Whatever the difficulties in the interpretation yy of the parable of the unjust steward (Luke 16:),-and these are only apparent,-it is clear that he is put out of his stewardship. Man has been entrusted with responsibilities for God. His creation, his presence in the world, is a proof of this. He is not here for himself, nor in independence, but to make diligent use of that which is not his own, but God's. This, of course, was true in the fullest sense in the case of our first parents. The garden was not merely' a place of delight for Adam, but of service too. He was to dress and to keep it, and keep himself inviolate from sin. He failed miserably, and was put out of the garden. God declared as to it, "Thou mayest be no longer steward." Outside the garden, his sentence of expulsion from stewardship was not removed. "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," was the dark writing on the wall ever before his eyes.

"Death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Every man's life, then, leading on to death, as it does, is a witness that his tenure of stewardship is brief. God has passed the sentence upon all, "Thou mayest be no longer steward;" and this is because man has dealt unfaithfully with what God had committed to him.

How the sin of Eden has been reenacted, with endless variations, by every descendant of Adam! Disobedience of God, even though He were known but dimly, has marked the human race. Nor does grace, blessedly though it removes the sentence of eternal doom, alter this solemn declaration. The
saints of God, like all the rest of the world, grow old, are subject to sickness, and lie down and die. Thank God, the sting of death has been removed, for sin has been judged in the person of our blessed Saviour, and no wrath lies against us. But, so far as our earthly circumstances in the body are concerned, we still hear the solemn declaration, "Thou mayest be no longer steward." Man has not been reinstated. The believer does not get back Eden blessings. This world is a witness of his unfaithfulness, and the solemn declaration of God must be adhered to, "Thou mayest be no longer steward."

How this should solemnize and chasten our hearts as we realize we are soon to be turned out of the world into which we have been put! This is but little realized, oftentimes, by the young; but as years go on and the powers of nature begin to fail, it is more and more clearly seen. If we judge merely according to sense, there is nothing before us but the grave, and that at no great distance, while of course the truth of the uncertainty of life is applicable to all alike, both old and young.

We have wasted our Master's goods surely in our unconverted days; and alas, since we have known the Lord we have not always been as careful as the trust put upon us would call for. We are unprofitable servants in a far fuller way than those who can say, "We have done that which it was our duty to do; " for our unprofitableness has gone further than the mere negative, not glorifying God beyond what was our appointed duty; we have failed in that which was actually put into our hands.

All this unfaithfulness has been due to the fall, and is closely connected with it, as we have seen. We can therefore also connect it with that which has existed since the fall-that old nature, called '' the flesh." It is because of the presence of the flesh in the believer that he is unfaithful, though this is no excuse. "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh." But as faith is that which has practically anticipated the judgment by accepting God's sentence of condemnation and His remedy, so also it can anticipate the setting aside of the unfaithful steward. God has already, in His own mind, put the unfaithful steward out of his office. He has "condemned sin in the flesh." Where we recognize this in its fulness we cease to be practically in the sphere in which unfaithfulness operates. The flesh, while still in us, and needing to be watched most carefully, is no longer our master. We can pass the rest of our lives, not according to the lusts of man, but according to the will of God. What liberty this gives! We bow in glad recognition of the fact that, so far as the flesh is concerned, no faithfulness in stewardship can be expected from it. We thankfully recognize that it has been judged and set aside, and now, instead of vainly seeking to secure faithfulness from that which has proved itself unfaithful, we are at leisure to be occupied with Him who was faithful in all things, even Christ; occupation with whom produces, according to our measure of faith, a like result in us.

So, as we look about us and see unfaithfulness in the world, or as we look at ourselves and see witness of the fact that, as to our bodies, the inevitable day when we shall be put out of our stewardship is approaching, we can with joy realize that day is past for faith. We have already been put out, and in the new sphere where Christ is all, and in the power of that "law of the Spirit" which is "life in Christ Jesus," we are walking now in the "newness of Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." We yield ourselves unto God as those that are "alive from the dead."

May the Lord give us, as we realize the unprofitableness of the flesh, to be even yet, in the little time that we remain in the body, "good stewards of the manifold grace of God "!

Only in John's Gospel is this miracle recorded. The other Gospels were written much earlier, but this first miracle, like every other portion of God's word, comes to us in its right place. It is in accord with John's Gospel because it is the foreshadowing of this new dispensation of the Spirit. Matthew, Mark and Luke were more on Jewish ground, when the Lord came to His own and His own received Him not; but in John almost the opening word is, "As many as did receive Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of god, even to them that believe on His name, who were born … of God." This is the first mention of the New Birth in Scripture.

In this miracle, opening, as it were, the new dispensation, we have in symbol its chief characteristics beautifully set forth.

First – It is the Third Day – resurrection day. Resurrection characterizes the dispensation. Our Lord rose from the dead on the third day, and the cross implies the end of man as before God. If God had not done with the Adam race-the natural man-Jesus need not have died. He could have come amongst us as a teacher, and thus brought the word of God to us. But so evil was our nature that, like the Jews, we never could have received Him as the declarer of God. This method had been tried throughout the world's history, and ended at the cross of Christ. Now is the circumcision truly. The end of the flesh has come. Man, to suit God, must be dead, buried, risen; which baptism figures. The Lord Jesus took the penalty of sin for us, and only asks of man to willingly accept death, burial, and resurrection-or a new life, giving up the old one and accepting the new by Jesus Christ the divine Man. So here in this first miracle of our Lord it is resurrection day-a new dispensation!

Second-It is a marriage, a union, and a union of God and man that is before us. Jesus the Lord is the Head of this new race. He is the first one in whom this union was ever effected. He is the first divine Man. And Mary "the mother of Jesus was there." It was in connection with her that the divine union was first miraculously wrought. Now, as ever, such a union can be effected only by the miraculous power of God. Every new-born soul is a miracle, and can only be wrought by almighty power. Hence it is, "born of god," "sons of God, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ! "-a miracle of grace! " By grace are ye saved, through faith; and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."

Third-"And both Jesus and His disciples were called to the marriage"-Jesus the power, and the disciples to be the subjects. They were as yet not fully initiated into this new life, but were disciples, learners. Here in the beginning it was symbolically set before them, to be sure; probably after many days to be dwelt upon and meditated upon after He had returned to His Father; even as we now dwell upon it with rapture in our hearts and thanksgivings on our lips.

Fourth.-No wine, no joy, no gladness. So was man in his sin, separated from God, in darkness and ruin, helpless, lost, all resting under the judgment of God, dead to Him.

Fifth-Nothing but '' earthen vessels "! What can they do ? Nothing but hold the water, which is a figure of the word of God. That makes up for everything else. Receive "the Word," and that brings the joy of salvation. There is now not only plenty of wine, but the vessels are "full to the brim," and everybody is full of joy. "Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures," "being born again by the word of God."

Sixth-'' Whatsoever He saith unto you do." Yes, do it. Obey Him, and all spiritual good follows. Miracles even follow obedience. " If any man will do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God or not." God will let him know by His Spirit. "In Him is life" (the new life), "and the life is the light of men." Men cannot see until they get this life. The Lord Jesus opens the eyes of the spiritually blind now, just as He did of the physically blind when He was down here among men-all the result of obedience, subjection to God. God must be God; man must be subject.

Seventh-"The best wine at the last"-the last administration, or dispensation, the best. It is even the eternal perfection of man with God. "Every man, when he is perfected, shall be as his Master" (Luke 6:40). Every true Christian shall be conformed to the image of his Master (Rom. 8:29). It is united to God in Christ, as our miracle sets forth in the most perfect and beautiful symbols.

Eighth-This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory, and His disciples believed on Him-set forth His glory to all creation. Here in the very beginning is the whole dispensation set out before us in figure, so that all men, once in the light of God, may see His purposes manifested from the very beginning of the Lord's public service. In it we see a magnificent prophecy of the glorious future for all the true saints of God. " Whom He did predestinate, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified" (Rom 8:30). "What then shall we say to these things ? If God be for us, who can be against us ?" (lb. 31 ) J. S. P.

Holiness is not the absence of sin, but the non-allowance of it. If to live a holy life it were required that no sin be in me, then were it impossible for me to be holy, for sin is in me despite my being a child of God and the Holy Spirit's abode in me. Struggle to rid myself of it as I may, or make myself believe that I have succeeded, it nevertheless is there and will be there till the Lord comes. Then, and not till then, will that great change be accomplished "in the twinkling of an eye " which will make an end of the sin that dwells in me.

But let the child of God realize first in his soul that God has judged sin at the cross; that sin-indwelling sin-is therefore no more before God but put out of His sight forever. Let him learn thereby to abhor it as God abhors it, and judge every motion of it as God has judged it on the cross; and that man will be a holy man, will lead a holy life, will enjoy the grace of God, and will be "like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper " (Psa. 1:3). P. L. J.

Our readings for the present month are the epistles to the Romans and to the Hebrews.

The great theme of Romans is " the righteousness of God" as manifested in the justification of the ungodly, and the full acceptance of the believer in Christ. Its general divisions mark most clearly the wondrous unfolding of divine reasoning we have here.

Div. 1:(chaps, 1:-5:n.) God's righteousness, in contrast with man's unrighteousness, and yet the basis upon which the sinner is justified.

The first seventeen verses of the first chapter are of an introductory character in which the apostle declares the basis of the gospel and its sources. The theme of this portion is given in the sixteenth and seventeenth verses.

From chap. 1:18-3:20, we have a most needful, but painful unfolding of the awful and hopeless corruption of the natural man. God lets in the light of His truth, both in nature and in revelation, and both alike prove man to be utterly and hopelessly away from Him. He first applies this to the Gentiles who have not the law, but who are nevertheless responsible to know and to obey God as revealed in the work of nature. His eternal power and deity are manifested here, so that men are without excuse. So far, however, from this bringing them to the knowledge of God, the very light that was in them became darkness, and, turning away from the Source of life, their very nature was corrupted by all the unspeakable passions which fester in the darkness, and are the natural offspring of a mind and heart that have shut God out.

Coming to the Jew, with all his privileges under the law, the oracles of God having been committed to him, and divine love shown in his history, is the record any better? Alas, no. The Jew has simply boasted in the law and used it as a prop for his self-righteousness ; but, as a matter of fact, has not kept it, and is therefore proved guilty under it.

The conclusion of the whole of this part is, that both Jew and Gentile are all under sin, and the effect is that' every mouth should be "stopped, and all the world become guilty before God."

This leads on to the divine remedy, which is as efficacious and complete as the ruin was hopeless.

From chap. 3:21 to the close of this portion, God's righteousness, in contrast with man's unrighteousness, is brought out; and the amazing thing is that the very righteousness which would brand forever the ungodly as unworthy a place in His presence, instead of doing so, is manifested in the justification of every one who believes in Jesus.

This is upon the ground of the sacrifice of the blessed Son of God, the One whom God, in His love, has "set forth to be a propitiatory," (or mercy-seat) "through faith, by His blood." As there was no difference in the condition of all, Jew and Gentile alike, so now for believers there is no difference in their justification. "The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him." Boasting is shut out. The Jew cannot exalt himself above the Gentile, but both alike are justified on the same divine principle of "faith without works."
This is the grand statement of the gospel, which is illustrated and supported by quotations from the Old Testament Scriptures. Abraham and David are given, in the forth chapter, as examples of justification by faith without works, circumcision having come in only after the justification was effected, but never as a ground of it.

The conclusion is reached in the fifth chapter, where justification, peace with God, access into His presence and joy in the hope of His glory, are the delightful contrasts to the condemnation, wrath of God, distance from Him, and "fearful looking for of judgment" of the natural man. When the soul has entered into these divine truths, tribulation by the way becomes but the blessed means of casting us more fully upon God and working in us the fruits of divine grace. Thus, we can joy in God as the Object of our souls' delight, "through whom we have now received the reconciliation."

There is no thought here of attainment or classes of the people of God. It simply sets before us the full, precious results of justification, the portion of the weakest and youngest believer in Christ. Reconciliation was effected when we were enemies; and received, the moment we believed in God, through Christ. Therefore to make it an advanced stage of Christian experience, is to miss entirely the teaching of the Spirit of God, and to becloud by self-occupation those who otherwise would be rejoicing " with joy unspeakable and full of glory."

Div. 2. (chaps, 5:12-8:) The theme of this portion is entirely different from the first. There, it was the justification of the sinner from his sins. Here, it is the deliverance of the believer from sin. The gospel provides this twofold remedy:for man's guilt, and for his helplessness. The most humbling lesson, perhaps, that a believer has to learn, is that there is no strength in him ; that even with a new nature, there is no power to live for God; and here, alas, most of the people of God spend their lives, looking upon constant failure and recovery, sin and groaning, as the normal condition of a believer.

The first division would answer to the sheltering blood of the passover lamb; the people being still in Egypt, but feasting with comfort upon the roasted lamb whose blood has sheltered them. This second portion is God's leading them forth out of the land of Egypt, bringing them through the Red Sea to sing their song of triumph, and walk with pilgrim vigor through the wilderness.

The last half of the fifth chapter shows us the two heads of the human race:the first Adam, whose descendants all partake of his nature and upon whom the sentence of death rests because of sin; and the Last Adam, Christ Himself, in whom His people are identified with Him, partakers of His life and all that accompanies it.

The sixth chapter applies this identification to the question of sin, and shows that in the death of Christ we too are dead to sin and are, therefore, to reckon ourselves that, and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Thus, we can bring forth fruit unto God, being no longer servants to sin, but unto God.

Chap. 7:introduces the law and shows the believer's relation to it. Having done its holy work, it has been magnified and made honorable by our Lord, who bore its curse upon the cross. This chapter shows that believers are no longer under the law, and that if they seek to produce holiness through the law, they will find themselves in a bondage which causes them to cry aloud, "O wretched man that I am!" It is well that this exercise should be deep and complete, in order that one may get to the full end of himself, learning that in him, that is, in his flesh " dwelleth no good thing;" that he has not the power to perform that which even the new nature desires and delights in. Here, Christ comes in most blessedly, and through Him deliverance is accomplished.

This is dwelt upon at the beginning of the eighth chapter, where the law of the Spirit, which is "life in Christ Jesus," sets free from the law of sin and death. The result is now, for those who walk in the Spirit, that the practical righteousness of the law is secured. The liberty, joy, and power of the Spirit are seen throughout the wondrous eighth chapter; the creation in which we are, groaning under bondage yet, the liberty of the glory not having been manifest; but even here we tread in peace our onward way; and God, who knows the heart, delighting to answer the prayers of His dependent people. For such, all things must work together for good. Nor can there be an accusation laid to their charge, for God is for them. Who can be against them? It is God who has justified them.

Furthermore, as they look up at Christ in glory now, making intercession for them, the One who bore their sins upon the cross, they can ask, with all boldness, " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" And then the whole catalogue of possible evils that might overtake them in this world is enumerated, and faith flashes forth its triumphant answer:"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." Nothing can separate us from that love. Dear brethren, how the heart is filled and overflows with these delightful themes!

Div. 3. (chaps, 9:-11:) This division is devoted to showing how God's perfect grace, which we have been looking at, is absolutely consistent with all His ways with Israel as a nation, past, present, and future.

Chap. 9:dwells upon God's sovereignty in election, and applies it to Israel. Not all the descendants of Abraham formed a part of the chosen nation. " In Isaac shall thy seed be called." So, also, Esau was excluded. This election of grace reaches out also to the Gentiles, and in His sovereignty, they too have been brought into the participation of blessing, not by works of law, but through faith in Christ.

Chap. 10:This righteousness by the law was a great stumbling block for the Jew. He failed to see that he was only condemned by the law, although his history would have given numberless illustrations of that fact. Moses, in principle, had declared that righteousness must be only by faith. Israel had not harkened to God, and therefore the blessing had gone out to the Gentiles.

In chap. 11:this is enlarged upon. There has ever been an election in Israel according to grace, but the nation as a whole are in blindness, because of their rejection of the Lord. This will continue until "the fulness of the Gentiles" is brought in. Then, when the Church is taken out of the world, God will resume His dealings with the people who are "beloved for the fathers' sakes," and all Israel will then be saved; that is, as a nation, in contrast with individuals, who are now brought out.

Div. 4. (chaps, 12:-16:) The closing part of our Epistle is devoted to practical exhortations, based upon the great truths of grace of the first two parts.

Chap. 12:speaks of the happy life of devotedness to God shown in mutual love and service.
Chap. 13:dwells upon our responsibility, largely to " the powers that be," and stirs us up to put on the armor of light.

Chap. 14:inculcates most tender regard for weak consciences, avoiding the stumbling of a brother who may not have the same liberty which we enjoy.

