(Continued from page 264.)

So far we have dwelt upon the Church considered as the Body of Christ, and as the House or Temple of God. Looked at as the Body, the Church exhibits the constitution and the activities belonging to the corporate relationships of the saints, as indwelt by the Spirit, and vitally united to Christ the Head. As House, the emphasis is rather upon the priestly functions of the saints, their responsibilities in government, and their testimony. In either aspect we have features common to the other, and both are intimately connected with what is now to engage us.

III.-THE CHURCH AS BRIDE

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church, and He is the Saviour of the body. Therefore as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Church; for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery:but I speak concerning Christ and the Church" (Eph. 5:22-32).

This passage is given in full, that we may have it before us in dwelling upon this most engaging aspect of our relationship to our blessed Lord. As the Body suggests life and activity, and the House, privilege and responsibility, so the Bride tells of the affections. "Love is of God," and we come nearest, perhaps, to His heart in dwelling upon the bridal relations of the Church of Christ than in the other views we have been considering. "It is not good that man should be alone," applies no less to the Last Adam than to the first-it was indeed God's first thought. We find therefore in that first bridal relationship many points of resemblance to the full and final display of the heart and of the joy of God in what He has in store for His beloved Son.

The bride of Christ must be "of one" with Himself. Nothing that God had made of all the creatures would serve as a help-meet for Adam. From himself must be taken the bone and flesh of which the Divine Artificer "builds" the bride and companion for him. The "deep sleep" speaks of a deeper and more solemn sleep into which the Lord entered, the sleep of death, through which alone He could yield that from Himself which would be formed into His Church. Thus are we-by nature sinners and alienated from God-made His brethren, who is not ashamed to own us as that. It was for this that He took part in flesh and blood that through death He might annul our captor's power, and deliver us from that deathful bondage. So Christ "loved the Church and gave Himself for it."

God presented Eve to the awakened Adam, who recognizes her as "bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh:she shall be called woman -isshah-for she was taken out of man-ish." Thus she is given his name, generically as one with himself, and in contrast with all the other creatures. "This time it is bone of my bones," etc. (Gen. 2:23). So God "called their name Adam" (Gen. 5:2). Thus we have a wondrous glimpse of the link of the Church with her Head and Lord, with His name called upon her. "So also is the Christ" (1 Cor. 12:12); "Why persecutest thou Me,? "(Acts 9:4); "He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17). We see how closely connected are the thoughts of the body and the bride. "He is the Saviour of the body." We are "quickened together with Christ" (Eph. 2:5).

Let us now look more closely at the passage we have quoted. We find in it a beautiful blending of grace and of responsibility, taken from the closest of earthly relationships, and, as we have seen, those relationships were in the heart of God as the higher and more enduring ones of Christ and the Church.

In passing we might note the goodness of God in thus linking the sweetest of earthly ties with the holiest of heavenly ones. What completer picture of what a husband should be in love, self-relinquishment, care and tenderness than in the love and care of Christ for the Church! What subjection in love could be fuller than that of the Church to her Lord? And what inducement could be holier and sweeter for every Christian home? And, by contrast, how the heavenly relationship shows the awful condition of the world in the basic tie of marriage with its loose practices of careless independence, culminating in frequent divorce. But we return to our proper theme.

We speak first of the greater theme-"Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it." The spring here is, not our love to Him, feeble at best, but His-"He first loved us." Nor does this divine spring of love have its source in time. He did not begin to love the Church after He came to earth. "Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor" (2 Cor. 8:9). He was rich in glory, the glory He had with the Father before the world was, and we trace to its eternal source the love that was in the Lord's heart for His church. How amazing, how sweetly solemn is this truth. Let our souls drink it in that we may realize more fully that which "passeth knowledge." A love that had its source in heaven and in eternity cannot rest till it has its objects with itself in heaven for all eternity.

"He gave Himself for it." It is not merely incarnation that we have here-amazing truth as it is-but the cross. The word for this giving Himself is,παρέδωκεv, "delivered Himself up," and suggests the complete self-relinquishment of our Lord. It was no martyr's death, no great example for others merely, but it stands out in its unique, solemn and divine fulness-the death of the cross. Here He bore ail the guilt, entered into all the distance, endured all the wrath of God's forsaking. Mingled with the groans of Gethsemane, the "strong crying and tears," with the sweat falling in great blood-drops to the ground; accompanying the meek relinquishment to the arrest by the betrayer's perfidy-the same word, the "deliverer up;" in the palace of the priest and in the hall of judgment; arrayed in mockery in royal robes, smitten, spit upon and crowned with thorns; nailed to the cursed tree, mocked, railed upon and blasphemed; down in the fathomless abyss of forsaking wrath and judgment-we hear the breathings of divine, eternal love; "Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it."

"Oh, my Saviour crucified, near Thy cross would I abide,
Gazing with adoring eye on Thy dying agony."

O Church of Christ, O saints of God, behold the manner of the love of Christ. Thus has He loved us-"from everlasting to everlasting." What does it mean to us? What our response to it? Was ever bride sought and won at such cost? In the light of love like this the "pomp and glory," the folly and pride, the sin and shame of this poor groaning earth are seen at their true value, and cast, as the scarlet and hyssop, into the consuming flames of His cross.

"My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride."

We too take our place beside the two women, so unlike in their past, so united in their present and future, and pour out all the wealth of our souls upon His pierced feet. We too learn to say with the bride of old, "Thy love is better than wine;" "My Beloved is mine and I am His;" "My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand;" "Yea, He is altogether lovely;" "Make haste, my beloved." (It is significant that in the arrangement of the books in the Hebrew Bible among the Kethubim, or holy writings, the Song of Solomon just precedes the book of Ruth; the one giving the affections, and the other the grace that has brought her into the dignity and wealth of her new position.)

"That He might sanctify and cleanse it, with the washing of water by the word." Even divine love could not have its rest with a bride unsanctified, or with spotted garments. So we see how our Lord endured all suffering to make her "meet companion then for Jesus." He delivered Himself up, thus laying the righteous basis upon which the work of sanctification might be done. It is no superficial cleansing, no external sanctification, but, based on the cross and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, involves the complete setting aside of our old man, and our acceptance in the Beloved. The washing of water is the laver of regeneration, the impartation of a new life and nature. The divinely appointed instrument of this is "the Word," the application of the Scripture of truth in the power of the Holy Spirit. The life is thus an intelligent one, in which the newborn soul recognizes that all is of God. We can distinguish but not separate between the work of the Spirit in us, and the justification and acceptance of the believer on the ground of our Lord's work, and in Him. Here is matter for happy meditation rather than philosophic discussion. May the Lord lead us into an increasing apprehension of its blessedness.

It is His work from first to last, therefore it must satisfy Him. Every attribute of His holy nature is satisfied. He has made His bride meet for that place in light and glory which is her eternal portion. All is from Him as all is for Him, therefore to Him is all the praise.

Doubtless, too, this cleansing by the Word is that daily washing of the feet, described in John 13. "Part with Me" includes not only the bathing of regeneration once for all, but the daily cleansing of our walk and ways to make them answer to His desires for us, and to enable us to enjoy the sweetness of fellowship with Himself. Soon, in the approaching day of glory, this will be complete, but here in the wilderness He would have us enjoy in anticipation the blessedness of this.

Notice, too, the place of the Word in all this. What honor He has put upon that. It is one of the causes for deepest sorrow that His Word is so lightly valued in these days. It is God's instrument in new birth-"born again, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the word of God that liveth and abideth forever." It is also His instrument in the practical sanctification of His people. Our Lord associates it with the keeping of His people separate from the evil in the world. "I sanctify them through Thy truth, Thy word is truth."
Let us pause a moment and ask how the Church, in its practical walk and testimony, answers to this wealth of grace. Has the unutterable love of Christ possessed our souls, individually and collectively, so completely that we do respond to these divine affections? Shall we forget that He yearns over us with an unchanging desire? As we look about us, and listen to the mingled voices of the multitudes of professing believers, is it unkind to recognize the discordant notes of self-interest, self-praise, conformity to the world? Do the words, "Thou hast left thy first love" apply? Or even the more solemn ones, "Thou art neither cold nor hot?" May we lay aside our boasting, and take our proper place low at His feet in confession of our condition. This becomes us, to be at Bochim for ourselves and the whole Church of the present day. The Lord grant that we may be found there. S. R.

(To be continued, if the Lord please.)

Real independency is not of God, but always and everywhere against Him. It is to make the members of the same body say to each other, "We have no need of you," and to deny the unity of the Spirit which should pervade the body. The more we lament and refuse the sectarianism which exists, the more we are compelled, and shall rejoice, to own the body of Christ wherever possible. And this circle of fellowship, which is not "the body," furnishes us with the means of owning this in a truthful and holy way, so far as the state of ruin in which the Church exists permits it to be done. With love to all Christ's own- with an open door for the reception of all according to the conditions of truth and holiness-such a circle is not sectarian, but a protest against it, while the meeting that refuses connection with it is sectarian.

And this is what is meant by the "ground" of the one body. It is as different as possible from any claim to be the one body, and does not in the least imply any sectarian conditions of intelligence in order to communion. The maintenance of a common discipline is in no wise sectarian, but part (an essential part) of that communion itself:absolutely, if the holiness of God be the same thing wherever it is found, and not a thing for the "two or three" anywhere to trifle with as they list.

