(Continued from page 47.)

Division III. (Chaps. 32-37).

The manifestation of God's character of holiness and of mercy, as exhibited in the testimony of Elihu.

We have now reached a most important and interesting division of the entire book-the mediatorial address of Elihu. That we are justified in so speaking of it will be seen as we follow him in his noble words for God, and his searching and helpful words for Job. He reminds Job of his own desire for such a person:"Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both " (chap. 9:33); "Oh that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor" (chap. 16:21). To this desire Elihu now replies:"Behold, I am according to thy wish, in God's stead; I also am formed out of the clay. Behold my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee " (chap. 33:6, 7).

The appropriateness of Elihu's entrance just here is evident. The friends had been silenced, but apparently unconvinced ; Job is left master of the situation, so far as self-vindication could give him such a place; and yet not only was the dark enigma unsolved, but God's character had been obscured. If the book had closed at this point, we would have had more difficulties raised than settled, and unbelief would have lurked among the grand but melancholy shades of the controversy, as it does to this point. On the other hand, if God had spoken directly, revealing Himself in majesty and power, as in the following division, the transition would have been too sudden, and Job's fear of being terrorized by His glory might have been justified.

Elihu therefore fits exactly into his place, giving another illustration of the divine authorship and perfection of the book. His address fittingly occupies the third place, for it is the moral manifestation of God, the display of His character, thus leading us out of the conflict of human thought on the one side, and preparing us for the right view of the "Faithful Creator " on the other.

In accordance with what has just been said, we find the address partakes, in its first part, of the style of the controversy between Job and his friends, though far different in other respects. At the close it is almost conformed to the words of Jehovah, dealing, as it does, with the grand displays of His glory and power as seen in the works of nature.

It seems strange that any other thought of Elihu could have been entertained, and yet from earliest times Christian expositors have held most contradictory views. Many have pointed out the fitness and wisdom of all that he says, but others have spoken of him as an impudent intruder-a young man puffed up with a sense of his own learning and importance! Elihu's appearance is styled "an uncalled-for stumbling in of a conceited young philosopher into the conflict that is already properly ended; the silent contempt with which one allows him to speak, is the merited reward of a babbler!"

If such contentions have a spark of truth in them, why is nothing said in the book about Elihu ? Why is not he made to bring an offering with the three friends, and secure Job's intercession ? Or is he too far gone even for such recovery ? It has been said indeed that God rebukes him in the beginning of His reply:"Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge " (chap. 38 :2) ? But this reply is to Job, not Elihu, and Job so recognizes it. It has also been said that Elihu himself is thrown into confusion by the appearing of Jehovah, and becomes incoherent and inane (chap. 37:19-24). We can only reply that to argue thus shows that one has failed to grasp the beauty of a most transcendent passage, viewed either as poetry or as the language of inspiration. But we turn from all this to look at the details which now come before us.

Elihu's address is divided for us practically by the language employed in the first verse of chapters 34, 35, and 36. This leaves us with but the introductory address to the friends and Job (chapters 32 and 33:1-7), to be separated from his first main argument (chap. 33:8-33), and we have the five divisions of his address.

(1) The emptiness and failure of the controversy (chaps. 32-33:7).

(2) God's purpose in chastening (chap. 33:8-33).

(3) His character vindicated (chap. 34).

(4) His testing of men (chap. 35).

(5) His working among men and in nature (chaps. 36, 37).

As already noticed, there is a manifest progress throughout the address; and well defined links with what precedes and follows.

I.- The emptiness and the failure of the controversy (chaps. 32-33:7).

This portion is chiefly introductory. We have first an explanatory prelude in prose, introducing Elihu – somewhat similar to the opening and closing chapters of the book. This is followed by a courteous explanation of his silence thus far, and a scathing rebuke of the friends for their failure. He, however, is full of matter, and must speak with no uncertain sound for the honor of his Maker. He closes his exordium in words of conciliating kindness to Job, inviting any response he may have to give. The whole forms an admirable opening, in which modesty, indignation, earnestness and graciousness are blended together.

(1) Explanatory introduction (vers. 1-5).

(2)Reasons for his silence (vers. 6-10).

(3) The failure of the friends (vers. 11-13).

(4) He must speak (vers. 14-22).

(5)The daysman (chap. 33 :1-7).

(I) This is the first mention we have of Elihu. He is not spoken of in the visit of the friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, in chap. 2 :11-13. While no direct statement to that effect is made, it is not improbable that persons may have come and gone during the controversy. No time limit is set, and there may have been periods of silence between the addresses. Be that as it may, Elihu had been an interested listener throughout, and was therefore in a position to speak when the others had become silent.

There is much appropriateness in the significance of his name-"My God is He." He does not speak for himself, but for God. In this way he is typical of our Lord, whose one object was to speak for the Father:"I have declared unto them Thy name " (John 17:26).

He was the son of Barachel, "May God bless," suggesting, may we not say, that the blessing or favor of God is given to the one who stands for Him alone:"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased " (Matt. 3:17). As son of Barachel, we have a suggestion of the relationship between our Lord and the Father-"The Son of the Blessed." He was ever that; therefore, when He came into the world He could say, "I delight to do thy will, O God." Apart however from this full thought, we may gather that God's blessing produces and ever accompanies faithfulness to Him.

The family names are next given, "the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram." Buz was one of the sons of Nahor, and therefore connected with Abraham. Ram has been supposed to be abbreviated from Aram, marking the country where the family abode. Elihu therefore belonged to a well-known family and locality. But when we consider the significance of these names, we find a striking accord with what we have already seen. Buzi-"the despised;" Ram, "the exalted." We know of whom both these are true:"He is despised and rejected of men;" "He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high " (Isa. 53:3; 52:13). Thus we have illustrative confirmation of Elihu's typical place and work. We come now to the address.

The three friends having been silenced, and Job being left entrenched in his self-righteousness, Elihu's anger is doubly stirred-against Job for failing to glorify God by acknowledging His righteousness, and against the friends for stubbornly maintaining their accusations while unable to give a single proof. Elihu's attitude is perfectly explained in these few words. The remaining verses explain his courtesy in remaining silent, because of his youth and their age.

(2) He explains this silence now, in courteous words. However, it is not mere age which gives wisdom, but the spirit which comes from God-the breathing of God, which has made mortal man different from the beasts. So he, if he speak the wisdom of God, is entitled to be heard.

(3) He had carefully attended to all they had said, and not one of them had convinced Job, or satisfactorily answered him. We need only look back at the addresses of Eliphaz, beginning in such an elevated, dignified way, and ending in most brutal charges; at the similar, though not so harsh, words of Bildad; and at the vehement declarations of Zophar, to see how fully Elihu was justified in his statements. Truly he could add, they had no right to claim they had found out wisdom. It was God, he declares, not man, who had thrust Job down, and made him realize his helplessness.

(4) Job has had no controversy with him, and he will not descend into the arena of the others, to strive with ineffectual words. Their present silence shows how completely vanquished they were. He now will speak-even he. For he is full, and must give utterance to the spirit that stirs within him, which is like new wine seeking a vent. He is constrained; necessity is laid upon him. How different is this from the scholarly, deliberate arguments to which Job had thus far been compelled to listen, or from a vehemence which had little of wisdom or justice in it. We are reminded of the apostle's word "Necessity is laid upon me " (i Cor. 9:16).