Chap. 15:continues this theme and also recalls to the Romans the grace which had reached out to them as Gentiles.

The close, Chap. xvi, is devoted to salutations and the faithful warnings against those who cause divisions and offences.

Our notice of the epistle to the Hebrews must be brief. We would refer our-readers to the lectures on that Epistle just coming out in the "Treasury of Truth" for this month.

The great theme here is the Person of Christ in contrast with all else.

Div. 1:(chaps, 1:-2:4.) Christ supreme as Son of God and divine, though manifested upon earth, the truth of which is witnessed by Scripture.

Div. 2. (chaps, 2:5

Gospel of Matthew, which is to occupy us during the present month, is usually called "the Gospel of the Kingdom." It is distinctively Jewish, in its connections with the Old Testament and the entire mold in which it is cast. So much is this the case, that there was an early tradition in the Church, that the gospel was originally written in the Hebrew tongue, and that the Greek gospel was a translation. Of this, however, there is not the slightest proof. Indeed, it would be contrary to the manifest spirit of the entire New Testament for any portion of it to have been written in any other than the Gentile or world-wide language. While everything is looked at in its Jewish connections, there are distinct indications, as we shall see, of the rejection by His people, of our Lord, and the consequent extension of His kingdom to the world.

Div. 1:(Chaps, i, ii). The connection with the Old Testament is strikingly seen in the opening of the New. The genealogy of our Lord is given from David and Abraham. As the Son of David, He was the Messiah, King of Israel. The Son of Abraham marks Him as not only Kinsman of all the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, but suggests also that wider relationship to all who have the faith of Abraham, " though they be not circumcised."

Thus, at the very beginning of the gospel, we have provision made for those who are outside the pale of Judaism.

The genealogy is traced downward, from Abraham ; the earthly source being given first. This is reversed in the Gospel of Luke, where our Lord as Son of Man is presented, there His genealogy is traced upward to its source not in Abraham, but in Adam, indeed in God.

Much most profitable instruction can be gleaned from this genealogy. It is evidently divided carefully into three periods of fourteen generations each. Thus we have the beginning, from Abraham to David. Then the period of kings from David to the captivity; and lastly, from the restoration to the birth of our Lord. We have thus, suggested by the numbers, the full and perfect testimony of God as to what man is until Christ.

It is very significant that only four females are mentioned in this genealogy, each of whom would have been omitted had human thoughts guided, and the presence of each would have marred, according to legalism, the title to blessing in Israel. Our blessed Lord thus associated Himself in that which had forfeited a blessing, in order that He might bring it in, in its fulness.

The remainder of this portion shows us the divine care and solicitude on the part of God for safeguarding this wondrous Babe, whose name, "Jesus," spoke of salvation, while the title " Immanuel," quoted from the prophet Isaiah, reminds us of His divine dignity. We have a foreshadowing of the Gentiles coming to Christ, in the visit of the wise men; and, in Herod's malignity, an indication of the cross which awaited our Lord from His infancy onward. The flight into Egypt connects, in a most interesting way, our blessed Lord individually with Israel's past history. In fact, His return to the land of Palestine is given as the fulfilment of the prophecy in Hosea:" Out of Egypt have I called My Son."

Div. 2. (Chaps, 3:-7:) This portion gives us the preliminary account of our Lord's public ministry, and contains what we might call the announcement and unfolding of the principles of the kingdom of which He was King.

Chap. 3:shows us the forerunner preaching repentance, and our Lord coming in baptism to associate Himself with the penitent remnant of His people, called in the sixteenth psalm, the excellent of the earth in whom is all His delight. God looks down, well pleased, upon this wondrous scene, His spotless Son identifying Himself with the people who had just confessed their sin, and for them going down, in anticipation, into the waters of death. No wonder that heaven can keep silence no longer! The voice from the excellent glory declares Him, His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased.

Chap. 4:shows us our Lord in the wilderness, in striking contrast to the first Adam in the garden. Here, with no provision whatever for His needs as Man, our blessed Lord meets the tempter and overcomes him. The threefold temptation of Satan manifests fully the perfection of One in whom the prince of this world found nothing to respond to his allurements.

Our Lord passes from this scene, in the closing part of Chap. 4:, to His more direct work of preaching and healing. Multitudes are attracted to Him. He begins to call disciples to follow Him, and His fame spreads abroad.

The three following chapters give us that wonderful unfolding of divine truth :" The sermon on the mount." This is, in one sense, not a contradiction of the law, but an enforcement of it in its deeper, spiritual reality. He, first of all, shows who are the truly blessed, in striking contrast with the thoughts of the Scribes and Pharisees. Lowliness and holiness and suffering for righteousness' sake are what characterizes those who are " the salt of the earth," preserving it from corruption, and "the light of the world," reflecting that which has already shone into their hearts.

He then goes on to say that His ministry simply establishes the law, enforces its holiness in a far deeper way than they had imagined, and removes that which was of purely a temporary character and a provision for the hardness of their heart. Thus He says, for instance, that murder is hatred manifest; that the heart may be guilty of a sin for which there has been no opportunity in the outward life. On the other hand, He forbids, as One greater than the law, all oaths, as being impossible of
fulfilment in those who had made them. The law of retaliation is displaced by the spirit of grace, in imitation of their Father in heaven.

Chap. 6:speaks of what practical righteousness should be, whether in the giving of alms, prayer or fasting. Here, reality, as contrasted with the prevailing formalism, is the thought. They are reminded that if they are to serve God, it is to be with singleness of heart, laying up treasure in heaven, and not attempting to serve two masters. They need not fear that they will be neglected. The lilies and the fowls are witnesses of the unfailing care of One whom He teaches them to call "Father."

The seventh chapter warns against the judging of others in a self-righteous way, and the confounding of holy and unholy. He encourages them in prayer and in love; warns them as to the broad way and false prophets, and closes with the solemn contrast between doers and hearers of His words.

Div. 3. (Chaps, 8:-12:) If the sermon on the mount gives us the words of the King, this portion in like manner gives us His works. Many cases of healing are grouped together here. The great thought throughout is grace reaching the needy. Thus, we have in chap. 8:the cleansing of the leper, the faith of the centurion, the healing of Peter's wife's mother, and the casting out of demons. The closing part of the chapter narrates the calming of the storm, and the casting out of the demons from the demoniacs in the land of the Gergesenes.

Chap. 9:continues this blessed service of mercy. The sick of the palsy is not only healed, but forgiven:the one the proof of the other. Then the Lord shows what manner of men are attracted to Him. Matthew, the publican, gives Him the feast to which other publicans and sinners are invited. Many other miracles conclude this chapter.

In chap. 10:He sends forth His disciples as His messengers, giving them instruction which reaches on to the time of the end.

In chap. 11:the opposition begins to come out clearly, as it ever will where grace is presented. The men of this generation have heart neither for John's faithful testimony as to their sins, nor our Lord's gracious provision for their salvation. But, while things are hidden from the wise and prudent, they are, in the sovereign grace of God, revealed unto babes, and in this our Lord rejoices. He closes with those wondrous words of invitation to all who are weary and heavy-laden, words which have brought peace to countless thousands.

In chap. 12:the opposition culminates. Taking occasion of a legal technicality, the Jews accuse Him of violating the Sabbath, and from that go on to plot against Him, accusing Him also of association with Satan in His work of casting out demons. Our blessed Lord not only shows the impossibility of Satan being divided against himself, but warns them of the awful blasphemy contained in such a charge:a blasphemy which, if meant, betokens such hardness of heart, such resistance of the Holy Ghost, that there is no forgiveness for it. This explains clearly what is meant by the "sin against the Holy Ghost," which has so often been a terror to the weak and those unestablished in the full gospel of the grace of God. The sin is wilful and with open eyes, ascribing to Satan those miracles of power which were really an indication of the presence of the Holy Spirit. It was, in other words, calling the Holy Spirit, Satan, and meaning it. It was peculiarly a sin to which the leaders in Israel, who had the privilege and opportunity of seeing our blessed Lord, were specially liable. It is not meant by this to lessen our abhorrence of any form of sin, but to relieve anxious souls from the thought that they are in danger of having committed this unpardonable sin.

Div. 4. (Chaps, 13:-20:28.) Our Lord's rejection by the leaders of the people makes a change in the character of His ministry, which is indicated in what follows. It is still the Kingdom of Heaven, but now there is such evidence that the King will be rejected by His earthly people, that our Lord unfolds the character of that Kingdom as it will be in its mystery form, that is, during the period of His rejection. He is absent, but His Kingdom is here upon earth, left to the responsible hands of men, who, as the seven parables of the Kingdom indicate, are more or less faithful in their responsibilities.

Chap. 14:gives a glimpse of Herod's court and all the lawlessness there allowed, type of the enmity of the nation of Israel. Our Lord withdraws, and in His place of distance, feeds the 5,000, suggestive of blessing to the Gentiles. The storm is calmed; His people preserved from every danger through which they may be called to pass.
Chap. 15:places side by side the self-righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, with the faith of the needy one that lays hold upon Him. Again we have abounding grace providing for the hungry at the close of this chapter.

Chap. 16:shows us our Lord still in rejection and outside the land, where Peter's confession of Him as "the Christ, the Son of the living God," is recognized as declaring Himself the true foundation of that Church which He is to build. From this time He begins to declare His rejection and crucifixion.

Chap. 17:gives us a foretaste of the glory, in His transfiguration.

Chaps, 18:-20:enlarge upon the varied responsibilities of those who are to be associated with Himself.

Div. 5. (Chaps, 20:29.-23:) We have in this part our Lord's entry into Jerusalem and His final presentation to the nation, giving them one more opportunity of accepting Him or of finally rejecting Him. They come to Him with their various questions, but every thing points to the fact that, though their lips are sealed, and they are left without excuse, they are determined not to accept Him. In a series of solemn parables, our blessed Lord shows their guilt, their disobedience, and their final rejection of Himself. He also shows how they are depriving themselves of the blessings of the marriage of the King's Son by their selfish clinging to this present world.

No matter how they may differ with one another, His enemies are agreed in one thing at least, their opposition to Him.

Chap. 23:closes these interviews with the solemn and awful denunciation on the part of our Lord, of the leaders of the people, blind guides, leading the blind. The close of this marvelous chapter is the outpouring of the tenderest heart that ever throbbed upon this earth.

Div. 6. (Chaps, 24:, 25:) This is the great prophetic portion of this Gospel, our Lord's final discourse to His disciples. Everything points forward here to His coming again to set up His kingdom. We have this viewed in relation to the Jews (chaps, 24:1-44); to the Church, or rather including the present or Church epoch and reaching on probably to the final kingdom (chaps, 24:45-25:30); and finally, chap. 25:31-46 dwells upon our Lord's relation to the Gentiles, His coming in glory, setting up His kingdom, and the judgment of the nations.

Div. 7. (Chaps, 26:-28:) This portion narrates the betrayal of our Lord by Judas, His denial by Peter, His trial before the priests and before Pilate, His rejection and condemnation, His crucifixion, where He was forsaken of God as the Trespass-offering, and His glorious resurrection. There is no account of the ascension in this Gospel, everything being viewed from the standpoint of earth and His kingdom here. He meets His disciples in beloved Galilee, and there, assuring them of His omnipotence and His presence ever with them, gives them the great commission of preaching the gospel to every creature and making disciples of all.

THREE INSCRUTABLE THINGS.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:who can know it? (Jer. 17. 9.)

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counselor? or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things:to whom be glory forever. Amen. (Rom. 11:33-36.)

The love of Christ which passeth knowledge. (Eph. 3. 19.)

Ques. 21.-What was the law given for?

Ans.-"By the law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20). "It was added "because of transgressions" (Gal. 3:19), that is, to bring out the sin in man's heart in the form of actual transgression, or violation of God's command. "The law entered that the offense might abound" (Rom. 5:20). These and other passages show why the law was given-to prove man guilty and helpless, and to shut him up to Christ alone.

Ques. 22.-Is there any baptism of the Spirit since Pentecost?

Ans.-Some have thought the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost was the only baptism of the Spirit. Unquestionably it was His only descent for that purpose, but 1 Cor. 12:13-"by one Spirit ye are all baptized into one body"-would show that all believers are so baptized. That is, while the descent at Pentecost was the great outward act of forming the Church, by the baptism of the Spirit, yet as each one believes, he is baptized by the Spirit-united to Christ in glory, and thus introduced into the Church, the body of Christ.

Ques. 23.-In what relation did the priests stand with the judges in Israel?

Ans.-The judges seem to have been raised up by God for the special deliverance of His people in times of failure and ruin. While doubtless the priesthood existed, and perhaps carried on its functions to some extent, yet the judges do not seem to have acted in connection with them. Thus, Gideon was his own priest, and after his victory fell into the snare of desiring to be permanently a priest, setting up a golden ephod, which was idolatry in another form. Later on, Eli the priest, and Samuel the prophet, were also judges. The judge was exceptional, the priest was permanent, though often lost sight of in times of darkness.

Ques. 24.-In Gen. 18:we read that three men came to Abraham, and they ate with him. In Gen. 19:only two came to Lot. Were these really men, or heavenly beings?

Ans.-Undoubtedly they were from heaven (see Heb. 2:2). One of the three who visited Abraham was evidently the Lord (vers. 1, 13). After their visit they go toward Sodom, but the Lord remains with Abraham, who interceded for the wicked city. The other two go on to rescue Lot, but they are not called men, but angels (chap. 19:1:). This change is significant, showing the moral distance between them arid Lot, while with Abraham they could take a place of nearness, and eat and drink with him. If we ask how could angels appear as men, we can only answer, So it is, and it only shows how intimately connected heaven and earth are, were it not for sin.

(Neh. 3:)

In the New Jerusalem there are to be twelve gates (Rev. 21:12), and each several gate of one pearl; so that, look upon the city from whichever standpoint one may, he will be reminded of the precious truth that Christ "loved the Church, and gave Himself for it" (Eph. 5:25).He came from heaven asa merchant man seeking goodly pearls; and having found one pearl of great price, "though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor " by selling all that He had to buy it.

Jerusalem of old, as rebuilt in the revival days of Nehemiah, Ezra and Zerubbabel, had ten gates, the number that, it has well been said, sets forth responsibility towards God and man, of which the ten words in the law were the measure; while the twelve of the heavenly city (and note how many twelves there are in Rev. 21:), some have suggested, would set forth perfect administration, or governmental completeness, only to be known in the day that the kings of the earth bring the glory and the honor of the nations unto it.

I have thought there might be divine lessons for us in the names and order of the gates of the old city. That there is danger always of being fanciful, I realize, and would therefore seek to avoid letting an in subject imagination, which is only "evil continually " (Gen. 6:5), run riot in the holy things of the Lord.

But, in looking at these gates, it is not so much my thought to seek to give the interpretation of them as to make a practical application of truth which, I am convinced, is much needed in this Laodicean day. It is my thought, then, to look at the ten ports in order, just as we find them in the third of Nehemiah -an order which is, without doubt, divinely perfect.

We begin, then, with

THE SHEEP GATE,

of which we read in the first verse :" Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel." This was priestly work indeed, for through this gate the beasts were led whose death and blood-shedding were to picture the one Offering of the ninth of Hebrews. They pointed on to the perfect sacrifice of that unnamed One of Isaiah 53:, who was '' led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth."

Thankful we are that for us it is not necessary to ask, as did the eunuch, " Of whom speaketh the prophet this ? of himself, or of some other man ?" (Acts 8:34). The other Man is well known indeed to those of us who have been brought to trust the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all. In Him we have beheld the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

The Sheep Gate clearly speaks to us, then, of the Cross. Here the remnant of old began to build the wall, priestly hands piling stone upon stone, and setting up the beams and bars. And here every one must begin who has really to do with God other than in judgment. The wall speaks of holiness, which must shut out evil; but what evil is, we can never rightly know until we have understood in some measure the meaning of the Cross. It was there that all the iniquity of man's heart was fully revealed; there too that the absolute holiness of God's character was declared in an even more marked way than it will be made known in the lake of fire. In the Cross it was that mercy and truth met together, and that righteousness and peace kissed each other (Ps. 85:10).

" 'Tis in the cross of Christ we see
How God can save, yet righteous be."

