An eminent theologian once said that we were fairly in possession of all doctrinal truth, except that the doctrine of the Church was still not clearly understood. Without laying claim to knowing anything yet as we ought to know it, or boasting of our fuller knowledge of the great doctrines of the word of God, we may truly admit the second part of the statement:we do need a clearer, simpler apprehension of God's thought and revelation as to His Church, the Assembly of God.

It is not the purpose of this paper to enlarge upon the great foundation truths of the Assembly. Those for whom it is written realize in good measure its unique place in the counsels of God, in the Mystery, " which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit" (Eph. 3 :5). This would carry us far beyond our present purpose-into the searching out the character, extent, organism, responsibilities and fixture of the Assembly. It is only one portion of this great truth at which we are to look:

The Relation Between the Local Assembly and the Church at Large.

As indicated in the title of our paper, there are three views as to this relationship, respectively accepted by many who otherwise hold much precious truth in common. Because of divergence of views upon this matter, there is necessarily divergence of practice, resulting almost necessarily in alienation and mutual division among the beloved people of God. If therefore we can take up each of these views, ascertain as exactly as we can its nature, and test, by the word of God, recognizing all that is of God in it, refusing all that is contrary to, or that fails to accept any feature of divine truth-if in addition to this we seek to gather any other truths from the word of God bearing upon this subject- may we not hope to arrive at some stable and broad foundation upon which we may with confidence invite all the saints of God to take their stand.

Let it not be thought that any claim is to be made of some new and wonderful discovery, any revolutionizing theory to disturb the beloved saints, or any pride of position to be fostered. I trust that this will become apparent as we proceed with our examination. May He who is the Head of His Church graciously lead us by His word and Spirit into His truth more and more fully.

The three general views of assembly relationship which are to be examined-with no desire to brand with any offensive epithet-we will speak of as:(1) Local Sufficiency; (2) Metropolitan Control; (3) Local Independency. The first and third of these need a further characterization to distinguish them, which will appear as we proceed.

I. Local Sufficiency.-This view of the local assembly claims that its actions are bound in heaven, and therefore bound upon the people of God everywhere; that as the Lord is in the midst of His assembly, whatever is done has His authority and must be bowed to; that there is no appeal from the decision of the assembly. While absolute infallibility is not claimed, absolute authority is; so that an assembly action, even if wrong, is to be obeyed.

The Scriptures used to support this view are in general such as the following :"Verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven " (Matt. 18:18); "For where two or three are gathered together unto My name, there am I in the midst of them "(Matt. 18:20); " Receive ye the Holy Ghost:whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained" (Jno. 20:22, 23); "It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us " (Acts 15:28); " In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan " (i Cor. 5 :4, 5); " To whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also" (2 Cor. 2 :10); " The house of 'God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (i Tim. 3 :15). Other scriptures are doubtless made use of, but these will suffice to show the general thought.

Let us now ask what elements of truth are there in this view. It is manifest that just in so far as the scriptures just quoted do support the view, that view is correct. We may be sure at the outset that no error is attractive to the Spirit-taught soul. Therefore there is frequently, we may say always, some element of truth in every system of error. It is the truth which attracts the child of God.

The Church is the house of God, the depository of His truth:"The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are " (i Cor. 3 :17). The Lord's presence in the midst of His gathered saints is a reality. Their acts as so gathered are under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and have all the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a great responsibility entrusted to the Church, and a correspondingly binding authority connected with its carrying out of those responsibilities. He who despises, despises not men, but God.

Have we not, then, reached a conclusion at the very outset of our examination ? Let us then seek to carry it out. But we add a word which modifies all that has been said. It is as so gathered that the saints have the Lord's authority and the Spirit's guidance. This is no mere formal, external gathering; it means a true subjection of heart and will to our Lord and His word; it means lowliness, and refusal of the flesh. To assume an authority without this is the very opposite of godliness.

The theory we are examining claims some inherent authority in the Church, apart from righteousness and subjection to the word of God. All authority rests upon God's word, which is the expression of His mind and will. No claims, however great, no numbers, no succession, no gifts-nothing can for one moment take the place of the word of God, which is righteousness. To attempt to link the Lord's holy name and authority with unrighteousness is iniquity. This is what marks Rome.

The primary attitude of the Church to Christ is obedience :"As the Church is subject unto Christ " (Eph. 5:24). How monstrous then is the thought of claiming His authority for disobedience. It claims infallible authority for the Church, for fallible man, and thus fosters pride and paves the way for all manner of tyranny and oppression. It puts a premium on carnality, and does away with the necessity on the part of every one to be exercised in the presence of God. Instead of this, the conscience is brought into the presence of man, and bondage instead of freedom is the result. No words can too strongly characterize the system of which we speak. Thank God that even where some elements of it may exist, there is a good measure of subjection to God and following His word, which partly neutralizes the effect of the principle. But if the principle is held, it will assert itself, and that of which we speak will be manifest.

We conclude therefore that the principle of local authority and sufficiency, has elements in it which tend to promote haughtiness, intolerance, clericalism, and above all, to set aside the supremacy of Christ alone, and the sufficiency and binding authority of His word, and thus to have the conscience under the power of man rather than of God.

2. Metropolitan Control.-Few, if any, who know at all the truth of the one Body, would contend for absolute local supremacy. There has therefore arisen, in a gradual way, the practice of a kind of oversight by leading and gifted non-resident brethren, who in this way seek to guide, and in some measure review the actions of the local assemblies. No doubt this originated in a desire to secure uniformity of action, especially in crowded cities or thickly-settled sections. Beginning in a simple way, with the thought of fellowship, prayer and counsel, it gradually became part of a regular order. The doctrine of "the church in a city "was formulated, and quite a complete system of oversight was established. The doctrine in question is that there can be but one assembly in a city, although there may be many in a district or province. The local assembly therefore is not competent, according to this, to act without the concurrence of all the other assemblies in the same city. And this united action constitutes the Assembly's decision.

In a less definite way, brethren of weight and experience would naturally be consulted about matters in the vicinity where they might be, and gradually all, or many, local matters might be taken to a place where there were a goodly number of such brethren. It is easy to see how such a practice might result in what we have called metropolitan oversight.

Let us now see what scriptures were used to support this view. As to the general oversight of which we have spoken, all such scriptures as speak of the "multitude of counselors" are applicable- the unity of the body and of the Spirit (Eph. 4). Perhaps the council at Jerusalem (Acts 15) might be considered as authorizing "elder brethren" to exercise a general supervision, while, as has been already said, the doctrine of "the Church in a city " has been formulated with great exactness and strictness. It has been claimed that we read of "the churches of Galatia " (Gal. i :2); of Judea, (i:22); of Macedonia (2 Cor. 8:i); of Asia (i Cor. 16:19), etc.-but never of the churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, Rome, etc. (see salutations in the various epistles of Paul).

Space forbids us going at much length into this interesting subject, but we point to a few truths which lead us to guard against accepting in toto any view which establishes what this practically is-an oligarchy.

Most certainly we have not a word to say against the manifest fact that many of the scriptures used to impress us with the unity of the body of Christ, and the necessity of endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit, are most important in that connection. We also heartily accept the principle that age, experience and piety are most valuable and necessary for the help of all the assemblies of God. But when a formal doctrine is promulgated that in a city there is but one assembly (no matter how many meeting-places there may be), we question whether the scriptures used to establish this really do so.

A local assembly is, "Where two or three are gathered to My name." Such a company most certainly has all the functions necessary for carrying on all the activities, and meeting all the responsibilities of the assembly. There is no higher act than properly remembering the Lord in the breaking of bread. This presupposes the company has judged itself both individually and collectively. If any wickedness has been present, it must be put away; if any godly persons, scripturally entitled to reception, are present, they must be received. Any company therefore competent to break bread is competent to exercise all assembly functions.

It will be asked, What about the scriptures which speak of but one assembly in a city, and of many in a province ? We reply that there doubtless was but one assembly in a city, as they were not such immense places as we have now, and God's work had but just begun. Each assembly would at first include all the saints in the city; and even if later need called for two or more places of meeting, each of these, as representing all the Church of God, would be called the Assembly in that place. Indeed in Romans (chap. 16) there are indications of separate companies meeting at different points (see vers. 5, 10, 14, 15). There can be no spiritual significance in the bounds of a "city." A company near the outskirts may be far closer to another company a short distance beyond than to a meeting on the other side of the city. Of course, if for any reason counsel is needed, there should be the utmost simplicity and freedom in giving and receiving it. But at this we will look presently.

In this connection, we must also speak further of an assembly order which while not based on the doctrine of " a church in a city," is quite similar to it. This has been spoken of as a "committee of delegates," composed of older and experienced brethren in the general vicinity or elsewhere, who are called in to decide as to local matters. We can only repeat what has already been said, that the local assembly is a distinct unit, responsible for the administration of matters committed to its care.

Let us now ask in a little more detail what elements of truth there are in this theory of metropolitan oversight. First, in whatever measure it recognizes the unity of the Spirit in the whole Church of God, and seeks to carry out His leadings, it is right. The fellowship of the saints is not an "inside" and an "outside" fellowship, but one and the same throughout the whole body. In whatever measure also in which the gifts of pastor and teacher are seen to be for the whole assembly of God, and the counsel of men of experience is welcomed-in such directions this doctrine has elements of truth which none can ignore.

But, as a system of doctrine, there are marked unscriptural features which we cannot accept. It is practically a form of Presbyterian oversight, in which little or no room is left for the individual conscience, save of the leaders. With the best motives, this fails to exercise the whole assembly, and leads saints to look for some decision from without rather than to the Lord alone. The effect will eventually be seen in a general legislation, rather than the simplicity of each assembly acting in the fear of God and in the unity of the Spirit. Room is given for private influence rather than public exercise, and leaders have an undue prominence, which savors of clerisy.

(To be continued.) S. R.

"Encouraging one another.. as ye see the day approaching" (Heb. 10:25, N. Trams).

Dear Mr. Editor:

One often hears persons speak of the apostasy of the end, of the day of small things, etc. in such a way that it leads one to ask:Is the approaching end a time for such Elijah-like discouragement ?

Elijah's words and attitude were wrong; it is significant that his otherwise noble and honored testimony was in consequence superseded by that of Elisha. In reading Mr. Kelly's smaller book on Revelation, I was struck with his remarks on the bride's sweet answer to the Lord's twice repeated declaration:" Behold, I come quickly." With beautiful suitability she first says, simply:"Come" (not " Come quickly " as in the A. V.). Again, it is simply:" Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

Why do not the Spirit and the bride say, "Come quickly ? " Well, how sweet it is to have real fellowship with the heart of God and the patience of Christ-that long-suffering patience which, while waiting for His bride and kingdom when His enemies shall be made His footstool, is coupled with yearning love for perishing men. "The long-suffering of our Lord is salvation" Peter says. Selfishly occupied with our blessing, we often grow impatient; while the "Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

And so it is nearly two thousand years since He said, " Behold, I come quickly." But in God's reckoning of love, if need be, "a thousand years is as one day." Some may think it slackness, but it is His long-suffering love-love that still yearns and holds open the door of grace, for love finds judgment its "strange work." Love is still blessing while it still finds souls to bless.

Our Lord may come at any moment. How that quickens the pulse and gladdens and sanctifies the heart ! With responding, longing love, the bride says with the Spirit-COME. But the Holy Spirit came to gather others also to our Lord Jesus, and to wait for Him. So in the same breath, as it were, she speaks again, ''Let him that heareth say ' Come.' " No narrow selfishness there! She wants the chorus to swell in the welcome of her Lord. Oh, for more hearts to say " Come " to Him. So to such hearts as may be concerned in the great destinies that lay before the souls of men she repeats that precious word " Come." If they can not say "Come" to Him, she will plead "Come" to them,-whosoever thirsts; whosoever will, let him " come," and " take of the water of life freely."

It is the message that was brought from heaven to earth by that gracious One whose lips made sweet that word "Come." And the Spirit of Him who said " Come unto Me" is in the bride, and the message is now to us a precious trust. The Lord's coming, then, should make us faithful stewards of the gospel.

There are indeed other good reasons for the Church being left down here in the world, but it is certain that the day of grace has been lengthened, so to speak, for one great purpose:the salvation of souls through the gospel; and it continues for the same reason (2 Pet. 3:8, 9).
Therefore the work of salvation will go on until the end, whether through us or through others. Shall we be so occupied with evil prophesied of, and now around us on every side, that we begin to forget the grace of God to ruined man? "Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down! "

"Thou hast a little strength," says He who has the key of David, and " Behold, I have set before thee an open door which no man can shut." That open door surely is a door of opportunity and testimony including the gospel. The precious opening up of God's word is not for ourselves only to enjoy, but involves a responsibility to communicate ' to others-saved and unsaved.

If the Spirit is hindered now from working in larger ways, still He is working. And there is much to encourage in various fields, both at home and abroad, spite of human failure and much of the flesh in it. We can thank God, for example, for the wonderful working of His grace in "the Hermit Kingdom"-Korea, where 200,000 Christians are said to have been gathered out since 1886. Or in a lesser way, in the present work among the primitive tribes of western China. Can we not be thankful for the opening up of the Spanish-speaking countries to the gospel, and for the share which some of our friends have in it ? Prayerful study of the mission fields would doubtless give us much cheer.

But have we prayerfully and earnestly striven, unitedly, or separately, for the gospel in our own communities ? Perhaps in the failure to find large results, we have overlooked the possibilities of quiet, persistent individual work which may even be large in the aggregate. One of the prime conditions in having blessing in service is in faith expecting it in the Lord's way, which is usually starting small, and growing. Are we reaching out to fields near by like the Thessalonians (i Thess. i:8)? Are we doing what we can to support those who can go further than we and who are giving their whole time and energy to the gospel ?

May we be warned, while intelligent as to the "last days," not to let our hands hang down as if there was nothing more to be done. The "last days " were already present with the apostles, inasmuch as failure had already come in the Church; but God's blessings in grace have continued to be poured out ever since, and through many dark periods.

The Hebrew Christians could already "see the day approaching" (Heb. 10:25). They not only knew of it, they could " see " it from the signs then present. That was just the occasion to "exhort," or rather, "encourage one another." As we see the day approaching, let us, too, encourage one another.

(Continued front page 163.)

