(1) What is the scope of the will of God?
(2) How can we know what the Lord's own will is?
(3) How are we to be maintained in this pathway?

These questions arise from a genuine desire to know how to put into practice some of the great truths of Scripture. We learn from many passages in the New Testament that the one great aim and object of our lives should be to do the will of God.

The scope of God's will reaches up to the highest point of His purposes in Christ, and down to the smallest detail of our lives. "It begins in heaven and reaches down to the kitchen," according to Spurgeon. In the first we are lifted up to Christ where He is; in the second He is brought down to us where we are. The first sets forth the favor in which we are in Christ before God; the second, the grace that there is for us in Christ for all the vicissitudes of the life of faith and obedience below. It is Christ either way; we in Him on the one hand, He for us and in us on the other. We are instructed as to the first in the early or doctrinal parts of such Epistles as those to the Ephesians and Colossians; as to the latter, in the practical or hortatory parts of these and other Epistles. Indeed, we cannot leave out any part of the Word, if we are to stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

But the exercises that lead to our questions lie more on the side of our daily life, and our desire to please God in all things and to know His will in matters about which the Word gives no special direction. "To begin well is half the battle," is an old saying, and it is certainly that and more in this matter. To begin with the desire to do His will is to begin well. How often we wish that the thing that we would like was His will for us. Our desire is for our own will, and we pray, perhaps eagerly and often, that it might be so. A little girl one night added to her usual prayer, "And please, God, make Manchester the chief city in Great Britain." "Whatever made you pray like that?" asked her mother. "I said it was in my exam, paper today," answered the tearful and doubtful little maid, "and I want it to be." Yes, often we want a thing to be, and want it so passionately that we are not in a fit state of mind and heart to learn what the will of God is about it.

"If any man will do His will he shall know…" There we must begin; and we do begin there when we understand that God's will for us in everything springs from His great love; that it is not against us at any point, but is against everything that would be harmful to us. This is proved in the Epistle to the Romans. There we are able to trace out all the way that God has taken to bless us, and we have to exclaim at the end of the review, "God is for us; who can be against us?" And "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32). Can we trust a love like that?-a love that would stop at nothing when our good was in view? Then let us trust it fully and say, The will of God is "good and perfect and acceptable" (chap. 12:2). But to prove it there must be subjection to God. But is subjection difficult when it is perfect love that asks for it? "Yield yourselves unto Got! as those that are alive from the dead" (chap. 6:13), is such a reasonable exhortation that the heart that knows His love responds to it naturally and at once.

Granted then the willing mind to be subject to God, and that confidence of heart that trusts Him and leaves the consequences with Him, since He sees the end from the beginning and cares for us with a Father's love and care, the next thing needed is nearness to Himself. If we walk with God as Enoch and Noah and Abraham did, we shall become conversant with His will even when it has not been definitely expressed. We can understand this in natural things. I knew a boy who when asked to do certain things said, "No; my father would not wish me to do that." Yet his father had expressed no will as to the matter at all. The lad knew his father's thoughts through companionship with him and did not require a definite word on the matter.

Psalm 32:8, 9 shows us God's way of leading us. "I will instruct and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:I will guide thee with mine eye." But such guidance calls for nearness to God and that sensitiveness of soul that responds to His instruction. If we are not near Him we are like the horse and the mule that do not know their owner's will except by the check and pull of the bit and bridle. This life of nearness to God and obedience to His will was perfectly portrayed for us in the Lord's life on earth. He is our pattern.

We are maintained in this path by the grace and company of the Lord Himself, and apart from Him we could not tread it, for often:

"Across the will of nature, leads on the path of God,
Not where the flesh delighteth, the feet of Jesus trod."

Yet when we step out on that path,

"We leave at once behind us the fetters of the slave,
We leave ourselves behind us, the grave-clothes and the grave."

It is the path for those who are alive from the dead, and immediately we step into it we find that we have a traveling companion. He hath said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Heb. 13:5). "Thou art with me, Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me" (Ps. 23:4). Cultivate the thought of the Lord as your traveling companion in the path of faith and obedience to God's will, and the sufficiency of His grace for you in it will not be a doctrine only but a blessed experience. He comes down to us in all the sufficiency of His grace to keep us from stumbling in the path of God's will, and at the end of it He will present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, and to Him be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen. J. T. Mawson

(Matt. 7:13-15.)

Our Lord in Matt. 7:13-15 is speaking of the entrance to Life, in contrast with that to destruction. It is a gospel message. His words are, "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life; and few there be that find it." God's way of salvation is exact; it is circumscribed; it admits of no substitutes. "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life:no one cometh to the Father but by ME" (John 14:6)

False prophets in sheep's clothing are ever ready to present a "wide gate" and a "broad way" of approach unto God, but He warns against them in no uncertain terms:"Beware of false prophets."

But that the Christian's pathway of life is strait and narrow is not the truth. For it is wide, wide as the whole earth, and broad as the confines of human need. Yea, it is high as God's throne of grace, and deep as the love of Christ; while the sinner's course, in his sins, is narrow exceedingly;, for self is" its limits.

Those who are "born of God," and value their birthright, do not crave nor relish the fleeting pleasures and passing glory of "this present evil age," they give up but little when they abstain from them; for their inheritance is without limitation. "Therefore let no one glory in men; for all are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; ALL ARE YOURS; and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's" (1 Cor. 3:21-23).

What a "perfect law of liberty!" What a limitless field of usefulness! What freedom to go where the eternal Spirit may lead, and to do whatsoever He plans for us! This is freedom indeed; with mind, hands and feet unshackled by things of earth "to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven."

The pathway often may be rough and steep, with quagmires and pitfalls to hinder; but what earthly soldier cares for any such difficulties when he presses on with victory in sight? But we Christians are not to use carnal weapons for "the pulling down of strongholds." Yet what of that when we are "mighty through God" to accomplish these exploits? (2 Cor. 10:4).

What if we are to "hold aloof from every form of wickedness?" That is not bondage; that does not tie our hands any more than it does to avoid pestilence or poisonous reptiles! Neither does God's holy Word lead us into a narrow, monastic pathway of life in order to flee away from all that dishonors Him; for such a cramped position tends only to dwarf and blight the fruit-bearing branches. Our "life in Christ Jesus" is a growing, fruitful life; it expands; "its branches shoot over the wall."

Not only are the children of God free as to our pathway of life, but we are free from the penalty and the power of sin through the shed blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; free, as the children of Israel were from Egypt's bondage as they stood triumphant on the East shore of the Red Sea. Thus we are enabled to fulfil Gal. 5:1-"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage."
All these blessings are our present possession, as we wait for "the liberty of the glory of the children of God" (Rom. 8:21). And so we may be care-free also, "with a song in our mouth."

"I sing because I'm happy,
I sing because I'm free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me."

There is the possibility, of course, that our liberty in Christ may be abused in one way or another, and so we have Paul's warning in Gal. 5:13, with many other Scriptures to mark the trail-"For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion for the flesh, but by love serve one another."

And this service of love to one another may not be wholly in material things; but as in Col. 2:18, 19 – "Holding fast the Head, from whom all the Body, ministered to and united together by the joints and bands, increases with the increase of God." H. Cowell

(Matt. 26:51, 52; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:49-51; John 18:10,11.)

At the time of the arrest of Jesus, one of His disciples draws a sword and smites a servant of the high priest, cutting off an ear.

John alone mentions that it was Simon Peter who did this, and he also tells the name of the servant, Malchus. But all four of the Evangelists mention the incident. Luke and John specify that it was the right ear; and Luke records that Jesus touched his ear and healed him. While Matthew and John relate that Jesus commanded the offender to put up his sword, Mark says nothing as to what Jesus did in the matter.

The spiritual application commonly made, is no doubt a correct one, namely, that the cutting off of the ear corresponds to hasty, rash or ill-advised methods of attacking error. The effect being to repel, the ear is lost; there is no inclination to listen further.

The gospel, too, may be presented in such manner as to repel rather than attract. Severe condemnation, which might be appropriate under given circumstances to hopelessly hardened rebels, if applied to honest inquirers, or to sinners in general, would be quite out of accord with true wisdom. We learn this from the Lord's own gracious yet searching words.

The fact that this rash act of Peter's is recorded in all four Gospels perhaps should impress upon us a warning against rashness and hastiness of speech. "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God" (James 1:19, 20).

And the fact that the healing of the man's ear is mentioned in only one of the Gospels may teach us probably, that the ill effect of intemperate words is hard to repair.

Malchus means "kingly." We may think, perhaps, of this servant of the high priest as being a worthy man who was misled, and who might be recovered by right persuasion. And this would be the case with some op-posers of the truth, who are stumbled or repelled by the violent attack of rash zeal.

Simon Peter, who did this rash act, did not really correspond to his name till after Pentecost. While going about with the Lord, apart from his one grand confession, twice stated (Matt. 16:16; John 6:68,69), he frequently said the wrong thing. Instead of being a listener (Simon), quietly hearing and understanding his Master, he gave expression to his own thoughts; and instead of being a stone (Peter), solid and dependable for God's building, he was impetuous and unreliable. And he reached the climax of both shortcomings in his sad denial of his Master. But in a blessed way he answered to his name afterward.

