Ofttimes our Father's kinder
In what He takes away,
Than what He might bestow.
He sees what in the future
Of our brief little day
We cannot know.

But if we take the pruning
Because we trust His love,
'Twill not be hard to bear.
We'll understand, and bless Him,
When we are safe above,
For all His care.

Our confidence He seeketh,
Far more than we can tell,
Yea, for our good alone.
Then may He mould, and shape us;
We know it will be well
For all His own.

Helen McDowell

Calendar:July 16th to August 15th

DAILY BIBLE READING …….. July 16th, Ezek. 33; July 31st, Ezek. 48; Aug. 15th, Hos. 3.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING …. July 16th, Luke 12; July 31st, John 3; Aug. 15th, John 18.

We may think of Ezekiel as being a kind of link between the prophets of the nation of Israel and the one who is largely devoted to the lives of the Gentiles – Daniel. There is a progress in these four "greater prophets." Isaiah is characteristically and fully Messianic, and the sphere of his prophecy lies within the land, though there are predictions regarding the Gentiles as well. Jeremiah is nearer the end of the monarchy, and Jerusalem falls, and the people are carried into captivity. Ezekiel is outside of Jerusalem, and predicts the same end as viewed from without. But Daniel is largely, we might say almost entirely, engaged with the times of the Gentiles. There is however the counting upon God's unfailing faithfulness, and the restoration of blessing foretold, with Messiah's kingdom established. Indeed, all the prophets look forward to that day when the Lord will magnify His grace and restoring mercy to the remnant of His people, "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (Rom. 11:29). May we be led more and more into God's wondrous thoughts, and our hearts respond to all His ways.

Our monthly portion reaches to the Minor Prophets, and of these we may speak next month.

The supplementary reading in the New Testament takes us-well on through the Gospel of John, where we dwell upon that Eternal Life – the only One who set forth in perfection God's purposes as to man, and who fully revealed God to a lost and ruined world. The poet has written,

"Let knowledge grow from more to more,
But more of reverence in us grow."

Let us pray ever that we may not be indifferent to the wondrous truths of God's Word, but that they may produce in us deeper love, simpler faith and more entire obedience.

"A certain Samaritan.. .came where he was." (Lk. 10:25-37)

In this narrative of the good Samaritan, our Lord answers the question, "Who is my neighbor?'" He does more:He answers the state of heart that prompts the question. For the story is not so much occupied with locating a neighbor as in describing One who becomes neighbor to the needy. It does indeed find a neighbor, and one in desperate need; but it shows also how to be a neighbor to such.

The good Samaritan's predecessors, a Priest and a Levite, come near enough to the half-dead victim of thieves to see a case they are unable to undertake, being without the necessary resources and skill; hence they keep to their own side of the road and pass on. But the Samaritan "came where he was," and in compassion takes entire charge of his case, proving himself eminently qualified to do so. In this he sets forth Him who came among sinners to save them. Let us consider this.

1.-HE CAME WHERE WE WERE, IN INCARNATION.

When we consider who He is, this is amazing; for by Him the worlds were made (Heb. 1:2). Astronomers remind us of our feeble conception of the magnitude of the universe in which we live; but after all, what is that in comparison with our feeble apprehension of Him who is the Creator of the universe? Yet that blessed One comes into that speck of stellar dust called the earth, to be neighbor to us. He is found in Bethlehem's manger, but He comes there from "Godhead's fullest glory," where He has known in past eternal ages the unclouded communion subsisting between divine Persons.

This coming is no theophany. Of old He had manifested Himself to Abraham in human form (Gen. 18), but when He comes "into the world to save sinner" He comes in all the grace of incarnation as born of a woman. As thus come the Holy Spirit delights to present Him to us in the singleness of His Personality as God and Man, yet in the reality of His Manhood-spirit, and soul, and body.

Let us then ever consider Him gratefully and worshipfully, never forgetful of the compassion and grace that brought Him so close to us, yet ever aware that He is a living Person who knows what we think and listens to what we say about Him.

2.-HE CAME WHERE WE WERE, IN PREACHING.

Effective as was the preaching of Jonah or of John the Baptist, neither had that quality peculiar to the preaching of Christ, ever impressing upon mankind that He is Emmanuel-God with us; that He has come where we are to speak to us. He tells Nicodemus the story of John 3:16, and speaks to the woman of Sychar about the "Father;" but He does it as only the Son can.

It is said of this time:"The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up" (Matt. 4:16). And people are heard exclaiming:"Never man spake like this Man!" For Christ is the true light shining amid the moral darkness of human departure from God. It is now easier to conceal the sun in the heavens than to conceal the character of the testimony of the Speaker who is present. "He could not be hid."
A woman caught in the act of shame is brought to Him by a vulgar group of hard religious sinners, but He says:"He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her!" and the group disappears, beginning with "the eldest," who knows best what an exposure awaits them if they remain. Yet such an exposure is the way of grace where a sense of guilt prevails. And the repentant woman discovers warmth in its searching rays of light, and learns of forgiveness and the power of holiness (John 8).

3.-HE CAME WHERE WE WERE, IN ATONEMENT.

In creation He speaks and it is done, He commands and it stands fast; but to save sinners He comes to suffer for their sins in the place where they have committed them.

It is not by chance that men crucify Him between two thieves. Doubtless their intention is to point Him out as the chief culprit of the three; but God overrules their purpose by calling attention to the voluntary grace that comes where we are in our sin-"Jesus in the midst."

An impenitent thief persists in his lawlessness of heart, and a repentant one ceases to be lawless by coming under the gentle rule of One whom he addresses as "Lord;" but as a matter of fact that holy Saviour of sinners has made Himself available to the one no more than to the other-He is "in the midst." Verily, He came where we were.

True, He comes into distance where He cries, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" but He is there for us, that we might never go there. Nevertheless that place is rightly ours, and it is the place where Christ-rejecters must eventually go.

In Ecclesiastes 9 we read of a besieged city delivered by a poor wise man within it. Now although that city may well represent the world dominated by Satan, our Deliverer from that slavery was not "found in it" in the same sense as the deliverer of the ancient city:He "came into" it to face our enemy. He was "rich," but for our sakes "became poor;" and He was "Christ the wisdom oj God." In a wilderness He engages an enemy who is "flushed with the victories of forty centuries," and defeats him. In Gethsemane and on Calvary He meets him again. Terrible is the sword of this "Goliath; but great David's greater Son turns his own sword against him. For "by death" He annuls him who had the power of death and delivers those who through "fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb. 2:14, 15). And He returns from the last stronghold of the defeated foe a living triumphant Saviour.

But if it is thus that God intervenes in His Son to deliver us from "the authority of .darkness," it is to translate us "into the kingdom of His dear Son" (Col. 1:12,13). We are rescued from the darkening sway of our enemy and brought under the wholesome guidance of the Son of the Father's love, and under His kind rule we share the love that rests upon Him.

Thus has He secured us for Himself by coming where we were; reaching us at every point where our need called for His compassion. Well may we say:

"I am redeemed-but not with silver,
I am bought-but not with gold,
Bought with a price-the blood of Jesus,
Precious price of love untold."

R. J. Reid

Before the Church of the Consistory in Paris, there stands a beautifully executed monument to the memory of Admiral Coligny, leader of the Reformation in France. He is seen standing with a Bible in his hand.

At the siege of St. Quentin the Admiral served in the French army, was wounded and taken to hospital. While lying in his bed, weary and weak with suffering, a booklet caught his eye; it had been placed upon his bed by an unknown hand. He read it, and was brought under deep conviction of sin, afterward finding peace as he turned away from self to Christ and trusted Him as a personal Saviour.

But the mission of the little booklet was not at an end. The nurse, a Sister of Mercy, read it, and she too was led to realize that good works are unavailing for salvation. "Not of works, lest any man should boast," the Scriptures unmistakably declare (Eph. 2:9).

But the work of the booklet was not yet done. The sister penitently laid it in the hands of the Lady Abbess. She too read its blessed message, and its words were as cold water to a thirsty soul. She too was brought to the Saviour, and ultimately had to flee from France to the Palatine. Here she met a leading Hollander and ultimately became his wife. This was none other than "William the Silent," Prince of Orange, who was so wonderfully used of God to withstand the efforts of the Papacy to overthrow the Reformation in Holland.

"Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days" (Eccl. 11:1). J. W. H. N.

EXTRACT FROM A LETTER

In reply to your question I would point out that the Great Tribulation has nothing whatever to do with the Church. It is, as we learn from Jeremiah 30, "the time of Jacob's trouble." With this, all the other passages that have to do with this period of trial, agree. The remnant of Israel are to be purged by judgment and made fit for the earthly kingdom. The Church has nothing to do with this whatever. To us the promise is, "Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of trial which is coming upon all the world to try them that dwell on the earth" (Rev. 3:10).

Notice again, it is not to try the heavenly people but the earthly.

In 1 Thessalonians 1 we read, "We look for the Saviour, even Jesus, which hath delivered us from the wrath to come." This is the Authorized Version, but a careful examination of the Greek text will show that "delivered" is not in the past tense at all. It is really, "Jesus who shall deliver us," or, literally, "who shall snatch us away from the wrath to come." Wrath is coming on apostate Judaism and guilty Christendom, but we will not be here to share in it.

Again, if familiar with the structure and contents of the book of Revelation, you will recall that the judgments do not begin to be poured out upon the earth until the Lamb takes the seven-sealed book. But the Lamb does not take the book until twenty-four crowned elders are seen in heaven. That these crowned elders represent the heavenly saints there can, I think, be no manner of doubt. The fact that they are already crowned shows that they picture the heavenly saints after the Rapture, for the crowns speak of rewards, and our Lord says, "Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be." There will be no rewards until we are caught up to be with the Lord. Therefore, the judgments of Revelation 6-19, covering the period of the Great Tribulation, all take place after the Church is seen in heaven. Second Thessalonians 2 teaches the same thing. The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto Him must take place before the Man of Sin is revealed. H. A. Ironside

Lecture II.

(continued from p. 46.)

THE MEAL OFFERING

Read Leviticus, chaps. 2; 6:14-23; Psalm 16; John 6:33.

We have already noticed that the meal offering stands apart from the other four in that it was a bloodless offering. There was no life given up and yet part of it was burned upon the altar for a sweet savor. The name given to this particular oblation in the Authorized Version is meat offering, but we must remember that our forefathers used the word "meat" for food, and not necessarily as synonymous with flesh. There was no flesh of any kind in this offering. It was an oblation of food composed of meal and oil, or of green ears of corn dried and oil. It does not speak to us of our Saviour as sacrificed for sinners on the cross, but is God's wondrous picture of the perfection of His glorious Person. Remember, He had to be who He was in order to do what He did. None but God's eternal Son become flesh could ever have accomplished the great work that He came to do. It is of inestimable value to the soul to dwell upon God's estimate of His Son. As intimated in the previous lecture, it is in this way that we enter into communion with the Father.

The psalmist says, "My meditation of Him shall be sweet." May we indeed prove this as we dwell together upon these marvelous types of His glorious Person.

We should always bear in mind that it was the perfection of the Lord that gave all the efficacy to the work upon the cross. Of all other men it is written:"None of them can redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him, for it costs too much to redeem them, therefore it must be let alone forever." This is a very literal rendering of that remarkable passage in Ps. 49:7, 8. The 8th verse is very inadequately rendered in our Authorized Version, "The redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth forever." What ceaseth forever? But the translation I have just given makes it all clear:"Let it alone forever." That is, there is no use of any one attempting to do anything toward the work of redemption; it is too great to be effected by human power. "It costs too much to redeem the soul, so let it alone forever." But Christ the Son of God became a little lower than the angels with a view to the suffering of death that He might taste death for every man. He the infinitely Holy One became Man, but Man in perfection, sinless and undefiled. He alone is competent to redeem His brother and give to God a ransom for him. This is the one for whom Job yearned when he cried, "There is no daysman who can lay his hand upon us both," and it was of Him Elihu spake when he said, "Deliver him from going down to the pit, for I have found a ransom." And so we are now to be occupied with Christ Himself, and I trust as we study this wondrous picture of Him who was in very truth the Bread of God, the food upon which God the Father delighted to feed, that we shall have a fuller, clearer conception than ever before of Him who has saved us.

The meal offering is always linked up with the burnt offering. God would not allow the Person and the work of His blessed Son to be divorced; the two must go together. But remember this, the holy walk, the devoted life of our Lord Jesus Christ, could not avail to put away sin. His holy behavior was not the means of our salvation; that perfect walk had no atoning efficacy. It was life poured out in death that saved. He said as He held the communion cup in His hand, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins." His life apart from His death could only bring out in bold relief our exceeding sinfulness, making the contrast between what He is and what we are all the more vivid. But His blood shed for us was life given up, poured out in death that we might live eternally. His holy life fitted Him to be the sacrifice, and so the two offerings are linked together.

Many of God's beloved people, I am persuaded, are being led away (for a time at least) into various systems of error, who if they only knew the true character of these systems would turn from them in horror, recognizing that in every one of them there are evil teachings concerning the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. I remember a number of years ago meeting with a young married couple out in California. They were introduced to me as earnest Bible students. They seemed very bright and hearty in their Christian experience, but they soon told me that they were getting a great deal of help and information out of a set of books that had been sold them by a colporteur. Upon inquiring I found it was the set known as "Millennial Dawn." When I asked if they had read the books they said, "Oh, yes, and we have found some wonderful teachings in them."I replied that they had in them some teaching that was blessed and true, but it was in reality but the sugar coating to a poisonous pill, for they were thoroughly unsound as to the Person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pointed out that these books taught that our blessed Lord before He came into the world was not God, but was the highest created spirit-being in the universe; that in incarnation He became man and relinquished entirely His spirit nature; that when He died upon the cross His manhood was devoted to destruction. The author of the books goes so far as to say:"It was not only necessary that the man Christ Jesus should die, it was just as necessary that He should never live again, but should remain dead through all eternity."But these books taught that a new Being came out of the tomb who was made a partaker of the divine nature, and is now a god but not the God, and that some day a select group of overcomers will be partakers of the same nature as Himself and will assist Him in completing the work of redemption. They could not believe that I had rightly represented the teaching of this system, but they were honest people and they went home to look up the references I gave them and to compare them with their Bibles. They came to me a few days later, and handing the set to me said, "If you can use these to help deliver others we shall be thankful. We have been down on our knees asking God to forgive us for ever having had anything to do with a system that so blasphemes our Lord Jesus Christ. We had no idea of the real teaching of these books." Thus they were completely delivered, and they turned with horror from the whole evil system.

"What think ye of Christ?" is the first question that should be asked of every one who comes claiming to have something different to orthodox Christianity. If people are wrong here, depend upon it they are wrong throughout. It is not necessary that we should know all the evil that is in these systems in order to judge them; we need but to know they are false as to our Lord Jesus in order to refuse them entirely if we would be true to Him.

Let us then see how His blessed Person is pictured for us in the meal offering. We will read together verses 1-3:"And when any will offer a meal offering unto the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:and he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests:and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord:and the remnant of the meal offering shall be Aaron's and his sons':it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire." Notice then that the meal offering which was really God's food, and therefore speaks of Christ Himself, was made of fine flour. You housewives know what that is, fine flour without one coarse grain in it. This was God's picture of the humanity of Jesus. Everything was in perfect proportion and there was none of the coarseness that sin has brought into our poor, fallen humanity. I have often thought if God wanted to make a picture of my human nature He would ask for a handful of old-fashioned steel-cut oatmeal ! That would adequately typify our nature, for there is so much that is coarse and uncouth and cross-grained in everyone of us; but oh, the perfection that was manifested in Him. Then observe, oil was to be poured upon the fine flour and frankincense put over it. The oil is always the type of the Holy Spirit. He is the anointing. And we read that "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him" (Acts 10:38). That anointing took place immediately after the baptism in the Jordan, and the Father declared His satisfaction in Him saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I have found all my delight." This was the odor of the frankincense. There was the fine flour in all its perfection, and "the Holy Spirit descended like a dove abiding on Him;" that was the oil poured upon the fine flour. Then there was the frankincense with its sweet aroma telling of the ineffable beauty and fragrance which ever characterized all His ways. No wonder the bride in the Song says, "Thy name is as ointment poured forth." Mary really fulfilled this type when she "took a pound of ointment very precious, and poured it upon His head and upon His feet, and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment."

In the second verse we read that this offering was brought to Aaron's sons, the priests, and the officiating priest was to take out a handful of the flour, with its oil and frankincense, and burn it as a memorial upon the altar; it was an offering made by fire of a sweet savor unto the Lord. This was God's food. Then the priests themselves were to feed upon the rest of it, and so God and His redeemed priests enjoy together the perfection of Christ. This is really communion.