LETTER IV. My Dear Sir:

I desire on this occasion to go briefly into the subject of Mediatorship and Advocacy. As to this, nothing could possibly be simpler and plainer than the truly lucid affirmation of holy Scripture:"There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time " (i Tim. 2:5, 6). And if we are to believe the statement found in the Homily of Adam and Eve, commonly attributed to. St. Chrysostom:"That may not be considered Catholic, which appears contrary to the statements of Scripture," then surely we should have no difficulty in judging whether the doctrines of the Roman Church on the matter in question are really Catholic or not. " Faith in Scripture," says St. Augustine, "is the most Catholic of all." And Scripture distinctly declares that there is one Mediator, and knows of no other. Now if the Roman Church teaches contrary to this, it cannot be the Holy Catholic Apostolic Church.

You yourself say:" Christ is the one Mediator- the one possible of grace and redemption. We can have many advocates and mediators of intercession. In this sense is St. Joseph especially a mediator by reason of his great holiness and merit with God." We do not find in the Scriptures the distinction that you have drawn, however; and indeed, while recognizing your honesty of purpose and evident desire to harmonize the teaching of the Papal Church with the word of God, I cannot but question whether the distinction you make is to be understood even in the doctrinal and devotional works of Roman Catholic theologians.

Certainly the place given the blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord, is that of a mediator of grace and redemption, and that in the fullest, highest sense. What else, for instance, am I to understand from the following expressions, which I quote on the authority of Littlefield, from the Raccolta – a collection of prayers said to be specially indulgenced by the Popes, and which you will therefore acknowledge, I presume, to be in the truest sense authoritative:

" Hail, Queen, Mother of Mercy, our Life, Sweetness, and Hope, all Hail! To thee we cry, banished sons of Eve; to thee we sigh, groaning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, O our Advocate, thy merciful eye to us, and after this our exile, show us Jesus, the blessed fruit of thy womb, O merciful, O love, O sweet Virgin Mary."

"We fly beneath thy shelter, O holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions in our necessity, and deliver us always from all perils, O glorious and Blessed Virgin."

"Heart of Mary, Mother of God, . . . Worthy of all the veneration of angels and men . . . Heart full of goodness, ever compassionate towards our sufferings, vouchsafe to thaw our icy hearts . . . in thee let the Holy Church find safe shelter; protect it, and be its sweet Asylum, its tower, its strength … be thou our help in need, our comfort in trouble, our strength in temptation, our refuge in persecution, our aid in danger . . ."

" Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation."
" Leave me not, my Mother, in my own hands, or I am lost; let me but cling to thee. Save me, my Hope; save me from hell."

And surely no one could dream after reading the following quotations from Liguori's "Glories of Mary,"that she was not supposed to be, without any reservation, a mediator of Grace and Redemption.

" Mary is our only refuge, help and Asylum. In Judea, in ancient times, there were cities of refuge, wherein criminals who fled there for protection were exempt from the punishment they had deserved. Nowadays these cities of refuge are not so numerous; there is but one, and that is Mary."

"God before the birth of Mary, complained by the mouth of the Prophet Ezekiel that there was no one to rise up and withhold Him from chastising sinners, but that He could find no one, for this office was reserved for our blessed Lady, who withholds His arm till He is pacified."

"Often we seem to be heard more quickly, and be thus preserved, if we have recourse to Mary, and call upon her name, than we should be if we called upon the name of Jesus our Saviour."

" Many things are asked from God and are not granted ; they are asked from Mary, and are obtained."

"At the commandment of the Virgin all things obey, even God."

"The salvation of all depends on our being favored and protected by Mary. He who is protected by Mary will be saved; he who is not will be lost."

" Mary has only to speak and her Son executes all."

And is it not a fact that the last words which the Roman ritual puts into the mouth of the dying are:" Mary, Mother of Grace, Mother of Mercy, do thou protect me from the foe and receive me in the hour of death ? " How different to the last words of the first martyr Stephen:"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! "

And returning to the Raccolta, what words could be more unscriptural than these ?

"I acknowledge thee, and I venerate thee, most Holy Virgin, Queen of Heaven, Lady and Mistress of the Universe, as daughter of the eternal Father, Mother of His well-beloved Son, and most loving Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Kneeling at the feet of thy great Majesty with all humility I pray thee, through thy divine charity wherewith thou wast so bountifully enriched on thine acceptation into Heaven, to vouchsafe me favor and pity, placing me under thy most safe and faithful protection, and receive me into the number of those happy and highly favored servants of thine, whose names thou dost carry graven upon thy virgin breast."

You instance St. Joseph as an example of the intercession of which you speak; but what am I to think of the two following quotations likewise from the Raccolta prayers, addressed to Joseph by those seeking his advocacy ?
"Benign Joseph, our guide, protect us and the Holy Church."

"Guardian of Virgins, and Holy Father Joseph, to whose faithful keeping Christ Jesus, innocence itself, and Mary, Virgin of virgins, were committed, I pray and beseech thee by those two dear pledges, Jesus and Mary, that being preserved from all un-cleanness, I may with spotless mind, pure heart, and chaste body, ever most chastely serve Jesus and Mary. Amen."

One might go on quoting indefinitely from Roman Catholic books of devotion to show that the one Mediator of God is completely set aside in favor of a multitude of saints and angels who are evidently supposed to be more approachable than our blessed Lord Himself. And yet St. Clement of Alexandria, A. D. 200, wrote:"Since there is only one good God. both we ourselves and the angels supplicate from Him alone." St. Athanasius, that doughty champion of the truth, A. D. 370, writing against the Arians, ridicules them for applying such scriptures as "The Lord is the Refuge of the poor," to the Lord Jesus Christ, if they denied His God-head glory. He goes on to say:"But if they say that these things are spoken of the Son, which would perhaps be true, let them confess that the saints did not think of calling on a created being to be their helper and their house of refuge." And in this he is evidently fully in accord with the Scriptures of Truth. St. John has written, "If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world."

What need we then of any other ? Christ by His bloody sacrifice upon the cross has settled the question of sin to the satisfaction of God; maintaining the righteousness of His throne and the holiness of His character, so now God can be "just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus," and those who have confided in Him as their Saviour need no other mediator than Himself. For He is ever available ; His heart is as tender as when here on earth; His love ever flowing out to all His own; needing no other intermediary, neither His mother after the flesh, nor any saint or angel to entreat Him on our behalf; but He Himself forever abiding, so long as His people have need of His intercession, the one great all-compassionate High-Priest with God, our Advocate with the Father, our one Mediator, excluding every other.

In your letter you seek to put the prayers of believers on earth, one for another, in the same category as the advocacy of saints in heaven. You write, " You yourself say to me at the end of your most charitable letter, I will not cease to earnestly pray for you, my dear fellow-believer in Christ. Oh do, I beg of you, be my advocate, my mediator with the Father through your prayers and intercessions."

I shall, indeed, my dear sir, continue to pray the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ on your behalf, but neither as a mediator nor an advocate in the sense to which these words are applied to our Saviour and the Holy Spirit of God alone; but as a Christian I make intercession on your behalf, and on behalf of all men, not expecting an answer on the ground of my personal merit or holiness, but praying only in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is .surely a very different thing to what you had in mind, when you preached the sermon on the intercession of St. Joseph, which you sent me to read.

Scripture itself bears witness to the care with which our blessed Lord guarded against even so much as the using of devotional expressions in regard to His mother. When the woman cried out invoking blessing on His mother, He answered:"Yea, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it." This is the blessing, dear sir, that I desire; a blessing which I know would be forfeited forever were I to forsake the one Mediator for the host of lesser intermediaries set forth by the Roman Church.

As Described by an Officer in Napoleon's Army

The Emperor Napoleon had issued an order 011 Dec. 4, 1808, to exterminate the terrible institution of the Inquisition in Spain. The following account of the accomplishment of this work of destruction is given by Colonel Lehmanowsky, one of Napoleon's officers:

I was in Spain in 1809, attached to that part of Napoleon's army which was stationed at Madrid. While it had been decreed by the Emperor that the Inquisition and the monasteries should be suppressed, several months passed away and the decree was not executed. I used to express my opinions freely among the people respecting the priests and Jesuits of the Inquisition, and one night as I was walking along the street two armed men sprang out from an alley and made a furious attack upon me. While struggling with them I saw at a distance the lights of the French patrols, who carried lanterns and rode through the streets of the city at all hours to preserve order. I called to them, and as they hastened to my assistance, the assailants took to their heels and escaped-not, however, before I saw by their dress that they belonged to the guards of the Inquisition.

I went at once to Marshal Soult, then governor of Madrid, told him what had taken place, and reminded him of the decree to suppress the institution. The troops required were granted, and I proceeded to the Inquisition, nearly five miles from the city. It was surrounded by a wall of great strength, and defended by a company of soldiers.

When we arrived at the walls, I addressed one of the sentinels, and summoned the Jesuit fathers to surrender to the Imperial army, and open the gates of the Inquisition. The sentinel, who was standing on the wall, appeared to enter into conversation for a moment with some one within, at the close of which he presented his musket and shot one of my men. This was the signal for attack, and I ordered my troops to fire upon those who appeared upon the wall.

It was soon obvious that it was an unequal warfare. The walls of the Inquisition were covered with the soldiers of the " Holy Office;" there was also a breastwork upon the walls, behind which they partially concealed themselves as they discharged their muskets, while we were in the open plain and exposed to a destructive fire. We had no cannon, nor could we scale the walls, and the gates successfully resisted all attempts at forcing them. We could not retire and send for cannon without giving them time to lay a train for blowing up our troops. I saw, therefore, that it was necessary to change the mode of attack, and directed that trees should be cut down and trimmed, to be used as battering-rams. Two of these were taken up by detachments of men, as numerous as could work to advantage, and brought to bear upon the walls with all the power they could exert, while the troops kept up a fire to protect them from the shots that were poured upon them. Presently the walls began to tremble, a breach was made, and the Imperial troops rushed in.

Here we met with an incident to which nothing but Jesuitical effrontery is equal. The Inquisitor-General, followed by the father-confessors in their priestly robes, all came out of their rooms as we were making our way into the interior of the Inquisition ; and with long faces; and their arms crossed over their breasts, their fingers resting upon their shoulders, as though they had been deaf to all the noise of the attack and defense, and had just learned what was going on, they addressed themselves in the language of rebuke to their own soldiers, saying:"Why do you fight our friends, the French? " The intention was no doubt to make us think that the resistance was wholly unauthorized by them; and if they could have succeeded in making a temporary impression in their favor, they would have had an opportunity in the confusion of the moment to escape. But their artifice was too shallow, and did not succeed. I caused them to be placed under guard, and all of their soldiers to be secured as prisoners.

We then proceeded to examine the stately edifice. We passed from room to room, and found all perfectly in order. The apartments were richly furnished, with altars, crucifixes and wax candles in abundance, but no evidence could be discovered of iniquity being practiced there-none of the peculiar features which we expected to find in an Inquisition. Splendid paintings adorned the walls; there was a rich and extensive library. Beauty and splendor appeared everywhere, and the most perfect order on which the eyes ever rested. The architecture, the proportions were perfect. The ceiling and floors of wood were scoured and highly polished. The marble floors were arranged with a strict regard to order. There was everything to please the eye and gratify a cultivated taste; but where were those horrid instruments of torture which were reported to be there, and where were those dungeons in which human beings were said to be buried alive ?

The search seemed to be in vain. The "holy fathers " assured us that they had been belied, and that we had seen all, and I was prepared to abandon the search, convinced that this Inquisition was different from others of which I had heard. But Colonel de Lile was of a different mind, and said to me:"Colonel, you are commander to-day, and as you say so it must be ; but if you will be advised by me, let this marble floor be examined. Let water be brought and poured upon it, and we will watch and see if there is any place through which it passes more freely than others." I replied to him, "Do as you please," and ordered water to be brought accordingly. The slabs of marble were large and beautifully polished, and when the water had been poured over the floor, much to the dissatisfaction of the Inquisitors, a careful examination was made of every seam to see if the water ran through. Presently Colonel de Lile exclaimed that he had found it. By the side of one of these marble slabs the water passed through rapidly, as though there was an opening beneath.

All hands were now at work for further discovery; the officers with their swords and the soldiers with their bayonets cleared out the seam, and endeavored to raise the slab; others with the butt-end of their muskets struck the slab with all their might to break it; while the priests remonstrated against the desecration of their holy and beautiful house. When thus engaged, a soldier who was striking with the butt of his musket hit a spring, and the marble slab flew up. The faces of the Inquisitors instantly grew pale, as Belshazzar's when the handwriting appeared on the wall.

Beneath the marble slab, now partly up, there was a staircase. I stepped to the altar and took from the candlestick one of the lighted candles, four feet in length, that I might explore the room below. As I was doing this, one of the Inquisitors laid his hand gently upon my arm, and with a very demure and sanctified look said, "My son, you must not take those lights with your bloody hands; they are holy." "Well," said I, " I will take a holy thing to shed light on iniquity; I will bear the responsibility." I took the candle and proceeded down the staircase. As we reached the foot of the stairs we entered a large square room, which was called the Judgment Hall. In the center of it was a large block, and a chain fastened to it. On' this they had been accustomed to place the accused, chained to his seat. On one side' of the room was an elevated seat, called the Throne of Judgment, which the Inquisitor-General occupied, and on either side were seats less elevated for the " Holy fathers " when engaged in the solemn business of the " Holy Inquisition."

From this room we proceeded to the right and obtained access to the small cells, extending the entire length of the edifice, and here such sights were presented as we hope never to see again. These cells were places of solitary confinement, where the wretched objects of inquisitorial hate were confined year after year, till death released them from their sufferings; and there their bodies were suffered to remain until they were entirely decayed, and the rooms had become fit for others to occupy. To prevent this being offensive to those who occupied the Inquisition, there were flues extending to the open air, sufficiently capacious to carry off the odor. In these cells we found the remains of a number who had paid the debt of nature; some who had been dead apparently but a short time; while of others, nothing remained but their bones, still chained to the floors of their dungeons.

In other cells there were living sufferers of both sexes and of every age, all in a state of complete nudity, and all in chains. Here were old men and aged women, who had been shut up many years. Here, too, were the middle-aged, and the young man, and the maiden of fourteen years old. The soldiers immediately went to work to release these captives from their chains, and took from their knapsacks their overcoats and other clothing, which they gave to cover their nakedness.