Independency, in setting aside the practical unity of the Church of God, sets aside a main guard of holiness itself. It makes this no object of common care; it does not seek common exercise about it. It releases from the sense of responsibility as to the House of God:it is my own house, and I keep it clean after my own fashion! And this laxity as to the people of God at large (so consoling to the unexercised conscience, and with a great charm to multitudes to-day) naturally has the effect of lowering one's estimate of holiness, and so prevents my own house being kept really clean.

One's voice may be little heard in a day like this; but I would do what I can to press upon the people of the Lord, first of all, their Master's claim. I press that this independency-little as one may imagine it, little as one may care to entertain it even as a question-means ultimately shipwreck to the truth of Christ, because it means independency of Him. One may find in it plenty of associates, for it makes little demand on one, and gives the kind of liberty which is so coveted to-day. The authority of Christ is riot in it. It may support itself by the help of names in repute as Christians, and be in honor. It cannot have the commendation which Philadelphia, spite of its "little power," finds from her gracious Lord:"Thou hast kept my Word, and hast not denied my name."

(Words in Season, 1896, pp. 53, 54.)

(2 Samuel 6:1-11.)

In this portion we have the ark established in its place in connection with the throne in Zion; not, indeed, its full place-the temple could not yet be built, nor by David:the reason of which we find in the next chapter. But the ark is the throne of the Lord; and it must be shown that the throne upon earth is in accord with and in subjection to the higher Throne. Thus David becomes but a servant in the presence of the Ark.

Yet servant as he really desires to be, he makes a great mistake, which involves serious consequences. It is strange indeed that, in a matter such as he had now before him, David should neither inquire of God, nor think of the directions given in the law as to the carriage of that with which it was known that God had been pleased so intimately to connect the manifestation of His presence. It is stranger still, and reveals sadly the state of things in Israel, that of all those set apart to the service of the sanctuary, there was no priest or Levite to inform a well-intentioned king regarding the prescribed way of acting. Terribly had the Philistines suffered for dishonor done the ark. Terribly had the men of Bethshemesh suffered for their lack of reverence. Yet the Philistines' own expedient for ascertaining in the best way they knew whether it was Jehovah's hand that had smitten them, is what David adopts in bringing the ark to Zion! True it was that God had allowed the Philistines to get their lesson in this way; and this, there can be little doubt, encouraged the adoption of it:but there could be no justification of such imitation. God had spoken:there was shameful ignorance or carelessness as to it; and this just where, in the most solemn manner, they were professing to put themselves under His yoke! How could He in this great object-lesson before the eyes of the whole nation, allow this to be as a precedent for the future, and make light of His own dishonor?

They go beyond the Philistines even, as such imitators generally do. The Philistines had assumed, that if Jehovah were God, the cattle would act obediently to Him without their guidance, and even in contradiction to their own natural instincts. But the Israelites, having committed the ark to the ox-cart, must have Uzzah and Ahio to guide the oxen. They had not faith in their own contrivance, and are already committed to the perilous work of trusting to their own management of difficulties that may arise. Alas, had they not learnt more in all the years that the ark had been in the house of Abinadab? And what, then, does this argue as to them?

Yet for a while all goes well. There are rejoicings and abundant demonstrations of loyalty on the part of the people, till at the prepared threshing-floor the oxen stumble, and Uzzah puts forth his hand and takes hold upon the ark to steady it. Uzzah means "strength":he had not measured himself before God, nor learnt the source of strength. The act revealed what the ark was to him, the habit of a soul ignorant of God, and of itself, while most self-conscious. He is smitten; and the "prepared" threshing-floor becomes Perez-uzzah, the "breaking of strength."

It is strange that in the service of the sanctuary one like David should thus be more than dull; yet similar things abound with us today. The fact of good intention, of a thing right in the main also being before the soul, oft hinders even the need being felt of seeking the mind of the Lord or of testing everything by the word of God. If the thing sought be in itself good, why scrutinize methods so severely? How little do we understand the irreverence that lurks under the appearance of honest devotedness, where man's wisdom is assumed competent to think for God, or man's strength competent to work His will! How often thus we have our Uzzah’s smitten, just when we imagine our service must be accepted of Him!

Then comes the reaction upon this vain confidence:"David was afraid of Jehovah that day, and said, How shall the ark of Jehovah come to me?" So we pass from one extreme to the other; and in proportion to the buoyancy of our first confidence is apt to be the depth of our despair. The consciousness of having sought to do the Lord's will, in that which has turned out so unhappily, shrouds His dealings with us in gloom and mystery. Where we expected to find the signs of gracious acceptance and approval, on the other hand we have been smitten by Him. And how shall we stand before a God like this?

Yet the matter is simple. How could He accept the setting aside of His word, the adoption of Philistine methods, and worse, where He had plainly intimated His will?-and this done in the most public way, and by the whole body of His people? "If thou shalt take forth the precious from the vile," is the principle that applies here. The desire to serve Him is ever precious to Him, and yet there may be that in the service which He can only testify against. Oh that the church of God would listen to this voice to-day, amid the innumerable self-imagined plans whereby it is sought to serve God, but whereby His word is improved upon and supplemented until it is lost and set aside, and His name dishonored in the very offering we bring to Him!

But can we define more closely the special form of evil that is presented here? What does the ark of God upon the ox-cart speak of precisely? The ark was the throne of God in Israel:He dwelt, or had His seat, between the cherubim; there the glory rested, and thence the voice of the Lord gave forth its utterances. The dictates of this throne were addressed to men, to a redeemed people, separated from the apostasies of the nations round, to know and serve Him alone, as alone worthy to be served, His service not slavery but the most ennobling freedom. As His people they had been brought out of darkness into light, out of debasing impurity into "holiness of truth," the reproach of Egypt rolled away from them. Hence the only suited carriage for the ark was upon the shoulders of the Levites, the willing yoke-bearers of His glorious chariot of salvation. Redeemed men, subject to Himself alone, are still those who occupy a place of which that in Israel was but a type, a shadow. To these He has in His precious grace committed Himself, that their willing hearts may bear Him through the world. To them He still says, "Take my yoke upon you:my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

The ox-cart was a human invention, in place of this. It was dead machinery instead of living service. At least there was no intelligence, no moral principle, no spiritual consecration in it. The beast might and did, according to this idea, need a director; and this was proved in the most unhappy way in Uzzah:the man was more out of his place than the beast was; and the bolt of divine judgment fell on him. Directors and machinery are common enough to-day, whereby the work of the Spirit is assumed by those who heedlessly intrude into His place; and men, alas, oftentimes are compelled to become machines, their consciences subjected to other heads than Christ, their work made task-work, often the "burden" anything but "light." Let honest hearts apply this, as they surely may.

From Numerical Bible.

In Zechariah, chapters 6 and 7, we have an account of two deputations sent to Jerusalem, one from Babylon and the other from Bethel. They stand in marked contrast to each other, not only in their respective objects but in the names of those sent.

It is not our purpose to enter into the details of the two accounts-this has been done by others-but will quote the passages:first that of chapter 6.

"And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Take [gifts] of them of the captivity, of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah, son of Zephaniah; then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua, the son of Josedech, the high priest.. .and the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the Lord" (vers. 9-14).

It was probably on the morning after that wondrous night of the visions of the prophet Zechariah eight in number (as described in the previous portion of the book), that the distinguished envoys of the Haggolah, "the captivity," arrived from distant Babylon. They came as representatives of their brethren still remaining in the land of their captivity, bearing gifts of gold and silver for the second temple then in building. They are doubtless types of those who shall yet come from the ends of the earth to the holy city, "and build in (or at) the temple of Jehovah" (ver. IS). But it is of the moral import only of this incident that I wish to speak. Like Daniel, Ezekiel, Mordecai, and many other godly Jews, doubtless, these deputies did not return to the land of their fathers when opportunity was given under the decree of Cyrus. There were good reasons for this, we may be sure.

We learn from the prophet Haggai (1:2-4) how lax and selfishly unconcerned those of Jerusalem had become as to the building of the temple:they were dwelling in their "ceiled houses" while the house of the Lord "lay waste." Here, on the other hand, we see the care manifested by some in the far off land of their exile for the interests of Jehovah and His sanctuary at this very time.

How their example must have shamed (and, we hope, encouraged) those dwelling in the land, to take fresh heart and sufficiently revive their interest to complete the work of building they had so culpably left off doing.

Zechariah is instructed to go to the house of Josiah, under whose hospitable roof these visitors were being lodged; he was there to take from their hands some of the silver and gold brought by them, and from this to make crowns to be placed on the head of the high priest Joshua -beautifully typical of the crowning of the Lord Jesus when "He shall sit and rule a priest upon His throne."

The names of these men are strikingly significant. Heldai means robust, or strong, suggestive of that vigorous faith by which souls are enabled to live for God and His interests here on earth. "Goodness of Jehovah" is the meaning given to Tobijah; just as it is the "goodness of God" (His goodness apprehended, we judge) that leadeth the sinner to repentance (Rom. 2:4); so also is it the "love of Christ" that constrains the believer to live not unto himself but unto Him that died for us (2 Cor. 5:14,15). One of the meanings attached to Jedaiah is praises of Jah; and it is the praiseful saint who is the willing servant of the Lord and of His people; and willingly, we may be sure, did Jedaiah undertake the wearisome and perilous journey from far off Babylonia, to bring to the temple treasury the pecuniary aid necessary for its completion and maintenance.

