There are two great perils confronting men in every land, but especially in the lands which are called Christian, for they are greatly aggravated by a corrupt Christianity. Both will rise to a head before the end, each in its turn, and the real character of each will be manifested before they are put down forever. In the meantime each is growing, each is an enemy of Christ, though they are also deadly enemies the one to the other. The first is Imperialism, which wears a grand majestic air. It is robed in purple, great and grand are its schemes, and brilliant its promises of honor and glory for its votaries. In its hand are all the rewards which this world has to give. It is allied with religion; it would not demean itself by throwing that off. The priests of religion are in its high places. Its name is Babylon- imperial Babylon, with all its glories; religious Babylon, with all its religious honors and reputation; commercial Babylon, with all its luxuries, its arts, and its sciences. All that this world can produce is in her hand. Grandeur and greatness are hers. Well may the men of this world be proud of her. She is like a lion in her strength. The other peril is like a specter stalking through the land. If Imperialism is like the lion, Socialism is like the serpent, with its venom, its ominous hiss, its menacing aspect. Imperialism would lift up a class to its highest possible greatness; all the glories of this world shall shine for them. Socialism would drag all down:and in her desire to bring down the great and produce equality in all men, would involve all in one common ruin, and equality would be obtained by oneness of degradation. Socialism is allied with irreligion and infidelity; it sets its face alike against all authority and all religion. Not but that Socialism, too, makes many promises and has great schemes; yet, while Imperialism has its baubles, its delights for the flesh and the eye, and its pride of life, Socialism has only its dreams, the awaking from which must be to horror. Still, be it the one or be it the other, both must utterly perish that the kingdom of the Son of Man may be established and the knowledge of the glory of the Lord may cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

To speak after the manner of men, the power of Christ lay in this-He was intensely dependent upon God, His meat was to do His will; He burnt Himself out for God and for man, self-forgetful, self-emptied, self-abased. Yes, for God and for man. There cannot be the one without the other. Are there not the two great commandments, Godward and man ward? Was not the law within His heart? By the olive they honored God and man; the vine by its wine cheered God and man. He who serves Christ in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost is acceptable to God and approved of man. The two go together. Woe be to us if we divorce the one from the other. He who is true to God, alone does true good to men; and he who does true good to men is the only one who is true to God.

How did Christ meet Imperialism ?

He received not honor from men. He refused to work miracles for His own needs, saying, " Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." He refused to pander to the prince of this world, saying, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." He refused display, saying, " Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." He would not be made king till the proper time. He loved the low place. He emptied Himself. He would take nothing save as the Father's gift. He interfered not with Caesar; on the contrary, He said, " Render unto Caesar the things that belong to Caesar; " but He wanted none of these things. He would not call down fire from heaven. He would not do signs to satisfy curiosity. He would not even defend Himself. What power had Imperialism to touch Him ? None whatever !
How did Christ meet Socialism ?

He gave His all. He was the last of all and the servant of all. Who so rich as He? And He lavished it all on others. Who so poor as He ? He had to ask to be shown a penny when He needed to see it. He had nowhere to lay His head. He did not lay up treasure on earth. He was anointed to preach glad tidings to the poor, to set the captive free, to break every yoke. He was true to God first, and He spent Himself for man. He sought not His own things. He lost; He suffered ; sleep was forfeited; there was not time to eat in peace, for He was the slave of all who needed Him. Never was He too wearied to do the will of God or to serve man. What power had Socialism upon such a one ? None. Socialism has no power against those who follow in His steps.

How are we to meet Imperialism and Socialism?

There is no other way than the way of Christ. These cannot be met by Acts of Parliament, by authority, by words of command; nothing but the life of Christ in His people has any effect. But, it may be asked, will not these things come to pass whether we act in one way or in its opposite ? Surely these two evils will come to pass, but why? Because of the pride and selfishness of us Christians. A dispensation ends when God's people have no longer any faith to utilize the power God puts at their disposal. Thus is the Christian dispensation drawing to its close. Many, with much light, feed themselves and feed not the flock ; the servants oftentimes eat and drink and beat their-fellow servants, and thank God they are not as other men are. Can God use such ?

The end will surely come, and that swiftly; but if we are truly following Christ in these ways the blessing will not fail us. We shall be blest and made a blessing ; but if not, our light and our knowledge will do us ho good, yea, rather will enhance our condemnation.

God grant we may truly follow Christ in refusing honor from men, while spending and being spent for men according to the will of God; and it may be that God may grant us a little reviving in this day of great weakness-for His name's sake. Amen.

O Lord, if e'er I need Thee,
It is just now.
I pray let no man lead me,
But only Thou.
Thou only, Lord, through Thy blest Word,
Canst lead aright by faith, not sight.

My path I would not choose, Lord-
Choose Thou for me.
There is too much to lose, Lord;
Ah, hold Thou me.
No strength have I, I must rely
On Thine alone, Thy will I own.

Thy Word's a lamp unfailing
Unto my feet:
To light my path, revealing
All things unmeet.
Oh, may it shine with light divine,
That I may see each step with Thee.

I cannot walk alone, Lord ;
I am afraid.
Thy guidance is my own, Lord,
My timely aid.
Let peace control my inmost soul;
Reveal Thy will while I lie still.

Thy flock, O Lord, how scattered,
How sadly torn!
Yea, wounded, world-bespattered,
And laughed to scorn.
O Shepherd, lead my feet, and feed
In pastures green, by pools serene.

O Lord, I feel my weakness-
Be mine Thy power,
Thy lowliness, Thy meekness,
In trial's hour.
On Thee I'm cast, and know, at last,
Thy way shall be revealed to me.

Then I would have no will, Lord,
But only Thine.
Thy joy I would fulfill, Lord-
Thy joy divine.
And Thy strong arm shall shield from harm,
The while I rest upon Thy breast.

Thy cross hath separated
This world and me:
It was anticipated
For me, by Thee.
Then let it be the sign for me
Thou'lt be my guide o'er desert wide.

I put my hand in Thine, Lord;
O, lead me still.
Thou'st made the promise mine, Lord-
Thou wilt fulfill.
I pray Thee use as Thou shalt choose:
Give in Thy grace my rightful place.

H. McD.

QUES. 21.-Do you know "The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life," and "The Science of Motherhood," by Mrs. Hannah Whit-tall Smith ? If so, will you kindly say if they accord with truth?

ANS.-We read the first, long ago, and found it much tainted with the perfectionism of the flesh. This ever cultivates the love of self, and is therefore ever doomed to disappointment. Christ, the believer's All, is the only One in whom there is no disappointment. We are not acquainted with the other book you mention.

QUES. 22.-Will you kindly explain Matt. 6 :20 ? How may we lay up treasures in heaven ?

ANS.-Laying up treasures upon earth is the accumulation of wealth. Laying up treasures in heaven is bestowing our goods in a way which God loves. Caring for those who spend their life ministering the word of God is one way. See Phil. 4 :10-20. Bestowing on the needy is another (Acts 2:45). Even a cup of cold water given for Christ's sake is treasure laid up in heaven (Mark 9:41). If only God's people realized their present opportunity more, how much richer many might find themselves for eternity than they will be-how much less bestowed on self there would be-how much more on Christ!

QUES. 23 (To H. A. I.).-Can you show any internal evidence that Aquila and Priscilla were at Rome at the time when Rom. 16 was written? An infidel told me Rom. 16 was not inspired, for the two persons being Jews, could not go back to Rome so long as Claudius' orders held good (Acts 18 :2).

ANS.-The objection is far-fetched on the face of it. Claudius was, if not exactly an imbecile, yet so under the control of favorite freedmen, ambitious women, and even slaves, that orders given one day were often countermanded the next; so it is not to be wondered at if the decree of banishment in regard to the Jews was soon repealed. Many others to whom greetings are sent in Rom. 16 are also evidently Hellenistic Jews, to judge from their names ; and we know that when Nero assumed the purple, a little later, there were vast numbers of Jews in Rome. H. A. I.

QUES. 24.-Kindly tell me, is it wrong, or sinful, as some say, for a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ to work on Sundays at a bakery, which hinders his attending the Lord's Supper? I work only six days out of the seven, as we have no work on Saturdays, all day and night. "Six days thou shalt work," the Word says. We understand that Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath. We are not Jews:we keep "Sunday." But what is the difference? Who can tell if any day is to be especially kept?

ANS.-First of all, we are redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, not to live any more to ourselves, but unto Him who died for us, and rose again (2 Cor. 5 :15). We belong to Him-body, soul, and spirit.

