(Continued from p. 234.)

''There was a free and devoted activity in the ministry of the truth-those who had gone forth for the name of Christ taking nothing of the world, to which they offered the better riches. The apostle's commendation is given decisively to such a course. Gaius had received and helped them, and those who do so he assures that they are fellow-workers with the truth. This, as a principle, is readily accepted now, -our David's rule by which, " as his share is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his share be that tarrieth by the stuff" (i Sam. 30:24); but it needs, for spiritual application, to remember that the " stuff " by which we "tarry "must be, not our own merely, but the common stuff. It is thus in the case of those engaged in war, who if they care for the baggage are as much soldiers as the rest, and devoted to the service of all. Let none claim this with whom it is not true. It is one thing to give a dole to the Lord's work, as to a beggar at the door, and quite another to be a helper in a cause that is one's own. Giving is as much a ministry as is preaching, but only as the heart and soul are put into it is either the one or the other acceptable with God.

Gaius was one who did this, his fellowship with the truth expressing itself in practical reality, a hearty linking himself with those who for Christ's sake had gone forth, " whom," says the apostle, " if thou shall bring forward on their journey after a godly sort,"-" in a manner worthy of God," as it should rather be,-"thou shall do well." But how much is involved in this-"a manner worthy of god " ! In how great a cause are we permitted to be engaged ! and how little do stint and parsimony become those who act for Him who spared not His Son !

It was in behalf of this free evangelization, as is evident by the context, that the apostle had written to the assembly, only to prove how helplessly it had fallen under the control of one who loved the pre-eminence in it he had attained. We are not told upon what ground he based his opposition. This was of no matter, because his reasons were not his motives, but the slate of a heart that sought its own, not the things of Jesus Christ. How terribly may we be deceived in this way! what adepts are we often limes in self-deception ! a Diotrephes may be thus his own victim, and in the eyes of others the bold and earnest defender of truth. It is no doubt purposely that we are told so little of what he said or against what he opposed himself. Prate though he might with malicious words against the apostle, we may be sure he did not lack arguments that seemed forcible enough and carried many:had not Paul rebuked Peter to the face ? and had he not been really to be blamed?

On the other hand the truth really was that the work of the Spirit of God aroused the opposition of that in which as man's will and self-love Satan had found his opportunity. And this has been largely the history of the Church ever since :fallen under the power of the enemy, and dominated by ambition, the Spirit of God in the free working of His grace toward men and for the glory of Christ, opposed and quenched, His instruments cast out, with the approbation of those often who are really Christ's, but who lack the energy and decision for God that alone enable to discern His mind. And in every fresh movement of God this history seems to be repeated. How willingly would one prophesy of something else, if only the Word of God would justify the prediction ! If it does not, what can come of such an imagination except the sure entanglement at last in some such snare as the beloved apostle here points out to us? Philadelphia itself, with its sweet name, " brotherly love," has also its warning to hold fast, and its overcoming remnant; and thus it seems directly in line with what we have had before us. The warning is not needless, and those who swim against the stream will not fail to find the tug and strain of the stream upon them. But the encouragement, how great! and the Lord Himself, how near ! " I come quickly ! hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown!"

All Christians recognize the great danger (to the unconverted) of coming short of salvation. "Almost persuaded " is sadder than altogether rejecting. Such passages as Heb. 6:and i Cor. 9:do not, as we well know, refer to children of God, but to those who, through outward privilege, have been " not far from the kingdom of God." of whom the apostle says, " It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." (2 Pet. 2:21.) The rich young ruler in Luke 18:, who seemed so near, was in reality as far as the proud Pharisee from that justification which, taking his place as distant, the publican found. Such cases as those of Ahab (i Kings 21:27-29), who walked softly after his fearful sin in the matter of Naboth ; of Shimei (i Kings 2:36-46), who lived at Jerusalem, the place of outward blessing and nearness, but on conditions, are alas! but too common in this day of outward reformation, and profession of being under grace, while really an unchanged enemy, under law. Is the reader of these lines, after all, only almost a Christian ? only apparently saved, not really so? Be sure (you cannot be too sure) that self, works, associations, professions, have no place in the foundation upon which you are resting. "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (i Cor. 3:2:)

But these lines are not written for such as know not our Lord Jesus, but for those who are really "children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:26.) To such, the title at the head of this paper should be suggestive. It refers, not to questions relating to our standing as Christians, but to our walk and our communion.

Recovery presupposes declension. Were the believer always in a state of communion, there would, happily, be no need for recovery. But, alas ! God's Word, as well as our experience, assures us that " in many things we all offend." (Jas. 3:2.) There need not be some open lapse into flagrant sin, as in David's case, or that of the man in i Cor. 5:Declension is most insidious. It may be present when there is much labor, as in Ephesus (Rev. 2:); many gifts, as at Corinth (i Cor. 1:); much outward zeal, as among the Galatians. (Gal. 4:)

It is departing from the living God, in whatever degree, shown in the loss of that freshness of first love, that tenderness of conscience, that brokenness and holy fear, which are the sure effects of being consciously in the presence of a holy as well as gracious God. Ah ! beloved brethren, many of us who may not be chargeable with any thing immoral may at this moment be in a sad state of declension-saddest proof of this is the unconsciousness of its being the case. Like Samson, we may not know that we have lost the hidden source of strength, till the bonds of the Philistines awaken us to the real facts.