The names of this trio thus form a lovely combination, and give an intimation of those qualities which enable us for service in which God is glorified. Does the conduct of these devout deputies reflect in any measure our spirit and manner of life, beloved fellow-Christian? Let us search our hearts and ask ourselves if the conduct of these devoted men of a less privileged age than that in which we live, does not put us to shame, as they put to shame their compatriots at Jerusalem.

In connection with the visit of these Jews of the exile to Jerusalem, let us remember Josiah their host. He was not forgetful of the duty, and the grace, of hospitality. Thoughtfully and generously he opened his house to the representatives of his brethren in far off Babylonia. "Sustained by Jehovah," as a debt of gratitude he entertains the Lord's worthy servants. He was the "Gaius" of his time (3 John), and for his hospitality has his name recorded with "honorable mention" on the ever-enduring page of inspiration.

And he shares this honor with his guests; the crowns were laid up in the temple of the Lord for a memorial to the name of Helem, and of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, and of Hen-this last referring to Josiah (comp. vers. 10,14), even if, as some believe, it be not a proper name. "Hen" means grace, or kindness. It may be intended as a hint of that "new name" written on the overcoming believer in the day of manifestation, so touchingly spoken of by the Lord to the faithful at Philadelphia. He kept "open house" for the servants of his God, and "according to promise," in no wise loses his reward. The memorial of his devotion, with that of his companions, was laid up in the temple, reminding us of that promise to the Philadelphian in connection with another and a more enduring temple (Rev. 3:12).

Reluctantly we turn from this heart-gladdening scene to consider another, equally instructive, if less lovely.

"And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu; when they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer & Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before the Lord, and to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?" (ch. 7:1-3).

"Now they of Bethel had sent Sherezer," etc., is the "Revised" rendering of verse 2; "When Bethel had sent Sherezer," is the rendering of Darby's Translation. The circumstances were these:Two years had elapsed since the visit of the three "distinguished strangers" to Jerusalem. Every hindrance to the rebuilding of the temple had been removed by the decree of Darius (See Ezra 6), and the returned remnant were in peace. In view of these favorable conditions, those of Bethel sent a deputation to inquire if it was not permissible now to cease from the fast instituted, it is believed, in commemoration of the temple's destruction under Nebuchadnezzar.

One esteemed expositor, David Baron, supposes the deputies brought "gifts and offerings," as did those from Babylon. He says of the phrase, that it "primarily signifies to 'stroke the face,' hence to entreat favor, or to appease, or propitiate. It is used of entreating the favor of the rich with gifts (Job 11:19; Prov. 19:6; Psa. 45:12), and is often used in reference to God." If this be so, how selfish were their motives, in contrast to the spirit of those honored names of the previous chapter who had only the furtherance of Jehovah's cause at heart; these thought only of themselves; they sought some personal ease, hoping to purchase from the great Jehovah some favor in return for the offering they brought.

They were sent from Bethel, where the calf-worship was set up by Jeroboam, "who made Israel to sin," in opposition to Jehovah's worship at Jerusalem; and after the overthrow of the ten-tribes kingdom by the Assyrian, the conqueror sent an Israelitish priest to instruct the Gentile colony transplanted there "the manner of the God of the land," and "how they should fear Jehovah" (2 Kings 17:27,28). After this came the deportation of Judah and Benjamin by Nebuchadnezzar. Then, on the promulgation of the royal decree of Cyrus there were among those who returned to the land "men of Bethel" (Ezra 2:28; Neh. 7:32; 11:31). We know nothing concerning their moral character; but judging from the names of their representatives sent to Jerusalem on this occasion, we should not think very highly of them.

They are heathen, or half-heathen names. "As to the names of these men," the above-quoted writer says, "it is a rather striking fact that, while those who came as a deputation from Babylon with the offering to the house of the Lord, in chap. 6:9-15, bore names all expressive of some relationship to Jehovah, those who came from Bethel have foreign names which originally were associated with the false worship of their oppressors." The first, Sherezer (Sharetser), was borne by one of the sons of Sennacherib, who after murdering his father escaped to the land of Armenia (Isa. 37:38); it was the name also of one of the princes of the king of Babylon who assisted in the siege and capture of Jerusalem (Jer. 39:3,13). It originally bore as a prefix the name of the Assyrian god "Nergal," which was later dropped, and only the idolatrous prayer, Sharezer, retained.

The second, Regem, is an Israelitish proper name (1 Chron. 2:47), but Melech was of purely heathen origin -a compound of Canaanitish language and an appellative pertaining to idolatry. And the fact that they had not discarded them speaks poorly for the genuineness of the profession of these delegates.

These were the men chosen by those of Bethel to represent them before the Lord at Jerusalem. They ask if they cannot now cease from weeping and separating themselves (as the Nazarites); they had evidently become wearied with their long continued abstinence; it had become irksome to them, and they were eager to know if they could not now desist from it. Their "Lent" had been long, and they were anxious to be freed from its restrictions. "As I have done these so many years," they say, half self-commiserately and half self-righteously.

The word from the Lord through the prophet comes to them as a scathing rebuke:

"When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even these seventy years," he asks, "did ye at all fast unto Me, even to Me? And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? Should ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?" (vers. 5-7).
Their fastings were hypocritical, as was also their question concerning them. They did not fast as unto the Lord (see Rom. 14:6); and the prophet reminds them of the fast of the seventh month, which was instituted, it is said, in remembrance of the murder of Gedaliah, which had resulted in the disobedient migration of the little remnant into Egypt, there to perish, as the prophet Jeremiah had faithfully warned them.

For some reason the delegation had made no mention of this fast. It may have been because of the fact that it was chiefly the men of Bethel's neighborhoods that were responsible for that disastrous assassination. (See Jer. 41.) They would mention the fast commemorating the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem in Judah; but the guilt of their own district they guilefully omit. And in view of their old sectional pride, "Ephraim envying Judah," it is no cause for wonder that Zechariah reminds them of the evil doings of their fathers, before Jerusalem's fall, as seems to be the meaning of verse seven. And in the verses which follow, a graphic resume is given of God's indictment of the ten tribes as detailed in 2 Kings, chapter 17.

And we need to watch against such a spirit and ways in ourselves. How often does the Lord, as also His apostles, warn against hypocrisy, self-seeking, will-worship, sectarianism, as between Jew and Gentile in the church. Party-spirit is the first thing the apostle deals with and reproves among that large and gifted assembly at Corinth. The flesh within us is incorrigible, and remains inseparably with us to the end. Galatians 5:19-21 tells us what "works" may be expected of it, even in the Christian, unless it is kept in check by the ungrieved Spirit of God, who also dwells within us. With attentive ear, we should often read Ephesians 4:20-32, for it is altogether likely that we are all far less familiar with it, and like portions of the Word, than we should be. And it is as much a part of "our glorious Christianity" as are chapters one, two and three of that same epistle.

May the lessons of these deputations remain with us. Let the first encourage us and stimulate our zeal for Christ, of whom the earthly temple was a type; and may the second warn us, and teach us to eschew with all our hearts the canting unreality of the others-for they seem set here in the Word together as two lights at the harbor entrance; one to show the way in to safety and the other to warn the voyagers off the rocks. May it be ours to experience the "abundant entrance " spoken of in 2 Pet. 1:11. C. Knapp

Out yonder on the raging deep
A ship is lashed and tossed;
She's drifting in the path of storm-
Seems numbered with the lost.

The engines cease to do their work,
The anchor drags below,
The angry tempest rages on,
And drives her on toward woe.

It seems as though the demon "Fate"
Has marked her for his own;
No mortal eye beholds her plight-
She drifts to doom alone.

The star of hope is growing dim,
Despair is towering high,
From outside source relief must come,
Or all on board must die.

The Wireless bold is still intact,
From it the message flies-
Come, oh thou brave life-saving crew,
Through black and wintry skies!

The message of distress is heard
By those who love and care,
And instantly they haste away
To save those in despair.

But weary, anxious hours must pass-
And hours to day may grow-
Before they reach the foundering ship,
Lashed on that sea of woe.

O soul, tossed on Time's heaving sea,
Catch what I would convey:
The heav'nly wireless is for thee-
For thee, as well as they.

If blest with calm, or tried by storm,
Keep to thy wireless way:
Send forth the voidngs of thy heart
To Him who hears thee pray.
He'll give thee cheer, He'll send relief,
He'll hush the storm's mad roar;
In blessed triumph bring thee home
To Canaan's peaceful shore.

No storm shall beat upon that shore
To which thy barque shall steer,
But rest divine and joy supreme
With Jesus ever near.

C. C. Crowston

(Continued from page 168.)

It may be best for us to pause at this stage of our examination of the character and features of the Church as the House of God, and go into fuller detail as to some of these features. For if we are to profit by our examination, nothing must be left vague or uncertain, or our practical walk and testimony will be correspondingly uncertain and vague.

