He comes! He comes! the Bridegroom comes
To take His ransomed Bride.
She will not here much longer roam
Away from Him, away from home.
He wants her by His side;
She too is longing for that hour
When He shall exercise His power-
With Him be glorified.

He comes! He comes! Messiah comes
To gather Israel's race;
He'll bring them forth from every land
And plant them by His mighty hand
In their appointed place.
Then o'er Judea's hills shall ring
The praises of their glorious King
For His restoring grace.

He comes! He comes! earth's rightful Lord,
To hush creation's groan;
He'll take away its thorns and woes,
It's wastes shall blossom like the rose;
He'll claim it for His own.
All distant isles His praise shall sing,
Redeemed creation homage bring
And bow before His throne.

Then come and sway Thy scepter Lord,
And reign from zone to zone;
Thy saints and angels long to see
The crowns of glory worn by Thee,
And Satan overthrown.
Lord, hasten on that promised day
When evil shall be put away,
And Thou upon Thy throne.

C. C. Crowston

QUES. 11. – Is it possible for a Christian to ever get "in the flesh " ? I know we have the flesh in us, and Scripture says :" Ye are not in the flesh " ; but if the flesh acts what would you call it ? In 1 Cor. 3 they were called carnal ; would that not be as men in the flesh ?

ANS. – " In the flesh " is the position before God of the unconverted man, as "in the Spirit" is that of the converted one. In the first he is in that position by his natural birth – he is a child of Adam. In the second by his spiritual, or new birth, he is a child of God and the Holy Spirit dwells in him. Nothing can destroy this new position and relationship with God ( John 10 :37-29 ; Rom. 8:31-39).

To be "carnal " is not at all the same as being "in the flesh." The Corinthians were carnal because there was among them " envying, and strife, and divisions" – they walked as natural men and not as spiritual. But if your child acts as the children of an enemy, it does not constitute him a child of that enemy. You may shame him by comparing his ways with those of the enemy, but you never place him as one of them. The Corinthians brought upon themselves the judgment of God for their carnality (chap. 11:30), whilst at the same time they were told, "But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God " (chap. 6 :11).

QUES. 12. – Would you kindly explain what the meaning is of a Christian having such an experience as this :The Lord had come and she had been left behind ; and this occurring twice, she feels somewhat worried about it.

ANS. – It may be the Lord wishes to break up the bad habit of trusting in dreams. Before His word was all revealed and written down, He often spoke to His people in dreams, but now that we have His word in our hands all else must give way to it. We must trust in it as the ship in which we sail.

It might also be that you have not settled peace in your soul ; that some form of self-righteousness or self-occupation is lurking there, preventing your Christian progress. In such a case the Holy Spirit might be using the fear produced by such an experience to shake you down upon the Rock till you are at rest. Or it might be that you have been affected by the evil teaching of that school which makes the being caught up to the Lord a matter of merit, thus leaving behind those who have riot that merit, to go through a kind of purgatory to prepare them for being with the Lord later on. The doctrine pleases the Pharisee but torments the tender-hearted.

The word of God says, "Behold, I show you a mystery:We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed," etc. (1 Cor. 15:51). And note in chap. 1:2 that Epistle is not addressed to the Corinthians alone, but also to "all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours." Trust in that Word against any and every other voice, whether it comes from within you or from without. Everything is a lie which attempts to contradict it in aught that it says.

QUES. 13.-It has been suggested that Michael the archangel was the Lord Jesus Christ. Is this right?

ANS.-If so, it would place our Lord in a strange position, as seen in the ninth verse of Jude. Though chief among angels, Michael, according to this verse, is a creature, and we see how he keeps the creature's place. It would be a serious error to put our Lord in that place. But often such suggestions are made without much thought, and with far from evil intent. It is, however, only by having the word of Christ dwelling in us richly that we avoid errors, great or small.

QUES. 14.-Preachers here say that we cannot be born of God ; that we are only begotten, and they use certain changes in the translation of the New Version to establish their teaching. Have they any ground for this ?

ANS.-None whatever. You may trust without fear the common, or "King James" Version. It may not be very critical, but it conveys the mind of the original in such a faithful way as to produce in the reader a divinely-wrought faith, and that is better than all the hair-splitting of men whose knowledge is of that kind which puffs up rather than edifies. Satan has been active to muddle the truth as to the New Birth, both to hide its importance and the greatness of the blessings linked with it. They who maintain in their souls the simplicity which is ever in Christ, will escape the contentions and perplexities of the would-be metaphysicians.

Some answers remain for next No. of Help & Food

(Concluded, from page 128.)

(Chap. 5:14-21.)

We must now look at the apostle's concluding remarks. Viewing the family of God as in the enjoyment of the revelation concerning the divine life in them, he goes on to speak of the confidence that is to characterize them. To have the sense of fellowship with God-fellowship with the Father and the Son-even in the feeblest measure, is a great blessing. Confidence in Him, who is the source of blessing, is an accompaniment of the realization that we possess life eternal.

To know God, inwardly to enjoy Him in any measure, gives freedom to ask of Him according to His will. The more fully He is known, the more deeply He is enjoyed, the greater will be our freedom to ask for what we know is according to His will – for what we are conscious suits His nature and character. Up to the measure of our enjoyed sense of what He is, so far shall we ask in unrestrained liberty. We shall ask with confidence, because consciously asking according to His will. And if conscious that we ask according to His will, we are conscious of having His ear; we know we are heard, and that our petitions are granted (ver. 15).

That there is much asking which is not according to God's will I fully grant; but our failure and inconsistency in no wise alter the fact that '' if we ask anything according to his will, He heareth us."
We must remember that the apostle is speaking here characteristically, as he so constantly does throughout the epistle. For faith, God is now in the light, not in the darkness, as under the law:He has revealed Himself, He is known. This is characteristic of our dispensation. The power of the revelation in the soul is another matter; but the apostle is not treating of that here. He is speaking of what is normally true-true to some 'extent of every one belonging to the family of God now. When he says, "This is the confidence that we have in him," the "we" is not a special and privileged class in the family, but the family as such. Boldness in asking according to the will of God is a characteristic of the family. It is a family privilege which we all need to learn and avail ourselves of more freely.

In this boldness of presenting our requests to God, in drawing near to Him, we are at liberty to pray for one another; we may embrace in our requests the objects of our love. Loving Him who begets, we love those begotten of Him; they will necessarily be subjects of our petitions. We shall have sympathy for those in trial, will be interested in those who are in adverse circumstances. Their sorrows will appeal to us as well as their joys. We shall think of, and intercede for them in times of failure, and sin, and when under the Father's discipline, who corrects His child that he may be partaker of His holiness (Heb. 12:10). How acceptable to God are such sympathies and requests according to His will. He delights to hear and to answer them.

What sweet and blessed privileges! What a precious thing is this drawing near to God to make requests for one another! Do we value the privilege as we ought ?

There is one limitation (ver. 16); and we must look at it. The apostle tells us there is such a thing as sinning unto death. The question has been asked, "What is the sin unto death ?" Some have supposed it to be some specific or particular sin. It is a misapprehension, however. But it is sinning under such circumstances that holiness and righteousness require that the one guilty of it should be cut off by death. It is a most serious thing so to outrage the government of God that it must vindicate itself. For warning to others, for the good of all, the outrage must be marked with God's judgment here upon earth. The cutting off of the offender is necessary to the maintenance of the dignity and character of God's government. Even repentance does not sufficiently satisfy the claims of a holy and righteous government. In such a case, Christian sentiment, based as it is on what is due to the glory of God, would feel that it is antagonizing the rights of divine government to plead for any relaxation of the penalty incurred. Hence the apostle says, " I do not say that he shall pray for it." Liberty is not given us to pray concerning a sin having this character. We could not expect God to hear us. How could He surrender His right to punish sin, to the dishonor of His authority ?

The reader must remember that we are not now speaking of the government of God in relation to the final and eternal issues. We are speaking of it in connection with its present exercise, here upon
earth. There are present results flowing from God's government of His people. All unrighteousness is sin (ver. 17), but the government of God has penalties short of death in cases where it is not outraged in some extreme or shocking manner.

As illustrating the matter before us we may refer to Acts 5. Ananias and Sapphira committed what may be called a very common sin, but they committed it under circumstances that greatly aggravated its character. It became a sin unto death, and in present penalty they" were cut off from their place upon earth.

It is a great comfort to be assured that when we see a brother sinning, not unto death, we have liberty to pray for him. It is also comforting to know that God in such cases will deliver from the extreme penalty. All bodily affliction, of course tends to death; but every bodily affliction does not indicate sinning unto death. To discern the case that is sinning unto death will require great nearness to God. In any other case we may without hesitation pray for the brother's life to be spared.

It is interesting and instructive to note that it is in this connection the apostle reiterates what he has taught before, that the practice of sin is not characteristic of the one who is born of God (ver. 18). He has just been speaking of a brother falling into sin, and also under specially aggravating circumstances, but this is not the brother's practice. There is a difference between falling into the mire and wallowing in it. It is true of a child of God, notwithstanding his falls, that he does not practice sin-sinning is not his uniform practice. He is in the hands of the Father and of the Son (John 10:28, 29).Satan may trip him up, but cannot seize him out of their hands.

The whole world lies in the grasp and power of the wicked one, but the one who has been born of God has been delivered from his power. He is forever safe in the divine hands that have effected his deliverance. How good to know the limitations of Satan's power ! He may annoy, deceive and cause us to stumble and fall, but he has no power to seize us out of the Hands that have plucked us as brands out of the eternal burning. We are of God-in kinship with Him. It is an abiding relationship (ver. 19).

Is it presumption in the children of God of this Christian dispensation to claim such confidence towards Him as we have been speaking of ? Is it arrogant assurance on our part to assert that we have access to God ? that it is our privilege to intercede with Him ? and that He hears us and grants our request ? Do we exceed the bounds of proper humility when we say, "We do not practice sin ?" Is it unwarranted boasting for us to declare the absolute impotency of the wicked one to seize us out of the hands of the Father and the Son ? Do we go beyond the truth when we say, "We are of God," "we have fellowship with God?" Are we claiming too much when we declare that we are participating in the life eternal ? In verse 20 the apostle explains how it is we are able to affirm so great things-things that surely are incomprehensible to the mere human mind. He says, "We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding that we should know Him that is true:and we are in Him that is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life."

Notice, first," We know the Son of God has come." The incarnation of the Son of God is a matter of common Christian knowledge. There is no child of God who knows not that. When the apostle says, "We know the Son of God has come," he appeals to what is apprehended and realized by every Christian. But he goes further than this. If we know that the Son of God has come, we know also that He "has given us an understanding that we should know Him that is true." This is common Christian knowledge likewise. In the Old Testament ages God's children did not have this understanding. To them God was not fully revealed. He was not in the light to them. He was surrounded by clouds, dwelt unrevealed behind a veil. They knew and comprehended Him only so far as He had revealed Himself.

But now, through the incarnate Son, God is revealed. He is in the light. We comprehend Him as the Old Testament saints could not. . In the incarnate Son the invisible God has come into visibility, and by the visible revelations of Himself we comprehend the invisible One. He has thus given us an understanding, to know Him that is true. Anc if the incarnate Son has given "us" an understanding, it is not to a class among "us." It is the common heritage of the saints in this dispensation; it is the possession of the family-knowledge in which every member of the family shares. The very babes in Christ know Him that is true.

But more. We also realize that we are in Him that is true. It is not that we measure the full blessedness of the position to which we belong, but we know we are in the position. The fact has been revealed. The position has been declared and we are told that we are in it. We are assured that we are partakers of the divine nature. It is on the ground of divine testimony to the fact, that we are able to say, "We are of God."

We know also how it is that we are "in Him that is true." The Son of God came into our position here, assumed our humanity without its sinfulness, died, and thus passed out of our position, and in resurrection took up a new position. In this new position He associates with Himself those to whom He is the source of life-those who live through Him. Such then have life in the risen, incarnate Son of God. as connected with Adam we have died; the death of Christ being judicially the end of that connection. But, living to Him who died and rose again, we are new creatures-new men (2 Cor. 5:14-17). We are connected with the new Adam, the risen, incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ.

Being connected with Him, having life in Him we are in Him that is true-the true God. He is Himself the true God and eternal life. What a position-the position of the risen, incarnate Son of God! He is still a man, and in Him we are new men-children of God. This is our place before God, our relation to Him.
Outside this position and relation, everything on which the heart may be set is an idol (ver. 21). Our apostle exhorts us to keep ourselves from idols -from everything outside of our position in God's Son. May we heed the exhortation. We cannot honor and exalt the Adam-man without dishonoring and degrading the incarnate Son. To worship Him-the Man Christ Jesus-to ascribe divine honor and glory to Him, is not idolatry. It is our joy and glory. C. Crain

QUES. 25.-la Daniel 7:17 it says, "These great beasts, which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth.''

He uses the future, "Shall arise," but the first, the Babylonian, had already arisen, for the vision was in the first year of Belshazzar, when the Babylonian Empire had been in existence fifty years, aud was already tottering to its fall. How can this be reconciled?

