Christ, the Divine Center of His people-the same Lord in every place where His people acknowledge Him as their Head and Center. There must be care therefore to act in all matters in such a way as will commend itself to all those governed by the word of God. As the individual member in the body is not to please himself but is to consider his fellow-members, so the local gatherings surely are to consider the other gatherings who confess and walk in the truth. Independence of spirit or action strikes at the Divine Center with whom all are linked.

The spirit of the day is that of independence and self-will. May God give us, on the contrary, the spirit of Christ, in submission and dependence upon the Lord, seeking to maintain our testimony to Him-feeble though it be. J. B.