For Israel, the whole nation was dependent upon and grouped about the dwelling-place of God. This comes out possibly with even greater clearness in the Tabernacle than in the Temple, because in the former it stands all alone, while in the Temple there was the land of their inheritance with its national responsibilities and activities in full display. But even there, faith recognized, as David did, the one centre, the abode of God, "the place where thine honor dwelleth." If the Ark, the throne of God, were removed, then "Ichabod" could be written upon the whole establishment. For the godly Israelite, the abode of God amongst His people was everything.

Thus in the apostasy of the golden calf, Moses took the Tabernacle-the temporary place of God's abode amongst them-and pitched it outside the camp (Exod. 33:7, etc.). Tn Ezekiel's day the same action is repeated in an even more solemn and deliberate manner (chaps. 10:19; 11:23). The Apostle applies this to the Hebrew saints in an unmistakable way. When Judaism became definitely and finally anti-Christian, as at the close of the book of Acts; when the Mosaic ritual was used to displace the work of the Spirit; in short, when Christ was turned from and the shadow chosen rather than the substance, then as of old the word was, "Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing his reproach" (Heb. 13:13).

Here, then, we have the great outstanding fact which marks the House of God; it is His abode, the place of His presence. It is this which marks Christianity. Without this, we would still be strangers and foreigners, afar off, without God and without hope.

But it will be said, Who denies this? And, What use do you propose to make of it? Are you going to claim to be exclusively the place of God's abode, and thus relegate all who walk not with us to the outside unclean place? Or, on the other hand, are you going to recognize all believers as having their rightful place in the house? We seem to have a dilemma here. What we have been saying proves, in the judgment of some, either too much or too little.

We are impressed with one great fact, that God's holy word never leaves us, whether as individuals or as groups, in a self-complacent state. He has showered His blessings upon us, has brought us to Himself, and opened the boundless stores of His grace for our wondering enjoyment, but He never leaves us in doubt as to the holiness which be-cometh His house. There is ever the need for self-judgment and lowliness of mind-a lowliness which is the absolute essential for the enjoyment of the presence of the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth Eternity, whose name is Holy. "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" (Isa. 57:15).

Therefore it is abhorrent to the truly spiritual mind to hear extravagant claims to exclusive rights in the common heritage of the people of God. Alas, pride is so natural and easy for us; it lurks beneath an exterior of outward humility. May we ever be marked by a sober discontent with our present spiritual condition-a discontent which does not leave us helpless, but which ever exercises us to quiet, patient, hopeful pressing on in the ways of God.

Will such a spirit make us indifferent to those principles and practices of divine truth which His Word teaches us regarding the Church? Will we, as we look abroad at the divided condition of the people of God, treat it with indifference? Will the denominationalism of Protestantism, with its all too manifest worldliness in the reception of unconverted persons, its toleration of conformity to the pleasures of the unsaved, its bald, bold secularism-will such things be considered as natural and normal in the House of God?

Let us, in no spirit of self-complacent harshness, look at a few of the well-nigh universal practices allowed and often justified among Protestant Christians. Here we find clericalism in various forms and degrees, but of one essential character. That character is the establishment of a class-distinction among the people of God. From the avowed "priesthood" of Anglicanism, down through the various gradations of "ordination," till we come to the scarcely perceptible distinction of "recognized gift," "leading brethren," etc., we have this deadly gap between clergy and laity. The former, by virtue of their position or endowment, have the place of nearness and of responsibility; the latter, alas, often too willingly, are in the place of silence, with but little sense of responsibility as to worship, prayer, and service, to say nothing of the great priestly function of discernment in the order of God's house.

It will not do for those whose eyes have been opened to the more glaring forms of this evil to ignore the subtle character of what may afflict them. The priesthood of all believers as a doctrine is held by us all. As a practice, what shall we say? God forbid that we should unduly blame one another. Some of us have been too forward, others the reverse of this. But have we not all in one way and another contributed to the condition in which we are?

The remedy? Thank God there is a remedy, individually, and thus unitedly. It is this:the determination that by God's grace we will not allow place in ourselves or in others for the thought of inactive, unresponsive relation to the grace that has saved us, to Him who has done all for us, and who has given us the Spirit. In other words, let us allow nothing to grieve or to quench the Holy Spirit. The effect of this will be a quiet, unobtrusive awakening to the priestly privilege and responsibility which is our common dower. There would be nothing formal, cold, or forced, in our meetings. Our gathering to our Lord would be such a distinctive reality that we all would recognize and prize it above all else. The vital activities of the Spirit would pervade the assembly; the sweet savor of Christ would fill the house.

We would rightly value the amazing mercy which has called us to the enjoyment of these priceless truths, and our souls would burn to share this enjoyment with all the saints of God. But we would recognize that this enjoyment could only come through the lowly path of abiding, personal communion. With all priestly care and fidelity we would prayerfully discern the state of those presented for fellowship with us. We would not carelessly or hastily open the door to any about whose real state we have no good assurance that they are acting in sober conscientious faith.

Reception into fellowship, as we have just been seeing, is a priestly act of the greatest moment. It is the concern of all, for all are priests. Let indifference come in, and soon there will be nothing to mark us from what we see all about us. When true heart separation to Christ is lacking, the outward form is of little value. In such a state of things no wonder that there is little power to hold the saints together, that the younger, and others, begin to ask, Why are we so "narrow"? Why cannot we go here and there, and be linked with this or that?

The knowledge of God's truth as to assembly fellowship and order, as a living power in the soul, will deliver from laxity and indifference. Our hearts will be enlarged to take in all the saints, but we will love them too well to force them, or commit them to a position for which they are not prepared. Fellowship would be seen to be too sacred a thing to be regarded as a matter of sentiment, or to be offered to all occasional visitors at our meetings. The fear of giving offence would not lead us to an easy looseness as to this most important initial step.

If our separation is a real thing, we should be ready always to give a reason for our position, a reason which will show that we are not actuated by narrow sectarianism, but by genuine conviction of the truth and a sincere endeavor to bear witness to it. Speaking the truth in love, we will commend it to every exercised believer. We will at the same time be open to receive as well as to give testimony, and to be guided by the light of God's truth by whomsoever it is brought to our attention.

If we are under the power of such principles we are in a state that God can use us as His witnesses, and "a faithful witness delivereth souls." We would not be proselyters, compassing sea and land, but we would be enabled to lead souls by the same truth that has power over our own lives.

It is a serious thing to add souls to the groups of believers. It becomes us to examine carefully our reasons, to be fully persuaded in our own mind. If we have no reason for our distinctive testimony, we might well consider the propriety of ceasing to maintain it, and of identifying ourselves with some already existing testimony, and seek to build it up, strengthen and help it.

This brings us to ask, Are the things for which we stand essential to a scriptural testimony to the Church of God? Without boastfulness can we say that so far as we have learned of God these features mark His mind as to the church?

1. A unity of true believers, as free from false profession as is possible for us to preserve it, a unity which offers no unscriptural test as a condition to its fellowship.

2. A unity preserved everywhere, and manifested in local gatherings, whose only distinction from other gatherings is because of distance or largeness of numbers; a unity therefore which adds to rather than diminishes the strength of the general testimony.

3. A unity marked by a refusal of unholiness in walk, and by the maintenance of all the great fundamental truths of the word of God.

4. A unity in which the common priesthood of all believers is held, safeguarded, and maintained, in all diligence and faithfulness-to the refusal of both the spirit and practice of any form of clericalism.

These features will suffice to serve as a general guide, and enable us to answer the question:Do they warrant our separation from groups of Christians who do not see and maintain them? Does this separation involve the maintenance of a complete church-testimony apart from others, in which the Table of the Lord is guarded from what we have learned is not according to the mind of God?

But, oh, in what a dangerous position we find ourselves!

Are we better than other saints? Have we a monopoly of divine truth and privileges? Are we the Church? Have we only the Lord's table? Our souls shrink from all such assumptions. If asked' about ourselves we can truthfully say, We are nothing, the feeblest of the feeble; just some of "the poor of the flock," who are seeking to be vinedressers. We will not, by God's grace, allow ourselves to be forced into any attitude of pride of ecclesiastical position. This we have already dwelt upon. May the Lord give us grace to be increasingly mourners and witnesses, rather than judges.

May we go a little further. Necessarily we are separate from the gangrenous "Modernism," which is pervading the churches. This will also separate us from large numbers of Christians who, while personally sound in faith, and, as we hope, godly in walk, have not seen their responsibility to "depart from iniquity." Their association is unscriptural, and we could not be identified with that. In all love and grace, we must firmly maintain this separation.

But it may be said there are other companies of saints who are seeking to maintain the same testimony as ourselves; why should we not walk with them? We would unfeignedly thank our God for every such testimony, nor seek to weaken it. During the past fifty years or more, there has been a distinct revival, both of Evangelical truth and (in some measure) of truth as to the Church. Nor can we close our eyes to the sad divisions which have taken place within the ranks of those known as "Brethren." Such things have complicated matters, calling for much patience, grace and wisdom.

But we need hardly say these things cannot change the truth of God, nor alter the path He has marked for His saints-"straight paths for your feet." How good it is to turn afresh to Him and His Word. "The foundation of God standeth sure." In the midst of the wreckage of men, "the Lord knoweth them that are His," and the word to everyone bearing His holy name is, to "depart from iniquity." What we see to be evil, that we are to depart from.