We then proceeded to explore another room on the left. Here were found instruments of torture of every kind which the ingenuity of men or devils could invent. The first was a machine by which the
victim was confined, and then beginning with the fingers, every joint in the hands, arms and body were broken or drawn, one after another, until the sufferer died. The second was a box in which the head and neck of the victim were so closely confined by a screw that he could not move in any way. Over the box was a vessel, from which one drop of water fell upon the head of the victim every second, each succeeding drop falling in exactly the same place, by which the circulation was soon suspended, and the sufferer had to endure the most excruciating agony. The third was an "infernal machine," laid horizontally, to which the victim was bound, the machine being then placed between two beams in which were a score of knives so fixed that by turning the machine with a crank the flesh of the sufferer was torn from his limbs in small pieces. The fourth surpassed the others in fiendish ingenuity. Its exterior was an immense doll, richly dressed, and having the appearance of a beautiful woman, with her arms extended ready to embrace her victim. A semicircle was drawn around her, and the person who passed over this fatal mark touched a spring which caused the diabolical engine to open ; its arms immediately clasped him, and a multitude of knives cut him in pieces while in the deadly embrace.

The sight of these engines of infernal cruelty kindled the fire of indignation in the bosoms of the soldiers. They declared that every Inquisitor should be put to the torture. They began with the " Holy fathers." The first was put to death in the machine for breaking joints. The torture of the Inquisitor that suffered death by the dropping of water on his head was most excruciating; the poor wretch cried out in agony to be taken from the fatal machine. Next the Inquisitor-General was brought before the infernal engine called "The Virgin." He was ordered to embrace her, but begged hard to be excused. " No," said the soldiers; " You have caused others to kiss her, and now you must do it." They interlocked their bayonets so as to form large forks, and with these they pushed him over the deadly circle. The beautiful image, prepared for the embrace, instantly clasped him in its arms and cut him into innumerable pieces. Having witnessed the torture of four of the barbarous Inquisitors, I sickened at the awful scene, and left the soldiers to wreak their vengeance on the other guilty inmates of that prison house of hell.

In the meantime the news had spread to Madrid that the prisons of the Inquisition were broken open, and multitudes hastened to the fatal spot. Oh, what a meeting was there! It was like a resurrection. About one hundred and fifty who had been buried for many years were now restored to life. Fathers found their long-lost daughters; wives were restored to their husbands; sisters to their brothers and parents to their children. The scene was such as no tongue can describe.

When the people had retired, I caused the library, paintings, furniture and other articles of value to be removed, and having sent to the city for a wagon-load of powder, a large quantity was deposited in the vaults beneath the building, and a slow match placed in connection with it. All having withdrawn to a distance, in a few moments the walls and turrets of the massive structure rose majestically in the air, impelled by a tremendous explosion, and then fell back to the earth an immense heap of ruins. The Roman Catholic Inquisition of Spain was no more !

There is just one cure for care, and that is faith-faith in God. Faith may be weak or strong; the stronger the faith, the less the care. But we have to be sure what we mean by care -what Paul meant when he wrote, " Be careful for nothing." Not many would mistake the meaning here, but another meaning may be attached to the expression than the Holy Spirit intended. Most authorities use "anxious" in place of careful, as it is a better word to express the meaning of the original.

It would be entirely contrary to God's mind to say to a mother, Take no care of your child, or to a husbandman, Take no care of your fields. The word means over-anxious, distracted, but its primary meaning is "dividing the mind." It is the word used by Christ in Matt. 6 :25-34, translated "thought." Martha was "careful and troubled about many things" (Luke 10:41). It is the word used for "care" and "cares" in Matt. 13:22; Mark 4:19; Luke 8:14; 21:34; i Pet. 5:7. By looking up the use of the word in these places, we learn the evil and danger of anxiety and distraction.

The right kind of care is expressed by another word used in Mark 4 :38 ; 12:14 ; Luke 10 :40; John 10:13; 12:6. Both words are used in i Peter 5:7. We are to cast all our anxiety upon Him ; that is, the over-anxious care, for He cares for us with a right and constant care.

In a world filled with sin and ruled by Satan, there is very much to make God's people anxious, and they need His grace to keep them from this danger-from anxiety. The path of escape from anxiety is shown in our text, "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." This means faith-the realizing of God's care for us, in some measure. It means knowing God, believing Him, trusting Him. It is a wonderful Scripture, and what blessing it opens up to faith.

God tells us to have no anxiety, no distraction, no worry. When things take place which move us to worry and anxious care, we are to take them to God. What a privilege, when we have a request about anything whatever, that we can make it known to Him! It may be something in the home, the family, the children; or it may be in our business, our work, our means of support. It may be our personal needs, our bodies, our health; or it may be our neighbors, our associates, our companions. It may be concern in our hearts for those far away from us, in whom we are interested. For everything in which we have enough interest to desire anything, we can go to God with our desires. We can put those desires into requests, and bring them to God.

Now this means walking with God, having Him before us. He tells us to do this; so it is a most important part of our lives. How great the difference between a child of God who thus goes to Him with every request, and one who carries his own burdens-who is anxious and worried! Our God cares for us, and tells us of this care in His Word. It is a very great blessing to a soul to know this care and to realize it, so as to take our anxious thoughts and feelings to Him. And when He says, "Be anxious for nothing," and we are anxious and distracted about something, we lose very much. Should we not by all means go right to Him with our anxieties, and follow His Word? Prayer and supplication with thanksgiving means having to do with God in the closest way-coming right to Him, opening our hearts, baring them before Him. Worry and distraction take the mind and heart away from God; but prayer and supplication with thanksgiving bring us into His presence where all is light, and in this light His peace is found.
This peace comes, in part at least, from our consciousness that God acts for us, as well as takes interest in us. We see this everywhere in Scripture. He is watching over, and acting for, or dealing with, persons and nations ; sometimes in direct blessing, sometimes in chastening, sometimes in judgment. Has He left this world now? Or does He still act, and guide, and restrain men and nations?

Take the short book of Jonah; see how it reveals God's ways both with men and nations. The Lord prepared a great fish; the Lord God prepared a gourd; God prepared a worm; God prepared a vehement east wind. How He is revealed in all this. It is such a mercy to see Him acting in behalf of His people. It is a greater mercy to be assured that He will act for us. He can bring such wonderful things about in such simple ways. We are to tell Him what we need and desire, and what troubles us, and our hearts and minds are set free from the burden of anxious care. If we really believe that God cares for us, and know His power and love, it will be easy to cast our care on Him.

There are two kinds of care:anxious care, and the care which God would have His people exercise over that which is in their hands. We are, as we have seen, to cast all our anxiety-anxious cares, upon Him. We know that it is easy to get anxious about things which God would have us care for. This often comes from our not being willing for God to have His way with us. We want our way, and worry when we cannot have it. But God's way is the only good way, the way of love; and casting our care on Him means giving up our own will, in the assurance that God's way is good.

The farmer plants his fields, the merchant stocks his store, the factory owner buys raw material and hires help. These men have care; they look to God if they are men of faith; they acknowledge Him in all their ways, and He directs their paths.

When they go on well, they are taking care of what is in their hands, and there are always daily cares to cast on God. But the cares of this life may begin to choke the Word. Droughts, panics, and troubles may come. These bring anxiety. What need at such times to cast all care on Him; then peace comes when the care is really cast on God. If there are losses, His grace makes them, as all else, work for good. It is a most wonderful thing that in this world where there is so much to cause care, we can be really care-free, while taking care of what God has put into our hands. It is a miracle of grace, one of the wonders of God's love. J. W. Newton

QUES. 2.-We all acknowledge that new birth is the very first beginning of spiritual life in any man. It is evident from John 3 that our Saviour makes the brazen serpent of Numbers 21 the figure of Himself on the cross, and looking on Him by faith the means of being born again. Why then does not the brazen serpent occur at the beginning of Israel's journey instead of at the end?

ANS.-Because it was only by their experience across the wilderness that the need of new birth could be manifested. There is nothing in all the word of God which declares the absolute depravity of man like the decree that he must be born again if he would enter the kingdom, and Israel's history from Egypt to Canaan is a painful proof of that depravity. Even in the New Testament, the statement as to new birth does not occur till after the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke have borne witness to the desperate evil of man, shown in the way he has treated the Son of God. John's Gospel, coming after this, pronounces therefore the real condition of man by saying he must be born anew. It is as if a physician said to his patient, I have used all my skill and all my remedies to cure you, and you are no better, but only worse. There is no hope for you. What you need is an entirely new constitution. The physician, it may be, knew from the start what the end would be, but his kind heart would defer saying it to his patient till its truth could be evident to that patient himself by the experience of the treatment. God certainly knew the end from the beginning, but His loving heart deals with man a long time before He tells him the hopelessness of his condition. He thus prepares him for the only remedy.

Well do I remember my own misery when John 3 took hold of me. If one must be born anew, was there a sure way of knowing it? Yes, there was. If John's Gospel stated the need and the means of new birth, John's first epistle, chap. 5 :1, stated the proof of its having taken place. It said, " Whomever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of Gad.'' Applying it to one's self, sincerely believing on Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, the passage gave as much assurance as to being born again, as Rom. 3 :21-28 concerning the clearance from the guilt of our sins. What a book is the word of God! It but needs to be read honestly to prove itself as from God ; it carries its own credentials.

Unless our souls are living in communion with God, the Scriptures will not yield us their strength and nourishment.

FRAGMENT

P. S.-I have seen a photograph, taken by a missionary laboring in Central America, of a Roman Catholic Church which has over the main entrance a Latin inscription, the plain English of which is:."COME UNTO MARY, ALL YE WHO LABOR AND ARE BURDENED, AND SHE WILL REFRESH YOU." Is not this meant to show that she is held up to the people as a mediator of grace and redemption ? What a fearful perversion of the precious invitation of our Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded in Matt, 11:28!

Sincerely yours, H.A. IRONSIDE

(Psalm 16 :6.)

I have a goodly heritage "
Beyond time's changing scene,
A portion in the glory
By mortal eyes unseen.
No poisonous breath of sorrow,
No curse, no blight, no sin-
No pain, no death, no sighing,
Can ever enter in.

"I have a goodly heritage ;"
My Lord has made me rich.
He raised me up for glory,
He took me from the ditch.
He took away my rags of sin
And clothed me in the best;
He banished my distress and woe,
And gave me joy and rest.

''I have a goodly heritage,"
Earth's gourds may wither up;
Though all the trusted Niles run dry,
I have a brimming cup.
The palmer-worm may eat the corn,
And adverse winds may blow;
Earth's hopes may all be shattered,
But want I shall not know.

" I have a goodly heritage ; "
The fig-tree may not bloom.
The vine and olive too may fail,
And fields yield famine gloom.
No flock may stand within the fold,
No herd be in the stall,
But I have rich abundance
In Christ my all in all.

' I have a goodly heritage ; "
Let nations clash in strife,
And hungry swords of mighty powers
Regale on human life.
When tribulation smites the earth
And afflicts both great and small,
I'll be in mine inheritance
Far, far beyond it all.

I have a goodly heritage; "
A boundless wealth of bliss,
Eternal ages filled with joy;
What can compare with this ?
The earth and all that is therein
Shall melt and disappear,
But my fair portion shall abide-
With Christ in yon bright sphere.

C. C. Crowston

(By A COLLEGE GRADUATE.)

To any who are contemplating sending their boys or girls to institutions of higher education, I would urge an earnest consideration of the following experience in the light of their responsibility to God to bring up their children "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

Before entering college, I had been taught that the word of God was inspired from cover to cover; that God was a living, prayer-answering God; that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day and forever;" that He came into this world as "God manifest in the flesh," lived a perfect life, was rejected of men ; that " Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; that He was buried and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures," and that " He ever liveth to make intercession for us."

All this I believed and accepted for myself. In my senior year, in a required course of ethics, the professor set forth theories which denied the living-God as taught in the Bible. There was much discussion of these views, aud an apparent acceptance of them by those about me.

One night, as I came back to my room from chapel, I felt alone in my acceptance of God and His Word. In a moment, as I stood there, came the thought that either what I had believed was true and these "theories which seemed to be sweeping the college were false, or I was wrong and these theories were true. I stood on the brink of casting aside all I had believed and drifting into rank infidelity. As I thought it over, I said:"If Thou art the living God and the Bible is true, give me some evidence that I am not alone here in this belief." Before I had finished there came a knock at my door-"Before they call I will answer." A girl came in who had never come before, and conversation at once drifted to the theories that were being set forth. She said she could not accept them, adding, that she had been saved in a Methodist camp-meeting as a child, and could not believe anything that denied the living God as taught in the Bible.

God had answered my prayer; I was saved from drifting into infidelity, and, thanks be to His name, I have never had a doubt as to Himself or His word ever since.

God carried me through, but will not you, Christian parents, consider well whether God would be pleased to have you place your children where they may in all probability have to pass through such an ordeal?

As we write, another year is well-nigh gone, and a new one about to dawn upon us. To all our fellow-servants and helpers of every kind in the service of this magazine, we send with the new year our hearty greetings. We feel like saying to each one, in the language of the Psalmist, " The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion; remember all thine offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice. Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel . . . The Lord fulfil all thy petitions" (Ps. 20:1-5). Are not the wishes of Scripture more satisfying than all others ?

The year 1913 has been full of encouragement, and we wish to make you sharers of it, for it renews courage to see the Lord blessing our labor. It has been truly cheering to hear from various parts of the land, and beyond, from persons who have received special blessing through this or that number of Help and Food, or through this or that special article in a given number. What a joy, beloved brethren, to be able, through grace, to feed the flock of God. It is well worth while to go through prayerful exercise about what we may choose as subjects best suited to the needs of that flock, and for ability to develop them to edification. Like Elijah, who forgot none in Israel, but used twelve stones in building his altar, let us never lose sight of the whole Church of God when we write.

It has pleased the Lord to make us His prisoner of late. Not that we would compare our prison with that of the beloved apostle, for ours is under most loving care and happy circumstances. Nevertheless it has been confinement, and has prevented our usual course of labor. Recent years have been strenuous; weighty matters being added to the ordinary course of ministry, and the earthen vessel has called for rest. When questions arise involving either welfare or disaster to the people of God, how can one who loves them at all fail to pass through soul-exercise ? Who can see, for instance, the present tendencies of church union without being stirred through and through ?

The light that shined in the Reformation and formed a fresh testimony for Christ is fast going out. The proof of this is seen in the unconcern manifested in that union movement. It plays fast and loose with the idolatrous system of Popery, and cannot see the ditch into which Higher Criticism is carrying it. Like tendencies in narrower circles produce like exercises, only more keen as they come nearer to the great Center of all truth.