It is. however, only in passing that one would allude to declension-merely to ask each one who may read this, " How is it with thee to?" Our subject is recovery. Those who are conscious of having wandered-who desire to return – are the ones who need both the encouragement and the warning which are suggested here. For, oh ! what encouragement is held out to those who have lost the joy of salvation ! If God yearns over returning sinners, does He do less over returning saints ? Rom. 5:assures us that " much more" is true of the saint as compared with the sinner.

There is warning too, for, strange as it may seem, it is when a saint is awakened to a sense of failure that he is in greatest danger of self-righteousness. No hearts but ours could find in the realization or confession of sin material for pride. Saddest proof of corruption- to feed upon itself ! This is one of the clear marks of but partial recovery. Confession of sin is eminently fitting and necessary, both to God and often to our brethren ; but the moment that confession is enjoyed, or a certain satisfaction taken in it, we see the signs of but partial recovery-nay, of only a subtler form of sin. True confession comes from a horror and loathing of sin-farthest removed from that flippant or surface-acknowledgment of wrong, which is often but the prelude to still greater failure.

There are, in general, three marks of true recovery :I. God Himself becomes again the object of the soul. One may have grieved his brethren, and acted so as to lose his self-respect, but neither amends to them nor a restoration of self-complacency marks true recovery. "If ye will return, return unto Me." When Jacob had returned to the land, he had been but partially restored, and worldliness and defilement mark the state of himself and family. Bethel must be reached-the place where God is all and self nothing-before Jacob, or any one, is in his true place. How beautifully David exemplifies this in Ps. 51:" Against thee, thee only, have I sinned." Sin there had been against the individual, and against the nation, but David measures his guilt in the presence of God. So too, my brethren, will we find that whatever there has been in us,-whether worldliness in thought and ways, or deep moral evil, the conscience of one truly restored is alone with God. What deep work this means ! It is to be feared that many have had their understandings only convinced of failure, and not their consciences.

2. Growing out of a return to God will be manifested a submission to His government, in letting us reap the consequences of our wandering. How often do resentment, impatience, restlessness under the results of our own wrong, mark that recovery is but partial, and, so far, still worthless! Again, David shows that the deepest repentance, the fullest confession, does not avert the government of God-the child of his sin dies, and he bows to and owns the rod. The truly broken soul will not be contending for rights, seeking to accuse others, or pushing himself upon the notice of his brethren. He will, quietly wait, owning God's hand, even if the pride of man be the instrument used. "Let him curse, since God hath bidden him curse," says David of Shimei.

3. It will hardly be necessary to more than mention the third proof of true recovery-a ceasing to do evil. Without referring to those who turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness, we may warn one another to beware of a mere sentimental recovery,-tears even, and what not, but no practical, true change of life,-no breaking off sins by righteousness. True sorrow, true recovery, is thus known by the fruits of an upright walk-all else is worse than worthless, because deceptive. The deceit-fulness of sin is manifested in these careless, formal, surface-confessions. God keep his people from them ! Better not go through such a form, which only hardens the heart and makes sin easier. Do any, on approaching the Lord's table, or on other solemn occasions, thus salve their conscience? The Romanist does as well when he confesses to the priest.

Again, let it be pressed-true recovery is a deep work. On the other hand, a stiff rigidity-an unbending attitude toward the weak and erring not only may retard the work in their souls, but would indicate that our own state is not right with God. God sees when one honestly turns to Him, and owns all that He can, though Christ's work as priest on earth. He may have to say, " Howbeit the high places were not taken down." Let us, in conclusion, see a picture of true recovery. " For, behold, this self-same thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you; yea, what clearing of yourselves ; yea, what indignation ; yea, what fear; yea, what vehement desire; yea, what zeal ; yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter." (2 Cor. 7:2:) S.R.

In the first epistle, oversight is committed to Timothy, that purity and order might be kept in God's house; but in the second epistle, when confusion and evil have prevailed, the faithful servant is addressed, and aroused to overcome and persevere.

The outline is this :the servant is strengthened in the first part, then prepared unto every good work, then furnished by the Word, and, in chap, 4:, solemnly charged before God, and sent into the field, encouraged by the crown held forth.

The gift is to be rekindled; for God never gave a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind ; and afflictions are to be faced, that the gospel brings, in the power of God, who hath saved and called us; and in the summing up we have (chap. 2:i), " Thou, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus."

This is the first thing. If we are overcome with fear, we have no ear to hear any further exhortation. What effect have orders upon panic-stricken troops ? The fearful heart, then, must be strengthened-by faith in the power of God that nothing can overcome. The power of God ! let this take hold upon us. This is the first part of the outline,- a rocklike basis for further instruction and exhortation for effectual service.