Next, what we do with the Lord's day is not a question of rest, or of our comfort, in any sense. We are "dead to law" (Rom. 7:4), and therefore have nothing to do with the seventh or any other day as a sabbath. The Lord's day is the day of our Saviour's resurrection-of His triumph over all our foes ; and our keeping that day sacred is not as a command of law, nor for our rest or convenience, but to celebrate Him and His sorrows, to praise and worship Him, to edify ourselves, and to use our opportunities to make Him known to others.

Our redemption has cost Him a fearful price. He established His Supper as a memorial of this. His request to those who love Him is, "Do this in remembrance of Me." The disciples, in their first love, apparently responded to this request day by day (Acts 2:41-47). When church order was established by Paul, the apostle of the Church, they came together on the first day of the week ("Sunday ") for this (Acts 20:7).

Any disciple of Christ who willingly, or for self-interest, neglects such a request from his Master, sins against his Master (Jas. 4 :17). Love neglected or despised is a heinous thing. An Israelite indifferent about keeping the Passover was accounted guilty indeed (Num. 9:13):how much more a Christian indifferent about remembering His Lord's sacrifice for a far greater deliverance !

Circumstances may come in which are beyond our control; others are permitted for the test of faith. Under the first, we can but bow our head and submit to the will of God. If He has placed me on a bed of sickness, or under some special care or circumstance which forbids my assembling with His people, I abide peacefully where He has put me. Under the second, we are not to surrender; we are being proved, or tempted, as Scripture calls it, that our true spiritual condition may be manifested. If I deliberately sacrifice the Lord's day-the day of my Christian privileges-because I need bread, I prove how little I really look to God for my bread. It is true I am responsible to earn my bread and to provide for my own, and if I do not I am worse than an unbeliever; but is God the one Hook to for my task in this? If I fail to rightly provide for my own, it is plain I am not being led by Him; for a man who walks with God, in the path God appoints him, will be enabled to provide suitably for his own, even though he may pass through times of trial.

Realizing, therefore, both my responsibility to use the Lord's day according to the Lord's mind, and to provide for my needs and those of my own, I need to look to Him for such labor as will enable me to fulfil both. Nor will the Lord ever fail to answer the faith that trusts Him in truth.

You must not confound peace and communion. One may have peace-not have the least thought of anything being imputed to one-and not have the joy of communion, because there is something that grieves the Holy Spirit, or some forbidden thing that the heart retains, or a state of soul where there has been evil, and where, though recovered from it, the work of God in the heart is not accomplished. J. N. D.

Not a Preacher. (Phil. 4:9)

Paul was more than a preacher or teacher, as our text shows:"Those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do." The learning, and receiving, and hearing, refer, of course, to his preaching and teaching; and that was the great burden of his life – to communicate to men what was in Christ for them. But " seen in me " was not preaching or teaching. It was the character he bore in the carrying out of his task. It was "the life of Jesus" (2 Cor. 4:10) made manifest in his body – before the eyes of all men; and this was not the self-admiration which many in our present day call the "Jesus life"; it was by the "bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus." Not a doctrine was on his lips but it was seen in his life. It is not that he was a faultless man. He could be rash sometimes, as when he called the high priest a whited wall. He could fail to recognize the voice of the Spirit, as when he went unsent to Jerusalem. But there was no self-denial, however costly, which he would refuse, to make good every, part of the glorious Person and doctrine he proclaimed.

Again we say, with a longing desire to follow him, he was not a preacher only; he lived Christ, was a witness of Christ, as well as preached Christ.

God's Purposes.

Nothing can thwart God's purposes. He has in Himself all that is required to carry to a full end whatsoever He designs. Power, patience, perseverance-all exercised in love, in wisdom and grace-triumph finally over every obstacle. When He planned the formation of the universe, He commanded it into being; and there it stands to day before our eyes for our wonder, that we may worship Him who made it. When He demanded the freedom of Israel from Pharaoh, He brought it to pass, in spite of all the opposition of Pharaoh, and He got it so fully that no victory was ever more complete.

We might follow up a multitude of cases in the Scriptures, showing, one and all, the same end to every purpose of God. One thing only He requires in them who are included in those purposes-faith. Faith clings to God, watches the processes by which He fulfils His purposes, and worships as it sees the sure end. Every promise of God in His Word is a purpose. Let our faith then lay hold of these promises; and though they be not yet fulfilled, praise Him beforehand. Nothing delights God more than this.

Instrumental Music.

As the reality of Christ departs from the soul, ritualism takes the place, and forms without life rise up on every hand. To such an extent has this grown that even the world is losing respect for a Christianity which seems more bent on entertaining than converting men.

That music is of God no one who is not a fanatic can doubt. That it has a place in the worship of God every one knows who has drunk in His redeeming love. His soul sings, and his lips must also sing. He must praise God. If in company with others, that praise in song must be orderly-through tunes put to the words which all can learn. So far all is real, full of life in the soul, and pleasing therefore to God. But here danger begins. Let love grow cold, and the song grows cold. It calls for instrumental music therefore now to fill in and make up for the want of love. Or it lets in the spirit of the world; and that comes not to worship, but to be entertained:so instruments (which cannot praise God in spirit and in truth, as Christian worship is to be) are introduced to please the ears.

It may be said that instruments were abundantly introduced in the Jewish worship. True; but if we, Christians, are to be guided by that, what becomes of our Saviour's words in John 4:22-24 ? The Jewish order of things was a system of types; the Christian is reality. It took all the Jewish instruments to illustrate the varied praises which grace and truth create in the human soul.

We believe, therefore, that any use of instrumental music in the worship of God, from end to end, in the Sunday-school, the Gospel meeting, or any other (leaving out, of course, meetings for the learning of tunes), will be found to have a tendency to lower the character of Christian praise, and finally of Christianity itself. It also spoils the voices. It makes a noise which covers the faults in the singing, while, if there was the energy of love, meetings would be held to practice singing hymns, where those faults would be corrected. If God loves the hearty praise of His people issuing from their hearts, through their lips, the ungodly will feel its power also.

When we speak of being filled with the Holy Spirit, we simply mean that He has complete, entire control of our whole being. He occupies the entire man. An illustration may help here. We speak of a family filling a house, and we mean they have en-tire and undisputed control of it. In fact, we can a speak of an individual as filling the house, when he makes his presence and influence felt everywhere. We could carry the illustration further. A person is received as a guest into our home. He is a person of beautiful character, and singularly helpful. He is received into our guest-rooms, but is tacitly excluded from the more private parts of the house, where the work is done. Such a person would be said to be dwelling in our home, but you could not say he was filling the house. He is limited to certain parts of it. Perhaps he feels he is not welcome in the very part where his help would be greatest.

From '' The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit."S. R.

The records of the valor and victories of the Old Testament worthies all point, in some way or other, to the One who was ever in God's thoughts.

The valley of Elah is a witness of this. It was a battle dependent on one man. Israel, the chosen people of God, were ranged on a hill on one side:their perpetual enemies, the Philistines, set the battle in array on the other. Between was the valley where the issues were to be tried. Goliath was the strong man in whom the Philistines trusted. If one man could overcome him, the battle was decided. Could such a one be found ? Forty days had the challenge rung forth. The favored people of God were tested, and found wanting. Just at this juncture David's father sent the "beloved," laden with blessings for his brethren. How like the great Antitype! All this points to another battle-field.

"Through fear of death," all were in bondage. The prince of the power of the air had invaded the earth, and held man against all comers. At Calvary's cross the battle was set in array. Could "a man " be found who could conquer the strong man ? Thank God, there was one both able and willing. In both cases the victory was achieved by a son sent by a father.

In each instance "He came to His own, and His own received Him not." Both warriors met the enemy single-handed. A mighty victory resulted. Israel was freed forever from Goliath, and had only to reap the spoils of victory. Even so the believer has been freed from Satan by the victory of one blessed Man; alone, forsaken of God, deserted by man, Christ fought and conquered.

" Alone He bare the cross,
Alone its grief sustained;
His was the shame and loss,
And He the victory gained :
The mighty work was all His own,
Though we shall share His glorious throne."

We are told certain motives influenced these warriors. Joys were set before them which encouraged them to meet the foe. There were three set before David as incentives to give battle to the "strong man."

The first was, great riches.

The second, the freedom of his father's house.

The third, the king's daughter as a bride.

These three objects were also those of the true David.

Was it not a great joy to the blessed Lord to open out all the wealth of God's nature and being, to make it possible for man to possess unsearchable riches ? Man's riches are measured by broad acres, hoards of silver and gold. Not so God's riches. The hidden nugget and the minted gold are all primarily His; He has crown-rights over the soil and all it contains; but He never calls these things His " riches." That which Scripture speaks of as riches are mines in which are hidden moral and spiritual wealth-"goodness," "grace," "glory," "long-suffering," "forbearance." These are the true riches. To put us in possession of them Christ met and conquered the enemy; to secure them for us He became poor.