How solemn is all this !How serious it ought to make us! Oh, young men, you who are strong, and in whom the word of God abides, throw away every frivolous thing and identify yourselves without reserve with the testimony of Christ. Accept its responsibilities and sorrows; live no more for yourselves. As to joys, God will see to it that they will not fail you under the burden, and how blessed in eternity it will be to look back upon a path where Christ was all-Christ, the only lasting blessing of man, though, alas, so much refused by man. You will be poor in that path, yet you will make others rich, and in your poverty you will prove your heavenly Father's care in a way which will form sweet links with Him, and make His word so true in every jot and tittle that it will make you have deep pity for those who doubt it.
At the hour of writing, His good Hand in the prospective restoration of our health makes us rejoice at the thought of mingling with you again in the great and glorious conflict of this testimony.

Yet if one's sphere of service is curtailed by being a prisoner of the Lord, labor through the press remains, and we know how truly God owns it by the blessing which He gives through it. It was therefore no small pleasure upon returning to New York in a disabled condition to find the publishing work in fullest activity in every department of it. The Press can never take the place of the living voice, yet it fills a place which the living voice cannot fill. It goes everywhere, in palaces of kings, the dwellings of the poor, and in the cabins of woodsmen. It finds its way among the scattered farm-houses as well as in the towns and villages and cities. The very choicest of Christian ministry is thus made available everywhere at a very small cost, and, through Christian liberality, even free where needful. Each one of us has a responsibility, in prayer and in writing, to help keep it true to its name, "The Bible Truth Press."O brethren, what a treasure to keep, the Truth is!-to keep it for our own souls and for the testimony of our Lord in the world. Shall we not then all unite our prayers for the publishing work, that divine wisdom may be given to those in charge of it for the matter to be or not to be published?-for that responsibility rests upon publishers. When our Lord comes again it will be no small matter to have had a share in what maintained His truth in the world.

Let us seek to write pointedly, and as briefly as is consistent with lucidity. It is good to have something to say for the Lord, and having said it to stop. Let not a multiplicity of words detract from what the Lord would use.

Finally, let us not shrink from the needed controversy necessitated by abounding departure from truth; but let us never forget that it is positive truth which builds up the souls of God's people, and preserves, or delivers, from error. Paul J. Loizeaux

Ever yours affectionately in Christ,

The Bible in the Public Schools

The following request has recently in the come to hand :" Seeing the vast importance Of suitable environments, especially for the young, and knowing the influence of the word of God in producing the very best, would it not be well for such of God's people as are interested in the matter, to make it a subject of special prayer that the Bible may be recognized throughout the land as having a national place in the Public Schools ? It must, of course, be left with you, whether or not to give this suggestion publicity through your magazine. If thus given, it might lead not a few to be exercised and to unite in prayer to that end."

We gladly give publicity to the suggestion. By virtue of his heavenly calling and of the holiness which becomes him in all his ways, the Christian may not mix with politics. He cannot oppose the enemies of the Bible therefore in a political way. This does not mean, however, that he is indifferent to the national welfare, in which welfare the Bible has, doubtless, the most prominent place.

The Christian's power is in God his Father, to whom he goes in believing and persevering prayer. If the people of God rightly interested in the welfare of the nation, and therefore in the character of its rulers and governors, were to make the subject a matter of earnest prayer, they would doubtless see their sphere of influence far more fruitful and honored both of God and of men than by taking part in politics, as many do. The world knows the chasm which exists between them and the people of God. It may resent the Christian consistency which makes them feel that chasm; but when the consistency is not in one thing alone, but in the whole life, they will in their hearts honor the man who abides in the Christian path. Christians on their knees before God may control national matters far more than all the politicians together, though unseen, unheard and unnoticed. What disasters, what bloody wars, what miseries, may already have been avoided in the history of nations through the prayers of a few godly souls! And at the present time, what Christian heart has not felt like praying- for wisdom to be given to the President of the United States concerning Mexico ?

We know God's chief interest on the earth now is in His Church, but if He takes interest even in the sparrows, how much more in what may be for the welfare or for the misery of a whole nation of human beings.

Who can tell how much of the peace and welfare of this favored land-for many years a refuge to multitudes of the needy and oppressed of other lands-is the result of the place the Bible has had in it ? What is it that makes the vast difference today between it and its southern neighbors, South America, Central America and Mexico ? Their natural resources are not a whit less than those of the United States, but under the yoke of the Roman Catholic Church, they have been deprived of the Bible. They were, instead, furnished with images, crosses, candles, etc., for idolatry, to their moral and national ruin.

Human nature is no better here than there, but the holy influence of the word of God has led to the
formation of a very different moral and national character. Our own father and mother, of sweet and revered memory, refused the tempting advantages offered them in 1853 by their home government to induce them to emigrate to one of its colonies. They chose to give up those inducements and suffer many of the hardships of pioneer life in the United States in order to have their family in environments formed by the Bible, and they never regretted it, but repeatedly expressed thankfulness at the step they had taken. The teacher in the log school-house may not always have been a very pious man, but a chapter from the Bible every morning spoke to him as well as to the scholars, and what a beneficent influence!

Since those early days, however, the Roman Catholic hierarchy, that well-known and relentless enemy of the Bible, has crept in, and, as is her wont, has set out to seize the reins of government, to get the Bible out of the schools. She calls the public schools irreligious ; then makes them religious after her own fashion-substituting for the noble and holy teaching of the word of God a mass of foolish traditions and doctrines of men, and Mariolatry and worship of images instead of the true and only God. If people forget or are indifferent to the rivers of blood shed by Popery, of those faithful men and women who laid down their lives to keep the word of God, they may at no distant day find that Rome's boast that "she never changes," is only too true.

Dr. Eliot

A newspaper clipping has been sent us, giving some recent utterances of Dr. Eliot's, the President Emeritus of Harvard University. If it were some erring Christian, one could, with the courage of love, seek to help such or his followers out of error; but Dr. Eliot is not an erring Christian. His flat denials of the plain facts revealed in the word of God, and daring to contradict God to His face, proclaim him aloud an apostate from the faith; and what Heb. 10:26-29 versus concerning such does not warrant, we believe, discussing what they say. The sayings themselves are the greatest possible warning to others not to follow them. But what a deep, deep pity that the youths of the land should ever be under such influence!

Some months ago we came in contact with a few youths of the Yale University, who are under the same kind of influences, and the moment they were touched by the word of God, they became not only discourteous, but insolent. How little such know that they are the very ones who prove the word of God true, for it has abundantly foretold about them.

Brazil

A recent letter from our brother J. P. Ribeiro who, with his wife, is laboring in the Word in Brazil, speaks of the work where they are as very encouraging indeed. They especially desire the prayers of God's people here, speaking of the assurance that they are remembered at the throne of grace as one of the most cheering things in their pathway. They are now in the upper reaches of the Amazon. Their address is:

J. P. Ribeiro,

Seuna Madureira, Alto Purus, (Telegrafo Sem Fios) Amazonas, Brazil.

(Continued from page 99.)

(Chap. 2:1, 2.)

It should be noticed that the apostle changes his style of address in the first verse of chapter 2. In verses 6-10, of chapter i, he uses the expression, " If we say," three times, "If we walk," once; and, "If we confess," once. It is plain he is speaking on the broad ground of profession. The profession may be real or it may not be, but the difference between the real and the unreal needs to be clearly defined. Having done this, he addresses himself in chapter 2:i to those with whom the profession is a reality. He has said of the profession which says ''we have no sin," or ' 'we have not sinned," that it is pretending to what is not true; but now the apostle would guard all true believers against making a wrong deduction. Because we have sin we must not conclude that therefore we must sin. Because we have a fallen, a sinful nature in us, it will not do to settle it in our minds that necessarily we must more or less practice sin. " My children, these things" (referring of course to what he has just been saying), "I write unto you, that ye sin not," safeguards the children of God against drawing the wrong conclusion we have mentioned.

One often hears this false reasoning; but Scripture, neither here nor elsewhere, allows it. It is not reasoning with the Spirit of God. But while the apostle here authoritatively pronounces against such reasoning, he does not forget the believer's liability to sin. Surely as long as we are in this body, with sin dwelling- in it, we are liable to sin. If we have in us a sinful nature, we are of course predisposed to sin. The tendency to sin is there. But even so, that does not mean that the believer must sin. It is one thing to hold that there is in us a tendency or liability to sin, and quite another to believe we must necessarily sin. The former is the teaching of Scripture; the latter is not.

But if there is in us a tendency to sin, we should not ignore the fact or forget it. To do either is to expose ourselves to an ever-present danger. We need to be constantly in a state of watchfulness against our predisposition to sin lest it manifests itself in an actual outburst. The apostle, then, would remind us of a danger to which we are exposed through our having in us what makes us liable to sin.

We are not to conclude that John and Paul are in conflict because Paul tells us, "Sin shall not have dominion over you" (Rom. 6:14), and John reminds us that we are liable to sin. Paul teaches that the body is still a mortal, sinful body, and so recognizes the liability to sin; while John, on the other hand not only recognizes the liability, but supposing an actual outbreak of sin, gives the provision which God has made for it in grace. Mark, he says, "If any one sin." He is looking at it evidently not as a necessity, but a possibility. God has given us deliverance from the power, from the rule, of sin, but we are not yet delivered from its presence in us; hence the liability to sin. It is an ever-present liability.

But even so the apostle would not have the thought of our liability to sin, to destroy the sense in our souls of the abiding, unchangeable character of the place of favor in which divine grace has established us. It is not only that the flow of communion with God the Father is intercepted if we sin-that is true of course, and there is need of recovery-but that is not exactly the apostle's subject here. The point here is, if an actual outburst of sin has occurred, what will be the effect of it on our relationship with God-on our position before the face of the Father ?

Now if we are born of God we are abidingly His children, and since the Son of God was in the world the children of God have had the right to take their place as that before God. It is now their privilege to think of themselves according to what they are as being in Christ; and this is always maintained by Christ. That is abiding; it is unchangeable. Christ is ever before the face of the Father. He is our Advocate there. What we are by grace, as in Him before God, is unchangeable, and our interests are in His hands. He has a righteous claim to be our representative there. Beloved brethren, do our failures, our sins, in any wise alter what He is there for us before the face of God ? What He is there is what we are, not of course in ourselves, but as being in Him.

It may be needful perhaps to explain what is intended when I say, What He is before the face of God is what believers are. Let it be remembered that is distinctly what the word of God teaches. It is not a mere inference that I am drawing. In chapter 4:17, we read, "Because as He is, so are we in this world." In what sense then is this true ?

Our standing before God is not according to what we are in ourselves. By the grace of God we have been made partakers of Him. This participation in Him is a reality. We have His nature, we partake of His life. As having it, for God we are characterized by it. What the nature and life are in Him determines what they are in us. Our bodies are yet to be conformed to His body. In this respect we are not yet "as He is," but as regards the life that has been given to us it is even now, while we are still in this world, what it is in Him. If we speak of ourselves as characterized by the life that has been imparted to us we may say, "We are as He is; " that is, simply saying, we have community of life with Him.

But if we are participators with Him in life, the abiding character of that life does not depend on us. Whether we are faithful or not, the character of the life we have is unchangeable. We ought not to sin; there is no excuse for sinning; provision has been made sufficient to preserve us from it, and that notwithstanding there is in us the tendency to sin. But if on account of this tendency we are in the fear of falling into sin, there is great comfort for us in knowing that our possession of the life that is in Him cannot be affected, its character cannot be altered. To destroy our life, He who is the Source of it to us must be destroyed first. Nor can the character of the life given us be altered, as it cannot be altered in Him. The sins of believers have no such power. If we sin, He remains the same, and the believer, however troubled he may be about his sins, has the privilege of looking at Him and to say, By my sins I have falsified the life He has imparted to me, but in Him it abides in its perfect, eternal character. He is before the Father's face for me, my Representative there, my Advocate. In Him my relation to the Father is maintained in righteousness.

It will be asked:What then is the effect of sin in a believer ? The answer is, It hinders the intercourse, the flow of fellowship. It limits the measure of the enjoyment of communion. But this is not the apostle's theme here. Nor is he speaking of the discipline needed to arouse the conscience, and awaken exercise and repentance and confession, nor of the priestly activity of Christ in cleansing the believer from the sin into which he has fallen. His subject here is the fact that the believer's life is maintained inviolate in the Person who is its source, who is uninterruptedly before the face of the Father-the believer's constant representative.

As regards our sins, then, our Advocate with the Father is propitiation. This does not mean that He has to make propitiation for our sins. He did that on the cross. He does not need to make any further offering concerning sins. When He offered Himself it was once for all. He is not now making propitiation; Himself is the propitiation.

I shall have to inquire here, In what sense is He propitiation ? The attentive reader will observe He is propitiation in a two-fold way, or perhaps better, in a two-fold relation. He is, first, propitiation in relation to the sins of believers; and, second, in relation to the sins of the world.

The statement, "And He is propitiation concerning our sins " naturally follows the statement we have just now been considering. If Jesus Christ, the righteous One, is our Representative and Advocate before the face of the Father, we can readily understand that He is in the place of favor. In thinking of this we must not limit it to Himself. It is true of course that He is personally the object of the Father's favor. He was always that. He was that from eternity. But what I am now referring to is the fact that He is appearing "in the presence of God for us" (Heb. 9:24). He is in the place of favor for us. This means that God's attitude towards us is based on Him. We are the objects of the favor of God as being in Him. No doubt God takes pleasure in our faithfulness, but it is not on the ground of our faithfulness that God has taken us into favor. It is solely as being in Christ that we are in His favor. Having put us in Him by making us participators in the life that is in Him, He ever sees us as in Him. Christ then is His satisfaction concerning our sins. It is not that He does not abhor them; He surely does; but Christ having glorified Him concerning sins has an undisputed claim on Him for being looked upon as full appeasal respecting the sins of those who through grace have come to be in Him. He is thus propitiation concerning their sins-the sins of all for whom He is an Advocate, and whom He represents as appearing in the presence of God.

What joy to the believer who has the knowledge of this! What comfort in knowing, when I have been ensnared and overcome, that as I turn to look upon my representative before the face of God, His gracious attitude towards me has not been affected; that He still looks upon me, not according to what I am in myself, but according to the One in whom He has accepted me.