Then too, in differences between brethren, how we need to beware lest the spirit of Galatians or of James 3:5, 6 overtake us:"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this:Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another." "Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell." Wounds made in such a way are very hard to heal, The "brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city" (Prov. 18:19); whereas we are told, to speak that "if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother" (Matt. 18:IS). Let us remember that:"The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves" (2 Tim. 2:24-26). Read also 2 Cor. 5:11,20; 10:1; Eph.4:1-3,31,32; 5:1,2.

Incidentally, we may notice something else from this subject of Malchus' ear. The verity of the Bible record of miracles is attested even by the manner of their narration. The record of such a miracle as the above, if written by a wonder-monger, would certainly not have lacked detail, as the Bible narrative does. A comparison of traditional stories of miracles will show the contrast. For instance, here the questions might be asked by some curious person, Did Jesus pick up the cut-off ear and attach it, causing it to be as before, or did He supply a new ear? How came it that Peter cut off just an ear, when if it were a matter of defense, more desperate measures seemed to be required? Did Peter really aim at the man's head, but did the man dodge the blow, and thus suffer only the loss of an ear?

Such details would not be lacking in a made-up story intended merely to excite wonder; but, as has been observed, the very temperance of Scripture narrative is a wonder, and should bring conviction that the Divine Spirit is behind the Book. Moral and spiritual lessons are to the front everywhere in the Bible, rather than what might satisfy merely temporal or historical interest.

E. B. Craig

Prayer involves a great deal more than the mere question whether God can or cannot, will or will not, hear us and grant us the petitions we have desired of Him. We come to Him as creatures to the Creator, as needy to Him who is able to succor, as children to a Father. But we come also as those whose needs are too often the result of their own sin, as creatures who have rebelled, as children who have not, as they ought, either loved, or desired, or done the Father's will. In a word, all our days have been and (alas, that it need be said) will be tainted by sins of defect and commission, and this taint of sin comes into our prayers and our holiest occupations. Hence

deep moral questions of state of soul and of spiritual discipline are involved. We pray for relief in circumstances into which we have been brought by our own sin, or by the sin of others. The consequences of our own folly make us cry out for deliverance, yet if the relief and deliverance were granted at once, we might miss the spiritual discipline that underlies all God's ways with us. The results of the past cannot be ignored:the future must ever be kept in view. He might be a fond, but he certainly would be a very foolish, parent who, at the first tear of his child, removed the thing that distressed the little heart. It is with tears that our children learn to read; infinite drudgery and real pains are incurred in the training of eye and voice, ear and hand, in fitting them for life and its labors and delights. Harder still are the lessons by which they learn self-denial, self-sacrifice, thoughtfulness for others, sympathy, tenderness. Yet a wise discipline remembers the past and keeps the future in view; from a wider experience and a larger outlook than our children possess, we know that culture of mind and of character can be carried on only by what to them appears to be unnecessary pains, and for their sake we seem to shut our hearts to their sighs and their tears. We seem, I say; for their sorrows are a burden to us, and at times we are weakly tempted to ease matters for them, but that we know it would be to their loss. Do we wish to think of God as an easy-going parent, who at our clamor removes us from the school to which He sees fit to send us?

And so many a petition, that seems to have been asked in vain, has a reason for the refusal. Not that we always know the reason; if we did, there would be little demand upon our faith-and let us remember that faith in God rather than sight is the characteristic of the Christian life (2 Cor. 5:7). We know God, but we do not always know the reason of His actions. At times, it may be, we suspect a reason, though we refuse to recognize it even to our own hearts. At others we are in the dark, and can only fall back upon our trust in God and say, "He doeth all things well." Thrice did St. Paul pray that his "stake in the flesh" might be removed, but the only answer was, "My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in weakness"(2 Cor. 12:9). That a petition should be answered in our sense is no proof that it is asked according to the Divine will, or that the Divine blessing rests upon our scheme. "Thou saidst, 'Give me a king and princes.' I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath" (Hos. 13:10,11). "He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls" (Ps. 106:15). On the other hand, what gracious lessons have come to the soul through what has seemed the most crushing refusal. Many a man looks back to nights of watching beside his dying child, when he almost hoped the little one would be taken to end its torturing pain. For prayer seemed unavailing; God was "silent" to him (Ps. 28:1), and faith and unfaith made his soul their battle-field. And when the little life ebbed out in the cold, grey dawn, and Death was in the home as he had never been before, and Sorrow became a closer companion than in days past, the riddle of it all seemed so insolvable, that the only refuge for the heart was a dumb acceptance of an unintelligible will. "I was dumb.. .because Thou didst it" (Ps. 39:9). Others there are whose lot is grinding poverty, or perpetual pain, or the recurring disappointments that crush all hope out of life. Prayer is in vain:or the answer that seems on the point of being given is snatched away; hope revives only to be quenched, while the hands fall listless and the heart well-nigh breaks. Does God mock? Is His arm shortened? Has He blundered? For some do not hesitate to say that He has, and to our physical and mental sorrow is added the torturing suggestions of unbelief. For we see no purpose, no plan, no evidence of power, no token of love, in the ills that assail. And the chilled heart recalls, though it may not concur in, the words of the so-called sceptic of the Old Testament, "All things come alike to all:there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked" (Eccles. 9:2). Happy the man who in such circumstances still retains the trust of the Psalmist:"O my God, my soul is cast down within me… all Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me. Yet the Lord will command His loving-kindness in the day time, and in the night His song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life" (Ps. 42:6-8). We remember the words of the Lord Jesus, though it may be we divert them from their primary meaning, "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter" (John 13:7). The "hereafter" may be soon; it may come after many years; we may have to wait for the unfoldings of eternity. But seeing that God is training us for this life and not only for eternity, I think we may say that He usually lifts the veil from His mysterious ways, even in this land of shadows, for "the meek will He teach His way." And in the "hereafter" of Christ's promise, come it soon or late, the soul discerns some of the lessons of God's schooling, and sees that though some particular prayer has not been answered, desires have been awakened that otherwise would have slept; sympathies have been quickened, perils have been avoided, and deep longings of the soul have had their answer even by that refusal. W. J.

When the sons of Jacob first went to Egypt they were placed in a good part of the land. It was the best there was for pasturage for their flocks and herds. There they had no distress; there was no cry for deliverance, for was not Joseph occupying the highest place in the power of Pharaoh to give? Left to enjoy such prosperity they would never have taken a step towards Canaan, their own country, but would have settled down to dwell in Egypt. For what incentive was there to leave Egypt and take that long arduous journey to a strange land of which they knew almost nothing?

But Joseph died, also the kings who knew him. They were of the same stock, friendly to Joseph's race, but hated by the Egyptians. It was not the mere interplay of events which brought about the oppression, but back of it was the same Jehovah who made the covenant with Abram recorded in Gen. 15, and who said to him:"Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in , a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge:and afterward shall they come out with great substance."

From having great prosperity they had descended to slavery, oppressed even more than most slaves, because Egypt both hated and feared them. Then it was that they began to be weaned from the charm and allurements of Egypt. The record reads:"The children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to God by reason of their bondage" (Exod. 2:23). The deliverance was complete; they were brought out of bondage and out of Egypt; and their distress:the cry:the deliverance brought out of bondage and out of Egypt; and their distress, their cry, and their deliverance in this instance became a pattern and example of manifold future deliverances.

When the believer is greatly prospered in the things of this life, has abundance, with little or no distress, he is very apt to lose that living communion and fellowship with God which makes him like a plant growing in the bright sun. Christians are often greatly hindered by much worldly prosperity and success in the things of this life. The world has nothing else, nothing better. Their all is here. When they die they leave all they have here in the world. The child of God is not so; he has something immeasurably better, but there is still the temptation to love the world and the things of the world. This always causes eternal loss; and to save His people from settling down in the world, God sends distress, so that their hearts may not be tangled up with the pleasant things of the world.

Psalm 107 is a song for just such experiences, and is profitable for frequent reading. It has four pictures of distress; of a time of crying to God; then deliverance. In each case the distress, the cry, the deliverance is recounted, then follows the exhortation, "Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" Hence it is that a time of general distress like the present, is a time for crying to God for deliverance from-not only the distress which comes from the world, but from its allurements. It is not an evil to have all our props removed so that we stand in entire dependence upon God for even everyday necessities. It is a good thing to be placed where we have to cry to God, where we are really in ;;distress, so that we have to cry to Him for what we need. Then we are learning the great lesson taught all through Scripture of the distress into which God often brings His children, their cry to Him and then their blessed deliverance. The three go together, and if we realize it, we shall be praising Him for the distress which leads us to cry to Him for the deliverance which is sure to come.