Nor will he use flattering words. He has no respect of persons, and this qualifies him to be the spokesman for God. All is most excellent. There is a tone of authority-"and not as the scribes"- that tells of one who knows whereof he speaks.

(5) Lastly, he turns to Job, not in the anger which will find a place later, but calmly and graciously. He entreats Job to listen to him, for all will be gone into fairly. His wisdom comes, not from human knowledge or experience merely, but is from the Almighty. Job is free to answer him if he does not accept his statements, for he, as well as Elihu, has a link with God. This seems to be the thought of the first part of the 6th verse. It reminds Job that God makes known His mind in a gentle way, that Job himself may learn that mind. And yet it reminds us of a divine authority which knew whereof he spoke. Then Elihu was a man, too, so Job need not be terrified. He could say, as Peter, "I myself also am a man " (Acts 10:26).

Let us, then, not despise the youth of Elihu, but listen to the sober lessons he will give us. We may look for better things than the accusations and reasonings of man, or the wail of the afflicted. S. R.

(To be continued.)

Perhaps no truth of Scripture has been more distorted and misunderstood than the doctrine of " Sanctification." The Scriptures are sublime in their simplicity, but often the simplest statements have been beclouded by those who have sought to find in them support for their particular opinions.

Some of the misunderstandings regarding sanctification have perhaps arisen through giving the word a wrong meaning. It comes from two Latin words sanctus (sacred) and facere (to make), t. e., to set apart to sacred use. Its earliest mention is in Genesis 2:3 in connection with the Sabbath day.

In Exodus 13 the firstborn of beast as well as of man was sanctified. In Leviticus 27:14, a man sanctified his house or his field (ver. 17). The tabernacle and its vessels, the temple and its furniture, were all sanctified; so that it is evident sanctification had to do with things as well as persons.

Certain terms are frequently used now by some persons as "getting sanctified," "fully sanctified," " losing sanctification," etc., which, to say the least, are misleading. The users of these terms generally teach the doctrine of holiness by our own efforts; they insist upon a moment of definite surrender as the time when the " second blessing " is obtained.

That every Christian should desire practical holiness is perfectly right; it is indeed the aspiration of the new nature, and Scripture ever exhorts to holiness of life; but this is not attained by human resolutions. Sooner or later the lesson must be learned which the apostle Paul experienced, " I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing" (Rom. 7:18).

How are we sanctified ?

The question is answered by Scripture in Heb. 10:10-by the will of God and the offering of the body of Jesus Christ. i Cor. 6:n speaks of it as a definite act:"Ye are washed, ye are sanctified." Hebrews 2:11 also, "They who are sanctified. Again in Heb. 10:14,"Them that are sanctified."

All this is positional sanctification, the result of God's act in grace, and true of every believer on the Lord Jesus Christ the moment faith receives Him as a personal Saviour. Set apart to God by the work of the Lord Jesus and the sovereign power of the Holy Spirit (i Pet. i:20), the believer's standing before God is unassailable. As born again by the Holy Spirit and the word of God (see John 3:5), and sealed by the Holy Spirit upon receiving the gospel, who in imparting this new nature separates us from the world to God (Eph. 1:13), the believer's sanctification, positionally, could not be more perfect than it is. It is of this aspect of sanctification that Scripture most frequently speaks.

To confound our "standing" before God with our "state," is frequently productive of much soul-misery. The believer can never be more meet for heaven than when he is first brought to Christ as Saviour. "Giving thanks unto the Father, who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light" (Col. i:12). Our meetness, then, is not the result of any effort on our part. The thief on the cross was made meet for Paradise by sovereign grace based on the sacrifice of Christ, else he could not have gone there.

To make positional sanctification subsequent to justification is a great error, and destructive of the appreciation of the work of redemption; it casts the soul upon itself and its experiences, only to result in self-occupation, and leads to self-complacency or despair. The prodigal in Luke's Gospel gives an illustration of this common error when in the far off country he soliloquized, "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants." His thought evidently was to crave an opportunity to improve his state, and enable him to prove himself worthy of a better place. How little he knew the father's heart! How different the father's thoughts ! The kiss of forgiveness settled the past and secured the future, so that the prodigal was unable to propose what he had purposed. Fellow-believer, you have been received, not as a servant but as a son!

Progressive sanctification

That the believer's condition, or state of soul, should ever be a cause for exercise before God, however, it is important to recognize; and the more we understand the wondrous position God has given us in the riches of His grace, the deeper will be our desire to answer in a practical way to this grace. Here comes in such scriptures as John 17 :17, "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is
truth." i Thess. 4:3, 4, "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification." 2 Tim. 2:21, 22, "A vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the Master's use, prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts," etc.

We cannot detach practical sanctification from the new nature received at new birth, and it is important to see that we are dependent upon the word of God and the Holy Spirit for this. Man is mentioned in i Thess. 5:23 as "spirit, soul, and body." By departure from God, he became enslaved to his natural lusts. Now grace has wrought, but this does not render one independent but rather brings into gladly-recognized dependence upon God. Christ, who loves us, is by the Holy Spirit set before our hearts as the object of our affections; and the Father's word to us is, "Be ye holy, for I am holy." Being born of God, the new nature in the believer has holy tastes and desires; but because the flesh, the old Adam nature, is also in us, power for holiness lies in walking with God in conscious dependence. Judicially, " our old man has been crucified with Christ . . . that we should no longer serve sin" (Rom. 6:6), and we are to arm ourselves with this truth, to "reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord," whose death entitles us to deliverance from sin and from the law.

But how many there are who, conscious that they had no righteousness to present to God, came to Him for forgiveness and rest; but while receiving these blessings apart from works, now seek to gain sanctification by works.

Practical, progressive sanctification is not by effort of the flesh therefore (for a legal basis is an impossible foundation for holiness),but as the soul realizes its standing before God and the wonderful truth that by faith in Christ (Acts 26:18) the believer is sanctified, the desire is inwrought by the Spirit that everything incompatible with this should be denied. The conduct is brought into conformity with the truth:"Ye ARE sanctified."

The standard of holiness is not lowered thereby, but the reverse; for self is treated as worthless and corrupt, the true standard being moral conformity to Christ, and the Holy Spirit the only power for its accomplishment.
" Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" (Heb. 13:20, 21). J. W. H. N.

Honored in Humility

Man, created in God's image, endowed with wondrous capacities, and placed upon earth as God's representative, was also made a feeble and dependent being. His feebleness among many creatures much stronger than he, yet over whom he was to rule, indicated that he was to hold and exercise his rule as delegated authority; his personal feebleness would serve to remind him that it was by the will and power of his Creator that he was to exercise this authority. Behold him in lovely Eden, the blest, happy ruler of earth's vast domain, as God's representative !

Debased by Self-exaltation

Through Satan's subtlety this place of dependence and obedience was broken through; fidelity to God was trampled upon; and like his deceiver, in rebellion, man fell into the guilt and condemnation of the devil (i Tim. 3:6), involving in his fall the creation over which divine love had placed him. Subsequently, through various periods of trials, or testings, man was manifested as irretrievably depraved – utterly unable to regain what he had forfeited; and every new trial manifested him as " sold under sin" – utterly unable to extricate himself.