Through His poverty we are now rich. Every blessing possessed by Christ in glory is ours. Our needs are supplied from "riches in glory;" our redemption and forgiveness, from "riches of grace."

These mines cannot be exhausted. The eternal ages will witness "kindness" displayed from the treasure-house of the exceeding "riches of grace."

All the wealth of God's nature and being, all that He is in Himself, has been opened up to us.

" And see, the Spirit's power
Has opened the heavenly door,
Has brought us to that favored hour
When toil shall all be o'er."

Oh then, to explore these mines and appropriate this wealth, by faith and the Spirit, now!

To free the " Father's house " was another motive which actuated David's Lord.

During those countless ages which preceded the creation of man, a purpose had been formed-a deep, settled purpose, that the "Father's house" should resound with the praises of children, that "many sons " should tread those heavenly courts and enter into its joys and delights.

Hitherto one Son, "an only-begotten,"and "well-beloved," had stood in this relationship. The One who stood in this place of peculiar and special affection was now sent of the Father to give effect to His purpose and counsel. To give the "freedom" of the house to others; to effect this for us, Christ became man. As a man He was saluted Son-" Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee" (Heb. 1:5).He became man in order to give the freedom of the Father's house to "many sons."

In John 8 He not only says that the "truth " shall make the believer free, but, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed " (ver. 36).

We are conducted into that scene of heavenly joy in association with the risen First-born among many brethren. The freedom of His home is ours. Christ has entered, the accepted and beloved Son, and we are taken into favor in the Beloved One in all His acceptance now. Soon those courts will be trodden by sons introduced by the mighty Victor, who is bringing many sons to glory. The freedom of the house will be theirs in fact then, but may be entered by faith and the Spirit now.

Then another attraction was the "king's daughter. "

Psalm 45 tells us that "the king's daughter is all glorious within:her clothing is of wrought gold." This is the one who captivated the heart of the warrior and cheered Him on to meet the foe-a

bride who was within and without suited to Him. The King's daughter, who answers to this now, is the Church-the company of saints God is gathering today. "Christ loved the Church, and gave Him-self for it," and will soon present it to Himself "all glorious."

There are other saints for whom Christ died, the Abrahams and Davids and the remnant in a future
day; but among them all one bright special object is singled out as the object of the King's desire, as that which will ever be for His own joy. This bride will be all "glorious within." Every thought and feeling will be in accord with His.

Outwardly the "wrought gold" will declare and set forth the righteousness in which she will be found; but inwardly she will answer to Him in affection and moral delight in those things which now engage His thoughts and desires. Adorned with the beauty with which He will invest her, she shall be a fit and suited companion for Him when He appears in glory, as well as the joy and delight of His heart.

The marriage of the King's daughter will be the great event of the Father's house. Among the many bursts of joy in the course of the book of Revelation, none is so full as that which accompanies the announcement that the time has arrived for the marriage supper of the Lamb. Scripture is careful to show us that this bride is a suited one. When God formed Eve and gave her to Adam, He made her bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. When God formed the second Eve for the last Adam, she too was "of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones."

Do we enter into it that we are truly and really to-day in the actual moment when all this is being accomplished ?

All the wealth of God is at our disposal. The freedom of the house is our position as sons. We are the objects of a love that is unique-a love that the brightest angel never can know-a love that many of the redeemed never will know. Christ's love to the "Church" is a special love. That Church was formed by the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and will end by the Spirit accompanying her to the bridal feast.

" O hour of richest blessing,
When brought to Thee so nigh;
To be Thy joy forever,
And reign with Thee on high ;
To rest in all the brightness
And ever there abide ;
To find Thy heart delighting
In us, Thy ransomed bride."

H. N.

The Jews.

How near must be the end of our own dispensation (that of the Church) and the ushering in of the new (that of Israel) the following, which appeared recently in the New York Times, speaks loudly:

"Letters from Jerusalem say that the proclamation of the Constitution in Turkey has thrown open the doors of Palestine to the incoming of Jews from all parts of the world. In Jerusalem alone four-fifths of the population of 100,000 now belong to the Jewish faith; while at Jaffa, Tiberias, Safed, and Haifa, Jews are reckoned by tens of thousands.

"Almost the whole extensive plain of Esdraelon has been bought up by them. Their prosperous colonies spread from Dan to Beersheba, and even further south to the outskirts of Egypt. Thousands are escaping from Persia to find shelter and protection in the Holy Land; while every ship from Odessa carries hundreds of them.

"The valley of the Jordan, once the property of the ex-Sultan Abdul Hamid, is being eagerly sought after by Jewish capitalists and syndicates of Zionists, whose agents, distributed all over the land, are buying up rich properties of Mohammedan offenders whose incomes since the revolution are considerably lessened.

"The Holy City is essentially a Jewish town. Banking, as well as trade and commerce, is monopolized by Jews. The government has found it necessary to organize a company of Jewish gendarmes. Hundreds of thousands of pounds are sent annually from Europe and America to enable the colonists to build homes, hospitals, schools, and invalid homes. Over one hundred Jewish schools already exist in Jerusalem alone, and synagogues are going up everywhere.

" The value of land has risen fourfold. The ignorant and poverty-stricken fellaheen are being ousted from their homes and villages by the sharp European Jewish settler, whose modern agricultural implements and methods have made the land produce harvests never before dreamed of by the natives. The Anglo-Palestine Company, a Zionist banking and commercial enterprise, is pushing the cause of Israel with great determination.

"The racial exclusiveness of the Jews and their clannish proclivities are arousing the opposition of the Ottomans, and the Turkish constitutional regime has in this question one of the greatest problems that a new and patriotic government ever faced."

How plainly the prophecy of Ezek. 37 is being fulfilled in this! "There was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone" (ver. 7). Who can tell how soon God may now say, "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live," and Israel be a nation once more among the nations of the earth ?

We are living in interesting times – blessed though solemn to the children of God, but dark and dismal to the enemies of Christ.
The "Scientists."

All know what a great place science has acquired in our day. On the one hand, the love of money has become so great and so general, that any true scientific discovery in the industrial world which promises riches is fairly worshiped. On the other hand, the breach between man and God has so rapidly widened of late years in Christendom, that any supposed discovery in the other sciences which would seem to be in opposition to the word of God has been hailed with delight by multitudes. This has set up as demigods a class of men who call themselves Scientists, whose field is chiefly geology and biology. They profess to make discoveries which annul this or that part of the Scriptures. They have therefore become wiser than the Scriptures, and they are going to set up a new foundation, through their discoveries, better than the foundation God has already laid, upon which they will erect a better religion than God has erected. Here is a college of new apostles, who by the discovery of strange skeletons and fossils can prove their essentially important doctrine of evolution to be right, and thus overthrow the Scripture record of the creation of man and of his downfall.

Kind reader, peruse the following; then judge for yourself if these new apostles are more trustworthy than the old ones:

"Prof. Ernst Haeckel, of the University of Jena, announced his retirement from public life in February of last year. To us the principal interest surrounding the man is the fact that he was the most prominent exponent of the Darwinian theories in Germany. He belonged to an association of Monists, whose chief objects are to prove that man has evolved gradually – developed step by step from lower animals; to refute the Bible; and to do away with the belief in the immortality of the individual soul, and in a personal anthropomorphic God as Creator.

"Shortly before his retirement there was a startling exposure made of some of the methods by which he tried to bolster up science against Christianity. Over his own signature he was compelled by other scientists to admit the existence of deliberate forgeries in his scientific writings. He had taken drawings of other biologists and altered them, taking away fifteen or sixteen vertebrae from one monkey embryo and changing the name. He also altered a human embryo so as to contain eleven vertebrae not occurring in the original-thus, if possible, to bridge the chasm of the never-to-be-found 'missing link,' and to bring monkey-kind and mankind together and disprove the word of God.

"We have before us an extract from his own confession that appeared in January in the Munchner Allegemeine Zeitung, in which he says:'To put an end to this unsavory dispute, I begin at once with the contrite confession, that a small per cent. (six or eight per cent.) of my embryo-diagrams are really forgeries . . . those, namely, for which the observed material is so incomplete or insufficient as to compel us . . . to fill in and reconstruct the missing links by hypothesis and comparative synthesis . . . I should feel utterly condemned and annihilated by the admission, were it not that hundreds of the best observers and most reputable biologists lie under the same charge. The great majority of all morphological, anatomical, histological and embryological diagrams . . . are not true to nature, but are more or less doctored, schematized, and reconstructed.'

