Salem, Ore., Sept. 12th, 1933.

After some months spent in illness, our brother C. C. Crowston has departed to be "with Christ." Some five days before his "exodus" the writer spent about an hour and a half with him, and in the very presence of death found his room was really a miniature heaven. Earthly things had receded and heavenly things were attracting. Christ was truly all in all.

A large company gathered at the Springdale Gospel Hall to pay their last respects to a "brother beloved." Mr. Joseph Campbell sang two selections of our brother's own composition and chosen by him before his departure, and gave a short message on John 11 and 12, pointing out that Death was defeated in chap. 11, while Life was realized in chap. 12. The writer followed with a Gospel address, on three points:Saved BY Christ, nearly fifty years ago dear C. C. met the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour; Secured IN Christ was the place he had heartily enjoyed all through these years; while Satisfied WITH Christ is his present portion.

At the grave the writer gave a short word from Matt. 28:6:"He is not here,'' and from Rev. 1:18, He is there. And because of our Lord's victory over death we merely committed the body to the earth until that morning without a cloud comes when the One who is the Resurrection and the Life will claim all of His own. Mr. Fred Marshall closed with prayer, and we turned away with the feeling that a great man in Israel had fallen, although for him it was indeed "far better."

His last poem, written in the valley of the shadow of death, follows:

"Oh, that I had -wings like a dove, then would I fly away and be at rest" (Ps. 55:6).

When shall the weary journey end,
And we the hill of God ascend,
And see our Saviour's face!
We long to lay our armor by,
And join the saints that never die,
In yon bright heavenly place.

Lord, give us grace to meekly wait,
Thy hour is never, never late,
Nor does it come too soon;
Thy time is always just and right,
(Though ofttimes wrong to human sight)
Though it be night or noon.

Thy dock is scheduled well for time,
And well for that eternal clime,
And times Thyself and man;
Then let our joy and purpose be,
To see that we fit in with Thee,
And glory in Thy plan.

Our brother was a little over 63 years of age. His writings were many. Especially did our brother take great delight in verse. His best-known books were, "Manifold Purposes in Incarnation," and a book of poems, "Songs in the Night for the Children of Light."

His place will be hard to fill on this Pacific Coast. For more than forty years he has been busy sounding forth the Word of the Lord by pen and by voice. He was an unusually active tract-distributor.

Prayer is requested for the bereaved widow who has been his almost constant companion for over thirty-seven years, during the last few years traveling with him in a gospel car up and down the coast. E. K. Bailey

CHINA

In the Lord's mercy our brother and sister Kautto were well and preserved from harm when they wrote at the end of January. As will be seen from their letter which follows, they are very close to the scene of hostilities and should be much on our hearts and in our prayers.

Taitowying, Jan. 25, 1933.

We heartily thank you for your sympathy in our trial of faith, "being much more precious than of gold that perisheth," for which we can thank our heavenly Father; also "knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience," and "that all things work together for good to them that love God." I have been thinking lately of the good there is in suffering, and I found three prominent answers in the Scripture.

1. Making one humble before the Lord in seeing one's own nothingness and God's grace and mercy (Job 42:5, 6; Jas. 5:11). 2. It may be for someone else's good, since we are able to comfort another with the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God (2 Cor. 1:4). It may be suffering for Christ's Body's sake, which is the Church, as Paul did when writing his letters from the prison in Rome (Col. 1:24), or as John, an exile in the isle of Patmos in order that we might have the wonderful book of Revelation. Four years ago when in Finland, I was able to obtain C. H. M.'s Notes on Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus in Finnish. These were translated by a man who had been a sailor, was converted in England, loved the Lord, came to Finland (his native country) , and preached the gospel of God's grace there to lost sinners, but as he was not an ordained preacher he was put into jail for three years, and while there translated these volumes of C. H. M.'s Notes into Finnish. It is only too bad he was not there for five or six years, to have time to translate them all.3. For our eternal good, as Paul shows its working in 2 Cor. 4:17.

Our little David, though he left us with aching hearts, nevertheless has drawn our hearts to wait for the Lord's coming more and more. Perhaps it is not right that we should think so much of him; but every time we do, our longing gets greater to see Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.

We had happy times at our out-stations for nearly two months. At Shuang-Shantze four of the soldiers confessed the Lord. Two army doctors who became much interested both bought Bibles, and when we were at Mutowteng and they went through that place toward the North, they sought us out and stayed with us until nearly midnight, and we had a good time over the Word. At Mutowteng the first ten days' meetings were well attended, but then the soldiers began to go toward the North and usually stayed only overnight, being billeted in different homes, 8 men to a brick bed (K'ang), about 6 x 9 feet. Of course that was the bed where the home-folks usually slept, and if there were more than one bed so many more soldiers were sent to fill up the rooms. Then their food also had to be provided for them. The people have to look after their things night and day when the soldiers are around, for they steal everything they can put their hands on, so no one could come to the meetings when the soldiers were in the village.

No doubt there is much poverty now in the U.S., but one can see so much of it in China, especially in this time of war, that it makes one almost sick. The people are so taken up with the necessities of everyday life that the things hereafter do not bother them much.

We returned home from the out-stations just two weeks ago, but as it is the last part of the last moon of the Chinese year (tomorrow being the first day of the New Year), there has been much gospel work done among them. After the New Year, if the war does not hinder, we are expecting to be able to start the gospel meetings again. The Lord has been very gracious to us, providing all things needful according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

We do not know what turn the war is going to take. We are only about 35 miles by the nearest road from Shanhaikwan, where they have been fighting lately; but we believe God is able and willing to protect us from all danger and harm.

Trusting this will find you all well and happy in the Lord, with our warmest Christian greetings to all, Yours affectionately in Christ,

Charles and Esther Kautto.

From another missionary we learn more of the serious condition in that part of China.

Hada, Manchuria, 7th Jan., 1933.

In these parts these are days of strife, turmoil and lawlessness. We have not been able to itinerate about as much as we should have liked, because of the banditry so rampant in every direction. Jehol District, in which we are working, appears to be the bone of contention between Manchuria(under Japanese influence) and China proper, and trenches are being dug all round the town to resist any further encroachment. We hear trouble has already broken out at the Coast which is likely to affect the whole of the district. We are, however, being kept in perfect peace.

As far as the work is concerned, we are being greatly encouraged by the numbers coming along to hear the gospel, and the two halls in the city are open daily for the telling out of the Message of Life. The work has been much extended through the renting of a shop situated right in the business quarter, and already there are a number of enquirers as a result of this fresh effort. We get a full hall on Lord's Day for the gospel. The Police Superintendent and his fourth wife come regularly, and we believe a real work is going on in their souls. A number from the Secretarial Department also attend each time. Seven were baptized last September and seem to be growing in grace and in the knowledge of God.