Triumphant in Weakness

It was in this scene of ruin that the gon of God! the Second Man, came in human weakness; in perfect obedience and dependence upon God to deliver fallen man from his bondage to sin and Satan. According to God's ways this deliverance must be by the triumph of good over evil – not by power, which would leave the true character of sin not fully manifested, but by the intrinsic worth of good in contrast with evil, and thus to overcome it. God's nature, as Light and Love, with all His glorious attributes, was thus to be revealed to all moral, intelligent creatures in the universe.

According to divine counsels, therefore, the Second Man came in human weakness. The blessed Son of God took up human nature at its very beginning. "The Word became flesh,"-beginning afresh a human history according to God-a babe on His mother's breast, while in His divine power sustaining the worlds His hands had made. His genealogy therefore in Luke runs back and up to God; in Him humanity is brought back to its source -to God. A strong argument, this, that in Luke the genealogy is through His mother; while in Matthew, where the fulfilment of the promise to Abraham is in view, and the King, the Son of David, is presented to Israel, His genealogy is given in the descending line to its fulfilment. Let us note, in passing, that if the Messiah -were not already come, no Jew could now establish his title to the house of David; all genealogical records being lost or destroyed since the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. But the genealogy, virgin birth, place of nativity according to prophecy, are all carefully given in Matthew.

The infancy and youth of Jesus, as the tender plant of God's delight growing in the wilderness, is all for God's appreciation ; the Father's seal upon those thirty years of hidden life is given by the voice from heaven, "This is My beloved Son in whom I have found My delight," and He is anointed by the Spirit at His baptism as He enters upon His public life of service and ministry. Thus far His precious life had been for God alone, as the meal-offering at the high priest's consecration was wholly burnt upon the altar (see Lev. 6:19-23). The meal-offering representing the perfect humanity of our Lord, as a sweet offering of delight to God.

This ministry has been given us in a fourfold record by the Holy Spirit, as a great monument is viewed from its four sides. It is in this ministry that the Father is manifested to us in Jesus-His words, His works, are all what the Father gave Him to do and say. It is food for Him to do the Father's will and to finish His work (Jno. 4:34). His divine power is not for Himself, though He will use it for the need of His creatures; and when at last the time for the offering of Himself in sacrifice for sin is come, the supreme hour for which He had come into the world (Jno. 12:27), He takes the cup as from His Father's hand (though all the power of hell assail) and drinks it to the dregs. "It is finished," and He delivers His spirit to God.

One thing remains to complete the victory:the fear of Death must be annulled for His flock, and He enters the gloomy grave to leave open its portals on the third day, while all heaven and hell behold THE VICTORY.

"By weakness and defeat
He won the meed and crown,
Trod all our foes beneath His feet
By being trodden down.

Bless, bless the Conqueror slain,
Slain in His victory;
Who lived, who died, who lives again-
For thee, His Church, for thee! "

Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple (2 Chron. chap. 6), and God's answer to it (chap. 7:12 :14), embrace subjects which justly apply to present conditions among "Christian nations" in our day.

The king, kneeling before God in the presence of the people, presents petitions in their behalf. Of national sins and perversity he says:"If thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy because they have sinned against Thee "; or,

"When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against Thee"; or,

" If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence," etc., to all of which God answers:

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I forgive their sin, and will heal their land " (chap. 7:14). Of such deliverances, on these conditions, we have many records. (See Judges 3:6, 9, 12-15; chap. 4; chap. 6; i Sam. 12:9-11, etc.) These are principles in God's governmental dealings with nations and men which apply at all times.

It may be objected that Christians are on a different basis than was Israel. True, as to the individual Christian's relation to God; but, in God's government, ''Christian nations" are on much the same ground as was Israel. Since the rejection of Christ by the Jews, Christianity replaces Judaism as the vessel of God's testimony upon earth, and is blessed or disciplined accordingly, As God disciplined Israel for unfaithfulness to their calling, and at length cast them off for their rejection of Christ, bringing in Gentiles in their place of privilege and blessing, He has also disciplined Christendom at various times, and threatens to cut it off if it turn away from Christ and the truth connected with His name. (See Rom. 11:13-25.)

It should be plain to every sober mind that Christendom as we see it today is a degenerate Christianity. Damnable heresies have been brought into it, as leaven in the parable of Matt. 13; Satanic influences, like the birds in the mustard tree, have found shelter therein, until it has become "a great house," wherein are found vessels, "some to honor and some to dishonor," from which they who fear God must separate. For Protestantism-a bulwark for truth at the beginning-protests no longer; it is fallen, and in it Christ's person is assailed, atonement by His precious death is denied, and infidelity, under the guise of "higher criticism," has filled many of its pulpits.

And may we not say that for these things God has delivered Christendom to the fearful condition in which it has been plunged for the past four year? Does not God call aloud to repentance before cutting it off for its apostasy?

What remains in this condition of things ? In the midst of it all God hears still " them that fear the Lord"; and He gives us examples of such confessions as delight His ear, and of effectual pleadings, in Dan. 9 :3-21; James 5 :17, 18 ; Isa. 37 :1-8, etc., etc. The Lord grant that this spirit of confession and intercession may yet rest upon them that fear His name and trust in His grace.

Angel voices sweetly singing,
Echoes through the blue dome ringing,
News of wondrous gladness bringing,
Ah, 'tis heaven at last!

What a city ! What a glory !
Far beyond the brightest story
Of the ages old and hoary !
Ah! 'tis heaven at last!

Christ Himself the living splendor,
Christ the sunlight, mild and tender;
Praises to the Lamb we render;
Ah, 'tis heaven at last!

Now at length the veil is rented,
Now the pilgrimage is ended,
And the saints, their throne ascended;
Ah, 'tis heaven at last!

Broken death's dread bands that bound us!
Life and victory around us!
Christ, the King, Himself hath crowned us;
Ah, 'tis heaven at last!

(Was sung in after years at his funeral.)

REPLY TO AN ATTACK IN DR. STRONG'S " SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY."

A Correspondent called the writer's attention to some statements made against so-called "Plymouth Brethren" and their views, by Dr. A. H. Strong, the well known Baptist theologian, in his "Systematic Theology," 7th ed., pp. 498, 9. Though averse to controversy, and seeing little to be gained by what might look like self-vindication, it seems there is enough in question to demand an examination of the Doctor's remarks, with positive denial and refutation of some of them.

First, let me say, that I rejoice in the orthodoxy, as it is commonly understood, of the learned author and preacher, whose work is referred to. It is a pleasure to note his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, his apparent loyalty to Holy Scripture, and evident zeal for the gospel. As to the teachings he attempts to expose as unscriptural and heretical, it is charitable to believe he has not familiarized himself with them enough to know what these "brethren" really hold. I take it for granted he has been too ready to credit the statements of heated controversialists like the late Dr. Reid, from whom he quotes, in place of seriously examining the writings of the brethren criticized-an unwise course for any one to take in determining the exact views of any people, and especially unwise in one whose ipse dixit many lesser lights readily accept as authority.

Let us take up the quotations from Dr. Reid first, though these come last in Dr. Strong's summing-up of the case against "Plymouth Brethrenism." He writes:"Dr. Wm. Reid, in Plymouth Brethrenism Unveiled* 79-143, attributes to the sect the following church principles:*Dr. Wm. Reid was fully answered at the time by another "Wm. Reid, in "Accusers of the Brethren," now out of print, though occasionally to be found in Tract Depots.*

"(1) The Church did not exist before Pentecost;

(2) the visible and invisible Church identical; (3) the one assembly of God; (4) the presidency of the Holy Spirit; (5) rejection of a one-man and man-made ministry ; (6) the Church is without government.