The most important truth of Scripture is, that on the cross the judgment of a holy God against sin fell upon His spotless Son when He "suffered, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God" (i Pet. 3:18).There is nothing like the apprehension of this to give peace to a troubled soul. I have been awakened to see myself a lost, guilty sinner. Perhaps for years I have been going about to establish my own righteousness, and trusting that all would surely be well with me because of fancied merit in myself. I have deluded myself with the notion that God, who is love, must therefore allow sin to pass unpunished, or that my sin was, at any rate, of weight so light it would never sink me down to the pit of woe. But now all is changed. I have learned that I am a lost man! My sins, which once seemed like trifles, insignificant as molehills, now rise before my terrified vision as dark, shapeless mountains, which I fear will bury me beneath their awful weight in the nethermost depths of the abyss of divine wrath. I look on my right hand, but I find no helper. Refuge fails me. In my despair I cry out, " No man cares for my soul! " (Ps. 142:4); and in the hour of my deepest distress there comes to me one with feet beautiful upon the mountains, a messenger, one among a thousand, who tells me the good news that God, the God whom I have so grievously sinned against, and so flagrantly dishonored, has found a Ransom, and can thus deliver me from going down into the pit (Job 33:24).My sins and guilt have all been laid on Jesus. My judgment has fallen upon His holy head, and thus I can go righteously free.

Well does such a message deserve the name of '' gospel"! Good news indeed! more welcome than cold water to a thirsty soul.

As of old, when Noah took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt-offerings upon the altar (Gen. 8:20), so now Jehovah has looked upon the work of His beloved Son and " smelled a sweet savor," which is truly a "savor of rest" (margin); for sin is thus canceled, and God can be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.

Of all this, and much more, may the Sheep Gate remind us. A gate of judgment it is too; for of judgment, in Scripture, the gate often speaks. But here it is judgment falling, not upon the guilty, but upon the guiltless One who voluntarily stood in the place of the sinner. " He was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification; therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 4:25; 5:i).

Let me press it upon the reader-has all this been made good to your soul ? Is your confidence for eternity based upon the work of Christ ? Are you trusting alone in Jesus, who in those solemn hours of deeper than Egyptian darkness "fought the fight alone," vanquished Satan's power in resurrection, and is now exalted at God's right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour ?

O, be persuaded! If you are resting on anything short of this, your soul is in peril most grave and fearful; for it is only "the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, that cleanseth from all sin " (i John 1:7). If, however, this is the ground of your confidence, if you are saved and know it, if the lesson of the Sheep Gate has been truly learned in the presence of God, I ask you to pass on with me now to

THE FISH GATE

"But the Fish Gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof" (ver. 3).

The name of this port at once brings to mind the word of the Lord addressed to Simon and Andrew when He found them "casting a net into the sea." "He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Precious it is to learn that, without a word as to delay, they "straightway left their nets and followed Him" (Matt. 4:17-20).

It is a weighty truth, often I fear forgotten in this pushing, restless age, that the great business of those already saved should be to bring others to Christ. Alas, alas, the indifference as to this among many of the people of God is most appalling.

The Fish Gate is tightly closed, or fallen in ruins, and there are no devoted "sons of Hassenaah " who are enough in earnest about the condition of the lost to built it up again.

Shame, a crying shame, that it should ever be true of saints going to heaven that they are unconcerned about sinners going to hell! And God has said, "He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him."

Oh, the heartlessness of it! Souls perishing under one's very eyes, and no hand stretched out to help, no voice raised to proclaim God's message of love to the lost!

Brothers ! sisters ! be honest with God! Face the question in His presence, What are you doing for souls ? Will friends, neighbors, relatives, rise up in that day and cry in their anguish and woe, " I lived beside him for years. He knew I was going to hell. He never warned me. I'm damned, and he never told me how I might have been saved! "

Don't, I beseech you-don't turn it aside by a lot of unholy cant about "so much fleshly energy," and " the need of building up the saints." In the mouths of men who lift not a finger to keep others from going down to eternal ruin, such language is positively disgusting; yea, it is worse; for it is actually wicked and abhorrent in the ears of Him who saith, "He that is wise winneth souls." (R. V.)

Build up the Fish Gate, brethren; go out after the lost, and bring them inside the wall, where, after having been saved, they will be cared for and helped in the things of God.

I know all have not the same gift. All cannot preach to thousands. But surely it is not gift that is lacking so much as grace. It takes no special gift to distribute gospel tracts, or speak a loving word in season to needy souls. If you have "gift" enough to spend hours talking about the weather, or the various questions of domestic, business, or political life, you have all the gift that is needed to drop a tender, warning message in the ear of a careless one, or to point an anxious person to Christ.

Let none shirk this work. On another part of the wall labored the Tekoites; and the Holy Ghost has noted that "their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord " (ver. 5). They will have to face this record at the judgment-seat of Christ; and I fear there are some God-made, and many self-made, "nobles" among the people of the Lord to-day who manifest as gross indifference to the work of God.

That, on the other hand, mere fleshly zeal will not be owned of God I quite admit; and this brings before us the need of enforcing the lessons suggested by the next five gates. H. A. I.

(To be continued.)

(Col. 1:15-18.)

(Concluded.)

There is also another line of thought, which comes in here in connection with this first-born title of Christ. We have seen that pre-eminently connected with it is His headship of a new race, and that this race is formed from the material of the old. The formation of this new race is carried on in the world, and thus that which is the part of it on earth is constituted of weak and failing men, who are in creature-impotence as to the circumstances they are placed in. The Head of the race of which they form a part is in heaven on the Father's throne, their Forerunner, and upon Him, as the Head, devolves the responsibility to care for and succor those to whom He has communicated a life like His own, the proper sphere of which is heaven, where He is; but these are on earth, in the midst of a scene of evil and trial, filled with everything contrary to the life of the new race indwelling them.

In this relation comes in His title as Priest-the Priest forever after the order of Melchisedek. The office of the priest we know is that of presenting himself on behalf of others, so that the priesthood of Christ began on earth with the presentation of Himself as the sacrifice for sin. And this work being accomplished, He is perfected as the Originator of salvation to all them that obey Him. The full perfection of His authorship of eternal salvation is accomplished in resurrection, that being the answer to the perfect work wrought out by Him; and perfected in this way, He is saluted of God in resurrection a High Priest after the order of Melchisedek. Then we have His heavenly service as Priest on the throne; that is characterized by continual intercession, which is on behalf of our weakness and frailty, and with which He is fully acquainted, since He can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, having been tempted in like manner-sin apart.

He is thus able to help those who are being tempted, those whom He calls brethren, among whom He is First-born. His intercession, therefore, secures the working of the power of God on our behalf, by which we are kept unto salvation, so that it is said of Christ, as Priest, He is able to save completely, because He continues forever, therefore has an unchangeable priesthood, the surety of God's power working on our behalf for the accomplishment of all His purposes and counsels, which is really what to be saved completely implies.

Still another title comes in here. Connected with our weakness and frailty we find sin. And here we have Him as the Advocate. It implies the maintenance of our case before the bar of God's holiness and righteousness in heaven against the charge of the adversary. It is He Himself who is the Advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous. His occupation of the place upon the Father's throne is in itself the advocacy of our case. God, to silence all accusations against us, has but to turn to Christ; and is He not the propitiation for our sins ? And it is the being this, and as being this on the Father's throne, that constitutes the advocacy, and Him as the Advocate for us. But this has to do also with the maintenance of our communion. Sin is that which shuts the soul out from God and hinders the proper fellowship with Him. The removal of it, therefore, is an absolute necessity. Christ effects this on God's part, and repentance being wrought and confession made on our part, the way is open for the fullest fellowship between the Father and His child.

Briefly, these are the titles and characters which associate themselves with and are implied in these First-born titles of Christ. They are both in connection with His incarnation. We have seen how the first one implies all His glory as a divine person, and that it is the fact of this glory being His, that makes Him truly the First-born of all creation. He is supreme, and in the place of superiority, as a Man over every other creature. He occupies the foremost place as a Man in the creation; but this is not all God had in His mind; His purpose reached out to a new creation, in view of the failure of the first; and the new is to be the bringing of His glory out of the ruins of the first, a fallen one. The accomplishment of this is through death, as we have seen, and ensuing resurrection and the giving of a new life; and in the new race thus formed God is to find His center of exhibit for all His glory, and in it He is to rest with eternal complacency.

This being God's purpose, failure is impossible to come in; but this new creation will thus be the preeminent order of life in eternity, and the Head of it -for it must have a head also, in whom it stands or falls; the head of the old fell, and the creation linked with him fell of necessity-will therefore be the first and foremost in the eternal order, pre-eminent in this way above all else. Therefore, that Christ might have the first place in all things, He is not only the First-born of all creation, but also the Firstborn from among the dead, thus becoming the Head of the new creation, as we have been seeing. The divine reason for Him having taken the creature-place, suffered death and been raised up, the Communicant of the new life, is that in all things He might have the pre-eminence (Col. 1:18). Occupying the first place over all creation as a Man, He must also occupy the first place as being the Head of the new, in which all the purpose and glory of God is to find fulfilment.

Who can comprehend the wonderful thought that with this all-glorious One, the center of creation now and to come, in time and eternity, we are associated in the possession of life eternal, a life given to us by Him, so that in Him we have an inheritance ? We will be associated with Him in His headship during all eternity-we with Him the vessel of display for God's glory to every created intelligence. We are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power, blessed-oh how richly!-with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We can contemplate Him in the sorrow and trial of His path, the pain that rent His heart as He felt the keen edge, as none other could, of the scorn and hatred of men, who nevertheless were dependent upon Him for the very breath with which they cast their reproaches at Him. Alone. How trying to Him who found His delight in the sons of man, but with no response from them-alone in the uniqueness of His perfection and the depths of sufferings endured at the hand of those for whom His heart yearned with an eternal love! Man has counted the cross a fitting reward for His love and ministering power for every need. God has placed Him on the throne of glory, Head over all. What joy it is to think that He shall be manifested as this before the whole universe, and we manifested with Him! We are going on to this, it is the portion that God has set before us, but we are to enjoy by faith what He has been pleased in this connection to reveal to us.

What questions of the most practical importance this brings us to consider! Are we to be associated with Him in glory, and should we not, then, be also in His rejection and sorrow ? Can we be associated with a world which has cast Him out ? The world has not changed in its enmity and hatred to Him. Is He any more accepted by them now than when He was here ? How clear must be, if faithful to His name, the line of demarcation! and oh, for the grace to draw that line and maintain it for His glory! Shall we compare the sufferings of this little while with the glory that is to follow? Oh, I love to think how His smile will recompense it all! His face we shall gaze upon; God's glory we shall read where once were graven the lines of pain and sorrow, and that, beloved, for us. May the hope, the bright reality for faith now, of seeing Him face to face, make our hearts bound with that joy which shall fill us and lead our whole being out to Himself, so that every step of the path will then be ordered in conformity to His mind and heart's desire concerning us! Let us be careful not to grieve Him.

We need God's grace that it may be so. Surely, having suffered for us as He has, He is worthy of being now made glad by us. We know the way of it. His delight is to dwell with us, to have our hearts empty of all else that He may fill them, our communion thus to be with Him now as in eternity it shall be, when as perfected He shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied. What a heavenly privilege and portion is ours! May God in His grace awake us to it more fully, that faith may gain its victory for His name and glory! J. B. Jr.

O, glorious home!
The place of blessed rest on high,
For thee I sigh,
The home of Him
Who left it all, and came to earth
(For me to die,)
A babe of humble birth.

My heart is sick
With hope deferred; I've journeyed long.
The world's mad throng
Oppresseth me.
I'm wearied with its heartless mirth,
Its ribald song;
It savors all of earth.

When wilt Thou call
My name, O Lord, and bid me come
To my loved home?
This foreign shore
Is bare, and lonely, without Thee,
Who here didst roam
So patiently for me.

This empty world
Hath naught wherewith my heart to fill;
'Tis just Thy will
That holds me here,
That some desire, Lord, of Thine
I may fulfil,
Or something yet resign.

I find Thee not,
The "Man of Sorrows" midst the throng;
My soul doth long
For one sweet face.
Thine absence is the saddest strain
In all my song:
So death to me were gain.

But 'tis not home;
Its, very ways and tongue are strange;
And oh the change
On change the years
Have brought, (of tempest, cloud, and rain)
In their short range:
Thy discipline of pain.

Tho' exiled here,
By faith I have Thee in my heart,
And naught can part
What God hath joined.
Yet, Lord, I long to be at home,
Where friends ne'er part,
And sorrows ne'er can come.

My heart rebounds,
As when the homesick wanderer nears
The shore, nor fears
His loved to meet;
But eager, as the end draws nigh,
Through joyful tears,
Expectant strains the eye.

Thou wilt not chide
Me Lord, for Thou hast weaned me
From all to Thee.
Thou'st won my love,
And made my home; it is Thy heart.
I'll never be
Content from Thee apart.

H. McD.

"If any man be in Christ, [it is] new creation," says the apostle (2 Cor. 5:17). That is what "in Christ" means-a new creation. At new birth there is dropped into the soul the seed of divine, eternal life. It is not, as so many think, merely a moral change which is effected, but just as that which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Those so born are truly partakers of His nature, and thus not simply adopted but real children of God. Christ is their life, the new Adam of a new creation, but in which He is Creator as well as Head as we have seen. F. W. G.

From "Help and Food" 1886, p. 225.

There is a constant tendency in earthly things to press down the affections. Duties are more apt to lead the soul away from God than open sin. Many a Christian has been ensnared by duties, whose heart would have shrunk from open sin. But we have only one duty in all the varying circumstances of life-to serve Christ. J. N. D.

Philemon means "loving, kindhearted," and may well speak to us of a loving heavenly Father. The sinner does not know Him as that. "The trembling sinner feareth that God can ne'er forget."

Onesimus means "profitable;" but how unprofitable he had proven! Just as man, who was created by God for His own glory and praise, turns his back on God and goes away from Him and refuses His love, so Onesimus leaves his loving, kindhearted master and goes to Rome. He sinks, as we may gather from the letter of Paul, to the lowest depths, until finally he reaches a Roman prison; and if he were to be known as a runaway slave, his master could demand his punishment by death. The sinner away from God is "condemned already," and only awaiting the day of judgment to have the sentence executed.

But in his extremity Onesimus finds one to help, one who has laid aside his high-sounding, kingly name of Saul, and taken the humble name of Paul, meaning "little,"-one who was a prisoner, and begets a son in his bonds.

How like the blessed Lord Jesus, "who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and humbled Himself," and who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, and through that death begets many sons, and brings them to glory.

Verse 11-"Was unprofitable."A sinner's picture. " There is none righteous; no, not one. There __ none that understandeth; there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way; they are together become unprofitable; there is none ; that doeth good; no, not one."

Verse 12-"Receive him;" and verse 17 emphasizes this:"receive him as myself." Accepted in the Beloved! accepted in all the fulness of what Christ is to God!-in the person of the Son as near as He, as dear as He! accepted in all the value of the holy, spotless, peerless, undefiled One!

Can we doubt, or tremble, or fear, when such is the case !

Ah, no! there is perfect peace when we know that the measure of our acceptance by God is His Son.

Like David showing kindness to a helpless Mephibosheth for the sake of a beloved Jonathan, so God shows His kindness and love to a guilty, hell-deserving sinner for the sake of His beloved Son.

Verse 15-"Receive him forever." When we are accepted in the Beloved and received by God, we have everlasting life-life lasting forever. Not a temporal thing, not a transitory possession, but a new life, eternal in the heavens. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life." " I give unto them eternal life." "Of all which the Father hath given Me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day." "That every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." God receives the sinner forever, who comes in the name of Jesus Christ, and no one can pluck us out of the Father's hand. Blessed place! blessed portion!
Verse 16-"Not now as a servant, but above a servant." We have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, "Abba, Father." How much more blessed it is to be a child of God than a servant! We are no more servants, but sons. Not under the bondage of law, but free to serve God in all the gladness and joy of sons. Would not Onesimus serve his master in the Lord with a service far beyond that which he had rendered him in the old days ? Will not a child of God who knows his sins forgiven serve, not in the oldness of the letter but in the newness of the Spirit ? "The love of Christ constraining us " is a far greater incentive to true service than the bondage of "This do, and thou shalt live."

And then-

Verses 17, 18, 19-Paul provides for the payment of all Onesimus' debt. "One full payment cleareth His memory of all debt." "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin." He offered one sacrifice for sins and then sat down forever.

All that Satan ever has urged, or can urge, against us has been purged and cleansed-all wiped out-by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ which He shed on Calvary, in His infinite sacrifice. My soul, take comfort in this-that thou canst no more be lost, when resting in Christ, than He could be! It is not rashness that gives the soul this confidence; it is simple faith in the word of God.

And when Onesimus is fully established in the household of faith, he has something to look forward to.

Verse 22-"Prepare me a lodging:… I shall be given unto you." All may not be sunshine in the place to which the servant is sent. There may be misunderstandings with fellow-servants. There may be disappointment and sorrow, but he has one thing ' to look forward to-the coming of the One to whom he owes all.