ANS.-The prophet is not here giving details concerning the fulfilment of the vision but simply uttering the fact that four great empires were to rise and devour among men before ^he empire of the Son of Man should be set up, when Daniel's people (the Jews) would be associated with Him in its rule and glory.

Knowing, as you do, that one of the empires of the vision had already arisen, place yourself with the prophet, and, speaking only to make the vision known, as he does, try if you could tell it in better form than he has done. You will find you can properly use no other than some form of the future.

QUES. 26.-In regard to Ques. 19, May number of "Help and Food," you agree that Gen 9:6 has not been revoked. Am I not right in understanding that none of the Old Testament laws and commandments hare been revoked, except to believers? and that unbelievers are all under the law still, as were the Jews?

ANS. Gen. 9:6 is the divine establishment of human government, which is for all time. This must not be confounded with the moral and the ceremonial laws which God gave to Israel for specific purposes. The Moral Law (the ten commandments) is largely treated of in the epistles of Paul, especially in Romans and Galatians. It has not been abrogated, for it is the measure of the natural man's responsibility, whoever he be, toward God and man (Rom. 3 :19), but the believer in Christ is said to be "dead to the law" (Rom. 7:1-4), and thus freed from all connection with it. Instead, he is united by the Holy Spirit to Christ risen and glorified.

The Ceremonial Law which applied only to the Jews, is spoken of in Eph. 2 :14-16 as that which separated Jew and Gentile, but has been abolished in the Cross of Christ, in whom now all who are of faith, whether Jews or Gentiles, are "one new man." We need to distinguish between moral and dispensational things. The moral never change, the dispensational do.

QUES. 27. – (1) Am I not right in believing that when Christ comes He will take His people away from this earth, and that there will be seven years (the last week of Daniel's prophecy) of judgments on this earth, for those that are left behind? (2) Will the apostasy, or giving up of the very form of Christianity, take place before Christ comes? (3) I have noticed some changes made in the words of the Bible as given in the Sunday-school golden texts. If no change is made in the meaning, why should the words be changed ?

ANS.-(1) Yes, you are quite right. (2) The apostasy is manifest already, but cannot be absolute while the Church, the body of Christ, is here, for its members cannot be apostates. (3) Where, the new translation of the Bible, the wording is somewhat 1, it is usually to make the meaning more plain or exact, The translator, while adhering closely to the original text, uses language which seems to him the best to make the meaning as plain to others as he can.

QUES. 28.-(1) What is meant by "The abomination of desolation?" and (2) do you understand that it will be set up before the coming of Christ, or after He has taken His people away ?

ANS.-(1) In Matt. 24:15 where this is mentioned, the Lord refers to Daniel 12:11; and as Daniel is wholly taken up with the Jewish people, the "daily sacrifice" would be what was offered in the Temple at Jerusalem. A wicked ruler, referred to in 2 Thess. 2, during the seven years of judgments on the earth will take away the "daily sacrifice" from the restored Jewish Temple, and set up instead the image and worship of a man, "the Beast." This is called the abomination which will bring desolation upon the Jews. In a spiritual way, Higher Criticism, Unitarianism and other agencies antagonistic to God's revealed truth cause desolation among Christians. (2) God's dealings with the Jews take place after the Church is transplanted to heaven. The Church may see the preliminaries of them in judgments upon the nations and involving the Jews; but when they come in their fulness, the Church will have been removed to heaven. Nearly all well-instructed Christians believe the present European war is already a preliminary-a "beginning of sorrows."

QUES. 29.-When the millennium comes, will it not he the believers of all nations, as well as the Jews, who will have part in it ?

ANS.-Yes, though the Jews will be the royal nation then, having the nearest place to the Lord. We would recommend to you a book called "Plain Papers on Prophetic Subjects " ($1.25), from our publishers.

QUES. 30.-Romans 6 :22 says, " But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." The last phrase puzzles me, I am persuaded by the word of God that the believer '' has everlasting life " now. Why then is it said here, "And the end everlasting life " ?

ANS.-Because the term everlasting life in Scripture is not only used for the life imparted to us, which makes us children of God, but also for the sphere to which all in whom the life dwells are going. John's use of the term is generally the present possession of believers-the life which dwells in them. Paul's use of it is generally the future possession-the sphere into which we are going to spend eternity.

Some answers remain for next No. of Help & Food

Our Mission Sorrows

It has pleased God to allow us, as a people seeking to spread the gospel of His grace in foreign lands, to pass through a series of sorrows which should lead us all to enquire Why?-a why addressed humbly to God. Some time ago He took to Himself our brother R. T. Grant, who was a pioneer in sending the gospel in print to the Spanish-speaking peoples of South America, Central America, Mexico, the Philippine Islands, and other countries. Counting upon God alone to sustain him in his work, he built up at Los Angeles, California, a publishing plant from which a large quantity of gospel papers went year by year in every direction, carrying the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ to the multitudes under Romish idolatry and superstition. Here we have abundant reason to praise God for His providing our brother W. H. Crab tree to continue the work.

Some time before our sister Mrs. Margaret Dillon, a faithful and devoted witness of our Lord Jesus Christ in Honduras, passed away. During all her widowhood her house had been a shelter for the desolate and afflicted, and all who loved the Lord.

Early this year came the death in Nicaragua of our brother J. A. Messmer, a quiet, devoted man, whose keen sensitiveness concerning evil made him a constant sufferer amid the scenes of depravity and human degradation he witnessed there continually.

Now it is our brother E. N. Groh who is taken away. He had patiently gone on in Central America for seventeen years, suffering much in health from the climate, until recently he came home ill to his father at Omaha, Neb., where he succumbed to his illness. His godly life is said to have had much weight among the people where he moved.

Then the Honduras mission seems to be greatly crippled, if not altogether ended, by the forced return to the States, through ill-health, of our brethren C. Knapp and C. Armerding. Only Miss Arthur remains there, and brothers Hoze, in the Canal Zone, and Aviles in Costa Rica.

Finally, the mission in the French West Indies is halted, for the present at least. Our brethren Germain and Ruga, who have faithfully, and with manifest blessing, labored there for a few years, being forbidden to continue by order of the highest authorities, being suspected of espionage for Germany-doubtless the hand of Rome to get rid of the light.

Thus, from whatever causes, our first efforts to pass to our neighbors the blessing we ourselves enjoy in Christ, have been halted. God knows why, and if we sincerely desire also to know, we but need to enquire of Him, and in due time shall know why. Meanwhile, let us encourage the hearts and strengthen the hands of such as desire and seem fitted for fields so forbidding and dangerous.

The missionary field in this land too is immense. There are yet hundreds, yea, thousands, of towns and villages which have never yet heard any other gospel than that of Moses, "Do this, and thou shalt live." They know nothing of the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ which says, Believe and live; then do. They are therefore an easy prey to the errors of "Higher Criticism, "of "Christian Science," of "Russellism," of "Seventh-Day Adventism," and other nets of Satan, to turn men away from the Saviour of sinners. Not one of the many religions which men have invented teaches that man is a lost sinner. Only God's religion teaches that, and reveals that God Himself has provided a perfect Saviour for man in that condition. How deeply earnest ought we to be, who know that Saviour, to make Him known to our fellows all about us. " The night cometh when no man can work."

The following was addressed to our beloved brother, Paul J,

Loizeaux, but was received after his death.

my dear brother . . . By grace I have been led to see that the Bible is not to be taken as a study book, from which to learn some truths, nor to read its narratives simply as good and true stories, but rather to hear God's voice speaking to me in it all. As, on the Lord's Day, in remembrance of Him who gave Himself for us, we take the bread and wine, not merely as bread and wine, but as the symbols of His flesh and blood; so in the Bible I love to seek not merely for knowledge of truth, but to find him whom the Holy Spirit would set before me. So, instead of taking the Bible to learn something as out of a book, I would let the Lord draw me to Himself by it, revealing the beauty of His ineffable love, and cause my heart to rejoice before Him with divine joy-not merely a book, then, but the Lord Jesus causing His own sweet voice to be heard through it, and revealing Himself whom no eye can see!

" Like Mary to be at Thy feet,
To behold, to hear, and receive.
Then, my heart for Thee thus made meet,
To rise in that joy to serve Thee."

As the dew coming down from heaven to refresh the earth, so the word of His lips comes to comfort and refresh the heart that looks for Him. Is it riot thus the Father would have His children renew their strength for a consistent and faithful testimony?

While waiting for that happy day when we shall be with Him for ever, Affectionately, your brother,

Henry Ruga.

QUES. 1.-Will you please explain in your next issue of "Help and Food " the last verse of chap. 6 of Isaiah, with special reference to the latter part:"So the holy seed shall be the substance thereof."

ANS.-"The holy seed" is the remnant of the Jews which shall constitute "the Israel of God," the new nation in the kingdom of Christ upon earth. The devastating judgments of verses 11, 12, sweep away the mass returned to their land in unbelief. Then " the holy seed " will bear the character described in Matt. 5 :3-10.

QUES. 2.-Will you please give through Help-and Food an explanation of 1 Cor. 7 :29 as compared with Eph. 5:25, 28, 33 and Col. 3:19?

ANS.-The thought in 1 Cor. 7:29 is made plain by vers. 30, 31 -neither marriage, nor sorrow, nor causes of joy, nor increase of property, nor enjoyment of things for this life should come in between our souls and the Lord to hinder in His communion. How easily they do, many of us have proved. To have a heart free for the Lard (ver. 32) is the great desideratum for the Christian.

Eph. 5:25, 28, 33 and Col. 3:19 show, on the other hand, that when the word of God rules in our hearts, the relations He has established become occasions for the display of His grace.

QUES. 3.-Some professing Christians here have thought to prove by 1 Cor. 3 :16,17 and Acts 1:25 that a child of God can perish. Please give us some light through Help and Food.

ANS.-The very Scriptures they cite condemn their theory, for Acts 1:25 states that Judas (the betrayer of Christ) " went to hit own place." Of him the Lord had said, long before, "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? " (Jno. 6:70.) Appointed as one of the twelve, in fulfilment of prophecy (Jno. 13:18; Ps. 41:9), Judas' real character and object became manifest:" He was a thief," says John 12 :6. He seems to have aspired to treasurership in the expected kingdom. That failing, he sold his Master for 30 pieces of silver. Are these the marks of one born of God, or the self-seeking natural man ?

As to 1 Cor. 3:16,17, the Corinthian Christians were the, "temple of God." Evil teachers had come in among them-defilers of God's temple. God will destroy such, in His own time. (See 2 Cor. 11:12-15).

Conflict to the Bitter

The End European war continues, and- no doubt will continue until one or the other must yield to superior power. Then will come the reckoning time when pains and burdens will be imposed upon the vanquished, in keeping with the seriousness of the principles involved and the damage caused.

What a picture this is of another and far more serious conflict going on between men and the righteous Ruler of the universe. When the world demanded the death of the Son of God, it entered into a conflict with God which must continue until one or the other is vanquished; then will follow the reckoning, the results here too being in keeping with the seriousness of the principles involved, and the damage done by trampling the truth underfoot. In this conflict we know where the right and the wrong are in an absolute way; with men the right or the wrong is not generally all on one side, but with God righteousness is the very foundation of His throne, and all His demands are right. Faith knows this, and sues for peace before the reckoning time. And God delights to minister peace, for Christ has " made peace by the blood of His cross " (Col. i :20). For all such, the reckoning came upon the head of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. So perfect and complete was the reckoning there that all who have found peace in Him are forever freed from any renewal of that reckoning; that is what makes them a free and happy people, not careless of sin, because they remember what it cost their Saviour; and the love they now bear Him, together with the Spirit of Christ that dwells in them, demands a holy life, not merely a life free from gross sins, but a life of sincere devotion to Christ and conformity to all the will of God.

Thus, for all believers, the conflict is ended forever, for they have surrendered and bowed to God's terms of peace.

But what of the rest ? Still refusing to bow to God's terms, they continue in the conflict until, His patience at an end and His time of reckoning having come, they stand before His bar, and every knee will bow, and every rebel tongue have to confess that "Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father;" then the abyss, the darkness and the woe resulting from having dared oppose and insult the Eternal God.

We have said that Christians are free from this dreadful reckoning because they have submitted to God. Is there not, however, in many of God's children still left a remnant of antagonism, of un-judged sin, which refuses to comply absolutely with all the word of God ? Objection is raised to this or that passage, to this or that doctrine, because it disturbs some part of an unbroken will, or points to a path which offends pride. Self-surrender in the Christian, in everything, while not linked with the same thing as the sinner's surrender, is no less important, for it lies at the root of all Christian progress and fruitfulness, for which at the reckoning time, for the Christian, there will be rich reward. Even at the risk of repetition, we would press upon the people of God that there is as true a reckoning time for them as there is for rebellious sinners, though of a very different sort. The Christian's reckoning time is at our Lord's coming again, which certainly is very near. May we all be found, not merely as men who believe in the Lord's second coming, but " as men who wait for their Lord."