It was Saul and his men who trembled before the enemy, and not David, or any of the cloud of witnesses. David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. Let us not yield, but maintain the conflict.

Note some of the exhortations in this part:"Stir up," or "rekindle the gift"!-"Hold fast"!-"Be strong"!- " Endure"!

Such an one is a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Paul took a long look ahead as to consequences. " Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory."

Secondly, a man must purge himself from vessels to dishonor to be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

"Evil communications corrupt good manners." (i Cor. 15:) Corrupt doctrine or corruption in life the Christian is to have no fellowship with. " Awake to righteousness, and sin not"! Grace teaches us to be firm and uncompromising in rejecting evil in ourselves and in others, that we may not be overcome by the devil. Hymeneus . and Philetus said the resurrection was past:this was overthrowing the faith of some.

As sanctified ones, we are priests, and so prepared for every good work in service as Levites. As holy priests, we draw near to God, and maintain diligently and reverently in our souls the doctrine of Christ, as the priests alone could view and handle the altars and the vessels of the sanctuary; then the Levites, who were joined to the priests (Num. 4:and 18:), came and carried the burdens along the way ; so Christians, as Levites, bear witness in ministry of the truth received in communion with God as priests. When holiness is absent, there is no priestly discernment of the truth, and no preparedness to serve.

Paul said, "I have kept the faith " (2 Tim. 4:7); and to Timothy he says, " That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us." (2 Tim. 1:14.) So in Ezra 8:28, in carrying the vessels of the house of God, not now from Egypt (or the mount) to Canaan, but from Babylon to Jerusalem,-a similar lesson,-the word to the priests is, "Ye are holy unto the Lord; the vessels are holy also. . . . Watch ye, and keep them; until ye weigh them … at Jerusalem."

"If the faith is not kept, there cannot be true service for God, nor is there the sweet sense of His approval amid the stern realities of warfare.

But how well balanced the Christian character ! With holy firmness in departing from iniquity must go gentleness and meekness in maintaining the truth to instruct opposers, counting upon God to bless and give effect to His Word. The energy to refuse the evil must be tempered by meekness, lowly confidence in God, who is above all the wiles of Satan, and able to deliver.

This gives repose to the character amid all distress, and gives glory to God, and effectual ministry.

Thirdly, the man of God, to be perfect, must be furnished for work by the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures; without that, he is not complete. Whatever else he may have, he cannot use the Word without what has already been spoken of. But without the Word diligently searched and learned, he has no weapon to use, however full of courage and zeal. Like a storekeeper without goods to supply his customers, or so little acquainted with his stock that he is unable to lay his hand upon the goods before his customer has gone.

But if I am unable to use the Word for others (according to my measure) it is because I am not using it for myself. Therefore the exhortation here is, first, "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, . . . knowing . . . that the Holy Scriptures are able to make thee wise unto salvation." Then follows the word that all Scripture is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness; that the man of God maybe perfect, furnished unto every good work. For it is only as I am myself living by the Word that I can use it for others. But diligence is needed, or, with all advantages and sincerity at the start, the soul becomes famished, and the Christian life a failure, and Laodicean lukewarm-ness destroys all freshness,-the condition of many Christians, though they have known both peace and liberty before.

We may feel we have excuses, of course,-sorrows, trials, vexations, fears, burdens; but they were not overcome, and the fact remains, vigor has departed, and appetite for the Word and reading with the household has ceased, because it has become a form only ; and lack of gift is pleaded, or timidity. Such is the common condition in souls and in households. " Yet a little sleep, a little slumber (Prov. 6:10, ii); . . . so shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth, and thy want as an armed man."

" Through wisdom is a house builded, and by understanding it is established ; and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches." (Prov. 24:3, 4.)

We might say that in the first chapter of our epistle we have wisdom enjoined, the house is builded, and the soul encouraged; in the second chapter, by understanding it is established, for "to depart from evil is understanding; " (Job 28:28) and in the third chapter, the chambers are filled with precious things, by knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, Compared with a neglected, tenant-less house, a house-a home well filled and adorned is a picture the Spirit of God presents to us of a soul that is diligent and instructed in the Word. The mind is not habitually dwelling upon trouble or vanity, but upon God and the word of His grace, and the profiting appears unto all.

Chap. 4:we leave for another article. E.S.L.

(Eph. 6:10-20.)

I. THE CONFLICT.

It is a most significant thing indeed that that which is ordinarily conceived as Christian conflict is in Scripture scarcely noticed-never insisted on as a necessity at all, while that which is insisted on in it is, in its turn, almost unknown in its true character by the mass of Christians. With these, conflict is with the sin within them, and the Scripture-example of it is considered to be in the seventh of Romans, where we have, in fact, something very different-the struggle (an impotent struggle) of one in bonds. Here, the only effect is, to reveal the bondage, and manifest the law of sin under which he is. And when, in answer to the cry for deliverance, liberty is found, the practical rule becomes "Reckon yourselves dead indeed unto sin;" which if we do, conflict with it becomes impossible.