Also the following heresies:

"(1) Christ's heavenly humanity; (2) denial of Christ's righteousness as being obedience to law;

(3) denial that Christ's righteousness is imputed;

(4) justification in the risen Christ ; (5) Christ's non-atoning sufferings; (6) denial of moral law as rule of life; (7) the Lord's day is not the Sabbath; (8) perfectionism; (9) secret rapture of the saints- caught up to be with Christ. To these we may add:(10) pre-millennial advent of Christ."

Taking these up categorically as given, we beg the reader to lay aside prejudice and examine each statement in the light of Holy Scripture. "To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isa. 8:20).
The "Brethren" are said to hold and teach:(i) that the Church did not exist before Pentecost. Can Dr. Strong, or anyone else, prove that it did ? Is the congregation of Israel to be confounded with "the Church of the firstborn written in heaven?" Was "the Church in the wilderness," mentioned by Stephen (Acts 7:38), the same as that of which the Lord Jesus spoke of as a future thing, when He said, "Upon this Rock I will build ray Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it ?" Mark well, not "I have built," nor, "lam building," but, " I will build "-future tense. Does Dr. Strong see nothing of the great truth of the formation of believing Jews and Gentiles into "one body" (Eph. 2 :14-16)-the Church of the new dispensation ? One can hardly believe that any well-instructed teacher of our day could be in ignorance as to this. Not only "brethren," but so many well-known teachers in evangelical denominations have taught, both orally and in writing, along these lines for so many years that it seems unbelievable that Dr. Strong could be ignorant of the distinct calling of the Church, the body of Christ, as distinguished from both the congregation of Israel and the saved of the nations in past dispensations. "Brethren" make no apology for the teaching here ascribed to them. They do not believe the Church existed before Pentecost. They emphatically believe the Church was formed on that day by the Spirit's baptism, uniting saints on earth into one body (i Cor. 12 :13), and to their glorified Head in heaven. Without this there could be no Church in the full New Testament sense.

(2) The visible and invisible Church identical. At this "Brethren" demur. Where, in all their writings, is such teaching found ? Every well instructed man among them distinguishes carefully between the Church, according to the mind of God, and the Church in its present outward aspect; or, between the Church as the "Body of Christ," including every saved soul in the present dispensation, and excluding all false professors, and the Church as the "House of God," largely committed to man, in which saved and unsaved are sadly mixed together. "Brethren" do not find the terms "visible church" or "invisible church" in the Bible, and consequently seldom use them. They know well what Christians mean when they do use them; only "Brethren" believe the visible Church would be everywhere visible but for human failure. They do not believe that this failure excuses them from responsibility to "depart from iniquity," and to "follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Tim. 2:19, 22), for they have learned from Scripture that separation from evil is ever the path of faithfulness to God.

(3) The one assembly of God.-What fault can anyone find with so eminently scriptural an expression ? It is well-known that "church" and " assembly" are but different translations of the Greek word ecclesia, "a called out company." Would the Doctor object to the doctrine of "the one Church of God " ? If not, why object to the other expression which means the same thing ? "There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling" (Eph. 4:4); does not that passage teach that there is but one assembly of God ? " For His body's sake, which is the Church," or "the assembly," says Scripture (Col. i:24)-how many bodies has, Christ ? "One," Scripture answers. And what is that body ? It replies, "the assembly." What is its full name? Paul tells us, when he says, "I persecuted the Church (assembly) of God;" and again, "Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the Church of God" (i Cor. 10:32). And, be it observed, as "Brethren" believe in the one assembly of God, when thinking of the body of Christ as a whole, so they believe in assemblies of God when speaking of local companies of believers gathered by the Spirit to the name of Christ. Such assemblies should consist of saved persons only, though evil men may slip in unawares.

(4) The presidency of the Holy Spirit.-Can it be possible that any spiritually-minded Christian objects to this ? Do Christians in the systems not believe in the presidency of the Holy Spirit ? Again and again we have heard ministers pray that the Holy Spirit might take charge of the meeting. Did they not mean this ? Were these only deceptive words – not meant as spoken? Granted, that if they are bound to carry out their own programs, people can get on better without the Holy Spirit than with Him; still, we have supposed it was at least an article of faith that He was on earth to preside in the assemblies of saints. Does Dr. Strong know anyone better fitted to preside than He, the third Person of the eternal Trinity? Yes, "Brethren" do believe in and insist on "the presidency of the Holy Spirit," much as they may sometimes fail in recognizing Him practically. To fail, while seeking to walk in the truth, is surely less serious than to substitute human expediency for the revealed will of God.

(5) Rejection of a one-man and man made ministry. -If we mistake not, it was once the boast of Baptists that they too rejected these.. Do they now endorse what they once repudiated ? The term "a Baptist clergyman," is, we believe, of very late origin. The older was "a Baptist minister," a far better one, to our mind. And "Brethren" believe in the ministry given by the Spirit, and desire to reject all other. They have no clergymen, but in God's grace, many ministers, who labor in word and doctrine. They reject a one-man ministry as well as an any-man ministry; while they thankfully accept ministry, from one or several, if it manifestly accords with the revealed word of God. A man-made ministry they positively refuse. Nor would intelligent men among them designate gifted and godly Baptist ministers as man-made, simply because humanly ordained. With "Brethren" ordination adds nothing to the God-given ministry. A man may be a God-made and God-given minister, though he has received ordination and wears a surplice, but "Brethren" believe his ministry would be just as profitable, and more becoming, if he dressed like other Christians, and had not gone through the form of ordination. Real ministers are men called of God, gifted by Christ, and sent forth by the Holy Spirit. "Brethren" rejoice in all such.

(6) The Church is without government.-What an astonishing declaration! Some have charged "Brethren" with being all government! The fact is "Brethren" believe all needed directions for the government of the Church are embodied in the word of God. And in the Church there are "helps, governments," "elders who rule well," etc., who are responsible to seek to guide the saints in ways according to Christ. Because they reject the artificial organization of the day is no reason to argue that "Brethren" are an unorganized mob. Where the Word is bowed to there will be godly order and scriptural discipline, and this they seek to practice.* *May I suggest that the honest reader, desiring help, consult "The Church and its Order according to Scripture," by S. Ridout, 25 cent., and "Simple Papers on the Church of God," by C. E. Stuart, 30 cent same publishers. In these he-will find -what "Brethren" themselves teach as to government in the Church.*

Now that we have disposed of the "Church principles," let us have a look at the "Heresies." It is an un-brotherly thing to charge people with being heretics who are "of like precious faith;" and it would seem that here, as above, the Doctor has been exceedingly rash, and has passed on secondhand information without investigation.

(1) "Brethren" are said to teach the heresy of Christ's heavenly humanity. Like some Baptists, "Brethren" have not always been as careful as they might in using terms liable to misconception. The expression, "heavenly humanity," has been used by some, though not endorsed by "Brethren." But what was meant thereby ? Simply that Christ's humanity was sinless and holy; heavenly in origin, because brought into existence, not by natural generation, but by the direct operation of the Holy Spirit who prepared that body in the womb of the virgin. Is not this orthodox and scriptural? "The Second Man is the Lord from heaven," in contrast to the first man, who was "of the earth, earthy." (See i Cor. 15 :47-49.) Christ partook of true humanity, apart from sin, but it was not humanity after an earthly order, for He had no human father – whatever modern theology may say-but was virgin-born. Is there any heresy in this?