Best of all, perhaps, is the praise for deliverance experienced. We have learned new lessons of His care, His love, His goodness, worth vastly more than they cost. For whatever brings us to know more of God is indeed a blessing. That is really our greatest acquisition here in this world-the getting to know our God better. The more we learn of His goodness, the more our praises in-What comfort and good cheer are in that psalm! Every thing. He does two things; He sends the distress and the deliverance. We do two things also; we cry and we praise. These sum up the believer's life here.

Israel's experience in Egypt answers to this. Jehovah sent the distress; they cried. He gave the deliverance; they praised Him. That is the program of Psalm 107. What comfort and good cheer are in the psalm! Every believer is living continually a life described in some part of it. Sometimes it is for our sins we are afflicted, and are compelled to cry to God because of the afflictions which He sends. But that is not a necessary part of the believer's life. Those who sail the sea of life see His wonders in the deep. The blessed, glorious part of this is that God both raises and calms the storms.

This is the greatest comfort. No storm comes but Christ is there. No cry is made that He does not hear. That is the glorious truth that shines out all through the Psalms and the Epistles. If trouble comes, He comes with it. You are to watch for Him in it. How very great the comfort of this! It cannot be any heavier than He makes it. It cannot last any longer than He wills and permits. Hence all trouble, trial, distress, brings us right into the presence of Infinite Love.

We learn to submit; we learn to trust. As we go on, these become "second nature" to us. We not only learn to rejoice and praise after the storm but in it.

"For every tribulation,
For every sore distress,
In Christ I've full salvation,
Sure help and quiet rest."

This is what the lives of God's people are in this world. Prayer and praise on our part, inspired by the faith that dwells in us; experiences of His love, His delivering power; the growing in the knowledge of God, learning more of His power and wisdom. How very far such a life is from so much that passes for Christian living.

"This one thing I do," said Paul. "Study to show thyself approved unto God," he wrote to Timothy. He could not write "approved unto men." Faith is never guided by the world's approval. Are we seeking God's approval or man's? Is Christ or the world in our minds and hearts? God knows our hearts and their dangers, and it may well be that the distresses we experience are His way of keeping us from that which would bring eternal harm to us. If we separate our distresses from His care and love, we shall lose much. All parts of our lives are to be looked at in connection with Christ, especially our trials and deliverances.

Prayer and praise will make up a large part of our time spent with Him, if we are walking in His path here. They will be in our minds as we go about our daily employment. Whatever the outward life and ways may be, we can be walking with God. Busy or out of work, the heart turns to its refuge and rest in all the experiences of each day. The days may be full of blessings with no distressing trials. Then we can praise Him for this. "In everything give thanks." We thank and praise Him for deliverances wrought; we do the same for blessings received. Such lives glorify Him. J. W. Newton

Calendar:Oct. 16th to Nov. 15th

DAILY BIBLE READING ……. .Oct. 16th, Ezekiel 32; Oct. 31st, Ezekiel 47; Nov. 15th, Hosea 2

SUPPLEMENTARY READING. .Oct. 16th, Hebrews 11; Oct. 31st, 2 Pet. 3; Nov. 15th, Rev. 7.

In the beginning of Christianity God was pleased to work special miracles, in order to call attention to the truth being presented then for the first time.

Among these it was permitted, it would seem, that the shadow of Peter, falling upon sick folk, should lead to their physical healing (Acts 5:15).

Making an application of this we may learn an important lesson, for we all cast shadows upon others. In our case it will be for moral and spiritual good, or it will be for moral and spiritual evil.

Certain it is, however, that our shadow-influence produces an effect of some kind upon all those with whom we come into contact. And certain it is that we are casting this shadow-influence upon all we meet and at all times.

We may wish to avoid this effect but we cannot do so. Moreover, we can never stop the influence produced, however much we might so desire.

If we throw a stone into a pool there will be a splash, and then eddies will form and widen and extend as they circle over the face of the water, until all the pool has been agitated and affected.

Thus it is with our influence. The outcome of it goes on and on and can never be stayed. The "eddies" will continue, not only through our short lives here but will continue still when our little history on earth is closed.

Serious thoughts are these; are they not?

This energy or potency of our influence produces effects invisibly and insensibly. Others may not be aware of it and we may not be conscious of it ourselves. Nevertheless the consequences are certain. The outcome may be manifest almost at once. On the other hand it may not be seen for years.

Many are the instances which might be cited showing the importance of our example as Christians being of such a character that all may rightly imitate us.

A well-known preacher tells of a time when he was journeying through the country with his little son. Someone remarked to him that his boy was speaking to the father's friends in just the same way that the father himself spoke to them. He added, "It is amusing. Isn't it?"

To the preacher it was anything but amusing. "If my boy is to speak as I speak, and walk as I walk, then God help me to walk as a Christian," he exclaimed.

One of the saddest memories of the writer is this. In his school life before he came into the marvelous light of Christ, he was affecting his schoolmates. His influence was mostly for evil, he fears. He knows that it was so in some cases. He had been affected in a wrong
direction by others, and helped to form and mold the lives of those in his class.
Grace has wrought with him and made him desire to bring others to know and serve the gracious Lord and Saviour whom he has come to trust and worship.

But what about his early companions? They are all gone from his presence and from his possible aid. He helped them down years ago. He cannot help them up today. And he thinks with sorrow how they will have formed the thoughts and histories of others by their influence.

"What manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation (manner of life) and godliness," exclaims Peter, as he thinks of the end of all things being at hand. As we think of the unending character of our influence may we not apply the words to our own course?

If we "walk in the Spirit" we shall be blessed ourselves and be a blessing to others. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. If "filled with the Spirit," and to this we are exhorted by the apostle Paul (Eph. 5:18), these graces of Christ will be produced. Then we shall cast a shadow-influence of good and blessing day by day.

And a wonderful favor and privilege this is that by the power of the Holy Spirit something of Christ may be displayed in us.

But let us remember that we do cast a shadow of some kind wherever we go. Inglis Fleming

From the Old Testament Scriptures we learn that the "tithe" was a tenth of the first fruits of the ground, as also of flock and herd, which belonged to God (2 Chron. 31:5-12). Not that He was in need, but to ever keep in mind their stewardship-their utter dependence upon HIM.

In 1 Cor. 3:9 we have this significant statement:"Ye are God's husbandry," or, "tillage." Here, then is the setting for the spiritual significance of the tithes. And God looks to us, we to whom He has entrusted these "fields" of our Christian lives, for the "first fruits" thereof. Thus He claims what is HIS OWN; not the "gleanings," but the very first of our lives' harvest.

And these first fruits are expressed, for instance, in the "walk in newness of life," outlined more fully in "the fruit of the Spirit;" and may we not include that sweet "fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ"? The very first of those first fruits is love to Christ ABOVE ALL ELSE; a love begotten of God in the soul, the "first love" which is precious to Him, but which, alas, may be "left" for some other object.

But if Christ is the one absorbing Object before the soul, there will be the desire to learn about Him-the persistent study of God's Word to that end; a love for perishing souls; the fervent prayer; a zealous care for one another in Christ; a conservation of one's time for God that it be not wasted-all these are the "tithes" that God looks for, and demands from His "husbandry."

On the other hand, if we must seek the trivial pleasures of the world to satisfy the heart's desires, we are robbing God of His tithes! When we spend precious moments poring over senseless fiction, or indulging in "foolish talking or jesting," we neglect to "bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there be meat in My house" (Mal. 3:8-12).

Then from the negative side:when we do not eat and drink, or "do all to the glory of God," we still rob Him of His tithes! When we neglect to "pray without ceasing," forget to thank Him for all the blessings received; or neglect the admonition, "Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ," we verily rob God of His tithes!

As to Christian giving, we have a lovely type of it in Exodus, chaps. 35,36. God did not demand a tenth of what the Israelites had received from the Egyptians- their wages for the four hundred years of service there! He left their offerings to "a willing heart," in His call for materials with which to build Him a dwelling-place. In the tithe we see the principle of law; in those free gifts, the principle of love. In the one there is, "Thou shalt;" in the other, "Whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it an offering of the Lord." And how they responded! "They spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough!"

If Israel had brought their gifts on the principle of the tithe, would they have been acceptable to God? Would Moses have received them as tithes? If he had, it would have distorted the beautiful figure for Christianity. All through the New Testament we see in Christian giving the same principle of the heart's response in love to God. How this service of love shines out, for example, in chapters 8 and 9 of 2 Corinthians! But to make the "tithe" a rule for love's spontaneous outflow, is like adding law to grace-the beauty of love is gone.
Yet if love alone is to be the incentive for giving, if we are to lay by upon the first of the week as the Lord hath prospered us, what is to be the measure for those gifts? How much are we to "lay by"? This question may be answered by asking another:how much do we love the Lord Jesus Christ? To what extent are we interested in the things nearest His heart? Surely we have here a reliable standard of measure. Herbert Cowell

The Apostle exhorted the Galatians to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, or, more literally, "Christ has set us free in freedom. Stand fast therefore." We are not only set free, but set free in a free sphere, 1:e., "in Christ Jesus." .