We must turn now to consider the sense in which Christ is propitiation in relation to the sins of the whole world. I must first observe that the apostle does not imply that there is any need now of propitiation being made for the sins of the whole world. Since the cross, it is no more a question of making propitiation concerning sins. That was done then, done once for all, and it was done for the sins of all. Now it must not be inferred from this that all are saved from the due of their sins. That is not the fact. The making propitiation for the sins of all does not by itself save anybody. It provides a righteous basis on which salvation can be bestowed on all-on all who submit to the one condition on which it is offered, faith. Only believers are actually saved; but the propitiation concerning sins made at the cross was the ransom-price paid in behalf of all. It is not now the time of making propitiation, but the time of testimony. The gospel, which is for all, is a proclamation of an accomplished propitiation as a righteous basis of an offer of salvation, received by the believer. So, then, during this time of testimony God is not imputing sins to men. He is, by us, beseeching them to be reconciled (2 Cor. 5:20).

Here we may ask, How is it that God has been content to wait so long on men to repent ? How is it that He does not cut men off suddenly, and without mercy, who have refused His gospel and rejected the salvation He has offered them? The answer is:" Jesus Christ, the righteous " is before His face with a just claim on Him for a time of forbearance and long-suffering. He is thus Himself " propitiation concerning the sins of the whole world." God's present attitude towards the sins of men is based on Christ. It is because His eye is resting on Christ that He exercises patience. Christ is so fully His appeasal, His satisfaction, that He is content to show long-suffering still, even though His mercy in it is despised.

I cannot leave this subject without a few further remarks. In what I have expressed above I have avoided errors that prevail in certain quarters to the injury of souls. The limitation of the propitiation, made at the cross, to the sins of believers, necessitates a limited provision. If that were the truth it would follow that salvation has been provided only for believers, whereas, in truth, it has been provided for all. All are invited to come and get it. None lose it because it is not for them, but because they decline to receive it.

Again, in this view, the evangelist can proclaim the gospel without any reserve. He can boldly tell men-all men-Christ died concerning your sins. He can unhesitatingly say, God has been so glorified about your sins by Christ's death, that on the ground of it He is now offering you salvation and is beseeching you to come and take it. You cannot refuse on the plea that the provision for salvation is only sufficient for a limited number. Every man can be told that the provision is for him, and that if he refuses it he can never say he perished because salvation was not provided for him. It is. a misrepresentation of the gospel of God to say God has provided salvation only for those who actually believe. God is willing to save all, and has put no limit to the number who can be saved. He has made provision so that all can be saved. While all thus can be saved, none are saved except they repent and believe the gospel.

Once more:When I insist that the provision for salvation is unlimited-is as truly for those who miss it as for those who get it-I am not teaching universal salvation. I am teaching universal provision-provision for all. But while all are provided for, many will not get what has been provided for them. Their not getting it is not because provision has not been made for them, but because of not availing themselves of it. The provision is for all; faith gets what has been provided; unbelief misses it.

The distinction to which I call attention is between Christ making propitiation concerning sins by the death of the cross, and His being propitiation now as appearing in the presence of God. I would ask the prayerful meditation of the Lord's people 011 this subject. It supplies the key to the right understanding of the passage at which we have been looking.

It is also important to consider the two-fold sense in which Christ is now propitiation. If this is clearly apprehended there will be no difficulty in realizing that Christ's being propitiation for the sins of believers before the Father does not in any wise make light of their sins. It does not show that they are not a very serious matter, or can be treated as of light importance. How humiliated we should feel every time we think of them! And as regards His being propitiation for the sins of the whole world, if we rightly understand it we shall not be involved in applications which have no place in the mind of the Spirit of God. C. Crain

(To be continued.)

In the New Testament "the man of God" supposes one faithful in the service of souls; but the term is by no means confined to Christianity, being rather in itself a familiar Old Testament expression. By it we may understand a believer who has the moral courage and the spiritual power to identify himself with the Lord's interests, and to maintain the good fight of faith in the midst of perils and obstacles of every sort. Such a testimony is incompatible with yielding to human principles and the spirit of the age.

We must not suppose however that fidelity in such a day as ours wears an imposing garb. An appearance of strength is out of course when declension has come in and judgment is approaching. God will have a state of ruin felt, and His testimony must be in keeping. When He calls to sackcloth and ashes, He does not give such a character of power as has price in the world's eyes. Thus one of the truest signs of practical communion with the Lord is that at such a moment one is heartily content to be little. This is reality; but it is only a little strength. The expression of this, therefore, is according to the mind of God.

But that which attracts the world must please and pander to the self-importance of man. The world itself is a vain show, and likes its own. Consequently there is nothing which so carries the mass of men along with it as that which natters the vanity of the human mind. It may assume the loveliest air, but sinful man seeks his own honor and present exaltation. But when a servant of God is thus drawn into the spirit of men, he naturally shrinks back from fairly facing the solemn call of God addressed to His own, loses his bright confidence, and gets either hardened, or stands in dread of the judgment of God. When Christians lose the power and reproach of the cross, philanthropy has been taken up, which gives influence among men; and general activity in what men call"doing good" replaces the life of faith with the vain hope of staving off the evil day-in their time at any rate. One need not deny zeal and earnest pursuit of what is good morally; self-denial too one sees in spending for religious or benevolent purposes; but the man of God, now that ruin has entered the field of Christ's confession, is more urgently than ever called to be true to a crucified Christ. And as surely as He is soon coming to take us on high, He will in due time appear for the judgment of every high thought and the fairest-looking enterprises of men, which will all be swallowed up in the yawning gulf of the apostasy. W. K.

(Continued from page 205.)

(Chap. 2:12-27.)

Verses 14-27 give a special message to each grade in which the apostle has divided the family of God. In these messages John reaffirms the character he has already given to each grade; a character based on practical experience, as we have seen.

In addressing himself again to the "fathers," nothing is added to what he first said. The reason of this is plain. The experience of the fathers has been such that Christ-" Him that is from the beginning "-is the one absorbing Object of their hearts. They have become so engaged with Him that everything else has ceased to have value in their eyes. He alone now attracts them, and they are not in need therefore of special warnings. There is no necessity of pointing out snares and dangers to them. It is sufficient therefore to mention them as being in this practical knowledge-as fathers in the family of God.

But in the case of the young men, not having as yet this advanced knowledge of Christ, there are dangers to which they are exposed. The apostle shows them against what they specially need to be on their guard, and in verses 15-17 indicates the true way of escape.

We first notice that in describing their character here the apostle adds to his previous characterization of them. He had spoken of them as having overcome the wicked one; he now adds, "Ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you." I judge he refers to the experience through which they have passed in conflict over the word of God. The wicked one has sought to wrest it from them; to weaken their faith in it; to induce them to give it up. But they have withstood him; have stood firmly for the faith; have fought for it. The result of the conflict is seen in the strength they have developed. They have acquired ability in service; have learned how to convict gainsayers, and to stop the mouths of those who oppose. They are earnest in maintaining the truth as revealed of God-the word of God is in power in their souls; it abides in them. The apostle recognizes their devotion and approves their zeal. He rejoices in the result for them of the conflicts in which they have approved themselves. They have come through them with great gain in strength, in skill, in experimental knowledge.

But while thus occupied in conflict, their attention has not been drawn to the allurements and fascinations of the world. Now that they have become proficient in the word of God, with ability to meet and answer the assaults of the enemy upon the truth of Christianity, they are less likely to be the objects of the enemy's direct attacks. The world now offers an opportunity for the exercise of the ability and power thus manifested, and will seek to enlist in its projects those on whom they look as men of success.

And here are temptations for such as are full of energy! – movements designed to advance morality, to help and elevate the unfortunate, to reform those who have fallen into evil ways, to correct social and civic evils, are especially alluring; and the energetic and zealous Christian is in danger of being drawn into them. They seem to offer opportunity for the exercise of gift and knowledge. To many, such opportunities are very attractive. It is said, Here is a chance to do good; and, on this ground, joining such movements is justified. It is argued:Is it not right to help men to be better? Is it not serving Christ to help on such movements as are designed for the betterment of men ? Ought we not to do all in our power to aid plans and schemes that aim at the moral uplift of the unfortunate, the degraded, the fallen ?

From the standpoint of the world such movements undoubtedly are justifiable; from the standpoint of Christianity it is quite a different matter. That they benefit the world will not be denied; that they promote the interests of Christ is much more than doubtful. The world, not Christ, is their object. The world seeks its own things, not the things of Christ. It is the love that is of the world, not the love that is of the Father, that characterizes all its projects. It is the glory of the world that is sought, not the glory of Christ. But Christian love is the love that is of the Father. The activity of the love that is of Him should mark the Christian, not the activity of the love that is of the world. Hence, the apostle exhorts the young men not to love the world, or the things of the world. He puts the two things-the love of the world and the love of the Father-in direct contrast, as being diametrically opposites. He would not have the young men entangled in what is opposed to the love that is of the Father. It is against entanglement with the world or its things that he is warning them.

And to help them escape entanglement he points out the three principles which underlie everything that is in the world. He is of course not speaking of the physical world, but the world of which fallen, sinful man is the center, the world which has been built up around the failed first man. Everything in his world is characterized by three principles- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These three things mark every scheme that is of the world. Every worldly project or movement is stamped by these three principles. Now the love that is energized by these principles is not the love that is of the Father. The Christian, then, when enticed by the world or some worldly project, has but to ask, What are the ruling principles to which I must subject myself? Is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life what characterize the movement he is desired to connect himself with ? If so, he may know it is not of the Father.

What a simple rule! What a certain safeguard! Am I asked to take part in any movement in which the desires of the flesh are ministered to ? I may unhesitatingly decline. It may be pleaded it is benevolent, but it is not the love that is of the Father. I may be told of a certain scheme which, if I will link myself with it, will afford me opportunity for advancement in the world; will make life in this world more enjoyable; will provide me with avenues to gain, to the possession of things seen; but that is the lust of the eyes-not the love that is of the Father. I may be assured too that I will be greatly respected and honored, but that is the pride of life. It is not of the Father, who would lead me to honor Christ-not to seek to be honored where He was dishonored.

No, the energy of the Christian is not to be spent in furthering the interests of this world. He is to be in the world for Christ. For Christ, and not for the world or self. If the Christian loves not the world or the things in the world, he will find Christ to be every way a satisfying portion. What experiences will be his-experiences of Christ! What lessons of Him will be learned! What pleasures will be realized! What possessions of wisdom and knowledge will be discovered! How much there is in Christ to glory in and boast of! As Christ is thus learned, how the world grows dim! How the things of the world lose their attractiveness and power, as what Christ is practically experienced! How great, alas, is our loss in diverting our energies into channels in which the profit is merely in present things-not the eternal things. The apostle is here showing us how to escape suffering this loss. The Spirit of God would have us spend our strength in seeking the things of Christ. We will find, if we take His way, it will mean rich gain in experimental knowledge.

But the apostle has yet one more word for the young men. He says:"The world is passing away and the lust thereof." Another apostle has said, "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away " (i Pet. i:24). For the Christian to be ensnared in the love of the world or the things of the world, whatever present worldly advantage he may gain, in the end it will be a sad experience. The stamp of death is on the entire present scene, and the world of the fallen first man is under the judgment of God. It must pass away. It will not abide. But the one who practices the will of God will abide for ever. He is born of God-of the abiding word of God; has in him the abiding nature and life of God. It is eternal life that is dwelling in him. In so far as such an one turns aside from the things that minister to the life that is of God, to participate in what builds up the world, he is exerting himself in what is passing away, not in what abides.

May the gracious Lord stir up His beloved people to be zealously active in that which is the will of God, to energetically seek the things of Christ! May we be characterized as those who desire to advance in experimental knowledge! Let us remember that the way to acquire this knowledge is to heed the apostle's warning, " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world."

C. Crain

(To be continued.)

Going to the Root.-Scripture is more concerned with the root of things than their fruit. "As by one man sin entered into the world, and death "by sin." All true conviction carries one back to the first departure. " Behold, I was shapen in iniquity," said David; his awful sin did not blind him to the fact that a condition of soul had made it possible. Whether it be the sinner awakened for the first time to his true standing before God, or the saint whose soul has wandered far from his first love, or an assembly of saints who have become entangled in strife and evil, the principle remains that the root must be reached if we are to learn the lesson which God would teach. We may deplore the results of failure which may be manifest enough in the individual or company, but God would have us go further, and let Him place His hand upon the spring of all our trouble. Departure from Him, we can surely say, is the root of all declension. "I have against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."

We are living in times of much superficiality. Sober convictions are not deep, and therefore results are not permanent. May we invite the holy searching of our God, as the Psalmist, and say:"Search me, O Lord, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." S. R.

Light is one substance with three properties -the actinic, luminous, and caloric. In spite of the fact that the properties of light are distinct they cannot be separated from each other. Where the one is, the others are. Where the actinic is, the luminous and the caloric are, etc. The actinic can neither be seen nor felt. The caloric cannot be seen, but may be felt. The luminous is both seen and/i?//, and is the revelation of the other two.

What an absurdity it would be to reject any two of these properties and call the remaining one " Light ! " Nay! light is one and yet three. It is three, and yet one.

And Holy Scripture says, "God is light." God is one substance-one God, yet three Persons -Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In spite of the fact that the personalities are distinct, they cannot be separated from each other. Where the one is, the others are. The Father can neither be seen nor felt. The Spirit cannot be seen, but may be felt. The Son can both be seen and felt, and is the revelation and the expression of the other two.

What an absurdity it would be to reject any two of these Persons of the Godhead, and call the remaining One "God!" Nay! God is one, and yet three. God is three, and yet one.

And these three distinct Persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-are one God, in which we neither confound the Persons nor divide the substance. And these three in the one infinite Godhead work out, in their indivisible unity, redemption, righteousness, and final glory in the name of Christ, and in their unity alone make Christianity possible.

A mystery! Beyond all question. And what would God be without mystery ? What would God be whose infinity a finite mind could grasp ? Extracted

Remember, Christian, what thou wast,
When guilty and undone,
Before God's Spirit picked thee up,
And led thee to His Son.

Remember, Christian, whose thou art,
And how thou hast been saved;
Thou art the purchase of His blood,
Who death's dark billows braved.

Remember always thou art His,
And His forevermore;
The threatenings of the judgment day
Shall trouble thee no more.

Remember too that thou art here
To live for Him who died,
That by thy stay upon the earth,
He may be glorified.

Remember, Christian, that this world
Against thee stands arrayed;
If thou dost in the battle stand,
Thou must by grace be stayed.

Remember also Satan's power,
And ever watch and pray;
Distrust thyself, but trust in Christ,
He'll lead thee all the way.

Remember, Christian, too, thy flesh
Doth seek thine overthrow;
But keep it in the place of death,
And humbly onward go.