At the close of Luke 24 we have a most touching scene. The Lord is seen for the last time in the midst of the little company given Him by the Father. Great events had taken place in rapid succession. The things "which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms " concerning Him had been fulfilled. The work given Him to do was "finished. The cross and tomb with their suffering and shame were past, and He stood before them in resurrection as the glorious Victor about to "go to the Father."

Deep and varied had been their exercise of soul. In a brief time sorrow and joy in turn had possessed them. Since His rising from the dead precious hours had been spent in His presence, while He spoke of "the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." The "glory that should follow " was now the subject that largely occupied them. "Slow of heart" though they were, these were hours of sweet and holy fellowship with Himself. They now "sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to their taste" (Song 2:3). The language of the two on the way to Emmaus, "Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures ? " fully proves this.

But now, fresh exercise awaited them. The hour of His departure had come. Gently He had prepared them for it, but it filled their hearts with sorrow. This is beautiful to witness. He had their affections. Strong were the cords which bound them to Himself. Mary's tears at the tomb show plainly where her affections were and the depth of her sorrow at the loss of Him. Intelligence there was not as to many things He had told them, but of their love we have full proof.

In the act of blessing them, Jesus is "parted from them, and carried up into heaven." Sorrow and joy were mingled at that moment. He was gone, and the loss was very real. His word of promise, however, had poured in the balm that would heal their sorrowing hearts. He had left with them the comforting word, "I will come again." The parting was not forever. The assurance of this they had from His own blessed lips. Added to this, at this trying moment, were the words of the heavenly messengers, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." This-^vas "a word spoken in due season." While mildly rebuking, it at once reminded them of His precious promise and soothed their hearts.

He was gone. Heaven had opened and received Him. He was with the Father. "Great joy," therefore, filled them, as they stand by and worship Him who had thus been taken up to heaven before their eyes. The Object of their love was hidden in the distant heavens-not lost to the eye of faith. The language of faith has been ever since, "We see Jesus."

While with them it had ever been His delight to serve. He came "not to be ministered unto, but to minister," and on leaving them and entering another scene it was but to continue that service in which His love delights. Before going He had promised to "prepare a place" for them. He had spoken plainly of the "Father's house;" and that, to faith, is home. What emotions that sweet word stirs in our hearts!

Man, unfallen, had a perfect home. All that divine wisdom and love could do was done for Adam. That which was " pleasant to the sight, and good for food," and satisfying to the heart was there; and the Lord God graced it all with His presence. Quickly, however, sin came in:God's rest in His perfect creation was broken, and man was sent out from the garden of delight. He had thoroughly ruined himself, but God came in, in grace, saying, " Deliver him from going down to the pit:I have found a ransom "-and the promise of a Deliverer was given (Gen. 3:15); and when the time for the fulfilment of it came, "God sent forth His Son, made of a woman"-the woman's Seed (Gal. 4:4). He " restored that which He took not away" (Ps. 69:4); He glorified God, and opened a way for sinners to return to Him.

But not only did He finish that work which eternally saves all who trust in Him, He also must have all His saved ones with Him, and sharers of His glory. "Father," He says, "I will that they also whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which Thou hast given Me" (John 17:24). The heart leaps within us as we anticipate the joy that awaits us. The "place" prepared does not speak of public, manifested glory, but rather of the quiet rest in retirement with Himself. It is surely this that one longs for.

The psalmist speaks of the "glory " but sweetly turns from it to Himself':"Whom have I in heaven but Thee ?" (Ps. 73:24, 25). When the beauty of it all bursts upon us, it will be with us as with the Queen of Sheba, when she had "seen all Solomon's wisdom . . . there was no more spirit in her " (i Kings 10:4, 5):faint illustration of that day when we shall "see His face," and He tells us and opens to us all that is in our hearts.

The years have rolled by since that parting at Bethany. Long and patiently He has been waiting for the moment of the fulfilment of His promise. He has not forgotten it. That happy day draws near. The "mountains of Bether " still separate, but cheering to the heart of His waiting ones is His word, "I will come again."

Soon the "shout" shall fall upon our ears, and "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," we shall be in His presence to "go no more out." Are we truly waiting for Him ? How sobering this expectation must be. Anything inconsistent will not be allowed. It will banish worldliness which, like a flood, has come in amongst the professing people of God. It will urge us to keep our garments clean from all that defiles. True heart-searching becomes us now, until Himself shall lead us into those scenes where defilement shall never enter. W. D.

"The Truth Tracts"

Not long since a pamphlet under this title was sent us by its Chicago publisher. Soon after, it was also sent us by persons who, being mystified by it, asked us what it meant. This accounts for our public notice of it. If one had not learned to suspect such pretentious titles, he would almost fear to criticize, for "the truth" calls for subjection, not for criticism. It did not need to go far into the pamphlet, however, to discern its Laodicean character, for its tone said, "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing," while utterly unconscious of what any spiritual mind could see:"Thou knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked " (Rev. 3:17). It is rare to find a writer who can so confidently judge others while apparently in a fool's paradise as to himself.

This pamphlet roundly condemns the sinner who, in the distress of his soul, cries out, " God be merciful to me, a sinner," on the ground that "To ask God now to be merciful is nothing short of blaspheming the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, where God opened up the flood-gates of His heart and deluged this whole scene as high as the heavens with His boundless mercy." Under such a plea why not also condemn our adorable Lord for crying, "I thirst," inasmuch as God has filled the earth with more water than all the world together can drink ? But our author, while refusing the cry to a convicted sinner, allows it, for a purpose of his own, to a child of God. Here it is:"The publican's prayer, which was all right in that day, when it was not yet the day of mercy, as it is now, is perfectly proper for a child of God, who has disobeyed his Father and fears the wrath of the Father's discipline, to ask his Father to show mercy by making the punishment lighter." The conclusion is thus forced upon us that while the mercy of God is complete for sinners, it is not for His children. How can one who pretends to any knowledge of God so misrepresent Him and the riches of His grace! The question naturally arises:Has such an one known the misery of a naked sinner in the presence of God ? and is the "grace " talked about a mere head doctrine ? It would be a fearful thing for one to go into the word of God as the anatomist goes with his scalpel into the dissecting-room, and at last be found without a wedding-garment on. How severely our Lord dealt with the Pharisees of old, who were great carpers at the law but applied it not to their own selves.

Our author is deeply astray as to the matter of fellowship at the Lord's table. Evil persons, whom he would refuse in his own house and at his own table, he would admit in the Lord's house and at the Lord's table! The admonition to the Corinthians to "put away from among yourselves that wicked person" (i Cor. 5 :13), according to this writer's theory still left the "wicked person" free to remain at the Lord's table with them ! How could any Christian, except one blinded by a theory of his own, so dishonor the Lord and the holiness of His table!

But a reason for this may be found in the pamphlet itself. Admissions are made in it which indicate that the author has had part in things from which he seeks to escape, and from their humiliation. This He finds in ecclesiastical theories- in the discovery that he and his associates had made a wrong use of the Lord's supper; then he finds its right use-a worse one than the former, if possible,- and proclaims it as the remedy.

This theory about the Lord's supper, makes our author say:"The Passover spoke not of blessing but only of judgment; and now we see that the Lord's supper speaks not at all of judgment, but only of blessing." To see what these bold assertions are worth we need but to turn to Exod. 12:13, 14, and i Cor. n :29, 30. The first, concerning the Passover, says:"And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are:and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever." Who and what is he who denies there is blessing in this ?- blessing for Israel at the time ; with greater blessing still to ourselves in its typical significance.

The second, concerning the Lord's supper, says:" For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation (judgment) to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many are fallen asleep" (had died). Does this speak "not at all of judgment, but only of blessing?" The first assertion shows lack in knowledge of the grace of God; the second agrees with the author's unholy views as to the Lord's table.

No doubt modern evangelism is a sad deterioration from what Protestantism once was,-what the Sardis of Rev. 3:1-6 has come to; but this, while it has marks of having known some of the sweets of Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7-13) proclaims it as passed from the heart to the head, from the believer to the reasoner; one can see the pride of past wealth, and the sad marks of present poverty.

Again, to show how unreliable is his use of Scripture:He asserts that "the Church is the New Jerusalem," and to prove the assertion he gives Heb. 12:22 with other scriptures equally inapplicable. That scripture says, "But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels" etc. If "coming unto the city of the living God " proves that the Church is that city, then coming to Mount Zion, and to an innumerable company of angels, would also prove they are the Church. Another Scripture-proof given is Gal. 4:26, "But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." So the Church is our mother!

In this pretentious school of teaching there is much said about the Church and little about Christ. The Church having thus grown unduly important, in that measure Christ is hid behind this absorbing Church-a repetition, in a small way, of what has happened in Romanism.

It is a haughty and evil school, presenting itself as endowed with "higher teaching," in which good things are found here and there, but misleading in the end. May the Lord preserve His beloved people from it, and deliver them where they have been ensnared.

Evidence from Israel's History and Present State that Points to the Speedy Consummation of this Age

(Concluded from page 263.)

We turn our attention now to what is evident fruit for God from among the Jews, so long blinded and indifferent to the light of the gospel. And first, be it noted, we do not slight the fact that all down the centuries of the Christian dispensation there has ever remained an election of grace ; God in every period saving some who turned in repentance to the Messiah whom their fathers abhorred. But such conversions were lamentably few, and the great bulk of the nation has ever remained in wilful and judicial blindness. This is still the case, we must frankly admit; but we believe we can safely say that there are more Jewish Christians in the world to-day than at any time since the earliest centuries of the Church's history. The past hundred years have been years of grace to the blinded nation in a most marked way-witness the awakening of the Church of God generally to its responsibility to give the gospel to the Jew, through whom the Scriptures were first given to the Gentiles.

To the shame of Christendom, be it said, that its treatment of the Jew in past centuries, and in many places still, has been most z/w-Christlike, and utterly opposed to the spirit of the Saviour's intercession on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Too often it has been taken for granted that work for the conversion of Israel would be but wasted effort, because of the blindness referred to in Rom. n. But it has been quite generally overlooked that the blindness was not to be entire, but "in part."

In these last days the Christian has realized his indebtedness to the Jew in a way he had hitherto overlooked, and efforts have been put forth by voice and pen to carry the gospel to this much-neglected people; efforts which God has graciously deigned to bless in a marvelous way. From the days when one of the first modern missions to the Jews was begun in Hungary, in the middle of the last century, to the present time, work of this character has come more and more into prominence, claiming the help and prayerful sympathy of those who know the Lord. There have been many, many mistakes and blunders ; unprincipled men have used such work as a means of self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment, and thus dishonor has been brought upon the name of the Lord. But alas, what line of missionary enterprise has escaped this stigma? "Evil men and seducers " have abounded in all lines of professed Christian service; but this sad fact does not invalidate what is truly of God. So we praise Him for the devotion of many faithful lovers of Israel, who have labored for the conversion of the neglected Jew.

And what have been the results ? Only Eternity will make the full fruitage known; but not only hundreds, but thousands, from among Israel after the flesh have already turned to the Lord, showing that the blindness in part is passing away. Among these are many eminent names-some now with the Lord, others still engaged in His service on earth. Who can estimate the value to the Church of God of an Edersheim, a David Baron, an Adolph Saphir, a Joseph Rabinowitz, and a host of others, whose lives and labors were fragrant with Christ ? And to these may be added a great multitude of the lowly and unknown on earth who have been led to joyfully own the claims of the Lord Jesus, and to suffer shame and ostracism for His name's sake.

"Not Barabbas, but this Man!" exclaimed a dying Jew ; and in so doing he reversed the sentence of his nation, and proclaimed himself on the side of the long-rejected Saviour. And he was not alone, for his brethren and sisters in the faith from among Israel are now legion.

Remembering this, let it be borne in mind that the Holy Ghost predicts the blindness passing away when the fulness of the Gentiles shall have come in. If already the scales are falling from the eyes of many of the Jews, does it not proclaim the fact that the Gentile times are nearly expired, and that "the fulness of the Gentiles" will soon have come in? The "times of the Gentiles" will not run out until Messiah comes to establish His throne at Jerusalem; but the fulness of the Gentiles comes in at our Lord's return for His Church.

Between the two, the awful time of Jacob's trouble intervenes, "the great tribulation," toward which events are so rapidly tending. The times of the Gentiles cannot end until Jerusalem has been delivered from Gentile oppression and become the city of the Great King. But the fulness of the Gentiles may come in ere my reader lays down this paper; for it will take place when the unbelieving branches are torn away from the olive tree of privilege, and that will be when the true believers have been caught up to be forever with the Lord. If this momentous event were to take place ere this paper drops from your hand, my unknown reader, I ask you kindly, but solemnly, what would it mean to you ?

You cannot be ready for His second coming unless you have been saved through the mighty work He accomplished at His first coming. It is written, "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Heb. 9 :28). None look for Him except those who value His atoning work and have been redeemed to God by His most precious blood. Are you numbered among these ? If not, I earnestly beseech you, weigh well the

MIDNIGHT CRY:

"BEHOLD THE BRIDEGROOM COMETH ;

GO YE OUT TO MEET HIM!" H. A. I.

" Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving " (Col. 4:2).

"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong" (1 Cor. 16:13).

"We kneel, how weak; we rise, how full of power! Why should we do ourselves this wrong, Or others, that we are not always strong ; That we are ever overborne with care, That we should ever weak or heartless be, Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer, And joy and strength and courage are with Thee! " R. C. Trench

It seems almost incredible that twelve months have fled since we last addressed our companions in the service of this magazine. Yet so it is, and it leads one to look backward. In so doing, feelings of praise to God arise for His sustaining grace in this service month by month; for the perseverance of our helpers in it, and for the encouragement received from one and another of our readers, who become, through the help they receive, our helpers for increased circulation.

The new year coming in leads us to look onward, as the one going out to look backward. Looking onward all is most cheering and bright, for though we write now under a sky darkened with the clouds of battle, with attendant miseries which, however distant, pierce the heart day and night, and though we know not what other calamities the year may bring, one thing towers above them all:The Lord Jesus, the precious Saviour, who by His death on the cross has delivered those who trust in Him from the wrath to come, is coming again. The Morning Star, which gladdens such as watch in the night, has arisen in our hearts. The joy of this-of meeting Him face to face; of grasping again the hand of loved ones, risen and gathered there with us, and much more, fills one with praise and carries the soul beyond all the wretched scenes of earth. But love, the love of God working in us, is woven in with all this, and it makes us think of those who will be deprived of these joys, and who will then begin to feel on earth the miseries which are to follow after-the miseries of men who have refused God's offered remedy. It will make us press that remedy, as the only hope of men, with intensified energies. The nearing vision of supreme bliss produces the greater longing after the bliss of others. It makes us also long to see all who are Christ's in the way of their winning His approval, as expressed by Himself, "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Notice how intensely individual this is. It is "thou" and "thee." He does not ask us to unionize His broken-up people that they may be acceptable to Him at His coming, but He asks each one to be found in the path of truth and righteousness. Let us press truth and righteousness on each one of His saints, therefore, assuring them that they must be individually suitable in His sight to get His approval. Sinners are saved one by one, and the man who seeks to win them one by one is a wise man. Saints also are led to faithfulness one by one, and the man who leads them to it one by one is the one who really labors for their practical unification.

In the quiet and retiring service of such a magazine as this, we may not, beloved fellow-workmen, see much result from our own part in it, yet throughout the year not a few have testified that it has, to themselves and to neighbors to whom they lent their copies, proved true to its name. How cheering this is. Which article has been chiefly used to this or that one we do not know, nor care to know, save where we can by personal correspondence add help to that already given. Our labor is
one in which we complete each other, need each other, and work together to build up, each according to the gift he has received, all the people of God who are willing to let us minister to them. If the magazine as a whole does build up, our purpose is reached, we are all encouraged; and as the New Year opens a fresh season for the same service, shall we not, dear brethren, seek for grace from on high, not only to persevere in it but to improve in it in every possible way ?
Timothy may not have been an evangelist by gift, yet the apostle bids him " Do the work of an evangelist," for this is ever the foundation-work of the people of God. When Christian people have lost the evangelistic spirit, they proclaim themselves spiritually dead. Love has left them, whatever they may profess. Oh, let it never be so with us! May love burn in our hearts till our Lord comes and transfers us to the scenes from which it issues. In our intercourse with our neighbors, on the street corner where we are permitted, in tents, in halls, from gospel wagons, in private houses, by wide distribution of sound literature, let the gospel of the grace of God keep up its sweet music everywhere, till the Lord calls us from the scene of service to the realms of blissful rest. Let us throw our means and ourselves unreservedly into it. If our toil is steadfast, carried on in humility and the spirit of dependence, it will surely be blessed; and as it is blessed in the formation of assemblies of believers, we will welcome gladly .pastors and teachers rising up from among them, gifted of the Lord to edify and care for them. How lovely all this is! What grace to have a share in it, however small or hidden it may be, for we serve not for the praise of men, saints or sinners, but for the praise of the Lord Jesus.

But there is more. We have come to the "perilous times " of the " last days;" and, anticipating the great final Antichrist, who will pose as the true Christ, "with all power and signs and lying wonders " (2 Thess. 2:8-10), a quick succession of antichrists have of late years developed throughout Christendom. Being emissaries of Satan, they have no love for men. It is not the gospel they have at heart ; their way is to go into the cultivated fields of Christendom and scatter their noxious weeds. Like their evil master, they are very active, and like him too can disguise themselves as " an angel of light." They who love God's people must be good soldiers here, remembering the word, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." They must fight these robbers and destroyers of the truth with holy courage, and remember, in finding themselves in the minority, that truth is never popular. The world will side with error because error is gotten up to suit its taste. These conditions tell us that we need much grace to meet aright the needs of our times.

Another difficulty of our times, which adds much to the trials of service in the Lord, is the painful lack of conscience manifested in many. By their talk you are drawn to them ; by their walk, you are repelled. They know far more than they are prepared to conform to; they enjoy the truth, know what is right, but wait for others to go with them before they obey or practice it. Wherever this mind is introduced, it weakens the whole Christian testimony. True service finds its path made more difficult by this, but it must not yield to it, though it must in patience serve on in the face of it. In days of such ill-behavior among professing Christians, we greatly need to carry with us the admonition, "Stir up the gift that is in thee," and "Be not thou ashamed of the testimony of our Lord."

Finally, while we must meet evil in its varied forms, let us remember God does not dwell in evil; He dwells in scenes of light and love, of righteousness and peace. Let us dwell with Him, gathering strength there day by day for our daily pathway. To all our fellow-workers in this service, from the writers to the distributors, we wish not only a " Happy New Year," but a year of abounding blessing of every kind, with much fruitfulness. Our heart, beloved brethren, goes out to you, one and all, most sincerely.

A Talk Concerning "Pastor Russell"

Visitor. It seems to me, Mr. Editor, you say rather hard things in your magazine about " Pastor Russell." I have been among his followers and have found just as nice Christians there as anywhere else.

Editor. Let me ask you a question :Suppose you come to the gate of heaven, and your right to go in is challenged, what would you say?

V. I would say that Christ died for me, and it is in His name alone I claim admission.

E. Do you think a Roman Catholic claiming admission in the name of Mary will be admitted too ?

V. No, I do not.

E. Why?

V. Because whatever excellence there may have been in Mary, she had no merit sufficient to go in by virtue of it, and far less to give title for entrance to another.

E. Quite so ; it required One far greater than man or angel to accomplish the work whose merit can entitle such as we are to a place in heaven with Him.

V. I agree fully with you; but what have these questions to do with our subject ?

E. They have this to do with it:That the Christ "Pastor Russell" preaches is no more capable of such saving merit than Mary. It is a Christ of his own imagination-not the Christ of God. The true Christ was both God and Man; His deity, His divine person, gave such value to His death upon the cross, that it atones for and removes from before God every sin from the man who puts his trust in Him. Convinced as I am that those who present themselves in the name of "Pastor Russell's" Christ will be denied admittance, am I wrong in seeking to arouse such as are under the spell of that deceiver to the sense of the danger they are in ? Love for your soul demands I should warn you of it.

Prayer for Rulers

The actual, fearful European conflict may well remind us in a forcible manner of the admonition in ! Tim. 2:1,2. If instead of taking part in the affairs of government, God's people kept their appointed place and fulfilled their priestly calling in "supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks . . . for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority," what " quiet and peaceable life " might be found in places where bloodshed and untold miseries sweep over nations now. Whilst God's judgments therefore may be upon nations for their national sins, what responsibilities in this connection may also rest upon the people of God for our failure to bear up the rulers in our prayers and intercessions ; and so we must suffer too. What a heavy task rulers must often have who desire to rule righteously. In spite of the enemies of all government who would abolish armies and navies, courts, prisons and gallows, rulers true to their responsibilities must still at times call all their forces into action to maintain the right. Should not we, who are favored of God with such nearness to Himself, who are free to intercede for others, bear them up before Him that He may give them due wisdom ? Even in the house of God, to rule righteously is attended with abundance of difficulty and trial; how much more in the world of the ungodly. Let us then steadily remember the rulers and all in authority in our individual and collective prayers, not only when we suffer from war but while we enjoy peace.

"Billy Sunday" and his Critics

Numerous papers and clippings have been sent us recently reporting the discourses of Mr. Sunday and the objections or approvals of the ministers of various denominations. We notice with -joy that some express genuine fellowship with what they recognize in him to be evangelical. The Unitarian ministers are very bitter against him-an excellent point in his favor; for what good in divine things can one expect from men who deny the deity of our Saviour and trample His blood under their feet? How can they judge of what is Christian ? What is Christianity to them more than the varnish of civilization ? The preaching of the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanseth from all sin is but an offence to them. One of them, a Mr. Hawes, of Germantown, Pa., charges Mr. Sunday with being "ignorant of the Bible," then proceeds at once to teach, and thereby display his own exceeding great ignorance of that blessed Book.

In reading Mr. Sunday's discourses, while pained by what is irrelevant and which we trust grace will eliminate as he grows in it, we rejoice at the clear gospel strains which sound through them. Sweet music it is in contrast with the howlings of the critics above mentioned; and because of what gospel is thus proclaimed, we bear him up in prayer, that God may bless those gospel strains to allure many precious souls to the Saviour of sinners. Eternal bliss or eternal woe are before men, and to persuade any of them to come to Him who ministers the bliss and delivers from the woe is matter for thankfulness to all who love their fellow-men.

Let us hope that Mr. Sunday may gradually leave behind expressions which, while they may attract and please the crowd, lower the character of Christianity, and we believe, grieve the Holy Spirit. Nor is he free from the idea prevailing in Christendom that the Lord's servant is called to reform the world, to "clean up" municipal corruptions and to expose the iniquities of public men. The Lord's servant has 110 such task laid upon him ; taking up such matters is a waste of strength and a hindrance to his true work. To show man's sin, in the light of the judgment-day, is needful to bring the sinner to the Saviour. The sinner is made to tremble and plead guilty before God. The virtues of the Saviour then draw the sinner to His feet, like the magnet draws the needle -like the poor woman of Luke 7-there to find the needed cleansing and the welcome to the Father's bosom, like the prodigal in Luke 15. Oh what a field of labor, sweet labor, in which to use unsparingly what gift, what talent, what ability, what strength and energy, whatever one may possess! They who thus have won souls to Christ during the present day of grace, and all who have given them a helping hand, will find at the end that there was no waste in all this expenditure.

"Let us call each other's spiritual senses into exercise, but not seek either to frighten or to school others into our way of thinking. Let us, beloved, get the apostle's spirit as well as his knowledge. Let us, as another has said, 'aim to gather knowledge more from meditation than from study, and have it dwell in us, not as opinions, but as food of communion, the quickener of hope and refreshment of the kingdom of God within us.' Let us esteem it holier to confess difficulties than to grapple with them in the ingenuity of strength of intellect. When some fond thought is made the great object, it soon works itself into a central place:the ardor of the soul is disturbed, and the godly edifying of the saints hindered.

"We have to remember that knowledge is only a part of the field of our husbandry (2 Pet. i:5-7); it needs to be regulated rather than gratified. Many who have far less of it than others have more abundant and richer fruits in service and personal love to the Lord. May the Lord deepen in all His saints the power of His redeeming love, to shed among us the savor of His precious and honored Name."

In answer to the disciples questions," What shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the age?" the Lord says, "Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars . . . for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places" (Matt. 24).

Such calamities have been overtaking the world through the centuries to the present. What is the force then of His speaking of the occurrence of these things as an indication of the end of the age? I believe the force of the prophecy is that these things will happen in conjunction-that wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places will be taking place in the earth at the same time. While up to the present writing there has been but one earthquake of any great magnitude, yet what has already occurred, and is at present transpiring is enough surely to make the hearts of God's people awake to the nearness of the realization of the Christian's hope.

There are unmistakable evidences that the last week of Daniel's prophecy is about to be fulfilled. The middle of this eventful week of seven years is very clearly defined in prophecy; the beginning not so clearly, except it be that the then ruling Gentile power, which is an alliance of powers under one leadership, makes a covenant with Israel for seven years. This covenant evidently comes into force at the beginning of the week. Is there any present prospect of such an agreement being entered into with the Jewish people ?

The nations of Europe are at war. What the outcome will be is not ours to say. The terms of peace .may bring about such a readjustment as to bring again into being the fourth great world-power of which the prophets speak. This is the power that will make the seven years' covenant with Israel (Dan. 9:27). For the last fifteen years the Jews have been wonderfully active in Palestine. The Turkish government has granted concessions to them that had been previously denied; and the persecution in other lands has caused them to turn their faces to the land of their fathers.