Before the American War of"Emancipation it was open, for anyone to buy a slave and then set him free, but he was set at liberty in a sphere of slavery, and if by any mischance the erstwhile slave lost his emancipation papers he was liable to be seized by unprincipled men and impressed again in a state of slavery. In 1865 on the conclusion of the Civil War, slavery was abolished, and all the slaves were set free in a free state, and it was no longer possible for any of them to be brought again under the same yoke. .

The Christian is free from the law through the cross of Christ. "For I through the law am dead to the law that I may live unto God. I am crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:19, 20). The law, appealing to the responsibility of the man who has been set aside by God, changes what is living and spiritual into dead ritual. In Christ Jesus the law is no longer a guiding rule of life, but faith which worketh by love, and the Christian is thus free to serve in the Spirit. T. Oliver (Galashiels)

As we study the events taking. place at the present time, the questions that present themselves to our mind are:What do they mean? Are they merely passing events? Or, are they signs containing the gravest significance?

I would remind my readers at this time that the next prophetic event on God's program is the Coming of our Lord Jesus to the air to receive from the earth every blood-washed saint (1 Thess. 4:13-18). This is the immediate hope of every believer in our Lord Jesus (1 Thess. 1:9,10). The event following His coming to the air is His coming to the earth to execute judgment upon the ungodly then living (Jude 14,15); to bring to an end all human governments (Rev. 11:15), and to set up a Kingdom ruled in righteousness (Ps. 72).

The interval between the present time and His coming to the air is not marked by signs. The interval between His coming to the air and His coming to the earth is to be marked by signs. The Scriptures clearly teach this interval will be full of events of the greatest importance. Sin and wickedness will be the order of the day; the very sins that brought the flood upon the ungodly in the days of Noah are to characterize this period. Compare Luke 17:26, 27 with 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 3:1-5.

That which is of solemn significance is this, that the shadows of that awful coming gloom seem to be falling across our pathway already; we know that the storm will not burst until after our Lord has come to the air and taken His own away, but we can see the clouds gathering now, and the faint rumbling of the thunder can be heard. If that which is to take place after our Lord has come for His own, and cannot take place before, is already taking shape before our very eyes, how near must His coming be! If the signs of the time that follows it are already showing themselves, there is only one conclusion possible:His coming is at hand; it is imminent indeed!

When we consider how our Lord taught that the things that characterized the days of Lot are to reappear and characterize the closing days of the age, it ought to make every Christian trim his lamp and be ready for the Bridegroom's coming; and it ought to make every sinner tremble at the awful thought of being left behind for judgment:"Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded, but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be when the Son of Man is revealed" (Luke 17:28-30).

Nations are being shaken today as they have never been before; kingdoms are tottering, as it is predicted in Haggai 2:6,7, 22:"For thus saith the Lord of hosts:Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house [the future Jewish temple in Jerusalem] with glory, saith the Lord of hosts …. And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen, and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them, and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother." According to this, the shaking has to continue until the Desire of all nations comes, which is Christ the Prince of Peace.

Statesmen are at their wits' end; they tremble to think of what is coming next, which our Lord predicted would come to pass at the end of the age:"And there shall be signs in the sun, and the moon, and in the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:25-28).

The world cries for peace yet arms for war, as the Scripture has predicted, and ere long, in the vicinity of Jerusalem, two great combinations of nations will face each other in the greatest struggle this world has ever seen, called in the Scriptures, the "Battle of Armageddon" (Rev. 16:12-16).

What of religion? Apostasy began long ago, and is preparing the way for the Man of Sin (2 Thess. 2). The future of corrupt Christendom is seen in Rev. 17- "Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth." True, Romanism is meant here, but probably Atheism will drive Christendom into the lap of the "mother of harlots." Moral corruption has already set in among the masses, bringing with it an increase in divorce. The doctrine of "companionate marriage" and free love is freely preached; the advocates of sexual looseness are becoming more numerous. By comparing Rom. 1:29-32 with 2 Tim. 3:1-4 we learn the awful fact that the moral condition of the last days of this age will be the same as that of the heathen in Paul's day. "O boasted civilization of the twentieth century, while thou art making strides towards fresh knowledge, thy subjects are reverting morally to the level of the beast!"-for, teach a man that he descends from the Least, and he will live accordingly.

In Noah's day the earth was corrupt and filled with violence. The awful sins of that age called for the righteous judgment of God, and so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. God waits for the cup to fill. Once man fills it to the brim with his awful sin, grace will give place to wrath, patience and long-suffering to the "manifestation of Christ in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (2 Thess. 1:7-9).

We have tried to point out that before this manifestation of Christ in judgment takes place, He will come for His own blood-bought people, and take them away from this corrupt scene (1 Thess. 4:13-18). This is the "blessed hope" of every believer. Is it a blessed hope to the reader? If Christ were to come to-night, would you be ready to meet Him? Remember, if you are not born again by the Spirit of God, you are unprepared, unfit to meet Him, and will be left behind to face Him when He comes to execute judgment upon the Christ-rejecters of this pleasure-seeking age.
"When the Bridegroom cometh, will your robes be white,
Pure and white in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansion bright,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?"

R. McClurkin

Psalm 32 is Pauline in character, and is quoted by the Apostle in the Epistle to Romans (chap. 4). It undoubtedly expresses the condition of the godly remnant of Israel who will only know full forgiveness and acceptance when they look upon Him whom they have pierced, in whom they will find deliverance. The psalm, however, has a far wider application as describing the blessedness of forgiveness and non-imputation of guilt.

The title of the psalm, "Maschil," means "giving instruction," and the first two verses are its thesis. The first word "blessed," or "happy," indicates the subject of the instruction, so we may say that the psalm "instructs us how to be happy."

Happiness is not the result of excusing, palliating, or covering sin. When David, the writer, did this he describes his experience. Jehovah gave him no rest. He says, "When I kept silence my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long; for day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; my moisture was turned into the drought of summer." It seemed as though, whether awake or sleeping, the hand of God was heavily upon him. At the close of the words quoted, we find the untranslated word "Selah," which means "pause," or "consider." And what need there is that we do so! Un-confessed sin and a hardened conscience can only bring unhappiness and soul-misery. But it is well when the soul, burdened with a sense of guilt and need, realizing the futility of trying to cover sin and hide transgression, says, like the psalmist, "I will confess my transgression unto the Lord." "There is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be 'feared."Thus the humble are encouraged to draw near to God, the One who alone can forgive sin. This psalm will encourage the godly remnant to confession in a later day.

Here then is the true secret of happiness."I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgression unto the Lord, and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah." Sin acknowledged, transgression confessed, brings forgiveness. With this, guile is gone from the heart, there is the sense of non-imputation, and as Paul points out in Romans 4, the soul is justified and righteousness reckoned on the principle of faith. This second part, then, ending with verse 5, gives the blessedness (happiness) of the forgiven man.

The next section, to the end of verse 7, strikingly shows the blessed results. There is entire confidence in God; no storm can disturb the soul's foundation. "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." Further, God has become the soul's refuge. The One who once was feared (slavishly), the forgiven and justified saint is now able to joy in (Rom. 5:11). "I flee unto Thee to hide me." God has become the deliverer, and faith can say, "If God be for us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8 :31). He preserves, blesses, and guides His own. "Songs of deliverance" fill the heart, for perfect love has cast out fear. The day of weeping is over, and joy has come with the morning. In the next section, vers. 8, 9, God Himself speaks:"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go; I will guide thee with Mine eye. Be ye not as the horse or mule, which have no understanding, whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee." Here God proposes to "instruct and teach," leading in the right way, but He says, "I will guide thee with Mine eye." This necessarily involves nearness, communion-a close walk with God. We could only be guided by the eye of One with whom we are in fullest sympathy and fellowship. Blessed guidance! The Lord would not have His people constantly curbed and guided by circumstances. We are not to be as the horse or mule, held in by bit and bridle, but rather like Abraham who enjoyed holy intimacy, and of whom God could say, "My friend."

The child of God, while here, treads the path of faith, for our way is through the wilderness, where dangers and snares abound. But God is our resource and His watchful eye is ever upon us. The path has not been marked out and then left, but in infinite grace and wisdom God Himself watches over and guides us, leading with an eye of changeless love. But this presupposes a heart set upon His will, daily watching at the posts of His doors, taught inwardly what is pleasing to Him, and the mind formed by the "true knowledge of God."

Moses could say, "If I have found grace in Thy sight, show me now Thy way, that I may know Thee, that I may find grace in Thy sight." The New Testament unfolds this most blessedly, as in Col. 1:9,10; 3:10; Phil. 1:9-11; Eph. 4:24. How much more blessed is this than being curbed and governed by circumstances! God can, and does, graciously guide by providential ways, but in this there may be no true spiritual growth in the knowledge of Himself, or increase of capacity.

In the two closing verses God's judicial ways are before us in the blessed contrast. "Many sorrows shall be to the wicked, but he that trusteth in the Lord mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the Lord, ye righteous, and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart." So this precious psalm commences with happiness, fruit of the knowledge of God in forgiving grace, and ends with fulness of joy, blessed portion of those whose ways are ordered by the Lord. Our rejoicing is not to be in our circumstances, but in the Lord. This connects us with the Apostle's words to the Philippians, "Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, Rejoice." J. W. H. N.