But let us make a difference where Scripture does, and let us recognize that which is of God, although in some details we are compelled to recognize a failure to maintain His truth. There may be companies which historically had their beginning as separate companies in what was unscriptural, but whose present principles and practice are godly. Let us thankfully own God's work. If we are all in a lowly state, we will be ready to see and judge past failure, and where that spirit prevails we are well on our way toward a corporate healing of breaches.

Meanwhile, let us not ignore difficulties, nor hastily seek to force action that can only complicate matters. Better far to own our divided state than to seek to break down that which remains of sober, careful order. Better to recognize that we are on the way to healing, than to precipitate by undue excitement what will inevitably be followed by a reaction. This may be specially applicable to what has sometimes been called "occasional fellowship." It is doubtless far better to abstain from anything that might be a stumbling-block to godly souls. No interest will suffer where wise care and faithful love are shown. When such cases are made a precedent, they do not work for blessing, nor for the help of exercised consciences. Of what help is it to any that they have been permitted to break bread, and then to return to their regular position without a particle of exercise as to the mind of the Lord for them? Unquestionably, "Of some have compassion, making a difference" has its application; but let us be sure that from age or mental and spiritual condition they are the proper subjects for such "compassion." May the Lord lead and help us.

On the other hand, let us beware of narrowness; nor let us lull ourselves to slothful neglect by saying God never restores a broken fellowship. We might as well say, God never restores a wandering saint, never heals a breach between brothers. Let us not limit His grace; let us rather look for and hope for, as well as work for, that which will glorify Him.

We may be sure that we are helping toward this end when we "restrain ourselves" from haste, and seek to encourage those with whom we do not yet walk in the truth and order of God's house. The actual, outward coming together will then be a fuller expression of a fellowship which has been gaining in strength and reality during perhaps years of patience on our part.

May the Lord lead in all these matters, and may He still have joy in those who have caused so much sorrow to Him. For this let us continue in prayer. S. R.

To possess a divine revelation is the greatest blessing which could be conferred upon the creature. God's Word is such a revelation given to us. He used men of different temperaments and from varied ranks of life to give it forth, but the words they used were "divinely inspired" (God-breathed; 2 Tim. 3:16). Human learning and ability (valuable as these are) will not, of themselves, enable any one to apprehend this revelation. As the source of it is divine, there must be the possession of the divine nature to understand it.

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14).

The believer, born again by the sovereign operation of the Spirit of God, possesses the divine nature, which finds its delight in the things which are of, and according to, Him of whom he has been begotten. He has thus the capacity to enter into and enjoy the whole mind and thoughts of God as revealed in His Word. The possession of this nature alone, however, would not suffice for such apprehension and enjoyment. Our Lord Jesus Christ, ere He left His disciples, said:

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26).

"Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all (the)truth:for He shall not speak of (from) Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak:and He will show you things to come" (chap. 16:13).

Another principle of deep importance is to be borne in mind-I might even say a condition precedent-if We are to enter into and grow in the thoughts of God as revealed in His Word:there must be communion with God.

This may be brightly seen in the lives of many of the saints as recorded in His Word. Let us briefly look at three of these:Abraham, Daniel and Mary-noting, however, that Abraham possessed no written revelation of God's mind, and Daniel and Mary had but a partial one.

ABRAHAM. He was called out of idolatry, as Joshua 24:2 plainly tells us. And Stephen, in his defense before the Jewish council, says:

"The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran; and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land wherein ye now dwell" (Acts 7:2-4).

Speaking generally, Abraham walked with God. True, he swerved more than once from the path of faith and consequent strangership, but this did not characterize him. It is most refreshing to trace the pathway of the "father of the faithful." It was comparatively an uneventful one, almost free from thrilling incidents, such as marked, for example, the course of Jacob. He pursued the "even tenor of his way." He was unknown to the world. His call was to the land of Canaan, but he did not rest satisfied with that, "For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Heb. 11:10). His faith looked beyond all dispensations to the eternal state.

Furthermore, he believed in a God of resurrection:

"By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure" (Heb. 11 :17-19).

Again, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad" (John 8:56). How came he to believe in a God of resurrection, to see Christ's day and to look forward to the eternal state? Having no written revelation, I can only conceive of one answer, namely, he was in the enjoyment of communion with God.

I would specially recall the deeply interesting narrative recorded in Genesis, chap. 18. Three men came to Abraham:he rises to meet them. They gladly partake of his proffered hospitality. (With what reluctance they partook of Lot's!-chap. 19.) After announcing that Sarah would have a son, the two men went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. "And the Lord said, Shall I bide from Abraham that thing which I do?" (verse 17). The Lord was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, but He would not do so till He had first told Abraham. Precious intimacy! "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" Such words bespeak the most tender and intimate relations. We communicate our thoughts to our friends. We have no secrets to withhold from them.

Three times over in the Scriptures Abraham is spoken of as "the friend of God."

"Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? Soest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness:and he was called the Friend of God" (James 2:21-23).

Jehoshaphat, on the occasion of the invasion of Judah by the Moabites and Ammonites, besought the Lord, and m his touching supplication uses these words:

"Art not Thou our God, which didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?" (2 Chron. 20:7).

Sweet indeed to hear Abraham thus described by men of like passions with ourselves. But we have a yet closer touch in Isaiah 41:8, where we read:

"But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend."

"My friend!" And it is none other than God Himself who speaks thus of a poor creature of the dust!

Daniel was among those who were taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. He seems to have been a mere youth at the time. But he and his three young fellow-captives – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego- though submitting themselves to the Babylonian power, did not swerve from the path of faithfulness to God. In Dan. 1:5 we read:

"And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank; so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king."

Here was a real test for these young captives.

"But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself" (verse 8).

Note well, "Daniel purposed in his heart" that he would not defile himself. This is true separation to God. He refuses to eat of the king's meat. Human expediency might have led him to argue that the providence of God had placed him in this favored position in the court of the world's greatest monarch, and that it was foolish to carry his principles so far; he should accommodate himself to his circumstances. But the food he was called upon to eat had been offered to a heathen idol; therefore to eat of such was to defile himself. When the king's appointment was made known to Daniel and his companions, immediately Daniel conferred not with flesh and blood. And God honors the faith which counts upon Him.

"Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat:and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.

"As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom:and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Now at the end of the days….the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azraiah:therefore stood they before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm" (Dan. 1:11-15, 17-20).

His obedience to, and communion with, God, put Daniel in the place where he could receive those divine communications concerning the course of the four great world-empires and the millennial kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, which give to his prophecy such a fascinating charm, and without which the prophetic word as a whole would be unintelligible.

Finally I would call attention to:

Mary. In the end of Luke 10 we find the blessed Lord in the house of Martha. Martha served, but her service was cumbersome, even though she had Jesus for her guest! But Mary sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. The person of Jesus absorbed her heart, and her ear was opened to hear from His blessed lips words which were to form her thoughts after Him. For I cannot doubt that this incident throws great light upon that other instructive scene in the house of Simon, the leper, recorded in John, chap. 12. There, Jesus is the central figure. "There they made Him a supper." Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead, was at the table, and Martha served. Martha's service is here beautifully appropriate; it is no longer cumbersome, but Mary is now the specially active one.

"Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment" (verse 3).

How great is the contrast between the two scenes! Without noticing the whole scene in Simon's house, I would call attention to the words:"Suffer her to have kept this for the day of my preparation for burial" (N.T.).

She entered, probably alone, into the fact that Jesus was to die, and she anoints His body beforehand. She is not found at His tomb. May we not say that her intelligence as to this fact was obtained when she sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word?

"Yet sure if in Thy presence my soul still constant were, Mine eye would more familiar, its brighter glories bear; And thus Thy deep perfections much better should I know, And with adoring fervor, in this Thy nature grow."

May writer and reader find increasing delight in the word of God, that we may be formed in the divine nature, and thus be more to the praise of our God and Father while waiting for His Son from heaven. J. R. Elliott

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also:knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die:yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation."

We might say that this portion of the Epistle to the Romans is the very heart of the epistle, and that this epistle is the very heart of the Bible, wherein the ground of God's salvation is conclusively set forth-it is a textbook, as it were, which demands our careful attention and study. In it, the Holy Spirit through the apostle lays down the principles and foundation of God's gospel; not of salvation for sinners only, but deep and precious instruction for the saints also. It takes us out of sin and its dominion, on to the glory of God, without one charge against us.

This gospel of God existed long before this epistle was written, of course, but here it is proclaimed and expounded; as the law of gravitation existed when God created the worlds, but Sir Isaac Newton explained to us how those mighty orbs are kept in their own paths instead of clashing together. So in Romans, the ways of God in man's salvation are expounded. This brings us to our chapter.

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God," says the apostle Paul, speaking like a lawyer before the bar arguing his case. In verse 24 of the preceding chapter he says if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, we are justified by faith in Him, and have peace with God; and he cites Abraham as an example. He says, "Now it was not written for his sake alone that his faith was imputed to him for righteousness, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead."