"There has been much excitement in German scientific circles over Haeckel's downfall, and hi's repudiation is now unanimous and complete."
"So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish :whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web" (Job 8:13, 14)

"THE FAITH ONCE FOR ALL DELIVERED."

(Continued from page 101.)

"Beloved, using all diligence to write to you of our common salvation, I have been obliged to write you, exhorting [you] to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints" (ver. 3).

Borne along by the Spirit, Jude sat down to write. His own heart was filled with the joy of God's salvation; and as he put pen to parchment, he would have been glad to write of this salvation common to every saint. But verbal inspiration, however derided by unbelieving men, is ever affirmed in Scripture. So here the apostle is not left to himself as to the form or subject of his letter. The same Holy Spirit who caused him to give all diligence to write, directed his mind as to the theme he must dwell upon. Not the common salvation, precious as that was, was to be his line. A note of warning and exhortation it was, that the Lord would have him give. Therefore he writes to urge earnest contending for the faith already delivered, and that once for all. For the force of the word "once" is such as to debar all thought of repetition.

The faith here is not faith by which we lay hold of the salvation of God. It is the truth as to that salvation, with all that accompanies it. This abiding faith has been given never to be added to. No new revelations will be vouchsafed to complete the truth given by divine inspiration through the apostles of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Jude, as John, turns the saints back to "that which was from the beginning."

Evolution in theology there may be, for theology is simply the reasoning of man's mind as to the things of God. But evolution in regard to the truth, the faith once for all delivered, there is none. God has given His last word on the subject. For this we are called to contend.

It will be seen at once how this simple expression shuts out all the pretentious claims of new prophets, seers, and revelators. Impious are the claims of latter-day enthusiasts who make bold to declare themselves sent of God to add unto His words. Be the signs and wonders that accompany such pretensions as remarkable as those of the Antichrist yet to come, the simple-hearted believer turns away from them all, and exclaims with holy confidence, "The faith has been once for all made known. Neither assumption nor miracle shall induce me to accept any additions to it."

It was for lack of this that in the last century so many thousands of the unwary were attracted and ensnared by the specious claims of Mormonism, which even yet, though in its decadence, numbers its converts by hundreds yearly. Angelic agencies and mystic plates, if all said about them were true instead of palpably false, still would authenticate nothing. The faith once delivered needs neither angelic nor human additions. It is perfect and complete, and the man of God will refuse all other and newer revelations.

To the apostle Paul it was given to complete the word of God. He was the chosen servant to whom the mysteries hidden from past ages were made known (Col. i:24-26). Having thus completed the outline of divine teaching, he can write, '' Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Gal. i:8).

Jude adds no new doctrine to what had already been set forth, but exhorts those who had received so sacred a deposit to contend earnestly for it; even as John, in the Revelation, sets forth no additional line of teaching, but shows what the outcome is to be in regard to the conflict between truth and error, carried on so long.

It will be seen at once how fitting it is, therefore, that Jude's letter should be so placed in our Bibles as to form a preface to the book of Revelation; for such indeed it is. He gives a graphic and warning picture of the evils (already springing up among the saints in those early days), which in Revelation are portrayed in all their hideous development.

That the second letter of Peter bears a close resemblance in many particulars to that of Jude is apparent to all careful readers:so much so, that some who never look below the surface have surmised that one might be but an imperfect copy of the other. To the spiritually-minded there are, however, marked differences despite the striking similarity. Peter warns of false teachers, corrupting those who are not established in the truth. It is false doctrine, damnable heresies, which, if not refused, will bring upon the recipients of them swift destruction. Jude, on the other hand, has especially before him the ungodliness that results from the giving up of the truth. The grace of God turned into lasciviousness is that which he warns against.

Men may belittle sound doctrine, and ridicule the antiquated notion that a system of belief is of any
importance in regard to a man's behavior. But Scripture shows plainly that there cannot be proper behavior apart from soundness in the faith. The couplet,

"For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight;
He can't be wrong whose life is in the right;"

expresses what is in the minds of many. But the life will never be in the right unless the truth of God is accepted and bears sway in the inward parts. Therefore the need, in a day of abounding vagaries like the present, to heed such an exhortation as Jude here is inspired of the Holy Spirit to give.

The word is addressed, not to leaders alone, but to all the called in Jesus Christ. Each one is responsible, in a time of departure from the truth, to contend earnestly for all that God has revealed. Were the mass of Christians thus guarding the treasure committed to the whole Church, evil workers and false teachers would be unable to obtain foothold ; but it is because of the indifference of those who are content to be called the laity, that ungodly men are able to entrench themselves so strongly in that which bears the name of the Church.

To the saints as a whole the faith was delivered. To such the exhortation is addressed to contend earnestly for it! The believer is thus viewed in his soldier character. He is called upon to fight for what is in God's sight of such prime importance. As a Shammah, defending a patch of lentils, the food of the people of God (2 Sam. 23:11, 12), so the Christian should boldly take his stand for the truth, and defend it against all enemies.

It is well to remember that it is one thing to contend-quite another, to be contentious. "The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient; in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will" (2 Tim. 2:24-26). These verses indicate the spirit that is to characterize the one who would contend for the truth.

Firmly, yet with tender compassion for those being led astray, he is to stand for all that God has revealed. When a bad, carnal spirit takes possession of one, he is powerless to help or bless others. And it should ever be remembered that in contending for the faith, the soul of the sinner has to be thought of likewise. It is not enough to uphold the doctrines of Christ. The behavior must commend the truth which the lips proclaim. The phrase in Eph. 4:15, translated "speaking the truth in love," has been literally rendered " truthing in love." We do not have the participle form of the word in English, as in Greek; consequently it is awkward to so express it; but it gives the exact meaning. It is far more than speaking the truth that is in question. It is the truth lived out in all our ways. Unless this be characteristic of the one who contends for the faith of God's elect, the utterances of his lips will be but vain.

(To be continued.)

"And many sleep" (1 Cor. 11:30).

Because of their evil ways and lack of self-judgment the Corinthian saints had made it necessary for the Lord to judge them. For this cause therefore many of them were weak and sickly and others had died. No discipline is generally so effective as that which affects the health and comfort of our bodies.

But, some ask, are not saints who depart from the body present with the Lord ? And is it not bliss for a child of God to be with Christ ? How then can it be discipline to be cut off from this life ?

In answer to this let us remember that we who believe are not only the redeemed of Jesus Christ but also His servants and soldiers. As His redeemed we possess His unchanging love. Our redemption is the fruit of His work-not ours. As His servants it is not so:we seek His approval by serving Him according to His revealed mind. We want to hear, each for ourselves, those wonderful words, '' Well done, thou good and faithful servant:thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:enter thou into the joy of thy Lord " (Matt. 25:21).

Would it not be a great loss to lose this? And as the joys of redemption will eternally be the joys of all the redeemed, will not the loss of the Lord's approval for service be also an eternal loss? Will not the burnt-up work of the bad builder, as told in i Cor. 3:15, be an eternal loss even as the salvation of his person is an eternal joy? Is it not therefore a sore judgment of the Lord to be cut off in the midst of the path of service ?

Again, a great battle is going on. Every soldier is doing his part toward the victorious and glorious end. In the midst of it all here are some who disobey orders; they refuse obedience; they endanger the conflict; the chief orders them off the field of battle and sends them home in shame. Is there not a difference as soldiers between their end and the end of their fellows who fought in obedience to the last ?

Though they were sent home, to the comfort of their families, would any true soldier envy their end, though any and every one of them might wish the war was over and they might go home, too ? Thus, would there not be an everlasting difference as soldiers of Jesus Christ between Paul who could say, "I have fought the good fight," and Demas who had forsaken him in the midst of the fight out of love of this present world ?

We know but in part here, and we may not always be able to understand clearly how this or that is to be accomplished, but we may rest assured that God's wisdom and power will never be at a loss to make good and true in the fullest way every word of His mouth. May we then believe and obey.

QUES. 29.-I have been brought up in the orthodox way, but lately have become related to "Millennial Dawn" people, heard much of their teaching, and become interested in it. What do you think of it? Is it not strange that Christians should differ so much on such important subjects as the immortality of the soul, the trinity of the Godhead, hell, etc. ?

Are you. not looking for the Millennium ? One of my people has fixed the date at 1936. Mr. Russell has the time of trouble beginning 1914.

I would be glad to hear what you have to say.

ANS.-Your inquiry covers much more ground than we have room for here. We are having our Publishers therefore send yon some writings which bear on the subject. They were threatened with a lawsuit by Mr. Russell, the author of "Millennial Dawn " a while ago, on the plea that they injured its sale; so they must disagree very strongly with its teaching. And no wonder; for the very foundations of the faith are destroyed by Russellism.