Now we have some very interesting details in verses 4-13. I will not quote the passages in full, but will notice the outstanding features as we run down through the chapter. There were various ways in which the offering might be prepared. In verse 4 it is "baked in the oven," in verse 5 it is "baked in a pan;" in verse 7 it is "baked in a frying-pan," evidently on the top of the fireplace. In every instance it was exposed to the action of heat, and this may speak of the intense trials to which our blessed Lord was subject, all of which only served to bring out in fuller measure His perfection. Again in verse 4 the meal offering might be composed of unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. In the first instance we have His incarnation as begotten of the virgin; we have humanity in perfection, humanity united with Deity. He was conceived of the Holy Ghost; the fine flour was mingled with oil. In the other cases we have, as in the verse above, His anointing. And so God emphasized both sides of the truth for us. He was born of the Spirit without a human father; He was anointed of the Spirit when about to enter on His great mission. Then, observe, there were some things that could not be allowed in the meal offering. In two of these verses we are told it must be unleavened, and in verse 11 we read distinctly, "No meal offering, which ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven." This speaks of the sinlessness of the human nature of our Saviour. Leaven in Scripture is always a type of something evil. This comes out very clearly in the New Testament application of the Old Testament type. We read in 1 Cor. 5:7, 8:"Christ our passover is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." Just as the pious Israelite of old was to search his house diligently and put away all leaven in preparation for the passover feast, so we as believers are called upon to judge every evil thing in our hearts and lives, and put it all away in the light of the work of the cross. Both in 1 Corinthians and in Galatians we read:"A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump;" that is, a little sin or a little evil doctrine undetected and unjudged will soon corrupt one's entire testimony. Then again you will remember how our Lord Himself used this term. He warned His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees and of Herod. The leaven of the Pharisees was hypocrisy and self-righteousness; the leaven of the Sadducees was evil doctrine or false teaching; the leaven of Herod was worldliness and political corruption. In no place in Scripture is leaven used as a symbol or type of anything good. The woman in the parable of Matthew 13:33 is said to hide the leaven in three measures of meal until the whole is leavened. I know that this has been taken by many as representing the spread of the gospel, but who was ever told to hide the gospel anywhere? There is nothing clandestine about its proclamation; it is to be openly preached everywhere. Jesus said, "In secret have I said nothing," and the same should be true of His followers. The woman in the parable is the false Church, not the true, and she is not hiding the leaven in the World but in three measures of meal, which seems to be nothing more nor less than the "minchah," or the meal offering, which we are now considering, and in which there was to be no leaven. In other words, the parable teaches us that every truth concerning Christ would be corrupted by the false Church. As in the type there was no leaven, so in Christ there is no sin; He is the unleavened meal offering; His was humanity in perfection without any tendency toward evil whatever. He could say, "The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in Me." You and I cannot say that; we are only too conscious of the fact that when Satan comes to tempt us from the outside there is a traitor within who would open the gate to the citadel of our hearts if we were not constantly on our guard. But with Him it was otherwise; all His temptation came from without. "He was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." And this does not mean "yet without sinning," merely, but it is "sin apart," that is, He was never tempted by inbred sin; He was the unleavened meal offering.

We also learn from verse 11 that there was to be no honey in the meal offering. Honey is the sweetness of nature, but when exposed to heat it soon sours. There was something far more than natural sweetness in the character of Christ. His was a love that was divine and holy; all His affections and emotions were the affections of the Son of God become flesh. There was nothing that was merely of nature; hence His love is unchanging. All the treachery of Judas could not alter it nor the cowardly denial of Peter. "Having loved His own that were in the world He loved them unto the end." How often are natural friendships sundered and love turned to hatred. It was otherwise with Him.

In verse 13 we are told, "And every oblation of thy meal offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meal offering :with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt." Is it not striking that three times over we should have this insistence upon the use of salt in the offering? You will remember our Saviour said, "Let your speech be always with grace seasoned with salt," and He referred on another occasion to this very passage, emphasizing it in a very solemn way (Mark 9:49,50). Salt is the preservative power of active righteousness; and this was ever manifested in Him, and should be seen in us who have been born from above.

There are many other details in this precious portion that we might profitably dwell upon, but all that I have omitted will I think become luminous in the light of what we have already noticed if carefully considered in the presence of the Lord. And the more we remember what the New Testament reveals concerning Christ, the more we shall enter into the enjoyment of what we have here. If we become familiar with the truth concerning the Person of the Lord it will preserve us from the danger of falling into error.

The outstanding feature of the meal offering is its composition of fine flour. There was no barley meal. There are lots of little sharp corners in the crushed barley. But it was the finest of wheat meal that composed the meal offering. That is how God pictured the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, for in His character as a Man there was nothing that ever grated on anybody. What a marvelous picture the four Gospels set before us! If they were not inspired, how in-explainable it would be that four men could ever have imagined such a marvelous character. If the Lord Jesus Christ had never lived, the Gospels themselves would be miraculous. In all the literature of the world there is no other character that can be compared with Him. Think of Him growing up in Nazareth, one of the meanest villages of Galilee, with little opportunity for culture or refinement; and then contemplate Him as He appeared among the men of His time, the most refined and cultured of them all! He was the first gentleman this world has ever seen. Tender, gracious, always considerate of others, and yet ever faithful and true to all. Politeness, the proverb says, is doing the kindest thing in the kindest way, and who ever saw that exemplified anywhere as it was in the Lord Jesus Christ? His was a life the aroma of which fills the world after nineteen hundred years.

And although now ascended to glory He is this same Jesus as He sits upon His Father's throne, our great High Priest, ever living to make intercession for us. So in verses 14-16 we have another aspect of the meal offering; this time it is made of the first fruits of the green ears of corn dried by the fire, as corn beaten out of full ears. And this is anointed with the oil in company with the frankincense. It speaks of Him as the One who passed through death, but has been raised again in the power of an endless life. And He is gone up to God in all the perfection of His humanity, to be for all eternity the Man in the glory. But of this, too, a memorial was burned upon the altar, for His resurrection must not be separated from His death. The Christ who died is the Christ who lives again.

May we learn to feed upon Him as priests in the sanctuary, rejoicing here on earth as God rejoices in heaven. This is what is specially emphasized in chapter 6:14-23, where we have the law of the meal offering. There we see the priests appropriating their portion and enjoying it in the presence of God. It was to be eaten in the sanctuary. We are all God's priests to-day, if numbered among the redeemed, and it is our hallowed privilege to feed upon Christ in God's courts-delighting in Him, our souls nourished, as we meditate adoringly upon His perfections. We are not called upon to dissect the Person of the Lord, but to reverently worship and enjoy Him, that thus we may become more like Him. H. A. Ironside

(To be continued, D. V.)

The book of Psalms forms a very important portion of Holy Scripture.

Perhaps no other book of the Old Testament is so frequently cited by the Holy Spirit in the New; and no other book of the Old Testament is so full of Christ, both in His Messianic character, and as a Man upon the earth. He only can fully answer to the Blessed Man of Psalm 1, as He alone is the Suffering Man of Psalm 22, who will assuredly, in a coming day, be the glorified King of Psalms 45 and 72. In the Psalms, too, we can trace His path of sorrow, as He walks, a righteous Man, and one true to God, through a world under the power of evil, so that He can sympathize with His own, whether the believer of to-day or the remnant of Israel in a future day oppressed by the Man of Sin.

The Psalms do not give us the unfolding of Christian truth which we have in the Gospels. Christ come to His own; rejected by them and slain; the Spirit leading the remnant to long for His return as the Avenger of their manifold wrongs, the Judge of the wicked, and the King to reign over Zion-these we get in full. They are precious truths, vindicating the ways of God in grace and righteousness with men upon the earth. But the present period during which Christ, risen from the dead, has gone back to the Father; the Father's name revealed; and God by the Spirit calling out a people to form the assembly of God, the Church, which is "the Body" of Christ-this is nowhere spoken of in the Psalms.

Hence, whatever men may say, the Psalms are not a proper vehicle for Christian worship. To try to make them such serves only to distort the plain words of God, and to read a meaning into them which they do not contain.

If one indulges in this "spiritualizing" process, Israel and Judah would be made to represent Christians; Zion and Jerusalem must mean the Church; the "pleasant land," the Father's house; and the wars of the Jews have to be metamorphosed into spiritual conflict. When we reach the imprecatory psalms, this system breaks down totally; and men resort to an unjustifiable method of what they call "mitigating the vengeance," by taking unwarrantable liberties with the text. This system dates back to the second century; and the Reformers, delivered from much, never delivered themselves from this false theology of Rome.

In the Books of Psalms, taken as they stand, everything is in true and beautiful order. God is now dealing with men in grace:a day is coming in which He will deal in righteousness; and those who will not bow to grace, however much men may forget it, will be broken by power, as Ps. 2 plainly shows.

Now this leads us to consider briefly the characteristics of the various Books.

In Book 1, which contains Psalms 1 to 41, Jerusalem is recognized as the center of God's government on the earth. In spite of the state of things in Judah, the covenant relationship of Jehovah with His people is maintained:hence what marks this first book is that, no less than 270 times, the divine title LORD (Jehovah) is employed to express that relationship. GOD (Elohim) is used only some sixty times.

In Book 2 (Psalms 42 to 72) this order is exactly reversed. The glorious land is under Gentile domination. Judah is outcast, and the relationship title, Jehovah, occurs only some twenty-six times, while the Creatorial title, Elohim, is used about 200 times. He is the God of all the earth.

Book 3 (Psalms 73 to 89) continues the theme; but there is now a remnant in the land, who, though only a remnant, are representative of the nation, and hold in faith to the truth expressed in the opening sentence of Asaph's Psalm, which becomes the keynote of this portion, that "God is good to Israel." Moreover, the disciplinary dealing of God has produced true repentance of heart; hence the writer immediately adds, "to such as are of a clean heart."

In Book 4 (Psalms 90 to 106) the opening psalm was no doubt historically the first to be written, and is essentially the psalm for the wilderness; but in it also there is expressed, what the writer had learned experimentally, that man's littleness finds resource and satisfaction in God's Almightiness; and, in spite of all the powers arrayed against him, the heart rests in the supreme fact that "Jehovah reigneth." His manifold mercies extended to His erring but now restored people call forth the praises of the psalms that follow; and this portion closes with the prayer for the full recovery of the scattered people. "Gather us from among the heathen to give thanks to Thy holy name."

The Doxology here in Psalm 106 is of a fuller character than heretofore.

Book 5 (Psalms 107 to 150) contemplates the nation again in their land with Messiah's law written in their heart, and Jehovah's ways and purposes about to be manifested in the millennial kingdom. The prospect and the retrospect call forth the great "Hallel" of praise rising to its climax in the closing psalm-"Everything that hath breath shall praise Jehovah." L. Laurenson

Christian profession to-day is sharply divided into two hostile parties; Orthodoxy and Modernism. The latter is an old enemy, infidelity, under a new name.

Modernism would fain make one believe that it is in no wise antagonistic to all that is good and essential in Christianity; but it is the old cry:"Master, Master," accompanied by the kiss of the traitor. The blessed Son of God is wounded afresh in the house of His (professed) friends.

Some time ago, Dr. Samuel Chadwick, Principal of Cliff College, one of the leading Methodist Colleges of Great Britain, told of a young candidate for the ministry, a whole-hearted believer and earnest worker, who, upon application for his credentials at the close of his course, was greatly perplexed by the treatment he received from the Board. He knew his marks were good. He was not ignorant of his spiritual equipment as compared with those accepted. He was sure of his call by God. So he wrote to ask if he might be informed why he was refused.

A courteous reply was received, in which he was told the reason of his failure. It stated that he was rejected because he had kept himself too remote from the life and thought of the present day -world. He was not modern enough in his views!

Four examples were given:

(1) The Bible was not to be read as the inspired Word of God, but as a book of literature!

(2) Man was not created in the image of God as recorded in the Bible. He came from the lower animals by slow stages of evolution! There was no jail; it was a rise upward!

(3) There is grave doubt about the story of the virgin birth!

(4) There is no eternal punishment. The wicked will be given a second chance.

Thus is the Word of God flouted, and man becomes supreme judge of what is-and what is not-TRUTH.

Man, thus shut up to the dictates of his own evil heart, necessarily flounders in a morass of infidelity. Of such Jude wrote, "Clouds without water… raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame, wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever" (Jude 12,13).

Faithfulness to Christ demands whole-souled separation from those who thus dishonor His holy Person; there can surely be no neutrality when the fundamentals of the Christian faith are assailed. We would be traitors to Christ if we lightly treated the destructive tenets of Modernism. Every true heart must rejoice that there are still those who unswervingly defend fundamental truths, and are prepared, at all costs, to wage a warfare against subversive teaching, "earnestly contending for the truth once delivered to the saints." We surely honor the men who to-day will consent to no compromise, but fearlessly maintain the fundamentals of the Christian faith, and we follow with our prayers the ministry of those who seek to combat the evil effects of Modernism.
But is Fundamentalism enough? May we not, in our zeal for orthodoxy, overlook the characteristic truth of this dispensation? Paul's ministry was a double one, and while he rejoiced in the gospel and was used mightily by God in the conversion of sinners and the establishment of souls in the fundamentals of our faith, there was another revelation given to him, which he valued above all else and for which he willingly suffered. Writing to the Colossians, he speaks (in chap. 1:24-26) of the mystery which had been hid from ages and from generations, but NOW is made manifest unto His Saints. Rom. 16:25-27; Eph. 3:3-6, 9-11; 5:32 all speak of this special ministry, and it was the preaching of this truth that stirred up the anger of the Jews, for it removed the "middle wall of partition," and put them on the same level as the despised Gentiles. Hence Paul in writing to a Gentile company, Ephesians, styles himself "prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles," and of himself as "the prisoner of the Lord" (chap. 4:1). He shows that the Gentiles were "joint-heirs," of the same Body, and (joint) partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel (Eph. 3:6). It was for this truth he suffered (Col. 1:24), and only thus did he "fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ for His Body's sake, which is the Church." To them also he wrote, "For I would that ye knew what conflict I have for you… and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God" (Col. 2:1,2). The verse should end without the added words, "of the Father and of Christ," for the mystery is the same mystery he has already referred to, and not the mystery of the Godhead, as many suppose. It is the mystery of Christ and the assembly, the Head in heaven and the Body here on earth. In this mystery is hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Then also Paul speaks of this ministry as completing the Word of God (Col. 1:-25). This truth of Christ and the assembly (His Body) completed the whole cycle of revealed truth; there was nothing more to be made known. Of what importance, then, in the eyes of God must this truth be, and how dear to the heart of the One who "died to gather together in one!" And shall we who love Him treat lightly this precious revelation and count it, as many do, non-essential? Why non-essential? Are we so -selfish that we deem only essential that which teaches our soul's salvation and deliverance from the consequences of our guilt? Can we remain indifferent to that which He loved and for which He gave Himself, that which still occupies His thoughts? For He carries on the "washing of water by the Word," in view of that coming day, when "He will present her all glorious, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing" (Eph. 5:26, 27). Do we say that these things are "too deep?" Too deep for one who has the Holy Spirit and of whom it is said:"All things are yours?" Nay, rather let us (if such be our thoughts) own that it is lack of appreciation rather than lack of understanding! "The Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God," and all we need is subjection to the Word and the desire to do His will.

It may cost a little to take up these truths in a practical way, but happiness lies in obedience, and while a stand for fundamentalism is most praiseworthy, we must not stop short of the "whole counsel of God."

May every heart be encouraged in these lukewarm days to more fervently seek the path of God's will, and thus come into "all the riches of the full assurance of understanding,'" and the full knowledge of "the mystery of God." J. W. H. Nichols

AFRICA

Brother Amies writes of his regret at not being able to answer letters and acknowledge ministry as promptly as he would like to. With his increasing share of responsibilities in connection with the work our brother finds his time very fully occupied. He writes as follows:

I am very sorry indeed that I have not been able to acknowledge these letters immediately, but it has been practically impossible. My wife received the first letter sent just before she left Lusambo on her way down river to Ibaka, where I met her and the babies, and brought them to Baka Mbule. Since that time we have been fully occupied indeed. She had made a good recovery and on her arrival felt very well, but I fear she started to work too soon and consequently she is not at all well now. Both Effle Lois and Laura Thelma have been kept in remarkably good health. Little Effie Lois has only had several slight fevers, and for a baby born in the Congo all marvel at her size.

The following is from brother Wilson at Inkongo, Congo Beige, and it is encouraging to notice the large number of native workers mentioned in his letter as being occupied in the work of the gospel and teaching.

He writes:

We have received news of the kind gift sent by you for the work out here, and I am writing on behalf of all to thank you. I might also include the native brethren who have gone out to distant villages to preach the gospel, for they will benefit too. We have a weekly collection here, and in every village where there are Christians, and occasionally a special collection. But although some give
quite liberally, it is not enough to supply the needs of those engaged in preaching and teaching, of whom there are now nearly 200, belonging to the different districts. At Baka Mbule many of them are quite young, while of the 50 who belong to our district at Inkongo, most are married, and some have large families. I hope to start on a journey next week to visit some of them, and then we may call them up for a conference. We shall then distribute among them what money may be available, so that they may go to Lusambo and pay their yearly tax, and have something in hand for their maintenance and that of their families. I know they will express their gratitude, so I will anticipate them and thank you beforehand for the help given to this part of the work.

You will be glad to know that Mr. Upton Westcott has returned from Luebo and is much better. He is bright and happy, seems stronger than before his illness, and is hoping to go on to Baka Mbule next week. The Administrator has been here to decide on who shall be chief, and they have chosen Kikudi, a half-brother of Kumwamba. He is a Christian, and we tremble for him as we think of the pressure which will be brought to bear on him to try and lead him into sin. A chief here is thought little of unless he has plenty of wives and is a heavy drinker. We shall be glad of your prayers that he may be preserved. Two other brothers, named Tchombi and Makombo, have been appointed as judges of local palavers, and they too need our prayers, for they will certainly be offered bribes to get them to give unrighteous judgments.

Mrs. McTavish badly needs a furlough, but at present we are in a difficulty as to who shall replace them. We hear, however, that Mr. Nixon may be returning soon, so we may be able to arrange for someone to go to Mitombe, so that they can go home before the cold weather begins.

The following extracts are from recent letters received from Miss Cornelia De Jonge:

We are studying the Book of Revelation, and are in the 17th chapter. We sometimes wonder whether we shall be permitted to come home, and to meet our loved ones in this scene. Far better will it be to be caught up together to meet our Lord in the air, but while HE yet leaves us here a little while, we realize the urgency of telling out the news of God's salvation to those who have never yet heard. The time is short!