We have just concluded a series of meetings for believers who came along morning and evening for the study of the Word. Several came in from some villages forty miles to the East, and it was nice to see their appetite for the things of God. Quite a few of the enquirers from the country are seeking baptism.

Dispensary three times a week keeps us busy, but it is a means to an end and the breaking down of prejudices. Homes are thereby opened for the preaching of the gospel, and when we itinerate we are often accorded a welcome from villagers because of one or two of their number having received treatment in the months that are past. Robbers with gunshot wounds occasionally come in and so hear the gospel.

With our united love in the Lord and seeking a continuance of your prayers for us in these troublous times, Yours in the fellowship of the gospel,

A. E. Trevor Oliver.

ARGENTINE

A brief extract from a missionary letter tells of the unrest prevailing.

Things in this land are very unsettled at present. Owing to the recent attempted revolution we are still under martial law. In fact all these South American Republics seem to be taking their turn at revolution. When one party gets into power they exile or imprison the leaders of the other party, and at the next outbreak they take double vengeance on the other side when they are turned out. It is creating an awful spirit of hatred, and results in thinking nothing of life. Although there is no capital punishment they know how to remove those they wish to, either by apparent accident or supposed resistance to the authorities. In fact it is getting much the same in all nations. They are like the troubled seas, just waiting for a super-man to rise. But, praise God, we look for the Saviour. May the Lord keep our hearts in tune with Himself till that moment.

Yours in His love and service,

Thomas E. Stacey.

On Furlough

Our brother Gordon Searle has been visiting the meetings in the Central and Eastern parts of the country, his wife and children meanwhile remaining with Mrs. Searle's parents at Hickman, Neb.

It has stirred our hearts to learn of what God has done, and is doing, in and around the three stations of Nyangkunde, Mambassa and Lolwa, through those who have gone from our midst and the native brethren who have been brought to Christ.

Our brother and his family hope to be returning to Africa by the early Summer, should the Lord enable. Fellowship with the expense of their return may be sent to the Missionary Fund or to our brother, c|o this address. How blessed is the privilege of having a part in the preaching of the gospel in "all the world!"

(Continued from p. 21 )

5.-AT MOUNT SINAI

Three months after the exodus from Egypt the children of Israel encamp before mount Sinai where, after recounting His gracious ways with them, God proposes that if they obey His voice and keep His covenant, they shall be a kingdom of priests and ap holy nation. They do not hesitate to accept this conditional relationship, and answer:"All that the Lord hath spoken we will do" (Exod. 19:7). Consequently, of the third day, the new principle of dealing is inaugurated in suitable fashion, for God comes down upon the mount in a thick cloud amid thunderings and lightnings and tie sound of a trumpet. And so terrified are the people that they say to Moses:"Speak thou with us, and we will near:but let not God speak with us, lest we die!" Such Is the effect of putting themselves upon the basis of human conduct, instead of remaining upon the ground of divine goodness when Moses further explains arrangement, they again say:"All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient!" (chap. 24:7).

In the meantime having ascended the mount, Moses receives

THE TWO TABLES OF STONE

whereon are written the ten commandments. At this time he is absent from the camp of Israel for forty days, during which time the people become restive. Not having realized God's presence among them, they virtually say:Without Moses we are without God!-"Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him" (chap. 32:1).

As for Aaron, although he has qualities that only grace can give, he is not a man to stand in the breach; he cannot say NO! Indeed, the fact that the people approach him with their proposition shows that they estimate him shrewdly, for he suggests an offering of gold, and upon receiving their earrings melts and molds them into a calf which he fashions with a graving tool, whereupon they declare:"These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt!" (chap. 32:2-4). But Aaron further promotes the apostasy by building an altar before the image and making a proclamation:"Tomorrow is a feast lo the Lord!" He uses Jehovah's name to gloss over the matter.

At this point we anticipate Moses' question to Aaron:"What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?" To which he replies:"Let not the anger of my lord wax hot:thou knowest the people that they are set on mischief. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us:for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it to me:then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf" (vers. 21-24).

Passing over this bland explanation of the calf's emergence from the flame, we need not question the plea that the people "are set on mischief." But what is apparent in himself is the lack of courage to resist a popular backsliding; he is not strengthened for such an emergency by the sense of the presence of God.

Returning however to Moses, let us observe that before he sees the "calf" and the "dancing," he is prepared by God for the worst, being put through exercises of heart that temper his actions when the apostasy bursts upon his view (chap. 32:7-14). For instance God says to him:Israel is "thy" people, a "stiff-necked people," which I will displace by a nation from thyself. But Moses answers:They are "Thy people," the subjects of Thy care. Whereupon he pictures the exodus from Egypt and portrays the effect of any report that the movement had collapsed. Will not the Egyptians say:He did worse to them than to us? He drowned our army, but He exterminated them; He wrought mischief upon us, but, "For mischief did He bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth" (chap. 32:12). Hence Moses appeals to God's oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel:"I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever" (ver. 13). This argument gives great pleasure to God (He really prompts it), for it reveals confidence in Himself, and shows that Moses realizes he is engaged in a divine movement. When therefore we read that, "The Lord repented of the evil which He thought to do unto HIS PEOPLE," we gather from the very expression that He had never given them up.

However Moses is now ready to descend the mountain. "And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing; and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount" (ver. 19). This is not fleshly rage, but indignation in sympathy with God; and the breaking of the tables is the act of one who knows what to do; for had the law entered the camp it would have cut off an idolatrous nation. But it is noteworthy that the unmixed law never reached the people but, when re-written, came among them combined with sacrificial offerings that pointed forward to the cross.

However, the destruction of the calf is instant. And the death of three thousand is an execution by divine command, when the sons of Levi slay "every man his brother" (those closest by relationship), "and every man his companion" (those closest by choice), "and every man his neighbor"(those closest by circumstance). "And the Lord plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made."

The intercession of Moses on this occasion, when he asks Jehovah to blot him "out of Thy book which Thou hast written," unless He pardons Israel, is one of the most amazing examples of burden-bearing on record, and has engaged some of the most spiritual minds in explanation of its measure.

Jehovah now permits the departure of Israel toward the land flowing with milk and honey but, while He guarantees an angelic vanguard, says, "I will not go up in the midst of thee" (chap. 33:3). However when the people are stripped of their "ornaments;" when the tabernacle is pitched without the camp, and those seeking the Lord follow the tabernacle, Moses is heard pleading:"If Thy presence go not [with me], carry us not up hence." Indeed, on Sinai's summit with a second set of tables, he had said:"If now I have found grace in Thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiff-necked people" (chap. 34:9), its very stiffneckedness requiring the guidance He only could give. For, says he, how can it be known that we have found grace in Thy sight unless' it be by Thy going with us, and what can make us different from the nations, but Thy presence among us? (chap. 33:16).
And may not we say:Can ecclesiasticism, or a halo of names, safeguard God's people today? If we have learned what Moses knew, we will say:Nothing can avail but the presence of Himself manifesting His mind and love for our practical sanctification.