Christians do not differ, as you seem to think, on the immortality of the soul, the trinity of the Godhead, hell, etc. All true Christians believe man has an immortal soul; believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; believe that the wicked go into everlasting punishment as surely as the righteous go into everlasting life.

They believe these truths because they are revealed in the Scriptures.

By virtue of the " many antichrists" (1 John 2:18) which began in apostolic times, and have gone on increasing since, who deny these foundation truths, some of the children of God may have been, and may now be, disturbed and thrown into confusion; but this is not the rule; it is the exception. You must not confound the mere professors of Christianity with men who have been born of God, in whose hearts Christ dwells by faith. All such hold fast to these foundations, as a man in mid-ocean holds fast to the ship.

The devil is a master at craftiness. In the palmy days of Rome there was no gospel preached; it was all hell-fire, used to bring the masses into subjection to a church which could deliver none out of it. Now that the gospel is preached with clearness, there must no hell-fire be preached, lest it disquiet the consciences of men, and they flee to Christ and the shelter of His precious blood, where there is deliverance from it-where indeed, and justly now, hell is heard of no more, but love which passes telling.

What a crime against humanity these no-hell preachers are guilty of! Even apart from their rendering useless the gospel of Christ, and making sinners comfortable in their sins, who knows how many murders, suicides, and crimes of all kinds, with their attending sorrows, they are accountable for by their removing all fear of God from the minds of men ? Children of God are indeed ruled by love, for they know love, and its holy claims too; but not the ungodly.

As to your relative's view of the Millennium, or Mr. Russell's, both are vanity itself, if our Lord's words in Matt. 24 :36 are taken into account. Every setter of dates has thus far had his folly proved, and will to the end. Dates belong to the Jew, not the Christian.

As to the trinity of the Godhead, it may be as much above man's philosophy as to create a sun is above his power; but to deny it must end in the denial of Scripture, for the two stand or fall together.

"Millennial Dawn "-ism is apostasy, not Christianity. It is a pious fraud; it acknowledges Christian truths which all Christians love and delight in, but only to annul them by its crooked reasonings and absurd vagaries. For instance, in the little book you send me, "The Plan of the Ages," Christ is owned as having been dead three days and then raised again. But this acknowledged resurrection is only a myth, for it is further denied that Christ's body ever came out of the grave, and He is declared to be "no longer a human being in any sense." Imagine, if you can, a man raised from the dead being no longer a human being in any sense ! Look with me for a moment at an incident after the resurrection of Christ. It is related in Luke 24:36-43. As for very joy His disciples could not believe that He was indeed risen from the dead, "Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And He said unto them, Why are ye troubled ? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself:handle Me, and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, As ye see me have."

And in the face of this, the hook you have sent me can say that Christ is no longer a man in any sense ! It is silly, and only an infatuated people can be thus hoodwinked. It is wicked; for only wickedness can thus mock the Scriptures, and yet, with a show of piety, pretend to believe them. But it is easy to see what causes this infatuation ; easy to explain why the crowds love it. The sum and substance of it all is, There is no everlasting punishment; if eternal bliss is missed, 'tis bat a loss that is not missed, for the being exists no more to know it. How sweet this is to a proud and ungodly world which refuses to repent! Depend upon it, dear friend, a doctrine such as this has not holiness for its background, whatever it may profess. It may be sweet as honey now, but the spirit of rebellion toward God lies behind it, and that is always a spirit of corruption.

We would not have written so much at length had we not already found some of God's beloved people caught in this unholy net, and delivered from it. Were our answer to you the means of the deliverance of but one more such, we would feel many times repaid.

QUES. SO.-Will you kindly explain Matt. 5:23, 24? What is meant by "Leave thy gift," etc. ?

As a believer in Christ, do I, to please God, search for those whom I have injured, and ask forgiveness? God has forgiven my sins, I know, but I am not sure about getting the forgiveness of man. I want to stand right with God, and a pure heart I long for.

ANS.-Your understanding of the passage is quite right. We thank God for your tenderness of conscience. Maintain it all along the way, and you will reap blessing from it Nothing is more detrimental to Christian holiness and progress than to present oneself before God for prayer or praise with a defiled conscience. If forgiveness is refused you upon confession of wrong, the burden is no more on you, but on him who does not forgive.
Other questions remain for future issues, D. V.

(Continued from page 292.) (Chap. 7 :1-8 :4.)

We will now consider the apostle's statement of the effect of one who is in Christ making the law the rule of life.

It is of very great importance to notice that the apostle does not admit that God imposes the law as a rule of life on those who are connected with the risen Christ. He looks upon them as being dead to the law with Christ. He recognizes that in the past dispensation the subjects of divine grace were put by God into relationship with law-a relationship he illustrates by the marriage bond. If death removes the husband, the woman is no longer in the marriage bond. So too the death of Christ, as our representative and substitute, ends for believers their relationship with law. A woman whose husband is dead is free to be joined to another man. So also, since the death of Christ, the law cannot prevent those who are of Christ being joined to Him. Their bond with law having been dissolved by the death upon the cross, they are thus freed from it, and a new bond has been formed. By the Spirit of God, who is given to believers (to all believers since the ascension of Christ-John 7:39), those who are of Christ are united to Him in this a new bond (vers. 1-4).

We must also note another thing. Whatever fruit for God there was in the practical lives of those who were of Christ before His death, it was not the fruit of their bond with law. That was a barren, fruitless bond. But the new bond, the bond by the Spirit, is not a fruitless one. The law's very prohibitions intensified the opposition of the natural man's sinful passions (ver. 5). For this reason it could not help the true children of faith to a life of fruitful service for God.

But now, since the death of Christ, believers are delivered from the bond with the law, and are in a bond with the risen Christ, in which the Spirit of God is the energy of service-a service acceptable to God. Serving thus by the Spirit, they serve in newness of spirit; not now with minds in rebellion against the authority of God, but with hearts in subjection to His grace.

The doctrine of the apostle, then, is that those who belong to Christ now, not only have title to be practically free from the law, but are in a bond with the risen Christ, the fruit of which is realized and enjoyed in the measure in which the Spirit, who is the power of the bond, is obeyed in His leading (ver. 5, 6).

Here an objection presents itself. An ardent defender of the doctrine that the law is the rule of life for Christians, says, " If Christians are dead to the law, then the law is sin." The apostle's answer shows that it is in nowise so. Instead of its being sin, it convicts of sin. This was one of the purposes for which it was given; and no matter to whom it has to say-an unconverted or a converted man-it convicts of sin. Whoever undertakes to live by it finds the lusts it forbids are in him, and that the very prohibition is the occasion of their vigorous activity. One just converted usually delights, with more or less ecstasy, in the love of God, which the Spirit that dwells in him sheds abroad in his heart. While thus occupied, in the power of the Spirit, with the love of God, he is not concerned, or occupied with the sin that dwells in him. Without the law, it is not active (ver. 9). But as he begins to think of the claims which the love he has so much enjoyed has upon him, he assumes that the law is the power by which he is to meet those claims. He takes it up thus as the rule of his life. He finds, however, that he is continually being made aware of the presence in him of the prohibited lusts. Their activity has revived, and his conscience continually accuses him. What he took up for life, he finds to be a ministration of death – see 2 Cor. 3:7. He has been deceived. The coming in of the law in this way, as the rule of life, was the occasion of his being deceived. The result of the experience is the writing upon his conscience that he has no title to live -his conscience is under the sentence of death. He has to own that even as a child of God he has not the least title to live.

The lesson thus learned is a good one; he has learned it through the law, though mistaken in taking it to be the rule of life. The law, then, is not sin. It is holy, and the commandment is "holy and just and good" (vers. 10-12).

There is yet another objection. The defender of the law as being the Christian's rule of life, considers the apostle's reasoning to imply that what is "good is made death" to the Christian. The apostle now shows that the objection is an entire misapprehension. Instead of the law being made death to a believer in Christ, as a ministration of death it shows how exceedingly sinful sin is. The fact that it is by means of what is good that sin works death in one who belongs to Christ, makes the deadly character of sin the more manifest. The objection, then, is shown to have no force (ver. 13).

We come now to the apostle's explanation of the exercises and experiences resulting from the mistake which so many believers in Christ make in taking the law to be the rule of life (vers. 14-20). To understand this explanation we must remember the apostle is not speaking of the exercises and experiences of an unregenerate man-of a man whose position before God is that of being in Adam-in the flesh. He is speaking of a regenerate man-a man in Christ; in the new bond, therefore, possessed by believers ever since Pentecost. He is a man indwelt by the Spirit. While he is not walking according to the Spirit, yet the indwelling Spirit is leading him. He is leading him as to his aims and purposes, and He is also leading him in his decisions as he passes judgment on the strife that he finds going on within him. Terrible as it all is, he is being led and taught of the Spirit.