It is true that if we have not been reckoning ourselves thus dead,-if our eyes have wandered away from Christ, and we have become entangled with other objects, there will be doubtless a struggle to break away, if on the other hand God's chastening do not rather burst through the snare. But the path of progress is never in this direction; and if the "flesh" does ever-and it is true it does-"lust against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh," the remedy is, to "walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh " (Gal. 5:16, 17).

The strife which we must not expect to escape is this, that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places." "We wrestle"-it is a matter of course-we do wrestle, all of us; and then he spreads before us the array against which we are contending. He does not make little of these foes; he would not have us make little of them. They are principalities; they are powers; they are masters of this world by means of the spiritual darkness in which it is wrapped ; they are heavenly beings, though fallen. If it is always a dangerous mistake to underrate an enemy, how dangerous must it be to do so in this case ! Here are foes who are able to bring in all the world to their aid, and who work in the dark, by "wiles" and stratagem. It is against these wiles we have to stand, in a warfare which, though it has its times of special pressure, is never relinquished. It is not enough to stand in the evil day:having done all, we must still "stand."

But to what end are these wiles directed ?-what is meant by this warfare ? To learn this, we must consider with what in this epistle these things stand connected. We are seen here to be in the heavenly places in Christ, blest with all spiritual blessings there in Him ; and the apostle invites us, in the practical acceptance of this truth, to go in by faith and take possession of our promised land. Thus our Joshua is to be our Leader, and Israel's entrance into Canaan is to be our type. It is to this that he refers when he reminds us that we wrestle not (as they did) with flesh and blood. The antitype is greater than the type, and, so far, in contrast with it. Israel found the land full of enemies, ready to resist their claim to possession ; the struggle was, to keep them out of what the divine word had given over to them. God has made heaven our own, and He calls us now, as has been said, to take possession of it; and this is what brings all the power of Satan to resist and defeat us if he can.

Well he knows, if we do not, what is involved. By faith to lay hold of our place in heaven is in effect to become heavenly-strangers and pilgrims upon earth. And this means power for walk, for separation from the world to God,-for holiness. It means the being Christians practically-the maintenance of testimony to Christ, and to His sufficiency for the soul. There is no other holiness for the Christian but a heart in heaven :there is no proper testimony to Christ but a heart where Christ is. Well the enemy may desire, then, to keep us out of this. The battle will surely be severe, unremitting, by which this is to be accomplished.

The weapons which he employs are indicated in this fact, that he is the ruler of the darkness of this world. Our inheritance is with the "saints in light." It is in the light that we are called to walk ; and thus if the eye be single, the whole body will be full of light. The darkness of this world is thus the very means wherewith to antagonize the light of heaven. Holiness is the "holiness of truth" (Eph. 4:24, marg.)', the world is where "man walketh in a vain show, and disquieteth himself in vain " (Ps. 39:6). Bring in its principles, its aims, its objects, and the truth is obscured-a dark fog rests upon the spiritual vision, the steps falter or go astray, "the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint" (Isa. 1:5).

The book of Joshua shows clearly enough, as a type, this method of the adversary. Israel are brought into the land by the power of God, Jordan dried up before them, their Gilgal-pillar is raised on the bank, and the angel of the Lord takes His place as Captain of the Lord's host, to lead them into possession. Then, to show them how to be "strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might," Jericho falls while they but walk around it. Jericho is the world, whose judgment is indeed of God, though faith anticipates, and consents with it. It is this consent of faith which is the very secret of success in the conflict following:it is with the apostle to say, " God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, whereby the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Gal. 6:14.)

It must not be thought strange that it is here, after we have left the world, and have entered, in type, into the heavenly places, that we find the judgment of the world. There is no possible right judgment of the world except as we are in faith outside it. We find there that which meets and neutralizes the power of Satan. The darkness of this world cannot envelope one who is with God on the resurrection side of it. Thus Jericho is wholly burnt with fire, as accursed, and its silver and gold come into the Lord's treasury, but not into man's ;-no man must take of it. Obedience here is a first principle for blessing.

And here begins the failure among the people of God, which makes them turn their back toward an enemy that they have presumptuously despised, and withers up a strength which is no longer in the Lord. Achan covets a goodly Babylonish garment and a wedge of gold, and hides them in the earth under his tent. And the anger of the Lord is upon Israel, who go on haughtily; not seeking counsel of God, but building themselves up upon a victory they have won, to find defeat as sure as had been the victory. How soon may the very power of God become to a people no longer walking with Him a tradition and a snare !

It is but Ai they have now to deal with,-Ai, " a heap of ruins," as the word means:they had just seen Jericho reduced to such a heap ; they were meeting, as it were, but the old defeated foe. They had to learn that, for a people declined from God, a vanquished foe may have a resurrection. The world which yesterday was under our feet may prevail against us to-day, and will, if we are no longer with God,-if seduced by something that is of the world, we have spared that which was devoted to judgment, or perverted to our own use what was devoted to the Lord.