And so have we. In the world we shall have tribulation, but He to whom we owe all is coming for us. "I will come again and receive you unto Myself." May God rest our hearts in this precious promise, for His name's sake! F. L. F.

We will resume our reading of the book of Psalms during the present month. Our portion will be psalms 83:-106:These form the third and fourth books of the entire collection, answering much as the two previous do to the corresponding books in the Pentateuch. Thus, psalms Ixxiii.-89:would answer to Leviticus, and it is significant that the authorship of many of these is Levitical. Thus, Asaph wrote psalms Ixxiii.-83:; and psalms Ixxxiv., 85:, 87:and 88:were written for the sons of Korah, and the concluding one by Ethan the Ezrahite. Only one psalm in this third book has the name of David mentioned with it.

Appropriately with this Levitical authorship, the general theme of the book relates to the sanctuary, the holiness of God, the inheritance of His people, and His corresponding ways with them.

The first ten psalms present the great truths of God's holiness manifested in grace. Psalm Ixxiii. teaches the great lesson of the sanctuary, the only place where the problem can be solved why the wicked are prosperous and the righteous suffer.

Psalm 74:brings in the enemy who has intruded into the sanctuary. The prayer is an earnest plea to God to bestir Himself for the people's need, yea, to plead His own cause.

Psalm 75:passes out into the light. God's name is near. His wondrous works declare this. It is Christ alone who can manifest the excellence of this name.

Psalm 76:magnifies the glory of God in His sanctuary, and His rebuke and judgment upon the ungodly. The wrath of man is restrained, or else turned into praise.

Psalm 77:dwells upon God's ways in the sea, in the midst of all the confusion, and in the sanctuary, where everything is made plain.

Psalm 78:is one of the didactic psalms, gleaning lessons from God's deliverance of His people. It is in many respects similar to the 105th and 106th psalms. The faithfulness of God is fittingly seen in establishing His name and His sanctuary in mount Zion.

Again, in psalm 79:we have the intrusion of the enemy, while psalm 80:is another prayer for reviving, beautifully bringing out, in crescendo order, the glories of God's name.

Psalm 81:is God's voice speaking in peace and blessing to His people-a most beautiful psalm. In psalm 82:we see the Judge, the Judge of judges; while 83:shows a climax when evil reaches its height, and God overthrows it. This will be fulfilled in the last days.

The second subdivision, from psalms Ixxxiv.-89:, presents the same theme of divine holiness, but now more closely connected with the person of Christ than the previous ones.

Psalm 84:is familiar, and most beautiful. God's tabernacles are before the soul, the desire which leads on His people through all the intervening trials until they shall appear before Him. He is a sun and shield, and will give grace and glory.
Psalm 85:celebrates the salvation of God for His people.

In psalm 86:we have the loyal One who can, in His fulness, be none other than Christ, pouring out His soul in dependence upon God. Beautifully associated with this is psalm 87:, where the full result of deliverance is celebrated. Not only is " this Man " born there, but "this and that man."

Psalm 38:cannot but remind us of the sufferings of our blessed Lord, though doubtless the sufferings of His people are also suggested.

In psalm 89:we have the deliverance flowing, surely, from the sufferings of Christ, and which will succeed the afflictions of His people. God has laid help upon One that is mighty. This closes the third book.

Book four (psalms 90:-106:) presents quite a different theme. Answering to the book of Numbers, what is prominent here is the wilderness experience of God's people, and final blessing brought into the earth through Christ. The book most appropriately opens (psalm 90:) with the prayer of the great wilderness-hero, Moses, who spent forty years of his own life, and forty years more as companion of the people, in their testing, in the wilderness. The general thought of psalms 90:-93:is the testimony as to creation, the vanity of man, the blessedness of confidence in God exemplified in Christ, and the joyful celebration of God's praise.

Psalm 90:, as we have said, is by Moses. It celebrates the vanity, feebleness and brevity of human life, suggestively reminding us of the fall and our association with the first man.

Psalm 91:is an entirely different atmosphere. Here we have the second Man, who is preserved in all His ways because He trusts in the Lord. It requires little skill to see here the perfect Man of psalm 16:; and, thank God, it is our privilege to walk in His steps, by His grace.

Psalm 92:then will follow. Sweet praises of God will be declared as His sabbath rest is entered into. The ten-stringed instrument will be. brought into full use, every capacity of our once ruined nature engaged in praising Him.

Psalm 93:peacefully closes this portion, looking forward really to the close of the whole book. Jehovah reigns, His majesty and glory are established over the earth, which, therefore, is established in security. Let the floods lift their voices; let the waves dash upon the shore:they can but break themselves against the mighty Rock where His throne is established, and that Rock is Christ.

The second portion of this book (psalms 94:-100:) celebrates the blessing that is coming upon the earth, but which must be introduced by judgments; for it is only when the judgments of the Lord are abroad in the earth that the inhabitants will learn righteousness.

Psalm 94:is a celebration of what we have already spoken of, the absolute need for vengeance upon His adversaries, if God is to bless His people. Thus faith will put itself upon the side of God, and plead for that judgment which is His only way of purging the earth of evil that will not judge itself. How solemn is the thought that this time is steadily drawing nearer when the proud in heart must bow to His righteousness whose grace they now refuse!
Psalm 95:opens with the joyous notes of praise to the great God and King-surely Christ-who holds in His hands the deep places of earth and sea, as well as the high mountains. Let us bow ourselves before Him our Maker, and no longer harden our hearts as our forefathers did in the wilderness, and were thus shut out from entering into rest. Now, the rest so near, let us bow to Him who brings it in.

Psalm 96:continues this praise. A new song is sung, in which all the earth can join. Jehovah's name is blessed, and made known to the ends of the earth. When this is done, heaven will rejoice with the earth, and roaring sea and trees of the wood will unite their voices in praises to Him who comes, though as Judge, still to bring peace and blessing.

Psalm 97:is similar. Fire and judgment have prepared the way for the Lord. Zion is at peace, and can rejoice in Him who is thus exalted.

Psalm 98:celebrates the wondrous acts of the Lord, quite similar to psalm 96:

In psalm 99:the King is seen triumphant over all evil. A glance backward is taken at His faithful servants, Moses, Aaron, Samuel, who are associated with the remnant of the latter day in praising the holy name of Him who triumphs over all evil.

Lastly, psalm 100:, brief as it is, is an outburst of praise-"The Lord is good, His mercy endureth forever, and His faithfulness from generation to generation."

The closing portion of this book (psalms 101:-106:) enters more minutely into the dwelling of God with His people, and therefore manifests, if in a less exalted way perhaps more completely even, the full results of what salvation from sin means.

In psalm 101:we see in type Christ, the true King, purging His kingdom of all that offends, and them that do iniquity; but we are not to look upon Him alone in His Kingly authority. We know that His path to that throne of glory lay through the anguish of Gethsemane and the darkness of the cross. This is magnificently brought out in psalm 102:, where we have the sorrows of our holy Lord at the hands of God, the witness of His perfect manhood and His extreme sufferings; and yet in this very psalm Jehovah addresses Him as the everlasting God, whose years shall never fail. Nowhere in all the pages of inspiration is there a more amazing and magnificent declaration of the absolute humanity and lowliness of our adorable Lord, coupled with His eternal Godhead. Little wonder it is that the praise of His people should now flow forth unhinderedly in celebrating Jehovah's name in psalm 103:Let us add from our hearts ever our amen:" Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits."

The praise now widens, and in psalm 104:all God's works are made to tell His ways of goodness and mercy. This is the great nature-psalm. Well would it be for us did we learn more of the perfection of the divine ways in the works of His hands! We would find them but an echo of that grace which has been made known to us in the work of His heart.

The book closes with the two companion psalms (105:and 106:). Psalm 105:is a review of God's ways with His people from a divine standpoint. Their course is traced, but by His various acts of mercy, from Egypt all through the land. On the other hand, psalm 106:goes over the same ground, but now dwells upon the failures of His people at the various stages. What a comfort it is to know that if at the judgment-seat of Christ there is a faithful review of our history, in which all our own evil and shortcomings are brought out, there will be, parallel with it, the record of the unfailing grace and faithfulness which triumphed over all our evil, and brought us safely through to sing His praises !

A brief word must suffice for the first epistle to the Thessalonians. As is known, it is perhaps the first of Paul's fourteen epistles, written a few weeks after having left the beloved saints at Thessalonica, who manifested such wondrous energy from the very outset of their course. How significant it is that in this earliest epistle the prominent theme throughout should be the coming of our Lord! This is seen in the four divisions of the epistle.

In chapter one the conversion of the Thessalonians is described as turning to God from idols, that they might wait for His Son from heaven (ver. 10).

Division two, chapters 2:-4:12. The apostle here dwells upon his service amongst them, recalling his faithfulness and unworldliness while there, dwelling also upon the persecution which the saints had suffered at the hands of the enemy, and his earnest desire that they might stand in the midst of this persecution. He therefore exhorts them to faithfulness and godliness and love. Once and again does he speak of the bright hope of the Lord's coming. He desires that they may be established. They are his crown and boasting at the coming of Christ. He desires that they be established until that coming, with all His saints.

The third division (chapters 4:13-7:) is exclusively devoted to the coming of the Lord in its twofold aspect, in relation to His saints (chapter 4:13-18) and to the world (chapter 5:i-n).

The last division (chapter 5:12-28) is devoted to practical exhortations as to their walk, which is to correspond with the blessed hope which had been unfolded in the previous chapters. Love, holiness, diligence, faithfulness, will ever mark a true waiting for the coming of our Lord.

O Lord, Thy gracious hand
In love, but heaviness,
Hath brought me once again
Submissively, (through pain
And grief) to lowliness,
To see how little like I am
To Christ, my Lord, Thy chosen Lamb.

I may not lift mine eyes
To Thee, my God, and say
I'm worthy of one thing
Thy grace to me doth bring.
Thy debtor every day
Yet, still, I plead Thine own sweet word,
Which casts me on Thy bounty, Lord.

O Christ, my heart's resource,
In whom all fulness is-
My life, my light, my joy,
My peace without alloy,
My everlasting bliss:
My longing soul desires to be
For Thee, my God, and only Thee.

How could this beggared world
Have anything to give?
The things my hands would hold
Might cost me pain untold;
My joy must be in Thee.
And so, I give them back to Thee
To keep and sanctify for me.

I know Thou wilt not choose
The heart, to be for Thee,
Overfilled with earthly things.
No heart like this e'er sings
The heavenly melody
Thou'lt ever stoop to hear
From those who thus draw near.

Nor wilt Thou choose, my God,
The hands to work for Thee
Overfilled with earthly fruits;
Whose e'er descending roots
Are drawing constantly,
Their sustenance, (of nothing worth,)
From out a ruined cursed earth.

Thou canst not satisfy,
With Thy sweet whisperings,
Th" unconsecrated ear
That seeks, and loves to hear
The fruits of fleshly things-
Which waste away the precious days,
And rob Thee of Thy rightful praise.

Thou'lt follow, but not walk
In close companionship
With those whose wayward feet
Have chosen paths unmeet,
Where they must surely slip.
What joy untold they, wilful, lose,
Who thus His blessed paths refuse.

Then mold this vessel frail,
With Thine unerring hand.
I dare not undertake-
Lest I might rudely break
Some tender chord or band:
Thou'lt shape it for eternity,
And none may do this work but Thee.

Thus, fashioned Lord by Thee,
I may not choose the way
Thou'lt seek my heart to prune,
Or set my harp in tune
For some sweet melody,
Or wake the new, old song again,
My first love's rapturous refrain.

H. McD.

Those words, "no tears," will look so sweet
To eyes grown dim from weeping;
Those words,"no death," will come so glad
To bodies graveward creeping.
" No sorrow " makes a thrill in hearts
Long dead to other thrilling;
" No crying" sounds so soft to ears
Earth's moan have long been filling.

"No night there" seems so bright to those
Whose sun sank back at dawning;
" No sea" sounds calm to those who sail
Long tempest tossed and mourning.
" No pain " drops blessed on aching hearts,
Which fear their deepest dreading;
" That rest" falls sweet on weary feet
Unchosen pathways treading.

(Selected.)

A Study in John's Epistles.

John was called "the disciple whom Jesus loved," and perhaps nowhere in the entire Scriptures do we find a more beautiful embodiment of God's truth on the precious theme of love, than in his writings. John 3:16, in relation to the world, and i John 3:i and 16, toward the saints, are illustrations of this.

John has, then, in a certain sense, become a synonym for affection; but, as is often the case in the things of God, this affection has been considered human rather than divine. We must not forget that the two sons of Zebedee were called Boanerges (sons of thunder) by our Lord Himself, which would not suggest anything weakly amiable. As a matter of fact, the apostle of love sets forth its divine, and not its human, characteristics.

Paul is the apostle of righteousness. This theme permeates many of his epistles, and yet when it comes to a subject like the one we are to consider, it is to John's writings, and not Paul's, that we would turn.

The person of the Son of God is distinctively the theme both of his Gospel and the Epistles. Everything is measured in relation to this, as the value is put upon everything in comparison with this.

Let us, then, glean from the Epistles what teaching we can upon our subject.

I. THE TRUE FELLOWSHIP.

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word of life; (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested unto us;) that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us:and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ" (i Jno. 1:1-3).

The eternal life which was with the Father, but which was manifested here, seen and handled as the Word of life, is the basis of all fellowship. It is the knowledge of Him and the Father who hath sent Him, that characterizes eternal life at the present, a life more abundant, as our Lord tells us, because of the divine fulness of the Father and the Son now made known.

Knowing the Son and enjoying holy fellowship with Him and the Father, it is the yearning desire of the apostle to introduce others into this same blessed fellowship and that which characterizes it, light and love, both of which God is. Coming into the light of His holy presence, the precious blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin, and on the basis of a known redemption we enjoy fellowship with the Father and His Son. We are in the sanctuary, partakers of the life which finds its divine expression in the blessed Son of God Himself. Henceforth, everything must be tested by this fellowship. Darkness is seen to be that, in contrast with the light of God's
presence. Evil is judged, whether moral or doctrinal, by the same standard. Truth is that which gives the knowledge of this blessed Person; and error, everything that is not according to it.

2. FALSE TEACHERS.

"Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us because they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us; but they went out, that they might be manifest that they were not all of us." "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ ? He is Antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father; but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also " (i Jno. 2:18, 19, 22, 23).

It will be noticed that it is the little children, not the young men or the fathers, who are warned as to false teachers, showing that the plea, which is often made, that babes in Christ are not to be held accountable for failure to recognize false teachers, is a mistake. It will be noticed also, that these teachers have come in anticipative fulfilment of the prediction of Antichrist. While that wicked one will not be personally developed until the rapture of the Church and the departure of the Holy Spirit with it, yet even now there are many antichrists; that is, embodiments of the mystery of lawlessness which is even now at work. The apostle marks out that which constitutes an antichrist. It is one who denies the Father and the Son; and lest there should be any mistake as to this, he specifies that it is one who denies that Jesus is the Christ, with all that this implies,-His coming in the flesh, His spotlessness, His atoning death, His resurrection, His present place in glory, and future return.

The apostle further specifies that the denial of the Son (whether as the eternal Son of God before all ages, or the Son of God in time, manifested as such "by the Spirit of holiness and resurrection of the dead") means also the denial of the Father. To acknowledge the Son is the only way to have the Father. Thus, it is impossible to separate the two blessed persons of Deity.

How all this strikes at the very root, we need hardly say. There is scarcely a heresy in the past or present (in fact, such a thing would be well nigh impossible) that is not based upon the denial of one or the other of the characteristics which go to make up the Christ of God. A mention of names would hardly make this thought plainer. Wherever the deity or the humanity of the Son of God is denied, His sinlessness, His death, His atoning work, the doom of the ungodly if they reject His atonement, the lost condition of man-we have that character of error which the apostle says marks an antichrist. How many of the systems of the day, unlike the errors of a century ago based largely on infidel reasoning, claim for themselves the authority of the Scriptures ! Therefore it requires that "unction from the Holy One" spoken of in this immediate connection, to discern that which is '' the Spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." We must also notice that this does not refer to what might be called infidelity, which makes no profession of Christianity; but to that which, while bearing the name of Christ, is not true to Him. It refers, thus, to professed Christianity.

3. RIGHTEOUSNESS AND LOVE.

"Whosoever abideth in Him, sinneth not. Whosoever sinneth, hath not seen Him, neither known Him. Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous even as He is righteous." " In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil. Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another." "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother, abideth in death " (i John 3:6, 7, 10, n, 14).