Turkey has now entered into the European strife which may reduce her territory, or result in her ceasing to be a nation. However this may be, there is every prospect that Palestine will change hands; and as no one power will be satisfied to have it in the possession of the other, it is only natural to suppose that it will be given to the Jews, and the Gentile powers will mutually agree to protect them in its possession, and give them liberty of conscience as to their ancient faith. This, we believe, is God's way of working out His designs, bringing them about in the natural course of affairs.

The Jews are fully alive to the probable outcome of the present strife. Very recently Dr. Max Nordau, in a letter addressed to the English Zionist Federation, says that great events are in store for Judaism, and that they must maintain the Zionist organization in good condition, so as to be able at a given moment to convince those responsible for the destinies of Palestine that the Jews are ready and able to assume administrative, political, and financial responsibility. This is evidence that the
Jews desire to gain control of their country from which they have been aliens for 1800 years. The prophecies indicate that they will be restored in unbelief, and build their temple, and the great tribulation of which the Lord goes on to speak in Matthew 24, will overtake them in their land. As in the case of Joseph's brethren their consciences must be reached, and their hearts searched to their depths to produce in them conviction and repentance for their awful sin in rejecting and crucifying their King.

Not the least among the significant signs of the times is the sending of an ambassador by Great Britain to Rome. This is the first ambassador that England has sent to the Vatican since the yoke of Rome was broken from her neck over 400 years ago. France also, who but a few years ago refused to recognize papal control, is now urged to send its representative also, lest when terms of peace are made, they suffer from lack of representation.

The unerring page of prophecy clearly indicates the revival of this great religious power in the last days. With the revival of the ten-horned beast, there comes also the woman who rides the beast, and for a short time she will assume ecclesiastical control in the Empire. When the true Church is translated to heaven, the apostate mass that is left will return to the Romish church, and she may again in a measure control the kingdoms of the earth. But their submission to her will shortly turn to hatred, and the nations will destroy her (Rev. 17).

In destroying Romanism the world will think to destroy the last vestige of Christianity from the earth; and Antichrist will then arise, boasting great things, and ability to solve the religious problems of the day. To quote from another :'' Babylon is not the only evil which must perish that Christ may reign; and Babylon's removal only makes way at first for the full development of another form of it more openly blasphemous than this. The woman makes way for the man:what professes at least subjection to Christ, for that which is in open revolt against Him "-Rev. 14:8-10, Num. Bible, p. 449.

Into what solemn and awful times the world is entering ! It may be the final crisis of all ages past. The beginning of sorrows; the beginning of the end of "man's day," while "the day of the Lord," of which the Prophets are full, will come upon the total wreck of all human governments. What shall we say in view of these things ? The Lord would have us in daily expectation of His return. Soon we shall have done with the wilderness, and go home to Him whom unseen we love.

"He comes! He comes! the Bridegroom comes!
The ' Morning Star' appears ;
The 'cloudless morning' sweetly dawns;
Saints, quit this vale of tears.
Your absent Lord no longer mourn;
Reproach no longer bear; He comes!
He comes! Rise, happy saints,
To meet Him in the air.

He comes! He comes! the Bridegroom comes!
The Church is now complete;
Her Lord beholds her clean and fair,
A partner for Him meet.
He comes, His purchased Bride to claim,
Her mansion is prepared; Becomes!
He comes! Rise, waiting saints,
To meet your coming Lord." R.B.E.

Within the humble cottage walls
The light was burning low:
A child of God lay dying there,
Her breath came weak and slow.
A man of faith came to her side,
And bending o'er her bed,
"Pray, what is Jesus to you now ?"
In loving accents said.

Her earthly path was near its close,
Her arduous work was done;
Bravely against the storms of life
She'd struggled all alone:
But through her " weary pilgrimage"
She'd known a precious Friend,
And He who hears the widow's cry
Sustained her to the end.

A moment passed before she spoke;
Then from her lips did fall
A whisper, "Blessed Jesus,"-these
Most simple words were all.
A peaceful smile lit up her face,
His name had brought it there,
Though life on earth was ebbing fast,
'Twas not in dark despair.

A widow she had been indeed,
But Jesus was her stay,
And He who knew them ever shared
The burdens of the day:
And God who through the desert sands
Of old His people led
And shepherded to Canaan's rest,
This widow clothed and fed.

Jesus had been her Saviour here,
Her peace amid the strife,
Her joy in sorrow's lonely hours,
Her Counselor through life.
And so they ask, as to that saint
Eternity draws near, "
Pray, what is Jesus unto you ?
'Tis all we wish to hear."
Again her weary eyes had closed,
(They thought her life was o'er;)
But ere she crossed the Border Land
She answered them once more:
A smile of peace, a whispered word,
'Twas "Blessed Jesus" still.
She fell asleep in Christ, whose love
Her inmost heart did fill.

Say, is this Saviour all your trust ?
Is He your only stay ?
Is "Blessed Jesus" unto you
The Life, the Truth, the Way ?
Oh, if you lean upon His grace,
He'll keep you by His power,
And you shall see Him face to face
When this brief life is o'er. F.

"Here is an invitation to the Officer's Ball which is to be held on Saturday, Mrs. Estcourt."

Mrs. E., the young bride of Captain Estcourt, hesitated to accept the card, while her forehead showed the troubled state of her mind.

"What is the matter?" said her husband, who was just entering the room, seeing his wife thus agitated.

Still meditating, she did not answer.

"What is it? " asked Captain E. again.

They had recently been married, he being stationed with the English army in India, and this was the first invitation she had received. Alas! she realized for the first time her sad mistake before God when she bound herself to a man of the world in wedlock. Before her marriage she had been led to the Lord, owning Him as her Saviour, but she had never considered whether the man of her choice was one with her in heart and mind as to eternal matters and God. And now, when he was promoted and sent to India, she found it hard and bitter, trying to serve two masters.

"Well, James," she said to her husband, "You know I am a Christian, and gave up the dancing hall and theater before I married. I feel this to be a critical moment. I must decline the invitation."

"What! Are you going to rob the party of its best and fairest dancer ? " he said, laughing. "You will not do such a thing. Do you know that old Hebich will be present ? "

"James, that is impossible! " exclaimed Mrs. E., springing to her feet. "What! Mr. Hebich, that dear old missionary, that faithful man of God ? Impossible! "

"Just he it is," replied the Captain. ' It was a capital idea of Major Jackson to invite him. Two days ago at a little gathering they counted all who shared the new-fangled views of Hebich, and Jackson laughed about the disciples of Hebich. He put down the names of all that he was sure would positively decline. Then came suddenly the thought into his mind to invite the old fellow himself, and so he wrote the invitation."

"And Mr. Hebich accepted?" asked Mrs. E., eagerly.

" He did! I was present when the answer came, and you should have seen Jackson; how perfectly he imitated old Hebich, and how he rejoiced to have a chance to see the old man at the ball."

"Well, I will go too, then," said Mrs. E. briefly, knowing something of the zeal and courage of Mr. Hebich.

The ball-room was prettily decorated with flags and flowers. The orchestra of the regiment played merrily, and the dancing began unconstrainedly. During the second waltz there entered the hall, almost unnoticed, a tall, broad – shouldered man with a long beard. Standing still, he looked earnestly at the glittering scene. Officers in scarlet and gold; ladies in beautiful ball dresses; abundance of lights; music; the delicate and sweet fragrance of flowers; all mixed together offered an attractive picture to the beholder. Only two pairs of eyes looked upon it with adverse feeling.

The music was ended, the dancers led their ladies to their respective places. The central part of the

room was now vacant, and during the pause which ensued, the tall form of the missionary made for the open space.

ft The course of the animated conversation stopped immediately, all eyes being directed toward the fearless man.

"There he is, there he is!" whispered many. But no one dared to say a word of reproach toward this earnest, venerable appearance. Now Hebich stretches out his right arm above his head, at the same time calling with a loud voice to the audience:"Who is on God's side ? "

Deep stillness prevails. The second and the third time sounds out the question, arousing great consternation:The bright eyes under the bushy brows looked fixedly around upon those present.

A mysterious power from above seems to have fallen upon the dancers, for no one moves or raises the voice against the intruder, this bold witness of the Lord. So unexpected is the call, so sudden the attack, which meets the enemies unprepared, that even the most pronounced opposers are powerless and silent, and, as they lamented afterward, unable to put the bold preacher of repentance out of doors.

After the last call, a stirring began among a group of dancers, and, to the astonishment of Captain E., he noticed the delicate figure of his wife who, deadly pale, walked slowly through the space, placing herself alongside Mr. Hebich.

With her head raised, stood the youthful witness of the Lord, before so timid, who now was obliged to confess her Saviour in the ball-room. There the two stood, the only ones on God's side-the strong daring man and the weak and delicate figure of the lady in white. Once more Hebich addressed the rest in a few earnest words, testifying to the reality of eternity, and preaching repentance toward God. Then he left the hall. A few minutes later Mrs. E. left also, accompanied by her agitated husband.

It is not necessary to state that the ball was thoroughly spoiled to the most of those present, but for a few it was a momentous evening and a time of decision for Christ. All the company will remember through all eternity God's testimony to them through His faithful servant; though not all, it is to^be feared, in the place of eternal bliss and happiness.

Mrs. E. had learned for good that the Christian cannot serve two masters. God and the world are too great a contrast. Henceforth she took her stand decidedly and faithfully for the Lord among God's people, to suffer reproach with them for the name of Christ, to serve God with a true and joyful heart, and to wait for His Son from heaven. She has now been in the glory for some years.
Do you think, dear reader, she ever repented of having taken such a bold stand for her Saviour-God? Surely not. But, tell me, would you have had the same courage ? Or on which side are you standing? Are you on God's side, or are you still with the world ? Whither does your way lead ? Is Jesus Christ, the Crucified, your Saviour ? Then worship and serve Him. Break off with sin and the world, and follow Him.

QUES. 31.-Will you kindly say why the children of Korah did not perish, as did the families of Dathan and Abiram? (Num. 26:9-11; 16:27.)

ANS.-Petitions unto God may have been made for Korah's family by those that loved them, either at this time, or in their brighter days:for Korah was prominent among the Kohathite family who had the high honor to bear the Ark, the Table, the Candlestick, the golden Altar and their vessels upon their shoulders through all their journeys in the wilderness (Num. 4 :5-15); and the prayers of godly souls, the prayers of faith, are treasured up before God who shows His faithfulness by answering in His due time and way. But if their preservation was not due to prayer in their behalf, it illustrates the sovereign grace of God, not only in saving them from the doom they were under, but later in making them singers in His sanctuary (see the headings to Psalms 42 to 49). What a sweet illustration of God's grace to us, Christians, not only in saving us from the wrath to come, but in giving us a place in His temple that we may "show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light," making us even now proclaimers of His gospel, in itself the sweetest song ever sounded in the ears of man-a song which the angels themselves delight to hear as it exalts Him who is now crowned with glory.

QUES. 32.-Is infant baptism scriptural? I would be very much obliged if you would explain it, as in connection with the Kingdom of God. (2) If, after being baptized in infancy, the child grows to manhood, and lives in sin, what good has baptism been to him? (3) Maybe I do not understand what baptism really is. If this is the case, I desire to be taught. None of us I presume, has reached the place where nothing more can be learned; so I trust you will patiently answer my questions, although to you they may seem very simple.

ANS.-You are no doubt aware that your question involves what has caused some of the bitterest controversies in Christendom, even to the dividing of Christians into parties. Nor is the controversy ended among those who have in large measure returned in subjection to the word of God. But, whatever be the differences, the passions and the pre-determined ideas on the subject, the word of God has a voice over all, and is as able to settle this question as any other. Let us inquire there with subdued spirits, and the convictions formed in us in that way will lead to enlargement of heart and spiritual intelligence, with attendant blessing.

(1) Scripture says nothing about infant baptism, but it says much about household baptism. The distinction is very important, for if I baptize an infant as an infant I still have in mind his individuality. If I baptize him as belonging to a Christian household I have the household in mind, which is the Scripture idea. The household is a divine institution, and God loves it and delights to impart blessing to it as such. As a proof of this, see 1 Cor. 7:12-14. So pleasing is the Christian household to God that if but one of the pair (the husband or the wife) is a Christian it constitutes the household as Christian, and the children "are holy":that is, they form a part of it along with their parents. The whole household is sanctified-that is, is a community separated to God from the world. Accordingly in Acts 16 we read of two households being baptized. In 1 Cor. 1 another is mentioned. Two or three witnesses suffice to establish convincing proof according to Scripture, and here are three plain cases, t has been objected by some who are against household baptism hat in two cases there were believers in the household. This, even though every member of the household were a believer, does lot change the principle a whit. They were baptized, not simply is individuals, but as forming part of a household which God had let apart for Himself

'What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me ?' (Ps. 116 :12.)

What shall we render to Thee, Lord,
For what Thou hast for us endured ?
An everlasting wealth of bliss
Thou hast for us by death secured.

The love that led Thee to the cross
Was ample proof of boundless grace;
We read our way to glory there,
But thine to judgment and disgrace.

O Lord, when we behold Thee nailed
To that accursed tree of shame,
We stand astounded at thy love,
And worship in thy peerless Name.