Word comes that the cut-school across the Ituri River, among the Walesi tribe, is going on nicely with an enrollment of about fifteen boys. Mikairi has his house built there, and hopes to take his family over shortly, D. V. After much waiting upon the Lord in prayer, it now seems to be His will that I should go on to help in the new work among the forest tribes, near Mambasa. The doctor has again gone there this morning for the week, to work at the building of his house. After the Woodhams have moved over I may follow soon after in order to commence the new school there as soon as possible. The time left us for telling forth the gospel of God's salvation is very short, the need is very great, and the laborers so few (Luke 10:2; 2 Thess. 3:1).

Miss Wilson keeps very busy with her orphans. She now has five all under one year of age, which gives her a great deal of care and responsibility. Remember her especially in this difficult work.

COSTA RICA (Central America)

Our brother Lamorue writes in part as follows:

As to our feeble efforts, our Lord is still blessing. We hope, D. V., to baptize from five to eight believers from here, and some from San Jose at the same time. All this year my health has been poor. Bibles, books and calendars I ordered to use in Sequires during February and March are still there as I am not sufficiently strong enough to attend to them in the heat, so will appreciate prayers for the work and for my health.

WORK AMONG THE INDIANS

It is truly a cause for thanksgiving to know that the Lord is encouraging and blessing the work of His servants in that difficult part of the field, as indicated by the following brief extract from a letter received from our sister Mrs. Anderson of Valentine, Arizona.

Yesterday was a happy day for us here, and there were 14 young people who confessed the Lord and were baptized. This in spite of the efforts of some of the employees to hinder the work and make it hard for Christians.

Our brother Holcomb, of Shiprock, New Mex., requests prayer for two young men, brothers, who have come to stay with them, and who while appearing to be interested in the gospel and reading the Word have not yet confessed the Lord.

SHIP WORK

The following is a brief report of work among seamen, at the Port of Montreal, Canada, from our brother L. J. Germain. While we should remember our brethren at Montreal let us not forget those laboring at New York and other of our sea ports.

We are glad to report that the work amongst the seamen of different nationalities coming to this port continues with encouragement from the Lord. We are experiencing great freedom in boarding and going through the ships to give portions of the Word, gospel pamphlets, tracts, etc. There have been also opportunities to have personal talks with seamen, firemen, engineers, officers, and even with captains. We have met with encouraging cases; men showing interest for the things of God. We also met with a sad case of backsliding, a chief officer who was once gathered unto the Name of the Lord has given up following Him and is going on now in the world's ways.

During the month of May on Lord's Day afternoons, together with brother Holwill, or alone, we visited the following freighters; British, 5; Italian, 7; Norwegian, 1; Dutch, 3; German, 1, and Japanese 2. How good it is to have the privilege to give the gospel to these men who have so few opportunities to hear of a Saviour's love. We covet the prayers of God's people for us and in behalf of the work.

NEW WORKERS

In December, 1928, it was mentioned that our brother Robert Deans, of Oakland, Calif., who had the warm commendation of his home assembly, was exercised as to going out to Central Africa with his family to join Dr. Woodhams. On June 20th he writes:-"We have disposed of the equity in our house and we are looking forward to going forth as soon as our circumstances permit." Their present address is 696 Mariposa Ave., Oakland, Calif. Let us continue to be earnest in prayer that they may be directed into the Lord's path for them, and every step made clear.

We have also received the following information from brother Germain:

God's people will be glad to learn that the Lord has raised a servant for French Guiana (where convicts are deported) in the person of our brother, Mr. Alfred J. Large, Boite 171, Cayenne, French Guiana. In his last letter he says:We are receiving every encouragement in this branch of our service, notwithstanding difficulties and opposition from the R. C. priests. These have warned the people against us and our literature, stating the latter is perfidious and should be instantly destroyed.

MISSIONARY MEETING

The usual monthly missionary meeting at Elizabeth, N. J., will not be held during July and August. Owing to the first Monday in September being Labor Day, the September meeting will be held on Monday, Sept. 9th. All are urged to attend who can do so.

The following is a brief report of the last meeting held.

The Monthly Missionary Prayer-Meeting
Some years ago the suggestion was made that one meeting a month of the regular weekly prayer-meeting be devoted to the Lord's work on the Foreign Field. This has been done in some places with good results. In addition to this for several months, a monthly prayer-meeting has been held at Elizabeth, N. J., in which a good number from the various assemblies have united. There has been a large and growing attendance and considerable freedom in prayer.

A special topic is selected for each meeting and brief addresses are given; but the main object is prayer, and as has been said, goodly numbers have availed themselves of the opportunity. It has been a matter for thanksgiving that the younger brethren have participated.

The subject for the June meeting was the gospel work in Latin America, and by a providential coincidence, two brothers, R. H. Hall and C. E. Lacey, with Mrs. Lacey, were just returning from a six months' sojourn in Porto Rico, where they have been laboring in spreading the glad tidings. These brothers gave interesting accounts of the work. Tract distribution, house-to-house visitation, and open air meetings were the methods employed, resulting in considerable interest. One striking feature of their work was the painting of large gospel texts in Spanish on the rocks or buildings near the highways. Over thirty gallons of white paint were used in this abiding work, which awakened interest-with some opposition from the Church of Rome-among the people, and will, we trust, bear abundant fruit "in that day."

One of the brothers spoke of the need for laborers in the harvest and pressed the possibility of some of his younger hearers being called of the Lord for this service of honor-to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

A Furlough Fund

As is well known, the exacting climates of Africa and other parts of the world do not admit of too long a residence for first-comers. Besides this, the God-given desire to see loved ones should be gratified, for the Lord is not a hard Master. Therefore as we seek to support the work by prayer and fellowship, should we not consider the need-should the Lord tarry-of bringing home for a visit some who may be weary, and needing the change? It has therefore been suggested that we begin iat once to set apart, as the Lord may lead and enable, a special portion for furloughs, in addition to the regular ministry for the foreign work.

"Brethren, pray for us."

"Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that He would send forth laborers into His harvest."

"Lacked ye anything?"

"My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory, by Christ Jesus."

"Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not."

MAILING OF HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES

We would call attention to the following request from Mrs. Woodhams:

Dear brother:

Would you please put in Help and Food a request to all those who send hospital bandages and packages to put the minimum value on packages. We had to pay the equivalent of $4.00 on two packages valued by senders at $5.00 in which were only torn and worn-out sheets, etc., rolled into bandages. The Post Office here informs us that new material should only be valued at the actual value, and not the buying price, and a very low value put on old material. If this is done it will help us materially. We appreciate all these hospital supplies and the interest shown, and hope that it may continue.

Gratefully yours, Mrs. R. C. Woodhams.

CHINA

A letter just received from our brother Kautto tells of their safe arrival at Taitowing on May 9 and of finding all well.

(Continued from p. 275.)

We have already seen that the first two psalms lay the basis for the whole collection, and these are part of a beautiful series comprising the first eight psalms, which subdivides as follows:Ps. 1 & 2, on the contents of which we have meditated already, and Ps. 3-7, which set forth the condition of the remnant consequent upon the rejection of Christ and the Spirit of Christ in association with them, in grace entering into their sorrows and forming faith in their hearts. This will be characteristic in the latter day, and while certain verses in the psalms mentioned seem to be the voice of Christ personally, they could not express His own personal feeling while on earth, though "having learned obedience through the things which He suffered" He is able to sympathize and speak a word in season to him that is weary. We must not conclude, that because a verse or portion of a psalm is quoted in the New Testament as applied to the Lord, therefore the whole psalm can be applied to Him. This is dangerous. The Spirit is one, and the same Holy Spirit that was upon Him is in His people now. But that speech which becomes the Master does not necessarily become the servant, nor that which becomes the Head of the Body become the members.

The eighth psalm ends this series, and stands uniquely alone. As closing the condition referred to in Ps. 3-7, and bringing in the counsels of God in connection with Jehovah's Anointed, the remnant is heard exclaiming:"O Jehovah our Adonim, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth, who hast set Thy glory above the heavens!"

In Psalm 2 the Lord is King in Zion, and kingdom power and glory is His, but in Ps. 8 His glory is above the heavens, the sphere of power and glory is enlarged, and universal dominion is predicated for Him. It is not the limited sphere of Messiah's rule, blessed as that kingdom will be, but as the Son of Man He is seen set over the work of His hands, not only over the human race, but over every created thing.

The eighth psalm is referred to several times in the New Testament. In John 1 Nathanael’s words are based on Ps. 2, but the Lord's reply is based on Ps. 8:"Hereafter thou shalt see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the San of Man." So also in Luke 9:18-23, the close of Ephesians 1, 1 Cor. 15, and Hebrews 2, all of which have reference to the larger title and glory of Ps. 8. The change of position is plainly seen in Matthew's Gospel where, as in Luke 9, our Lord "charged His disciples that they should tell no man that He was Jesus the Christ," and henceforth speaks of Himself as Son of Man (chap. 16:27, 28, etc.).

Speaking of Ps. 1, 2, and 8, a comment by a departed brother is worthy of our careful meditation, He says, "At the close of John's Gospel we have the three characters noticed on which these psalms are founded. God vindicates in testimony His rejected Son. He raises Lazarus, and the Son of God is glorified thereby. He rides into Jerusalem as King of Israel. Then Greeks come up, and He says, 'The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified,' but has to take this place in God's purpose. He must suffer and die. In chapter 13 therefore He begins His heavenly place" (J.N.D.).

The remnant ascribes praise to Jehovah's name, His glory is set above the heavens, and in the midst of man's rage and relentless hatred God has taken up the weak things, and things that are despised, to perfect His praise. The second verse of our psalm, "Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast ordained praise," is quoted by our Lord (Matt. 21:16) in answering the objection of the chief priests and scribes to the children's "Hosanna!" The very rejection of His glorious Person by the nation only resulted in the opening of a wider circle of glory, acquired as Son of Man.

In Hebrews 2 the psalm is quoted at length:the Spirit of God giving the answer to the question, "What is man that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that Thou visitest him?" The first question is asked as the glories of the heavens are contemplated. What a galaxy of glory and marvelous system the heavens present! How weak and puny man is in comparison therewith!

"Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly, to the listening earth,
Repeats the story of her birth:
Whilst all the stars around her burn,
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.

Forever singing as they shine,
The Hand that made us is divine."

But great as are these glories, all must necessarily sink into insignificance in the presence of the One under whose feet all will yet be set. If man (Adam) in weakness failed in maintaining his God-given place of authority, all has been secured for God and the universe in the Son of Man. It is in the light of this blessed Man that Hebrews 2 interprets the remainder of the psalm:"Made a little lower than the angels" (Heb. 2:9 adds, "for the suffering of death"), He is crowned with glory and honor. This-to faith-is the earnest of that which is to come! All things are not, as yet, seen beneath the feet of the Son of Man; indeed, the usurper still wields the sceptre, but that glorious day of emancipation for the whole creation will soon arrive, and the blessed One who alone is worthy, shall be universally owned and praised. What a glorious day that will be when:

"Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Shall his successive journeys run,
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more."

"He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet" (1 Cor. 15:25), and His excellent name shall fill the whole earth (Ps. 8:9). J. W. H. Nichols

(To be continued, D. V.)

(Continued from p. 331.)

We may briefly review what has already been before us in this series of papers on "Christ in the Psalms," by drawing attention to relationships in which Christ is prominently and constantly before us. The second psalm, as we have seen, is introductory. God's counsels are presented, and His King is exalted, to whom every earthly potentate must bow. Here He is presented as the Son of God.

In Ps. 8 the Son of Man is seen set over all things.

In Ps. 16,17 we have the dependent, trustful Man, righteous in all His ways, going into death, and finally risen, and in glory, the Man of joy.

Ps. 18 presents the Holy Sufferer in whom all God's ways centre for Israel.

Ps. 19,20 and 21 give the twofold witness of creation and Jehovah's statutes, and Messiah exalted, and in judgment on His enemies.

In Ps. 22 we have ATONEMENT, the grand foundation of all blessing, the remnant being especially in view, and finally those born in the millennium (see last verse).

Ps. 23 shows Jehovah as Shepherd caring for the sheep, in the path Christ trod; finally His place in glory in the Temple. This psalm and Ps. 24 show the result of atonement, a sort of supplement, revealing present and future glory.

This ends what has been developed as to the position of Christ in association with the remnant, first introduced in Ps. 16.

Ps. 22 is the most remarkable of the entire collection, since it discloses to us what the soul of our adorable Lord passed through when upon the cross as the Sin-bearer.

It occupies a central position (numerically) in the first book, which is significant, since this first book lays the ground-work for the entire collection, as Genesis (to which it corresponds) gives principles which lay the basis of all that is developed through the Scriptures.

The cross-centre of two eternities-has laid the everlasting foundation for all God's righteous ways, and insures the fulfilment of all His counsels and purposes. "All the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him amen, unto the glory of God."

As is frequently the case in the structure of the psalms, the theme is found in the opening verse, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Why art Thou so far from helping Me and from the words of My roaring?' The first part of the utterance, as we know, were the words which fell from the lips of the Holy Sufferer when upon the cross.

Much of the psalm breathes the anguish of spirit the righteous One experienced when He suffered at the hands of unrighteous man. This is given more in detail in Ps. 69. Taken by wicked hands, we see the Holy Sufferer "stricken, smitten and afflicted." Made the sport of cruel men, mocked, scourged, reviled, His back given to the smiter, and His cheek to those who plucked off the hair, He hid not His face from shame or spitting.

"This is your hour," were His words to the rabble throng to whom He delivered Himself. Man's hour had arrived!-that hour for which he had waited through the centuries, when at last he could pour out in full tide the bitter hatred and enmity to God which dwelt in the human heart. Men in unreasoning hate and violence, heartless in cruelty, were as "bulls of Bashan," as "dogs," and "ravening and roaring" lions, so that He said, "All My bones are out of joint, My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of My bowels."

"Grief, grief of Love, that drew hate's ev'ry arrow!
Grief that Thy suff'ring heart only could meet!
Grief, whence Thy Face of love, shining in sorrow,
Draws us, adoring, Lord, low at Thy feet!"

These sufferings were all the more deeply felt because it was for Jehovah's sake He bore reproach. But the fathers had in measure tasted the same violence and reproach from unrighteous men. They trusted and were delivered (ver. 4). Jehovah had promised not to leave or forsake them (Deut. 31:6), and He was faithful that promised.

But here was a Sufferer outside the promise, who must go into death itself to make the promise sure to others! Here was a scene unparalleled in the history of eternity- it must stand alone-the wholly righteous One abandoned by God! It could not be repeated, as were the sacrifices under the law, else it would lose its holy character and annul the witness that God has been fully and completely glorified in the settlement of the question of good and evil. All that God is as a holy, righteous God, hating iniquity, has been fully manifested and made good.

But who could stand in the presence of the consuming fire? No sinner, surely, for it must inevitably mean eternal misery and despair. The blessed Son of God gave Himself for this, and He who alone could stand in the awful storm bore in deep humiliation the full weight of God's holy judgment against sin. "But Thou art holy," was His own answer to that bitter cry, and here alone can we get a-just estimate of what sin is in the sight of God. The holy, sinless, spotless One who had glorified God in every step of His pathway, was forsaken of God because, in His infinite love and devotion, He "offered Himself without spot to God," as the Sin-bearer. Here in holy reverence we may linger,"lost in wonder, love and praise." No human mind can fathom the depths of His sorrow nor tell the anguish of His holy soul. Here His perfection shines out most blessedly. He is perfect in His submission to the holy will of God; no will is displayed. He justified and glorified God, and sees only perfection in His ways. Here He cries, and says in deepest humility, "I am a worm, and no man, a reproach of men and despised of the people." There, where His soul was made an offering for sin, where perfect obedience and absolute devotion to God were most blessedly manifested, He laid the foundation of everlasting righteousness, and brought in eternal blessing, fully and perfectly glorifying God, and laid the basis for the complete fulfilment of all His counsels.

What an answer is this to those who dwell only on His sufferings at the hand of man! The deeper and more bitter sufferings He endured as the Sin-bearer, and God, as Judge, poured out the vials of His judgment, the hiding of whose face was the climax of suffering.

But the hour of bitter sorrow must end. It was not possible that He should be holden of death. Having glorified God perfectly, even to death, righteousness demands that He be glorified, heard "from the horns of the unicorns." God on completion of that work raised Him from the dead and has given Him glory. His present place is but the earnest of that coming day when, as triumphant Victor, He will be displayed as King of glory (Ps. 24). "Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory."
J. W. H. N.

(To be continued)

SACRIFICE

Calendar:Jan. 16th to Feb. 14th

DAILY BIBLE READING:…….. Jan. 16th, Prov. 26; Jan. 31st, Eccl. 10; Feb. 14th, Isa. 4.

SUPPLEMENTARY BEADING:… .Jan. 16th, 1 Cor. 2; Jan. 31st, 2 Cor. 1; Feb. 14th, Gal. 2.

"Happy New Year," is a greeting that is often heard at this season of the year, and, where sincere, expresses a wish we would all crave for those we love. We have in the Book of Psalms, which we have so recently completed in our daily reading, three expressions of true happiness. The word is rendered "blessed" in our excellent version, but "happy" is its meaning. Asher, one of the sons of Jacob, had this name.

1. "Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" (Ps. 32:1). That is the true New Year beginning, in which every one who has believed on our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has an eternal part.

As Israel's New Year began with the Passover, when the blood of the lamb was sprinkled, and sheltered them from the impending doom over all the land of Egypt, so everyone who trusts in the Lord Jesus is sheltered from the more dreadful judgment which is hanging over the whole world; "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." How simple was God's provision-the blood of the lamb, which each one who believed His Word took and sprinkled upon the lintel and doorposts of his dwelling. And how clear was God's assurance, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." He did not say, "When I see your good works, your faithful service, your happy _ feelings, your upright character," but, "When I see the blood." And it is that most precious blood, the Sacrifice of the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," "the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot," which is the true shelter for the unworthy sinner who believeth in Jesus. To him God says, "When I see the blood I will pass over you." Happy New Year indeed for each one who has thus come to the Lord Jesus.