Here is no uncertain sound. The apostle of love has no difficulty in calling things by their right names. He warns against the deception of mere profession. It is the one that doeth righteousness that is righteous. The one who lives in sin is of the devil and partaker of his nature. The one who is born of God is manifested by not sinning. Here the lines are so clear, that, at times, persons have been almost stumbled at what might be called their extreme statements. When we bear in mind that the apostle, dwelling in the atmosphere of the sanctuary where all is light and love, is comparing all things with the infallible standard of Christ and His perfection, we need not be surprised that no mention is made of what is perfectly scriptural in its place,-the two natures in the believer, wandering from God, loss of communion, the dishonoring Him by any of His own. Alas, Scripture, as well as experience, shows us the possibility of these things in a true child of God, but the apostle is not speaking of blemishes upon Christian character, but its full, normal fruits.

It is in this connection that he goes on to speak of love as well as light. One born of God must love his brother, who is also born of God. It is impossible not to do so. Anything else is to be like Cain. To hate one's brother is to be a murderer, and "no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." How uncompromising, how well nigh harsh are these statements from the apostle of love ! How it shows us that there was no sentimentality in that love ! All was controlled by the presence of God.

4.THE TEST OF FALSE TEACHERS.

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God:Every spirit that confesseth Jesus Christ come in the flesh is of God:and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus Christ come in the flesh is not of God:and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." "We are of God:he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error " (i Jno. 4:1-3, 6).

Again the faithfulness of divine love is seen in warning beloved saints not to be imposed upon by those who profess to be prophets of God; "spirits," as they are called here, connecting them with the
Satanic power that energizes them. Every spirit is not to be believed. The test is, Is Christ come in the flesh, confessed ? As we have already seen, this does not mean the mere fact of incarnation, though it includes that; but covers all that relates to the person and work of our Lord. Here we have a touchstone which will detect the false and the true – "What think ye of Christ ? " by which one stands or falls. If He is not fully confessed, as we have already been seeing, we are in the presence of a spirit of antichrist. The apostle specifies further in this connection:" We are of God." Doubtless, the apostles themselves are here first of all referred to. " He that is of God heareth us," that is, hears the revelation given by the Holy Ghost through the apostles. "He that is not of God heareth not us." Here, then, we have the test of truth and error. Let it be noticed that we are bound to try the spirits. So far from it being true that we are to take every man upon his profession, as is frequently said, we are bound to do the very opposite. It is sometimes said we should receive all against whom we know nothing. As a matter of fact, we should receive none of whom we do not know positively that they bring the full doctrine of Christ.

'' Thou hast tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and hast found them liars" is said with approval of Ephesus :and the apostle Paul goes further yet in the epistle to the Galatians, where he says:'' Though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel than that ye have heard, let him be accursed." Here, then, we have found that the apostle of love has not closed his eyes to the condition of evil all about him. On the contrary, his knowledge of Jesus Christ come in the flesh has enabled him to test everything which is not according to this, and to be exceedingly jealous for the priceless possession entrusted to him and to us. Everything that is not this, is not of God. We shall see in a little while what is to be done with it.

(Concluded in next number.)

"Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy I name " (Ps. 138:2) is an impressive and important utterance on the part of the psalmist, and lets us see the estimate he placed on the written Word. Well would it be for all professing Christians if that utterance got a firmer grip of our souls, led us to estimate it as he did. It would certainly cause us to treat it with much greater reverence, and save from the unholy handling and quoting which is, alas, so common in the present day. And at the very outset one can only say, May that profound reverence be vouchsafed to every one of us who owns and loves the name of Him who was the living Word, the blessed, holy and living expression of the mind of God here on earth.

We have a very remarkable passage of Scripture in this connection in Deut. 6:6-9:"And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thy heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates." Then we have added to this, in chap. 11:21, "That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth."

Observe, the first thing is, "they shall be in thy heart." Everything else is useless if the Word is not in our hearts. " With the heart man believeth unto righteousness" (Rom. 10:10). In the heart man hides the Word, so as not to sin against God (Ps. 119:n). Upon the Word he feeds to sustain the new life given and promote spiritual growth (i Pet. 2:2). I need not enlarge upon these, the very elementary principles of the gospel.

(2) It affects his family-he teaches his children. A most important principle for today! Are there not multitudes of so-called Christian homes, and the parents themselves known Christians, and yet this is never done ? God commands them to do it. Is it said, "Oh, but that was law ? " Are we, then, to be less particular under grace ? Is it less needful, or necessary, to teach them the Word of the Lord today ? Beloved, such a reason has an unholy savor about it, which ill becomes those who are "called with a holy calling." Then it is sometimes urged, "Oh, but they go to Sunday-school! " Possibly they do. But have you troubled yourself sufficiently to find out -what they are taught there? or is that a salve to a conscience which shirks its own responsibility in the matter ? Not only must you teach them, but you must teach them diligently.

One can easily picture that Eastern home, and the youthful Timothy standing at his parent's knee,
learning "the Holy Scriptures." And what more delightful scene can be imagined than Christian parents surrounded by their children, teaching them the Word of God ? Not compelling them to learn what is hateful to them, and which the very compulsion makes more hateful still, but having their confidence and respect, and a gentle yet firm hold of them, and doing it in such a manner that the children find their joy and delight' in their lesson. Be assured that a young mind well stored with the Scriptures is a valuable possession when brought under the life-giving and controlling influence of the Holy Ghost. Alas that so few Christians do this, or are even exercised about it! They shuffle their own responsibility onto the shoulders of Sunday-school teachers, many of whom are not even converted themselves, and never make any attempt to teach them the Word of the Lord.
Again, it is to be feared that the only sign of Christianity some children see in their parents is, they go to the church, chapel, or meeting. They never pray with them as a family. It seems almost incredible that any real Christian parents have not what has been termed "family worship;" yet, alas, it is so. There are such. Is it not lamentable ! No reading of the Word and then bowing the knee together to seek the Lord's blessing on them as a family and on each individual; and to thank Him for family blessings and mercies received from His loving hands. No quiet, sober talk with each child as occasion may offer, and prayer with and for that particular child, and thus impressions made never to be obliterated, and seed sown to bear fruit in after days, if not then. Oh, beloved in the Lord, where is the practical Christianity when such things can be neglected by those redeemed by blood, and who profess to love the Lord ? No wonder Satan gets into such families! No wonder we see the assertion of will on the part of some who have marked out paths of their own in contrast to those the parents are walking in! The home is not walled or fenced round by prayer; hence the enemy can walk straight in, unmolested and unchallenged.

It is said, "Oh, but the parents pray privately!" Granted. But do the children see them, or hear them? How do they know their parents pray, in that case ? Where is the godly example ? Where, and when, do such parents teach their children diligently the Word of the Lord ? Rest assured, where prayer in the family is neglected, teaching the family is likewise neglected, and there is consequent family loss, and great danger of the family safety.

(3) It is to be the subject of conversation in the house, and in our walks abroad. A blessed subject, surely! Is it said, "But we cannot be everlastingly talking about the Scriptures" ? Quite true. But one fears you can be almost everlastingly talking about other things, to the complete neglect of the Scriptures. How often is the Word the subject of conversation at home or in our walks ? Just put it to your own heart, and ask yourself. Saints are not exercised about it through not reading it, and have no question to ask, or subject to talk about, when together; so the active and busy brain turns to what does occupy it as subject for conversation. How much is missed in this way!

(4) It was to be written in prominent and in public places-" upon the door posts of thy house, and
upon thy gates" (11:20). How striking to see it written on the door posts ! the place where the blood was sprinkled (Exod. 12:). The blood was sprinkled at the entrance of their houses in Egypt, to shelter them. Now the Word had to be written there to instruct them, and remind them, as they entered their houses, that they were the Lord's people; and as they came out, they were still His, and expected to act abroad as such, as well as in their homes. Moreover, it was to be seen in the place of judgment, "the gates," to remind them that there they were to "hear the cause between their brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him " (chap. 1:16, 17).

What holiness all this breathes! If all those instructions were carried out suitably to the mind of the great lawgiver, then it would certainly put the people amongst those happy ones mentioned in Prov. 8:34:" Blessed is the man that heareth Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors," Yea, might we not say, they would be as devoted servants, saying, as it were, "I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free." So you can nail my ear to the door post, in token that I will serve thee, and here, forever. See Ex. 21:2-6. To such a people, acting in such a way, their days would be "as the days of heaven upon the earth" (Deut. 11:21); and the prayer of the disciples, taught them by the Lord Himself when here upon earth, would have its fulfilment, in great measure at least-"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

(5) It affected the king as well as the subjects, and we read in Deut. 17:18, 20, "And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand or to the left:to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel." Long life, perfect happiness, and national greatness, lay wrapped up in the observance of the Word of the Lord then; nor has it ceased to be so to-day. God is ever true to His Word. "They that honor Me, I will honor; and they that despise Me, shall be lightly esteemed" (i Sam. 2:30); and true whether of a nation or an individual.

(6) It was to be read in the ears of all the people. "At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles. When all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which He shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel, in their hearing. Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and the stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law; and that their children, which have not known anything, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it" (Deut. 31:10-13). We thus see that none had to be ignorant of it. Individually and collectively, it was to be ever before them; while their blessing lay in obedience to it.

The same principles are seen and taught in the pages of the New Testament, but space forbids my taking them up. May the precious and all-important Word of our God have a deeper place in all our hearts, and be seen manifesting itself in all our lives, both in public and in private, so that in the midst of declension and departure from God, on the part of a professing and privileged people we may have the blessed sense, through grace, of " the days of heaven upon the earth." And this can only be as we allow the "Word of Christ to dwell in us richly." The Lord grant it to us, each and all.
W. E.
New Zealand.

If our affections and desires are lingering on earth, or stopping short of a glorified Christ in heaven, as the One in whom our life is hid, and to whom we are presently to be conformed in glory, and that in the glory where He is, we shall find soon that earthly things are something more than dross.
J. N. D.

" He feedeth among the lilies." – Cant. 2:16. " Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? " Matt. 9:11.

All around Him and beside Him,
Sinners sat at meat –
Sinful men and sinful women –
Bread of heaven they eat.

There, for Him who hath no money,
Wine and milk He pours
From the blessed fields of heaven,
God's exhaustless stores.

So they drank, the weary, thirsty,
That unfailing tide;
And forever and forever
They are satisfied.

He on heavenly food was feeding,
Meat to them unknown,
Blessed will of God who sent Him,
Needing that alone;

Sent to seek the lost and guilty,
Outcasts and despised,
Gems the hand of God would gather
For the crown of Christ.

So He fed amongst His lilies,
Saw them fair and white,
In the garden God had planted
For His own delight.

Only sinful men and women
Men could see and scorn ;
He beheld them crowned with glory
Of the heavenly morn –

Saw them with their palms of triumph,
With their harps of gold ;
Yet the same who sat around Him
In the days of old.

Mrs. Frances Bevan.

(2 Tim., Chaps. 1:, 2:, 3:)

There are just one or two thoughts on my mind, I beloved brethren, in connection with this scripture, that I would like to give expression to for our mutual profit. It is very blessed, surely, to have brought before us those wonderful blessings that God has given us in Christ. How sweet to know that we have died with Christ:not only that He died for us, blessed as that is, but that we have died with Him-that we are risen with Him-and that we are seated in Him in the heavenlies, as the epistle to the Ephesians teaches us! All that is surely very blessed. But then, there other lines of truth as well as those, and it behooves us to be prepared to look at and take in any truth that God by His Spirit may bring before us.

The tendency of the day is to set aside certain truths-to let them drop out of our ministry-out of our conversation; in fact, to drop them altogether, as being subjects on which we shall never all agree, and which are therefore best left alone; and this is just the very thing Satan desires and aims at. It is admitted they are truths taught in the Word, but" it is said, "you know it would not be wise to take up church truth, or the question of separation, as Christians may be present who do not agree with us on those subjects, and it would perhaps be wiser to let them alone and speak of what we are all agreed upon."

Beloved brethren, are we the servants of God, or men? "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable;" and whatever the Holy Ghost leads to must be for profit to some one, if not to all, and must not be withheld to please either the devil or worldly-minded saints who think more of being friendly with Christians than they do of the glory of God. Never was there a time when it was more needful for us to understand and maintain the truth of God "as good soldiers of Jesus Christ" than at the present-to understand our orders and obey them at all cost, and thus stand for God in an evil day, and in spite of the increasing difficulties.

We only need to read these verses in z Tim. 3:, and look around, to see that we are living in the last days, and that the perilous times have come. The characteristics of those times are seen full blown on every hand. It is really a very solemn thing to think that the very same things which characterized the heathen world as set forth in Rom. 1:29-31, are here set forth as characterizing the so-called Christian world, and at the close of its history on earth, with this addition:" Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; " and the Spirit of God adds, " From such turn away."

Now, beloved brethren, are we doing that ? Do we turn away from such, and accept the path of separation from evil as being the path where we can expect God to walk with us ? It is He who says,
"From such turn away." How often we find that when the Word begins to press on our conscience, and narrow up our path by its insistence on separation, we then want to set it aside! Have we not heard it said, "We will leave that question, and talk about something we shall agree about" ? But is not separation a truth taught in the Word ? Are we not to agree about all God's word ? or is it just certain parts, that suit ourselves, and we can let all the rest go ? We need to beware of all these and such like efforts of Satan to hinder our progress in the things of God.
If we look at this second epistle to Timothy I think we shall see the marks of failure and declension, and now they come in and work. But first of all we see how wonderfully God has blest us in saving us and calling us with a holy calling, etc., as chapter one shows us. He has also given us the Holy Ghost to dwell in us, as well as with us, in answer to the Lord's prayer in John 14:16-17. We must not forget there are these two aspects of the Spirit's presence; nor must we confound them. All the children of God have the Spirit dwelling in them; and that brings in the thought of union. We are united to Christ as the head of the body, and we are united to each other as members of the body, as i Cor. 12:shows us. Then there is the other thought, " Know ye not that the Spirit of God dwelleth among you ?" (i Cor. 3:16-New Version); and "builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit" (Eph. 2:22). Here, then, we have a set of totally distinct ideas from the other. Here we have the Spirit as controlling in the house of God-leading, guiding, directing, helping-the power for worship, prayer, or discipline; and thus by the ministry of the Word teaching us "how to behave ourselves in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (i Tim. 3:).

We need to look at God's truth as one blessed, harmonious whole, and not pit one bit against another. It is one blessed whole, and all connected with Christ and His glory. It is not the gospel as against the Church, or the Church as against the gospel, but one blessed whole; and no part can be dispensed with- all is needful. Were there no gospel to preach to sinners, there could be no Church to be loved by Christ and presented to Himself. It is by the gospel that sinners become saints, and find their place in the Church and outside the world. A holy place surely, but a happy place when taken up in faith and pursued in faith. In walking in that path we find we have to turn away from many true children of God, because of their associations, and because the Word commands our consciences, and says, "From such turn away;" while at the same time it exhorts us to " follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." We love all the Lord's people nevertheless, though at such times it is very difficult to get them to believe it. But the Word says, '' He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him " (i John 2:8).

Then, if we think of the apostle's own path as set forth in this epistle, what a path of separation and isolation it was! What pain it must have given him to have to write, "All they that are in Asia be turned away from me "! and he then names two men who seemed to be leaders in that path of declension, Phygellus and Hermogenes. They found the path too narrow for them. They had no faith to go on in it. They were not whole-hearted for Christ, like Paul, and they turned away and left Paul to go on alone -yet not alone.

It is very striking that, in this epistle, we have in each of the first three chapters two men mentioned. They seem to be leaders, and characterize the decline and its progress. In chapter one, as I have noted, they have turned away from Paul, not necessarily from Christ; but they could not go on any longer with the testimony. This is the first outward step in declension; for surely the heart must have been wrong before such a step was taken. It is the evil servant who first says in his heart, "My lord delayeth his coming," and then begins to show his state' by his public acts; and he "begins to eat and drink with the drunken," etc. Beloved brethren, we need to keep our hearts with all diligence. The moment true affection for Christ begins to wane, we are then open to receive any suggestion of Satan, and are soon manifested in our true state:we cannot long hide it.
Then, again, it will ever be found that when once our hearts get away from God the testimony of the Lord soon becomes irksome and the path too narrow, and we want to widen out and be more liberal-minded, and not so exclusive, especially towards nice Christians whom we meet and who are not with us (and perhaps do not want to be); and thus we put our foot into that delusive current, and are ignorant of the power that causes its flow; and sometimes Christians in such circumstances only wake up when they find themselves wholly carried away. There is a power behind these seductive thoughts that even Christians do not reckon on-an awful power; and when once we get off our feet into it, the moral senses become blunted, the vision becomes dimmed, and the spiritual judgment becomes wholly perverted, while honestly thinking we are still all right and doing right.