(Continued from page 288)

2. TRAINING IN SECRET

Soldiers are trained far from the field of battle. Awkward youths are drilled where no hostile eye looks on. Thus Moses is removed to a place where he is trained to do battle in God's way.

Upon his arrival in Midian he is ready for anything that turns up. He might have wasted his life blaming others for his failure, but he is as ready as ever to "do his bit." Sitting by a well in the new country, he discovers there is service to be rendered there. For he sees the daughters of the priest of Midian driven off by shepherds who monopolize the troughs filled by the labor of these women. So he stands up and helps them and waters their flock. And it is this service that introduces him to Jethro, who welcomes him, gives him Zipporah as wife, and finds him employment.

We now see him in the solitude of the desert engaged as a shepherd for forty years. This may seem an unnecessarily long period, but it will be found that when the proper time arrives, things move according to divine schedule. In the meantime the iniquity of the Amorites becomes full, and Israel becomes ready for emancipation.

Referring to the long-continued training of Moses, let us copy a tale from Wm. Barker's "Waters of Quietness." "Porporo, one of the most illustrious masters of music in Italy, conceived a friendship for a young pupil, and asked him if he had courage to persevere.. .in the course he should mark out for him… .When the pupil answered in the affirmative, Porporo wrote upon a single page of ruled paper the diatonic and chromatic scales, ascending and descending, the intervals of the third, fourth, and fifth, etc. This page occupied both the master and scholar during an entire year; and the year following was also devoted to it. When the third year commenced, nothing was said of changing the lesson, and the pupil began to murmur; but the master reminded him of his promise. The fourth year slipped away; the fifth followed, and always the same eternal page. The sixth found them at the same task; but the master added to it some lessons of articulation, pronunciation, and lastly of declamation. At the end of the year, the pupil, who supposed himself still in the elements, was much surprised when one day his master said to him:'Go, my son, you have nothing more to learn. You are the first singer of Italy, and of the world.' He spoke the truth, for this singer was Caffarelli."

Thus the thorough training of Moses, the long seasons of silence, the exceptional opportunities for meditation and prayer, are forming in him the habit of referring everything to God. And at a later day it is apparent he has learned his lesson for, as problems arise in Israel, he solves them because he has God's point of view.

At last the day arrives when God judges him fit for service in Egypt. Hence at Mount Horeb He addresses him out of "the burning bush," impressing upon him His Holiness and His Compassion. Thereupon He says:"Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people the children of Israel out of Egypt" (Exod. 3:10).

MOSES RECEIVES HIS COMMISSION
But he who pressed forward forty years earlier, now draws back. He says:"Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" Alas, the flesh that exhibits itself in forwardness may equally reveal itself in backwardness. Yet, to His timid servant, once so exuberant, God encouragingly says:"Certainly I will be with thee!" Still he demurs. Whereupon God reminds him that he bears a message from the I AM, and that opposition will give way before it.

Moses, however, is thinking of what others will say, because he is looking at himself rather than God. We remember hearing a brother remark:"When Elijah got his eye on Jezebel, he fled!" But another brother added:"When Elijah got his eye upon himself he said:As Jezebel is after me, I must flee!" Similarly, as Moses is looking at himself he is wondering how others will treat him. He even goes further, and says:"They will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice:for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee." Yet God had said, "They shall hearken to thy voice." At this juncture he receives

CREDENTIALS TO HIS BRETHREN

Casting his rod on the ground it becomes a serpent, but taking it by the tail it becomes a rod in his hand. Putting his hand in his bosom he takes it out leprous, but putting it again in his bosom he withdraws it cleansed. He is to take of the water of the river and pour it upon the ground, and it will become blood. These signs mil accredit him as sent of God.

If we may be permitted to consider their meaning as applied to ourselves, we would observe that,

The "rod" represents human power, but as become a serpent it is seen under satanic control. That control, however, is broken at the cross, and he who accepts this deliverance is enabled to do the will of God. Thenceforth the rod is "the rod of God."

The "bosom" is the fountain of man's being, but sin has made it unclean; hence the service of the hand is denied thereby. But by the death of His Son God cleanseth from sin, so that we may serve Him acceptably.

The "river" as the world's source of life is subject to death.

Thus the servant's credentials are not human advantages nor an official status, but the experimental knowledge of divine power and grace. He gains a hearing among men because he can speak as (1) delivered from Satan's rule and brought under the authority of God; as (2) having no confidence in the flesh but glorying in the cross; and as (3) realizing that this world lies under the judgment of death.

Returning however to Moses, we note that, notwithstanding the credentials given him, he persists in his hesitancy, saying:"O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant [since yesterday, nor since the third day, margin]:but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue" (Exod. 4:10). But Jehovah says:"Who hath made man's mouth?" and adds, "Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." He urges him forward. As Stoney illustrates:-A horse is led by its rider to a barrier which he intends it to leap, but it shies. However the rider knows .what the horse can do, so at proper intervals he brings it to the barrier again and again, until one day the noble creature leaps it beautifully. The rider has his way, and the horse is not sorry.

Moses replies:"O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the' hand of him whom Thou wilt send." That is, Please send someone else! This answer provokes the Lord to anger, but He permits Moses his way to the extent of learning upon an arm of flesh. What a loss this, not only to Moses but to Israel! Thus he is allowed to take Aaron as his mouth-piece to the people. And God says:"I know that he can speak well!"Yes, God is well aware of the existence of good speakers, but He is more desirous of securing the service of hesitant Moses than that of fluent Aaron; He prefers the serious, candid Moses who will carefully say exactly what he means, to the ready-tongued speaker who will later tell his brother:"I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me:then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf" (see Exod. 32:2-4, 24). Undoubtedly Aaron is ready with words, but never would such a speech have fallen from the lips of Moses and, however useful Aaron is [this paper does not treat of his typical position], there can be no doubt that God foresaw dangers which would have been prevented had His servant Moses stepped forward when called. Nor is that all. If "good speaking" consists in the proper use of the plainest language, who is there among the sons of men who ever stated facts more simply and tersely in writing than the lawgiver, and who (but One) could have excelled him in speaking when God would have been with his mouth?

However, despite the unbelief that grieves Him, God shows His pleasure in the reality that lies beneath it, by communicating His wishes to Moses rather than to Aaron, the latter receiving them from the former who is to be to him "instead of God." The matter now being settled in this way, Moses informs his father-in-law of his intended departure and, taking his wife and two sons, sets out in the direction of Egypt'.

In concluding this "Epoch" we note that God insists that His servant must be

FAITHFUL IN HIS HOME

Thus it "came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go:then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision" (vers. 24-26). Evidently there had been discord in the home, the wife opposing the circumcision of her "son"-it does not say sons. Perhaps the firstborn had been circumcised, but Zipporah, objecting to its repetition in the second son, succeeds in getting her husband to yield the point for the sake of peace. In this she is not a helpmeet, that is, a meet help. Nevertheless as Moses is accountable, it is he who is- imperilled. This his wife sees, and performs the rite herself, yet does so in a state of rebellion at God's ordinance.

They now resume their journey however, Aaron meeting them at Mount Horeb. And they enter Egypt and gather "all the elders of the children of Israel," to whom "Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken-unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people." And they believed, and bowed their heads and worshiped. R. J. Reid

(To be continued, D.V.)

The following letter from Brother E. A. Elden of the Bahamas tells us of the terrible storm that passed over the Islands in the early part of September. Our brother asks that our prayers and practical fellowship go out to our needy brethren in Abaco and elsewhere. May the Lord sustain His distressed and suffering saints in this, another hour of trial.

The Current, Bahamas, Sept. 11, 1932. Dear brother:-No doubt by this time you have heard of the terrible storm that has passed over our islands, leaving again many of the Lord's people in a state of suffering, but thank the Lord, we here in The Current have been preserved and kept from any serious damage to our houses. We have lost a good deal of fruit and other products, but we have some left us, and do not think that there will be any real need if nothing worse comes, but our brethren in Abaco are suffering greatly, having lost their homes and everything they had. These terrible storms make us realize that we are in a groaning creation still, and waiting for our deliverance, which may soon come. Let our prayers and practical fellowship go out to our needy brethren in Abaco and elsewhere. May the Lord bless your labors in His service.

Your brother in Him,

E. A. Elden.

The Bahamas Government report concerning the hurricane is as follows:

Marsh Harbor. Height of storm at 9 a.m., Monday. Wind blew from North-east until 3 p.m., when it shifted to the South-West and blew till night-fall. Bar. 27.60. Schools, teacher's residence, and twelve houses totally destroyed. Most of the remainder of the houses were badly damaged. No one killed or injured here. Several boats damaged. Crops and fruit orchards practically gone. The two Government wharves demolished. Had calm of fifteen minutes during storm showing center passed over. The house of Mr. Goodwin Roberts was badly damaged.