2. "Happy is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.. .but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night" (Ps. 1:1,2). This does not point out the grounds of salvation, but rather its fruits. The truly happy child of God is marked by heart-as well as outward-separation from ungodliness, and by delighting in and feeding upon the precious word of God. Our blessed Lord exemplified this in perfection, and it is the character of every one who follows Him, in some measure. May we not say that this is the special form of "Happy New Year" that the dear children of God should wish each other in our Y. B. D., as well as to all who have come to the Lord Jesus"? How would it do to say, "I wish you the happiness of delighting in the word of God, and of feeding upon it at all times?" Whatever may be lacking, for the one who trusts in the Lord Jesus, the Word of God is the abundant source, by the power of the Holy Spirit, of never-failing happiness to every one who has that Word abiding in his heart. In this sense we wish each other a Happy New Year, by the grace of our blessed Lord Jesus.

3. "Happy is he that considereth the poor, the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble" (Ps. 41:1). "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich" (2 Cor. 8:9). It is always right to consider the poor and needy and to seek to help them-''As we have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:10). This spirit of compassion for the needy marked our Lord in His life here, and where the heart is engaged with Him, we will be His imitators in our measure. It is, however, of the first thought that we speak here-the consideration, and heart-occupation with Him who became poor for us. May our little circle be marked by an increasing engagement of heart with the Lord Himself-His grace, His love, His all-sufficiency; then indeed it will be a "Happy New Year."

Our main reading carries us through the sad book of Ecclesiastes, where one has everything the heart could crave as an object, except the one essential, while in the Songs of Songs we have that Object for the heart of which we have been speaking. We also make a beginning in the great book of the prophets, of which Isaiah is, we might say, the first in importance as in position. But all is profitable and perfect in its place. The Supplementary Reading is in the Epistles, whose light shines upon the Old Testament, bringing to light many things new and old.

The first five chapters of his prophecy reveal Isaiah uttering words such as are elsewhere said to be spoken by holy men when moved of the Holy Ghost. Chapter one asserts that the words are included in his "vision," thus showing that their substance and form are from God.

Nevertheless, in order that the prophet may take up his work in increased persistence for the greater glory of God, and with keener discernment of men, the divine work in his heart is deepened by the special vision given him "in the year when king Uzziah died."

In this vision he learns the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and gets a deep sense of grace. His exercise of soul therein is not so much in respect of guilty conduct but "iniquity"- that ever leans in the wrong direction – and "sin" as a spring of uncleanness. And although he discovers that good does not dwell in his flesh, he also finds that purification comes from the altar. Now while this is its interpretation, there are other applications thereof, as, for instance, its use in speaking to the unconverted.

The narrative emphasizes (1) the death of Uzziah the king; (2) a vision of Jehovah's majesty; (3) a confession of uncleanness; (4) purification by fire; (5) a fresh commission to serve.

THE DEATH OF UZZIAH THE KING

At the age of sixteen he ascends the throne of Judah, which he occupies for fifty-two years, dying at the age of sixty-eight. Endowed with unusual ability he ends the menace of neighbors who had harried the kingdom by hostile encroachments, and puts the country on a sound industrial basis. He also equips a large standing army with the very latest weapons, especially fortifying the capital with engines of defense capable of withstanding the shock of a powerful enemy. In this he exhibits the foresight of a soldier-statesman who envisions danger from Assyria in the north, and knows that in the event of a conflict between it and Egypt to the south, his country will be ravaged unless he can block a passage from either direction. But alas, this man becomes proud through success, and commits sacrilege, so that he has to be isolated for the rest of his life as a leper smitten of God (2 Chron. 26), while his son Jotham administers the affairs of the kingdom as regent.

Now we may suppose that when he dies his life is reviewed from various viewpoints, some describing his talents as a soldier, while others repeat with awe the story of his sacrilege and terrible doom. But we cain well conceive what is uppermost in the mind of the young prophet as he meditates upon the matter. Doubtless he asks God to teach him reverence and not to permit him to betray his trust by giving way to pride.

A VISION OF JEHOVAH’S MAJESTY

During one of his visits to the temple he is vouchsafed' a vision of the Ruler of the Universe (whom he does ;not attempts to describe) in the form He assumes for His. purpose. He is seated upon a throne high and elevated in space, while the train of His royal robe fills the temple. The seraphim are in attendance, each having six wings. With two they reverently cover the face, with two they humbly cover the feet, and with two they are poised around the throne in readiness to fly at the divine command. How many of these excellent beings are present we are not informed, but to each other they cry, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" At this the thresholds of the door move, as if by an earthquake-symbol of overturned government; and the house is filled with smoke-symbol of wrath against evil.

A CONFESSION OF UNCLEANNESS

The silent observer now speaks. He cries, "Woe is me!' for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips,. and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips:for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" He discovers that the spring of his being is polluted,, hence he uses the leper-cry, "Unclean!" More than that, he says:"I am a man of unclean lips!" He learns that he cannot control the evil impulses of his nature, and that sooner or later they come to the surface and express themselves in his speech. It is evident then that the reprover of a nation must cease speaking to others. Who is he-to reprove a people with such "lips?" Even although he dwells "in the midst of a people of unclean lips," a people in urgent need of that word of God which is very "pure" who is to convey the message? Can a man of leprous lips carry it? Manifestly he will never address Judah again, unless God intervenes on his behalf.

PURIFICATION BY FIRE

At his cry, one of the seraphim flies to him with a glowing coal taken with the tongs from off the altar, and touches his lips. But as the seraph is not at liberty to do so unless so ordered, it is apparent that Jehovah exercises compassion upon him and sends relief by His messenger, who says:"Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged!"

Scripture speaks of purification by "blood," by the washing of "water" by the Word, and by "fire." Purification by fire is from the energy of sin. Sin in the flesh is judged at the altar where the fire of divine wrath consumes an unblemished sufferer identified with the sin in a vicarious way. When the burning coal touches his lips, this is impressed upon Isaiah in its practical bearing.

To describe this in New Testament language, he sees himself as "in the flesh" ended judicially at the Cross, in order that consistency with this in service might be maintained by walking in the Spirit.

But although Isaiah cannot explain his case in these words, seeing that in his day the Cross and the abiding gift of the Spirit were future, what he does say shows what was in God's mind, and towards which He was moving even in that day. Thus Isaiah is ready to resume his work in a new way and with a wider outlook. He has seen himself as God sees him, and therefore he knows men; yet he has tasted of grace in such a way that he can go forth to them as never before. There will be a new note in his message.

A FRESH COMMISSION TO SERVE

Thus far the voices heard are those of the seraphim proclaiming the holiness of God, of Isaiah bewailing his pollution, and of the seraph explaining his action.

Now for the first time, the King speaks. Wonderful to say, He issues no command, but makes an appeal, for He is seeking a servant for the Godhead. And although He knows that Isaiah has learned his lesson and can be entrusted with the work, He waits for him to declare himself, for He desires volunteers and not conscripts. The appeal is:"Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"

It requires four to answer this question. The Son who sends, the Father who purposes, and the Spirit who energizes-the "Us" of our text-are of one mind about a message to be delivered to men; but they are looking for a messenger who will be in the spirit of his message, yet who will simply say what he is told. All four, the Trinity and the messenger, must be in accord in this matter. Wherefore Isaiah now ready and alert offers himself, saying:"Here am I; send me!" To him therefore the Lord says "GO."

At this stage of things, some might picture this volunteer going forth on a campaign wherein he secures the rapt attention of his countrymen, being enabled to convince them by his searching appeals. But he goes forth under no such illusion. Before he begins he is told how things will work out. He is warned that he will encounter gross ignorance and wilful dislike of his message, so that judicial blindness will come upon the mass of the people because of their evil bias. Nevertheless he is assured that his testimony will secure God His portion, "a tenth," to be the nucleus of later far-reaching blessing. Therefore he goes forth with the "deposit" in an earthen vessel, "that the excellency of the power may be God" and not of himself (see 2 Cor. 4:7). And as the apostle Paul could say, "Death worketh in us, but life in you"-showing how his exercises benefitted the Corinthians-so Isaiah's deep exercises not only fit him to speak searchingly to the nation, but be a support to the God-fearing in Judah.

And let us ask:Who was the high and lofty One who called Isaiah to such service? We have already assumed it was One whom we know, even "the Son." But the apostle John tells us in so many words that it was He (John 12:4). The One on whose bosom he reclined was none other than the One before whose majesty the prophet abased himself, yet whose glory was shown to be grace. Who would not serve Him and welcome His discipline to this end? R. J. Reid

Calendar:April 16th to May 15th

DAILY BIBLE READING:…….. April 16th, Isa. 65; April 30th, Jer. 13; May 15th, Jer. 28.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING:April 16th, 1 Pet. 3; April 30th, Rev. 1; May 15th, Rev. 16.

We find some quite evident differences between the prophet Jeremiah and his great predecessor, Isaiah. Perhaps one of the most striking features is the personal element in his testimony. We have his call to service in his youth, with the account of his felt unfitness for the great work. Again and again is he well-nigh overwhelmed with the burden of sorrow; he would pour out his grief in rivers of tears; or he would curse the day of his birth that made him a man of strife. Nor is the element of tenderness wanting in the solemn denunciations of the people's sins. As all faithful witnesses must, in one way or another, suffer, he was bitterly hated and persecuted, thrown into a dungeon, but his life was preserved, through God's mercy.

His prophecy took in the latter part of King Josiah's reign and those of the remaining kings of Judah, until the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity in Babylon. He remained with the little remnant in the land, who eventually went down into Egypt, remaining with them till the close of his book. There is considerable historical narrative in the latter part, and, embedded in the gloom of his crying out against sin, and prediction of judgment, there shines the bright sweet light of recovery and restoration through "the Lord our Righteousness."

Our supplementary Reading in the New Testament carries us through the Epistles of Peter, John and Jude, with their varied yet blended testimony of light and love. John's Epistles stand out strikingly in this respect. May the Lord give us abundant blessing in this fresh perusal of this portion of His Word.

Greek Testament Lessons

LESSON 65. Page 65, par. 50. Learn this page, and try to become familiar with the consonantal changes. Locate each verb at the bottom of the page, giving its exact tense, mood, etc., but not a synopsis.

LESSON 66. John 1:20-22. Parse each word as in similar lessons.

The verb studies in our text-book are, to some of you, becoming more familiar, and you are laying a good foundation for more extensive study. Once you become thoroughly familiar with the consonantal and other changes in the inflection of the verb, you will be able to locate them accurately and give the shades of meaning suggested in the different tenses, etc.

The parsing exercise in John's Gospel is also helpful in giving familiarity with the diction of the Scriptures, and enlarging the vocabulary. Those who are keeping up with the lessons are showing a gratifying progress. Soon they will be able to read any portion without great difficulty.

Young Believers' Meetings

Meeting of Y. B. D., March 2d, 1929. Present:about 63.

Meeting opened with singing of hymns and prayer.

Last meeting took up following questions:

Explain "Kingdom of God" as used in Matt. 6:33. Assigned to H., L., E., J. McG., D. F.

Some good scriptural reasons on why we should come to meeting, and, "Why don't we come to meeting?"

"If God cannot look upon sin, how can He look down on this world and see all the sin that is going on?" F. S., A. H. and H.

Give some good scriptural reasons on why we should not vote.

This month's questions:

Is there any scriptural authority for saying or believing that there will be differences in the crowns we will receive, and will there be jewels or stars in our crown -where the thought came from, and is it correct to use the expression? Asked by F. S. Assigned to E. B., G. S., G.B.

General discussion followed as to "crown of life," "crown of righteousness," etc., rewards given at judgment-seat of Christ.

From discussion it was believed that crowns were not actually made of gold, etc., but just symbols, as rewards for service (1 Cor. 3:13; Rev. 2:17).

Dan. 12:3 seems to be basis of thought of "stars in crown," and Rev. 12:1 speaks of crown with stars in it.

Question was asked by M. R. as to whether those who have been more faithful to Christ in this scene will be able to enjoy Him more than others who have been less faithful. Discussion followed-our enjoyment of Christ will be perfect. As one remarked, "In Thy presence is fulness of joy." Questions for the next time:-Will there be development in heaven? Will we have an infinite mind in heaven? (by E. B.). Assigned to L. L., L. S., and R. L.

Give a practical explanation of 1 Cor. 10:31. Should this be taken literally? Asked by B. G., and assigned to L. McK., W. F., F. S., L. M.

General discussion followed. Based on context of chapter where Christians were sitting down with the heathen and partaking of meat offered to idols. Summed up it is that whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God-whatever we do, do to His glory-do as unto Him. M.DeV. brought up illustration of Naaman, the Syrian, how he asked to be pardoned when He bowed down before the idol. God read his heart that it was toward Himself. It is the purpose with which we do things that really counts. Man looketh on the outward appearance but God looketh on the heart. It is the idea of giving testimony to God in whatever we do. May this verse be a challenge to each one of us; is everything we do to the glory of God?

Question for next time (asked by R. L.) :Rev. 22:19, "the words of this book." Does that mean Revelation or whole Bible? "Take his part out of the book of life." Assigned to M. S. and C. Girls, B.S., and C. S.

Question for next time (asked by B. S.) :"In Luke 8:2, it has been suggested that the seven devils were evil traits in character, such as pride, haughtiness, wickedness, drunkenness, etc. Is this correct? To what extent, if any, is "casting out devils" figurative speech ? The corollary to that question is:-Can it be rationalized? Why was it a fate of man only in that time? Or can it be applied to the present time? Are the devils merely habits that enter man and make him dash himself to pieces? This question arises out of the attempt some make to rationalize Scripture as much as possible."

Assigned to:H. P., H. G., E. B., M.DeV.

Question for next time asked by M. D.:"Sabbath day's journey" of Acts 1:12. What length was it and why so called? Assigned to L. D., R. S., D. M. and E. M.

Suggested by F. S. that next meeting all come early and make bandages for Dr. Woodham's party in Africa.

Reprinted from "Helps by the Way," for Dec. 1880

(1 Pet. 5:12.)

Blessed supposition this, my fellow-Christian! Has it ever presented itself to your mind, that a man divinely inspired and at the moment penning Scripture, SUPPOSES a brother, with whom evidently he has little acquaintance, to be a faithful man? Again, I repeat, this is a happy aspect in which he regards him; would God it abounded more!

In company with this, I would call attention to another word of similar character from the same divine writer (withal a man of like passions with ourselves)-Simon Peter.

In his 2nd epistle (3:15) he makes mention of his "beloved brother Paul and the wisdom given unto him"-one who had in former time been forced, in holding fast the liberty of the gospel, to withstand him to the face. How happily was grace at work when he thus commits his brethren over to the man whose rebuke doubtless had been hard enough for "flesh and blood" to bear. Whence this precious grace to one who boasted of himself above all his brethren as loving his Lord more than all beside? Ah, well we know it was from Him who was meeker than all beside, and very lowliness itself! He has been hearing the Shepherd's voice bidding him "follow Him," and is now bending his neck to His yoke of sweet constraint, and is learning to obey Him.

Blessedness, my reader, this was, which may be yours and mine to share.

But let us note more carefully the circumstances of this word of appeal as to grace that should be working in our hearts in this day as well as that. At the time of Paul and Barnabas parting company on account of the unfaithfulness of John Mark, we read "that Paul chose Silas and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace 6f God" (Read Acts 15:36-41). Thus Silas (seen by comparison of this and the two chapters that follow with 1 and 2 Thess. to be identical with Silvanus) was a travelling companion of Paul. And he, as we have seen, was at one time called to give witness against his brother Peter, even withstanding him to the face. How beautiful, then, to have such words as these from him in the face of circumstances like the ones recorded. There are precious and divine beauties in this little word from one rightly esteemed as chief among the apostles; and yet, beloved, they are through grace within the range that is both yours and mine. On the one hand, Peter does not record more of the brother in question than he personally knows-he does not say as Paul does of another (Timotheus) that he knows him to be -faithful, for this he evidently does not. But blessed, touching grace (of Peter's Master it surely was) that if he cannot speak of knowing him to be faithful, yet he will suppose from the connection in which he does know him that it is so. My reader, this is passing beautiful-Peter supposes all on heaven's side. Deeply was it freighted with the love that thinketh no evil, but hopeth all things.

Doubtless the circumstance of Silas being with Paul in the prison of Philippi was not unknown to him, at least their companying together, and this was enough, where divine love was at work, to set him down, in the hope of his heart at least, a faithful brother. He will suppose him at least to be so as the fellow-laborer of his beloved brother Paul-not as alas, alas, so often now, supposing him to be anything and everything but this, because of the unhappy occasion of his brother's rebuke borne in mind. May God make us rich in grace and thoughts like these. May we "increase and abound in love yet more and more." May it be true not only that "our faith may grow exceedingly, but that the love of every one of us all toward each other may abound also." May we learn of Him who has bidden us take His yoke as "meek and lowly in heart." May we list His gracious voice as, looking upon His poor and feeble followers, unable to "watch with him one hour," He says, "Ye are they which have continued with Me in My temptations." Blessed, peerless Lord and Master! He will say at least what is in His heart if even amid the rebuke and exposure of theirs. Let us learn His ways, beloved brethren, be taught of Him to walk in wisdom's paths of pleasantness and peace. Let us, like Him, say of each other the very best we can, and as to all the rest bear it on our hearts in intercession before our Father.

Do not say, let me beseech you, that it lies upon a level too high for you to reach. True, the grace is another's to draw upon, but it is plenteous and free flowing, and only needs our emptiness to realize His fulness. And that one has proved it so we have already seen. And now in closing let me note still yet another beautiful passage. Paul has a request (of no small strain, the context readily shows) to make of his brother Philemon, and in doing so he mentions the refreshing that not only he but others had found in him. Ere making further claims he will, as he says, "Acknowledge every good thing that is in him in Christ Jesus." (Read Philemon.) Happy, happy employ! The true and only way of winning other hearts, not to ourselves alone, but for Him whose interest in it we should seek to serve. How much loving service might we beseech each other to engage in for His sake were this more the practice of our lives.