(2) Denial of Christ's righteousness as being obedience to law.-The question is too large a one to go into at any length here, but one need only say that Christ certainly became in all things obedient to the law of God as a man on earth; nay, He "magnified the law, and made it honorable." But we suspect that this is not at all what Wm. Reid meant in the past, nor what Dr. Strong means now. When they write of "Christ's righteousness," they probably mean " God's righteousness," and we must frankly state "Brethren" do not believe that God's righteousness, or "the righteousness of God" (Rom. 3:21, 22), means obedience to the law. It is God's consistency with Himself, His ways with men in accordance with the holiness of His nature. When divine righteousness demanded the punishment of sin, Christ, the righteous One, became the propitiation for our sins, and thus righteousness is now on the believing sinner's side; it demands the justification and not the condemnation of all who trust in Christ. God is just and the justifier of all who believe in Jesus. This is divine righteousness.

(3) Denial that Christ's righteousness is imputed. This links up with what has just been touched on. Nowhere does Scripture say Christ's righteousness is imputed. Scripture is clear-"God imputeth righteousness." To whom? To all who believe. Such are "made the righteousness of God in Christ;" as saved and justified from all things, they display, they are the proof of, God's righteousness in dealing thus with them:since Christ has taken their place, they are righteously given His place. God is righteous in reckoning them righteous, because full atonement has been made for their transgressions; and freely imputes righteousness instead of guilt to all who believe in His Son. It is not that Christ wrought out a righteousness to cover us as a. cloak, but that His death has met every claim that was against us, and God imputes righteousness apart from any works on our part; even as it is written of Abraham:"Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for [as] righteousness "(Rom. 4:3). (4) Justification in the risen Christ.-This expression is objected to even by some "Brethren," but to our mind it well sets forth the truth of Scripture. When Christ died, He took my place, and died in my stead. I have therefore died with Him. But He is risen; and I am in Christ, having received life through His name. In Him, I am beyond the reach of condemnation. Therefore I am justified. So I am "justified in the risen Christ." If Christ be not raised, my faith is vain and I am yet in my sins. But Christ has been " delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification;" and "there is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." Christ is risen for our justification. All that are "in Christ" are uncondemned. They are in Him as risen; therefore they are justified in the risen Christ. Is there anything illogical or unscriptural about that? Why then call it heresy ? Theological hair-splitters may quibble over it as they will, but simple Christians will believe it and rejoice. H. A. I.

(To be concluded in next number.)

Through visions of the night and toils of day,
Let no temptation's power my purpose sway;
But grant, dear Lord, Thy love's unchanging might,
To keep my trembling faith and purpose bright.

Be hand and heart alert to do Thy will,
Not with impatient haste, but calm and still;
Thus when the long day's work for Thee is done,
My waiting soul shall fear no setting sun.

At last, when softly fall the shadows deep,
And sinks th' o'er weary brain to quiet sleep,
From every anxious care and burden free,
Let me for evermore abide with Thee.

Frederic R. Marvin

The cloud which appeared to Israel as soon as they had been redeemed by the blood in Egypt (Exod. 13:21), and which accompanied them through the wilderness, was the guide of the camp; and it was also the veil, or covering, of the glory. Such was that beautiful mystery in the midst of Israel. Commonly it was a hidden glory; at times manifested, but always there; the guide and companion of Israel, but their God also. He who dwelt between the cherubim went through the desert before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh (Ps. 80). The glory abode in the cloud for Israel's guidance, but was in the holy place also; and thus, while conducting the camp in its veiled or humbled form, it assumed the divine honors of the sanctuary.

And such was Jesus, "God manifest in the flesh," commonly veiled under "the form of a servant," but always, and without robbery, equal with God in the faith and worship of His saints, and at times shining forth in divine grace and authority.

As they were approaching the Red Sea, Israel had to be sheltered. The cloud does this mercy for them. It comes between the Egyptians and the camp, and is darkness to the one and light to the other, so that the one came not near the other all the night; and then, in the morning, the Lord looked to the host of Egypt through the pillar of cloud, and troubled the host of Egypt. On an occasion kindred with this, Jesus acts as the cloud and the glory. He comes between His disciples and their pursuers:" If therefore ye seek Me, let these go their way." He shelters them with His presence as of old; and he looks through the cloud, as of old; and troubles the host of the enemy:"Jesus saith unto them, I am He … As soon then as He had said unto them, I am He, they went backward, and fell to the ground " (Jno. 18:6). He did but look out, and His arm was found not to be shortened. With like ease and authority, the God of Israel acts at the Red Sea, and Jesus does the same in the garden of Gethsemane. The gods of Egypt worshiped Him at the Red Sea, the gods of Rome worshiped Him in Gethsemane, and when brought again the second time into the world, it shall be said, "Let all the angels of God? worship Him."

But, in the progress of their history, Israel had to be rebuked as well as to be sheltered; to be disciplined as well as to be redeemed. This we see, as they leave the Red Sea and enter the wilderness. The same glory hid within the cloud does this for them, as it did the other. In the day of the manna, in the day of the spies, in the matter of Korah, at the water of Meribah, Israel provokes the holiness of the Lord, and the glory is seen in the cloud witnessing the divine resentment (Exod. 16; Num. 14 ; 16; 20).

Just so with Jesus. When grieved-as the Glory in the cloud was-at the hardness of heart, or unbelief of the disciples, He gives some token, some expression, of His divine power, with words of rebuke. As on the Lake of Tiberias, He said to the disciples, " Why are ye so fearful ? " as well as to the winds and the waves, "Peace, be still." And so again and again, when the disciples betray ignorant and unbelieving thoughts of Him. As, for instance, to Philip, on one distinguished occasion, He says, in the grief and resentment of the Glory in the cloud, " Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip ? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?" (John 14.) Was not the Lord here again shining through the veil ? This was the glory seen in the cloud as in the day of the manna, or kindred cases already referred to.
Very exact is the corresponding of these forms of divine power. The cloud was the ordinary thing; the glory within was now and again manifested, but was always there. The guide and companion of the camp was the Lord of the camp. And is not all this Jesus in a mystery ? The glory was the God of Israel (Ezek. 43:4; 44:2), and Jesus of Nazareth was the God of Israel, or the glory (Isa. 6:i; John 12:41). The Nazarene veiled a light, or manifested in flesh a glory which in its proper fulness " no man can approach unto " (i Tim. 6:16).

. .. The person of Jesus lent a glory to all His course of service and obedience, which rendered it of unutterable value. Nor is it merely that His person made all that service and obedience voluntary. There is something far more than its being thus voluntary. There is that in it which the Person imparts:and who can weigh or measure that ? The higher in personal dignity, the higher the value of the service rises in our thoughts. And justly so; because more has been engaged for us, more has been devoted to us, then when the servant was an inferior; the heart instinctively learns that our advantage was indeed sought. We remember the person in the service. The service and obedience of Jesus were perfect; infinitely worthy of all acceptance; but beyond that, beyond the quality of the fruit, there was the Person who yielded it; and this, as we said, imparted to it a value and a glory unutterable. The same value rested on the services of His life which afterwards gave character to His death. It was His person which gave to His death or sacrifice all its virtue. It was His person which gave its peculiar glory to all He did in His course of self-humbling obedience. And the complacency of God in the one was as perfect as His judicial acceptance of the other. J. G. Bellett.