Then learn to cherish His own words,
Before He died for thee:
He blessed the bread and wine and said,
" This do, remember Me ! "

Remember, Christian, He will come,
And take thee to His home;
Then, in this dreary wilderness,
Thy feet no more shall roam.
Remember, Christian, thou wilt be
Forever with thy Lord;
Then may thy whole demeanor here
With these great truths accord.

C. C. Crowston

A hundred years ago most of the infidelity and unbelief were outside of the professing church. If a man did not believe the word of God he was not looked upon as a Christian at all; he had his proper place outside the church and was recognized as "an infidel," or "unbeliever."

In our day much of this is within the bounds of the professing church of Christ. Men who are paid by the congregations to preach the word of God, preach that which undermines it. Men who are paid to teach others how to become preachers of the gospel, instil into the young minds committed to them, doubt and unbelief.

In no field is this more apparent than in current teaching concerning the inspiration of the word of God-our Bible. And yet the Scripture claims a unique place. It is either God's word, or it is not. Its claim is, " Every scripture is given by inspiration of God." The man who doubts God's word in one place will soon doubt it in another. The man who refuses the Pentateuch as from God, soon doubts the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Doubts as to Moses soon lead to unbelief as to the Incarnation, Atonement and Resurrection. As our Lord told the Jews-" Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me:for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? " (John 5:46, 47).

God has testified of His word. "Every word of God is pure " (Prov. 30:5)-purified, or refined, like silver is refined in the fire, when all the dross is burned away. The Lord Himself testified to the everlasting stability of every jot or tittle (Matt. 5 :18), or as we would say,"The dot of an i, and the cross of a t."

So pure and refined is every word of the Bible, so carefully selected by the Spirit of God when inspiring the writers of the various books, so completely over-ruled, by God were they in writing them, that an entire argument often turns on a single word, yea, even on a letter. In Gal. 3:16 the immense difference between Law and Grace is shown to depend on one letter-s. In Luke i:47, two letters-my, refute the worship of Mary. She confesses herself a sinner like the rest of us, for she calls God my Saviour.

Surely here are most important truths that are greatly affected by a letter or two. How carefully then should we read the Holy Scriptures, and how particular should we be that no human theories of "dynamic" inspiration (that is, inspiration of thoughts only, and not of words), or any other teaching of unbelief, have place with us for one moment.

Seeing then how every word of God is purified, or chosen according to God's wisdom, and He has given it to us as He would have it, we may well hold fast, love and cherish it, search it, meditate upon it, bow our heart and mind to it, and direct our steps in keeping with its instructions and commandments. Christ is the theme of its pages. Satan ever seeks to overthrow it, that we may be
left as vagabonds, with no aim, no purpose, no compass to guide us, and put back in midnight darkness, groping and crawling as do the denizens of night.

All Scripture centers around Christ. Both Old and New Testaments lead on to Him. Searching and believing them will therefore draw us to Christ, "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3). F.

In the details of life, the troubles may be between us and God, or God between us and the troubles. In the one case, we break down like Job; in the other, we endure afflictions according to the power of God.

" The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee; they were afraid " (Ps. 77:16). So saith He, "Winds blow not; seas, rage not; fire, burn not; lions, devour not; sun, move not; clouds, rain not; devils, hurt not; waters, overwhelm not; sword, destroy not; " and they all obey. S. R.

' Lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."

The word "castaway ' is, in the Greek, adokimos, and is used eight times in the New Testament. The word is really the Greek noun dokimos, with the prefix a, which negatives the meaning of the word to which it is prefixed, as "not "or "without."

Dokimos is used seven times in the New Testament. The following table gives the places where these words are used, and their translation in our King James' Bibles :

Adokimos. Dokimos.

Rom. 1 :28 = " reprobate" Rom. 14:18 = "approved"

1 Cor. 9 :27 = " castaway '' Rom. 16:10 = "approved "

2 Cor. 13 :5 = " reprobates " 1 Cor. 11:19 = "approved "

2 Cor. 13:6 = "reprobates" 2 Cor. 10:18 = "approved"

2 Cor. 13:7 = " reprobates " 2 Cor. 13:7 = " approved "

2 Tim. 3:8 = " reprobate " 2 Tim. 2:15 = " approved "

Titus 1 :16 = " reprobate " Jas. 1:12= " tried "

Heb. 6:8 =" rejected "

It is plain that adokimos, which is rendered "castaway" in the verse quoted at the head of this paper, would be better rendered "not approved," and so in every passage where it occurs. It will be noticed that in every instance it refers to the person, never to his work or service or walk:that is, it refers to the runner, not to his running.

Romans i:28 gives an excellent play upon the word, using both the verb and the noun:"And according as they did not approve to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a non-approving mind." They did not approve of God, and so God gave them up to that sort of mind, to let it work out to full ripe fruit. 2 Cor. 13 :5 affords another instance of the use of the verb and noun:"Approve (prove) yourselves . . . except ye be non-approved."

It is plain that here, as in all the other passages, the word applies to persons. They are either of the approved or of the non-approved; of one class or the other. Let them settle it now, as to which class they belonged; and this, of course, any Christian can do in an instant. Verses 6 and 7 show that the word applies to persons, and is of present application. They could determine whether he were one of the class or not. 2 Tim. 3 :8 – Jannes and Jambres were not approved as to the faith-not believers, not in the approved class. Titus i :16-these also were not in the approved class, from whatever point viewed.

In Heb. 6:8, the ground is not approved; but of course it represents persons. The soil is bad, the thorns and the briars do not make it bad; they show that it is bad. No doubt, the primary application here is to Israel after the flesh; they are not yet cursed, but "nigh unto" it ; if they do not enter the "approved" class, cursing will be their portion.

The original use of the word dokimos will throw much light upon its meaning. It was used in connection with the Olympic games. If one qualified to enter the lists as a runner or a wrestler, and was accepted, he was " dokimos; " but if for any reason anyone neglected or failed to qualify, he was "adokimos," his name did not appear on the lists. It was not a question of his running or of his wrestling at all ; he was not in the game. One who qualified prepared himself by training for the contest he was to engage in, by abstaining from everything which would be likely to hinder the proper development of his powers ; by due exercise of these faculties and powers which would be in demand in the coming struggle, etc.

No doubt the apostle, in i Cor. 9:24-27, has before him these games as a pattern. He buffets his body and keeps it in subjection, as every one who is in training does. What would be thought of one who had entered for these important games, if he were to allow his appetites free rein, or waste his time in sloth ? He would prove by that very fact that he was not really in the race-that he was adokimos. So the man who does not bridle his lusts may be safely set down as a hypocrite-as no Christian at all.

The apostle had no fears as to the result; there was no uncertainty with him:"I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air." Nor does he say, " Lest by any means I should become "adokimos." One cannot become adokimos; he is of necessity that if he is not "approved." Those who most commonly quote this passage quote it as if it read, " Lest I should become;" or if the word " become " is not used, their reasoning requires it.

A certain edition of the Bible, recently put into my hands, has a note on the passage under consideration, in which the writer states positively that the apostle is not speaking of himself as liable to be rejected, but of his work, although the inspired Word expressly says, "Lest I myself and the word adokimos, as we have seen, invariably applies to the person. Thus the writer just referred to flatly- though unwittingly, surely-contradicts the word of God. And his note, being in the Bible, will be considered by simple souls as almost settling the interpretation of the passage.

Alas, how many are "running "who are not in the race at all! To how many this may apply:" I have preached to others," and whose names are not in the Lamb's book of life. " Preaching to others " does not enter one upon the lists of contestants for the prize. " Many will say unto Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name ? and in thy name cast out devils ? and in thy name done many wonderful works ? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity " (Matt. 7:22, 23). J. B. J.

He was better than all my hopes,
He was better than all my fears;
He made a road of my poor works
And a rainbow of my tears.
He led by paths I could not see,
And by way's I had not known ;
The crooked things He made straight
As I followed Him alone.

Let one in his innocence glory,
Another in works he has done-
Thy Blood is my claim and my title,
Beside it, O Lord, I have none.
The Scorned, the Despised, the Rejected,
Thou hast won Thee this heart of mine;
In Thy robes of eternal glory
Thou welcomest me to Thine."

"What a wonderful life was the Lord Jesus Christ's! Every moment filled up; every act having God as its object, and therefore right, and performed rightly! How precious to God too! No wonder it is preserved before Him. In the golden pot the manna was laid up before Jehovah for a memorial. In that golden psalm (16th) again that life Godward is preserved, and in what marvelous language!-perfect confidence in God; no assumption of equality (though there) as Man; perfect delight in the excellent of the earth, the saints; absolute separation to God; with joy and praise and hope, even though the path of life lay for Him through death!

"Again that life is preserved before God in Leviticus 2 by a covenant of salt for ever. It has been lived despite of Satan, sin and death, and is always a delight to God, so that we may take our handful from the meal, or the cakes, or the first-fruit offering, with all the frankincense and offer it as a sweet savor to God, owning thus we are not it, but enjoy our portion of it as "priests in the holy place."

(Continued from page 82.)

LETTER II. My Dear Sir:

As intimated in my previous letter, I now desire to animadvert a little on Rome's denial of the cup to the laity. And here I can, without any fear, turn your own words back upon yourself, and call all history (up to very recent years) and all antiquity to witness against you. You know as well as I that the canon enjoining communion in one kind was only passed on June 15, 1415, and that at a time when the Roman Church was without a head. For the same council that enacted the decree, had deposed Pope John XXIII., on May 29th, 1415, and his successor was not elected until November nth, 1417. Yet Roman apologists declare that the Pope has authority to change the order of the Lord, who gave communion in two kinds (the bread typifying His body, the wine His blood), to communion in one kind only, on the part of the commonalty, priests alone being permitted to observe the original order. Now this decree of the council of Constance is a direct contradiction to Roman canon law of the centuries preceding. Pope Leo the Great, in inveighing against the Manicheans, says distinctly:"They receive Christ's body [which to him, of course, was the, communion loaf] with unworthy mouth, and entirely refuse to take the blood of our redemption [referring clearly to the cup, according to the Roman interpretation]; therefore we give notice to you, holy brethren, that men of this sort, whose sacrilegious deceit has been detected, are to be expelled by priestly authority from the fellowship of the saints " (quoted from his 41st Homily). But Pope Gelasius I. is stronger yet, for in a letter addressed to the Bishops, Majoricus and John, which has been embodied in the canon law of the Romish Church, he says:"We have ascertained that certain persons having received a portion of the sacred body alone, abstain from partaking of the chalice of the sacred blood. Let such persons, without any doubt, since they are stated to feel thus bound by some superstitious reason, either receive the sacrament in its entirety, or be repelled from the entire sacrament, because a division of one and the same mystery cannot take place without great sacrilege "(Corp. Jur. Can. Decr. 3. ii, 12). And with this agrees the decree of the council of Clermont, personally presided over by Pope Urban II. in 1095:"That no one shall communicate at the altar, without he receives the body and blood alike, unless by way of necessity, or caution." In the next century (A. D. 1118), Pope Paschal II. wrote to Pontious, Abbot of Cluny, referring to the teaching of St. Cyprian:"Therefore, according to the same Cyprian:in receiving the Lord's body and blood, let the Lord's tradition be observed, nor let any departure be made, through human institution, from what Christ the Master ordained and did. For we know that the bread was given separately, and the wine was given separately, by the Lord Himself, which custom we therefore teach and command to be always observed in Holy Church,* save in the case of infants and very infirm people, who cannot swallow bread." *Italics mine throughout.*

Now what title has the Church of Rome to declare itself unchanged, Catholic and Apostolic in its practices, as well as doctrines, when a council without a Pope can deliberately overthrow the teaching of four Popes on a matter of this kind ? The fact is Rome has completely annulled the words of our Lord Jesus Christ; and as to this, at least, teaches for doctrine the commandments of men.

And this to a Catholic is a most serious thing. For when our Lord in John 6 speaks of "eating His flesh and drinking His blood," Romanists implicitly believe Him to be referring to participation in the Eucharist; yet his church forbids him to drink of the cup, unless he be one who has taken priestly orders.

But does the much contested passage in John 6 have any reference to the Lord's Supper, or is it intended to set forth a great spiritual truth ? In deciding for the latter, you will accuse me of using private judgment. This I confess; but on your part, when you decide to accept the teaching of the Roman Church as to the same passage, you too are using private judgment; though you may decry it. Your private judgment leads you to accept the Church's teaching. My private judgment leads me to repudiate it, as against both my God-given reason and holy Scripture's teaching, which is to me far more reliable authority than any interpretation that the Church may put upon it. Our Lord, in John 6, was addressing Jewish disciples, before the Christian Church had been established or the Lord's Supper instituted. He told them at that time to "labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you:for Him hath God the Father sealed" (ver. 27). They answered Him:"What shall we do that we might work the works of God?" He replied:"This is the work of God that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent." To believe on Him, is evidently synonymous with receiving the meat that endures unto everlasting life. Cavilers among them directed His attention to the account of the manna eaten by their fathers in the desert, desiring Him again as on yesterday to provide them with literal bread in the wilderness. He answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven . . . that giveth life unto the world." In response to their cry, "Lord, evermore give us this bread," He answers:"I am the Bread of Life:he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst." Again, beginning with verse 47, He says:"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life. I am that Bread of Life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the, Bread that cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living Bread that came down from heaven:if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live forever:and the Bread that I will give is my flesh, that I will give for the life of the world." Unbelieving . Jews strove among themselves at this, saying :. " How can this man give us His flesh to eat? " Then Jesus said unto them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat of the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in Him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. This is that Bread that came down from heaven:not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead:he that eateth of this Bread shall live forever" (vers. 53-58).

Now this is the teaching of our Lord as to eating His flesh and drinking His blood, and suggests that He was referring to something that man might do at that time, namely:live by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. His blood had not been poured out upon the cross, nor His flesh wounded in death, but those who came to Him, trusting Him as their Saviour, were already recipients of the new life which He came to give. That the eating and drinking were spiritual and not literal is clear from verse 57, where He speaks of living by the Father, in the very same way that they who were eating Him, lived by Him. And how did He live by the Father ? Clearly as a Man of faith. " I will put My trust in Him" expressed the continuous habit of His life, and as we who believe in Him thus live by faith in Himself, we eat His flesh and drink His blood. He says in verse 63:" It is the Spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing:the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life."

What further proof have we need of ? I think it plain that the Lord Jesus was referring, not to a sacrament yet to be instituted, but to a spiritual reality, known even then to those who believed upon Him. And all the councils of Rome cannot annul His words as to this.