The next thing we find in the steps of declension as set forth in this epistle is, bad doctrine (chapter two). Now, you will often find that when saints do turn away from the testimony of the Lord, they fall into bad doctrine. They have no safeguard, for they have given up faith and a good conscience. In this chapter we have other two men brought before us-" Hymeneus and Philetus, who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure." How dreadful to think that men could be so foolish and so deceived as to believe and teach such a stupid doctrine! Is it not another proof of the blinding influence of Satan ?

Then, again, is it not a solemn thing for us to know that none of us can take a false step without affecting some one else ? These leaders " overthrew the faith of some." We all know that once a backslidden saint gets hold of false doctrine, he is most anxious to propagate it-much more so than he was the truth, and he is delighted to make proselytes to his new faith. We might well ask, Does it end there ? Alas, no; and I turn you just for a moment to the other and further step in this decline. In chapter three we have other two names mentioned-representative men. It is true they are men of a past age; but they are representative men none the less-Jannes and Jambres. They withstood Moses. They were open opposers of the truth of the living God.

Beloved brethren, these things may well solemnize us as we look at them; they are set forth as beacons to warn us. (i) Turning away from the testimony of the Lord; (2) Falling in to false doctrine; (3) Open and downright opposition to the truth. Have some of us not seen it in our own short histories ? Have we not seen men who went on well for a time, then they got cold, and began to complain, first, of the inconsistencies of their brethren (never of themselves); then of the narrowness of the path; then they turned away from it-in some cases becoming more energetic in their new path than ever they were in the true one. Then they embraced false doctrine, and at last became bitter enemies and opponents of the truth. And is it not always the case that those who have most light, when once they are turned aside, are the most bitter against those who let that light shine ? Does it not fulfill that word, "If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! "

What then remains for us ? What is the great preservative against this awful state we have been looking at ? Things will not get better. There will be no wholesale recovery. Nay, rather, "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." But God remains, and His Spirit and Word remain. " All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." Have we found our path from that Word ? Then let us "continue in the things which we have learned, knowing of whom we have learned them." Let there be increased dependence on God and subjection and obedience to His Word, and then, and only then, shall we be preserved from the snares of the enemy, and from that awful declension which ends so disastrously. May the Lord Himself enable us to take warning from these beacons, and encouragement from the fact that He is with us, and will help us, if we desire to do His will. W. E.

New Zealand.

When the Moravian missionaries went to Greenland, in 1733, they thought that the most rational way of instructing the heathen was to speak first of the existence and perfections of God, and to enforce obedience to the divine law; and they hoped by these means gradually to prepare -their minds for the reception of the gospel. But this proved wholly ineffectual. For five years they labored in this style, and could scarcely obtain a patient hearing from the savages. But circumstances, unexpected and uncontrived by themselves, led to an entire change of procedure.

In the beginning of June, 1738, Bro. Beck, one of the missionaries, was copying a translation of a portion of the Gospels. He read a few sentences to the heathen; and after some conversation with them, he gave them an account of the creation of the world, the fall of man, and his salvation by Christ. In speaking of the redemption of man, he enlarged with more than usual energy on the sufferings and death of our Saviour, and exhorted his hearers seriously to consider the vast expense at which Jesus had ransomed the souls of His people. He then read to them out of the New Testament the history of our Saviour's agony in the garden. Upon this, the Lord opened the heart of one of the company whose name was Kayarnak, who, stepping to the table, in an earnest manner exclaimed,"How was that? tell me that once more; for I too desire to be saved." These words, which were such as had never before been uttered by a Greenlander, penetrated the soul of Bro. Beck, who, with great emotion, gave them a fuller account of the life and death of our Saviour, and the scheme of salvation through Him. Some of the pagans laid their hands on their mouth (which is their usual custom when struck with amazement).On Kayarnak an impression was made that was not transient, but had taken deep root in his heart. By means of his conversation his family, or those who lived in the same tent with him, were brought under conviction; and before the end of the month three large families came with all their property and pitched their tents near the dwelling of the missionaries, in order, as they said, to hear the joyful news of man's redemption. Kayarnak became eminently serviceable to the mission as a teacher of his countrymen, and adorned his Christian profession until his death. The missionaries now understood the divine mode of reaching and changing the heart of savage or of civilized. They began to preach at once Christ, and Him crucified. And no sooner did they declare to the Greenlanders "the word of reconciliation" in its native simplicity than they beheld its converting and saving power. This reached the hearts of their audience, and produced the most astonishing effects. It opened a way to their consciences, and illuminated their understandings. They remained no longer the stupid and brutish creatures they had once been:they felt they were sinners, and trembled at their danger:they rejoiced in the Saviour, and were rendered capable of sublimer pleasures than those arising from plenty of seals, and the low gratification of sensual appetites. A sure foundation being thus laid in the knowledge of a crucified Redeemer, the missionaries soon found that this supplied their young converts with a powerful motive to the abhorrence of sin and the performance of every moral duty towards God and their neighbor. It taught them to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world; animated them with the glorious hope of life and immortality; and gave them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God as the Creator and Saviour of men. The missionaries themselves derived benefit from this. The doctrines of the cross of Christ warmed and enlivened their own souls in so powerful a manner that they could address the heathen with uncommon liberty and fervor, and were often astonished at each other's power of utterance.

And is this to be wondered at ? Is it not that which the apostle Paul taught of old:"The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:but we preach Christ crucified ; unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God" (i Cor. 1:22-24) ? The Christian ministry is one of "reconciliation," and its great theme is "that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." It was this "word of reconciliation" that the apostles addressed to the hearts and consciences of men to bring them back to God. "We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us:we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him " (2 Cor. 5:19-21). The death of Christ in man's stead is the only basis of reconciliation between the offended God and the offending creature; the announcement of it is the only means by which the heart of the offender can be subdued and won back to loyalty; and the belief of it the only means by which his conscience can be freed from the burden of guilt.

Selected.

The butterfly has long been recognized as a type I of resurrection, though there is no statement of it in the Word. It is intimated that "there are other parables in nature than those explained, and that we are expected to know them. Mark 4:13; i Cor 11:14; Psa. 19:i; i Cor. 14:10; Psa. 3:2; Job 12:7-9; Prov. 6:6; Matt. 13:; Prov. 25:2.

The family Lepidoptera (scale wings) is the most conspicuous of a number of insects which go through a complete transformation in three stages. Those which fly by day and have knobbed antennae are called butterflies. The body is small compared with the size of wing, allowing the motion of the wings to be slow, and the insect often floats without any motion, thus displaying the brilliant colors to advantage.

Moths generally fly at night, evening, or morning, and have heavier bodies in proportion to size of wing. Hence the wing motion must be more rapid, sometimes like a humming bird, and the beauty is not seen. They generally hide by day, so the colors are sober, or match their hiding places in order to protect them from enemies; the antennae are never knobbed but clubbed, feathery, or thread-like. Butterflies as a rule are handsomer, and the finest varieties are found in the tropics.

The parent, with remarkable intelligence, lays the eggs on or near the leaves which are to be their future food, and leaves them to take care of themselves. After a number of moultings the pupa stops feeding. Then some varieties burrow in the earth, where they pass the pupa stage; others remain above ground, spinning cocoons or hanging to trees or bushes. After a longer or shorter time comes the phenomenon which has attracted so much attention- it breaks the case and comes out a perfect butterfly. All traces of the slow, crawling, despised worm have disappeared, and instead it has a new body, mouth, eyes, and wings-a being fitted for and belonging to the free air of heaven and the sunshine, with a wide range of vision, new powers and tastes, a spiral tongue fitted to sip the nectar from flowers-in short a perfect picture of a life of pleasure in a higher sphere.

This seems plainly a type of resurrection-when the Lord comes. Those transforming below ground (the grave) might suggest the sleeping saints, and those above ground the saints which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord (i Cor. 15:51, etc; i Thess. 4:13).

But the analogy does not end with this. In connection with the marvelous change, see i Cor. 15:42, 43; first a caterpillar, afterwards a butterfly. Vers. 47-49, whatever the butterfly was that laid the egg just such will the worm be, every one after its kind. 2 Cor. 5:1-9; i John 3:2; Phil. 3:20, 21. It is the butterfly that gives name to the caterpillar, though the latter may not look like its parent. Just so we are now children of God. This is only our larval stage, we do not look like heavenly beings, or different from the rest of the world, and the world knows us not (i John 3:i).

Who that had never seen or heard of it would believe this phenomenon? If God is left out it is contrary to reason, just as resurrection is. It is strangely interesting to note that Prof. Drummond, a pioneer in the line of things we are looking at, quotes approvingly a passage which distinctly denies resurrection, ("Natural Law in the Spiritual World," p. 236.) What would he have to say as to this type?
As to the change in the nature, who that knows and mourns the evil of his own heart could believe that at "that day" we shall leave all the evil, the flesh, the carnal mind (Rom. 8:1-8) forever behind? Rom. 8:29 and i John 3:2 refer not only to the body but the whole being. See again i Cor. 15:47-49.

"No stain within, no foes or snares around,
No jarring notes shall there discordant sound;
All pure without, all pure within the breast;
No thorns to wound, no toil to mar our rest."

MOTHS.

Butterflies flying by day seem to represent the children of light, Eph. 5:8; i Thess. 5:4-8; John 12:36; Prov. 4:18; and moths flying by night, the children of darkness, Eph. 5:6, 7. There shall be a resurrection of both, John 5:28, 29. Most of them shun the light, John 1:5; 3:19-21; Prov. 4:19; Rom. 1:21; Eph. 4:18; i Pet. 2:9; Jude 13; Col. 1:13, etc.

How striking that we find among the moths most of the remarkable cases of imitation or deception. They imitate the bark of the trees or bushes where they hide, or various leaves in color or shape so closely that it is difficult to recognize them, though looking at them. In the economy of nature this is a marvelous adaptation of means to an end-protection from their enemies displaying God's wisdom, Psa. Cxiv. 10; 19:2; 104:24. Still the spiritual lesson remains:deception is very naturally and suitably associated with darkness, and there should be no association of light with darkness, Gen. 1:4; Eph. 5:ii; 2 Cor. 6:14-18. The above as to deception applies rather to the winged insect than the worm, and there are exceptions. I have no doubt with more knowledge each variety would yield a special lesson.

The worm and the butterfly seem to be living pictures of 2 Cor. 5:1-9. The worm, like this earthly house in which we groan; and the butterfly, our house which is from heaven. Wings in nature seem always to speak in some way of heaven; and if so, what a simple language! In an evil sense, the birds of the air, Matt. 13:4-19; in a good sense, Isa. 6:2; Ezra 1:6; Psa. Ixxxiv. 3; and in Matt. 24:28, indicate that judgment will come from heaven.

The worm has two kinds of legs fitted for slow crawling. The butterfly has six legs, uses them only to crawl out of the cocoon and resting on flowers while feeding, but seldom walks. This only emphasizes the fact that it lives on the wing.

THE EYES.

The contrast between the eyes of the caterpillar and the butterfly is very marked:what is commonly supposed to be a large eye on each side of the head of the worm, is only the rudiment of what will be eyes in the butterfly. The real eyes are very small, twelve in number, and are set six on each side on the under side of the head. Apparently they are of not much use except to see what is close to the mouth. When they travel they raise the whole front of the body and move the head about, apparently indicating poor vision, 2 Cor. 5:7. As we constantly use sight as synonymous with knowledge this illustrates our scanty knowledge in the body of our humiliation in contrast with the future condition, Phil. 3:20, 21; i Cor. 13:9-12. (The butterfly has, in some of the varieties, as many as 30,000 eyes.) As twelve is the number of government, it shows we are now learning God's ways in government. The butterflies' eyes are arranged nearly like a ball to see perfectly in every direction-backward, forward, up, and down. Backward, to the present time; forward, into the future; upward, things in heaven; downward, things in hell; i Cor. 4:4, 5; Luke 12:2, 3.

Each of these 30,000 eyes is six-sided like a honeycomb, and six is the number of victory. This may perhaps indicate the manifestation then of our character now as overcomers, i John 5:4, 5; 4:4; 2:13, 14; Rev. 2:7, etc; 21:7; possibly that the whole scene in heaven is a scene of victory, and the Victor the one who fills the vision-the Center of the worshiping throng.

THE WINGS.

Butterflies are among the most beautiful things in nature. As we have seen, the beauty is mainly in the wings, due to the tiny scales which cover the colorless membrane. If you brush off the scales it can fly as well, so the beauty put upon the wing is not a necessary part of it. These scales are deeply corrugated to get more color in the same space; and moreover the color of each scale is due to the refraction of the light by its thin skin for the same reason that a soap bubble and mother of pearl are bright red, blue, etc.-no coloring matter in it, only the light refracted. If you look at a chromotype picture with a magnifying glass you will find all the delicate shades of color are made up by only three-red, blue, and yellow-arranged in such proportions and in such small spots that the general effect is of delicate shades and neutral tones. Just so the minute parts of each scale are of such thickness that the different pure colors are sent back to the eye in such proportions as result in the beautiful tints we see in the wings. When we consider the wonderful range of color, such an elaborate system to accomplish it becomes marvelous, especially when a simple pigment-like paint, would have answered just as well but for the spiritual truth involved which is this-that all the glory of the saint in heaven will not be due to what we have accumulated here, but that which comes directly and continually from the Sun of Righteousness, the glory of Christ reflected-not that which belongs to us naturally, even as saints.

"The bride eyes not her garments,
But her dear bridegroom's face;
I will not gaze at glory,
But on my King of Grace;
Not on the crown He giveth,
But on His pierced hand:-
The Lamb is all the glory
Of Immanuel's Land."

How suitable that the beauty should be on the wings which indicate the heavenly condition, and that the insect should fly by day in the sunshine!

God in all this has not omitted the question of our responsibility. One of the most prominent characteristics of the caterpillar is that it is an enormous feeder. In the economy of nature this fits it for a scourge as suggested in the Scriptures where the word is found. The spiritual lesson is that, if we are really God's caterpillars, we should be large spiritual feeders. The provision is the word of God, John 6:27, etc; Jer. 15:16; the only thing by which we can grow, i Pet. 2:2.

It is the worm that increases in size, not the butterfly. So our capacity for the enjoyment of heaven must be made here and now:there will be no increase of capacity up there. Each one will enjoy it to the full extent of his capacity, but a cup differs from a barrel though both may be full. Thousands of Christians who neglect their Bible here, expecting to make it up in heaven, will be woefully disappointed when it is too late. A neglected Bible and a lean soul go hand in hand.

There are those who hold that at death the soul sleeps in unconsciousness till the resurrection. The pupa answers to this period, and whenever it is handled it shows unmistakable signs of life and consciousness by its squirming. Does not this indicate that God has carefully guarded against the doctrine in question in type, as He surely has in the Word?

Caterpillars are often handsome, but not as compared with butterflies; and often the plainest worms become the handsomest butterflies, Luke 13:30.

One summer evening I stood in a crowd listening to the preaching of the gospel on the street. After a while I noticed an old woman who had gradually found her way to the front and stood, quite unconscious of those around, drinking in the glad tidings of God's grace. She was old, not handsome, and poorly dressed. I watched her with a good deal of interest, and after the speaker stopped I offered her a leaflet and said, " You know the Lord Jesus don't you?" "Oh yes," she said, "He's all I've got. Isn't it good! oh isn't it good!" Her hearty answer left no doubt that she was a child of God. I had a short conversation with her, then we noticed some well-dressed rude young men standing around ridiculing her. As she turned away she said, "You may make fun of a poor old woman, but I've got what you haven't-the Lord Jesus Christ." And I thought as she disappeared through the crowd, "Here is one of God's caterpillars, poor, unknown, and despised now; but wait till the resurrection, then the shriveled, homely old woman will be changed in a moment, with a body like His glorious body; and the old grey shawl and dilapidated straw hat will be exchanged for shining garments beautiful beyond anything on earth."

"We wait, blessed Lord, in Thy beauties to shine,
To see Thee in glory-the glory divine;
With all Thy redeemed, from the earth, from the tomb,
To be to-Thy praise, blessed Saviour at home."

T. M.

"Absolute consecration to Jesus is the strongest bond between human hearts. It strips them of self, and they have but one soul in thought, intent and settled purpose, because they have only one object." J. N. D.

(Gen. 6:) A GOSPEL ADDRESS.