Let us trace the Spirit's ways with him under the authoritative guidance of the apostle.

First, let us mark that the spirituality of the law is spoken of as found in what we may call a common Christian consciousness. In other words, it is the instinctive consciousness of every regenerate soul. The measure of its spirituality is another matter. This, no doubt, differs in different individuals. But every new born soul will unhesitatingly confess the spirituality of the law. With this common Christian instinct the Spirit allies Himself; hence the one who has mistakenly taken up the law as a rule of life is led to realize that by his carnality he is a captive in sin's power. He consents to the law, agrees with the Spirit that it is good, in mind and heart is subject to the Spirit's view of the law as being spiritual, yet he finds inward insubjection as well.

Second, as, under the Spirit's watchful eye and superintending care, he studies the conflict going on within himself, he is taught to distinguish between himself and the sin that dwells in him. He is unwillingly serving sin. He sees there is an " I " that is right, though he has not yet learned to identify it. He does not yet see himself as a man in Christ, but he distinguishes the "I" that is right from the sin dwelling within him, and to which he is captive.

Third, further exercise and introspection, still by the sure guidance of the Spirit, teaches him the utter profitlessness of the flesh. The carnal mind, or the mind of the flesh, is not subject to the law of God. There is no power in the law to make it subject. He sees there is a will to do the good-a will that is not the will of the flesh-but power to do the good he does not find. His previous conviction and conclusion is thus confirmed, and in fact greatly strengthened. While he does not yet see himself to be a man in Christ, he is more than ever confirmed in the conviction that there is an I that is right, from which the indwelling sin is to be distinguished.

We come now to the final conclusions to which the Spirit leads him (vers. 21-23). All the exercises the Spirit has been pressing upon him, and all the experiences he has passed through in connection with the exercises, reveal plainly an ever-present law. However desirous of doing the good, evil is always present with him. It is a fixed, established law. While he delights in the law of God, approves God's expressed will, he sees there is an opposing law in his members, not only antagonistic to the law of his renewed mind, but with sufficient power to make him a helpless captive to the law of sin dwelling in his members. Thus by the guidance of the Spirit, who characterizes his true condition before God as a subject of divine grace, he has learned to place a right estimate upon his practical condition in not enjoying the aims and purposes with which the Spirit has energized him. He has not yet learned what the Spirit's power is, but he has become assured that it is a mistake to look for it in himself. He is now ready to abandon his search for it by introspection. He turns thus away from himself to find in Another the power for holiness and fruitfulness that he has thus far been looking for in himself in vain.

We will now inquire, Where did he find the Spirit's power ? How did he find it ? When he found it, what did he find it to be ? All these questions are answered for us in verses 7:24-8:4. Let us look at them.

Having learned to realize his wretchedness as a helpless captive to the power of indwelling sin, he turns away from himself to think of and enjoy Christ -the Christ that died and rose again, with whom he is connected as being a subject of grace. Occupied now with Him, he sees himself as in Him-as belonging to Him, as being of Him. This, that he now sees, has been true of him all through. It has been the mind of the Spirit as to him all along. But the discovery fills his soul with praise. Convicted of needing a deliverer, he finds the need fully met in the One to whom he has turned, and his soul responds, "I thank God!" Through Jesus Christ he has been delivered from his captivity, and the joy of it fills him.

Now as a delivered one he looks back with spiritual intelligence-the intelligence of the Spirit-upon the terrible struggles through which he has passed. He understands that, as serving the law of God with the mind, and the law of sin with the flesh, he had been entirely mistaken as to his real condition before God. He did not have the mind of the Spirit about it. He now understands that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ:that God views them as being of the risen One, and thus as sharing in the favor and acceptability in which He stands before God.

If now (having learned to look at himself as belonging to the risen and accepted Man) he rejoices in being delivered from the bitter conflict he had been maintaining, what is it that has effected the deliverance ? If it is the truth that sets free, what truth is it which sets free from the struggle we have been considering ? Plainly, according to the apostle, it is learning this precious truth that, as being of Christ, he is under the operation of the law of life, which operates by and in Christ. Knowing, as he now does, that this is the law with which the Spirit identifies Himself, he understands that, according to the mind of the Spirit, he is no longer a subject of the law of sin and death.

Furthermore, he now sees that sin in the flesh has already been fully condemned of God in the death of Christ; that God therefore is not requiring fruit from the flesh; that the righteous thing required by the law, instead of being produced by the flesh as he has hitherto supposed, is produced in him by Christ with whom now he is occupied. Walking according to the Spirit is holiness and fruitfulness.

Thus we see that all the victims of sin whose hearts have been laid hold of by the grace that comes in through Jesus Christ, belong to the risen Christ. They are of Him-are sharers in the nature and character of His risen life. They belong to the position into which He has entered as risen from the dead.

As being thus of Him they are entitled to be practically free from the power of indwelling sin; but to really enjoy this practical freedom from sin's power, they need to learn the impossibility of doing so by walking according to law; that holiness and fruit-fulness are found in the enjoyment of the mind of the Spirit. Walking thus according to the Spirit in the enjoyment of the risen Christ is practical liberty. C. Crain

(To be continued.)

Hast thou loved ones who are heedless ?
Knowing not thy blessed Lord,
Seeking from the world their pleasure,
Caring nothing for His word ?
Doth this on thy spirit weigh ?
Cease not-pray.

Doth the waiting oft seem weary ?
And the subject of thy prayer
Show no sign or shade of turning ?
Is it hard for thee to bear
That thy loved in darkness grope ?
Look up; hope.

Hast thou warned, besought, entreated;
Told of mercy from above ?
Hast thou left no word unspoken,
Of God's wondrous gift and love ?
Doth it seem already late ?
Only wait.

Let thy love not cease an instant;
See how God hath loved the lost!
Gave His Son, His only loved one.
Think, O think, the awful cost,
And the pains He took to prove
All His love.

Some one prayed, and hoped, and waited,
When thy heart was hard and dark,
Watching for the faintest glimmer
Of the longed-for living spark.
With thy heart's door's lifted latch Keep thy watch.

Some one pled at morn and evening
For thy heedless, straying soul;
Some one craved the balm of healing,
Which alone could make thee whole:
Nay, it is no weary task
Just to ask.

God is patient, He is waiting:
Wait with Him, and willingly
Let Him carry all thy burdens;
They're too heavy, far, for thee.
Love and watch, and hope and pray,
Every day.

In the glory over yonder
Thou shalt find thy prayers and tears:
Not e'en one has been forgotten,
Through the weary, anxious years.
Soon thou wilt reach that changeless shore,
Trust Him more.

Dost thou know the love of Jesus ?
Measure it by Calvary's cross.
Dost thou know the Father's tender
Heart, that yearneth over us ?
Lean thy head upon His breast;
There is rest.

H. McD.

(Continued from page 71.)

We have seen that all men, without exception, are chargeable with sin. Not one has any valid excuse. No one can put in a plea that his case must be treated as an exception. Though varying in degrees of guilt, there is not so much as one who is not guilty. All being guilty, all are under the necessity of having to stand before the throne of God's judgment to receive the due, the righteous due, of the deeds done in the body.

In chapter 3:21-31 we learn of a provision of God for a release from this necessity. There is a way in which a guilty sinner, deserving everlasting judgment, can be righteously delivered from it. This must engage our attention now.

Let us consider, first, What is needful for a holy and righteous God to righteously set a sinner free from the necessity of receiving the righteous due of his sins ? Is it possible for God to forgive sins without conserving His holiness ? Surely not. Can He cancel the charges of guilt against a sinner at the expense of His righteousness ? Certainly He cannot. It is as impossible for Him to violate His holiness, or ignore His righteousness, as it is for Him to lie. If, then, He forgives sins, if He cancels the charges of guilt, if He shows even the least mercy, if He exercises grace at all in dealing with sinners, it must be in such a way that the questions, Where is His holiness ? and, Where is His righteousness ? are fully answered. He must have what He can point to as being full vindication. Grace, with Him, must be in every way above question.

The matter may be put very simply. Is God righteous in setting a sinner free from the claim of everlasting judgment ? What is God's answer to this question ? Christ in heaven, '' whom God has set forth a mercy-seat." The apostle is alluding to the blood-sprinkled mercy-seat of Lev. 16. Suppose one asking an Israelite, How can God dwell among you ? How can He vindicate His holiness and yet dwell in the midst of such a people as you ? the answer was, The blood-sprinkled mercy-seat. So, now, to the question, Can God be righteous in canceling sins and reckoning a sinner righteous ? the answer is, Christ in heaven as a lamb that has been slain is the fullest vindication of His righteousness in doing so. He is there as the One who gave Himself for sins. He is there as the One who paid the full price for the righteous title to redeem. He is there as the One who by offering Himself as a sacrifice unto God has conserved His holiness and maintained His righteousness. The sacrifice by which this was accomplished was the ransom-price which had to be paid that God might be righteous in delivering a sinner from the necessity of receiving the due of his sins. Christ, then, by becoming a substitute for sinners, and making a propitiatory sacrifice, has procured for God the righteous title to save sinners; has put into His hand, so to speak, the title to redeem; has made it consistent for Him to set sinners free from the claim of eternal judgment.