Hope Town. Height of storm at 10 a.m. Wind from the North-East. Then shifted to the South-East, where blew hardest. Bar. 27.20. Eighty-three houses totally destroyed:sixty-three badly damaged:forty less damaged. Two boats destroyed. No dead, two injured. Food supplies very low, and no medical supplies, as doctor's house destroyed. Little drinking-water, and that has become salted. All public buildings and radio station destroyed. Commissioner's Residency and office slightly damaged. Both Anglican and Methodist churches destroyed. The doctor was sick and unable to render any medical assistance.

Green Turtle Cay. Height of storm at noon. Wind from North-east, shifting to South-east and South. All houses, churches and schools and Government buildings destroyed. Six persons killed. Twenty-five persons injured. Limb injuries, head wounds and bruises of all descriptions. Very little food, and water running low. Medical supplies urgently needed. M. V. "Priscilla" received damage to superstructure. Damage mostly caused by the wind.

Bluff Point. Height of storm at 2 p.m. Wind North to North-west. Settlement entirely destroyed with all boats:churches, school-room, burial-ground washed away. Damage mostly attributable to tidal wave which swept over this Cay. No food and water. Five injured, sheltering on wet mats under a roof which was blown clean off house-the only shelter obtainable.

Great Guana Cay. Four houses standing, but all damaged. One man killed, James Sands. All boats destroyed.

Cooper's Town. People at Green Turtle Cay reported that four persons were known to be dead and only six houses were left.

Cherokee Sound. Did not call here, but from air estimated that damage insufficient to warrant landing there.

SOUTH AMERICA

We are glad to have the following report from our brother Penna who is much improved in health. We hope his work will not be hindered by the civil strife now raging in Brazil.

Parintins, Sept. 2, 1932.

Dear brethren:-I am thankful to our Lord Jesus for the opportunity to send you a brief account of His work in this corner of His harvest. We have much to praise Him for. His blessings have been poured out upon us, and although there is much poverty and illness, revolutions, and other trials, we are full of joy because He has blessed us in giving us fruit in our labors for Him. All glory to the Son of God who loves us and gave Himself to save our souls!

As to my health, I am quite improved, and almost fully recovered, and have resumed activity in the work. At Aicurapa River four persons were baptized in June last.

The work among Japanese has not been fruitless, as out of the eight young men attending our meetings, three have accepted the Lord as their Saviour. At the present they are in Manaos where they are making their living. We have had letters from them and are glad to learn they are witnessing for the Saviour. Our Japanese brother, Mr. Y. Kozasa, is now living with us here in the town. He left the Japanese settlement where he was the steward, and intends to be well acquainted with the Portuguese language, so that he will be able to preach to the Brazilian people as well as to his own. We request your prayers for this brother.

Have just arrived from an evangelizing trip made to the place called "Castanhal" at Parana do Ramos. Here I found thirteen people confessing the Lord. They heard the gospel from a brother living at Mirity Lake, who stopped in their houses on his way into the woods to search for rubber. The Lord opened their hearts and they believed. I found them quite happy in Him, and well interested in learning His Word. They are all "caboclos," and almost savages, but the Gospel is powerful enough to transform them. Glory to His Name. This is a new beginning, and I think the Lord has some more people in this place and its vicinity. Pray for these new brethren.

Brazil is again in a turmoil. The great State of Sao Paulo is changed into a battlefield, and much blood has been shed. Even here in Amazonas we have been troubled by revolution. Near this town there was a fight a few days ago. It was a tragic hour. Nearly two hundred men were shot down, and two river steamers were sunk by the Government guns. Indeed, we are in the last days, and tribulations arise on every side, but our great hope is the soon coming of our blessed Saviour to take us Home. More than ever we covet the saints' prayers.

Yours in Him, by grace,

Jose Penna.

FRENCH-CANADIAN WORK

Our brother Germain writes concerning his work amongst the French-Canadians:

We give unfeigned thanks to God that for a month we were privileged to scatter the seed over new French Roman Catholic sections, as well as to have meetings for over two weeks amongst the French Protestants. These last have been troubled by the "Go-Preachers," but am thankful to report that most of them have searched the Scriptures and have been delivered from these erroneous teachings. Finding that a few had the "Harp of God," by Judge Rutherford, we sounded a warning. How the enemy is busy sowing the tares!

Had the privilege of giving the Word to whole families of French Catholics. Others came to our meetings, and what we heard from them gives us to understand that some are groaning under Rome's yoke, and would like to be free from it. How necessary it is then to give these people the pure Gospel of the Grace of God and to furnish them with the Scriptures. At a small place we were threatened to be kicked out if we would go to some homes with our books. At another, the priest to whom we gave our papers and Gospels told us to go away, that when the people would need such they would give it to them, and that what we were distributing would go to the fire.

While at Cumberland we crossed to the other side of the Ottawa River and began systematic house-to-house visitation with Gospels and tracts. Though some tore up what we gave them, on the whole everything was well received. We had interesting talks with different ones, one young man seeming to grasp clearly the way of salvation by faith in Christ alone.

As we look back now to what was done for the Lord, we are very happy that hundreds of Gospels and tracts have been distributed over new areas where nothing had been done.

At present we are getting ready for a trip to the Eastern sections of the province, which are almost entirely French, and hope to cover new ground. Kindly pray for us for sustaining grace, that a work might be done for the Lord, and that many precious souls be saved.

BRIEF NOTES

We have received cabled news from Dr. Woodhams that Miss DeJonge has undergone an operation and is progressing favorably.

We have also received news that our brother William Deans has improved considerably in health, for which we praise God, taking this as a direct answer to many prayers offered on his behalf.

The following testimony is taken from a recent report issued by the South Sea Island Mission:

July, 1932.

"Ye shall hallow the fiftieth year. . .it shall be a jubilee unto you:a jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you. . . It shall be holy unto you."

This month completes the Fiftieth Year since, in 1882, God enabled us to plant at Fairymead, Queensland, the first seed of this work amongst South Sea Islanders. Through all these fifty years we have proved the all-sufficiency of our God, and can add our joyful testimony to that of Joshua:"That not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you:all are come to pass. . .and not one thing hath failed thereof."

Once I could see, but ne'er again
Shall I behold the verdant plain,
Jeweled with flowers of colors bright,
Bathed in a flood of golden light.

The birds, the brilliant butterflies,
These all in thought before me rise;
The shining rivulet, whose song
Comes sweetly murmuring along;

The sky, the clouds, the grass, the trees,
All waving, glancing in the breeze-
I see them pictured in my mind,
But there alone, for I am blind.

Blind, did I say? How can that be?-
Since I by faith my Saviour see
Exalted on the throne above,
Beaming with mercy, grace and love.

A view like this is better far
Than sun, or moon, or glittering star,
Or glowing landscape, sunny skies,
Or sight that's fair to mortal eyes.

I thank my God that He has put
A veil before mine eyes, and shut
All earthly objects from my sight,
And Christ revealed in glory bright.
Henceforth my word shall ever be-
Once I was blind, but now I see.

The above was written by one who for 18 years was a helpless cripple and finally lost his sight. Converted from the evil of Unitarianism, for years his patient suffering glorified the Saviour whom he loved. The only organ of his body unaffected by disease was his tongue, and with it he fully glorified God and brightly testified to a Saviour's love and sufficiency. When near the end, he called someone to him to take down in writing the blessed sentiments expressed in this poem. "What hath God wrought!" J. W. H. Nichols

In the original text of the New Testament there are several words which are translated by the word "servant" in our English version. It will be sufficient for our present purpose to consider only two of these words. The first word, doulos, has the significance of "bond-slave," as in the introduction to the Epistle to the Romans, where the apostle describes himself as the bond-slave of Jesus Christ. It was the character of bond-slave which he had in common with all the redeemed. He was a bond-slave through God's grace and not through any effort of his own.

The second word, diakonos, from which we have our English word "deacon," literally means, "one who hastens through" with his work, not in the sense of one who scamps work, but one who is always ready to do his master's bidding. The word has come to have the restricted connotation of servant in material things, but its essential meaning covers both material and spiritual. Indeed, Stephen, commencing as God's servant in material affairs, filled with the Holy Ghost, soon became widely known as His servant in the spiritual sphere.

When a student enters a university he is initiated as a member of the learned corporation on matriculating. In course of time by ready subservience to the study of the matters which engross the attention of a university, he passes the various knowledge tests and becomes a graduate. He is none the less a member of the University after than before graduation, but he has risen a step on the ladder of learning. So a Christian, in becoming a deacon does not cease to be a bond-slave of Jesus Christ, indeed his appreciation of the redemption price will be greatly deepened.

"As every man hath received the gift, minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God… If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 4:10,11).

All Christians are called to be deacons. Throughout the New Testament the conception of the bond-slave's graduation to the deaconship is repeatedly presented. To some God may have only given the ability to minister a cup of cold water, but even such a simple act loses its value if it is not done in His name, 1:e., for the glory of God through Jesus Christ.