This chapter gives us the climax of man's history under the first administration of time, and covers a period of over 1600 years. This was the age that God tried and tested man in the light of conscience. From the fall in Eden to the Flood we read of no law, no government, but man left to the dictates of his conscience. Many people to-day say that conscience alone is their guide, and that it is good enough to walk by. The anarchist who clamors for no government can learn a solemn lesson from this chapter, because we see that man left to his own conscience became an utter wreck; so much so, that God had to sweep the earth with a deluge. The moral state of man is given in the fifth verse:"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

What makes this chapter so interesting and solemn is that the Lord Jesus Christ tells us that what transpired before the Flood shall happen again before He returns to set up His Millennial government. The flood of waters in Gen. 6 is but a faint type, or shadow, of the woes and tribulations described in Revelation, chapters 6:to 19:

In ver. 2 we see God's sons, the professing people, uniting themselves with the daughters of men-a union of godly and ungodly, a corruption, by mixture of what was professedly God's people with the wicked world, the result of which is disastrous, and which, if we cared to see, can be noticed to-day in the union of the Church and the world. God's testimony by this is corrupted, and it will end in judgment.

Note God's patience for 120 years. They could righteously have been destroyed at once, but God loves to save, so waits, warns, strives by His Spirit, and by Noah's preaching for 120 years, with these antediluvians. Judgment, the Scripture tells us, is God's strange work; His heart finds no delight in it; He loves to save; and only when men will not accept salvation does He destroy.

Note that before the Flood we get giants and mighty men of renown (ver. 4). Great as they were in the eyes of men, they were not great enough to escape the Deluge, and so to-day man is fast becoming a giant in many lines,-learning, inventions, etc.,-and making many gigantic strides. But what about the spiritual state of these men ? Read the 5th and nth verses:"Evil continually," and filling the earth with violence. They used their brute strength to gain their ends, regardless of right or wrong; and such are the actings of the world to-day, as illustrated in selfish greed and injustice.

Fair as the world might seem to its people, yet God had doomed it; and so God's judgment hangs
over this scene, as Christ said, "Now is the judgment of this world." One of these days that judgment will be put into execution. (See i Thess. 5:3; also, 2 Pet. 3:3-7.) It will take the world by surprise.

Before God's awful judgment falls, He in His love provides a way of escape and salvation. That is blessedly true now. Judgment will come, but God has a way of salvation. He has provided a Saviour for a lost world (John 3:16), blessed be His name, and this salvation and Saviour is what we have prefigured in Noah's ark.

Let us look at this wonderful figure, or type, of Christ.

It was God Himself who planned the ark. He knew what was needed-knew the awful storm the ark must weather, and He, the great Architect, planned a seaworthy refuge. The Lord Jesus Christ alone, God's beloved Son, is God's plan to save. All human plans and devices perished in the Flood; that will be the history of every soul who does not rest on God's Rock of salvation. Your thoughts and plans, nice as they may appear, are deceptive and unsafe. Have you God's planned salvation ? or are you leaning on some human invention ?

God said, "Make thee an ark." Just one ark- not two, nor six, but one. Only one way of escape! One way for all-rich and poor, high and low, young and old-only one. Jesus said, "I am the way." The only way, He meant. Men often say there are many ways and gates to heaven, and they pick ways to suit their own foolish hearts; but Jesus is the only way. '' No man cometh unto the Father but by Me." Soul, hast thou Christ?

The ark was to be made of a certain tree-not every kind of timber would do; it must be a wood that would be safe and seaworthy; one which was flawless, and which would not leak. The gopher wood, we are told, was the finest wood the world possessed, and that time did not bring decay upon it; it was almost incorruptible. What wondrous grace on God's part to provide so safe a refuge! So God has provided His own beloved Son, the spotless, perfect and holy Man, Christ Jesus, to save a ruined world. He was the sinless One, over whom God could open the heavens and say, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." God never did or could do that over any other man. It is this One who saves, and is love's provision for a ruined race.

But ere the ark can be made, the gopher tree must be cut down; it must die, ere Noah can escape death in the flood. It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27). So ere we could escape death and judgment Christ must suffer the death and judgment due to us; our penalty must be paid by Him. "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone." Christ is the corn of wheat, and had He not died and suffered He alone would have entered heaven; we could not go there. It is His death and His blood alone which saves. Some people take Christ as a pattern, sample, and ideal; but the soul needs the blood.

Pitch is the life of the tree. And now we see that to make the ark truly safe God ordered it to be pitched within and without with pitch. In Ex. 12:13 we see the blood of the paschal lamb was a token to the sheltered Israelites, and also a sign for God Himself:"And the blood shall be to you for a token; and when I (God) see the blood, I will pass over you." God's eye rested on the blood, and He was satisfied. Surely the soul that rested beneath it should have been satisfied also. How many Christians doubt their safety and salvation simply because they do not value the blood according to God's estimate ! See what provision there was-pitch outside, blemishless gopher wood in the center, and then pitch inside! They were as safe as God could make them-as every true believer now is. The ark never leaked. God's provision was perfect, and He was their pilot also. Christ "is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by Him."

The next detail is the way of access to the ark. "And the door thou shalt set in the side thereof." Only one door. All who will, must enter thereby. The Son of Man is not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. One class alone are saved-lost sinners. Can you come as such ? You must, or perish. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." If you will come as a lost but trusting sinner, Jesus will save you. Jesus says, "Come unto Me." Come as you are. Wait not to improve yourself, because yon never can do that. A dying thief was not rejected, and you He will not cast out.

Inside, the ark was fitted up, the 14th verse tells us, with rooms, or nests. (See better translation in margin.) A nest is where a bird finds rest from all its toil. The Lord Jesus offers rest to all who trust in Him. He said, " Come unto Me, all ye that labor (for salvation), and I will give you rest." He did the work on the cross, and you are asked to rest on that finished work. He never said, Come to Me, and I will give you some work to do, and if you do it well and faithfully you shall be saved. No! He offers rest-salvation first, and then work becomes the fruit, not the price, of salvation. It is a gift, not something God will sell. No price, however great, can buy it.

The ark had three floors-lower, second, and third stories (ver. 16). This may be used to describe God's family. John's epistle tells us that in God's family there are three classes-little children, young men, and fathers; showing the various stages of growth in the Christian life. All dear to God; not one dearer than another. Some more intelligent than others, but all redeemed by the same precious blood. If one class can perish, they all must go. down, and the ark with its cargo, to the bottom. The thought is monstrous. Yet some Christians believe it. No! all were as safe as the ark; their security depended on the power of the ark, and its ability to carry them. The history tells us that all who entered it reached mount Ararat in safety; not one died on the voyage. Ararat means "holy ground," and is a figure of heaven. (See John 10:27-29.) Christ says of His own, they shall never perish.

One more detail ere we close the description (ver. 16). "A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above." A window is for light, and speaks of communion. The man who lived in the third story enjoyed the light of that window. The number three reminds us of the day Christ rose from the grave-from among the dead; and it is the Christian who lives in resurrection atmosphere who can and does enjoy heaven's light and sunshine. See Paul in Phil. 3:10:"That I might know Him and the power of His resurrection." The Christian's soul can find no joy, no food, save in the scene beyond the tomb.

And now, dear friend, God has shown you in picture His Son Jesus, and His salvation. All who stepped into the ark trusted their welfare to its keeping, and were safe :it mattered not what worthless creatures they might be, the ark covered and kept them. All outside the ark, whether moral or immoral, religious or irreligious, good or bad intentioned people, respectable or otherwise, were unsafe, and I would ask you where are you? Confiding in Jesus, or confiding in your own merits ? When the flood came, all the nice people as well as the others perished. To be outside the ark is to be lost; to be inside, is to be safe. And remember, the ark is not the Church-the ark is Christ. I plead with you to flee to the ark. Confiding in Christ alone makes the sinner safe. The ark stands open now, and none who come are rejected. God provides food for all who enter (ver. 21). Until you come to Christ you will not know what real joy is.

One of these days the door will shut. God waited seven days after Noah went in (7:4); but God's mercy ended, and He shut the door. When Jesus comes (and we know not how soon that may happen), many will be shut in, safe with Himself to spend eternity in heaven, and many shut out. How would His coming affect you -were it to happen now ? (See Luke 13:24, 25.) " Many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in and shall not be able, when once the Master of the house has risen up and shut to the door.' '

Hasten, sleeping sinner; judgment is gathering fast. Remember, it was not the man who admired the ark and its construction, neither the man who could describe its details, who was saved, but the one who by faith entered, and trusted his perishing soul to its care. " Look unto Me, all ye ends of the earth, and be ye saved." E. W. M.

It is not our desire to indulge in personal criticism, or needlessly to occupy the saints with movements manifestly not according to God's word. But when fundamental truths are openly denied, we are responsible to warn the beloved people of God against error.

The two prominent doctrines of Mr. Dowie have been, apparently, what is known as divine healing, and the establishment of a restored earthly church, which he calls Zion. These two features of his
movement have been presented in every way to at-the attention of the public; the most common method, apparently, being that of abuse of all who _er from these views. The well-nigh blasphemous assumption of the name Elijah, coupled with a re-to the legal system of tithing, an elaborate rit-J and a complete clerical system, show the whole movement to be devoid of those elements of Christian truth known to the simplest babe in Christ who ! has been at all instructed.

It would be easy to remind the child of God that by this system he is robbed of the precious truth of the priesthood of believers; of the blessed assurance that we are not under law, but under grace; of the knowledge of a heavenly position as united by the Holy Ghost to a glorified Christ, while we wait for His coming again. Practically, for occupation with Christ is substituted occupation with this man.

But we may be assured that Satan has even deeper errors hidden beneath this mass of self-glorification and legalism. His object is ever to attack the person or the work of our blessed Lord; and of this we have evidence in the present case.

The following extract from the official organ of this movement, "Leaves of Healing," is taken from Mr. Dowie's address prior to the visit of himself and several thousand to New York:

"The Christ who went to hell to preach to the antediluvians, who in the days of Noah rejected Him, is still the same Christ; and although men make their bed in hell, even there shall His right hand find them.

"We will tell them that the Good Shepherd will seek them throughout the earth, throughout hell, and throughout eternity, until He finds them and brings them back to Himself, and that not one shall perish ; for He said that if He be lifted up He would draw all unto Himself.

"We believe that the Father hath given Him power and authority over all flesh, to give them eternal life; and if not in this life, in the life to come, the Saviour will seek the sinner until he sins no more.

"We will carry the gospel of everlasting hope to the hopeless, sorrow-stricken hearts of those who are taught the infernal lie that God has sent their dear ones into a hopeless hell, from which they can never come.

"May God help us in presenting the gospel, which bids men to know that His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting; that it is above the heavens and deeper than hell; and that some day, somewhere, the Master, the Shepherd, the Saviour, will bring home the last sinner!
" Oh, I thank God for that gospel!(Amen.)

"The gospel which saves to the-uttermost-the gospel which will seek in eternity as well as in time, until the last sinner is saved."

Here we have simple restorationism, the denial of the eternity of punishment for the ungodly-similar to the error propagated by the advocates of " Millennial Dawn." Let our readers then take warning. They have not merely to combat error, abuse and levity in connection with "faith healing," etc., but to turn from this old lie of Satan, "Ye shall not surely die." We need hardly add that the equally deadly error of annihilation is to be guarded against on the other side.

Solemn and awful truth-to bring us on our faces in prayer, and to lead us to plead with men-souls passing out of this world without Christ are hopeless for all eternity. " Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men."

(Neh. 3:)

(Continued from page 246.)

Thus we pass on our journey round the walls, and come next to

THE GATE OF THE FOUNTAIN

"The gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah:" (ver. 15).

This is surely in beautiful order. First, the body owned as the Lord's; 2d, humility; 3d, judgment of what is unclean ; and now, the freshness and power of the Holy Spirit in the life ; for of this, clearly, the Gate of the Fountain speaks to us.

It has been asserted by many that until the Christian surrenders himself fully to God, he does not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is a mistake, " If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His" (Rom. 8:9); "After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise" (Eph. 1:13)-sealed, too, "until the day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30); "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts" (Gal. 4:6).

But that there is often in the experience of many what looks, indeed, like a "second blessing," no observant believer can deny. What is really meant by it? Simply this:that though the Holy Spirit indwells all children of God in this dispensation, yet in many worldliness and self-pleasing are so characteristic that He who should control us for Christ, and fill us with freshness and power as He ministers Christ to our souls, is become like a fountain choked with stones and rubbish, and thus the life is barren and the testimony powerless. Awakened at last to see the folly of such a life of uselessness to God and reproach to Christ, the saint humbles himself in self-judgment, the filth is put away, and now the once-choked fountain is running over, and the Spirit of God in power takes control of the believer to use him for the Lord's glory, and to make him a vessel of refreshment to others. There is a fountain of living water within, and out of his inward parts flow rivers of living water for others (John 7:38).

" Be ye filled with the Spirit" is a word the importance of which cannot be overestimated. May every child of grace go on to know more of it in power as he walks in obedience to the word of God! For there are two things that in Scripture are practically inseparable:I refer to the Spirit and the Word. A Spirit-filled Christian will be a Word-filled Christian.

THE WATER GATE

"Moreover the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out" (ver. 26).

The Nethinim were servants, and it is meet that they build up the Water Gate, for water is very generally a type of the word o£ God. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way ? By taking heed thereto according to Thy Word " (Ps. 119, 9).

"Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water by the Word," etc. (Eph. 5:25, 26.)

It is remarkable that what in Ephesians is connected with the Spirit, is in Colossians joined to the Word.

Compare Eph. 5:18, 20, with Col. 3:16. Both alike are a source of joy and blessing. And we need not wonder at this similarity in effect, for of the Word it is said, "Holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

In chap. 8:of this book (Nehemiah) we see all the people gathered together "as one man into the street that was before the water gate," there to listen to the reading of the word of God. The result is joy and blessing.

O fellow-believer, I beseech you, "meditate on these things, give thyself wholly to them," and thus '' let the word of Christ dwell in you richly," for '' all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). This, then, is the servant's furnishing. He is to study to show himself "approved unto God, a work man that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth."

And this means far more than reading books, however helpful, written on the Bible. It necessitates diligent, painstaking study of the sacred Word itself. Other books may help, often, to lead out the mind on certain broad lines, but the Book must supersede them all if there is to be real growth in the knowledge of God.

By this alone will you overcome the wicked one, if "the word of God abideth in you " (i John 2:14).

It is this that fits us to carry out the lesson suggested by

THE HORSE GATE.

"From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house " (ver. 28).

The horse is used with striking frequency in Scripture as a figure of the warrior.

It is so described in Job 39:19-25, where " He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha! and he smelleth the battle afar off." In Zech. 1:8, and in Rev. 6:, we read of four symbolic horses, which speak of warrior powers; and when the eternal Word of God, clad in blood-dipped vesture, descends from heaven to the battle preceding the awful supper of the great God, at the beginning of the Millennium, He is seen in vision riding on a white horse, and the saints are seen similarly mounted.

The ass is the symbol of peace; the horse, of war. When the Prince of peace rode into Jerusalem of old, it was on the ass. When He comes to judgment, it is on the horse.

The Horse Gate may speak, then, of soldier-service in a world opposed to God and His truth. It bids us '' earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints " (Jude 3, R. V.).

The truth has been given to us at great cost, not only to the One who is Himself "The Truth;" but for its preservation, and recovery when lost at times, myriads of warrior-saints have suffered and died.

Alas that we, children of such glorious sires, should so lightly value what to them was dearer than life!

We live in a day, not so much of open persecution, as of laxity and latitudinarianism. We are affected much by the spirit of the times. Hence there are few among us who, like that mighty man of old, grasp the sword of the Spirit to defend the truth of God, and fight till the hand cleaves to the very weapon it holds. (See 2 Sam. 23:9, 10.) But God's Eleazars will have rich reward in the day when many will be saved, but so as by fire.

Let me quote here the words of another, which might well be written in letters of living fire:

"Renounce all the policy of the age. Trample upon Saul's armor. Grasp the book of God. Trust the Spirit who wrote its pages. Fight with this weapon only and always. Cease to amuse, and seek to arouse. Shun the clap of a delighted audience, and listen for the sobs of a convicted one. Give up trying to please men who have only the thickness of their ribs between their souls and hell; and warn, and plead, and entreat, as those who feel the waters of eternity creeping upon them."* *Archibald Brown, London.*

And remember, beloved, as you fight, that the day of testimony for God is fast passing away. It will
soon be too late to stand for the truth, and too late to minister Christ to needy souls.

Of this we are reminded as we pass on to

THE EAST GATE.

"After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate" (ver. 29).

The gate of the sunrising points on, does it not, to the morning without clouds, when He shall come down upon the mown grass, and as clear shining after rain ?

For that glad morning weary saints of all ages have waited and longed, straining their eyes to catch the first glimpse of the bright and Morning Star. Wicked servants have said, " My Lord delayeth His coming; " but He "is not slack, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish" (2 Pet. 3:).