Moses is so affected when Jehovah shows willingness to continue in the midst of His people, and discovers that his own exercise of heart is but the reflection of God's feelings in the matter, that he says:"SHOW ME THY GLORY!" As if he would say:Such readiness to forgive is peculiarly divine! I desire to know Thee better! Permit me to behold Thee in the outshining of Thy nature! But this request can only be granted in part (vers. 19-23). Thus in the "cleft of the rock," covered by the Lord's hand as He passes by, Moses beholds His "back parts." For in that day he can only learn that God is moving forward to what He will do in the fulness of time. As the revelation of God in Christ is at that time future, Moses cannot behold His glory in the "face" of the Man Christ Jesus.

We shall conclude this paper with a reference to chapter 34:29-35, where we learn that upon the law-giver's descent with "the two tables of stone like unto the first," Aaron and all the children of Israel are afraid to come near him because "the skin of his face shone." Therefore while his face is toward the people "he put a vail" on it. But when he turns and goes in before the Lord, "he took the vail off." This is interpreted in 2 Cor. 3 as follows:That the Spirit's present gospel ministry of life and righteousness enables its preachers to use "great plainness of speech," in contrast with Moses' ministry of death and condemnation. And the vail Moses uses to dim a glory that reminds of legal obligations is likened to the vail upon the heart of Israel. Thus Israel's back is toward God, and its vailed heart turned away. But, as Moses removed the vail from his face when he went into the presence of the Lord, so "the vail shall be taken away" from Israel's heart when they turn around and seek His face. _R. J. REID.

(To be continued in next number, D.V.)
'PRAY. . .SING'

(2 Cor. 4:10-12)

"Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus." The apostle Paul applied to himself day by day the truth of the putting to death of Jesus. The Lord had died. He had died for Paid, and Paul had died with Him. Thus he could say of himself and of all believers, "Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God"(Col. 3:3). And he reckoned himself "dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ" (Rom. 6:11). Carrying this out in his practical life, Paul refused that which was of the old and cultivated that which was of the new. For this, as for much else, "death is ours." It is the way of power and freedom. Of Goliath's sword David could say, "There is none like it." By it the giant's head had been removed. By the death of Christ we are delivered from the thraldom of sin and the domination of the law in order that in our freedom we may live unto God, but the flesh being still within us we are called to put to death our members upon the earth, to use the knife of self-judgment against every movement of the flesh in its desires. So pride, self-love, jealousy, self-sufficiency, as well as all grosser forms of sin, have to be put into and kept in the place of death.

'"That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body." This is the thought of God for all His own -that in their bodies, once given over to self-gratification, "the life of Jesus" may be manifested.

Fragrant to God His Father, was our Lord's life on earth. The four Gospels tell out the Father's delight in His Son's way among men, and the Spirit of God presents the fourfold view of it that we may delight in it also. We wonder as we trace His path of faithfulness to God and of grace towards sinners. But that life in which He lived is now our life. As it is written, "When Christ, -who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory" (Col. 3:4). And again, "Christ liveth in me" (Gal. 2:20).

Something of that fragrance is to be produced in us even now. Careful should we be, then, that nothing should be allowed to hinder its manifestation. Christ lives in "His own" (and every true believer is one of them), that something of His graces and beauties may express themselves. He is no longer here personally, but His own are here, that He may shine out in them. Looks of love, words of love, acts of love, ways of love, such as were seen in Him, are now by the Holy Spirit's indwelling possible in the lives of all His redeemed ones.

So it is that we read, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control" (Gal. 5:22). These all came out in Christ in their perfection and these are in measure to come out in each Christian. This is God's thought for us, and should be ours. With this in view God helps us.

"For life which live." The apostle Paul is speaking of spiritual life. The Christian is living among the dead. He is spiritually alive where many around are spiritually dead. Just as in a cemetery a physically alive man may be encompassed by the physically dead, the child of God (being divinely quickened from his death in trespasses and sins) walks amid those who are still dead towards God. Thus it was with Paul.
"Are always delivered unto death." God applied to him, to Paul, day by day, "always," that which was death. Circumstances of difficulty and trial were rolled in upon him constantly, to check the workings of the flesh in him. A thorn for the flesh was given him, given him of God, though it was Satan's messenger, lest pride should overtake and overcome him. The experiences he recounts in verses 8 and 9 were all with this object.

"For Jesus' sake." That is for His pleasure, for His honor, for His loved one's prosperity and blessing. How well to look at all that which seems so contrary to our comfort naturally, and see written upon it, "For Jesus' sake." Happy indeed it is if we recognize the hand of our God acting for this in all things.

"That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." Thus the apostle's desire was furthered by the gracious action of God who had produced by His Spirit that desire in His servant. The result was produced in the success of the labor of the apostle. He could say, "So then death worketh in us, but life in you." His outward man, buffeted about on life's stormy billows, might perish; but through his means blessing flowed to those who listened to his ministry. The illustration has been used of the flower called the Sweet William. After it has flowered prettily the head dries and the seeds form. It becomes sere and brown as it dies. But the seeds are scattered and new flowers spring up around the dead stalk. Death works in the one that life may work in the others. As it has been said, "God exhibits death in the living that He may exhibit life in the dying."

The reason for few and feeble results in ministry may be traceable to the servant not being willing that death should work in him-not willing to endure suffering and deprivation. The words of our Lord Jesus should be borne in mind:"He that loveth his life shall lose it; he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." Accepting death to our natural inclinations may be the way of life, of a life that will last eternally. Inglis Fleming

(Concluded from page 121)

II

Never before, never since, never again, will men have God in Man to do as they desire with, to manifest their hatred against, as at those days of the death of Christ. Hear Peter:"Ye men of Israel,…. the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted to you; and KILLED THE PRINCE OF LIFE, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses" (Acts 3:12-15).

Those days of Christ upon earth had been long before foretold and longed for, as He declared:"Blessed are the eyes which see the things which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things which ye hear, and have not heard them" (Lk. 10:23, 24). Seven hundred years before Isaiah had told how the people would harden their hearts against God's truth:"By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand:and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive; for this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear" (Matt. 13:14-16).

Some of the saddest words of Christ are those in Luke 13:34,35; 19:41-44; "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how oft would I have gathered thy children together as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." "And when He was come near, He beheld the city and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation."