Yet this, O Lord, does not suffice,
We long to give Thee nobler praise;
We fain would join the throng above
And then eternal anthems raise.

But soon that cloudless day shall dawn;
Thy gladsome voice shall rend the-sky;
The clogs of time shall crumble then,
And we shall mount with Thee on high.

Then in our native home above,
With tongues attuned to endless song,
We'll render suited praise to Thee
With all the reigning blood-bought throng.

C. C. Crowston

"The days are deeply sad, and yet the Lord is stretching out His hand to bless. We hear of not a few conversions among the men at the front. A touching incident has just been made known to me:An officer had just called out five men for scout duty of a most perilous kind. One of the men drew near weeping and said, ' Captain, could I not be spared? I am not ready to die.' Another, who had not been chosen, stepped up and said, 'Captain, let me take his place. I am. ready. I know the Saviour. I have a wife and two children, but I know the Lord will take care of them if I return not.' So he went, and did not return. His devoted-ness, even to death, and faithful testimony, however, was' used of God for the conversion of the officer and of the men who escaped death and returned. This account comes from the officer himself in his letter to the young widow apprising her of her loss."

The word " Unitarian" has always been repulsive to the evangelical Christian, being the synonym for a practical infidelity as to the word of God, and above all, for that which can never for one moment be condoned, a denial of the Godhead of our Lord Jesus Christ. The name is still repellant even in these days of indifference and so-called liberal-mindedness, for men are not yet ready to cast off the forms of orthodoxy, although the substance may have largely slipped from their grasp.

As we look, however, about us, at the condition of things in professing Protestantism, the general trend of thought, the growing departure from the standards of truth once held dear, we cannot but see that Unitarianism in essence and in fact, if not in name, has triumphed over that which once held it in abhorrence. It may be well to look at a few details which justify this most serious statement.

First :The place occupied by the Scriptures. Unitarianism has always stood for a large liberalism as to the inspiration of the word of God, and the comparative value of the Bible in relation to other works of literature. It has been quite free to admit the literary excellence of the Bible ; that it is a priceless heritage of the best literature in poetry and historical narrative. But with this apparent recognition of the Bible's claims to literary merit, Unitarianism has refused it a place of eminence above all other literature. Of course, many differential statements have been made as to its superiority to one and another author ; but as a matter of fact, inspiration has been applied to Shakespeare and Goethe as well as to Isaiah and Paul.

What, let us ask, is the attitude of Protestantism at the present day to the word of God ? Do we not hear from the pulpit faint praise of the Bible, which could be uttered as readily by the Unitarian as by the professedly orthodox ? The word of God is no longer supreme. It is no longer unique. It no longer commands the reverence, the submission to " Thus saith the Scriptures," nor does it awaken in the hearts of most that "fear of the Lord" which is the "beginning of wisdom." Inspiration is not now, " Holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost;" and "All Scripture . . . given by inspiration of God," is now modified so that it cannot offend the susceptibilities of the more liberal. Thus Unitarianism has triumphed as to its view of the inspiration of the word of God.

Second:The condition, salvation and prospects of man. Unitarianism has always contended that man had in him the elements of reformation, which needed only cultivation to develop a true ideal. It has denied the fall in any real sense; and as to the doctrines of total depravity, the helplessness of the sinner, and the eternal doom of a just retribution awaiting him-these have been ever repudiated. What is needed is simply for man to assert himself; to shake himself free from the grosser vices which mar the body socially; to become a kind father, a better husband, a good citizen; to cultivate a taste for literature, music and the arts, and thus to answer to the inward light which is in his own heart.

The " orthodox" pulpit of the day reiterates the same teaching. All the doctrines which teach the humiliating truths of man's guilt before God, his need of an atoning sacrifice, his helplessness to better himself, his need of new birth-are becoming more and more obsolete. They are either considered narrow and old-fashioned views, or else are more boldly repudiated. We need but read the titles of the sermons that are being preached, to see that good citizenship, civic righteousness, business morality and the cultivation of man, are now the themes which occupy the average pulpit. Here again, Unitarianism has triumphed.

Third:The Person of the Son of God. The name " Unitarian " is the opposite to "Trinitarian," and describes that belief which declares that God is but one Person; the Holy Spirit is therefore but an influence, and Jesus is but a man.

We speak of that which characterizes Unitarian-ism as a whole. Of course, there have been some who have shrunk from the bold statement that our Lord was a mere man; but as a whole, Unitarian-ism has stood for Christ being one like ourselves -an ideal man indeed, of exalted morality, of devotion to duty, of singular unselfishness and absolute purity of life, a model for imitation, and one whose teachings embody all that is best in the great work of the moral uplift of humanity. Rightly, all this has been considered but a fresh insult to the Lord of glory. To classify Him with fallen man, no matter how exalted in his personal character, has been to declare that He has inherited a nature like the rest of mankind. To deny the fall for these, has been but to degrade Christ to their level. To make Him a mere example, is but to declare that others can be like Him in the loftiness and the purity of His character and in the rectitude of His life.

Orthodox Christians have shrunk with horror from all this, and have branded it as blasphemy of the most terrible kind. To deny that "the Word was God," that "all things were made by Him," and that He who became flesh and dwelt among us in the lowliness of manhood, was also ever "God over all, blessed forever "-to deny these has been rightly considered as depriving one of any right to be called by the name of Christian.

But, alas, how is it now ? Unitarianism has triumphed here too, as in its doctrine of the Scriptures and the condition of man. The virgin-birth of the Son of God may be trifled with or even denied ; His Godhead is passed over so lightly as to be practically ignored or more openly refused. His humanity is so dwelt upon that His deity is lost sight of, and His character is so presented as the model for man's imitation, that its unique, spotless purity, its Godhead glory, are eclipsed, and we have Jesus as a man only before us. Here, then, is the triumph of Unitarianism as to the Person of Christ.

Fourth:The Atoning Sacrifice. Once we heard, with horror, the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus, the value of His precious blood, spoken of as "the religion of the shambles." Unitarianism, in denying the fall, consistently denied the need of a sacrificial Substitute for sin. If man was not the guilty and lost sinner that the word of God depicts him to be, he did not need an absolutely spotless sacrifice as His substitute. Conscience needed to be educated, to be emancipated from the low thought of a God of vengeance and of judgment and brought into the " sweetness and light" of the universal Fatherhood of an all-good, all-wise, all-loving Being.

To speak of being made nigh by the blood of Christ, of having boldness to enter into the holiest of all by the blood of Jesus, of the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleansing us from all sin, was to be held in the bonds of superstition. Peace with God on the ground of the atoning work of Christ, redemption, acceptance, a known present and eternal salvation through the finished work of Christ, all these belonged to the same category.

Is it possible that the orthodoxy of to-day finds nothing too shocking in such statements as these! That it can take up more or less boldly similar declarations and present self-culture, education, liberality of view, and the pressing on to higher ideals as a substitute for that which gave their fathers peace, which brought them into a relationship with God where they could call Him "Abba, Father," not as being part of a common humanity, but as those whose sins had been forgiven and as those who had received the Spirit of adoption unknown to the world ? Is conversion preached now? Are sinners warned to flee from the wrath to come ? Is the blood of Christ presented as the only hope for a lost and guilty man ? Is the Cross presented as the only shelter for a guilty world over whom judgment is hanging ? Without being unduly censorious or hopeless, must we not say that here, too, Unitarianism has triumphed and has robbed the professed people of God of the Cross and sacrifice of Christ ?

Fifth:The destiny of man. Unitarianism has always been practically identical with universalism, in that it has denied the certainty of divine retribution and the eternity of future punishment. Man makes his own hell and carries it in his bosom, it declares; an undeveloped character, an habituation to vice, bring their own consequences; but a God who would inflict punishment, who would pour out His wrath upon the ungodly, who would banish eternally from His presence the unclean and the unholy, is not the God whom Unitarians believe in. We need only compare the solemn warnings which once were heard in the preaching of the gospel with the studied silence as to future punishment, or the bold denial of it, to see that here, too, the leaven of Unitarianism has permeated into orthodox denominations.

We may thank God unfeignedly for every exception to the above sad facts. There are still multitudes of His own who abhor all this Unitarianism, and there are many faithful servants who still are determined to know nothing save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We thank God for these, and for all who maintain "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."

One question presses. If the word of God declares that "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump," what shall we say of a system over which Unitarianism has triumphed ? Let God's beloved people take heed to the warnings which the word of God gives, and have no part in the dishonor done to our Lord Jesus, and refuse association with those who are but the enemies of the cross of Christ. S. R.

Chapter II.

The Evidence that the Times of the Gentiles have nearly run their Course

(Continued from page 161.)

The prophetic Scriptures are as a light shining in a dark place. So marvelously has God therein depicted the characteristics of the age in which we live, and the conditions that would prevail as its end drew near, that no reverent reader of the Bible need be left in the dark as to the place now reached in the history of the Gentile powers. Recent startling events are so fully in accord with what Spirit-taught servants of Christ have long seen foretold in holy writ as to be overwhelmingly convincing that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God." He alone sees the end from the beginning and speaks of the things that are not as though they were. It is this feature of foretelling the future that differentiates the Bible from every other book. Human writers guess and theorize. God has by inspiration communicated facts which are attested by each passing year.

In this last respect, the book of Daniel stands preeminent. The 2nd and 3rd chapters give an outline of the times of the Gentiles from Nebuchadnezzar's day to the setting up of Messiah's kingdom. The four empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome as depicted in its earlier form, have risen and passed away as foretold. But a later form of the last empire is predicted to arise in the time of the end, immediately before the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the all-glorious Son of Man, as the Stone falling from heaven.

Now the last state of the 4th empire is to be brought about as a result of an effort to combine the iron of imperialism with the miry clay (or, more correctly, brittle pottery) of democracy. This union -which can never be unity-of royal authority and socialistic principles characterizes the feet of the image even before the formation of the ten toes. This latter condition does not come in so long as the Church is still upon earth. It is subsequent to the rapture of the saints of the present dispensation. But the iron and clay are already in evidence, and statesmen are making desperate efforts to combine the two, after having learned, to their chagrin, in the last hundred or more years, that the "voice of the people," if not "the voice of God," is yet something to be reckoned with – is to be acknowledged and appeased if possible. With our Bibles open to the ad chapter of Daniel and the records of the present day before us, we do not hesitate to say that we are now in the iron and clay period, and at any moment the Lord's assembling-shout may summon all that are Christ's to the skies, after which, the re-formation of the Roman empire in its last Satan-controlled condition will be a matter of but a few brief weeks, for "a short work will the Lord make in the earth."

When, in past years, teachers of the Word of God have positively declared that the Scriptures foretold a new socialistic-empire formed of ten great kingdoms, on the ground of the Roman empire of old, many found it hard to take such predictions seriously. But the last ten months have wrought
a wondrous change in the minds of men as to this. It is not only that the enlightened Bible believer declares such must be, but the secular press has taken the matter up, and it is being pointed out that the formation of a United States of Europe is absolutely necessary to safeguard the interests of all nations, and to preserve the peace of the world. This in itself is a remarkable .sign of the times, and shows how rapidly the end is approaching.

In the last chapter of the same book of Daniel there are three statements made which also have a bearing on the times in which our lot is cast. The angel says to the prophet:"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end:many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased" (ver. 4). Observe that three things are mentioned here, which if any one of them came to pass without the other two would be of no real value in determining the question that is before us. But if all come to pass at the same time we must be convinced that God has spoken, and has pointed out unerringly three signs that the end-times are almost upon us.

Note the three predictions:1st, The end-times will be characterized by prophetic enlightenment, marvelously unsealing the book of Daniel and the visions therein recorded understood by spiritual men. and, There will be a period of world-wide restlessness:men will run to and fro as never before, owing doubtless to new and convenient methods of locomotion and insatiable desire for travel and adventure. 3rd, There will be a wide diffusion of knowledge-bringing educational advantages to the door of the poorest if there be but an ambition to learn and acquire. Now what are the facts ? The last century has been more and more characterized by the very things mentioned. It is not that these things are occasionally fulfilled, but that they are everywhere apparent in the civilized parts of the world. Here then is a threefold cord that cannot be quickly broken. Insignificant as anyone of these facts might seem if it stood alone, the combination of the three at one and the same time is the startling fact. Man's day is nearly at an end. The day of the Lord comes on apace!

Now link on to this evidence a New Testament prophecy that clearly applies to the same times. Turn to i Thess. 5:2, 3. "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." Here is a strikingly convincing statement, if received in literality as it is written. The day of the Lord is going to break upon the world at some special time, foreknown by God, when men will be talking loudly of Peace and Safety! These are the very themes talked of on every hand for the last decade, and, despite the fearful European tragedy, are heard more loudly to-day than ever. Men of affairs are loudly proclaiming a coming era of universal peace to be brought in by arbitration treaties and the evolutionary forces of society, while the day of the Lord steals on them unawares in overflowing judgments to cut off the ungodly from the earth, at the very time that universal peace and safety become the slogan of a world devoted to destruction. All man's efforts to make this world a happy and peaceful scene, while still rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ, are futile and vain. " There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."