This then is the gospel:Jesus Christ was crucified, offered Himself on the cross for our offences. Many nominally assent to this perhaps without true faith. Romanists will frankly say that He was "delivered for our offences," but it is made of no effect by all they add to it -their Church ordinances must be followed; penances endured ; extreme unction administered to the dying ; masses said for the dead; purgatory endured for the soul's cleansing, and none can say when any will be released from it! But in glorious contrast to all man's ways of meriting heaven, here is God's declaration:"Christ was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Note this, having died for our sins He was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father for our justification. He went down to death under the load of our sins. If He had not risen again, we would have no proof that our sins were put away; but since He rose from the dead, we have God's word as our authority that He was "raised again for our justification."

The raising again of our Substitute is the public declaration that righteousness has nothing against Him – therefore nothing against us!

This fifth chapter of Romans gives the blessed, happy results of being justified before God. I wonder if every one of us here has had the thrill of realizing that he is justified before God. What are the results of that justification? First, we have an established peace with God. It means that not one doubt or fear is left in our minds if we accept God's testimony. It means that there is nothing against us on God's books, that our record is wiped clean. There are Christians who do not have that peace, not because they have not been accepted, but because they have not implicit faith in what God has declared.

"By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand." That is the second result, Access- what is it? It means not only that the great barrier of my sins between me and God has been removed, but that I have title to come into God's very presence. Instead of being a stranger at the door of a king, and told by the guard that I cannot enter, I say, "I am a child of the King;" the guard salutes, I go right in and feel the Father's arms around me. Not only are we forgiven, but justified; not only justified, but we have access into God's presence-"access by faith." We can look up to God our Father and give thanks as we eat our meals. We can kneel down at night, and pour out our hearts into His ears just as truly as the little tot can snuggle into his mother's arms and tell her all his little troubles. We can lie on our beds and meditate on God's grace in accepting us in the Beloved; and in the early morning raise our heart and voice in song to Him who loves us.

And not only have we access, but we also "rejoice in hope of the glory of God." That is what we are going on to. I was talking to a brother a few days ago and we agreed that the human heart must have an object; and here we have it, the "hope of the glory of God." If we look at the past, "we have peace with God;" at the present, we have access; for the future, we have the "glory of God" in view-we are going on to it.

A few years ago we had even here in Baltimore, a glorious display of the Northern Lights. Perhaps you remember the marvelous exhibition. The whole sky was aglow with a ruddy light. I went out on a porch facing the north:it was a whole mass of glory! The light started from the horizon, sometimes red, sometimes green, sometimes golden, and the whole heavens beyond were quivering with glory. And I thought to myself, If God paints the heavens of this earth like that, what must it be before His throne! It must be an unspeakable glory, and it all shines in the blessed face of our Lord Jesus! And I was not the least afraid in the presence of that glory, for I had "peace with God," whilst some of His glory was shining before me.

And now it says, "Not only so, but we glory in tribulations also." Now we come right down to earth. God lets us have tribulations too. What does Paul mean by glorying in tribulations? Not that we seek for tribulation, but because by it God is doing something for us:"Tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."
Just a word on these things. Patience means endurance, and that means constancy. It is constancy with God that we need. Imagine one of your loved ones at home being kind to you one minute and unkind the next. It would be very grievous; wouldn't it? One of the precious things about the relationship of husband and wife is, that they know each other so well that they absolutely depend upon and trust in each other. It gives their hearts rest and peace because there is to each other loyalty and endurance that will never turn away. God wants loyalty in His people, and He cultivates it in us through trials which cast us upon Him, the true and faithful One. If we were taken away to glory when we believed, we would not have these experiences of His faithfulness and care. In trouble, how good it is to rest in the arms of One who loves us better than any one else. I was never happier than the night that I was laid on the operating-table, because I knew that God loved me better than I did myself, better even than my wife loved me. So we can sing,

"We know Thee as we could not know
Through heaven's golden years:
We there shall see Thy glorious face,
Here understand Thy tears."

Through our sorrows we know something of the sorrows of the Lord Jesus in His life of love here upon earth. We can be glad of tribulations because of their fruit. Patience results in experience; and experience in hope. And why hope? Because if we have our satisfaction here we will think of nothing else:but if we have sadness here, we think of Christ.

A missionary and his wife were giving themselves to the Lord for His work in Belgium. Before they took up this work the Lord took to Himself a dear little baby girl in whom all their affections were centered, and from the depths of their sorrow they looked to the Lord to find what their loss meant. That little child's spirit had been taken to the glory. God, who knew their hearts, knew that they were too much occupied with her, so He took the baby-and took their hearts too up there with her. Then they gave themselves to this work, and thousands have received the gospel through them. God often takes away near and dear things that our treasure may be laid up in heaven.

"The love of Christ is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." I don't know just how to explain it. All I can say is that if the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts, it will make us rejoice.

"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." That tells us why it was so long before Christ came into the world. People might say, It is very strange that generation after generation should come and go, men be steeped in sin, and yet it was so long a time before Jesus came. But verse 6 says, "In due time Christ died for the ungodly." Not beforehand, and not too late, but just in time. God had to prove to mankind how much it needed a Saviour. Through all the ages there had not been one solitary man or woman who by his own merit could be justified before God. There was not a single human soul anywhere at any time through all the dispensations that could stand before God and say in truth, "I am without fault." Job thought he could say almost that much, but afterward was obliged to confess, "I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." So in due time "Christ died for the ungodly." The very moment that you come to God and say, I am a sinner, I have been ungodly, He will take away your sin, and give you life eternal. Why? Because "Christ died for the ungodly."
"For scarcely for a righteous man will one die:yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." The first of these verses speaks of human love, and the second, of divine love. Notice the difference. The very pinnacle of human love is for a man to die for a friend. A little boat came to a landing and left its passengers. Among them was a woman with her child, busying herself with her bundles. Suddenly there was a splash. The mother looked and saw her baby in the water and she jumped in after her. She couldn't swim-and they were both drowned. You say that was an unreasonable thing to do. It certainly wasn't wise. What led the woman to jump after her child. It was just love-mother love. She gave her life for her child. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." God did not send His Son thoughtlessly, like this woman acted. No, in His counsels He had brooded over it. He had purposed to give His Son long "before the foundation of the world." What for? Good people? No, for hard-hearted rebels-for man who had turned away from Him and filled the earth with violence!

The word "commend" here is about the same as advertise. God is preaching everywhere, advertising all over this world that "God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." And, strange to say, few people will believe it! It is only when the Spirit of God works with mighty power that He can get one here, one there, to believe it.

"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." If God has done that marvelous thing, given Jesus when we were enemies, sinners, and ungodly, if He has done that un-paralleled thing, isn't He also going to do the most natural thing in the world, keep those He has justified? Do you get the point? If God has given His best gift to poor wretched sinners when they were ungodly; if Christ has died and gone through the terrors of Gethsemane, the cross, and the grave for sinners, "much more then we shall be saved from wrath through Him."

In the tenth verse is a similar argument:"If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." Verse 9 is looking on to the judgment of God. The wrath of God cannot come upon a soul that is justified. Verse 10 is looking upon the flesh, the devil, and the pitfalls and snares that come in the world. We are saved from those by His living power. His living power saves us from all the power of the enemy. Isn't it wonderful grace?

"Not only so," not only have we peace, not only are we looking in hope to the glory; not only are we kept by the power of God, but we "joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation." Let us then do as Paul did, "joy in God," and remember what God said to Abraham, "Fear not, Abram:I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."

In conclusion, the gospel begins with us in our sins, takes us up where we are, and as we are, justifies us, gives us peace with God, gives us access into His very presence, makes us "accepted in the Beloved," and fills our hearts with joy and hope and peace in believing. A. S. L.

God chastens His people that He may delight in them, and that they may delight in Him. He embitters the breast of the world to wean them from it. He suffers them not to settle upon it and fall into complacency with it, but makes it unpleasant to them by many and sharp afflictions, that they may with the more willingness come off and be untied from it, and that they may remember their true home the more, and seek their comforts above; that finding so little below they may turn unto Him, and delight themselves in communion with Him. That the sweet incense of their prayers may ascend the more abundantly, He kindles fires of trials to them. For though it should not be so, yet so it is, that in times of ease they easily grow remiss and formal in that duty.

God is gracious and wise; He knows what He doth with them, and the "thoughts that He thinks towards them" (Jer. 29:11). It all is for their advantage, for the purifying them from their iniquities. (See Heb. 11:6-11.) He purges out their impatience, their earthliness, their self-will and carnal security; and thus refines them for vessels unto honor.

In a jeweler's shop we see that as there are pearls, and diamonds, and other precious stones, so there are files, cutting instruments-many sharp tools for their polishing; and while they are in the work-house, they are continual neighbors to them, and often come under them. The Church is God's jewelry, His work-house, where His jewels are a-polishing for His palace and dwelling; and those He especially esteems and means to make most resplendent, He hath oftenest His tools upon.

I.

Moods-changeful as the ever-changing sky,
And fitful as the idly-wandering breeze,
Now shaking with stern might the forest-trees,
Now soft and gentle like a low-breathed sigh-
Vex the tried mind that tosses restlessly
In weariness alike of toil and ease-
O wayward heart, that nothing long can please,
Nor any earth-joy ever satisfy!