The judgment upon those who hated Christ, and manifested it by rejecting and causing Him to be crucified, was an awful example of the punishment of sin, sin against great light and mercy. But far more terrible days are to come upon the earth when there "shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matt. 24:21). Verses 29-31 fix the time of this. Revelation 7:9,10,13-17 refers to the same time. It is very likely that this scene is not far off, that its actors are living upon the earth even now, and that the present unparalleled time of trouble is the beginning of what is to be the GREAT TRIBULATION. The world is now having the gospel of Christ offered to it as never before. In almost every part of the world man can hear the glad tidings of the love of God manifested by the sending of the Man Christ Jesus into the world to bear sin. To become a real Saviour He had to become Man, that He might take man's place, be treated as a sinner by a holy God, judged like a sinner, dealt with as God will deal with sinners. But the sin and guilt of the world have been laid upon Christ, He has become the one great and only Saviour of sinners. How are men treating Him today?

Men cannot see Him to treat Him as they did in the body, but in the most enlightened lands, where there is a Bible or a portion of one in almost every house, His name is being blasphemed, vilified, spoken against. All that men lack is the opportunity, and they would treat Christ as badly as they did at His first coming. The Jewish nation imagined that they could wreak vengeance on Him for His righteous rebukes for their sins, and yet go free from judgment. How vain was their imagination! How perfectly God kept His word threatening them with judgment! Just so men now imagine they can defy the living God and not suffer judgment. By His dealings with Jerusalem after Christ was crucified, God gave mankind warning of what they must expect if Christ is hated, scorned, rejected.

The Jewish nation could never be made to realize that they were dealing with a holy God who would not fail to keep His word. Men now have the same God to deal with, whose judgments are announced in Scripture. Since Christ left the world there has never been a people who more completely reject Christ than those found on it today. They are fulfilling prophecy just as those who killed Christ did. The present distress is the beginning of a different way of treatment of a revolting world. Christ lives, Christ hears the blasphemy of His name, and soon men will have to bow to judgments to come. Because Christ was a Man who never used His power to deliver Himself from His enemies, they thought to deal with Him as with a weak man. Men now so despise Him that they will show it in every possible way. "Weep for yourselves and your children," said Christ to the women who bewailed Him as He was led to the cross. They were to see the days of vengeance. They did see them.

Christ warned His people; He told them what to do to escape the judgments coming upon the doomed city and people (Luke 21:20-22). Not one who obeyed Him was overtaken by those judgments. So no member of Christ's body will be in the fast-coming tribulation. He Himself has promised this, and will surely keep His word. He is coming for His own, all of them. It is "they that are Christ's" who will be caught away from the impending doom of the dwellers on the earth. We are not called to weep for what is coming on them, but to pray, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

The world cannot grasp the fact that the Man who was weak enough and meek enough to permit His enemies to take Him and crucify Him is strong enough to overthrow all human power and might. The men who delivered Christ to Pilate were blind to His power; Pilate was blind to it; the world has been blind to it ever since. Yet it was revealed when His prophetic warning was fulfilled in Jerusalem's destruction. But the unbelieving men of the world have never seen the connection between Christ's arrest, trial and crucifixion, and the siege and destruction of Jerusalem by the army of Rome. Faith has always seen it, and seen Christ's words fulfilled to the letter.

It is so with the future. Proud unbelievers of every kind scoff at the idea of Christ coming again in the clouds of heaven to execute judgment on this God-defying world. Peter, in the last chapter of his second Epistle, describes both the present days and the scorn which men heap upon the prophet's announcement of fast-coming judgment. The world knows not God, knows not His Christ, despises His offer of salvation, rejects His warnings of coming judgments.

The opposite of this rejection is the path of faith, accepting Christ as our only Saviour from sin, loving Him, trusting Him. What a vast difference there was between Caiaphas and Pilate on the one hand, and Peter, John and Mary on the other. And there is the same difference now between those who reject and those who accept, love, trust, and walk with Christ. We have the same Christ that John had to love; the world has the same Christ to scoff at, despise and hate that Caiaphas and Pilate had. In all the centuries Christ has not changed. He went back to heaven, where He has been since His ascension; but the Christ whom Stephen and Paul saw was the same Christ Peter, John and Mary saw.

He will come again for His own, and the believer of today will see Him, for His coming must be very near. The readers of this-some of them, at least-may be among those who will be "alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord." When He comes He will bring eternal joy to His own. But He is also coming to bring eternal sorrow to the world. The same Christ who is pictured in the Gospels, foretold by the prophets, revealed in the Epistles, is coming both to bless and to judge. He has given 2 Pet. 3 to guide and counsel His waiting people in the days that are fast darkening. Soon our eyes will behold Him, and we shall be made like Him, "for we shall see Him as He is."

"Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot and blameless" (2 Pet. 3:14). J. W. Newton

In the concluding section of the fifth chapter of Ephesians we have presented the ministry of Christ to the church in a seven-fold way. Two of the folds refer to the past, four to the present and the seventh to the future.

Christ loved the church, so much so, that He gave Himself for it. There is a peculiar charm about the expression "gave Himself." Other passages speak of giving His life, but in this beautiful relationship it was necessary that He should give Himself.

Then, as to the present, "sanctifying and cleansing" go on side by side with "nourishing and cherishing." The former may involve discomfort from the view of nature in the individual, but the thought here is abstract, relative to the church as a whole. The latter pair of folds in His wonderful ministry must always cause delight, whether viewed from the individual or the collective standpoint. The simile is the relation of nurse to child. She nourishes with food, she cherishes by hugging close to her bosom, so is the tender manifestation of the love of Christ to the church.

The preceding thoughts are all in view of the future presentation to Himself of the church glorious. In Revelation 21 the Holy City is seen coming down out of heaven, bearing the impress of the glory of God, scintillating with crystalline brilliancy and encrusted with the dispensation of blessing to a beautiful new creation. T. Oliver (Galashiels)

When Noah was about to go forth from the ark he sent out two birds, a raven and a dove. The dove returned, but not the raven. The dove found no rest, and no sustenance, evidently, and came back to its haven of rest, the ark. Picture the surface of the earth strewn with the putrefying bodies of beasts which had perished in the flood. The raven, the unclean bird, would not scruple to eat of these. It could, and would, sustain itself on the dead carcases around.

Is not the lesson to be learned from these two birds very simple? A Christian has the nature of both the raven and the dove. That is, he has the old nature of his natural birth from Adam, and the new nature of the new birth which he received when he believed the gospel and was saved.

The human mind demands food. There is an abundant supply to meet this demand. Someone has said, "Tell me what you read, and I'll tell you what are;" and the Scripture well says, as a man "thinketh in his heart, so is he." We might ask ourselves the question:To which of the two natures am I catering? Do we seek that which is wholesome, and pure and good?-that which will build up the new man, the man in Christ? The apostle says, "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Phil. 4:8). Is this our mental attitude toward what we see and hear and read, or are we catering to that other nature, the old carrion-feeding nature which gloats over the "corruption that is in the world through lust"?