With a faithful and omniscient God, judgment is as sure upon departure from Him as victory in going with Him. Alas that even a Joshua can fall upon His face when Israel is smitten!-as if God had failed instead of Israel! There is nothing arbitrary in His dealings with us,-no wrong in any thing His holy hand can do to us. All is good,-the buffets' of His love ; nought else. Creep nearer to His heart, and you are safe.

Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might,- strong against the wiles of the rulers of the darkness of this world :this is what this history keeps repeating to us.

Ai too is vanquished in its turn, and burnt, though with an effort which shows how the people had been weakened. And then we have, in the league with the Gibeonites, a very plain sample indeed of the wiles of the enemy; and again we find how Israel walked by their own wisdom, and "asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord." So it ever is:they are deceived, no doubt, but why are they deceived? The results of this false step are permanent:they entangle themselves in the treacherous alliance by an oath by Jehovah, and dare not commit a breach of it. How terrible an alliance with that which is not of God, from which yet the word of God itself forbids withdrawal ! and yet how many of His people can form such associations without even a question apparently being raised in their minds !

All this enforces the original lesson. We see that the enemy's attempt is the same however various the means which he may use. Yet in all of these, it is still by the power of the world that he would keep us out of the enjoyment of our heavenly portion ; and it is for the acquisition of this that God equips and arms and sends us forth.

The question, then, becomes urgent with us, What do we know of this conflict? and that will resolve itself into another, Are we earnest enough to lay hold of what is ours within the vail? This is a wholly different one from that which asks, Are we seeking to live, as men would deem, correctly, benevolently, or even piously? All this at least can be answered with little check of conscience by those who if you speak of any possible present entering upon our heavenly inheritance, would think it impracticable mysticism. The book of Joshua has for most still no typical meaning. It is but a history of the past Heaven lies for us, as the paradise of old did for those before the flood, with its gate barred against us. Only the world is practical for the realist; and men, they will tell you, are realists to-day.

Even He in whom heaven did once come down to us has been changed, they say, since He went up to heaven again. Human they suppose He is, but in such sort only as when John saw Him in Patmos, and fell at His feet as dead. Paul too was in paradise, and could bring us back no word from there. What can we know, then ? and what does it matter, when we shall know so soon ?

Yet it is the same Paul who exhorts us, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God;" and to " set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Col. 3:i, 2, marg.). No doubt, at the best, " we see through a glass darkly," but so bright is the scene beyond, that it is only as when we must have such a darkened glass to gaze upon the sun. Bright enough Christ's glory shines there in its proper home, to produce in us the change of which the apostle speaks-"from glory to glory" (2 Cor. 3:18), where the least degree is glory. And it is this glow in the face which Satan would seek to darken with the fog of this world, and wrap the children of day in the disguise and sadness of the night. Let us struggle on,-and we are told we shall have to struggle, to get what we may of that which in its very dimmest outshines all the promise and glory of the world.

(To be continued.)

AN EXPOSITION OF REVELATION IV.-XXII.

PART II.-THE TRUMPETS.-Continued.

The Sixth Trumpet.(Chap. 9:12-21.)

In these trumpet-judgments we are, as has been already seen, traversing some of the most difficult parts of the book of New-Testament prophecy. This is owing largely to the fact that the link with the Old Testament seems very much to fail us, and thus the great rule for interpretation which Peter gives us can be acted on only with proportionate difficulty. Moreover, in the case of symbols such as we have before us, the application is of the greatest importance to the interpretation, and the application is just the fitting of the individual prophecy into the prophetic whole. We have need, therefore, to look carefully, and to speak with a caution corresponding to the difficulty.

A certain connection of the trumpets among themselves, however, we have been able to trace, and this we should expect still to discover, every fresh step in this confirming the past and gaining for itself thus greater assurance. Moreover, the general teaching of prophecy will assist and control our thoughts, although we may be unable to show the relation to each other of single pre-dictions, such as we find, for instance, in comparing the fourth beast of Daniel with the first of Revelation.

A voice from the horns of the golden altar brings on the second woe. It is natural at first sight to connect this with the opening of the eighth chapter, and to see in it an answer to the prayers of the saints with which the incense of the altar is offered up. But this view becomes less satisfactory as we consider it, if only for the reason that the whole of the seven trumpets are in answer to the prayers of the saints, as we have seen, and to make the sixth trumpet specifically this would seem in contradiction. Besides, a voice from the horns of the altar, or even from the altar, would scarcely convey the thought of an answer to the prayers that came up from the altar. The horns too were not in any special relation to the offering of incense, but were for the blood of atonement, which was put upon them either to make atonement for the altar itself, or for the sin of the high-priest or of the congregation of Israel. A voice of judgment from these horns,-still more emphatic if we read, as it seems we should do, " one voice from the four horns,"-so different from the usual pleading in behalf of the sinner, speaks of profanation of the altar, or of guilt for which no atonement could be found ; and, one would say, of such guilt resting upon the professed people of God, whether this were Israel or that Christendom which Israel often pictures.