Thus far I have spoken of the righteous title. We will now consider God's exercise of it. In the scripture before us we learn something about it. In times before the cross, we are told that God used it anticipatively. In forbearance He passed over sins in anticipation of the atoning sacrifice He had foreordained. He gratuitously pretermitted sins. The Old Testament believers were released from the necessity of having to stand before the judgment-bar of God to be judged for their sins. It was grace in God, but grace in forbearance in anticipation of a sacrifice that would be a complete vindication of the grace.

It was not from any merit in themselves that the Old Testament believers were released from the eternal due of their sins. They were children of wrath as truly as ourselves, but they will not come into judgment any more than we, because it was a righteous thing for God to act in grace in view of a substitutionary propitiation that would be an unanswerable defense of it.

Now Christ in heaven as the Lamb that was slain is the declaration that this grace of God in Old Testament times was both holy and just. His presence there as the One who died for sins proclaims the righteousness of God in His pretermission of sins- that the Old Testament saints were righteously released from the wrath of God which their sins deserve. Their salvation and eternal blessing thus stand on an immovable foundation.

But that which proclaims how just God was in the grace He exercised in Old Testament times proclaims also how just He is in New Testament days. He is now exercising His righteous title to justify, to cancel sins, to release from the charge of guilt. It is, as we have seen, through Christ's shedding His blood that this righteous title to remit sins exists. In delivering from them; in setting free from their due; in not keeping them in the account of charges, but canceling them, He is justly exercising that title which the sacrificial death of Christ gives Him. Christ gone into heaven, in the efficacy of a death which His resurrection declares, is a perpetual witness that God is just. He is also the witness that God is the justifier of those who believe. He is perpetually proclaiming that God is freely using His righteous title to justify those who seek shelter from judgment under the sacrificial death of Christ.

Through the redemption-the releasing-that is in Christ Jesus, there is a gratuitous justification for sinners; a justification freely bestowed in a grace that is vindicated against any charge of unholiness or unrighteousness.

Another point to be considered is, On what principle does God use His righteous title to act in grace? The answer is, Faith. Faith is the one only condition of partaking of the blessing God has a just title to give. It was believers, in Old Testament times, as we have seen, whose sins God pretermitted. It is believers that He justifies now. Faith is thus shown to be the principle on which God exercises His title to act in grace. He has a good right to be gracious, to act in grace, and all are free to profit by it, on the condition of faith.

Now this is the glorious revelation which the gospel of God declares. In it the righteousness of God is revealed. It proclaims God's righteous title to deliver from judgment those who deserve to be judged forever. It is saying to sinners (and all have sinned), God is the One who justifies. He is the
justifier. He justifies freely. He justifies on the principle of faith. Here is a righteousness which is for all; and all who believe are securely sheltered by it. What a grand message to be proclaimed to men everywhere!

But if God is the justifier, and justifies on the principle of faith, there can be no boasting. The principle of faith excludes it absolutely. No one can claim a better right to be justified than another. The privilege of faith cannot be offered to any without offering it to all. If a sinner of one class or condition of men can have the opportunity to believe, and thus be justified, then a sinner of any class or condition of men can have the same opportunity. Justification is simply on the principle of faith. Works in no wise enter into it. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has anything to do with it. If God can justify a Jew on the principle of faith, He can justify a Gentile in the same way. There is no difference. It is gratuitous in any case. No one has a claim upon God for His grace.

A Jew might think this nullifies law, but it is not so. On the contrary, it confirms the law. The law convicts all of sin; it brings all in guilty before God. It does not cancel sins. It does not dismiss the charges against the sinner. It affirms his guilt, and testifies to his need of grace-the free, sovereign grace of God. The grace that meets this need establishes the law which affirms the need.

God, then, can righteously cancel the charges of sins against sinners. This is founded on the sacrificial death of Christ. Christ's exaltation in heaven is the proclamation of it, and that God is exercising it on the principle of faith. Thus, believers in Jesus, who was here in this world as sent of God to make propitiation, are released from receiving the due of their sins, and stand before the face of God judicially cleansed from every charge of guilt. They have been justified gratuitously through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; no merit in them or their works entering into the justification they have received from Him who has the righteous title to bestow it. C. Crain

(To be continued.)

QUES. 13.-Kindly give what is the meaning of 1 Peter 4:6. ans.-If yon have the 1908 volume of help and food, turn to page 224, where the same question is answered.

QUES. 14.-It is the custom in our meeting here, and, as I have reason to believe, also elsewhere, to ask the sisters to retire, along with those not in fellowship, when any business is to be transacted, or any inquiry into a case for discipline is to take place. I would like to know if you consider such a course to be right, and in accordance with Scripture. Speaking generally, I am inclined to think it is not-for this reason, that sisters are responsible as well as brothers to be exercised regarding what concerns the fellowship of all, and should therefore know the facts of any matter as well as the brothers; else how can they judge aright? I should be pleased to have your mind on the subject.

ANS.-Extremes are never of God. We all know that Scripture everywhere puts the rule and government in the hand of man, not the woman. Extremists would therefore exclude the woman from everything which has to do with government in the house of God, as if she had not a conscience as well as the man. Others, knowing that the conscience of sisters is to be considered and respected as well as that of brothers, would thrust them into all matters of government as well as brothers. The fact is that rule and government properly belong to the elders among God's people. The less public any matter of difficulty can be made, the better it is; for there are, alas, generally some who are more ready to make evil a matter of talk than a matter of mourning and prayer. This often but makes things worse and more complicated. Investigation therefore should not be by the many, but by those who feel the weight of responsibility in the affairs of the Lord. What sad details must sometimes be listened to, which would be irrelevant before women, and even young men. When, however, things have reached a point where the consciences of all must now be concerned, then all should be there; for in any case of sin, it is the sin of all the assembly, calling upon every one to judge the wrong in humiliation.

QUES. 15.-Would you kindly explain Heb. 2:6-9? Do the words here quoted from the 8th psalm, "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him ? " apply to the Son of God, or to man as His creature?

ANS.-They apply to man as His creature in contrast with angels as His creatures too. He looks forward to the coming age, when God's purpose to put all things under man (not angels, though by creation they be a higher creature than man) shall be fulfilled. A foreshadowing of that age is seen in the place God gives to man in Gen. 1 :26-28; but it is only a foreshadowing. The real fulfilment of it is seen only in Jesus, who became Man to that end; who suffered death, and took a place lower than the angels, that He might bring others with Him into all that coming glory. The sum of it all is that man, a lower creature than the angels, is predestinated of God to occupy a place highest of all, above angels and all other creatures. And that is accomplished by the Son of God-the creator of man-Himself, in amazing grace, stooping down to become a Man, to suffer, to die, that all who are linked with Him by faith might occupy that wonderful place-a place unspeakably greater than man had in his unfallen state.

In Laodicea, of heart-disease, the prayer-meeting. The health of the meeting was poor for a long time, and the life of the prayer-meeting was despaired of. But a few anxious friends kept it alive, and sometimes it would so revive as to encourage them. Discouragement, however, at last prevailed, and the prayer-meeting is dead. It died from neglect of the physician's orders. No one was present when it died. Over forty Christians (?) were living within a mile of it, but most were at home, and some at their neighbors – so it died, and no tears were shed over its death. Had two or three only been there, its life might have been saved, for "where two of you are agreed as touching anything that they ask, it shall be done for them." Two-thirds of the forty might have been there, had they been so disposed; but they were not. If actions be allowed to speak the prayer-meeting has few mourning friends. Oh, what will become of the Laodiceans ? Selected

Jacob and Esau.

Looking at these two men in their natural state Esau certainly seems the more attractive of the two. He is a commander, with those bold strong traits of character which men generally admire and submissively bow to. Jacob is crafty and wins in an underhanded way-a thing men ever despise.

Be the natural character this or that, however, is little matter to God, for He sees the selfishness and sinfulness of man in the one as in the other.