NOTES OF AN ADDRESS BY H. A. IRONSIDE (Read prayerfully Exodus 12 :1-28 ; 1 Cor. 5 :7, 8 ; 11 :23-34.)

"And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? that ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshiped " (Ex. 12 :26, 27).

The Lord's thoughtful care for the dawning intelligence of the children in the families of His people of old is strikingly brought out in these verses. The Passover was the yearly reminder of His divine interference when their fathers were slaves in Egypt, and it brought before them, year after year, the great truth of redemption by blood. It was to be expected that the generation growing up would look on with wonder as the various parts of the Passover ritual were carefully carried out by their elders. The question would naturally spring to young lips, again and again, " What mean ye by this service?" and the parents were to answer in accordance with the testimony of the Lord.

The last Passover feast that God ever recognized was that celebrated by Jesus Himself with His disciples in the guest-chamber at Jerusalem. The typical Passover came to an end that night; but, on the same evening, He instituted the great central ordinance of Christianity-the Lord's Supper, as the memorial of His mighty love and infinite sacrifice. Directions for the keeping of this feast are given in the New Testament; and older believers who have gone on in the ways of the Lord, should be able to give a scriptural reason for everything connected with the observance of the' 'breaking of bread" in remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ. For now, as of old, children of believers should ask, " What mean ye by this service ? " And as babes in Christ are born into the family of God, and brought out of the world into association with His separated people, they should know the why and the wherefore of each detail which their eyes behold in connection with this divine institution.

It is my desire, therefore, to answer as simply as possible some of these questions, having in mind, not well-instructed and mature saints, but the youngest of God's children who desire to walk in obedience to His word.

(1) Perhaps one of the first questions that will be asked is, " Why observe this feast so frequently when, in many places in Christendom, it is but at rare intervals that what is called ' the communion' is celebrated ? " For answer we reply that we have in Scripture no distinct command, as in the case of the Passover, regarding the particular times this feast is to be observed. The Passover was to be celebrated once a year, but when the Lord instituted the Supper He implied much more frequent observance when He said, "For as oft as ye do this, do it in remembrance of Me." Surely it is the Lord's desire that His people should often show His death in this way, calling to mind frequently His love and sacrifice for them. In the earliest days of the Church's history, the Christians broke bread daily, but after the first days of transition, and the new dispensation was fully established, we get the scriptural example in Acts 20:7:"Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread" etc. It is well-known that this was the recognized custom in apostolic days. This is not a command, but a word from the Lord, and He has said, "If a man love Me, he will keep my words." A devoted heart does not ask, "How seldom can I do this and yet have the Lord's approval ?" but, "What does His word show to have been the apostolic order in early days ?" The Book answers, "On the first day of the week." On that day, therefore, we delight to come together to remember Him.

(2) Perhaps someone may ask, "Why is there no special person, as a clergyman, to dispense the bread and wine, and take charge of the service as in the denominations generally ?" We answer, Because we cannot find anything like this in the Book. There is no intimation in the Acts or in any of the Epistles of any such officer in the early Church. Believers came together as brethren. The Lord Himself has said, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst." Faith laid hold of that and recognized His presence. He, the Head of the assembly, is to-day as true to His word as in the early days. Wherever two or three are found scripturally gathered, He is in the midst; and the Holy Spirit delights to lead out the hearts of His people in their remembrance of their Lord. In that upper room, when the Lord took the bread and the cup, having given thanks He gave them to His disciples to pass them among themselves (Luke 22:17). Christ is personally now in heaven. Mystically, Christ embraces the Lord and the members of His body here on earth. As He, the Head, blessed and gave to His disciples, so He may use any member of His body to do the same. Any brother going to the table to give thanks and to break the loaf or pass the cup is used as hands and lips for the Lord Himself. There is no officialism required, the simpler the better. It is Christ with whom we desire to be occupied; and he who goes to the table does so as acting under Him. If anything-any ordination or official position-were necessary, the word of God would have indicated it ; but for this we search its pages in vain. " One is your master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren."

(3) "Why do you have one unbroken loaf upon the table as the feast begins, and break it afterwards?" Because the one loaf pictures the precious body of our Lord Jesus Christ in its entirety, and the breaking signifies His death. Also we are told, "We being many are one bread" (literally, "one loaf" ), "for we are all partakers of that one loaf" (i Cor. 10:17). To cut the bread into small pieces is to lose sight of this striking symbolism.

As it is passed from one to the other, after having been blessed and broken, each again breaks for himself, thus indicating his communion in the body of Christ.

(4) "Why is wine used, and why do all drink of it ?" The cup contains the fruit of the vine. It speaks of the precious blood of Christ, the price of our redemption. "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ?" As the clusters of grapes are crushed and give forth "the blood of the grape," so Christ endured the judgment of God for our sins, and His precious, atoning blood was shed for our salvation-In sweet and solemn silence, with grateful hearts, we drink of the cup which reminds us of the mighty cost of our redemption.

(5) "Why is not this holy feast open for every one ? Why such care to see that only those who know what it is to be saved, and are known to lead godly lives, partake at this feast ?" Because the Lord must be sanctified in them that draw nigh to Him. This sacred observance is for those who have a common interest in the death of Christ, and have been saved by His blood. Even of the Passover the command was, "There shall no stranger eat thereof" (Ex. 12:43). In i Cor. 5:9-11 we are distinctly directed to walk in a path of separation from the world and from evil-doers. Of some we are told, "With such an one, no, not to eat." This clearly includes the Lord's supper, and shows us the importance of care as to those who partake at the Lord's table. Again in i Cor. 6 (read the entire chapter), and 2 Cor. 6:11-18, we have impressed upon us the importance of walking apart from the world if we are to have fellowship with God. And while it :'s true that each individual is responsible to "examine himself" in the fear of the Lord before sitting at His table, there is also grave responsibility resting upon the assembly^to maintain a holy fellowship.

(6) "Why is there no previously arranged program as to the order of this service-the hymns to be sung, prayers to be offered, and ministry of the Word? Is not time wasted in silence which might be occupied in teaching or expounding the Scriptures ?" It is important, first of all, to understand that the object of this meeting is not for prayer, or ministry, or hymn-singing, or mutual enjoyment. We come together to joy before the Lord, and to offer Him the worship of our hearts, while remembering what He passed through for us. What a great privilege it is to look as it were upon His face! What reverence should pervade our spirits. Surely there should be no lightness of behavior, no frivolity, no worldly joviality manifested as we came together. Instead of coming to listen to preaching, our one desire should be to commune with Him, while gratitude and worship fill our hearts as we recall His agony once endured on the cross for us, and now behold His glorious countenance. And at such times the Holy Spirit delights to move our hearts in unison with hymns of praise, making melody to the Lord. Formalism is out of place there, and if any speak it should be to the praise of His name, the edification of the saints, or instruction by the Word to give better understanding and apprehension of our Lord's Person or work. None would have the effrontery to set Christ aside, as it were, by taking the place of a preacher at such a time.