If with this thought in our mind we look back to what has taken place under the last trumpet, there seems at once a very distinct connection. If the rise of Antichrist be indeed what is represented there, then we can see how the horns of the altar, from which he has caused sacrifice and oblation to cease (Dan. 9:27), should call for judgment upon himself and those who have followed him, whether Jews or Gentiles. In the passage just quoted from Daniel it is added, " And because of the wing of abominations there shall be a desolator." In the sixth trumpet we have just such a desolator.

The Euphrates was the boundary of the old Roman empire, and there the four angels are "bound"-"restrained," it may be, by the power of the empire itself, until, having risen up against God, their own hands have thrown down the barrier, and the hordes from without enter upon their mission to " slay the third part of men," a term which we have seen as probably indicating the revived Roman empire. Here, too, is the seat of the beast's supremacy and of the power of Antichrist. Thus there seems real accordance in these several particulars ; and in this way the trumpet-judgments give us a glance over the prophetic field, if brief, yet complete, as otherwise they would not appear to be. Moreover, when we turn to the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth chapters of Ezekiel to find the desolator of the last days (chap, 38:17), we find in fact the full array of nations from the other side of the Euphrates pouring in upon the land of Israel, while the connection of that land with Antichrist and with the Roman empire is plainly shown us in Daniel and in Revelation alike. If the Euphrates be the boundary of the empire, it is also Israel's as declared by God, and the two are already thus far identified :their connection spiritually and politically we shall have fully before us in the more detailed prophecy to come.

But why four angels ? and what do they symbolize ?

The restraint under which they were marks them sufficiently as opposing powers, and would exclude the thought of holy angels ; nor is it probable that they are literal angels at all. They would seem representative powers, and in the historical application have been taken to refer to the fourfold division of the old Turkish empire into four kingdoms prior to the attack upon the empire of the East. If such ad interpretation is to be made in reference to the final fulfillment, then it is noteworthy that "Gog, of the land of Magog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal,"-as the R. K., with most commentators, reads it now,-gives (under one head, indeed,) four separate powers as principal associates in this latter-day irruption. Others there are, but coming behind and apart, as in their train. I mention this for what it may be worth. It is at least a possible application, and therefore not unworthy of serious consideration, while it does not exclude a deeper and more penetrative meaning.

The angels are prepared for the hour and day and month and year, that they might slay the third part of men. The immense hosts, two hundred millions in number, are perfectly in the hand of a Master,-time, work, and limit carefully apportioned by eternal Wisdom, the evil in its fullest development servant to the good. The horses seem to be of chief importance, and are most dwelt upon, though their riders are first described, but only as to their " breast-plates of fire and hyacinth and brimstone." These answer to the "fire and smoke and brimstone" out of the horses' mouths:divine judgment of which they are the instruments making them thus invincible while their work is being done. The horses have heads like lions ; destruction comes with an open front- the judgment of God :so that the human hands that direct it are of the less consequence,-divine wrath is sure to find its executioners.

God's judgment is foremost in this infliction, but there is also Satan's power in it:the horses' tails are like serpents, and have heads, and with these they do hurt Poisonous falsehood characterizes this time when men are given up to believe a lie. Death, physical and spiritual, are in league together, and the destruction is terrible ; but those that escape are not delivered from their sins, which, as we see, are, in the main, idolatrous worship, with things that naturally issue out of this. The genealogy of evil is as recorded in the first of Romans :the forsaking of God leads to all other wickedness ; but here it is where His full truth has been rejected, and the consequences are so much the more terrible and disastrous.

(To be continued.)

Q. 14.-"Would you explain the meaning of the Savior's words in Luke 22:36-39, concerning the wallet and the swords ? Does ' It is enough' refer to the conversation, or the swords ?"

Ans.-The Lord is preparing His disciples for a different state of things, now that He is definitely rejected, from that which they had found when sent out by Him at the beginning (Matt. 10:9, 10). Then, they were on a mission to Israel only, seeking out the " worthy " ones; now, to go forth in the face of a hostile world. They were to be prepared, therefore, for rejection, carry their own provision, and arm themselves against opposition. But He speaks figuratively, and when Peter would use the sword rebukes it with the assurance that " all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword "-words which forbid the literal sense. Nor could " It is enough" apply to the swords, if each of the disciples was to be armed with one:rather, He means, "That is all I can say now; by and by you will understand." For "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds." (2 Cor. 10:4).

Q. 15.-"Does Luke 16:9 apply to the Church?" Ans.-It is a general principle, and always applicable. " That they may receive you" is equivalent to "that ye may be received;" and verse 25 is the same carried out. The rich man had made his riches his enemy instead of his friend,-had taken his good things in the present life, and was not received, but shut out. Of course this might be taken in such a way as to deny the gospel, but the gospel does not set aside the truth that it is "they that have done good " who come forth " to the resurrection of life;" it explains how alone there can be any such.

Q. 16.-" What is the difference between giving money as they did in Israel for ' a ransom for the soul,' and similar things in Romanism ?"