Now I would say to my beloved brethren, fare you well, and with this word, "Let us not, therefore, judge one another any more; but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way… .Let us therefore follow after the things that make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another" (Rom. 14:14,19).

Yours, in the love of Him who has said to us, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."

(Ps. 32.)

"God is a refuge for us." He has ever been the dwelling place, the high tower, the fortress of His people. All down the centuries they have proved that, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth unto it and is safe." So it was with David, the sweet psalmist of Israel. And his utterances of prayer and praise, in his psalmody, voice the wishes and the worship of the hearts of saints to-day, though we have to remember, always, that we live in days when redemption has been accomplished and when the Holy Spirit has come to indwell. His own, and to assure them that they are His for ever.

Let us consider Psalm 32 in the light of this.
God is for us as our Justifier. The believer is

CLEARED

before God, yea, by God Himself, from every charge. The whole matter of his sins and sinfulness has been dealt with in righteousness in the highest court of the universe, and from which there is no appeal. The sinner who believes "goes out of the court without a stain upon his character," not because he is innocent, but because Christ has died for him and is risen again. "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile."

Transgression forgiven; sin covered; iniquity not imputed; the spirit guileless. Blessed! happy indeed! is such an one.

God has justified him from every charge. God has covered his sin. God will not impute iniquity to him for He has made him accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6), and made him His righteousness in Christ (2 Cor. 5:25). So the believer can be perfectly free in spirit in His presence.

Everything concerning the justified one has come out into the light-all that he has done and all that he is in himself as a sinner. Nothing has been overlooked. Sin has not been slurred over, it has been judged at the cross. There Christ was delivered for our offences and was raised again for our justification. "Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

We can be in the light without a fear or misgiving. The One who knows all about us-yes, all that we" have discovered in ourselves after our conversion, and all else. He is the One who clears us completely.

In verses 3-6 the psalmist shows how he reached the blessedness of which he speaks. He had kept silence for long, while the subject of God's gracious discipline; but at length he owned all his guilt and need. "I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin."

David confesses; God forgives. How simple! How assuring! "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). We confess; He clears. And He is faithful and just in doing so because Christ has died.

"Because the sinless Saviour died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
And God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me."

But the believer is not only cleared, he is

COMFORTED

The God of all grace is enough for his sorrows as well as for his sins and sinfulness. The justified one can say, "Thou art my hiding place; Thou shalt preserve me from trouble ; Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance." What words of cheer are these!

We pass through scenes of difficulty and trial. Storm and stress and strain are encountered, but God is ever near. To Him we can turn-a feeble folk-to find a refuge in Him, the Rock of our Salvation. He was enough for us in our sins. He is enough for us in our circumstances. We hide under the shadow of His wings. And He is the Almighty One. Everything is under His control. He can make all our circumstances, at all times, work together for our good. AND HE DOES.

So, and though,

"We comprehend Him not,
Yet earth and heaven tell
God sits as sovereign on His throne,
And ruleth ALL THINGS well."

And now the speaker is changed-as so often in the Psalms. It is no longer David saying, "Thou shalt," to God, but God Himself saying, "I will," to David who is to be

COUNSELED

as to his pathway.

What grace is with our God! "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:I will guide thee with Mine eye," or "with Mine eye upon thee." Precious promise this! The path twists and turns. We know not which is the way in which we should walk. He knows and He shows.

Many years since I was in the Maze in Hampton Court Palace Garden (not far from London). I could not find the way out. I went this path and that path, but in vain. At last, tired and weary, I looked up. Then for the first time I noticed a man upon an elevated platform. He was looking upon me and waiting to direct me. Then, pointing with a stick in one direction and then in another, he showed me the way I should take, and I soon found myself at the desired exit.
Look up, dear believer, for guidance from our God. He waits to direct. He keeps you in His sight and thought unceasingly. If we are willing to do His will we shall not lack His guidance or miss our way.

"I have no difficulty about guidance," said a Christian to me. I thought to myself, "Well, I have." But he added some words of explanation, "My difficulty is in not being stupid or stubborn like the horse or the mule." But even if we are foolish thus, there is comfort in the fact that the bit and the bridle of circumstances will be used to keep us on the right road as we journey on to the heavenly home.

Cleared, comforted, counseled. Truly privileged we are.

Well may the psalmist add, "Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, ye righteous, and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart."

He is enough for our sins-they are blotted out.

He is enough for our sorrows-He is our hiding place. He is enough for our steps-He will guide us in all our way.

Inglis Fleming

He who bore my sins in dying,
Put an end to all my trying,
And believing, iow I live.

For He saith, "whoso believeth"
Everlasting life receiveth;
He alone this life can give.

Safe in Him I'll reach the glory,
There to tell the wondrous story
Of the blessed Saviour's love.

Face to face with Him forever,
Nor to pain or grieve Him ever,
In that home of light above.

Helen McDowell

(Luke 22:16-28.)

"With desire I have desired (I have heartily desired) to eat this passover with you before I suffer."

"Ye are they which have continued with me in My tribulations."

"with You." Emmanuel, God with us, He who is "over all, God blessed for ever," was here, "God manifested in the flesh," tabernacling in our midst in our world, in our nature, in our circumstances. Perfect in full Godhead, perfect in full humanity, He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners." No taint of Adam's fall, no defilement of evil, was in Him, the holy and true One. And yet He said, "With you," with us, for we were represented in the disciples whom He chose that they might be with Him, His companions, and that He might send them forth to preach. (The order is to be noted, companionship with Him was before, and led up to, commission for Him.)

He valued their presence, and the holy familiarity which existed and evidenced itself so often in His association with them, speaks to us of the reality of His sinless, impeccable humanity. What tender thought and consideration for them was ever manifested! What patience and forbearance! What love and grace and kindness! How wonderful that He should find His joy in their company!

And now that the great type of Himself and His sufferings, the passover, is to have its fulfilment in Himself, the great Antitype, it is with desire, great desire, He would eat it with them.

"Before I suffer." All that which He was to endure was before Him. The hour for that baptism of judgment and of death, with which He must be baptized, if God were to be glorified and man were to be blessed, was at hand. But in the midst of this He thinks of His own, and having eaten the passover He spreads for them the feast of remembrance, the Supper of the Lord, in order that in that keepsake of His love their hearts may be recalled again and again to Himself and His love, and His death for them in the world, out of which He has been cast.

"With You," with us who believe. He would link Himself with us in our need, coming where we were so that He might lift us out of the miry clay of our ruin and place us where He is in resurrection life now, and soon in glory with Himself. The cost was to be His alone. The consummation was to be ours – in His company.

"With me." Looking over their history as apostles He does not refer to the miracles wrought, and the power of Satan overcome through His name, during their service. It was their companionship which is singled out for remark. "Ye are they which have continued with Me in My tribulations." He had sought, He had secured, He had delighted in their company.

They had walked with Him in the Galilean fields, in outside Samaria, in persecuting Judea. Though foolish and failing as ourselves, yet they had remained with Him when many had gone back and "walked no more with Him." And when He would go back to Judea to awaken His friend Lazarus, one of them, Thomas, will say, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." Thomas was devoted here if doubting later.
All this had been delightsome to the Lord. He had esteemed their affection, feeble as it had been, and passing over all their blunders and weakness of faith He recalls alone their faithful companionship in the hours of testing and trial-testing and trial which served to testify to His perfection.

And with Him, "with Me," will be heaven for His own eternally. And He will find His joy in having them in His likeness and in His company for ever. He has gone to prepare a place for His companions, and His presence in the Father's house in righteousness makes ready the place for them, so that where He is there they may be also.

And His righteous claim is that there they shall be, as He said, "Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am" (John 17:24).

Nothing less than that will suit His loving heart. To bring it to pass He will come again to receive us unto Himself. Then it will be true for ever what has been said as to His Bride-the Church-of which we believers all form part:

"He and I in that bright glory,
One deep joy shall share;
Mine to be for ever with Him,
His that I am there."

"With you." He will be with His own in gracious concern and active in His love until the journey is over.

"With Me." Then they will be with Him, where He will rest in His love and joy over them with singing.

–INGLIS , FLEMING.

"He restoreth my soul."

When we started on our journey,
From the foot of Calvary's cross
Through this world, it was as pilgrims,
'Twas no longer home to us.
Just as Abram left his country,
In obedience to God's word,
So we left our all, to follow
In the footsteps of the Lord.

Have we followed, or like Israel,
Have we chosen our own way?
And, like sheep without a shepherd,
From His leading gone astray?
Have we settled down contented
Where the world gave Him no place?
Have we dealt with one another
In all patience, and all grace?

Have we found the path too narrow
For our restless, wayward feet?
Have we longings which the Master
In His judgment deems unmeet?
Have we really forgotten
How in grace He did define,
"By your love for one another
All shall know that ye are Mine?"

Much we fear we've lost our bearings,
And our chart have failed to use,
For a pilgrim's not a wanderer,
And his path he may not choose.
God has marked it out, and chosen
We should walk with Him therein,
Lest the world with smiles entice us,
And entangle us in sin.

Looking backward o'er the pathway,
Let us ponder carefully
Where we left the path of blessing,
When we one time walked with Thee.
Owning all our faults and failure,
Grant us mercy ere Thou'lt come
To redeem Thy purchased treasure,
And to bear us to Thy Home.

May we own with deep contrition
We are covered with our shame,
And in wilful disobedience
Brought dishonor to Thy name.
For Thy name's sake, Lord, we pray Thee,
Save Thy people further wrong,
And restoring us in mercy,
Give once more a gladsome song. H. McDowell

I have been reading more of late in the Psalms. It is "easy" reading comparatively, but they are full of beauty and the "human touch" throughout has its own peculiar comfort. How good of God to give us so large a book in which is expressed so much of our own unspoken thought and soul exercise, while under the surface one learns to see how much there is there which must express the feelings, longings, and exercises of our blessed Lord as Man, when here walking in the presence of the wicked and feeling the pressure of evil from many quarters. But one of these days we will talk with Him about all the way.

BAHAMA HURRICANE RELIEF FUND

We have received from brother Stratton a full report of receipts and expenditure in connection with ministry sent to the Fund for aid of those who suffered in the terrible hurricane which struck the Bahama Islands last year. Owing to the pressure of work our brother was not able to acknowledge all individual gifts at the time they were received. He therefore asks those who have not received direct acknowledgments to accept this in lieu of same. It is encouraging to notice from the report the large amount of work that was done in helping brethren build their meeting-halls and homes, and the number of individuals that were helped. We are glad to print the following letters from our brother, and also some showing appreciation of assistance received.

Dear brother:- March 9, 1929.

After a long delay I am able to forward to you an account of expenditures. I will forward later acknowledgments from those who derived benefit but now send the letters from the brethren with whom I conferred. Best of all, now the real fruit is beginning to be seen; souls realizing that deep interest has been taken in them. As nothing has been done by either the Government or other religious bodies, this has given us access in a way heretofore unknown. Brother Van Ryn joined me here this week and after months of steady ministry in the gospel and Truth we began a series of special Gospel meetings, with the result that nine souls have accepted Christ and the whole community is stirred. Last night there was no more seating-room in the Hall, and crowds were without. Many yet under deepest exercise. To-morrow we are to have a baptismal service at the sea-side. Now more than ever before we need the prayers of the saints. I feel led to continue this way for some months. A road is being built through the entire island, which will give access to each settlement. Pray for this desire also. Trust to pitch our tent in neighboring settlement shortly should the Lord tarry. Well, dear brother, I am so full of joy I can scarce write, and am anxious to get after some "wounded souls" with the water of life. Please convey our united love and thanks to all the saints. As there are yet others much in need, should any feel like doing further by way of help will be glad to dispense it for His glory. As ever, sincerely, aff'tly, your brother,

R. S. Stratton.

P. S.-The most interesting scene we ever witnessed we evidenced yesterday at Baptismal service. Twelve souls accepting Christ in all and thirteen others who had done so before went under the waters of baptism, brother Van Ryn performing same after a short word as to its import beforehand by me. The procession was fully a mile long, and tended to greatly impress the eye-witnesses as well as the participants in it. Pray for us now as we seek to lead them on, and may meet persecution by other religious bodies.

Great Guana Cay. Dear brother in Christ:- March 2nd.

Being still in the Island of Abaco, preaching every night to interested companies, I was refreshed in seeing the Lord's good hand in ministering to one of His servants in the welcome gift passed on to me from our beloved worker, R. S. Stratton. I desire to give you my sincere thanks for this precious ministry, and feel grateful to the dear saints in U. S. A.

There has been some blessing in Man-o'-War Cay and Hope Town, and some who wandered away from the Lord have returned to Him and come into fellowship, thus strengthening the Assembly.

May the Lord always fill your heart with joy and peace in this busy service of love for Him.

Again thanking you, yours in Christ,

Robert Jewers.

Arthur's Town, Cat Island. Beloved in the Lord:- March 13th, 1929.

I hereby acknowledge the receipt of your gift through brother Stratton, and desire to thank you.

I came here with my family seven weeks ago, and making it headquarters am able to reach other places-Orange Creek and The Lot to the north, and Zion Hill, Dumfries and Bennett's Harbor to the south. There is great interest shown in the gospel-work in these parts.

At Bennett's Harbor, five and a half miles away, the people are very interested, and desirous for me to pay them a visit. Am hoping to go there for an evening this week.

Since arriving here this time, the third visit to the place, two young men have confessed the Lord, and seem to be very anxious to learn the truth. They come for what they call "Instruction" very frequently.

With desires that God will bless you and use you as a blessing,

Yours in His service though grace,

James S. Hall.

Beloved brethren:-

Palmetto Point, March 9, 1929.

We are in happy accord with the way brother Stratton and brother Van Ryn have labored in the Lord here, and being taken into counsel as to expenditure of funds, we feel it our duty as brethren both to acknowledge same and extend our many thanks to the saints who so lovingly came in and ministered to our necessities. We feel that words fail to express our gratitude. May God abundantly reward you all for your love and material help. Affec'tly your brethren,

Joseph Thompson, Lewis Finder, and other brethren.

BARBADOS

Our brother Hoze reports (March 9) a slackening of interest, but is continuing the meetings, hoping and praying for a reviving. Let us join him in this not only for BARBADOS but for every place.

BRAZIL

J. P. Ribeiro writes (Feb. 14), "Last week in the Tracaja River I baptized four new souls. I have invitations from many others which I hope to fill up as the blessed Lord may give grace. My wife is getting a little better." May we remember the work in this great and needy field.

Duncan McNeil, a brother thirty years of age, writes of being much exercised as to going to Africa to join our brethren Woodhams and Searle. He was married about a year ago to a daughter of our brother Denham of Minneapolis, and has been in the Lord's work for two years or more. When our brother Buchenau returned from Minnesota to California last Spring he turned his Gospel-car over to brother McNeil who labored with it in Manitoba. May the Lord lead our dear brother as to his every step. Surely if He should send help to our brethren in Africa by this means we would all rejoice with them.

THE HARBOR WORK

NEW YORK

March 8, 1929.

Our brother, James Willies, left the work as a full-time worker in April, 1928, so I have been alone in this large harbor since then. His going left me in a strait as to how to continue single-handed. I finally decided that, as he had done very faithful work on the North River with the large ocean-going liners, I could justly leave that end of the work alone for a time at least. This I did, keeping at the tramp steamers coming into Brooklyn. In the fall I again started work on the North River piers, dividing my time between them and the Brooklyn piers. In December we had a very happy time with brethren from Baltimore and Boston. Two meetings were held-one in Jersey City and another in Passaic. Brethren Anderson, H. Loizeaux, and R. Schaefer were our visitors from Baltimore, and brother Gibb and his wife from Boston. Brother Anderson has a good set of slides and gave a good address on them We also had a good word from brother has to work in his port. In February I went to Boston and met brethren Holwill and Gibb for another conference Brother Holwill does faithful work at Montreal in, the Spring and summer among seamen; so we were able to "compare notes and to encourage one another in the labor of the gospel.

For the past fifteen months I have given special attention to work among passengers. On ships going to Bermuda Cuba, Florida, on Mediterranean cruises, etc., I found' open doors and left suitable books and tracts for passengers. It is sad to see the worldliness, frivolity and sin to be found here as everywhere; but after the "Vestris" horror one feels more the necessity of preaching in this way to people who start out for pleasure or health, and often find death.

Important items in our work are the follow-up cases, the individuals we meet, some of whom are concerned, others who show sincere interest and welcome the workers, and another class, namely, those who are "His own." We have found many of the latter, and it is a great joy to meet them and, where possible, entertain them. All of the brethren in this work keep careful record of such cases and pass names on to one another, thus forming links in a living chain. Recently in February, I was able to meet four young lads on the Str. Surrey, from Wellington, N. Z. Through brother Gifford, a brother who labors among sailors there, I learned of this ship's coming and so found them. All four came to our Gospel Mission in Brooklyn and enjoyed the hospitality shown them. One of them, a R. C., proved himself the brightest in divine things. The Lord's people would do well to pray for such cases.

Besides the distribution of immense quantities of literature in all tongues to thousands of seamen, I have had uncounted openings with men, in personal and group talks, and while hardness of heart, scoffs, and open hostility often confront the worker, yet we truly believe God will make the power of His Word felt in many a soul ere it is too late. To this end I beg your fellowship in prayer for this important and needy field.

R. A. West.

BALTIMORE HARBOR

We are having a nice time on the boats here. Some souls have been saved since the beginning of the year. I have got some fine openings lately on City boats, and also on Anchor-Brocklebank boats. Quite a few of the latter are coming here now. Had an interesting time following up cases from brother Gibb and West.