It is not to those who wait for the return of His Son from heaven that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night, but to those who ignore His word and despise His grace. "Ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that day should overtake you as a thief . . . therefore let us not sleep as do others; but let us watch and be sober." H. A. I.

(To be continued.)

(Rev. 2:17.)

First , look at the words separately-"hidden," and "manna." The manna came clown from heaven to earth to meet the need of the hosts of Israel. It was bread from heaven (Exod. 16). Christ Jesus, the Son of God, in love and grace to us came down from heaven to earth to give life to our souls, and, as God manifest in the flesh, to become the food of our souls for ever (John 6). To feed upon Christ now as the manna, is to have fellowship with Him in His path of humiliation, suffering, and rejection down here, as the "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Fellowship with Him as the once lowly Jesus, will be to us as our manna from heaven, our living stream from the smitten rock, and our pillar of fire and of cloud during our journey through this wilderness world.

But why is it called "hidden manna?" When it came down from heaven it was spread around the camp, open to all, and the people gathered it early in the morning. But Moses commanded Aaron to "take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations." " The golden pot that had manna" was kept in "the Holiest of all," as a memorial for the children, when in the land, of their fathers' wilderness fare. But it had a deeper meaning to the heart of Israel's God. It was the memorial of the lowly Jesus in His life here upon earth ministering to the need of the people, though despised and rejected of men, but owned of God and honored of Him with the highest place in heaven. To eat of the hidden manna is to find our joy and strength in communion with the once lowly, suffering Jesus, now exalted and glorified in heaven. If we walk in faithfulness to Him, in the midst of scenes of unfaithfulness as we pass through them, in these days of worldliness, greed, and unblushing infidelity, we shall need the sustaining power of the hidden manna, the true and living bread. He is the true wilderness fare for God's strangers and pilgrims here. The remembrance of what Jesus was as the holy, obedient, patient, subject Man on earth, is well fitted to nourish our hearts amidst the many trials and difficulties of the way.

"He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked " (i John 2:6). Closely connected with "the hidden manna," we have the "white stone." This is the secret but real expression of the Lord's good pleasure in our path of service for Him amidst general unfaithfulness. He assures the heart of the overcomer now of the divine approval. But oh, what will the " white stone "be in heaven ? To have the intimate, personal, expression of the Master's approbation! To have it now, in the secret of communion, is peace to the conscience, joy to the heart, and strength in service. Communion with Himself must always be the first thing, if we would go on happily and steadily. When you know the Master's mind as to your line of service, you can be calm and unmoved amidst the conflicting opinions of others. A servant out of communion, not knowing the Master's mind, must fall under the power of circumstances, and be unstable in all his ways.

The "white stone," I believe, is the only remedy for such a state of things. It is the secret link of communion between the heart and Christ Himself. In the light of His presence, the path is cleared, and the heart is assured. C. H. M.

"There on the hidden bread
Of Christ-once humbled here-
God's treasured store-forever fed,
His love my soul shall cheer.

Called by that secret name
Of undisclosed delight
(Blest answer to reproach and shame),
Graved on the stone of white."

(Continued from page 270.)

Chapter I

New Testament Indications

Before entering into a direct examination of the Old Testament to ascertain its answer to the questions proposed, we might ask :Does the New Testament indicate there is a doctrine of human immortality in the Old ? Does it assume or affirm it ? Or does it neither assume nor affirm any Old Testament pronouncement on the subject ?

If the New Testament has no indication of any teaching on immortality in the Old Testament, we may abandon at once the task we have proposed; but if it affirms or assumes such teaching, we are encouraged to seek for it. But this is not the only advantage to be gained from ascertaining what the New Testament leads us to expect.

While gathering the New Testament indications of what is in the Old on the subject of our inquiry, we shall familiarize ourselves with the manner in which the New Testament uses the Old; this will be a great help in our research. It will be very profitable to observe the deductions and inferences which both our Lord and the inspired writers make from the Old Testament passages which they quote or allude to.

Even a casual reading of the Old Testament gives the impression that a deeper and fuller meaning is often hinted at where its communications lack completeness. We should take careful notice of instances in which the New Testament takes statements of the Old as having a deeper sense than they appear to have. Again, we must not ignore those indications found in the New Testament as to the faith of the Old Testament saints penetrating into heavenly and eternal things through the earthly things, and those shadows which were put before them.

Of course there are dangers to be guarded against. We must not speculate on what is beyond the voice of revelation. We must not indulge ourselves in fancy, nor allow our imagination to govern us. We need to see to it that we do not exceed the limits of Scripture. Wherever Scripture leads us, however, we may boldly follow.

Let us turn, first, to Matt. 22 :23-32; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38. In these passages our Lord quotes Ex. 3:6. He is answering a question put to Him by the materialistic Sadducees concerning the resurrection-state, in which they did not believe. Let us notice that in answering their question He first gives testimony based on His own personal knowledge, and then produces testimony from the Scriptures. He speaks as one able to say, as He did say on another occasion, "We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen " (Jno. 3 :n). Speaking as one of the divine Persons testifying what He had " seen and heard " (Jno. 3:32), His utterances were the very "words of God" (ver. 34).

His testimony is a divine testimony. It is what He personally knows – an absolute, divine knowledge. What then is His testimony as to the resurrection-state ? As given in Matthew and Mark, the Lord shows what men in that state will be – not angels, but "as the angels of God in heaven." In the disembodied state men are spirits-not fully and completely men; but in the resurrection-state they will be men, complete men, having body, soul and spirit, which together make the true human condition; it will be a permanent condition-permanently and abidingly men, as angels are permanently and abidingly angels.

But there is more than this in what our Lord says to the Sadducees. To be as the angels means also that the relationships of man's present earthly existence will not be continued in the resurrection state. All relationships based on the male and female condition cease with the cessation of the present condition of human life, and are not resumed in the resurrection-state. Angels are not, never were, never will be male and female; we shall then be as the angels are.

What the Lord says, so far as is recorded in Matthew and Mark, applies to all men, whether saved or lost. He affirms a state of eternal existence for men analogous to the state of angelic existence, in which there will be no more dissolution-no separation of the constituent parts of the person. In this sense there will be no more death anywhere-it will be abolished, for the wicked as well as the righteous.

In Luke's account of the answer which the Lord gave the Sadducees, we find Him speaking specially of a class-not of all men, but of saints. He contrasts, with the sons of this age (the age of earthly human life) those who are deemed worthy to attain to that age. It is plain we cannot speak of all men as worthy to attain that age. Those who, through grace, are worthy, are worthy of what ? Of that age "-and the resurrection from the dead." And who are these worthy ones ? They are sons of God and sons of the resurrection. But the finally lost will not be either. Our Lord is not speaking of them at all. He is referring simply to saints. He is thinking of those who will share in, not the resurrection of the dead, but the resurrection from the dead.

Notice now that of these the Lord says, "They are " (not as, but) "equal to the angels," 1:e., they will be in position and dignity equal to the angels. They will be no longer inferior to the angels, in a lower rank of creation, but exalted to a position and rank of equality with them. But this exaltation of equality with the angels implies a change of condition. They will be no more in the male and female condition, nor will they be any more subject to dissolution-to death.

Now, whether we think of men as a whole passing into a final state, in which they will eternally abide, or, of that equality with the angels which will be the eternal blessing of the redeemed, resurrection is involved. Did the Sadducees doubt the resurrection of the dead ? They had Scripture for it-Moses taught it. To show this the Lord quotes Ex. 3:6, in which (centuries after Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had died) God says, "I am the God of Abraham,"-not was their God. Here the resurrection of the body is shown to be an Old Testament doctrine. Moses " showed at the bush " the resurrection of the dead.

But some one says, How so ? Moses does not say a word about the bodies of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He does not even employ the term resurrection. True, yet he plainly proves that the dead will be raised. Two things are to be borne in mind. First, God had made promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, which were to be fulfilled to them as men. They died without seeing the fulfilment of these promises ; nor can they be fulfilled to them while they abide in the disembodied state. To receive the promises they must be raised from the dead. In writing the isth chapter of Genesis Moses had shown that Abraham was taught of God to look forward to his resurrection from the dead to receive these promises, as in the disembodied state he could not possess them; for that, he must look and wait for his resurrection.

The second thing to be remembered is that with Moses, as we shall see more fully later, death is a temporary thing-a present dissolution of the man until the time comes for him to meet his eternal destiny, for which he must become again a complete man. Therefore in Ex. 3 :6 Moses teaches two things :one, that the spirits of men in the separate state are still living persons-living to God, if not to us; and the other, that there is to be a resurrection of the dead-a re-uniting of the soul and the body.

It may now be pertinent to add that Ex. 3:6 is not the only passage of the Old Testament in which these doctrines are taught. They underlie all that class of passages in which God is mentioned as the God of the fathers. The children of the fathers (1:e., the true children of faith) were thus taught to believe that as the heirs of their fathers' blessing, they would inherit it in company with them-?', e., in a future state of immortality. It was in this faith they died. They died, not without hope, but in hope-a hope they will surely realize- the hope of the resurrection of the body and of promise fulfilled.

Our Lord clearly considered that there is a doctrine of human immortality in the Old Testament. But I turn to John 5 :39, 40. In this chapter (vers. 19-30), the Lord Jesus has given testimony as to the nature and character of His relationships with the Father from whom He has come. He said that the character of His union with the Father is such, that He cannot possibly do anything independently of Him, and that by virtue of this union with the Father, the right both to raise the dead and to judge men is in His hands. Furthermore, He has declared that by virtue of this union, life is essentially in Himself as truly as it is essentially in the Father ; that thus, in the dependent human position which in grace He has assumed, He is the Source or Fountain of life to men as well as their authorized Judge. He has proclaimed His right both to quicken the soul out of its state of death towards God and to raise the body, whether it be to life or to judgment. This is His testimony concerning Himself.

But it is not testimony standing by itself, unconfirmed or unestablished testimony, which by itself alone is invalid as testimony. He produces four confirming witnesses of the testimony He has borne concerning Himself-John the Baptist's (ver. 33); the works the Father had given Him to do (36); the Father Himself (37); and the Scriptures (39). The appeal to the Scriptures is especially strong, as the Jews themselves acknowledged that they bore testimony of a life eternal through One that was to come, whom God had promised to send, and on whom they were dependent for the realization of their God-given hopes. They professed to believe that the Messiah whom God had promised would bestow upon them life and incorruption; yet, now that He was present among them, they would not come to Him to obtain the long-promised blessing. They were rejecting the very One that their Scriptures proclaimed to be the Giver of Life. There was no need that He should accuse them to the Father. Moses, whom they professed to believe, was their accuser.

There is in this passage, then, another suggestion, that our Lord considered the Old Testament writings to contain teaching, not merely on the continued existence of the soul after death, but also on a future state of life beyond the resurrection in bodies of permanent incorruptibility. C. Crain
(To be continued.)

THE LETTER :HAVE WE LOST FAITH?

To the Editor of the Evening Sun :

When I follow in your paper the daily toll of the war, the thousands of lives sacrificed to the greed or vainglory of nations, unoffending women and children thrown out into the world penniless, homeless, and robbed of husbands and sons, I wonder how it can be that an all-powerful Being allows such a state of things to keep up. For what is all our effort at progress and our striving toward usefulness and achievement if we are to be torn to pieces and thrown into the ditches ? Of what use all our millions a year and the sacrifices of good men and women to convert the heathen to our way of thinking when we in turn imitate the wild beasts in our ferocity toward our fellow-man, and turn the strength of our arms and the ingenuity of our brains toward annihilating one another?

Our day of prayer for peace was unavailing, and our peace parades came to nothing. Is it because we asked without faith ? Have we really lost faith, or are we being punished for having attained wings like the bird, for chaining the lightning and blotting out the sun with the smoke of battle?

Our President has asked us to be neutral. I think we are neutral in the way he meant; that is, the cumulative horror of the thing seems to have strangled such expressions as "I hope Germany will win ; " or, "I have no doubt the Allies will win." The big question is :How much longer, O Lord, is the door of this vast slaughterhouse of the great and brave of all nations to be kept open ? We are not worrying any longer about how it started, or what nation is in the lead; we are concerned only about when it shall stop ! We know that the conflict has passed beyond the bounds of human intervention. Only the Father may stretch out His hand and stay the destruction, and He has apparently turned His face away.

I am groping in doubt and dismay. What do you think ? That day when ve all prayed for peace-do you think we asked without faith?

Have we lost faith ? A MOTHER.

THE ANSWER:

The "sacrifices" of which this letter speaks have characterized the course of this world ever since man fell away from God-ever since the blood of righteous Abel was shed by Cain. Man is reaping the bitter fruits of his sin and departure from God. Tried under mere conscience, then under government, then under the law, surrounded with the glorious witness of creation, man has shown himself under those trials to be the wilful rejector of God, filling his cup of iniquity by crucifying the Prince of Peace.