Ans.-Romanism is essentially Judaism, but to go back to it when God has set it aside is, in principle, apostasy. It is one of the enemy's most successful devices to bring in that which was once of God to displace with it the present truth. And the thing thus brought back will always be found to be really different from what it was as given by God:it is now impregnated with falsehood, a fatal heresy. So it is in this case:the atonement-money in Israel was a figure of redemption, for us entirely done away; we "are not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ." (1 Pet. 1:18). But in Israel therefore (as the apostle says of the sprinkling of blood, etc.), it was never supposed to have virtue beyond death, or for the real cleansing of the soul before God, but only an external "purifying of the flesh" by which they held their place among the people of God, but the conscience was never set at rest. '(Heb. 9:10-14). And its being called "a ransom for the soul," must not make us think of " soul" in the ordinary sense now. The "soul," in the Old Testament, often stands for both the "life" and the "person." Balaam's "let my soul die the death of the righteous" (Num. 23:10) is only an emphatic " let me die."

Q. 17.-" Is there a difference between being ' reproached for the name of Christ,' and ' suffering as a Christian ? (1 Pet. 4:14-16.)"

Ans.-The latter is more comprehensive, I should say; but that is all.

" Q. 18.-At what time does judgment begin at the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17)? and is the house of God here what it is in 1 Tim. 3:15? "

Ans.-The house of God and the people of God were in Judaism quite distinct:only in Christianity are they identified. Here it is the people of God upon whom judgment comes as chastening in this present life, that they may not be condemned with the world (1 Cor. 11:32), for God must be holy as well as gracious. Judgment begins here with the saints of God:what will it be for the ungodly then, upon whom it rests in eternity ?

Q. 19.-"Are there any other than the three classes, 'the Jew, the Gentile, and the Church of God'? Is the house of God the same as the Church of God ? "

Ans.-The Church of God in its relation to God is His house, -to Christ, His body. The three classes spoken of by the apostle clearly embrace the whole world:he supposes none other to whom to give offense.

Dear, __

The questions you put make me feel the walk of deeply all that there is sorrowful in one whom nevertheless I love sincerely, our friend M. G. To enter upon subtle questions as to the person of Jesus tends to wither and trouble the soul, to destroy the spirit of worship and affection, and to substitute thorny inquiries, as if the spirit of man could solve the manner in which the humanity and the divinity of Jesus were united to each other. In this sense it is said, "No one knoweth the Son but the Father." It is needless to say that I have no such pretension. The humanity of Jesus cannot be compared. It was true and real humanity, -body, soul, flesh, and blood such as mine, as far as human nature is concerned. But Jesus appeared in circumstances quite different from those in which Adam was found. He came expressly to bear our griefs and infirmities. Adam had none of them to bear ; not that his nature was incapable of them in itself, but he was not in the circumstances which brought them in. God had set him in a position inaccessible to physical evil, until he fell under moral evil.

On the other hand, God was not in Adam. God was in Christ in the midst of all sorts of miseries and afflictions, fatigues and sufferings, across which Christ passed according to the power of God, and with thoughts of which the Spirit of God was always the source, though they were really human in their sympathies. Adam before his fall had no sorrows :God was not in him, neither was the Holy Ghost the source of his thoughts; after his fall, sin was the source of his thoughts. It was never so in Jesus.

On the other side, Jesus is the Son. of man, Adam was not. But at the same time, Jesus was born by divine power, so that holy thing which was born of Mary was called the Son of God; which is not true of any other. He is Christ born of man, but as Man even born of God ; so that the state of humanity in Him is neither what Adam was before his fall nor what he became after his fall.

But what was changed in Adam by the fall was not humanity, but the state of humanity. Adam was as much a man before as after, and after as before. Sin entered humanity, which became estranged from God:it is without God in the world. Now Christ is not that. He was always perfectly with God, save that He suffered on the cross the forsaking of God in His soul. Also the Word was made flesh. God was manifest in flesh. Thus acting in this true humanity, His presence was incompatible with sin in the unity of the same person.

It is a mistake to suppose that Adam had immortality in himself. No creature possesses it. They are all sustained of God, who "alone has immortality" essentially. When God was no longer pleased to sustain in this world, man becomes mortal, and his strength is exhausted :in fact, according to the ways and will of God, he attains to the age of near one thousand years when God so wills, seventy when He finds it good. Only God would have this terminate, that one should die sooner or later when sin enters, save changing those who survive to the coming of Jesus, because He has overcome death.

Now, God was in Christ, which changed all in this respect (not as to the reality of His humanity, with all its affections, its feelings, its natural wants of soul and body; all which were in Jesus, and were consequently affected by all that surrounded Him, only according to the Spirit and without sin). No one takes His life from Him ; He gives it up, but at the moment willed of God. He is abandoned, in fact, to the effect of man's iniquity, because He came to accomplish the will of God ; He suffers Himself to be crucified and slain. Only the moment in which He yields up, His spirit is in His hands. He works no miracle to hinder the effect of the cruel means of death which man employed, in order to guard His humanity from their effect; He leaves it to their effect. His divinity is not employed to secure Himself from it, to secure Himself from death; but it is employed to add to it all His moral value, all His perfection to His obedience. He works no miracle not to die, but He works a miracle in dying. He acts according to His divine rights in dying, but not in guarding Himself from death; for He surrenders His soul to His Father as soon as all is finished.