Was on the S. S. "Matra" on Tuesday until 12:15 a.m., got a very fine opening with quartermasters.

On Friday, March 1st, I visited the "City of Newcastle,"' had some fine openings, and was leaving the ship at midnight, when a watchman approached me on the dock, and said, "I want to speak to you. You know, sir, since I last saw you my father died, about two weeks back. He was a Roman Catholic Christian." "Well," I said, "I am sorry to hear that, but you just made a statement I have not heard before, and if you have no objection I will make two statements out of your one. What is the difference between a Roman Catholic Christian and a Roman Catholic?" His answer was, "A Roman Catholic Christian is one who trusts in Christ alone as his Saviour and his only hope of heaven. A Roman Catholic trusts in his religion which will never save him." I spent a while talking to him, using my flashlight to light the pages of my Douay Testament as we stood on the pier. At 12:35 a.m., a young R. C. Cadet came along, and both of us talked with him about his soul. Just as I started for home at 1:00 a.m., the watchman putting his hand on the boy's shoulder said, "Boy, this is the first time I had a good talk with this man, and I find out he works during the day, I meet him at all hours of the night in different places, as he seeks to bring Christ on these boats. Remember this, I am a Roman Catholic; he, as far as religion is concerned, is a Protestant, but we are both on the same ground, trusting Christ, and not our respective religions. Remember, it's Christ you want, and not religion."

Coming as it did in the early hours of the morning, it drove all tired feeling away, and made me say, "Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men."

I generally seek to stop at 10:00 p.m., if I am on a ship, because I realize men need to sleep, but whenever I get an opening, and am requested to forget the time by the men, I do forget it, and keep on. This happens pretty frequently on British boats.

One Captain (an Irishman) said I was not to leave the ship until I saw him. He was in bed (9:55 p.m.) when I got to his cabin. The lights were on, so I knocked. He let me in, and when I apologized for hauling him out of bed, he shut the door and said, "You are here now, and not getting out until I am ready to let you go." I was-with him for an hour.

Yours sincerely, in the Master's service, Charles H. Anderson.

1. Two kinds of Temptation.1, From circumstances without.2, From lusts within.1:2, 23; 13-15.

2. Two kinds of Hearers.1, Forgetful hearers.2, Doers of the work.1:22-25.

3. Two kinds of Religion.1, Vain religion.2, Pure religion and undefiled.1:26,27.

4. Two kinds of Faith.1, "Dead" faith.2, Living faith.2:14-26.

5. Two kinds of Wisdom. 1, The Wisdom which is from beneath. 2, The Wisdom which is from above. 3:13-18.

6. Two kinds of Riches. 1, Material Riches. 2, Rich in faith.1:10; 2:6,7; 5:1-6.

7. Two kinds of Prayers.1, One who asks in faith. 2, The wavering man.1:6-8.

8. Two kinds of People. 1, The Proud. 2, The Humble. 4:6.

9. Two kinds of Friends.1, The Friend of the world.

2, The Friend of God. 4:4; 2:23.

Various kinds of Men, as James describes them.

A STUDY IN HUMAN NATURE

1. The double-minded man. 1:8.
2. The man that endureth temptation.1:12.
3. The man tempted with evil.1:13.
4. The man who forgets what kind of man he is. 1:24.
5. The man who is blessed in his work.1:25.
6. The religious man.1:26.
7. The man who is pure and undefiled before God. 1:27.
8. The man with a gold ring.2:2.
9. The poor man.2:2.
10. The man who says he has faith, but who has not.2:14.
11. The man whose works prove his faith. 2:18.
12. The vain man.2:20.
13. The perfect man. 3:2.
14. The wise man. 3:13.
15. The rich man. 5:1-6.
16. The husbandman. 5:7.
17. The patient man. 5:11.
18. The sick man. 5:14,15.
19. The righteous man.5:16.
20. The man subject to like passions as we are. 5:17.
21. The erring man.5:19.
22. The converted man.5:20.
23. The man who converts the sinner from his error. 5:20.
24. The man who speaks evil of his brother. 4:11.
25. The boastful man.4:13-16.
26. The man who knows to do good, and does it not. 4:17.
27. The man who talks much but does little. 3:5.
28. The condemned man.5:9..
29. The just man.5:6. '[brethren. 4:11,12.
30. The man who assumes the place of judge over his
31. The man proud of his "orthodoxy." 2:19.
32. The man who offered his son on the altar. 2:21.
33. The WOMAN who received God's messengers. 2:25.

Wm. Huss

"He led them forth by the right way"-Ps. 107:7.

O Lord, the clouds have gathered,
And darker seem to grow;
As thickly they o'ershadow
Our pathway here below,
We long to see some beacon ray;
O Lord, let us not miss the way!

The enemy, so subtle,
Delayed not to ensnare;
Would we had walked more humbly,
With sober watchful care;
Yet now Thy mercy we would pray;
Lord, grant we may not miss the way!

Thy Word, a light, is given,
A lamp unto our feet;
Oh, by its guidance grant us
Deliverance complete.
Apart from it, we can but stray;
O Lord, we would not miss the way!

With humbled, chastened spirit
Our steps we would retrace;
May we in all subjection,
Recipients of Thy grace,
Walk close with Thee, Lord, day by day;
Tis then we cannot miss the way.

The way where we may honor
Thy Name, to us most dear.
Oh, give us grace sufficient
While on our journey here,
To show Thy praise while yet we may,
Nor wander from Thy perfect way.

M. A. S.

Calendar:Sept. 16th to Oct. 15th.

DAILY BIBLE READING:…….. Sept. 16th, Micah 4; Sept. 30th, Haggai 2; Oct. 15th, Mal. 1.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING… .Sept. 16th, Romans 1; Sept. 30th, Romans 15; Oct. 15th, 1 Cor. 14.

Again, in the tender mercy of our God, we are brought very near the close of this wondrous Old Testament, only a few chapters in the prophet Malachi remaining after our present month's reading. This was the "Scripture" upon which our blessed Lord fed, and which He so constantly used in His teaching and unfolding the mind of His Father. It was the inspired word of God for Him, with which He met the assaults of Satan, and the opposition of men. To it He referred during His entire public ministry, reminding His hearers that, "The Scripture cannot be broken," and, after His resurrection He reviewed with His disciples, on the way to Emmaus, the testimony "in all the Scriptures" concerning Himself, His suffering and His resurrection. For Him there was no question that Moses wrote of Him; that Jonah's narrative was infallibly true, as was the entire volume; that David wrote in the book of Psalms of Him who was his Lord. What folly, and worse, then is the denial of the infallible perfection of that Word. Need we wonder that when Modernism begins to pick flaws in that Word, it goes on to deny the absolute, essential holiness and the divine nature, the Godhead of Him who in lowliness took the servant's form, the Man Christ Jesus.

Nor let us be satisfied with an orthodox confession of the inspiration of the Old Testament Scriptures, but seek to learn their meaning, and pray that their sanctifying work may be carried on-in God's grace, in our hearts.

Of the Minor Prophets, for our present month, Nahum may be considered as a kind of supplement to Jonah, where mercy is given to Nineveh upon their repentance. Nahum goes on after that mercy, and shows the inevitable judgment which will come upon the city which again went on in-iniquity, after so signal an act of sparing mercy had been shown. The significance of his name has been given as "Consolation." Judgment is ever God's strange work, but it must be all the more inexorable, where pronounced by the lips of "Consolation." "How often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings." It reminds us of "the wrath of the Lamb"-the very One whose tender love took Him to the cross-when every offer of that love is finally spurned, how fearful is the retribution, which man wilfully chooses.

Habakkuk, "Embrace," is thought to have prophesied about the same time as Jeremiah. His three chapters might be called a progress in God's delivering mercy. Chap. 1 shows the appointed rod of God's chastening in the cruel and relentless Chaldeans. In chap. 2 the prophet is upon his watch-tower, waiting for the answer of mercy. Here occur the thrice-quoted words, "The just shall live by faith." Faith lays hold upon God, who in infinite mercy has found a shelter for His repentant people. Chap. 3 celebrates that deliverance, in the majestic prayer and psalm, which gives Him His place of glory, and shows His unfailing faithfulness for His people's blessing.

Zephaniah, "Jehovah hath guarded," begins his book during the reign of Josiah-with denunciation against Judah for their iniquity. The surrounding nations will also be visited with the smiting hand of God. Then in the midst of wrath, we have God's unfailing remembrance of His mercy (chap. 3:14-26).

Haggai, "Festive," is the smaller of the prophets of the restoration. The people are back in their own land, and have begun to rebuild the temple, but they are hindered by opposition and specially by their own lethargy and selfishness. His two brief chapters are most stirring and pungent-suited for all times when our hands are hanging down, and the knees feeble. The close speaks of the bright days to come.

Zechariah, "Whom Jehovah remembers"-also prophesies at the time of the restoration. The first part of his prophecy is devoted to a number of striking visions, foretelling the future glories of God's kingdom (chaps. 1-6). Their fasts are to be turned into feasts (chaps. 7,8). The closing chapters contain some marvelous and direct predictions of the holy person of our Lord, Hiss rejection and suffering, and the final blessing (chaps. 9-14).

Malachi, "My messenger," closes the Old Testament, with solemn warning for the indifference of the people, and marks out the remnant who "feared the Lord" and "who thought upon His name." The closing verses link closely with the opening of the New Testament, giving the promise of the coming of the forerunner of our Lord.

Those who have been going on with these readings in a regular way should have gathered up many most valuable lessons, and, if they have used a note book, should have helpful material for future reference. May the Lord richly bless our daily reading of His Word.

Extract from a Missionary’s Letter

"Thy kingdom come," O God!
Sin blacker grows, and deeper woes
Enwrap this world with blight;
The great deceiver of our race,
Who left his high and trusted place,
Is setting still a faster pace
Toward hell's interminable night.
O God, "Thy kingdom come!"

"Thy kingdom come," O God!
Thy Church is here in Satan's sphere,
Distracted, rent and torn;
The devil and the world unite
To cast o'er her a darker blight-
To darken every ray of light
Ere breaks the golden morn.
O God, "Thy kingdom come!"

"Thy kingdom come," O God!
The Jews dispersed for Canaan thirst,
They groan in exiled woe,
None but Thyself can bring them in;
Dry up their tears, forgive their sin,
And cause them to afresh begin
Thy glory forth to show.
O God, "Thy kingdom come!"

"Thy kingdom come," O God!
Earth waits release, it has no peace,
It reeks with all that's wrong.
Break in upon the guilty scene,
Purge out the filth and make it clean,
Let righteousness on earth be seen,
Fill heaven and earth with song.
O God, ''Thy kingdom come!"

"Thy kingdom come," O God!
The devil hies through earth and skies
Inflamed with wrath and hate;
On wickedness supreme he's bent,
He'll keep creation in ferment
Till to the fiery pit he's sent-
Thy power must seal his fate.
O God, "Thy kingdom come!"
C. CROWSTON.

Shiprock, New Mexico. Dear brother in Christ:- Sept. 14,1928.

Thank you for your kind letter of September 4th to my father.

It was a joy to me to meet face to face some of those who have had the work here upon their hearts, during this past summer, and I regretted that time limits precluded my meeting many more whose faces I should have been glad to see. But I am thankful to be back at my work again, much refreshed both in mind and body.

My father is in California, where he went to attend the Oakland Conference. We are looking for him back about the second week in October, and with him our brother Buchenau. We are planning then to hold some special meetings for our camp Navahos, and we are praying that in this neighborhood, where the gospel has been given forth so constantly, this may be the time when some may definitely accept our Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour. You will realize that this is no small step, for some to be the first in a given neighborhood to turn away from heathenism to Christ, and yet our God is great, and is pleased to have us ask and expect great things from Him, and we would appreciate it if you and those with you would join with us in special prayer about this matter. As I have always spoken direct to our people in their own language, we have not employed an interpreter, but for those meetings we will need one, and we should very much like to be able to secure a Christian, who has the needs of his people on his heart. We may perhaps be able to borrow a Mission interpreter from some one of our neighbor Missionaries. But we are looking to God to direct us to just the right one.

Nov. 5,1928.

It is indeed blessed to know that in our dear Lord is fulness of joy:He never disappoints. I have lately often thought that Satan is trying hard not to let any two Christians stand together in these last days, probably with the hope of thus hindering any advance on his territory, particularly his territory among the heathen.

Our brother Buchenau and a brother from the Oakland meeting were here recently, for special meetings among our camp Navahos. We trust some have really turned to God, but our people are so much like sheep in following a leader, so we cannot yet be sure. The first man who stood up, when asked a few days later if he really intended to turn from the old way now, replied immediately, "Yes, indeed. My son who died told me that this is the right way."His son died at the Mission nearly two years ago, and we felt at the time that he definitely turned to God on his death-bed, and that the parents were much exercised about the matter of salvation. On the other hand, another man who stood up and took brother Buchenau's hand, when asked the same question, replied immediately, "Why, not, I only shook the white man's hand because I liked what he had said." Yet even in this case, we can hope that the gospel has made an impression on the heart of the man, and that later we may see him too turning away from the old way. A third man told me with all seriousness that he liked what Mr. Buchenau had said, and that he does not want the sinful ways that had been mentioned, but added, "When someone is sick, and they send for me to come and make medicine, it would be very unbecoming for me not to go." My reply was that I had no objection to the herb medicines that Navahos use, but that his incantations for the sick were prayers to other than God, and that one could not pray to others and pray acceptably to God. This man, Curly Hair, and another dear old man, Mr. Happy, are both medicine men. Mrs. Happy was one of the first to come forward, and when I asked her and Mr. Happy afterward if they were praying to God now, both replied emphatically that they were, but when I spoke of forsaking the old way, dear old Happy hung his head. He is blind, and I suppose it seems to him that he would starve if he did not pursue his heathen medicine. But GOD IS ABLE. We feel for him but cannot bribe him to become a Christian by offering him support. I tell you about these different ones, thinking that you who pray for us will know how to do so more intelligently. In the sweet service of our blessed Lord,

I am cordially yours,

Clara E. Holcomb.

In the forest, eighty miles west of Irumu, C. B. Dear brother:- Nov. 4, 1928.

I am writing this from the main Central African forest. I am on a tour to pick out the site for a new station. This is not entirely new to you for I have mentioned in some of my recent letters that we were considering this step. My wife and I have felt free in the entire matter that this is the Lord's mind for us and that the present is the opportunity which will not be the same a year later.

The work at Nyangkundi is more or less established, and could be carried on alone by either Mr. Searle or myself. If we followed our own comfort and preference we would not separate, for surely our mutual enjoyment together as an assembly has been most profitable. I could make a list of human reasons for our all continuing on at Nyangkundi, but one little glimpse of the country full of people here west of the Ituri River cancels that list completely. We are looking forward with eager anticipation to this new work. The work at N. we may say is but scarcely begun-all about are people we have by no means reached, but now that the buildings are up, Mr. Searle will be free to get out more and will not have difficulty in carrying on the work alone. Since there are so few of us it would therefore seem the expedient thing to have two centers and reach a larger number-for the time for this work is doubtless short.

Further, it is best for me to go on instead of brother Searle for this reason:The country we are in is grassy, and ideal for settlers, and these are constantly increasing, with the result that I am called continually-often as many as five days out of the week. Hence if I am to practice medicine I might better have remained in America. I wish to get away from this white practice, for it will grow worse the next few years, not better. There is no humanitarian reason for my remaining as there is both a Government doctor and Mines doctor within reach. This forest country west of the Ituri will never entice settlers, though of course one cannot get away entirely from the advance in Africa. In this forest country I will be here at least several years ahead of many Europeans, and these are the years we want to make count for the Lord's interests among these people. I have been tramping about among the Walesi villages, looking up the chiefs and preaching on our way (most of them know Kingwana), but never one ray of truth has ever before been told them. On the main safari route through from Stanleyville I had a group together who simply gasped at the statement there is "one God for all people of the earth." One old woman slapped her thighs and went over at once to tell this to some others a little way off. I trust I shall never forget the scene in the village of chief Mapiranga when I told this old man that "Heaven was a place where there was no sickness, no death, and no sorrow, and God had sent His own Son that he and his people and all of us might go there!"Darkness complete and total to that moment, and then the full power of the light of an eternal Truth bursting in on the darkness! I cannot describe that man's face and expression of joy. The greater the darkness, the greater the contrast of light. His darkness was complete. I thank God for the privilege of being there – for that moment I saw the African of our prayers. There are already many gospel-hardened in Africa, but there are also those who wait for the light. May the Lord give grace to seek them out while it is yet day. I then told them that we knew this because God had given a book telling us this. I opened to John 3:16, and those who had been listening from a distance rose as one man and rushed toward me, so that I found myself in the midst of a crowd each wanting to be the nearest. There was absolute silence as I read and explained very simply John 3:16,17, everyone straining their ears not to miss a word, and woe to the child who coughed, or anyone who made a sound. I have never seen such interest in any place. This coincides with stories of what we have heard but never seen. I would pause every few sentences, and the chief and others would repeat what I said in Kilesi, and so I knew all understood in their own tongue. This was true interpreting, for I did not tell them to do this, but it was their own spontaneous enthusiasm and rejoicing in what they were hearing-hearing for the first time-and these forests and these people have been here for how many generations? Can you wonder that we who are here can only marvel at the fact that three years and a half have passed and not one person from our assemblies has followed to this work? How can such a large majority grow up. be converted, walk in the Truth, yet find a job and settle down permanently with never a thought for these thousands upon thousands who have never even heard the name or fact of one God? But they say they cannot sacrifice their ambitions and the comforts of civilization. Sacrifice ! There is no sacrifice. It is a question of ten thousand per cent gain! Gain, and gain only, is involved. Have you heard anyone return from unevangelized ands and regret having thus spent his life? None, surely. But how many times do we hear one say-"When I was young I wanted to go here or there with the Gospel, and I have wished all my life that I had."