Are you ministering to the dove, or to the raven in you?-to the new nature, or the old? Scripture searchingly says, "He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption," and again, "If ye live after the flesh ye shall die, but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Rom. 8:13). Shall we live after the flesh, and shrivel up in our souls until we are uncertain whether we were ever converted? That is what the Apostle tells us will be the result if we do not have in our faith other qualities which he names, and which make for growth and progress in the new life. His words are, "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity" (2 Peter 1:5-7). To be careless as to those inspired utterances must inevitably result in serious loss in this life, and also a loss, far greater, for eternity, as the apostle warns us in the following verses (8-12).

The Apostle John adds a word along the same lines, saying, "All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever" (1 John 2:16,17).

There was a time when the monthly periodicals published among us were found in practically every home. Their cost is well worth the little sacrifice necessary to obtain them, and so we have in hand each month of the
***************************PAGES 283- 290 MISSING************************* ***

Calendar:June 16th to July 15th

DAILY BIBLE READING………June 16th, 1 Cor. 15; June 30th, 2 Cor. 13; July 15th, Phil. 3.

(Concluded from p. 17.)

The second time we hear of Nicodemus he is found bearing witness, yet associated with his testimony is found that same timidity which owing to the "fear of man" never could give place to the "courage" of faith, unless strengthened with a might greater than man possesses. His fellow-rulers had sought to arrest Jesus, and the officers, struck with the power of Jesus' words, returned without Him. To their question, "Why have ye not brought Him?" they replied, "Never man spake like this Man." How this should have made them consider whose word it was which arrested the officers, and held them captive in its own inherent power. But their blindness was so great that they could only regard the men as "deceived." They add with deep scorn, "Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on Him?"

Then it was that Nicodemus spoke, not apparently in defense of Jesus so much as on behalf of their own law. Yet underneath his words we can read unmistakably that what he had heard from Jesus had left its mark upon him, and that it was working in his soul, the undying "seed of the Word of God." "Doth our law judge the man before it hear him, and know what he does?" But in these few words there was a force which was felt deep down in their breasts. These judges of the nation had stooped so low as to actually condemn One to whom they had never really listened. The speaker had heard Him, and therefore he was not with them in their condemnation of what he knew to be the truth of God. Was their law then so unfair as this, that it does not even give this man opportunity to be heard? And on reflection, is not this always the reason why He is rejected by men? Once He is given a hearing in man's heart, that heart is won. It is the refusal to hear that leaves man under the sin of rejecting the One who has come from the Father with His message of infinite love."Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears My word, and believes Him that sent Me, has everlasting life, and comes not into judgment, but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24).Who will say that Nicodemus had not heard Him? And because in his innermost soul he had heard the voice of Jesus, he cannot now keep silence. His brief thrust broke up the council. We read that "every man went unto his own house."

The end of the story about this "ruler" of Israel is reached at the scene of the crucifixion. Many things we might long to know:What became of Nicodemus later on? Did he openly join the company of the disciples? etc. But God never writes His stories to gratify our curiosity, but tells us what is needful to lead us in the path of truth. He leaves the last chapter for eternity. Then, and not till then, will many a story be fully told. But enough is now told to satisfy us that Nicodemus fulfilled the meaning of his name, and became a "world-conqueror" in the truest and most lasting sense of the word. For it is written, "Who is he that overcometh the world but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" And we can scarcely escape the conviction that John, as he wrote these words, had the scenes in mind in which the "ruler" had met and heard the Son of God, and lastly had linked himself openly with the One whom his fellow-rulers hated and crucified. Yes, here was one whose faith had gained the victory over the world; one who had been "born of God." "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, and this is the victory which overcometh the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4,5).

How indelibly the Spirit of God has impressed this story upon our hearts! The last scene He presents of this "new-born" child of heaven is one in which he is joined by another, who like himself, had heard and believed. In the record of these two men, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, we witness one of those great victories which God is ever winning in the hearts of men through faith. From the very uppermost bough of the tree of Judaism, men in whom the nation had prided itself, they came down in humility and repentance to link themselves with the One their fellows decreed must be condemned and slain. In their hearts they had "not consented to the counsel and deed of them," and now they act in accordance with their convictions wrought in the power of the Holy Spirit. In giving honor to the Lord in His burial they once and for all severed themselves from their former position and associates. For we cannot suppose that in identifying themselves with Jesus of Nazareth in the manner recorded, they expected to continue in honor by their fellow-leaders or the nation. The hatred against Jesus was such at that time, that none who took sides with Him or His cause could hope to escape that hatred too.

Joseph and Nicodemus were men of the highest intelligence. Their position as members of the Sanhedrim, the supreme court of Judaism, gave them honor and power such as did not exist outside that limited circle. The trial and death of Jesus brought before all the members of the Elderhood a test which meant very much more than acquitting or condemning a man whom even the heathen judge thrice declared innocent. Every charge the leaders brought against Jesus in the ears of Pilate, he had disposed of, leaving them without a reason for His condemnation. Every charge, we repeat, except one, which, by the fact that he was not of that favored nation, Pilate could not enter into with them (although the charge filled him with terror), and that was, that Jesus had, upon oath, declared that He was the Son of God.

Joseph, Nicodemus, and every member of the Council knew that in thus declaring Himself, Jesus claimed equality with God in every sense, Personally considered. With the exception of these two men they all regarded Jesus as an impostor and a blasphemer. The high-priest had accused Him of blasphemy, and they all (with the exceptions given) declared Jesus guilty of this sin, and worthy of death. The act of these two men in honoring Jesus in His burial was the strongest condemnation possible of the position taken by their fellows. In opposing them, these men knew well the consequences which must follow. They knew that they would be regarded as in sympathy with an antichrist, and that they would incur from their fellows the same hatred and rejection which had been accorded Him. They knew too that the nation would regard them as amenable to the Law written against those led away by false gods in Deut. 13. And with all this knowledge and with all others against them, these men deliberately took sides with the One who had been crucified.