When we thus come together before the Lord, we will realize how we ought to behave in the house of God, for the Spirit is there to guide His obedient people. We should keep before our souls the object for which we gather, and any brother would be decidedly out of place who at such a time sought to occupy us with lengthy expositions of Scripture, or exhortations as to conduct which have no bearing on the object for which we come together. The sense of the Lord's presence will put a check upon the flesh, and any participating, either in the giving out of hymns, or in leading the assembly in praise, thanksgiving, or reading a portion of the Word, should realize his responsibility to be guided by the Spirit, and with a view to edification-not simply to give expression to personal feeling. If there be periods of silence, it will be no wasted time as we all sit with adoring hearts before Him whom we have come to meet.

In closing, let me press upon all the importance of being present on lime, that there may be no distraction in the meeting. If there be conscientious care as to this, the precious results will soon be manifest. It is a pitiful commentary on the state of many believers that they can be sharply on time every week day morning at their places of business or employment, and yet be among the stragglers on the first day of the week, when the hour set is much later than that at which they frequently go to business. In Luke 22 :14 we read, " When the hour was come, Jesus sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him." Let us not dishonor our Lord by late straggling in, as if it were of no consequence.

Dear Brother :Your letter, with others enclosed from abroad, was duly received. I have delayed returning them as it was desired to have them read at our general meeting, at which two officers from Camp Kearny, the cantonment near us, were to be present. They were very much interested in these letters. What a striking work among Roman Catholics in France one of these letters speaks of. And how the gospel has been carried in foreign countries the world over in our days. The Lord's earthly people, too, seemingly are near to get possession again of their own land-Palestine. All this surely points to the soon return of our blessed Lord. How can any one doubt the inspiration of the word of God, the Bible, as things on earth are shaping themselves entirely in accord with it?

Well, thank God, there is peace and rest for us amidst the present upheavals. What will be the outcome of present events? If peace comes, we know it can only be a temporary peace, in spite of the fact that nations look upon a genera], popular Democracy as a cure-all. But as Scripture says, " they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay" (Dan. 2:43). So we look up and wait for Him who alone can set matters right. Some look for a super-human man, not knowing that such an one will come in fulfilment of the Book they despise-the lawless one whom the Lord shall smite when lawlessness is at its height. May the Lord keep us in the attitude of those that wait for their Lord.

"Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer" is a precious grace of the Holy Spirit in the saints-yet how feebly manifested in us generally. If we inquire as to its cause, we shall find, no doubt, that knowledge of truth alone does not produce this grace; it is found rather in communion with God and our Lord Jesus Christ in the daily life, with humility. Therefore it is that simple, godly souls often surpass in this grace others with more knowledge and privileges from whom we naturally would expect more.

These thoughts are suggested by the reading of " Rifted Clouds," in which Bella Cook unaffectedly relates the ways of God with her from young womanhood through a long life of suffering. Meeting with adversities in early married life, her naturally strong will finally resigned itself to God's ways, and found complete rest in a self-surrender to God. Though feeble in youth, she lived to the great age of eighty-seven, absolutely confined to her bed for the last fifty years with scarce any re lief from pain, yet with cheerfulness and praise to God to whose will she heartily resigned herself.

One great relief to her suffering and bed-ridden life was in the sympathy she was enabled to show to others in trial, and the very active part she took in the relief of misery and want among the poor of the district where she dwelt. Her humble abode, secluded in the rear of other buildings on Second Avenue, New York, became a place not only where sorrow and need came for relief, but where the
rich and cultured found a rest and peace which the world can neither give nor take away.

Devoted friends-were raised to the helpless, bedridden one who, while absolutely dependent herself on what God provided through others for her wants, was enabled, with what was entrusted to her hands, to comfort and relieve many in trial with whom she had a large and active acquaintance.

What a relief to be thus diverted from one's self toward others ! In the spirit and grace of Christ to pour comfort in wounded souls, to strengthen hope and confidence in God, or bring sinners to Him who said, "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Bella Cook exchanged the body of suffering and place of service for the home of glory some 14 years ago, but the fragrance of her life remains with many who were blessed by it. "Go, and do thou likewise," said our Lord to the lawyer questioning who was his neighbor, after telling him of the Samaritan's gracious conduct toward the wounded man on the roadside (Luke 10:29-37).

"If ye suffer for righteousness’ sake happy are ye"

In "Rifted Clouds," Bella Cook relates how her grandmother, in the earliest days of Methodism, courageously persevered in the face of opposition and suffered indignities for Christ's sake, receiving cruel stripes from her own husband for it. She says:-

" My grandmother, with a neighbor, had been attending Methodist meetings, although their husbands, who were farmers, but godless men, disapproved. The farmers talked it over, and decided
that their wives should not "disgrace them" by attending those Methodist meetings. So they agreed to tell them that if they went again they should be horse-whipped on their return.

"My grandmother heard the mandate, and asked her husband if she had neglected her home duties? "No." If she had been a less dutiful wife because of her religion?-"No." "Well, then," she said, "by the help of the Lord, I shall go."

"She went to the meeting as she had said. On her return, she was met by her sturdy husband with, "Now, Betsy, you have had your way; I will have mine." And he took the whip from behind the door, and whipped his wife till he was weary- if not ashamed. Then she quietly asked if he had done.-"Yes," he said, "I have."

"At bedtime, in undressing, she looked at her shoulders and arms; and seeing them all black and in ridges from the whip, she said:"Praise the Lord, stripes for Christ's sake!"

"Her husband-who all this while had been in poor comfort over his act-was so deeply affected by this that, falling upon his knees, he begged her to forgive him. " It is not me you have offended," she answered, "but you have offended my Saviour. Ask Him to forgive you."

"The convicted man with great contrition did so; he sought the divine mercy, and obtained it, for he had been acting ignorantly in unbelief. Having thus turned to the Lord, my grandfather became henceforth an earnest Christian for the rest of his life.".

" And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good ? But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye:and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts:and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear:having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evil doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ" (i Pet. 3:13-16).

A Battalion of Death

"Addressing a large gathering of munition workers lately, a public speaker in commendation of their labors called them a "Battalion of Death," a description which is certainly true, and doubtless was pleasing to his hearers. What a contrast between this and God's description of His saints-"Blameless and harmless, the children of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life" (Phil. 2:15, 16). " Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves:be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matt. 10:16)."

Hermann Warszawiack

We are informed that Hermann Warszawiack, whose history and conversion were related in the last pages of "Treasury of Truth Almanac" for 1918, was exposed as a fraud in New York City a few years ago. The author of the article had gotten his information from reliable sources, but before the above mentioned exposure in New York took place; hence the author, and the publishers, believed it a genuine conversion, but sincerely regret its publication. How painful it is to see the precious name of Jesus so dishonored by some who profess His holy name, and give occasion for distrust and reproach.

(Eph. 3:11-21.)

This wondrous prayer is the complement of that which is recorded in chap, i:15-23, and is full of attractiveness to our souls. In the prayer of chap, i God is set forth in the exercise of His mighty power, making good His counsels concerning us, for His own glory, as connected with Christ Jesus our Lord. In the prayer recorded in chap. 3 we have set before us the love of the Father as seen working in and through His counsels.