It is indicated in the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians that though we may be the dispensers of millionaire philanthropy and be prepared to go the length of the stake in self-sacrifice, it is all profitless if the love of Christ is not the motive spring of our action. Similarly, we are the stewards of the manifold grace of God in spiritual matters. As pastors we are to seek to bear the burdens of the weak. As teachers and evangelists we must experience the ordination of the pierced hands.

The Christian must not retire into monastic seclusion. He should seek to follow the example of his Master who went about always doing good. The knowledge of truth is very desirable, but true Christian happiness -is only realized in doing the truth which has been made known to the soul (John 13:17).

How to effect the purchase of this "good degree" may appear a difficult problem to many. But John the Baptist was in the secret when he said, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). In the proportion that Christ is formed in the soul, self is displaced, and the acceptable fulfilment of the duties of a deacon is rendered possible.

The apostle in addressing the Corinthian believers said, "We have the mind of Christ." That mind did not presume on His equality with God, but readily sought the cover of a bond-slave's form, that, as the true Hebrew servant, He might hasten to accomplish the will of God. He who was Lord over all was in the midst of mankind as one who served. Could there be a greater stimulus given than that afforded by such a marvelous example that we should be in harmony with the mind of Christ, and that, therefore, we may have the mind of the Lord as to what we are to do for the glory of God at every juncture in our pathway?

"There is but one [path] in the waste,
Which His footsteps have marked as His own,
And we follow in diligent haste
To the seats where He's put on His crown."

T. Oliver (Galashiels)

(Ps.50:15.)

In view of the report which has gone out from the West, as to the fear of an impending plague of grasshoppers during the coming season, it may not be amiss to recount what took place a little over fifty years ago, during a plague of locusts which visited most of the State of Minnesota, and other sections nearby.

According to a little pamphlet published by the American Tract Society in 1878, this locust plague had for three years previously devastated many thousands of square miles of land, affecting especially the wheat industry. Starvation looked many farmers and their families in the face; for no means which was tried was of any avail.

The attention of the State and Federal authorities was directed to the appalling condition present. The most skillful agencies then known were employed to combat the plague, but without success. At last, in despair of other means of relief, Governor Pillsbury appointed a day of fasting and prayer to be held on the 26th of April, 1877, in the hope that God would hear their cry and intervene to save the surrounding country from utter starvation.

This action taken by the Governor, partly, it would seem, from his own convictions, and partly from the requests of an importunate public, drew from the press comments and criticisms of various kinds. Those known to be of infidel character were not slow to set forth their views as to what they believed would be the outcome of such a proceeding. As far as they were concerned this move was foolish in the extreme. For, they intimated, even if a God exists, He is too unconcerned with the affairs of mortals to interest Himself on their behalf. Therefore it was a mark of degeneracy for the Chief Executive of the State to adopt such means to stay the plague.

As the day appointed for prayer drew near, conditions grew worse, both climatically and entomologically. But those who believed that God hears and "answers' prayer did not wait till the day set for public waiting upon God. They cried daily and hoped in God. Finally, as hunger' entered many homes which had spent all their living, many were forced to their knees by the pitiful conditions into which they had been brought. Others, who were of stronger agnostic or atheistic mind, and who had not yet felt the pinch of want, gave vent to their sentiments in language which left no doubt as to their unbelief in God, and therefore in the command given by Him which says:"Call upon ME in the day of trouble:I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify ME."

In the city of Minneapolis there was an organized society of infidels known as the "Liberal League." About two weeks before the time appointed by the Governor for prayer, this society presented an address to the people of the State in which their views were set forth forcibly and at length. In the course of the address, it was said:

"We hold that this belief (in prayer) is palpably untrue, its influence pernicious, and at this day a marked discredit to the intelligence of the people of Minnesota. From the beginning down to this day, outside of so-called Sacred History, there is not one well authenticated instance of such prayer having been answered, not one.. .To the end that the exact and true result may be known we call upon all thoughtful men to note carefully and systematically the condition of the eggs and young insects in their respective neighborhoods, on the 25th and then again on the 27th (the day of prayer intervening), and so on from time to time, and communicate their observations to the Entomological Commission lately established by the U. S. on our behalf. This Commission will soon be in the field prosecuting its researches in the same direction. Then if what shall actually happen cannot be accounted for except by miracle, A MIRACLE LET IT BE."

It is plain from the remarks of this address, that if God answered the prayers of His people, causing in some way an end of the plague, even these infidels would confess that an Omnipotent Hand was at work. Like the Philistines of old they confessed, that in such a case, it was "not chance," but God Himself working to deliver those who called upon Him. But it is just as plain that they did not believe that such a thing could take place. They said as plainly and as loudly as they could proclaim it that "THERE IS NO GOD" (Ps. 14:1) What had long been entertained in their hearts they now openly confessed.

What therefore did take place? The day for prayer arrived. "The locusts were hatching rapidly. The unbelievers were sneering. But those who counted on God's power to help waited for Him. Did He disappoint them? In the large cities business was suspended; an air of solemnity pervaded the streets. Many who never before had been seen in a place of prayer went that day to bow before the God of Jacob. When the sun set, many said, 'We have left it with God; we can do no more.' "

What did God do? Did He hear their prayers?

"A remarkable change of weather occurred in twelve hours. Although it was the last week of April, and though the season had been the mildest for several years, there came that night a cold rain, changing to snow and frost. The storm lasted for two days. From the morning succeeding the Day of prayer hope revived. The scale turned in our favor, and though it had vibrated for three weary months, it was poised, as no one could deny, upon the day of prayer. From that date no infidels published papers; they issued no appeals,'and made no prophecies."

Those of the locusts which were not then killed by the cold, moved about for a short time through several sections of the country, but were apparently too weak to do any extensive damage. Finally they disappeared entirely. A remarkable fact in connection with their disappearance is that in that very year, the State gathered the largest wheat crop in its history up to that time. It was also the largest wheat crop of any State in the country, amounting to forty millions of bushels.

Thus the Lord heard and answered the cry of those who called upon Him in their distress, and showed mercy at the same time to those even who had expressed their unbelief in Him, and His willingness to deliver man in his misery and need. May the recounting of this striking instance of His goodness and care, cause many to turn afresh to. Him in these trying times. They will find that He is indeed the Living God, and that He honors those who honor Him.

"He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"' (Rom. 8:32). Wm. Huss

In Gal. 1:4 Paul tells us that the Lord Jesus gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world; and in the 6th chapter of the same epistle he reminds us that it is the cross of Christ which has caused this separation and deliverance.

And what is it that makes this world, or age, with all its beauty, its industry, its success in material things, its advancement and progress, an evil world? Is it not just this?-The will of man asserts itself against God and in every way opposes Him and His truth.

Satan fell because, being lifted up with pride, he rebelled against the will of God and sought to assert his own will. Man sinned and fell in just the same way, by rebellion against God and the endeavor to assert his own will. God said to Adam, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat," but one. Adam defied the will of God when the devil tempted man, and so opened the floodgates of sin and rebellion to all of his descendants. At Babel it was the same. God told Noah and his sons to go forth and replenish the earth. Men defied the will of God, asserted their own will and started to build the tower of Babel, "lest we be scattered abroad." But God defeated their purpose by confounding their language and "He scattered them abroad."

Then to Israel were given the oracles of God, that they might keep them and be a sample people who should glorify the name of the Lord in subjection to Him. They defied the will of God, asserted their own will, and went into idolatry. But God again defeated them by sending them to Babylon for seventy years, and they there had such an experience of the evils of idolatry that they have kept from it ever since.

When God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him, men again asserted their own will, killed the Heir that they might seize the inheritance, and put the Son of God on the cross of Calvary. But God raised Him from the dead and gave Him a name above every name, to which every knee must bow.

Thus man throughout his entire history has asserted his own will against that of God, but ever to fall back defeated. God makes even the wrath of man to praise Him.

But there has been a Man on earth who did not assert His own will, who passed through this world with every thought, purpose, desire, intention, word and act in submission to the will of God. It was the Man Jesus. As He entered the world, He said, "A body hast Thou prepared Me.. .1 come to do Thy will, O God" (Heb. 10:5-7). His food was to do the will of Him that sent Him and to finish His work (John 4:34). When His holy soul faced the awfulness of the world's sin about to be placed upon Him, that on the cross He might make propitiation for it, He prayed, "Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me," but immediately added, "Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done" (Lk. 22:42).

Blessed Jesus, in Thee we behold an absolutely dependent Man, not asserting His own will but ever seeking to do the will of God! May we indeed learn to be like Thee! For it is only as we take this place of subjection and obedience, and cease to assert our own will, that we are saved and blessed. So long as we assert our own will we are in rebellion against God. It is only when we will to do God's will that we can know the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 7:17). It was when Rebekah said, "I will go," that her true blessing began (Gen. 24:58), as it is also true of us that salvation and eternal life come when we bow to the Lord Jesus Christ in the obedience of faith. "I mil take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord" (Ps. 116:13). Then comes blessing. "The world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever" (1 John 2:17).