His disciples at that time, who were such in very deed, not merely by profession, were already living by Him, yet had never partaken of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. And we may rest assured that wherever, and whenever a repentant soul turns now to Christ and trusts Him as the Saviour who has given His life for the world, he both eats His flesh and drinks His blood, and thus has life eternal – something the Romish sacrifice of the Mass, so-called, does not even pretend to give. For what intelligent Romanist really believes he has eternal life-a life in Christ that can never be forfeited-through participation in the Mass ? Is it not a fact that this, as all other Romish sacraments, leaves the participant uncertain and anxious still as to the final outcome ? But it is otherwise with him who rests implicitly on the words of the Son of God:"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life."

May I, without giving offence, or without appearing to be unduly forward, or impertinent, press some questions home upon you, my dear sir ? Have you this great gift, promised by our Lord Jesus to all who believe in Him ? Are you certain that you have everlasting life ? After all your years of devoted service in the Church of Rome, your careful, conscientious obedience to her decrees, are you now at rest in your soul as to the question of your sins ? Do you know them all forgiven and put away, through the offering of Jesus Christ once for all upon the cross ? Have you been justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus ? Are you a happy possessor of a life in Him that can never be forfeited, because eternal, and dependent not upon your faithfulness, but upon His ? Oh, my dear sir, if you cannot answer simple questions like these in the affirmative, is it not time to stop and ask yourself how it is that the system to which you cling has not given you that certainty and peace, which clearly were, and are, the portion of all found in the enjoyment of Apostolic Christianity ? Is it not possible that you have missed your way ? Yea, that the whole church to which you belong has in some manner, perhaps to you unaccountable, fallen from the simplicity of apostolic days into grievous apostasy ?

In my next letter I purpose to consider the sacrificial character of the Mass in your Communion. I remain, dear sir, Yours respectfully,

H. A. Ironside

It is the beauty of the gospel that it does not consist of a great mass of doctrines which have to be understood and assimilated before a soul passes from death unto life. If it were so, salvation would be only for the wise and learned. Christianity is centered in a Person, and receiving Him, the believing sinner receives all that pertains to life and godliness. The thought of "appropriation " maybe misleading. The moment a sinner believes upon Him who died for our sins and who is now in the heavens, the exalted Saviour, all things are appropriated to him. "I know the thoughts that I think toward you." "It is God that justifieth." "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence."

Such scriptures as these show that we are blessed, not according to our apprehension of all that is in Christ, but that God appropriates to us all things according to His knowledge of Christ and the results of His redeeming work.

If it were not so, who could have peace ? Where could the line be drawn which assures one that he is really in the full possession of everything that he will need through all eternity? The effect would be to turn one within, upon himself, instead of engaging every faculty of his being with the fulness of Christ for him as revealed in the precious word of God.

" If Christ is mine, then all is mine,
And grace and glory too."

We do not possess because we know ; we know because we possess. It is a wonderful relief to see this, and leads to thanksgiving instead of uncertainty.

Having said this much, we shall not be misunderstood when we say that the great and characteristic lack at the present time among the people of God is the failure to apprehend the fulness of our blessings in Christ and to enter into the enjoyment of them in a practical way. "When thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein" (Deut. 26:i). It would have been meaningless for Joshua to have exhorted the children of Israel at Gilgal to come into the land, for the simple reason that they were there already. It was quite proper, however, and necessary for him after the preliminary conquests, to say to the seven tribes who had failed to take possession of their inheritance, " How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you?" (Josh. 18:3).

If an apostle could say:'' Not as though I had already attained," shall we say less ? What a perfect standard and goal for faith is set before us:"Holding the truth in love, that ye may grow up unto Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ." There is no room for self-complacent ease which leaves the soul unexercised, and therefore stunted. Never, so long as we are in this world, can it be said that we have reached our goal. Each day sees the earnest soul gird itself afresh for the race. " Forgetting these things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, let us press on."

We do not ask, "Have you attained?" We know you have not; but we may well ask ourselves, "Are we seeking to make progress?" Even here, "Not he that commendeth himself is approved." We should not care to hear a Christian say he was growing; but others can see, and we at least should have the consciousness of genuine purpose of heart.

Have we a hunger for the word of God, and are we feeding upon it daily ? Have we a clearer view and a firmer grasp of all the great truths of the word of God, particularly those which relate to our own blessings ? Are we more persistent in prayer, more simple in faith, more diligent in the service of our Lord ? These are the things which mark a growing up unto Christ. Let us never be satisfied unless they can be truly said to mark us. The family of God is made up of children, young men, and fathers. What kind of a father would he be whose grey hair was a badge of a feebler apprehension of Christ than he had when younger ? What sort of young man is he who, instead of conflict with the world and victory over it, has succumbed to its attractions, and is less devoted than he was formerly ? And even in the babe, how pitiful it would be if the knowledge and enjoyment of the Father grew feebler! May the Lord awaken His beloved people! Declension is all about us. It presses upon us. While avoiding all pretension, let us be exercised as to our growth unto Christ. S. R.

Note.-All persons sending communications for this department of our magazine, are especially requested to sign their names in full and to give their P. O address. One reason is that we can often find, and would send them, some publication in our Publishers' Catalogue which answers the question asked better and more fully than we can do in our limited and often over-crowded space. Another reason is the necessity of guarding scrupulously the integrity of the purpose of this department. Editor.

QUES. 29.-In the 10th chapter of Luke, vers. 25-27, in reference to eternal life, was it long life on earth, or did it mean more? Could one speak of eternal life as long life on earth ?

ANS.-Your difficulty seems to us to arise from not noticing the entirely different term our Lord uses from that of the lawyer:"This do (keeping the law), and thou shall live." He does not say, Thou shalt have eternal life. If a man kept the law without any violation whatever, he would live and continue upon earth, but that would not be "eternal life." Eternal life is the gift of God bestowed on every one who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not a continuance of our human life indefinitely, but a new life imparted which is called in Scripture "the life of God " (Eph. 4 :18), constituting therefore every possessor of it a child of God. In John 3 the Lord opens up the subject to Nicodemus, teaching him both the need (chap. 3:3) and the way (3:14, 15) of new birth, with its blessed result-eternal life ; possessing which, He declares he shall never perish. I John 5 :1 affirms what is held up to faith in John 3.

In Luke 10 the Lord is testing the lawyer, and when He does that we need to exercise spiritual discernment.

QUES. 30.-So much has been made of late years of the doctrine of a "circle of fellowship" (which is new to me), and I would like to ask what truths are necessary to be held in order to be in such "circle?" and who has authority to say who is in or out of said " circle?" Do not the boards of the tabernacle represent individual members of the body of Christ, indwelt by the same Spirit ? Would not such a doctrine tend to great positional pride and consequent looseness of walk and practice? I can find no scriptural solution for any body of Christians being in any degree above their brethren elsewhere in the eyes of God ; does not godliness, with humility and self-judgment, constitute the highest place wherever found? It seems to me that the time has come to hear the last call of our Lord to individual testimony (Rev. 3 :20). It must be a blessed place for those who have faith to take it, and who cannot conscientiously go on with the worldliness and unrighteousness that they have to go on with in the professed assemblies of God today. If wrong, I am willing to be shown.

ANS. -How does it come that you know that " so much has been made of late years of the doctrine of ' a circle of fellowship,' and that it is ' news ' to you ? Is it like the Bible to many, who know that " much fuss is made about it," and yet know nothing of it? In some things ignorance is a virtue ; in others it is guilt.

But to your questions one by one.

First of all, let us say with sorrow, that had not the Church gone astray, there would now be seen all over the world but one circle of fellowship, that of the Church of God. But she has gone astray to such an extent that it has been said her annals were "the annals of hell." What formed the "Protestant" circle of fellowship? It was the abominations of what called itself "the only and true church." And since Protestants have formed a new circle of fellowship, by separating from Rome, what causes have they not given for necessary circles of fellowship out of them also. Would you remain among a people where " Higher Criticism " makes God a liar-substituting their dictum for His Word ; denying the Deity and virgin-birth of Christ, the atoning sacrifice, and the resurrection of our Saviour ? If you did, yon would in the end become like them ; for the word of God says :'' Evil communications corrupt good manners," and the word of God makes no mistakes. If you did not, yon would find yourself separated from them. 2 Tim. 2 :15, et seq., treats of such conditions, and gives us instruction how to meet them. Verse 20 gives the corrupted conditions ; verse 21 the remedy for such as desire to be faithful; verse 22 gives the newly-formed circle of fellowship, which extends to those in the same path. As you see, it is not "what truths are necessary to be held in order to be in such circle ? " It is a divine path accepted, which places one with others who are of a like mind, willing to accept the reproach of Christ.

Such a circle will not pretend to be the Church, the body of Christ, but it will confess "Here is "there is one body," and that it is as members of it they assemble together, separated from others only to avoid the evils from which the word of God bids them to be separate.

That there is danger here of "positional pride" we know but too well. Is there any less danger in what you mention as "the last call of our Lord to individual testimony?" We have never met with greater pride than with individuals who can associate with no one. Of course in any case it must be individual faithfulness, or else I am only following others-a miserable thing, bringing shame and grief in the end. But, in faithfully taking the path appointed of God, if we are humble, we soon find ourselves in the company of others.

You ask, " Does not godliness, with humility and self-judgment, constitute the highest place wherever found?" You confound state with place. A man may be in the highest place, but in a bad state. Israel were by the grace of God set in the highest place among the nations of the earth, and they fell into the lowest state.

We do not know what is your ecclesiastical place, but we pity any one who has to go on with the state you describe among "professed assemblies of God to-day." Even the apostles found in their day plenty of evils to correct among the assemblies of God, but the word of God ministered by them was heeded.

QUES. 31.-"Scripture tells us that we shall see our Saviour's face in glory, but does it say that we shall recognize those who were dear to us on earth among Christians ?''

ANS.-Does not the immediate recognition of Moses and Elias by the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration give an affirmative answer? The Lord also says to the unbelieving Jews':"There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out" (Luke 13 :28). Does it not imply full recognition there? And why should we think our capacities then less than they are now?

QUES. 32.-(a) Am I to understand from Matthew 25 :41 that those to whom the Lord says, "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels," are to depart at once into that place-alive, or dead-which ?

(6) When are the wicked dead, who meet death during the tribulation, to be consigned to their everlasting abode-at once, or after the Great White Throne judgment ?

(c) Do any Christ-rejecters of this present Church-age, who have heard the gospel, pass into Christ's thousand-year reign (the millennial reign)?

ans.-(a) This judgment is not yet the " Great White Throne " judgment, where each individual receives retribution for his deeds in detail. It is the judgment of the King upon the assembled Gentile nations at His arrival to introduce His millennial reign. He declares there who are the "sheep " and who are the "goats " by the way they have dealt with His "brethren" (the Jewish people) during "the great tribulation " through which they have been passing. At the same time He gives the everlasting portion of each class, but the retributive judgment of each one awaits till the ' 'Great White Throne.''

(b) After the "Great White Throne" judgment, no doubt. The "Beast" and "the false prophet" seem to be the only persons cast into the lake of fire fief ore the judgment of the Great White Throne (Rev. 19 :20). All the rest of the lost pass through the first death-the physical, the death of the body-and then are raised to appear at that Great White Throne judgment. How good to know that we who are Christ's belong to the first resurrection, long before the other takes place, and that we are raised not to be judged for our sins, but to enter into Christ's glory.

(c) The word of God says, concerning them, that "because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved . . . God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thess. 2:10-12).

In the month of April, 1906, a little band composed chiefly of colored people were praying together in a mission-hall on Azusa street in Los Angeles. Some of them had heard of a recent peculiar happening in Kansas, where a strange power had taken possession of a man and he had been apparently made to speak in tongues. Day after day and night after night these people, who thought they recognized in this a sign of a second Pentecost cried earnestly to God for a similar manifestation, and at last the "power"fell. One by one they were taken possession of by a superhuman energy that made them at times insensible to all around, and caused them to pour forth a torrent of strange sounds, often monosyllabic gibberish; and again somewhat connected expressions that seemed to be in strange languages. Their joy knew no bounds. To them had been committed, so they believed, the ushering in of the "Latter Rain" dispensation-the final Pentecost to close up the present age.

Excitement ran high, and from far and near mission workers, ministers and others came to investigate. For months meetings were kept up almost continuously, and hundreds received the same mysterious power. Many came in as skeptics, and went away convinced, that they had indeed seen a marvelous manifestation of divine energy. Many came to scoff and ridicule, but were soon on their knees, beating the floor, crying in anguish and beseeching God for a like gift; and of these great numbers spoke in "tongues."

Like wild-fire the movement spread in all directions. Through missions it was carried all over America and across the seas. In India and other heathen lands the same power was manifested and in the same way.

As time has gone on, thousands once in the full current of the movement have withdrawn from it; but thousands more fill their places. Those who have left tell various stories. Some say it was all nervous excitement, a mere hysterical condition with nothing supernatural at all. The "tongues" were no tongue, only a Callomania, a weird dervish-like excitement leading to wild incoherent utterances unlike any language known to man. Others say a tremendous supernatural power is working and they fear to condemn, yet dare no longer endorse it as they have seen such mixed effects from its presence. Many are certain they have been misled by the direct power of Satan, performing " lying wonders " in order to deceive if possible the very elect; and they now shrink from the whole thing in horror, feeling humiliated and deeply repentant as they think of ever having been ensnared in it.

Lately, divisions have been rife among the Pentecostal people, and the adherents of the various parties roundly anathematize one another, but they all have the same marvelous sign of speaking in tongues. Each party declares the "tongues" are of the devil when found among their adversaries. The warring sects stand for the affirmation or denial of special teaching. One party are annihilationists; the rest are strong not only on the orthodox doctrine of everlasting punishment of unrepentant sinners, but often declare the eternal damnation of all who fail to receive the gift of tongues. One party is radical on the so-called holiness question, teaching the eradication of all inbred sin prior to the reception of the baptism of the Spirit. These set forth a definite statement of doctrines, to most of which enlightened Christians could subscribe, but with just enough of their own strange system to make them a very dangerous counterfeit, if not really of God. From the "Apostolic Faith," published in Portland, Oregon, I clip this doctrinal statement:
"We preach Christ, His birth, His baptism, His works, His teachings, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His ascension, His second coming, His millennial reign, His white throne judgment, and the new heavens and new earth when He shall have put all enemies under His feet, and shall reign eternally, and we shall abide with Him forever and ever.