For there are depths unfathomed, unconfest,
Which ever and anon with upward surge,
Their way in overwhelming torrents urge,
And raise fierce tumults in the 'wildered breast,
Till, lashed as with a many-corded scourge,
The troubled spirit cries in vain for rest.

II.

The tree beneath the autumn breeze may bend,
Yet in the earth its roots are planted fast.
The April sky with clouds is overcast,
"Which in impassioned weeping-showers descend,
Whose drops, touched with returning sunlight, blend
In rainbow-glory; and, the tempest past,
The sun and sky are still the same, and last
Whate'er may hide them, changeless without end.

And there is rest in conflict; peace in strife,
Unbroken peace, though oft-times clouded o'er;
A deep pure joy 'mid tribulation sore;
Still calm within, while storms without are rife,
Fast anchored on the Rock for evermore,
No earthly harm can touch the hidden life.

I. B.

QUES. 13.-What is to be understood by the law in Rom. 2:12-15?-and how can the doers of the law be justified (ver. 13), in view of Rom. 3:9-12,19,28, and Gal. 3:10-12?

ANS.-It is the law given by Moses. It does not say, however, that any have fulfilled its demands, for it is not the hearers but the doers that it justifies. Verses 13-15 are parenthetic and explanatory of the principle. Verse 16 is the continuation from ver. 12.

But the obedience which the law demanded, but which it could not produce, is rendered by God's redeemed people-not as under the law, but in love's glad obedience to Christ; and that in the measure in which His love rules our heart. See Rom. 8:3-5 and 12:1.

QUES. 14.-Why was the Sabbath precept placed among the moral precepts in the decalogue? Paul classes it as an ordinance, with the feasts in Col. 2:14-17.

ANS.-It was the link between God and Israel as His redeemed people. In Egypt there was no Sabbath; but when brought out of their hard bondage, the Sabbath was given them as a continual reminder of that redemption. Looking upon a redeemed and obedient people God would rest in His love, and they with Him. It was soon broken. To us it is a type of that eternal rest which remaineth to the people of God. (See Heb. 4, and Gen. 2:2, 3.)

QUES. 15.-When did the priest wave the sheaf of first-fruits before the Lord? (Levit. 23:11.) Some expositors say it was the morrow after the Passover Sabbath, but is it not the weekly Sabbath that is meant?-for the Passover was a fixed date (Nisan 14), whereas the beginning of harvest would doubtless be a variable date.

ANS.-As Scripture does not define which Sabbath, it has no great importance. What is important is that its presentation before God was "on the morrow after the Sabbath"-that is, on the first day of the week. This sheaf culled from the field before harvest typifies our Lord's resurrection, "Firs-fruits of them that slept" (1 Cor. 15:20). The old week is past; God's dealing with sin is over, and "very early in the morning, the first day of the week" Christ is risen. A new era begins with His resurrection in which He associates those redeemed by His blood with Himself (John 20:17; Heb. 2:11,12). In the Aug. No. of last year's Help and Food, the article on "Jehovah's appointed Times," pp. 240-243, may interest you.

QUES. 16.-I have noticed that prayers in our meetings are usually concluded with the words, "In the name of Jesus." Should we petition our Father in the name of the Son only?

ANS._Our Lord has left us this promise:"Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:13,14). Not only does the Father associate His answers to our prayers with the delight He has in His Son, but He is justified in doing so only through the reconciliation wrought by the atoning death of His Son.

As it has often been pointed out, asking in Christ's name is not a mere putting His name at the end of one's prayer, but it is identifying ourselves in faith with Him in presenting our requests to God. Thus it is asking in accordance with His mind and character. (See 1 John 5:14,15.) Asking what is not in accord with His will and character is not asking "in His name."

I may add that prayer is often addressed to the Lord Himself. See Acts 7:59; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 12:8, etc. In general, as children of God we address the Father; as Christ's servants we address our Lord.

(Continued from page 199.)

But there is another lesson in this history to which I would call your attention.

Rebecca comes forth at the call of Abram's servant, but a character had previously been formed-as it is with us all, more or less, before we are converted. The separating call and power of the Lord is answered, but it finds us of a certain character-in a certain complexion of mind. It finds us, it may be as Cretians (Titus 1), or as brothers and sisters of Laban, or the like. Character and mind derived from nature, from education, or from family habits, we shall take with us, after we have been born of the Spirit, and carry in us from Mesopotamia to the house of Abram.

It is serious, as I observed before, that a respectable professing family is visited by a separating, and not merely by an edifying, energy of the Spirit; and serious it is that with the quickening or converting power of the Spirit, the force of early habits and education, or family character, will cling still. The story of Rebecca reads to us these serious lessons.

I need only briefly speak of what her way was in the further stages of it. It is a well-known story, sadly betraying what we may call the family character. Laban, her brother with whom she had grown up and who was evidently the active self-important one in his father's house, was a subtle, knowing, worldly man. And the only great action in which Rebecca was called to take part gives occasion to her exercising the same principles. In the procuring of the blessing for her son Jacob we see this Laban-leaven working mightily. The family character sadly breaks out then. The readiness of nature to act and take its way shows itself very busily. A mind she had too little accustomed to repose in the sufficiency of God, and too much addicted to calculate and to lean its hopes on its own inventions.

What have we to do then but to watch against the peculiar tendency and habit of our own mind-to rebuke nature sharply, that we may be sound or morally healthful in the faith (Titus 1:3); not to excuse this tendency of our nature, but rather the more to suspect it and mortify it for His sake who has given us another nature.

These lessons we get from the story of this distinguished woman. Beyond this, her way is not much tracked by the Spirit. Was it that He was grieved with her, and leaves her unnoticed? At any rate she reaps nothing but disappointment from the seed she had sown. No good comes of her schemes and contrivances, but the reverse. She loses her favorite, Jacob, and never sees him after her own schemes and contrivances ended in his long exile.

But there is this further:Jacob got his mind formed by the same earliest influence. He was all his days a slow-hearted, calculating man. His plan in getting the birthright first, and then the blessing; his confidence in his own arrangements, rather than in the Lord's promise, when he met his brother Esau; and his lingering at Shechem, and settling there instead of pursuing a pilgrim's life in the land like his fathers; all this betrays the nature and the working of the old family character.

What need have we to watch the early seed sown in the heart! Yea, to watch the early or late seed which we are helping to sow in others' hearts! For the details of this history warn us of such things still.

The birth of Esau and Jacob is given us at the close of chapter 25, and as they grow up to be boys, occasion arises to let us look in at the family scene-which is truly humbling.

This was one of the families of God then on the earth; nay, the most distinguished, in which lay the hopes of all blessing to the whole earth, and where the Lord has recorded His name.

But what do we see? Isaac the father had dropped into the stream of human desires; he loved his son Esau because he ate of his venison! Esau, as a child of the family, was entitled to the care and provision of the house, and Isaac and Rebecca surely gave him all that, together with their parental love; but for Isaac to make him his favorite because he ate of his venison, this was sad and evil indeed. Do we not in this see some further illustration of our subject? Isaac had been reared tenderly.
He had never been away from the side of his mother, the child of whose old age he was. His education perhaps had relaxed him too much, and he appears before us as a soft, self-indulgent man.

But, oh, what sad mischief opens to our view in all this family scene! Are we saying too much, that one parent was catering to nature in one of the children, and the other to the other? Isaac's love of venison may have encouraged Esau in the chase, as Rebecca's cleverness, brought from her brother's house in Paran, seems to have formed the mind and character of her favorite Jacob.

Oh, what sorrow and cause of humiliation is here! Is this a household of faith? Is this a God-fearing family? Yes, children of promise and heirs of His kingdom are these:Isaac, Rebecca, and Jacob. At another time and in other actions they delight and edify us. See Isaac in the greater part of chapter 26; his conduct is altogether worthy of a heavenly stranger on the earth:suffering, he threatens not, but commits himself to Him who judges righteously. He suffers, and takes it patiently; and his altar and his tent witness his holy, unearthly character. So with Rebecca in chapter 24. In faith she consents to cross the desert alone with a stranger, because her heart was set upon the heir of the promises, leaving home and kindred, "forgetting her father and her father's house." But here in chap. 27, what shame fills the scene, and we blush and are confounded that heirs of promise and children of God could so carry themselves!

But, alas! the heart is not only base and corrupt, it is daring also, taking its naughtiness even into the sanctuary, as the close of this story shows.

The word to Aaron, long after this, was, "Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation" (Lev.10:9). For nature was not to be animated in order to wait on the service of God. Nature was not to be raised, or set in action, by its food, for the fulfilling of the duties of the sanctuary; strong drink might exhilarate and give ebullition to animal spirits, but this was not the qualification of a priest.

But even into such a mischief as this Isaac seems to have been betrayed. "Take, I pray thee," said he to Esau, "thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; and make me savory meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die." He was going to do the last religious act of a patriarchal priest, and he calls (as for wine and strong drink) for the food of mere nature to animate and fill him for the service of conferring God's blessing! What abomination!

We may all be conscious how much of nature soils our holy things; how much of the excitement of the flesh may be mistaken for the work of the Spirit. We may be aware of this in the places of communion, and to our sorrow; we confess it as evil, and weakness, and watch against it; but to prepare for this is sad abomination.