I have about decided upon a location. The difficulty is not to find a suitable place but to decide which suitable place to choose. There are many big chiefs and many thickly populated areas. The most suitable place seems to be about seventy-five miles west of Irumu, near a point shown on most maps as Mombasa-not, of course, the Mombasa of the East Coast. This is on the route of the main road to Stanleyville. The road now comes to within eighteen miles, but will probably not be finished for a year. At this point the Walesi lie north, the Wangwana west, and Walesi again east, and Babila south, with Pygmies scattered between. The Wangwana profess to be Mohammedan. The medical work will be an entering wedge here. I want to build a suitable native hospital where proper work can be done, for up to now I have worked under conditions which made the work difficult, and wasted labor. I hope to have one-story brick wards with corrugated iron roofs, if possible. There is much more sickness here where it is lower and warmer, and I expect the medical work to be a real help in gathering the people together for the Gospel. In this present safari I have found the chiefs and the people most friendly. The Roman Catholics have never been here. It is they who bring the bitter opposition.

This is then what is now before us. Brethren, pray for us. The door is open. Grace continues. The longsuffering of our God is salvation. May this be a reality among these people.

With much love in our Lord Jesus' Name,
R. C. Woodhams, M. D.

Beloved brother in Christ:-

Dampremy, Belgium. Dec. 15,1928.

I have been unable to write to you before this. I was working at the south-east of Renaix during the last week in October; it was very cold, and as nearly all the preaching of the gospel is done in the open air, I fell seriously 99:My chest and throat were much affected, but I suffered most with my head, and was unable even to read, much less to write. In God's mercy my voice is returning. I have on my heart to tell you some details of that last week's work near Renaix.

After a long walk with a large bundle of precious seed I reached Soignies, a village, where my way was opened by the Lord. I like to tell the good news to children, but I also have a special affection for old people, and here I met Madame T., who, though 82 years old, is alert mentally. She had followed the Catholic religion taught by her elders, and now she has come to the threshold of eternity, knowing there is a hell and fearing it, and knowing there is a heaven and wishing to go there, but her religion gave her no assurance of this. Now in simple faith she believes in God's love, has taken it for herself, and her joy is great.

Another person on whom I called was Dr.—who was ill, but is now better. The Lord evidently laid him low to give him time to reflect on where he might go when he died. I gave him a Gospel, and as he turned over its leaves he said, "I was born a Catholic, and studied at the Seminary, but I have no assurance of salvation." Then he opened his heart and told me he was sure that the wise and learned often missed the one great thing they should know.

The Lord had touched the doctor's heart. Without that he would never have found the rest he sought. Now one. could see his soul was satisfied. How great is the mercy of God who knows how to break the pride of the great and show them the only way to come to Him! Now he is happy, for he has true peace which is not the result of good works-those he had tried before-but this peace was his through the blood shed upon the cross.

I spent some time with Mr. P., a veterinary, who humbly acknowledged himself a sinner. How happy "he was to learn that the Lord Jesus the Son of God loved him and gave Himself for him. He appreciated the treasure God offered him that day. Up to that time he had wrapped himself in the Pharisee's cloak, but now he trusts Christ as his Saviour. "I accent," he said, "what you came to tell me, but I ought to tell you that I have left the Catholic religion." He had thought till then that was sufficient.

The work in October was very encouraging, especially at Gazee, Bois-Lerat. Lacouronne. and Bout-le-Haut. The Lord granted me several conversions, which I would like to tell vou. but it would take too long for you to translate. By God's grace we have come to the end of 1928. and looking back on the mercies of the Lord, how He encouraged us by the salvation of souls! It is in the French villages near-by and the province of Namur that He has given us most of the interesting cases. Should the Lord still tarry we ask the seal of His blessing in 1929, and that He would enable us to sow much, and above all grant us a rich harvest for heaven.
During the year the valued prayers of our brethren and sisters have helped us much, and we beg them to continue t" intercede at the throne of grace for the work in Belgium, and especially for us. for we feel our littleness and weakness and the greatness of the work. Each day dear brother, we pray for you, asking the Lord to bless you abundantly in the precious work He has entrusted to you. Will you, those dear to you, and the saints with you accept our most affectionate greetings, and our best wishes in Christ our Saviour for the year 1929, from my mother and myself? Your brother by grace,

Octave Dandoy. (Translated from the French.)

Verdun, P. Q., Canada.

Beloved brethren:-

As the harbor season is closed for the winter months, you will be interested to hear what has been done during the past season. Out of the 1600 ships, manned by some 93,000 sailors, over 250 ships were visited, which means that some 9000 men were reached with the gospel by means of Bibles, New Testaments, Gospels, tracts and personal talks. Men of twenty or more different nationalities were reached. On many occasions the Lord gave us splendid opportunities to speak of Him, to give the gospel, as well as to set the truth before the believers whom we met. All through the season we had the greatest liberty to go on board any ship, giving our silent messengers to officers, engineers, firemen and sailors, either as we met them, or by putting them in their cabins or bunks.

Our brother Holwill and myself have been much encouraged in that good work; we are happy to have been enabled to do it, and we regret we were not able to do more. In the harbor of Montreal for seven months, there is enough work for a few to give their whole time to it, as ships are constantly coming in and going out. May the Lord be pleased to raise up fitted workers, not only for this port, but also for others in different parts of the world.

We have found that calendars and sailor-kits are a great help to reach the men with the gospel. It disposes them favorably to receive whatever we have to give in the gospel line, and prepares the way for talks on the things of God. The kit can be made by the sisters of any material that they may have at home, then thread, buttons, pins, needles, darning-wool, and the like, with a New Testament, can be put in it, A complete kit, according to the information that I got at the Customs, would pay about eights cents duty if coming from the States. I may further inquire (D. V.), at the Government Offices in Ottawa, and see if it could not come duty free.

Any of the Lord's people caring to have fellowship in this work by helping to provide Bibles, Testaments, Gospels, tracts and calendars, can send their free will offerings with mention as to how it should be used. Any other information concerning the Harbor Work will be gladly given.

The work amongst the French R. C. is continued with help and encouragement from the Lord. On account of the difficulty of approaching the French Canadians with the gospel, I had to change my way of working. I go to them now as a regular colporteur, offering them the Scriptures with the Roman Catholic approbation, and, so far, it has worked well. Here, in North Bay, where I have been for three weeks, I have been able to enter every French home that I have found, reading the Scriptures, explaining the way of salvation and selling some Testaments and Gospels, and always leaving with the people portions of Scriptures and special gospel tracts. It has not always been smooth work, as sometimes I spent as much as two hours in homes in order to meet, with the Word, the arguments, ignorance, superstition and insults of the people. The French Canadians are in great need of hearing the truth of the Gospel as they are kept in deep darkness. It is very sad to witness their moral condition, and one longs that they should be brought to the light of the glorious Gospel, to the knowledge of Christ. Kindly pray for them and for me, Louis J. Germain.

Jan.5.

Word is just received from Antwerp of the serious illness of our brother Jonas Eck. Mr. Walter H. Boyd of the Mildmay Mission to Jews writes in part:

It was largely in response to our urgent invitation that he came here, my wife especially feeling that he ought to be better cared for than all alone at 49 Ave.. d' Italie. A terrible carbuncle developed on his back three weeks ago. We gave it the best treatment we knew, but as high fever set in each evening and the wound became worse with serious internal pain, we called in a physician and surgeon who spoke very gravely of his dangerous condition. The wound was far deeper and more extensive than was apparent upon the surface, its ramifications penetrating around the backbone, and infection into arms, legs and internal organs.

The physician has been here again, and seems to be quite pleased with both his condition and the state of the wound, but said that it would be dangerous for another week and he will not be able to walk for a couple of months.

We are clinging to God instantly night and day and believe He will grant us our petition, but our brother is so feeble and much needs the loving intercession of all who know of his condition.

(concluded from p.51.)

Then the believer who is on the foundation of the Person and work of Christ by faith learns that he is not only forgiven and that God is his Father, but that there are others who enjoy the blessings he enjoys, in like manner. He is one, only, in the great

FAMILY

of God our Father. He is not left to tread an isolated pathway. He is privileged to have others to walk with whose love and joy and peace are like his own. With these he can commune and find encouragement by their mutual faith and hope.

In a time of darkening apostasy such as this, and as "we see the day approaching," we do well to give full heed to the word of exhortation:"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting (encouraging) one another" (Heb. 10:25). We rob others if we withhold our presence from the gatherings together of Christians. They need us as we need them. And unless compelled to do so by circumstances over which we have no control, we should find out and company with our fellow-believers.

It is written that, in a period of increasing difficulty, "They that feared the Lord spake often one to another:and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name" (Mal.3:16).

In the family of God, composed, as we have seen, of the three classes-fathers, young men, and babes- we should seek the most spiritual companionship we can find. "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise," it has been said. Our company will form us. Unconsciously we shall be molded after the fashion of those with whom we walk. And in our turn we affect others, casting a shadow of good or bad upon all around us. Our influence, our unconscious influence, is always telling on the lives of all about us in the family of God. Let us watch our spirits, our words, our goings, and see to it that ours is an example which can be followed in safety by others. So shall we be of profit to our fellow-Christians. God has set us in His family for mutual support, and in the power of the Holy Spirit given to us we may be for the good of our brethren in Christ all around us.

Our highest Christian privilege is that of which the apostle writes in the first chapter of this epistle:"That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us:and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ" (ver. 3).

FELLOWSHIP

one with another is our family privilege. But the highest form of fellowship is fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. Fellowship is common thought, desire, delight. Wonderful it is, indeed, that we should be called to have common delight with the Father in the Son. He calls us to share with Him in His joy. We hear Him say:"This is My beloved Son in whom is all my good pleasure." He tells us of His joy in Him. We, responsive, may say, "He is our beloved Saviour, and in Him is all our delight." The Father has made known in the Scriptures, by the Holy Spirit, His thoughts of our Lord Jesus, His beloved One. And we are called to think His thoughts after Him as we read the Word of our God.

And the Son of God delights in the Father and unfolds to us all that is in His heart concerning Him. In the Gospel of John the Son is found speaking of and to the Father. He accustomed the disciples to that precious title. He told them of the Father. He prayed in their presence, saying, "Father," "Holy Father," "Righteous Father." Then in resurrection, when His work of redemption was finished, He sent to them the message of victory and of the spoils He had won for them, saying to Mary Magdalene:"Go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God and your God" (John 20:17). He would have them enjoy His place before His Father and His God. And this fellowship will be our highest joy in the Father's house eternally.

In the power of an ungrieved Holy Spirit we shall have unbroken, unbreakable communion one with another in fellowship with the Father and the Son. And heaven begins below as we "walk in the Spirit" and are led by Him into an ever-deepening knowledge of that which is ours by the grace of our God.

May we go on to fuller, richer delight until the glorious consummation is reached, and our bodies are changed, and we are able unhinderedly to rejoice in the fulness of blessing eternally. Inglis Fleming

(continued from p. 106.)

Another expression, not duly considered in our last article, now demands our attention before we turn to the grand titles in which our Lord is presented to us and which He has clothed in the beauty of the Name that is above every name. It is the phrase "of our confession." This, at first thought, seems, as if not belonging there, almost to thrust itself between Him and the offices that He has glorified as Apostle and High Priest. It is a further stirring reason for our yielding ourselves to the strong persuasion of the apostle.

The Revised Version translates "our confession," while the Authorized Version reads "our profession." The former has a religious turn to it, while the latter is now of a somewhat more secular character. It will not be out of place for us to dwell on the distinction for a moment, for it suggests to us the constant conflict in our experience between these two demands upon us. We were all very much interested recently to see the victorious conclusion of just such a struggle (if indeed it may be called that) in the work of one of our medical missionaries to Africa. His professional duties were interfering somewhat with his still more important confessional duties, but with the higher calling ringing loud within his heart, he plunged deeper into the Dark Continent, so that profession and confession might unite in a still truer service to God and man. Just as the strength of our blessed Lord's life, the Great Physician's, was manifested in His communion with God, so the strength of our "confession" must be in communion with Him, if that "confession" is to have the upper hand in our lives. And this is the appeal of its intrusion into the Apostle's exhortation.

I have read that gardeners in Holland sometimes plant a common rosebush alongside one of superlative beauty and fragrance. They then watch the bush, and when sufficiently developed, carefully trim off the anthers of the flowers to prevent self-pollenization. In this way the common rose is fertilized from its beautiful neighbor, and gradually gathers to itself many of its superlative characteristics. It is transformed by the company that it keeps. So it is that we, in company with the Lord, dwelling on His glories and virtues, are changed, and both life and confession unite in harmonious acknowledgment of Him who is the Glory.

The two titles here accorded our Lord are very beautifully associated with one another. The first, "Apostle," is peculiarly a New Testament title, as the second is an Old Testament one. Moreover the root signification of the word "apostle" is one sent forth, while an Old Testament word for "priest" signifies "one who draws nigh," and this truly epitomizes his office as given us in the Epistle to the Hebrews. The two words thus comprehend in a remarkable manner the entire mission of our blessed Lord. Each of them is a noble document of God's purpose in Christ, fresh from the heavenly archives, and spread before us as a consummate revelation of His glory. He was sent forth by the Father into this world and He has returned to the Father, and now is ever living to make intercession for us.

"One sent forth." So highly did our Saviour honor His divine commission that He speaks of Himself as the "One sent from the Father" six times in the wonderful prayer of the seventeenth of John, three times in connection with His disciples and three times with the world.

The one who leaned on His bosom, moreover, and who was privileged to reveal so many of its precious secrets to us, has gathered together into three magnificent "declarations" the wonderful story of the "Sent One." "Herein is love, not that we loved god but that He loved us, and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins;" "The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world:" "God sent not His Son to condemn the world but (far from it) that the world through Him might be saved." Oh, how deep and strong was that love! How broad and all inclusive the commission! How grand the purpose! How glorious our Apostle!

The word "apostle," then, is very similar to the word missionary, and it sometimes is profitable to put the word missionary in its place; it has such a delightful connotation in the Church's history.

There is a picture gallery in Plainfield, N. J., in which there used to hang a picture of all the great Church Reformers gathered in groups before a church something in appearance like the Madeleine in Paris. Somehow the lives of these men seem to have crept into their faces (or is that only my imagination?) and it would have been quite worth while to have sat down before it to enjoy their company and drink in the inspiration of their lives. We cannot do that, however, so let us keep company instead with a few of the great Missionaries of our Lord and see how His life, who in missionary work also was the first, shone out through theirs.

Picture No. 1 is that of David Livingstone, the great African pioneer, who blazed a broad trail through the heart of the Dark Continent that others might follow with the gladsome message of eternal life for dying men. An Apostle of Science, following along that same trail wrote of him:"Wherever you run across the footsteps of David Livingstone in Africa, there lingers the fragrance of his memory." Is its any wonder, when we remember that life was modeled on words that he once uttered?-"I will place no value on anything I have, or may possess, except in its relation to the Kingdom of Christ. If anything I have will advance the interests of that kingdom, it shall be given up or kept, as by keeping or giving up I shall most promote the glory of Him to whom I owe all my hopes for time and eternity."

And how great the distance David Livingstone's Forerunner traveled when He came "From the palace of His glory From His home of joy and love," to tread a path of rejection, leading to the "bitter Cross." And from whom was the principle of Livingstone's life derived but from Christ, "who for our sakes became poor that we through His poverty might be made rich?" And if David Livingstone's last plea from the lonely hut in Africa where he died, was for others to "come and heal the open sore of the world," was not our Lord's last message to His own:"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature," just as He Himself had come "and preached peace to them that were afar off and them that were nigh?"

The next picture is that of Robert Moffat, a valiant soldier of Jesus Christ, rugged and strong, yet with "a heart tender as any woman's," Missioner to the southern portion of the same continent and carrying the same grand old story. How bravely he marched alone into the village of the cruel Afrikander, against the urgent warning of his friends, and there reasoned with him of righteousness and judgment to come, confronting him with his many black crimes and wickedness! And it is not long before Afrikander is kneeling beside his worst enemy, both together supplicating mercy of the Friend :Publicans and Sinners.

And how nobly courageous was our First Missionary, as He denounced the cities wherein so many of His mighty works of loving-kindness had been wrought! How fine was His intrepidity as He withered the Pharisaic spirit with His holy scorn; how noble the resolution with which He set His face as a flint to go up to Jerusalem, there to be crucified! Frederic Arnot, a second Living-stone in the pioneer work that he performed, marching inland towards Garenganze, was frequently assailed with stories that King Msidi had planted a sharp stake in his palace yard on which he had threatened to impale his prospective visitor. Yet if Frederic Arnot advanced ever bravely towards this very uncomfortable uncertainty, our First Missionary, just within sight of snowy Hermon, on which He had been glorified, "began to show unto His disciples how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed." And so He endured the Cross despising the shame. It was just that for which He had come.

We turn next to James Hannington, Bishop of Central Africa. What a dauntless spirit, what loyal devotion, what indefatigable perseverance, what a joyful good cheer he manifested in the most trying circumstances. Stricken with African fever, so that he could not walk, he was carried by his devoted followers through many and many miles of dense, unhealthy jungle or open country, gasping and utterly weary. "Massa will surely die, but how is it that Massa is so happy?" cried those same followers. And die he did later, not indeed of the fever. but slain by the spears of the King of Uganda's soldiers. What a magnificent message he sent his murderer:"Go, tell Wanga I die for the Baganda, and that I have purchased the road into Uganda with my blood." "How could they know what he said?" remarked a friend once, and I answered:"How could it be possible that his murderers should ever forget it?" Nay, such a message shall never die.