Repentance toward God-Acts 20:21. Repentance is godly sorrow for sin (2 Cor. 7:10; Mk. 1:15).

Restitution-The blood of Jesus will never blot out any sin that we can make right. We must have a conscience void of offense toward God and man. Restitution includes restoring where you have defrauded or stolen, paying back debts, and confession (Lk. 19:8, 9; Ezek. 33:15).

Justification is that act of God's free grace by which we receive remission of sins (Acts 10:43; Rom. 5:1; Rom. 3:26; Acts 13:38, 39; John 1:12; John 3:3).

Sanctification is that act of God's grace by which He makes us holy. It is a second, definite work wrought by the Wood of Jesus through faith (John 17:15, 17; 1 Thess. 4:3; Heb. 13:12; Heb. 2:11; Heb. 12:14; 1 Jno. 1:7). As to this I can here only refer the inquiring to my book, " Holiness:the False and the True."Same publishers.

The baptism of the Holy Ghost is the gift of power upon the sanctified life (Lk. 24:49; Matt. 3:11; John 7:38, 39 ; John 14 :16, 17, 26; Acts 1:5, 8).

And when we receive it, we have the same sign or Bible evidence as the disciples had on the day of Pentecost, shaking with tongues, as the Spirit gives utterance (Mk. 16:17; 1 Cor. 14:21, 22). Examples-Acts 2:4; Acts 10:45; Acts 19:6.

Healing of the body-Sickness and disease are destroyed through the precious atonement of Jesus (Isa. 53:4, 5; Matt. 8:17; Mk. 16:18; Jas. 5:14-16). All sickness is the work of the devil, which Jesus came to destroy (1 John 3:8; Lk. 13:16; Acts 10:38). Jesus cast out devils find commissioned His disciples to do the same (Mk. 16:17; Lk. 10:19; Mk. 9:25, 26).

The second coming of Jesus-The return of Jesus is just 'IS literal as His going away (Acts 1:9-11; John 14:3). There will be two appearances under one coming; first to catch away His waiting bride (Matt. 24:40-44 and 1 Thess. 4:16,17 and second, to execute judgment upon the ungodly (2 Thess. 1:7-10; Jude 14 and 15 Zech. 14:3,4).

Ordinances. 1st. Water baptism by immersion (SINGLE)-Jesus went down into the water and came up out of the water, giving us an example that we should follow (Matt. 3:16; Acts 8:38, 39; Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:4, 5; Col. 2:12).

2nd. . The Lord's Supper-Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper that we might "show His death till He comes" (1 Cor. 11; 23-26; Lk. 22:17-20; Matt. 26:26-29). It brings healing to our bodies if we discern the Lord's body (1 Cor. 11:29, 30).

3rd. Washing the disciples' feet-Jesus said:"If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye ought also to wash one another's feet, for I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done unto you" (John 13:14,15).

The Tribulation-Jesus prophesied a great tribulation such as was not from the beginning of the world (Matt. 24:21, 22, 29; Rev. .9; Kev. 16; Isa. 26:20, 21; Mal. 4:1).

Christ's Millennial Reign is the 1000 years of the literal reign of Jesus on this earth. It will be ushered in by the coming of Jesus back to earth with ten thousands of His saints (Jude 14, 15; 2 Thess. 1:7-10). During this time the devil will be bound (Kev. 20:2, 3). It will be a reign of peace and blessing (Isa. 11:6-9; Isa. 65:25; Hos. 2:18 ; Zech. 14 :9, 20; Isa. 2 :2-4).

The Great White Throne Judgment-Rev. 20:11-14. God will judge the quick and dead according to their works (Rev. 20 :11-14 ; Dan. 12:2; Acts 10:42).

New Heavens and New Earth-The Word teaches that this earth ,which has been polluted by sin, shall pass away after the White Throne Judgment, and God will make a new heaven and new earth in which righteousness shall dwell (Matt. 24:35; 2 Pet. 3:12,13; Rev. 21:1-3; Isa. 65:17; Isa. 66:22.)

Eternal Heaven and Eternal Hell-The Bible "teaches that hell is as eternal as heaven (Matt. 25:41,
46). The wicked shall be cast into a burning hell, a lake of fire burning with brimstone forever and ever (Rev. 14:10, 11; Lk. 16:24; Mk. 9:43, 44).

No Divorce-The Word teaches that marriage is binding for life. Under the New Testament law, the law of Christ, there is but one cause for separation, fornication, and no right to marry again while the first companion lives (Matt. 5:31, 32; Matt. 19:9; Mk. 10:11, 12; Lk. 16:18; Rom. 7:2, 3).

These are the doctrines that were revealed from heaven and preached in the out-pouring of the Spirit in Los Angeles, April, 1906. God has been pouring out His Spirit on the preaching of the full Gospel ever since, confirming the Word with signs following."* *Observe that in this whole confession Jesus is never called Lord, nor God Father.*

Another large sect utterly repudiates the second blessing theory (and with these many of the original mission are connected) and loudly proclaims "the finished work."* * I do not mean by scriptural here that it is used in Scripture, but that it is in accordance with it.* This sounds well, but the reader may be surprised to learn that the scriptural term "the finished work" does not, when used by them, refer to Christ's finished work on the cross, the basis of all our hope; but to a finished work in the believer whereby he is justified from his sins and freed from all inward carnality by one operation, and he is thus ready at once for the "Pentecostal experience."

Some press baptism in water as a pre-requisite for the gift of the Spirit; others hold tongues may be given independently.

From the same paper from which I clipped the doctrinal statement above, I took the following warning against the "Finished Work" people. illustrates the attitude of one section towards another; but, observe, the same signs follow in each case.
"Notice.-We feel that we should let our readers know, as there are many letters of inquiry coming in, that we have no fellowship with the so-called 'Worldwide Camp-meeting' in Los Angeles. It is not a part of this work. It is a compromise work that denies sanctification as a second work of grace, and covers up sin. We have no fellowship with any work that denies the second work of grace, or any other plain doctrine of the Word. The so-called ' new light' they have professed to receive, has wrecked many souls and led into fanaticism and wild-fire. The paper they printed and sent out entitled 'The Apostolic Faith,' is in no way connected with this work."

That many sincere Christians are, or have been, entangled with this movement there can be no doubt. It therefore demands our careful consideration that, even though free from complicity in it ourselves, we may be able to help others who are in danger of being ensnared.

Desirous of looking into it at first-hand,! attended in all about a dozen meetings in four different cities. I think I cannot do better than describe a little of what I saw and heard.

In company with a sober brother I went for the first time in San Francisco. The place was crowded. A large fleshy woman was leading amid great excitement. Strangely enough, we were hardly seated when she cried out,"We need to pray. Two enemies of the truth have just come in. The Spirit tells me they are here to fight the truth. But I warn them they are fighting against God," etc., etc., ad lib.

The meeting went on:one and another testifying, and some in a fairly sober manner. One thing soon struck us forcibly. No one said Lord Jesus. No one cried Abba Father. Now inasmuch as these are the two scriptural evidences that the Holy Spirit is in control we felt the incongruity of it all very soon. Much talk there was about the Holy Ghost. People spoke of "God," "God Almighty," "the Almighty," and of "Jesus," "Jesus Christ," and " Christ Jesus," but no one said "Father, "or "our Lord Jesus Christ."

Presently we. were electrified by hearing, for the first time, the weird, piercing notes of a woman under the " power," speaking in tongues. I took careful note of every syllable and jotted them down. "Ku-ri-ah; Ku-ri-ah; Ku-ri-ah; Ku-ri, ah-ki.* *This is remarkably like" kuriake;" the Greek for Lord's Day. Kuria is the Greek word for lady.* This she repeated over and over till almost out of breath, while the rest shouted with delight at this evidence of the spirit's control!

She finished in an exhausted state, and from a corner came what sounded like the wail of a lost soul. Another woman, on her knees, began to intone in most melancholy accents, " La-a-a-a-la-a-a-a-ah-la-la-la-la-ah-ah-oh-oh." This was all; but it was accepted as the great power of God.

At the close the leader came straight to us, and 'we withstood her to the face by meeting her declaration that she was living without sin with the counter declaration that we could give her chapter and verse for a direct command of Scripture she had been disobeying all through the meeting. She challenged its production, and we referred her to i Cor. 14:34. As we read it she raved in anger, till I felt justified in asking the ironical question, "Are you not afraid you will lose your sanctification altogether if you get much angrier ?" She cried out, "You are possessed with a devil! " and left us.
But five men followed us as we went out and plied us with questions, thanking us for opening their eyes as they had listened to our conversation with the woman. Needless to say we had seen nothing in this meeting to make us feel the Spirit of God was at work. H. A. I.

(To be completed, next issue.)

(Chap. 1:1-5.)

(Continued from page 47.)

In verse 5, the apostle who-had been a witness of the earthly life of the Son of God gives us the message which, by word and work, He had communicated to them, making God known to them in His nature and character as Light, without a shade of darkness.

No doubt John gave our Lord's message orally to those to whom he could thus speak, but here he puts it in permanent form that it may be the heritage of all believers. If, then, we have received the message concerning the moral nature and character of God, it becomes us to seek to realize the import of the message.

We may best do this perhaps by considering three statements-" God is spirit," "God is light," and " God is love."

When our Lord tells the woman of Samaria that "God is spirit" (John 4:24), He is teaching her that while the substance of God is immaterial and invisible, it is of the nature of spirit :He is not characterizing the spirit substance in God, not distinguishing it from the spirit substance in other spirit beings. There can be no doubt that the spirit substance of angels is not identical with the spirit substance in God, which is uncreated, un-derived, subsisting from everlasting to everlasting. Not so in angels. In them it is a created substance. But this distinction or difference is not the point in our Saviour's conversation with the Samaritan woman. He is emphasizing the fact that God being of a spirit substance, it is unsuited to worship Him with material things, with shadows. He should be worshiped in spirit and reality.

Returning to our verse, when the apostle says, "God is light," he is not speaking of God's spirit substance merely,, but of His moral nature as well; He is declaring what one of the qualities is by which His moral character is distinguished.

Light and love describe God's character. Light is used here symbolically:a beautiful symbol it is. In the first place, light, constituted as it is of three distinct rays, is in itself a trinity in unity, and suitably symbolizes God as a unity of three distinctions. God is a trinity of one common substance.

But this is not all that light speaks of. The distinctions in the Godhead are distinctions of personal relations. The three Persons constituting the Trinity are not only a trinity of one common spirit substance, but also of one common life, of one common moral nature and character. To say, " God is light," is not only to say the Trinity is of one common spirit substance, but also of a common moral nature, since the distinctions in the Godhead are distinctions of moral relations. The distinctions of Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinctions of individual and personal moral relations. As light is unchangeable, always the same, it beautifully symbolizes God as the unchangeable One, both in substance and moral nature.

Again, light is self-manifesting and therefore symbolizes the capability in God of manifesting Himself," of putting Himself in the light. The second person of the Godhead eternally was its power to manifest itself, whether partially or fully. The partial revelations of God have been by the Word; through His incarnation and earthly life He has fully revealed God-the Father, Son and Holy Spirit-revealed their moral nature. It is in this sense that the Son of God is the light of men. In Him become Man the invisible Father is seen. "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father" (Jno. 14:9). God the Spirit is able to make men sensible of His unseen immanence, that He is near even if invisible, but the Son not only manifests His nearness, but makes Himself visible-puts Himself in the light.

Again, as the symbol of what God is, light is transparent, perfectly transparent. It is thus the symbol of intrinsic purity, of God's moral character. To say "God is light," is to say He is holy; not only relatively, but absolutely so. His holiness is essential, intrinsic. This means He is able to preserve Himself as He is. As light is unchangeable, so is God incorruptible, untarnishable; it is impossible for any moral poison to come into His moral nature. No evil, no sin can ever originate or be in Him. What He is in moral nature and character He has ever been and must ever be. He cannot be deceived; "cannot be tempted with evil" (James i:13). "God is light" tells us His moral discernment is absolutely perfect. It is a moral impossibility for God to look complacently upon sin. He cannot behold iniquity (Hab. i:13). If, then, His perceptions are unerring, His moral discernment absolutely perfect, His judgments must be right. He must perfectly resent everything that is contrary to what He is in His own nature. He can never compromise with what, is against or in opposition to His character. That He is light is the assurance and guarantee of all this.

And light is an active agent. It is not a passive thing affected by outside influences.. Darkness may hinder its being seen; but seen or unseen it is ever the same. It is not molded by powers outside itself. It is ceaselessly, uniformly active, symbolizing thus the active energy in God by which He ceaselessly and uniformly asserts or expresses His moral character.

We see, then, that in saying " God is light," the Spirit uses a most appropriate symbol, whether we think of God as a trinity of Persons, or community of spirit substance, or moral nature and character.

In chapter 4 the apostle says, " God is love." If light expresses the divine energy in manifesting the stainless and unstainable purity of God's moral nature, "love " expresses the energy of God in asserting and maintaining the absolute perfection of His goodness. Necessarily these two distinguishing qualities unite in God. If He were not absolutely " light " He could not be absolute goodness; and if He were not absolutely " love "-perfect goodness-He could not be unsullied light.

We return now to the thread of the apostle's argument. He has shown that the Son of God become Man has by word and work, especially by the cross, manifested the life eternal in its fulness and power; and that believers on the Son of God participate in the life thus manifested; that believers now not only share in the life but may know it, and so have the full joy which that knowledge gives. Then he declares the spotless purity of God's moral character as manifested in the Son come from God, that the participators in God's moral nature may apprehend and understand the character of the life and nature in which they share.

This is used to test the reality of the profession as to possessing this divine life-whether the profession be our own or others'. The qualification to test whether the profession is real or not is the knowledge of what God is in His moral nature. But this knowledge must be, not only reliable, but authoritative. It is reliable, because the Son of God Himself has come and made known the truth about God. It is authoritative, because He was sent of God to reveal Him.

Again, the knowledge we possess of God's perfect moral nature is reliable and trustworthy knowledge, because it has been communicated to us by those who were personal witnesses of its revelation in and through the Son of God. These witnesses have borne testimony to what they heard Him declare. It is His revelation that they have announced to us, and were commissioned by Him to make.

Let us notice also the form of the announcement. It is stated both positively and negatively. "God is light" declares what He is positively. The negative statement is, Darkness is not at all in Him. Through the Son of God become Man, God is in the light. Faith knows what He is morally as revealed in His Son. Of this life, through grace, the children of faith partake. C. Crain

(To be continued.)