"The night is far spent, the day is at hand." It is high time to be aroused from our lethargy, for already the long-expected midnight cry is ringing through the world, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet Him! "
The shout of the Lord, the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, will soon resound through the vaulted heavens, announcing the return of the long-absent One, and ushering in the morning. But for many it will be the beginning of the darkest night earth has ever known.

Oh, let us be up and doing while it is called today, that we may not be ashamed before Him at His coming. "Even so, come Lord Jesus."

THE GATE MIPHKAD

is the last in order.'' After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith's son unto the place of the Nethinim, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner" (ver. 31).

The word Miphkad, according to the dictionaries, means review, or appointment (for judgment). It was doubtless the gate where controversies were tried, after the Eastern fashion. How solemn is this! For it is when the Lord comes that "we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ." That will be the gate Miphkad for the believer. There will be the last great review. Every detail of the saint's life will come up for inspection. It will be then that

'' Deeds of merit, as we thought them,
He will show us were but sin;
Little acts we had forgotten,
He will tell us were for Him."

Oh, the unspeakable solemnity of it! All our ease-loving and self-seeking brought to light then! All our pride and vanity manifested! Everything put on its own proper level! All our works inspected by Him whose eyes are as a flame of fire!

In that day how many of us will wish we had been more true and real in our work down here. Things we valued highly on earth, how lightly will they weigh up there!-as the very small dust of the balance ; yea, lighter even than that; altogether lighter than vanity!

And those things we have neglected and foolishly ignored in the days of our pilgrimage, how much more precious than gold will they appear in the light of that judgment-seat!

O beloved, shall we not seek to be now what we shall wish we had been then; do now what we shall wish we had done then; turn now from what we shall wish we had judged then ?

The Lord grant to awaken His people to the reality of these things, and the importance of living for eternity!

And thus we have traveled round the wall from one part to another, and have, I trust, been blessed in doing so. We might close our meditations here, only that God does not end in this way, for in the last verse we come back again, having made the circuit, to that with which we began,-

THE SHEEP GATE.

"And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants."

It is as though God would not have us turn away without reminding us that the Cross with which we began will be before our souls for eternity. After all has been gone into at the judgment-seat, we shall turn from it to the Judge Himself, who is our Redeemer and Bridegroom. We shall see Him as a Lamb that had been slain. At His once pierced feet we shall fall in adoration, and forever sing praises "unto Him that loveth us, and hath washed us from our sins in His own blood."

We shall never get beyond the Cross. It shall be the theme of our praises throughout all the ages to come. Oh, to ever live in the light of it now! It speaks of sins forever put away, and also of a world under judgment for the rejection of God's Son. Our place, then, is outside of it all. "Let us go forth therefore into Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come" (Heb. 13:13, 14).

So shall we be in a position to learn aright the lessons of THE GATES OF JERUSALEM. H. A. I.

THE MAN AFTER THE FLESH. PART II. THE KING OF MAN'S CHOICE.

Chapter 8:TESTED AND FOUND WANTING.
(1 Sam. 12:, 13:14).

(Continued from page 176.)

We come now to that which manifests the character of the new king in a far more searching-way than was possible in the matter of the children of Ammon, and this for two reasons. The enemy, the Philistines, were nearer at hand and had a longer and more complete hold upon Israel than the enemy on the east. Saul also was to be tested as to his dependence upon God, and patient waiting brings out the inherent unbelief of the heart more quickly than activity. The nature of the Philistine oppression has already been dwelt upon, and therefore there is little need to enlarge upon it again. We need only remark how natural such a state of bondage is where such a man as Saul is reigning. He exemplifies the condition of the people at large, and this is, after all, in a spiritual sense, Philistinism itself. The flesh can be religious. We shall find this as we go on with Saul. Philistinism stands for the religiousness of the flesh, and therefore is fittingly that which oppresses those who are walking according to the flesh. On the other hand, there is an apparent resistance of this enemy, with but little power, however.

After the scene at Gilgal, which we have dwelt upon, there was an apparent season of quiet, as suggested in the first verse of the thirteenth chapter. All Israel have returned to their various homes, save 3,000 men, chosen to be the personal guard about Saul; 2,000 of these are with himself, and 1,000 with Jonathan. We have here the first mention of that beautiful character whose presence relieves the gloom of Saul's history, and the pride and self-righteousness which developed apace. Jonathan was altogether a lovely character, a man of genuine faith and devotedness to God; as unlike his father as it is possible to conceive. It will be a pleasure to trace his course, which is brought into clearer relief by contrast with his father's.

Jonathan is really the forerunner of David, and in a marked way he is merged into the man after God's own heart. We will doubtless have occasion to speak of him in other respects at the proper time, but unquestionably the main lessons of his life are most profitable and attractive. From the very beginning, he takes the initiative against the proud enemy, and smites their garrison in Geba the fortified hill.

Of course this was most audacious on the part of a subject people, as evidently the Israelites had become, even so soon after the deliverance effected by Samuel. The Philistines hear of it, and of course at once begin to move against the people who were even in such little measure as this bestirring themselves. Faith does not fear to strike, no matter how absolute the oppression. Formalism may have laid its deadly hand upon the saints of God so completely that none dare lift his voice in protest; but faith will smite wherever there is an opportunity. It does not coldly calculate the effect, nor count up the numbers the enemy will be able to bring into the field to crush it. It counts rather upon God alone. Here is that which is not according to Him,- it must be denounced-it must be smitten. Such faith was that exhibited on many a page of Church history, where some genuine soul has seen and smitten abuses which had become so intrenched that it seemed an impossibility that God's people could ever be delivered from them,-and what results have followed!

As we "said, it is Jonathan who does this, and not Saul; but he will be at least a second in such work. His own pride, perhaps also a real interest on his part, would lead him not to be behindhand. He blows the trumpet, therefore, to assemble all Israel, saying:"Let the Hebrews hear." He does not use the familiar name "Israel," which had so many blessed suggestions in it; but rather the natural name of the people, going back to their descent from Abraham, the Hebrew. Of course there is a spiritual use of the word "Hebrew" which suggests pilgrim character, but this evidently is not in Saul's mind. He simply arrayed the nation of Hebrews against the Philistines. But there does not seem the same energy and decision that marked him in the case of Ammon. There, he would take no refusal of the people, but urged them with threats to go out with him and Samuel against the enemy. He is evidently on even lower ground here than there. Israel hears the report, too, of this preliminary victory of Jonathan, only ascribing it to Saul, as the prowess of many a subordinate has been ascribed to his commanding general.

The state of the people, however, is sadly brought out by the manner of their reception of the news. So far from it thrilling them with vigor and arming them as one man now to make an end of this proud enemy, they are filled with terror. They realize that they are now held in abomination by the Philistines, and are more occupied with that than the possibility of their deliverance from them. How like unbelief in all time is this! It fears the consequences of any measure of faithfulness." Know-est Thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?" said the disciples to our Lord when He had been boldly denouncing the formalism of the leaders of the "people. They were afraid of the consequences of such faithfulness, and while perhaps acknowledging the truth of what our Lord had said, shrank from stirring up opposition. Alas, we know much of this timidity in view of opposition. What will men say ? What will our friends say ?Oh, how often has this deterred many an one whose conscience has been awakened as to his path, from going on in simple obedience to God, regardless of what men say! Truly, "the fear of man bringeth a snare;" and to be occupied with the effect of our action upon the enemies of God, rather than with Himself, is indeed to invite defeat. Truly the Philistines had gathered together in enormous numbers to fight with Israel, chariots and horsemen and people as the sand on the seashore, a most formidable host; and if they have only conferred with flesh and blood, no wonder the children of Israel are terror-stricken. This is too sadly the case, and the people, instead of boldly confronting this host, remembering that it was against the Lord that they had come forth and not against His feeble people, they flee to the caves, and hide in the thickets and rocks, in high places and pits. Some of them also flee further yet, over to the east side of Jordan and the land of Gad and Gilead, and there is apparently utter nervelessness in the whole nation.

Poor material indeed is this, and yet doubtless many amongst this terror stricken people were groaning with the sense of the dishonor done to God by their subjection to this enemy.

(To be continued.)

Sardis may be naturally called to repent in view of what she had received, but in Philadelphia's keeping the word of Christ there is found, not simply the abiding by what has been already received, the keeping a certain fixed and limited deposit of truth, but rather the listening to a living voice which leads on in necessary progress. If we will keep the word of Christ, if there is in us the heart to do this, then it will be found that we have a creed which is continually enlarging. The Word is becoming more and more to us a living voice that leads us on; and certainly there is no holding fast where there is no progress. A certain measure of truth held but not increased, tends inevitably to become less to the one who holds it. It becomes dulled by that sort of familiarity with it which demonstrates its nature by the very lack of desire for increase. Exercise about it is gone. We are established in it perhaps. We cannot, or think we cannot, be moved from it; but it no more calls up in us the energy that it once did, and thus the decline is already manifest:for as all error is connected together, so that one little point of it that we hold, followed out to its results, will blight all the truth that is in connection with it; so, on the other hand, all truth is so connected that every point in this way gained is a point of vantage, and gives us a view of that which is still beyond-a blessed, attractive view also, which leads us on to the attainment of what is not yet attained. It is still the apostle's rule, " Forgetting that which is behind, and pressing on to that which is before;" for indeed, is not all truth, in one way or another, just the knowledge of Christ Himself? and can there be any right pressing on after Himself which does not take advantage of that which He has given, in order to make Himself known to us, and to give us fellowship with Himself?

Thus the word of Christ and growth in knowledge of it become an inevitable necessity. God has not erred in His knowledge of our need and in that which He has given us, but of which we have not yet possessed ourselves. How can we even imagine what there may be for us stored up in that which we have to confess we know not what it is? How can we measure the unknown? Alas, in our estimate of what is essential and what is non-essential, let us remember that if we apply this to the formation in us of the mind of Christ, we must not tell Him that what we know not is not essential to know-that we can afford to leave it out and find no loss by it. Let us be sure that if we would have for ourselves that commendation which the Lord gives to Philadelphia, there must be that quick ear for everything He utters, or would utter to us, which will enable Him thus to lead us on. We may be sure that he who is truly a keeper of the word of Christ shall, in proportion as he is so, find that Word becoming more clear; He will emphasize for us the encouragement of this word, "I have set before thee an open door, and no one can shut it." From the Numerical Bible on Revelation.

(Col. 1:15-18.)

(Continued from page 74.)

We pass on now to His second title, " First-born from among the dead." This brings in a different line of truth. It brings, first, the thought of His death, which is the prime consideration in such a connection. But, of course, we cannot think of His death and not bring in all that is connected with it. We must consider what death means in relation to the creature. Introduced with man's fall, we know it as part of the judgment he fell into because of sin. It is therefore the judicial means in God's hands for the removal of the creature from the scene of his re-rebellion and wickedness, and it is the introduction into that unending sphere of existence, the character of which is governed by the course and conduct followed before the removal of the responsible creature from the place he occupied."By one man sin entered the world and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."We understand then that the wages of sin is death and that it is appointed unto men once to die, but after death the judgment. This is the inevitable result for the creature, who remains in his fallen condition. Death in this way is a real mercy from God to ruined men. For have they not fallen and filled the world with all the sorrow and pain of sin, with all its bitter fruits and suffering? What, if they were allowed to live on and on without death's hand to smite? Can we comprehend what this scene would develop into, and the awful character it would assume? Words would fail to describe it. How well God knew all this and brought in, therefore, that judicial removal of man by death. It means removal into judgment for them from which there is no escape, but which is eternal. Is it interposed that such a thought is against the character of God and His love for the creature? It is not. Does not the man who dies a sinner remain that eternally in the condition into which he passes? And. this being so, can judgment, which was his rightful due as a sinful man, be anything less than eternal since he remains in the character of a sinner for eternity? The holiness of God's character could allow of nothing less. But the judgment is not only the due of sin, but of necessity also the means of restraining it.

Death and judgment after it bring in of necessity resurrection after death for judgment, and the man
must be raised up to receive the execution upon himself of the sentence of his condemnation.

To be the first-born one, therefore,, from among those who are under the sentence of death and under judgment, it would necessitate an absolute passing beyond the ultimate end of which death speaks, and the reception of a new life as new born beyond all the power of death and what it is the judicial entrance into-eternal judgment. The one doing this for the first time is, the First-born from among the dead. It is plain that no mere creature could arrive at this position of blessedness, because death removing him as such, judgment awaits and his doom is fixed. We are told, therefore, that Christ is the First-born from among the dead. This implies that He passed through death and judgment and reached the other side, as it were, with a life beyond all touch of death and its consequences. This required Him to be in the creature's place to which death and judgment attached. Has not He, who being in the form of God, counted equality with Him a thing not to be grasped at, taken upon Himself the form of a servant, taken His place in the likeness of man, and having been found in fashion as a man, humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death? A man then He was, and that in all the full meaning which this implies. He grew in wisdom and stature. He could be weary at times and sleep. He would weep with the sorrowing, and be grieved in His spirit, while He could rejoice also in season. All perfect in their exhibition in Him as in no other, but nevertheless showing how truly man He was, preeminently therefore the Son of man, a title in itself which implies creaturehood.

Sonship always implies likeness to him with whom this relationship is connected, and to be a son of man means to be in the likeness of man. But Christ is not a son but the Son, the One who above all others is in the likeness of man because according to God's mind. What then is man properly? I do not mean as fallen, for he is not that properly, but as a creature of God ? He was created in the image of God, and that image should have been manifested in him and his associates. A son of man is one in whom this likeness is reproduced. But man has fallen, the image is broken, its character marred, and God is not manifested by that which He had made in His own image. Therefore Christ as a man among men is the Son of man, because in Him we find the likeness of man, fully and perfectly developed and exhibited. The image of God how perfectly it showed itself in Him, and how the relationship, which this existed was fully manifested to the praise of God and also to the vindication of His work in making man in His likeness, and the perfect fulfilment of His purpose in so doing.

But how then, since He was so perfect, can death and ensuing judgment which He must pass through and beyond to be First-born from the dead, attach to Him? Death and judgment were the fruits of man's fall. But Christ was the perfect expression as a man of God's purpose, without taint of sin, perfect in His every part. The shadow of the fall had never been thrown on Him. He was the unique Man in Himself, the embodiment of the thought of the Creator.

Here comes in the blessed truth that meets the need of the creature in his ruin. Can we think of Him as coming into this world simply to be a justification of God's creation ? Surely this would only add to the condemnation of the creature. Man had ruined himself and ..come tinder judgment, because God is light and cannot look upon sin. But God is love, and He will not, if it be possible, execute the sentence of eternal doom upon him. So we have a note of deliverance and promised victory at the very beginning. The woman's seed is to bruise the serpent's head. And this develops and expands as the ages roll on, voicing the one essential truth, in all type and shadow, of the deliverance first promised.

The reason for all this is plain. We have said that death and ensuing judgment are the creature's portion as fallen, and God cannot in one iota abate the holiness which claims this as the righteous judgment of sin; and therefore if the creature is to be delivered, these must be born and endured to the full. Then His love can flow in an unobstructed channel of endless blessing. Who then shall meet this requirement and bring deliverance to the creature ? One under the ban of them never can. It must be one who nevertheless is a creature, and yet beyond their power or applicability to him. Who has ever occupied this position but the peerless Son of man, alone qualified to be the Substitute for fallen creatures and bear what was their due because of sin?

Will He take this place ? He had claim upon life beyond all reach of death and judgment because of His own perfection. Will He be the Substitute for those who have forfeited all claim to such a life ? He is the only one that can be; if He will not, there is no hope. Thanks be to His all worthy Name, that when the agonizing anticipation of what this meant for Him was upon His soul, He said:"Not My will but Thine be done."And God's will was for the blessing of His creatures, and the endurance by Him of death and judgment was the only possible way to accomplish it.

We know Him thus as having been made an offering for sin, the load of our sins borne in His own body on the tree, making in this way full and perfect atonement for sin, effecting propitiation, that is the appeasal of God's righteous wrath, and as a result, accomplishing reconciliation between God and His rebel creatures, and insuring all the blessing of His hand being bestowed upon them.

The glorious witness to all this is in resurrection. He was raised up by the glory of the Father. The glory He had so wonderfully served demanded the exaltation of the servant, and so, He having made purification of sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. But in this very resurrection, the passing beyond death and judgment, He is the Firstborn from among the dead. He has come out the triumphant Victor over all, and the only One having rightful title to life eternal beyond the power of death and judgment, the necessity of bearing which devolves on every creature, but which now He has borne for them, if they will receive the provision thus made. J. B. Jr.

(To be continued.)