The difference, then, of His humanity is not in that it was not really and fully that of Mary, but in that it was so by an act of divine power, so as to be such without sin; and, moreover, that in place of being separated from God in His soul, like every sinful man, God was in Him who was of God. He could say, "I thirst," "My soul is troubled," " it is melted like wax in the midst of My bowels ;" but He could also say, "The Son of Man who is in heaven," and, " Before Abraham was, I am." The innocence of Adam was not God manifest in flesh ; it was not man subjected, as to the circumstances in which His humanity was found, to all the consequences of sin.

On the other hand, the humanity of man fallen was under the power of sin, of a will opposed to God, of lusts which are at enmity with Him. Christ came to do God's will:in Him was no sin. It was human it yin Christ where God was, and not humanity separate from God in itself. It was not humanity in the circumstances where God had set man when he was created, the circumstances where sin had set him, and in these circumstances without sin ; not such as sin rendered man in their midst, but such as the divine power rendered Him in all His ways in the midst of those circumstances, such as the Holy Ghost translated Himself in humanity. It was not man where no evil was, like Adam innocent, but man in the midst of evil; it was not man bad in the midst of evil, like Adam fallen; but man perfect, perfect according to God, in the midst of evil, God manifest in flesh; real, proper humanity, but His soul always having the thoughts that God produces in man, and in absolute communion with God, save when He suffered on the cross, where He must, as to the suffering of His soul, be forsaken of God; more perfect then, as to the extent of the perfection and the degree of obedience, than any where else, because He accomplished the will of God in the face of His wrath, instead of doing it in the joy of His communion ; and therefore He asked that this cup should pass, which He never did elsewhere. He could not find His meat in the wrath of God.

Our precious Savior was quite as really man as I, as regards the simple and abstract idea of humanity, but without sin, born miraculously by divine power; and, moreover, He was God manifest in flesh.

Now, dear–, having said thus much, I recommend you with all my heart to avoid discussing and defining the person of our blessed Savior. You will lose the savor of Christ in your thoughts, and you will only find in their room the barrenness of man's spirit in the things of God and in the affections which pertain to them. It is a labyrinth for man, because he labors there at his own charge. It is as if one dissected the body of his friend, instead of nourishing himself with his affections and character. It is one of the worst signs of all those I have met with for the church (as they call it) to which Mr. G. belongs, that he has entered thus, and that it presents itself after such a sort before the Church of God and before the world. I I may add that I am so profoundly convinced of man's incapacity in this respect that it is outside the teaching of the Spirit to wish to define how the divinity and the humanity are united in Jesus, that I am quite ready to suppose that, with every desire to avoid, I may have fallen into it, and in falling into it, said something false in what I have written to you. That He is really man, Son of man, dependent on God as such, and without sin in this state of dependence, really God in His unspeakable perfection-to this I hold, I hope, more than to my life. To define is what I do not pretend. If I find something which enfeebles one or other of these truths, or which dishonors what they have for object, I should oppose it, God calling me to it, with all my might.

May God give you to believe all that the Word teaches with regard to Jesus ! It is our peace and our nourish merit to understand all that the Spirit gives us to understand, and not seek to define what God does not call us to define; but to worship on the one hand, to feed on the other, and to live in every way, according to the grace of the Holy Ghost. Yours affectionately. J.N.D.

Worldly and worldly-minded men are fond of the above-written phrase, and frequently quote and use it as an axiomatic truth, when, except in a very broad and general sense, it is not truth at all. In the sense of Creator and creatures, it may be admitted; but even then it must be remembered that man, by sin, ruined the first creation, and alienated himself from God, and took sides with Satan against God his Creator. In this he separated himself from his Creator, and broke off relationship with Him ; so that God gave him up to his own will, and permitted him to go his own way for a long time, that thus he might satisfy himself that he could not get on without God. All this time, however, the Creator offered reconciliation to man if he would do righteousness. On this ground also man totally failed, and the just judgment of his Creator upon him was, "None righteous, -no, not one:" "there is none that seeketh after God."

But " God so loved the world, that He gave His, only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Here God comes in mercy and offers reconciliation to man ; and it is upon this ground, and upon this alone, that the relationship im-plied in the phrase written at the head of this article can be restored. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate," says God, "and I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters." Here is the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, and no where else does it exist but in the Lord Jesus Christ. Out of Christ, man is not and never can be in relationship with God. He is of his father the devil, and he will do the works of his father, as the Lord said to the Pharisees. "Ye mast be born again."-"They that are in the flesh cannot please God."-"The end of all flesh is come before" God. In Christ Jesus alone is life-the new life that you must be born into to come again into the relationship of children with God. The Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man is now restored in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is formed in the assembly, or Church of God, which is composed of all that are born of God, and united to Christ, the Head in heaven, by the Holy Spirit of God. "Call no man your father upon the earth ; for One is your Father, which is in heaven," "and all ye are brethren." (Matt, 23:8, 9.) J.S.P.