We know full well the guile that Rebecca and Jacob practiced in this scene. Nothing comes of this subtlety and fleshliness. The holiness of the Lord lays it all in ashes. Isaac loses his Esau; Rebecca never sees Jacob again, for her promised "few days" were an exile of twenty years, and the calculating supplanter finds himself in the midst of toils, and an alien from his father's house for a long and dreary season. All is disappointment, and rebuked by the holiness of the Lord.

But it remains for us to see grace assuming its high, triumphant place and attitude. Its holiness is established thus by the Lord with great decision, setting aside all advantages which sin had promised itself; and then divine grace reigns.

In the great mystery of redemption, grace takes its triumphant place in the promise that the Seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head; but there is also the full execution of all the decrees of holiness against the sin- for death came in as was threatened, and penalties fell on the man, and on the woman, and a curse upon the serpent. So here:Isaac loses his purpose touching Esau; Rebecca has to part with Jacob; and Jacob himself, instead of getting the birthright and the blessing in his own way, has to go forth a penniless exile from the place of his inheritance, and the scene of all his promised enjoyments. The only wages of sin is death; but grace takes its high place, and shines through Jehovah's burning holiness.

Even the misery to which his sin had reduced the object of God's grace sets off its glory. When Abram's servant had of old gone forth on a like errand (chap. 24) he had camels and attendants to make his journey across this very desert honorable and pleasant. But now the son and heir for whom the honor of the house and the joys of the marriage were preparing, has to lie down alone, unfriended, uncared-for, unsheltered, the stones of the place his only pillow. But grace, which turns the shadow of death into the morning, is preparing a glorious rest for him:he listens to the Voice of wondrous love, and he is shown worlds of light in this place of solitude and darkness. He dreams, and sees the high heavens open to him in that dark and barren spot on which he then lay, and he hears the Lord of heaven at the top of this mystic scene, speaking to him in words of promise only! He sees himself, though so erring, so poor, and so vile, thus associated with an all-pervading glory, full of present mercies, and consolations. The holiness of grace still leaves him a wanderer; but the riches of grace will tell him of present consolation and of future sure glories. But this has borne me a little beyond my immediate subject.

There is then such a thing as family character; and the recollection of this, when we are dealing with ourselves, should make us watchful and jealous over all our peculiar habits and tendencies; and when we are dealing with others should make us considerate and of an interceding spirit, remembering that there is a force of early habit and education working more or less in all of us. But let us not forget that, if a certain family character cling to us, or habits, with which birth has connected us, so are we debtors to exhibit that character with which our birth and education in the heavenly family have since connected us.

In the 8th chapter of John the Lord reasons upon this ground that our sonship or birth, or family connections, is to be determined by our character or doings. "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham." Thus we see the necessity of our bearing the character of that family into which the new birth introduces.

But we are exhorted also to the same thing-to take after our Father's character in the cultivation of all virtues; as the Lord says, "Be ye perfect;" and the apostle takes up the same thought in pressing the duty of love and forgiveness, "Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children."

Oh, then, that we may be set on the cultivation of this family character! Let the old man go down and the new man rise and assert his place in us! Let the character we have gathered from natural ties or natural habits be watched against, and the character of our heavenly birth be cherished and expressed to His praise who has begotten us again out of the death in which we lay, but now alive to and with Himself. J. G. B.

(To be continued, D. V.)

Calendar:Oct. 16th to Nov. 15th

DAILY BIBLE READING:………Oct. 10th, Prov. 27; Oct. 31st, Ecc. 2; Nov. 15th, Isa. 6.

GOOD READING:. .. . ."The Minor Prophets," by H. A. I. Pages 359-389.

Daily Bible. Reading

Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon form the major part of our reading for this month. These books are a great contrast to each other.

In the first we have Solomon, as specially endowed with wisdom, and having exceptional resources with power to use them, putting fully to the test all that is "done under the sun." He enters into every form of experience, and his quest results in pronouncing "Vanity and vexation of spirit" upon all of man's varied activities.

This book gives us the testing of the whole system of things built up by men, and it is proved not to possess the satisfying and abiding portion which the human heart needs. How good to turn from this to the blessed Son of God and receive from Him the gift of living water which always satisfies, and as an upspringing well gives the joy and blessings of eternal things-those which are above where Christ is sitting who is our life. He is not of this world.

It is that blessed Person, our Saviour, the One to whom we belong, who comes before us in the Song of Solomon, than which there is no more beautiful picture of spiritual affections. Though primarily referring to Israel, and the forming of relationship between her and Christ as Messiah under the new covenant, so that it figures the intimacy and blessing into which the true Israel will be brought in the days of the coming kingdom, yet since the Church is now brought into the blessing of new covenant grace, so that as to relationship there is what is common to both, it has its application to the Church and her glorious Head, who as the Beloved nourishes and cherishes it as His Bride. Viewed in this way, and meditated upon in the soul's secret communion with the Lord, much that is precious and touchingly suggestive of the divine affections, whether in the Lord or as produced through grace in His people, will be found presented in this little book.

Our Good Reading

This continues in the prophet Zechariah, and covers chapters 7 to 10 inclusive.

Chapters 7 and 8 form the second division, and present certain moral lessons drawn from the past. These are applied to the time then present and the future. They serve to illustrate both the holy government and rich grace of Jehovah, the latter especially, in the salvation and blessing here foretold. The occasion for this instruction is given by the people's inquiry as to observing the annual fasts which commemorated special calamities in their past history.

In chapter 7 we get Jehovah's rebuke for hypocrisy and rebellion. The lesson is that He must be sanctified in those that draw near to Him.

The first part of the next chapter (vers. 1-17) gives Jehovah's comfort and instruction for the remnant. It deals with the salvation and establishment of Judah and Israel in the land under God's blessing and through His power.

The next section (8:18-23) speaks of the day of revival when Israel's fasts shall be turned to joyful feasts, when, as Isaiah says, it will be "the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."

The remainder of the book (chs. 9-14) forms the third division. It gives in considerable detail the various circumstances and events which bear a relation to the glorious accomplishment of those promises concerning the future destiny of the covenant people, and the city of Jerusalem in particular-promises which have been already given in the earlier chapters.

In the first section (chs. 9, 10) we have Jehovah displaying His might in judgment upon all that offends, so that His people are delivered and made strong in Him. In chapter 9 Jehovah's power smiting the oppressor is the prominent feature. Chapter 10 presents the salvation-blessings of the people, who are brought through conflict and affliction to strength and increase as the redeemed of the Lord.

The commandment of the Lord that "women keep silence in the churches" (1 Cor. 14:34) has been the subject of much study, of discussion and debate. Yet, occasionally, a remark from a sister indicates that she does not understand the reason, and that there remains a more or less subdued protest in her mind to what she instinctively feels to be an assignment to a place of inferiority. Why is this? Because she does not perceive the purpose of the love that ordained the commandment.

Man, in the assembly, unquestionably occupies an important place:if he speaks, he is to speak as the oracles of God (1 Pet. 4:11); he is thus to represent CHRIST- both in the gospel and all public ministry, especially in the midst of the assembly; it is a ministry characteristically of the mind or spirit.

If the man is a type of Christ in the assembly, the woman is a type of the BRIDE of Christ. The Bride is silent in the presence of the Bridegroom, her Lord-listening to His voice, as is fitting, in silence! The response is in the love and worship to Him who loved her and gave Himself for her-the spontaneous and beautiful language that He understands and appreciates.

Is the woman's place, then, an inferior one? Not so. If the Lord has kept her from occupying the public position before man, it is to shut her in the more to that rich and precious ministry of the heart before Him; she is peculiarly representing His bride, whose blessed eternal occupation, or privilege, is primarily to glorify the Lord Jesus, "to show forth His excellencies." Which is of the highest value-service or worship? Which the gold, and which the silver? There is but one answer, to which Scripture uniformly witnesses.

Beloved sisters, the Lord has given you an exceedingly precious place and privilege. Service there is for you, surely, and abundantly. But that should not be the primary object of your life. That was Martha's error; she was "cumbered about much serving" (Luke 10:40), and was rather reproved than commended. Mary illustrates the more approved place, at His feet, beholding Him, listening to His words, communing with Him- could she do less than worship? Could she be less than blest even with the un-worded language of love? How refreshing this must have been to Him in the wilderness-life that He was treading, surrounded by the hatred of man spite of His love! So your worship is as fragrant incense to His heart, a little fruit from His vineyard for His own taste. Would you give Him joy? He has shown you what is His greatest appreciation.

The sister's place therefore, is one of highest privilege- occupation with the Lord of Life. The brother should also so be occupied if he would really serve-but there is a difference in appointment. This heart-occupation brings into fullest knowledge and fellowship with Christ (John 17:2). To be conformed to His glorious image is the prize of our high calling; and the Lord Himself has drawn the sister's path on earth in such a way that, it seems to me, she should reach the goal first. In eternity, we shall surely find as great a degree of glory conferred upon the obscure sister who has steadfastly traveled the appointed path with her Lord, as upon the brother who through the Holy Spirit's power has won a thousand souls to Christ. May sisters, and brothers too, strive for the prize of His approval. It is worth obtaining.

"Oh, to be nearer Thee, my Saviour;
Oh, to be filled with Thy sweet grace;
Oh, to abide in Thine own favor,
Oh, to behold Thy glorious face!"

R. P. H.