There is but one answer to all this. They knew that Jesus was true, that He was indeed the very Son of God. It was faith in God and in His Son which won for them the great "Victory" over the world. And if they lost that place of honor and power before men, they won through their faith in Jesus a place of power and honor with God. God has honored these children of faith by recording their names and their deeds along with that of His beloved SON. Theirs is an honor which will abide forever. And though the world still rejects Him whom God has raised up and glorified at His own right hand, the day is near when He will publicly own along with all who have confessed Him before men, these two who in the face of scorn, hatred, and bigotry, sought to put honor upon One whom they knew and loved as God's only-begotten Son. Wm. Huss

(Continued from p.61)

7.-SMITING THE ROCK TWICE

Over twenty years have passed since the scenes we have been witnessing, but there is no improvement in the disposition of the people. Meanwhile Miriam dies. But in Kadesh where she is buried, the people complain because there is no water, and reproach Moses, saying:"Would God that we had died when our brethren DIED BEFORE THE LORD!" referring to the destruction by fire of Korah and two hundred and fifty Levites, the entombment of Dathan and Abiram with their families and property; as well as the death by plague of 14,700 malcontents who would not behave. This is daring defiance of God, an outburst from the impious hearts of a people who refuse to learn. And, adding insolence to irreverence, they say, "This evil place…is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates, neither is there any water to drink" (Num. 20:1-5).They are insinuating they have been misled by false reports of a good land, altogether ignoring the fact that at its very borders they refuse to enter, saying:"Let us make a captain, and let us return unto Egypt;" and when Joshua and Caleb seek to advise them, "bade stone them with stones" (Num. 14). Things are now in a bad way.

Fortunately upon retiring with burdened spirits to the door of the tabernacle, Moses and Aaron, having fallen upon their faces, are given audience with the One who can tell them what to do. "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock:so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink" (20:7,8). Never was guidance more timely, never was instruction more precise, and never was there greater opportunity to glorify God. But, alas, Moses, experienced, disciplined, and the meekest man on earth, is after all only a man of like passions with us all, and on this occasion takes his own way. For, having assembled the congregation, he addresses them thus:Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice:and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also."

The departure from the implicit instructions of God in this behavior is so abrupt that one cannot but ask:How is it that one so faithful is capable of such transgression? The only answer is that he is but a man. Provoked continually for a quarter of a century, he has lost his temper. This anger is not that of one sympathizing with God, as formerly when he descends Sinai to discover the nation affronting God. That is an indignation within the bounds of communion with God, that goes as far as God supports it; but this is the breakdown of a good man because the flesh in him displaces God's control of him; it is the outbreak of a patient man off his guard, a man provoked by ways he fails to lay before God. And solemn is the dealing therewith, for, "The Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed Me not, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them." Thus "it went ill with Moses for their sakes:because they provoked his spirit" (Ps. 101:32,33), so that

HE SPAKE UNADVISEDLY WITH HIS LIPS
And although he afterwards pleads:"I pray thee, let me go over and see the good land," the Lord says, "Speak no more unto Me of this matter" (Deut. 3:23-27).

Considered typically, Moses as representing the law could not have conducted Israel to the Land. Moreover as he had already smitten the rock (Exod. 17:1-7), setting forth the smiting of our Lord and Saviour when "He suffered once for sins;" when "once in the end of the ages hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself"; and was "once offered to bear the sins of many;" it was intolerable to God to be portrayed as smiting His beloved Son a second time for us. Furthermore, the rod was now intended (not for striking, but) for exhibiting; for it had "budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds" (Num. 17:8), setting forth the authority of Priesthood in resurrection life as vested in Aaron, the type of Christ. As such Christ is to be used, for without Him we cannot make any move but a false one. All that is necessary is to "Speak.. .unto the rock," and there will be refreshment in the power of the Spirit as life. R. J. Reid

(To be continued, D.V.)

(No. 3)

In Isaiah 13:19 we have a remarkable prophecy regarding the utter ruin and desolation of ancient Babylon, written fully 700 years before Christ came, while great Babylon was at the very height of her glory.

A few years ago Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, of Robert College, Constantinople, was asked by a Turkish colonel to give him just one sure proof that the Bible was God's Book. Dr. Hamlin asked him if he had ever visited the ruins of ancient Babylon. "Yes," he replied, "and let me tell you my experience. I hired a rich Sheik and his men to take me there to hunt. We found that all manner of wild animals, owls and birds, were dwelling there amongst the ruins, so we had the best hunting of our lives. It was so good that we were annoyed when the Arabs told us they must go miles away to pitch their tents for the night. We tried to bribe them to camp right there, but they refused, saying that no Arab had ever been known to camp there, because it was haunted after dark by all manner of evil spirits, who would surely kill them or bring great evil upon them." Then Dr. Hamlin opened his Bible to Isaiah 13:19-21, and the colonel read:"And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the deserts shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures, and owls shall dwell there." By this one fulfilled prophecy that Turkish colonel was convinced that the Bible was a God-inspired Book. For a full account of this interview, see the "Women's Missionary Magazine" of the U. P. Church, April, 1921.

-From "The Bible:Its Christ and Modernism," by T. J. McCrossan, 213 pp. $1.00.

(Concluded from p. 184)

James the Apostle tells us that man has succeeded in taming every species of beast, bird, reptile and fish. But there is one outstanding failure, one thing that no man can tame. It is described as an "unruly evil"-it is wild. It is "full of deadly poison," like a serpent. This "little member" that has gained such a reputation for itself is the Tongue. It "boasts great things," and is capable of expressing the whole gamut of human thought from the height of blessing God to the depth of cursing men.

As a rudder steers a ship to its destination and a bit guides a horse, so the tongue exercises an enormous influence over our eventual destination. "By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned" (Matt. 12:37). It is therefore futile to furbish our weapons against all the beasts that confront us, if we fail to face this thing that is worse than a wild beast and worse than a serpent, because it unites in itself the deadly characteristics of both.

Perhaps the commonest sin of all is committed with the tongue, that of lying. It has of necessity to accompany most other sins, and if its ready services were not available, a great many sins would perforce have to be eliminated-they could not get on without it. That is why the tongue is, as it were, a strategic point in our heart's fortress-a key position. It is said of the wicked:"They go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies" (Ps. 53:3), and doubtless the first sin committed by millions of children is a lie. There is probably hardly a life that would not be purer, stronger and more blessed, if a clearer and more definite determination were made to avoid anything like a lie in speech or life.

It is most significant that, when a list of sinners is given, whose part shall be in the "second death," each class is merely mentioned, until we come to the last-named and crowning sin, that of lying. Here additional emphasis is laid on the fact that "ALL" liars shall thus find the only place morally suitable for them (Rev. 21:8).

Lying is so heinous and yet so common a sin that we must take special precautions against it. Let every Christian avoid most carefully such a thing as "telling lies for fun." God's opinion of such an amusement is forcibly expressed in Proverbs 26:18,19:"As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows and death, so is the man that deceiveth his neighbor and saith:Am not I in sport?" If our wits are so exceedingly dull that we cannot find an outlet for healthy humor without descending to deception, then we had better leave off trying to be funny.

Exaggeration is another very common form of lying. The desire to impress or interest their hearers leads many unwary souls into this trap.