But is the world of to-day chargeable with the crime of long ago? Yes; for its spirit, principle of action and moral attitude are antagonistic to Christ, the same as when He was here in the world. Its history is the witness that the world to-day would crucify afresh the Son of God and put Him to open shame. Can a world thus blood-guilty, content to forget God in its years of "progress" and "achievement," ever advancing in infidelity and refusing the testimony of Christ, expect in the hour of its extremity that the Almighty, God of .heaven and earth, will immediately stretch out His hand to do its bidding ?

God is holy, as well as love; His requirement, therefore, is repentance-with confession of sin, of having feet swift to shed blood, of utter unrighteousness if measured by the standard of Divine holiness. But the world does not own this to be the truth as to itself. In its pride and God-forgetfulness it boasts of its "progress," of its "advancement " far beyond prior ages. Yet it has plunged into this abyss of conflict-of slaughter, for which it has gathered its utmost strength and exercises its greatest ingenuity.

The world is morally the same as when it crucified Christ. In exceeding grace God has proclaimed His great amnesty, granting forgiveness of sin to every repentant soul who submits to, and puts his faith in, the sacrifice of the Cross. But men have taken this time of amnesty as an opportunity to further unfurl their banner of infidelity in God's face, refusing to confess the truth about their evil condition, and accept in simple faith the one only Saviour whom God has provided-for "there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4 :12). And then they expect their Peace Parades and sudden recourse to prayer to bring down in their own way an immediate answer from heaven's Throne-for are they not "Christian nations" which are involved in this titanic struggle ?

But nations are not converted by water-baptism and then calling themselves "Christians." It is a work in individual souls, producing repentance toward God and faith in Christ; for true Christianity is not a mere set of so-called dogmas, but a living power in the soul which has embraced divine truth. It enters into every department of life and orders the activity of the whole man. But, as already stated, the initial step is repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Apart from this there are no true Christians. They may be moral and good in the eyes of their fellows, but God does not look through men's eyes. He must have a radical change, beginning with the inmost part of man's moral being:" Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (Jno. 3:3).

To this simple and elementary truth the mass of so-called Christians have never bowed; therefore, though taking that name, Christians they are not. While professing allegiance to Christ, they persist in their own way, not God's. They think God should answer their prayer, though at heart they reject the Christ He offers to them as Lord and Saviour. Such prayer is without faith, and "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb. ii:6).

Furthermore, men are praying for peace, that they may continue their previous course of boasted progress and forgetfulness of God-a peace which, being unable to establish it of themselves, they hope to get by God's intervention, or they would never dream of asking Him to intervene. "Ye ask, and ^receive not, because ye ask amiss (1:e., with unholy intent), that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (Jas. 4:3).

The searching question for each one is:"Have I faith ? " not " Have I lost if? " Am I listening to God who speaks in His Word ? Am I allowing it to speak to me ? Do I believe its message ? If so, I have faith. Then I can pray, not for the. doing of mine own will to be done in my way, but for God's will to be accomplished in His time and way. Thus making our requests in prayer to God who is revealed in Christ in perfect wisdom and love, in holy government yet infinite compassion, there is no reason for " doubt and dismay," but "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7). God, who gave His own Son to die for us, has not "turned His face away" from this "vast slaughter-house of the great and brave of all nations." Men are reaping what their evil hearts and wicked hands have sown, yet God is able to make the wrath of man to praise Him, and the remainder He will restrain (Ps. 76:10). Whether smitten by sorrow or only staggered by the terror of the present awful events, every soul that turns to God, in submission and simple faith, shall reap the peace of God.

A little before the Lord Jesus sealed with His blood His mission of reconciling love to this world, He prophetically said:" Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars:see that ye be not troubled:for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom:and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows " (Matt. 24 :6-8). To-day this is being fulfilled as never before in the world's history since it crucified our Lord. Yet in the midst of it all, His word still is:"Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt, 11:28).

The question now is:" Have I faith in him ?" John Bloore

Would that more young mothers were nurses cherishing their children, that they might gather their children, even by example, close to the one center, Christ Jesus. We old ones, past the fourscore years, can look back and count failures along the way, but all covered with wondrous grace, and in that we rejoice. Our Lord's dealings with His people, all dear to Him, are varied, as He allows joy and sorrow to mingle ; blessed it has been, and is, when trial comes, that it may find us in the sanctuary of God ; it does not fail to drive us there, but how good to be always in the secret of His presence. The north wind, as well as the south, must blow, that the spices of His garden may flow out, and we are a "garden inclosed," " a fountain sealed" (Song 4).

In crossing the street on a wet muddy day,
A dear little child was heard proudly to say:-
"See, father, I've walked in your steps all the way!"

The path, fellow-pilgrim, we oft thoughtless make,
Is it what we'd like our dear children to take ?
Perhaps we'd not thought there was so much at stake.

Have we, as we walked, said, Not only for me
This step, but for those who must come after me:
It might be a misstep for eternity.

Would we in God's pathway have them to walk here-
Though costing them sorrow and many a tear ?
Or would we not want them to come quite so near,

But find through this world, for each dear little one,
A pathway less thorny, and smoother to run,
Where pleasures and joys of this world might be won?

To walk through the world as we'll wish we had done,
When we shall behold the blest face of God's Son,
All hungering to hear His most welcome' 'well done."

Ah, then we'll value as ne'er we have done,
The footsteps through earth of each dear little one.
And 'tis not too late if we've not yet begun.

Oh, then, let us walk in the steps of our Lord;
Just follow the path as marked out in His Word,
And pray that the little ones' steps may accord.

Then how we'll rejoice in that soon coming day,
To hear the dear children triumphantly say:-
"See, father, I've walked in your steps all the way!"

H. McD

Oh what a hope, blest Lord,
Born of Thy precious Word,
Yea, and for us:
Hope of the pilgrim here,
Fruit of Thy work so dear-
Fruit of Thy cross.

Hope of the weary heart,
Soothing each hurt and smart
On our way home;
Hope which hath spanned the space
'Twixt us and Thy blest face,
Till Thou shalt come.

Hope that no cloud can dim
Nay, for 'tis fixed on Him,
Fixed evermore.
Hope that shines bright and clear,
Yea, brighter e'en this year
Than e'er before.

Hope that looks past the tomb,
E'en to that glorious home
We shall soon share
With Him who died to save,
And through life's journey gave
His tenderest care.

Hope that lights up the gloom
E'en of the darksome tomb.
Hast Thou not said We shall not go before
Those held 'neath death's dark door,
Thy precious dead ?

Nay, they shall first arise,
Fruit of Thy sacrifice ;
Yea, and with us They shall ascend with
Thee, And through eternity
Talk of Thy cross.

Lord, while the nations war
We wait the Morning Star ;
Soon it must shine :
Through the dark deeds of man
Thou workest out Thy plan,
Thy will divine.

High o'er earth's highest scale,
Over each piteous wail,
Hope lifts the heart. In the dark deeds of earth,
Or in its thoughtless mirth
We'd have no part.

Earth's bosom heaves and sighs
With the heart-rending cries
Of woes unsought:Widows and fatherless
Moan in their deep distress –
What hath man wrought!

Oh, turn men's hearts, we pray,
To that approaching day,
Make them to see
That there's no hope but one,
And that in God's blest Son,
Saviour, in Thee.

Satan's deceiving- yea,
Even thine own, to-day.
Open their eyes
To the dishonor done
To God and His dear Son
By these dark lies.

What doth it mean, O Lord ?
We search Thy blessed Word;
To us it seems
Thou art fulfilling fast
What Thou hast said, long past,
What men call dreams.

No "dream" to us, this "hope,"
From which we'll wake to grope
Uncertainly.
We triumph o'er man's taunt:
This hope is all we want,
Till we see Thee.

H. McD

The Evidence that the Times of the Gentiles have nearly run their Course

(Continued from page 212.)

This spirit of unrest to which we have referred, is particularly manifested in the strained relations between capital and labor. Despite the evident desire of many modern captains of industry to better the conditions of their employees, and to practice what a recent writer has called "the golden rule in business," capital and labor still maintain a distinctly hostile attitude the one to the other; and the economic questions involved seem no nearer a peaceful and satisfactory solution than in the days when the apostle James wrote his intensely practical epistle.

In that letter there is a passage which, while it unquestionably applied directly to conditions then existing, was so worded by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as to graphically depict industrial conditions at the end of the age. This is not so manifest on the page of the authorized version as in the Revision, or any critical translation. An evidently mistaken rendering of one preposition is responsible for this in the King James' version. This preposition correctly rendered in later versions throws a flood of light on the whole passage. It is the word rendered "for" in the earlier translation and "in" in the later ones, occurring in the last sentence of James 5:3. Note the passage in its entirety:

"Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your wealth has become corruption, and your garments moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are rusted; and their rust shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have heaped up treasure together in the last days." Note the corrected preposition, and observe where, in the course of time, it locates the complete fulfilment of that concerning which the Holy Spirit speaks so solemnly. The passage continues:"Behold, the wages of the laborers who have reaped your fields, which is of you kept back unjustly, crieth; and the cries of those that have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts. Ye have lived in luxury upon the earth, and have been wanton; ye have pampered your hearts [as] in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous; he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until it receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (chap. 5:1-8, 1911 Version).

As by a master hand, the apostle with a few bold strokes, pictures the times in which we live. On the one hand, haughty wealth, on the other, grinding poverty; on the one hand, scornful indifference; on the other, angry dissatisfaction. On the one hand, wanton waste; on the other, bitter need. Such contrasts have ever been common in this world's sad history, but never were they so accentuated as at the present time when the rich are growing richer and the poor are growing poorer, and the great gulf between the two classes is steadily widening. Ours has been called, and not without reason, the millionaire age. If our grandfathers were worth a few thousands, they were counted well-to-do. Now men hold securities mounting into the millions, while even a billion of money may be heaped together by one man. Statistics show that the great bulk of the world's wealth is held subject to the order of a little coterie of arrogant plutocrats, who conniving together can control the resources of the nations, and make or prevent financial panics at their will. It is a condition of affairs never before known, and tells us with absolute certainty that we are in the last days.

Nor should I be misunderstood in writing as I have done. It is no sin to be rich, nor is a man necessarily a malefactor because he possesses the ability to amass great wealth. But wealth is a stewardship, and "it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful." He to whom riches are entrusted is accountable to God for the use to which he puts them. Their selfish conservation He will judge unsparingly. James arraigns the rich for their greed and self-indulgence. They had forgotten the word, "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase:this is also vanity" (Eccl. 5:10). They were living as though accountable to no higher power, and were eagerly seeking to gratify every lust. Their hoarded treasure, corrupting, moth-eaten, and rusting, witnessed to their sordid selfishness. And this mass of wealth would soon have been largely dissipated had they but dealt in fairness with the laborers on the fruits of whose toil they were fattening. Those thus downtrodden have often felt as though God had forgotten, and in their despair have often denied His very existence. But "when He maketh inquisition for blood He forgetteth not the cry of the humble." He has been a silent but not unfeeling spectator of the injustice, the heartlessness, and the haughty arrogance of the godless rich. He has noted every tear, heeded every sigh, heard every cry of oppression from the anguished hearts of the downtrodden whose rights have been ruthlessly disregarded by those who should have been to them the instruments of Providence for their protection and blessing. The same spirit that has thus ill-used the poor and needy is the spirit that condemned and slew the Righteous One. It comes to its full fruition in the last days. It will be judged unsparingly when the Lord arises to plead the cause of the afflicted.

But what is to be the Christian's attitude in such conditions as are here described ? Is he to link himself with labor unions and industrial associations of various kinds, generally composed of Christ-less men, guilty of violence and even murder, in order to curb the greed and check the tyranny of soulless corporations and capitalists preying on the laboring classes ? Is he to oppose force to tyranny, the boycott to oppression, and the strike to employers' arrogance ? By no means. His path is indicated clearly and unequivocally in verses 7 to 12. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Till then the believer is exhorted to patience and to trust in the living God. He is not to be carried away by the spirit of the age. Complaints, grudges, harsh invectives, are not to come from him who sides with a rejected Christ and waits for His return from heaven. Of old, the prophets had to learn this lesson of patience, suffering for righteousness' sake, committing their cause to the Lord; ever proving His faithfulness in spite of all man's unfaithfulness. And they who so endured we count happy, even as was Job the servant of the Lord whose patience has become proverbial, and in whose later history we see "the end of the Lord" and are assured that He is very pitiful and of tender mercy.

Till He comes the Christian can well afford to stand aside from the restless, surging movements of the day; and, committing his cause to the Lord with quietness of heart, he is to let the potsherds of the earth strive with the potsherds of the earth, knowing that God has said, " I will overturn, overturn, OVERTURN it until HE shall come, whose right it is to reign." That glad day has now drawn very near the conditions we have been considering would be sufficient to clearly prove. But there is another line of evidence, having to do particularly with the nation of Israel, at which we must now look, and with which the next chapter will occupy us. H. A. I.
(To be continued.)