Having come to the Lord Jesus Christ, and been saved by the obedience of faith, as children of God we are no longer to live the rest of our time in the flesh to the lusts of men but to the will of God (1 Pet. 4:2). And in such a pathway our Lord Jesus Christ is our Great Exemplar (Phil. 2:5). We are to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (Col. 1:9,10). By the renewing of our mind (no doubt by the study of the Word of God), the Lord's people are to "prove that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:2). God's will is perfect. The more we seek to do it the happier we are. It is this which differentiates a child of God from a child of the devil. God has delivered us from a world in which the will of man is ever asserted, only to fall back defeated. He has brought us into a place where we have liberty to obey the will of God to our eternal joy and blessing. And so may we each serve God in singleness of heart, following our Lord Jesus Christ, "not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart" (Eph. 6:6). F. L. French

There is a great tendency to shift responsibility on to those endowed with natural capacity for giving audible expression to the thoughts impressed on the hearts of the Christian company by the Spirit of God. "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them." But such procedure is not the Spirit's leading. The Spirit's business is not to please ears, but to open hearts. Hence the wakening of gladness in the heart under the power of God may call forth an audible response which may not be pleasing to cultured ears, but may gladden the heart of the Lord. He shall see the fruit of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied. Thus if we realize our local responsibility better we should be found more frequently breathing out the wish expressed in the following lines:-

"That our glad hearts, responsive unto Thine,
May wake with all the power of Love Divine."

T. Oliver (Galashiels)

The epistle to the Philippians is the epistle of Spiritual energy. Vigor marks it in every chapter. Recounting in this letter his own experience the apostle Paul shows what had been his course from the time of his conversion. Thirty years had passed since he had been met in grace by the Lord of glory on the road to Damascus. Then he had counted all but loss for Christ, and now he shows that his judgment of matters had never changed. He reckons nothing as worth while save what was connected with Christ and His glory and His interest on earth.

Energy, GO, as it sometimes put, marks the whole epistle, and we may look at the chapters briefly with that word before us. GO OUT is what comes before us in the first chapter. Go out for Christ. Fellowship in the gospel had been shown by the believers at Philippi and the apostle commends this in them. He rejoiced that the gospel was preached. Even though some were preaching it of contention and strife, yet Christ was proclaimed, and this caused Paul to be glad. The good news was being told, that good news which has Christ Himself as its center and circumference, and if Christ was made much of (even by some whose motives .were not unmixed), that was what the servant of the Lord earnestly wished.

"Go out." Happy it is if we can get people to come to halls or meeting rooms or homes to hear the Word. But a fisherman goes to the water to catch fish. So we find in the Book of The Acts that the glad good news .was told by the messengers of God in the market place, by the river side, in the temple, in the synagogues and wherever a heading could be had. Oh, for more of this gospel "GO" with all of us. I have heard of some young Christians who meet monthly and send gospel booklets through the post to people of their town. This is good. A tract given to a passer-by or dropped in a letter box may be the means of carrying the light of grace to some needy soul. Ten or twelve houses might be called at month by month and a gospel magazine be given or loaned. These are some of many ways in which the truth may be brought before the weary or in which the sinful may be warned. It is a good thing to seek to tell the story of God's salvation every day to some one in some way or another. Go out with the gospel and Go on telling it while life shall last. Paul never lost his interest in the story. Some of his last words to a younger servant of Christ were, "Do the work of an evangelist." Go down may be said to be prominent in the second chapter. Go down like Christ. His wonderful pathway is brought before us in something of its beautiful detail by the Spirit of God. We view Him in His Godhead glory. There was nothing to be grasped after higher than that which was His eternal majesty. But He to whom all belonged and whom the angels served "made Himself of no reputation." Veiling His Godhead glories He took upon Himself the form of a servant. And not that of an angel but that of a man. He "was found in fashion as a man."But lower still the Lord of glory would journey. He had come to do the will of God in its entirety and to save lost and sinful man. And so we see Him become obedient unto death, death in its most shameful form, "even the death of the cross." Down, down, down He went, glorifying God in every footfall of His wonder-pathway.

Now we know Him highly exalted, and that soon every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord, but while we wait for that day we are called to "follow His steps." The exhortation to us is, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." He is our Great Exemplar. We are to learn of Him who is meek and lowly in heart, to seek the glory of God and the blessing of others in all our earthly way.
How different is this to the self-seeking so natural to us all! But the new nature is ours by grace and the Holy Spirit has been given to us so that something of the life of Christ may be expressed in us.

With Adam and Eve the opposite to the obedience and lowliness of Christ was seen. They were tempted by the desire to obtain something higher than that which God had given them. "Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil," was the suggestion of the serpent. And ever since there has been in their descendants by nature the same desire. No one is willing to go down. The endeavor is to attain a position of eminence in the world. It is forgotten or unknown that Satan is the Prince and the God of this world and that Christ has been cast out of it.

Self-esteem, self-satisfaction, self-seeking mark the fallen creature. The desire to have one's own way at all costs produces jealousy and envy and hatred and malice. These are the very contrast to all that was seen in our Lord. The flesh and all its works have been judged by God and are to be judged by us. And the Holy Spirit dwelling in us will enable us to produce something of the lovely fruits which are well pleasing to God, something of the life of Jesus manifest in our mortal flesh.

Go on to Christ seems to be the key note of the third chapter. The apostle Paul is seen pressing forward. Christ has won his heart and nothing will satisfy him until he reaches Christ in glory. The Lord Jesus had laid hold of him in His rich grace and had saved him from his course of sin and antagonism. But not only so He had taken hold of the apostle in order that he might be in glory with Him and like Him-a suited companion .for Him.

"We rejoice in Christ Jesus," said the apostle. He had turned from all that he was as a man in the flesh and found his joy in Christ. Henceforth he had no confidence in the flesh. Religious he had been, but his very religiousness had led him to try to stamp out the name of Jesus from the world. In grace the Saviour had met him and had made him a chosen vessel unto Himself to bear His name far and wide for the blessing of sinners. Now Christ was all to him. He wanted nothing which was not linked with Him. If any one had a right to boast in the flesh he had, but everything that he had been was counted rubbish, so that Christ alone might be his gain. Christ was his righteousness, Christ was his object for his life here, Christ was his goal in glory, and Christ was his expectation from heaven.

He desired to have nothing which was not labeled CHRIST. And he would not be detained here, he was pressing forward that he might reach Christ Himself in heaven. He knew that it was for that he had been taken up by Christ and his earnest ambition was to be with Christ, and while he waited for this glorious consummation he was seeking the glory of Christ and the welfare of all His own in the world.

"Not counting milestones," as it has been said, he was ever pressing on. He kept the goal in view, "the prize of the calling of God on high in Christ Jesus." To be with Christ was far better than .aught else. The only one thing to live for was the interest of Christ in His loved ones on earth, and if it were for their help he would stay with them, and knew that this would be the result of his appearing before Caesar.

The longing of the apostle for the Philippians was that they should be of the same mind as himself. The danger with them, and it is the same with us, was that .earthly things should fill their thoughts. And he warns them of th's because there were some who had crept in among the believers who were controlled by fleshly motives, and minded the things of time and sense.

GO THROUGH with Christ. It is this thought which is found expressed in verse 13 of chapter 4. "I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me." We have not to run in our own power. Indeed, we have none. Any strength we may think we have is only weakness, for it will hinder our dependence upon the Lord. As we know our powerlessness we learn to lean on Christ alone, and draw from Him the strength we need moment by moment.

Affection for Christ will not keep us. Peter loved the Lord dearly. But being prayerless and trusting in his own strength, he failed dismally and denied the Lord he loved. The Lord had warned him of his danger, but being self-confident he did not believe that it was possible that he would break down. Wonderful was the grace of the Lord which restored him and enabled him to strengthen his brethren after his recovery. But the record is given that we may learn not to trust in ourselves, in our affection for Christ or any supposed quality of our own. If we do we shall break down as Peter did. It is striking that in Scripture histories we may see that if a man was remarkable for any quality he was likely to fail in that very particular. So Abraham, the man of faith, went down to Egypt in time of famine. Moses, the meekest .man, became angry with the people at the waters of Meribah. Job, the most patient man, cursed his day. Samson, the strongest man, gave away the secret of his strength and became a prisoner among the Philistines. Solomon, the wisest man, became foolish indeed in the matter of his many wives. And other instances might be adduced showing clearly that which we may judge to be our strong point may prove our danger. We cannot trust ourselves at all.

But Christ is all-sufficient in all circumstances. So Paul had found Him. He had been hungry, he had been in plenty. He had been full and he had suffered need. But in every state he had learned to be content. Not that he was satisfied with himself. No, but he had a well-spring of satisfaction within and he was not dependent on outside circumstances. He had graduated in the school of adversity and had proved the power of Christ at all times and wherever he was. Let us then Go Out for Christ, Go Down like Christ, Go On to Christ, Go Through with Christ. So shall we glorify His Name. Inglis Fleming