The immense difference between these two men in the sight of God is this:They both knew well the extraordinary promises which God had made to their grandfather Abraham (Gen. 17:1-8) and repeated to their father Isaac (Gen. 26:2-4), promises which indeed wait still for their fulfilment at the coming again of our Lord Jesus as King of the Jews (Ezek. 37:21-28). These promises of everlasting blessing to the individual, of prosperity, peace, and imperial position to the nation over all the nations of the earth, might well be valued by them, for it was an inheritance above every other. Esau despised it, and chose above it the momentary gratification of present enjoyment. Jacob valued and secured it.

What greater insult can there be than slighting the proffered gift of sovereign grace ? What more base than to barter away for a mere passing trifle that which is of immense and eternal value! Such was the insult Esau threw into God's face. He was a mere natural man, unable to appreciate anything but the present.

Jacob on the contrary, believing the promise God had made to his father, cast his eye on the future glories it involved. There might be no sign of that yet. There might belong waiting for it, for the God of eternity need never be in a hurry. There might be years of deep and painful discipline on the way. All this might be, but God cannot lie, and such an inheritance promised by Him is well worth waiting and suffering for. Such is faith and its nature even in such a naturally crooked man as Jacob.

Such is faith now in every quickened Jacob. It has now greater things in view than Jacob had, for the God of Abraham, of Isaac and Jacob is revealed to us as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; and since Jesus Christ has come, greater things still have been promised to faith. Let all who are of faith rejoice, for the fulfilment of all promises, whether those to Abraham or to the Church, is fast nearing.

"The trial of your faith"(l Pet. 1:7).

"My! Oh my! What shall I do? I have now only the great God to look to!"

Such was the exclamation of a Roman Catholic girl as, by accident, the crucifix she carried about her neck had fallen down the stone steps and been broken to pieces.

Many less superstitious and better instructed may smile at the poor girl's dismay, who yet might be no, less distressed if they really found themselves with none but God between them and their circumstances. Nature shrinks from the removal of props, weak and failing as these may be. It wants to see something, even if it be but a piece of glass. Faith only it is that shrinks not from being left absolutely alone with the living God. And is it not to rid faith of what is of nature still that God puts it again and again into the furnace even as gold is tried in the fire to free it from amalgamation ?

Peter, who is especially the apostle of the wilderness, tells us of this:"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." Let us not fret under the process, but peacefully submit ourselves to God, the eye fixed on the blessed results at the end.

"Ye are dead" (Col. 3:1-4). Once we have seen what sin is by the sufferings of Christ on the cross, where He "was made sin for us," there is no getting free from the distress of indwelling sin save by receiving in simplicity of faith the double fact that we are both dead and risen with Christ. It is not that we ought to be dead, or ought to be risen, but the fact that we are so. Not only were our sins laid on Christ but "our old man is crucified with Him" (Rom. 6:6). This separates us from our evil self as well as from our sins, and we are no longer in bondage. Then we are "risen with Christ," and thus brought to the place of fruitfulness.

The open Red Sea let the people out of the land of bondage, and the open Jordan let them into the land of vines and fig-trees. How full is the grace of our God, who will not only have a free people but also a fruitful people-a people who, if newly "created in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:10), are created " unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Christianity has wonderful dogmas, all of which are living, active, operative dogmas. No wonder Jude would have us contend earnestly for them.

The Jews.

Russia, in the wonted brutality of her intolerance and of her deep-seated hatred of the Jews, is driving them gradually from her territory. Massacres, some loud and public, others more or less hidden, all tacitly countenanced by the authorities, take place from time to time, and public edicts that they leave the country by such a time compel them to dispose hurriedly and at great sacrifice of what they possess, and remove to other countries.

Whilst their sufferings may well excite the compassion of all compassionate people and make all true Christians blush at the thought of such things being perpetrated by a people calling themselves Christians, God is no doubt making use of it to bring about the end of His own purpose of grace and glory toward Israel. Many thus driven away from their homes are turning to the land where the promises made to their fathers are yet to be fulfilled. The Turkish government once so oppressive to the Jews is now exceedingly favorable to them, and will doubtless end in restoring to them the land which, by divine right, belongs to them. When this is done, and the rising desire of the Jews to be a nation again is accomplished, the thirty-seventh chapter of Ezekiel will be fulfilled. This portentous event may now take place at any time-portentous indeed! for the Church which has been meanwhile the sphere of the Spirit's activities is then taken to heaven, and the nations of the earth with their kings and mighty ones must one and all be abased to let Israel and her King step to the front and rule them. What moral and political convulsions then to bring about such a mighty change! Then will Russia, in her last endeavor to crush and spoil Israel and satisfy her pride, prove that God's judgment of her prophesied in the thirty-eighth chapter of the same prophet is, alas, but too true.

The Church may well be now as a bird with outspread wings on the topmost bough.

But what moral convulsions must these poor Jews also pass through before they are ready to recognize that the Jesus whom they crucified and still hate, is their promised Messiah, by whom they are to be elevated to such heights!

The. nations of the earth are prepared for gigantic conflict. Alas, they are not preparing in vain! It will come indeed, ere they are willing to take submissively the place assigned them by the King of kings in relation to His people Israel.

There is much talk of peace also, and that will also come, but under the reign of Christ, not of any international court. When the nations have, by the manifestation of His power and glory, bowed submissively to Him, then shall they enjoy peace- universal peace-but not before.

(Continued from page 305.)

Enoch's prophecy.

"And Enoch, [the] seventh from Adam, prophesied also as to these, saying, Behold, [the] Lord has come amidst His holy myriads, to execute judgment against all; and to convict all the ungodly of them of all their works of ungodliness, which they have wrought ungodly, and of all the hard [things] which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him " (vers. 14, 15).

The source of Jude's information as to this prophecy of "Enoch the seventh from Adam," is not given. Criticism has busied itself to find out, but all to little purpose, and certainly to no profit.

An apocryphal book of Enoch there is, which dates evidently from pre-Christian times, and which contains language very similar to that here recorded, but the nature of the book forbids the thought that it, in any sense, is a part of, or can be placed on the same plane as the Holy Scriptures. Yet its use of the words referred to makes it evident that in some way, whether orally or in writing, God had seen fit to preserve Enoch's prophecy, so that it was readily incorporated into the weird book to which some dreamer gave the name of the one who was translated that he should not see death. Jude, by divine inspiration, declares the words were uttered by the patriarch, and that they are to have their full application and final fulfilment, in common with all prophecy, at the ushering in of the yet future day of the Lord.

A partial fulfilment they had in the flood. A more complete one awaits the appearing of the Lord Jesus, in manifested glory, to take vengeance on all who have refused His grace and done despite to the Holy Spirit.

What is referred to here is something very different to the happy event predicted in John 14:1-3; i Cor. 15:51 and i Thess. 4:13-18. In those scriptures, the theme is the return of the Lord to translate His saints to heaven, of which Enoch's rapture was a type. This may transpire ere the reader lays down this little book. In a moment, the Lord may descend and call all His own to meet Him in the air. But this will not be their, or His, manifestation before the world. That will take place later, the judgment-seat of Christ and the marriage-supper of the Lamb intervening above; while on earth apostasy will rise to its full height in the revelation and acceptance of Antichrist, and the utter rejection of all that is of God.

Then, when the cup of guilty Christendom's iniquity is full, the Lord shall come to the earth with myriads of His holy ones-redeemed men and un-fallen angels-to execute the judgment long foretold upon the despisers of His word.

A very similar expression occurs in chapter 14 of Zechariah's prophecy:"The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee " (ver. 5). In each passage "saints" or "holy ones" does not, of itself, necessarily refer to redeemed humanity. Angels are also thus spoken of, and some would therefore limit the application to them alone. But Scripture clearly teaches the double aspect of the second coming of the Lord alluded to above. He is coming for His saints (John 14:3; i Thess. 4:15-17). He is also coming with them (Col. 3:4). Caught up to meet Him as He descends with a shout, they will return with Him in manifested glory-when Enoch's prophecy and that of Zechariah shall be fulfilled.

Then will righteousness reign-every enemy being destroyed. No longer will impious deceivers profit by a profession of Christianity while secretly working to undermine the faith of God's elect, and turning the grace of God into lasciviousness. To every one will be rendered according to their works.

The present period (from the cross to the coming again of the Lord) is denominated by the Holy Spirit,"man's day" (see i Cor. 4:3, marginal reading). While it lasts, God endures with much longsuffering vessels of wrath fitted, by their pertinacity in gainsaying His word, to destruction. But when man's day ends, the day of the Lord begins, when He who has been so long silent, while blaspheming and damnable heresies have been widely promulgated, to the ruin of untold myriads, will arise to act in judgment.

Then shall men who have despised the Word of Truth learn, when too late for blessing, that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God."

Reader:challenge your heart I pray you now as to how you will stand then ! H. A. I.

(To be continued.)