But where did James Hannington get the inspiration of those fine words but from our First Missionary, who as they crucified Him cried:"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do?" And to whom was he like a cheerful spirit, but to Him who, lonely and forsaken, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, sent down through the ages to all the weary and brokenhearted these stirring words:"In the world ye shall have tribulation; be of good cheer; / have overcome the world." "Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." And as we think of it all, shall we not remember the same apostle's further exhortation:"For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied, and faint in your minds." F. C. Grant

(concluded from p. 176)

Lecture V.

THE TRESPASS OFFERING

Read Leviticus 5:14-6:7; 7:1-7; Ps. 69.

The offering which we are now to consider presents what we might call the primary aspect of the work of the cross. It meets the awakened sinner as the answer to his fears, when troubled about his trespasses, anxiously inquiring, "How can I be saved from the legitimate consequences of my sins?" Every sin is an offence to the majesty of heaven. It is a trespass against the holy government of God, and righteousness demands that amends be made for it, or else that the trespasser be shut away from God's presence forever. A trespass may also be against our fellow-men, but even in that case the sin is primarily against God. David trespassed most heinously against his soldier-friend, Uriah the Hittite, and against Bathsheba herself, and in a wider sense against all Israel. But in his prayer of confession, Ps. 51, he cried out from the depths of his anguished heart, "Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight." And so keen is his sense of the wickedness of it all that he realizes the blood of bulls and of goats can never wash out the stain, and so he cries, looking on in faith to the cross of Christ, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." It is this aspect of the cross that is brought before us in the trespass offering.

In the thirteen verses of Lev. 5:14-6:7 we have the reason for, and the character of, the 1 trespass offering. First we read, "If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the Lord; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering:and he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest:and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him." This is the first aspect of the trespass. It is something done against the Lord Himself; but, as in the case of the sin offering, it is done through ignorance. So again we are reminded that God looks upon all sin as springing from the ignorance that is in man; unless in the final refusing of the Lord Jesus Christ, the great Sin Offering. To do this is to be guilty of wilful and eternal sin. An Israelite might sin in the holy things of the Lord in various ways. For instance he might underestimate the size of his annual crop, and so ignorantly bring to the priest a lesser tithe than the law demanded. But when the truth of the condition of things was brought to his attention he was not to pass over the offence as a matter of no moment, but he was to bring a trespass offering, and with it the estimated amount, to which he added by direction of the priest the fifth part. The trespass offering was offered in accordance with the law, and the silver was given to the priest to be brought into the sanctuary of Jehovah. Thus where sin abounded grace did much more abound. And if we may so say, God actually received more because of the man's blunder than He would have received apart from it. How clearly this comes out in the work of the Cross! By it God has received far more glory than He ever lost by man's sin. In Psalm 69 we hear the Holy Sufferer on Calvary saying, "Then I restored that which I took not away." We had robbed God; He became our trespass offering, and He, thereby, made amends to God for all the wrong we had done, and added the fifth part thereto. For we are not to think for a moment of the sufferings of our Saviour as though they barely sufficed to atone for our transgressions. There was in that work of Calvary such infinite value that it not only met all the actual sins of all who would ever believe in Him, but there was over and above that such value as will never be drawn upon by all the repentant sinners in the universe of God.

The unblemished ram for a trespass offering tells of the Holy One who was "led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth." Here was the Prince of the flock, the tall stately ram, submitting to death in order to atone for our guilt. "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities:the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed."

In verses 17-19 we read, "And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation for a trespass offering, unto the priest:and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance, wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him. It is a trespass offering:he hath certainly trespassed against the Lord." Here the important truth that is emphasized is that God's Word is the standard of judgment, not my knowledge of it. The soul that committed any offence ignorantly, anything forbidden in the law of God, was guilty, even though he knew it not, and apart from the trespass offering he must bear his iniquity. It is not that God is going to hold men responsible for light they never had, but He does hold them responsible to avail themselves of the light He has given. He gave the law to Israel; they were guilty, therefore, if they ignored it and did not become acquainted with its commandments. Having Moses and the prophets they were responsible to hear them, as Abraham declares to the rich man in Hades. And then to-day, what shall we say of those who have the whole Word of God, and yet allow the Bible to lie neglected in their homes, and never even take the trouble to seek to know the mind of the Lord? How guilty will they be judged in the coming day who have deliberately ignored this divine revelation and so fail to learn the will of God!

In Bunyan's immortal allegory it was as the man Graceless read in the Book that he realized the weight of the burden upon his back. And it is as the truth of the Word of God is brought to bear upon the consciences of sinners that they feel their sins and cry out for deliverance, and, thank God, when the load of our sins is thus brought home to us, the trespass offering is nigh at hand. We have but to come to God pleading the merits of the atoning work of His beloved Son to find there full atonement for all our iniquities.

In chap. 6:1-7 we have the other side of things, sin against one's neighbor. But even that is a trespass against the Lord, and so we are told; "If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord, and lie unto his neighbor in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbor; or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein :then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering." Here, too, the principle noted above is found. Man himself benefits by the provision of the trespass offering. The one who had been wronged was really better off than before, after the sin had been confessed and the fifth part had been added to that which was returned when the offerer brought his trespass offering to the Lord. For as in the previous case, if he had deceitfully robbed his neighbor, or had found something that was lost and had hidden it intending to keep it himself, or had in any other way wronged or defrauded another, his trespass offering was not acceptable to God unless he made full restitution by returning the thing that he had deceitfully gotten and then adding to it the fifth part. How wondrously does this bring out the matchless grace of God. Throughout the eternal ages it will be seen that, as Tennyson puts it, in "The Dreamer,"

"Less shall be lost than won."

For God maketh even the wrath of man to praise Him, and the remainder of wrath He doth restrain. The skeptic may ask sneeringly, "Why did a righteous and omnipotent God ever permit sin to raise up its hideous head in the universe, thus defiling the heavens and the earth?" But the work of the cross is the answer to it all. Man's relationship to God as a redeemed sinner is far greater and more blessed than the mere relationship of creature to Creator. And the grace of God has been magnified in the great trespass offering of the cross in a way it never could have been known if sin had never come in at all.

How precious the words of verse 7, "And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord:and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein." Do these words come to any poor, anxious, troubled soul ? Do you wonder sometimes if you have sinned beyond all hope of mercy? Oh, be persuaded, if you will but come to God bringing the trespass offering, that is, putting your heart's trust in the Lord Jesus, looking to Him alone for salvation, every sin will be .forgiven; all that you have done will be blotted out forever, and be in God's sight as if it had never been.

Years ago at the close of a great meeting in Chicago where Gipsy Rodney Smith was the preacher, a strong man came weeping up the aisle at the close of the evangelist's address, sobbing out the story of his sin and shame. To the gipsy who sought to help him he exclaimed, "Oh, sir, my sin is too great ever to be forgiven." Quick as a flash the preacher said, "But His grace is greater than all your sin." Dr. Towner, the beloved hymn-writer and musician, who was standing by, caught the words, and as he walked home that night they took form in his heart and mind, and he composed the chorus :

"Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin."

The melody of the verses was also given to him, and he jotted them down when he reached his home. The next day he gave them to Julia Johnston, who has written so many precious songs of praise, and she composed the verses of the well-known hymn bearing the title of the chorus. The first stanza of it reads :

"Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds all our sin and our guilt,
Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt."

Through the years since, the song has borne its story of grace greater than all our sins, to tens of thousands of anxious souls. This indeed is the message of the trespass offering.

In chap. 7:1-7 we have the law of the trespass offering. As in the case of the sin offering, we are twice told that "it is most holy." God would never have left the least room for the thought that the humanity of our blessed Saviour was ever defiled by sin. We are told of Him, "He knew no sin," and, "He did no sin," and, "In Him is no sin." How carefully God guarded this! Even on the very morning of His trial and throughout the day of His execution it was manifest. Pilate's wife sent the message, "Have thou nothing to do with that just Man." Pilate himself declared, "I find no fault in Him;" the thief upon the cross exclaimed, "This Man hath done nothing amiss;" and the Roman centurion, awed by the marvelous events of that dreadful hour, declared, "Certainly this was a righteous Man." And yet we see the Just One suffering for us the unjust, that He might bring us to God!

The trespass offering was to be killed at the altar and the blood sprinkled round about the altar. Certain parts of the victim were burned upon the altar, thus going up to God as an expression of divine judgment against our sins, while other parts were eaten by the priests in the holy place, as in the case of the sin offering, for we are told, "As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering :there is one law for them:the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it." Every believer is a priest today, and it is the hallowed privilege of every one of us to feed upon the trespass offering. We do this as we read the Word of God and meditate upon what it reveals as to the atoning work of our Lord Jesus Christ in order to put away all our sins and trespasses and fit us for the presence of a holy God.

Psalm 69 most fittingly links with these Levitical instructions. It is the psalm of the trespass offering; it gives us our blessed Lord going to the cross, rejected of men, bearing the judgment due to our sins. It is there, as already mentioned, we hear Him saying, "I restored that which I took not away." He confessed our sins as His own, and He can say, "The zeal of Thine house hath eaten Me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen upon Me." It is in verses 20 and 21 of this psalm that we read, "Reproach hath broken My heart; and I am full of heaviness:and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave Me also gall for My meat; and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink." How plainly this shows that it was on the cross that His soul passed through the anguish here depicted, and as we contemplate Him as the great Trespass Offering we exclaim with the psalmist, "This also shall please Jehovah better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs" (ver. 31). What the sacrifices of old could not accomplish, namely, the actual putting away of sin, has been accomplished through the finished work of our Lord Jesus, that one offering, never to be repeated, which He made on our behalf upon the accursed tree. We cannot add to this finished work, and, thank God, we cannot take from it. It stands alone in its marvelous completeness. In it God has found infinite satisfaction, and in it the believing sinner finds satisfaction too. The answer of the old monk to the young man who came to the monastery gate inquiring what he should do to put away his sins, is in full accord with the truth of the trespass offering. The aged man replied, "There is nothing left that you can do." And he then endeavored to show his inquirer how fully Christ had met every claim of God against the sinner there upon the Cross. To attempt to put away our own sins is but folly and ignorance combined.
"Not what these hands have done
Can cleanse this guilty soul;
Not what this toiling flesh has borne
Can make my spirit whole.

"Not what I think or do
Can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers, or toil, or tears,
Can ease this awful load.

"Thy blood alone, Lord Jesus,
Can cleanse my soul from sin;
Thy Word alone, O Lamb of God,
Can give me peace within."

And so we come to the end for the present of our meditation upon these five offerings and their typical import. I have not attempted to go into them exhaustively; others have done that, and their writings are easily available and well worth careful and thoughtful consideration. I have simply sought to emphasize the great outstanding truths in regard to the Person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ suggested by the sacrifices of old, and I trust not without profit to every one of us. Oh, to know more of Him and to appreciate in a fuller way His wondrous work which has meant so much to God and which is the basis of our eternal blessing!

"Here we see the dawn of heaven,
While upon the cross we gaze;
See our trespasses forgiven,
And our songs of triumph raise."

So sang Sir Edward Denny, and so may each penitent believer sing, as he stands by faith by the sacrifice of the trespass offering. H. A. Ironside

"There is one Body" (Eph. 4:4). That of course excludes the thought of two or more Bodies, just as it assures us that all believers (for such only could form part of that Body) belong to it. The means, as well as the manner of its creation and the composition of its membership, are described with equal clearness:"By one Spirit are we all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free" (1 Cor. 12:13). When therefore on the day of Pentecost, while the disciples ''were all with one accord in one place," the Holy Spirit at His coming baptized individual believers into one Body, He thereby inaugurated that dispensation which, in marked contrast with preceding dispensations, is characterized by the Spirit's personal presence with, dwelling in, and operation through, those who compose that Body.

By this baptism of the Spirit believers were not only joined to one another in an entirely new, divine, and therefore perfect and permanent manner, but (precious mystery!) also to the Lord, the divine Head of that Body. It was not therefore merely the forming of a union of like-minded men, but the creation of an organic unity, its glorious Head in heaven and its members upon the earth. To this organic, Spirit-made unity its divine Head has given His name-"the Christ" (1 Cor. 12:13, Gk.).

Of this "mystery" we are told in Eph. 3 that in other ages it had not been known to the sons of men, though now revealed by the Spirit, and in the chapter following we are exhorted to display certain moral characteristics in keeping with this divine unity into which we have been admitted, such as lowliness, meekness, forbearance, etc. (Eph. 4:2,3). The baptism of the Spirit-the initiatory act by which this unity was created-is, we must assume, never repeated, individual believers being "added" by the Lord, as in the beginning (Acts 2:47).

This company, so wondrously blessed and privileged, is variously designated in Scripture. When its source and general nature are in view, it is called "the Church (or assembly) of God" (1 Cor. 10:32). When regarded in connection with its activities on earth, it is spoken of as the "Body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12). When the divine Instrument of its creation and the power by which it is energized are to be expressed, it is denominated "the unity of the Spirit" (Eph. 4:3).

Simplicity and attention to the language of Scripture will keep us from certain errors of thought and expression sometimes found in connection with these closely associated subjects, resulting in distortion of the truth and in no little confusion.

Not infrequently one hears the expression, "the ground of the one Body," and learns that a distinction is being made between some who are on this ground and others who are not. Some, we are told, never were on this ground; others, who formerly were, have left it. A difference of judgment in a certain case may have produced two camps, each of which claiming for itself, but denying to the other, occupancy of the coveted "ground," though mutually admitting each other's place in the one Body. Accordingly, we have the anomaly of a person being in the Body but not on the ground of that Body.

Strange confusion this! Might one not without either irreverence or impertinence ask:If a member of the Body of Christ is not on the ground of that Body, on what ground is he? Is there another ground, or is he just without any ground? Who will tell us? For Scripture, let it be noted, is silent on the subject. It knows nothing, as far as one can discover, about a "ground" of the one Body other than the one Body itself.

Plainly enough, all who are of the one Body occupy the ground of that Body. To argue otherwise is to argue without Scripture. Timothy might have to be told how to "behave himself" in the house of God, but even should he in some particular instance have failed to act in harmony with the truth of that relationship, no one, we think, would on that account have accused him of leaving the "ground" of the house of God! The expression lacks justification both in Scripture and in reason.

But although a child of God can neither of his own accord nor by the pronouncement ojf others be dispossessed of any ground that may rightly belong to the one Body, he may, and (if one may speak for others) frequently does, act inconsistently with the truth of that Body. Who would wish to assert that he had consistently carried out in practice what is enjoined upon every member by the Spirit of God through the apostle:"That the members should have the same care one (or another," so that "whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it?" (1 Cor. 12:26). Nay, if acting inconsistently with the truth of the one Body involves leaving the ground of that Body, how many of us are still on the ground?

Just as the truth of the one Body has thus on more than one occasion been warped and narrowed to serve personal or partisan ends-often enough, one would fain believe, in good faith-so also has the allied truth of the Spirit's unity been misunderstood and misapplied. It has been made to describe a human condition instead of a divine institution; unanimity of judgment rather than a creation of God the Spirit; something that may be kept or lost, depending upon our conduct, and not the perfect and immutable thing that it is, with the establishment and maintenance of which we have had nothing- and could have had nothing-to do. What would have happened to this unity of the Spirit, one may ask, had its maintenance depended upon the wisdom, faithfulness, humility, etc., of man, even though renewed and indwelt by the Spirit? Would it not long since have shared the fate of whatever else has been committed to his hand? As well talk of "keeping" the one Body as of keeping the unity of the Spirit, if by the latter expression is meant to preserve it intact or maintain its operation!

But we shall be reminded that to keep the unity of the Spirit is precisely what we are exhorted to do in that well-known Scripture in Eph. 4. Careful attention to the exhortation there given will show that it refers to the manner in which this truth is to be held-namely "in the uniting bond of peace"-and not at all to the preservation of the unity. Failure to note the place of sentence emphasis has led to widespread misunderstanding of the passage, as already pointed out.

By way of illustration, note the similar construction of the admonition given the Corinthians in the fifth chapter of the first epistle:"Even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast…. with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." Here, plainly, enough, the emphasis is not upon our keeping the passover feast, for that, as is well known, is an expression describing the continuous portion of those who have been redeemed, but upon the observation of certain becoming accompaniments of this continuous feast, namely, "sincerity and truth." Similarly, though it is not in our power either to destroy or mar this Spirit-made unity, we may sadly fail to display in every-day life the things that properly belong to such holy association, namely, "lowliness, meekness, longsuffering and forbearance." And to such failure we must all plead guilty. Alas, how little have we displayed toward one another and before the world the characteristics of that unity of the Spirit into which grace has put all who believe! How often spiritual pride and blind intolerance have usurped their place!

If, as some do, we take the "unity of the Spirit" to mean accord or one-mindedness in divine things, then, alas, we are forced to admit that such unity is largely academic or theoretical. To make such an admission is merely to record what experience everywhere teaches, namely, man's failure in whatever has been committed to his hands. We are indeed exhorted to be "of the same mind one toward the other," to "mind the same thing," etc., but such and similar exhortations merely indicate that the tendency is the other way. A "unity" committed to our keeping could not be expected to be long-lived. Happily, the unity of which we speak is in better hands.

It must moreover be apparent to anyone who carefully considers this passage that if the expression "the unity of the Spirit" describes an attitude of mind or heart, it could not be other than "in the bond of peace." Unity in the sense of accord could not, obviously, exist in the presence of discord. It would render the admonition superfluous if not actually meaningless.

Let it be seen then (1) that the one Body is the unity of the Spirit, and (2) that we can neither leave the ground of the one Body nor disturb the unity of the Spirit, though we may, and, alas, often do, act inconsistently with the former truth and unbecomingly with regard to the latter. Above all, do not let us constrict or misapply the truth as to either of these expressions in such manner as to exclude from them in our thoughts and affections any of the Lord's beloved people, whatever their ignorance, failure or sin. P. P. Wahlstad