There are many things said about our Lord Jesus which show that His perfections were expressed in His speech. "Grace was poured into Sis lips" (cf. Ps. 45:2), and, as a natural consequence, we read that those who heard Him "wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth" (Luke 4:22). There were times when He could be dumb "as a sheep before her shearers," but when He did speak, "never man spake like this Man" (John 7:46), for there was no deceit in His mouth (Isa. 53:9). With Him, as with us, His speech was the criterion of His character-"His mouth is most sweet:yea, He is altogether lovely" (Song 5:16). This answers to James' statement:"If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man" (James 3:2). The purpose for which God "made man's mouth" was that we might speak with sincerity and truthfulness, making our words the plain, undistorted reflection of our thoughts.

The first step towards a spiritual recovery is to accept this ideal as one worth making sacrifices for. If we are not entirely convinced that it is absolutely necessary for our spiritual life and health, and above all an essential pre-equipment for the part we shall take in Christ's future kingdom, when the dead shall arise and we shall put on immortality, then there is little hope of victory. We must therefore look facts straight in the face with unflinching courage and with the steel-edged determination in Christ's strength to avoid side-tracks and the easy path of self-justification. Thus shall the victory be gained.

"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh," said our Lord. If the heart is truly surrendered to Him, the mouth will follow suit. When Elijah restored the Shunammite's son to life, he "put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands" (2 Kings 4:34). Thus will our Lord identify Himself with those to whom He gives new life.

Does not your heart cry out, like the first outburst of the Bride in the Song of Solomon:"Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth," so that your speech, or your silence, may be as His?

Some people are not nearly so unbusinesslike and dishonest in ordinary affairs as they are in their spiritual life. On principle they would never dream of selling a piece of furniture or a car, and then appropriating it to their own use without permission from the new owner. Yet it does not occur to them that it is just as dishonest to devote to selfish uses that which has definitely been bought by the precious blood of Christ and belongs entirely to Him. My tongue is Christ's, and so is yours. Let this be definitely and practically acknowledged, and we shall find that He can tame that which no man can tame. He can tame the whole "wild ass" and therefore also its tongue.

CONCLUSION

David practiced on the lion and the bear, and finally, in the time of greater crisis, laid Goliath in the dust. So our fighting with beasts now is preparing us for the time when God shall bruise Satan under our feet.

David and his men reaped in the flourishing days of the Kingdom the fruit of the hard, stern self-denial of Adullam and Engedi. So shall we find that it is to our eternal advantage to fight manfully the "beasts" that seek to wreck our Christian lives.

"If the dead rise not – let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."

Ah, yes! But IF THE DEAD RISE, let us wage an unrelenting, daily warfare against these "beasts," for to-morrow-

Who knows? Author Gook
The four papers, of which this one is the last, may be had in pamphlet form, as per announcement on the cover of this magazine.

(No. 6)

Ezekiel 26:12 records a wonderful prediction regarding Tyre when it was one of the earth's mightiest cities. Its wall was then so high and so thick that the great king, Sennacherib, failed to take it after a siege of thirteen years. Ezekiel says (590 B.C.):"They shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant homes, and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water."

Now Nebuchadnezzar took Tyre about 550 B.C., but he left nearly all the wall standing and most of the houses, being content with carrying away the spoil. During the siege the people managed to slip out under cover of darkness and escaped to an island a half mile or so out in the sea. Here they built up a second city of Tyre, and, being on an island, they constructed for self-protection the strongest navy of ancient times. Years now passed and still Ezekiel's prophecy was unfulfilled; the stones of the wall of old Tyre, the timbers of its houses and the very dust on those timbers were not yet carried into the water. However, about 315 B.C. Alexander the Great came that way on his great tour of conquest. He asked certain privileges and favors of the new city of Tyre. These were refused, as they saw he only had a great army, but no navy. Alexander then ordered his soldiers to tear down the wall of ancient Tyre, and with these stones and the timbers of the houses to construct a bridge from the shore out to the new city of Tyre in the sea. When this was completed he went out and captured that city, and so Ezekiel's great prophecy was fulfilled, though spoken several hundred years before Alexander was born:"They shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant homes, and they shall lay thy stones, and thy timbers, and thy dust in the midst of the water." Such a prediction, fulfilled to the very letter, is positive proof that the Bible is God's own book.

-From "The Bible:Its Christ and Modernism," By T. J. McCrossan, 213 pp., $1.00.

We would commend for prayerful consideration the following remarks accompanying the annual missionary report published in "Echoes of Service," and issued by our brethren in Bath, England:

In view of the fact that the number of laborers with whom we correspond does not decrease, the necessity for curtailing our remittances for ordinary needs naturally gives cause for concern, especially as we have evidence that many devoted servants of the Lord are passing through severe testings and trials of faith. We were surprised to learn, a little while back, from one who with his wife has diligently served the Lord for many years in the regions beyond, that what they received financially was practically confined to what we were able to send. We fear this may not be an isolated case. Such information was not by any means given by way of an appeal, and we are afraid there may be many who in like circumstances are suffering. Our work is not that of a Missionary Society. We are, however, deeply impressed with the importance that, for the very reason of the absence of an organization, of which none of us approve, our readers should adopt all possible means- as, for instance, by reading this magazine, as well as in other ways-of making themselves acquainted with the work in which our brethren in other lands are engaged, and with the circumstances under which their labor is carried on, so that there may be continual intercession for them, with resulting practical co-operation with them. We are thankful whenever we hear that this is the case. While we rejoice that the work of the Gospel is spreading, and souls in almost every country in the world are being won for Christ and built up in the truths of the Word of God, we feel the need of stirring up our readers to earnest prayer that the Adversary may not be permitted to gain an advantage by means of the circumstances of the times in which we are living.

We have heard it mooted that, in view of the serious economic conditions which prevail today, there should be some deterrent influence exercised in the matter of the going forth of fresh workers. There is, indeed, need of restraint and hindrance where there is any lack of evidence of a definite call and qualification for such work. We cannot too often point out that the Scriptures do not countenance anything like the application of a person to go forth as a missionary. Missionary service in the regions beyond must never be looked upon as an occupation upon which one enters as upon a new calling. Service in the gospel begins in one's own locality and in connection with the assembly with which one is identified.

But, while this is true, we must not overlook the Lord's command, which still holds good, to pray to the Lord of the harvest to thrust forth laborers into His harvest. It may be indeed "a day of trouble," but, "Shall I bring to the birth and not cause to bring forth?" saith the Lord. Is He going to arrest His work in the midst of its fulfilment? It is "for such a time as this" that He allots to His servants their work and gives them their honorable opportunity, and it is for the fulfilment of His purpose that they "came to this hour." Oh, that we in our measure may, like the Lord, pray, "Father, glorify Thy Name," and with devotion, deeper than ever, to His interests, seek with increased self-denial to help forward His servants!

How little do some of us know of that readiness to impoverish ourselves for the making of others rich! Troublous days seem needful to bring us to our senses and to put us to the test. Let each one then ask himself, "Am I doing all I can for the Lord who did so much for me?" "Am I giving all I can for Him who gave Himself for me?" It is only as constrained by the love of Christ that our service is of any value in His sight, but then this love is no sentimental thing. We manifest our love to Christ by seeking to please Him and being ready to make sacrifices for His sake. It is not by urgent appeals for men and money that His work is to be furthered, but by a fresh revelation of Himself to our hearts, causing self and self's interests to be forgotten in the overwhelming appeal of His love. The Lord grant it to each one of us!

In another place we read concerning prayer on behalf of missionaries and the Lord's work in foreign lands, as follows:

FERVENT PRAYER

In Matthew 18:19, the Lord says:"If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven." And Colossians 4:12 tells of one person who labored fervently in prayer. Epaphras kept in a praying spirit all the time, not one prayer now and again, but constantly-recurring prayers, and these with fervor. "Fervently" here means wrestling in agony, as in an athletic contest or warfare, and this prayer contest implies the existence of keen, persistent opposition of unseen foes that must be overcome. Epaphras, we see, was a prayer-combatant. In addition to praying elders' meetings, let ones and twos in their homes and elsewhere, be at it. In a recent issue of "China's Millions" we read, "We thank God the C. I. M. has more prayer helpers today than at any previous time. In addition to over 5,000 members of the Prayer Union, and 206 prayer gatherings at which the work of the C. I. M. is regularly remembered, there are now 1,631 prayer companions linked to 286 missionaries on the field. In two years the number of prayer companions has almost doubled itself."

Let us listen to the burning words of another, "Where are the Christly leaders who can teach the saints to pray and put them to it? Do we know we are raising a prayerless set of saints? Where are the apostolic leaders who can instruct God's people to pray? Let them come to the front and do the work, and it will be the greatest work that can be done!"

JAPAN NEWS LETTER

From our brother E. B. Craig, we have received the following:

Work amongst the Japanese hereabouts is principally house-to-house visitation. Brother H. S. McNair helps. We covered most of the Japanese houses in Alameda city lately. Sometimes I speak in Japanese churches. The work is more sowing than reaping. There are many genuine Christians amongst the Japanese in America, but the majority are either Buddhists or irreligious. Work in English also takes much of my time.

The greeting cards with Scripture (about eighty, or so) which my wife and I usually send to Japan at New Year time, have brought hearty expressions of appreciation from our Japanese brethren and sisters. They report that the various activities in the gospel, including their cottage Sunday Schools, continue with blessing. In another part of Tokyo early morning cottage meetings on Thursdays have been started. Prayer is asked for two more new converts.

The strife in Manchuria seems to be endangering brother Kautto and his wife and their Chinese helpers, as according to a news' report bombs have exploded near their compound killing some Chinese. May the hand of God be over His servants, protecting them from military ruthlessness, and may the distress serve to open many hearts to the Gospel."

MEXICAN WORK IN TEXAS Our brother Ervin Dresch writes:

The small Mexican assembly continues here in San Antonio. Lack of clothing hinders some from coming to the meetings. The Sunday School continues to grow. Since January we have been having an average of over seventy-five present. There is real interest in our rural Sunday School, held in the bed-room of a Mexican brother, he having moved his family to the garage to make room for the Sunday School and other meetings. We cram from thirty to forty in the room at times. The Lord took their dear little baby in March, which was a hard trial, and they were told that it was because they left "the holy mother church." However the testimony of this family is winning others to Christ. Now his wife's eldest sister is exercised. Please pray for these dear people.

WORK IN NEW YORK HARBOUR

Good Literature Needs

A crying need of the work here is good and suitable literature for English-reading seamen. All gospel books and tracts are not especially adaptable for many of them. In making this need known recently we were much encouraged by receiving a splendid package of "Safety, Certainty and Enjoyment," and also a number of packages of excellent gospel magazines. May the Lord bless this seed as we sow it in hope.

A new (to us) type of American seamen has just presented itself to us here – Chinamen born in San Francisco and Honolulu, working on American ships. They are of course Americans, speaking good English, and having some kind of Christian training. They showed great interest in our talks and we left with them some of the above-mentioned books.

Seamen have good memories. They never forget those whom they have met. This was brought home to us very strikingly a week ago by an African cook who knew us as soon as we boarded his steamer, and who recalled every word we had spoken to him on a previous visit- something to make us consider carefully what we say.

-E. A. West.

AFRICA

Definite prayer is requested on behalf of our brethren, and Protestant missionaries generally, laboring in the Belgian Congo, as the opposition of Rome has become intensified during the past year. In this connection Doctor Woodhams writes:-

We have just been reading of the opposition that our brethren are feeling at the Westcott Mission. After thirty years of faithful work, to have active systematic opposition commenced, with the one idea of scattering the people and breaking up the testimony, must be disheartening, to say the least. But such are the ways of Rome, and she has not changed. Yet what has been done for the Lord will stand, and there may be even a brighter shining as the result of the testing. It is proposed to do the same thing at Nyangkundi, for the same Rome has chosen a site within a half-mile of the mission, and they plan to put a station there. The present station of the Roman Catholics has been at Bunia, about thirty miles away, and they had contented themselves with having native teachers and out-schools all around the Nyangkundi section. But Nyangkundi grew in spite of this, and it has evidently been a sore spot to them to see so many natives there. So the above proposal comes as a new form of opposition, but we can leave this in the Lord's hands, knowing that by both "good report and evil report" the Word is made known. These two instances seem to be but part of what we hear of as a general policy being carried out throughout Congo. It is good in view of all this to remember the humble place which is ours as servants of Christ-to continue on giving out the gospel in obedience to the Lord who sent us. Yet we have felt nothing of the power of Satan against Christ as compared with what our brethren in Russia have felt, for example. So the world conditions but remind us that our Lord's word is being fulfilled, "As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be," and our hope is brighter.

RETURNING WORKERS

Our brother Gordon Searle, his wife and two children, will sail, D.V., on the "SAMARIA" from the Cunard Pier about midnight, June 17th. Our brother and his family are at present visiting relatives in Nova Scotia, but it is hoped we can arrange a farewell meeting in New York City or vicinity before they sail. Let us bear our brother and his family up in prayer as they again set out for Africa.

HOME MISSION WORK

While we are particularly interested in the work of the Lord in foreign lands, we feel that we should not, particularly at this season of the year, be unmindful of the opportunities for greater gospel activity that abound both on the streets of our great cities and in country places. Remembering the words of our Lord, "Ye shall be witnesses unto Me, both in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth," so that beginning at Jerusalem (our own locality) might we not in activity and prayer interest widen out and out until we take in the "uttermost part of the earth."

"The night cometh when no man can work" (John 9:4).