In the first verse of this chapter the apostle begins His prayer, but is led aside by the blessed Spirit of God into a further unfolding of the theme of the epistle so that verses 2 to 13, inclusive, form a parenthesis, unfolding to us, in some of its main particulars, the mystery of the present parenthetical dispensation. In verse 14 the apostle returns to his starting point, and so connects his prayer with verse i:"For this cause, I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles." Here he gives the reason of his being in prison at Rome. It was on account of his ministry to the Gentiles. That memorable scene recorded in Acts 22 comes before us:Paul, charged with having spoken against the law and with having done despite to the holy temple, faces his accusers. A multitude, inflamed with passion against him, a sea of angry faces upturned towards him, he begins his address, and astonished at being spoken to in their own tongue, they gave him respectful audience, until reaching that point in the narrative of events connected with his conversion:"And He (the Lord) said unto me, Depart, for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles." Then they lifted up their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live" (Acts 22:21, 22). From that time onward the Jews gave him no rest until they had forced him into prison at Rome.

In chapter 4:i the apostle styles himself "the prisoner of the Lord." This is a beautiful example of one who, having taken the yoke of Christ upon himself, finds in circumstances of extreme trial to his ardent spirit, full rest to his soul. For the apostle looks beyond everything of an intermediate character, and refers his imprisonment to the Lord, recognizing that He, had He so willed it, could have ordered otherwise. He had learned the secret of rest for the soul, found it in the yoke of Christ, in subjection to the Hand that was pierced for Him on the cross of Calvary. How ashamed one is at the lack of this subjection; but how good to know that to that Hand has been committed the rule and the destiny of the universe-all authority being given unto Him in heaven and in earth. Lord, increase our faith!

For this cause-for the reason that those who had been far off (excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, from the covenants and from the promises) had now been made nigh by the blood of Christ and were no more foreigners and strangers, but fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God, Jew and Gentile made one in Christ and builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit-"for this cause I bow my knees to the Father* of whom every family in heaven and earth is named." *There is some question as to the retention of "our Lord Jesus Christ."* It is a happy thing to see God perfectly revealed in Christ as the Father (" He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father"),taking a further interest in, and coming into closer touch with "every family in heave i and earth." Will the angels not know Him better, and possibly adore Him more fervently as they behold the love of the. Father's heart to fallen creatures ? Will not the various families of the redeemed in heaven and earth extol His grace with deeper appreciation as they enter into the revelation of God as the "Father"-God revealed in Christ in all the fulness of divine affection?

It is to God in this aspect that the apostle prays:"That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man." The riches of the Father's glory-the perfect display of His holy, wondrous love-laying hold of the heart, strengthen with might the inner man, the man proper. The perfect love of God casts out all fear and makes the soul to shine in the valor of faith. The consequence is that Christ becomes a constant, conscious presence in the heart; and the soul being rooted and grounded in love, in "the riches of the Father's glory" has full leisure from its own things and is enabled to apprehend, "the breadth and length and depth and height" and the riches of the Father's glory displayed in His counsels, embracing all His creatures, extending throughout the ages and beyond them, going down to the awful cross of shame, and ascending therefrom to the glory where Christ now is.

"And to know the love of Christ that passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." The love of Christ-which brought Him into the only place where God could be revealed as Father to fallen creatures. There, on that cross, we see the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. The creature – mind can never fathom the infinite and awful depth of suffering into which the Christ of God went for us when, as a sacrifice for sin, He glorified God on the cross of Calvary; and whilst the joy of an ever increasing knowledge of that love may be ours, it ever must remain "the love of Christ that passeth knowledge." It is in the knowledge of this love that the soul is "filled with the fulness of God." In the love of Christ, and the place it brought Him into, is seen the love, the righteousness, the power and the wisdom of God-for truly the glory of God, all His moral perfections, are seen in the person of Jesus Christ.

On earth-God and His Christ on the cross. In heaven-God and His Christ on the throne. Eternally that throne is the throne of God and of the Lamb.

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, to Him be glory in the Church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages. Amen." Geo. MacKenzie

(Psa. 5 :3.)

When upon the purple mountain
Plays the smile of infant day,
And the vale's secluded fountain
Sparkles 'neath the crimson ray,
Brighter, purer light, Lord Jesus,
Greets one upward look to Thee!

Hidden springs of joy are opened
In the hush of that calm hour,
Crystal depths of love, revealing
Wondrous stores of peace and power,
To the heart that to Thy beauty
Opens like the morning flower.

Fairer than the Orient glory
Is Thy countenance divine:
Come, Thou "Altogether lovely,"
Now upon my spirit shine:
Let Thy grace today be mirrored
In this "mortal flesh " of mine !

J. M. Gordon

(Continued from page 188)

Division IV (Chaps. 38-41).

Jehovah's testimony from Creation, testing Job and bringing him into the dust.

We have already called attention to the intimate connection between the addresses of Elihu and those of Jehovah which follow. Viewed merely as a piece of literary work this portion is one of matchless beauty and grandeur. Elihu had begun his address in all deference and quietness; he had carried forward his arguments in a masterly way, convincing both to intellect and conscience, which, from the silence of Job when repeatedly invited to reply, we may judge did not fail of their purpose. As he proceeds Elihu passes from the didactic style into the descriptive, setting forth the wisdom
and greatness of God as seen in His great creation. So vivid do the descriptions of the storm become that we are constrained to think of it as actually impending-the lightnings flash, and the terrific thunder-peals fill him with dread, while the trembling herds show their fear. A golden glow is seen sweeping down in the dark storm-clouds from the north. In a few words of awed reminder to Job of the goodness as well as the majesty of God, Elihu closes his address, and Jehovah, out of the whirlwind just described titters His awful voice.

The voice of Jehovah! We are no longer listening to the gropings of the natural mind, as in the discourses of the friends; nor to the wild cries of a wounded faith, as in Job; nor even to the clear sober language of Elihu-we are in the presence of Jehovah Himself, who speaks to us. That voice caused our guilty first parents to hide amid the trees of the garden. It bade Moses remove the shoes from off his feet at the burning bush, and later caused him to say, " I exceedingly fear and quake," amid the terrors of Sinai, while the people removed to a great distance. Later, that Voice- "a still small voice"-penetrated Elijah's soul with awe, as he realized that he was standing in the presence of the Lord.

The voice, perhaps more than the appearance, seems to reveal the person. If we could see the form and features of a man, mark the changes of his countenance and every gesticulation, without hearing his voice, it would not impress us as under reversed conditions. So the voice that came to Job out of the whirlwind brought him into the presence of One of whose character he had until now been
greatly ignorant. He had spoken many excellent things about God, but His actual presence had never before been known. This it will be found furnishes the key to the amazing change wrought in Job.

When God is personally recognized as present, He is thus recognized in the entirety of His being. It is not merely His power that is seen, or His greatness or even His goodness, but Himself, the One in whose presence seraphim veil their faces as they cry, " Holy, Holy, Holy."

Peter caught such a glimpse of Him by the sea of Galilee (Luke 5), and was constrained to cry, " Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." And Paul fell to the earth under the same revelation, as also John in the Apocalypse. The outward display in each of these cases was different, passing from a lowly Man in a fisher-boat to the enthroned majesty in the heavens; but the essential fact is that it is Himself, and however much He may veil His glory, and meet man in mercy and grace, it is God who thus speaks and acts. If this is not realized, no grandeur of setting, no splendor of natural phenomena, can convey His message to man.

This is pitifully apparent in the use men make of the majestic panorama of nature daily spread before their eyes. The heavens as an infinitely spacious tent are arched overhead, resplendent by day and by night; the drapery of the clouds, the greatness of the mountains, the beauty of forest, field and sea-what do these tell to one who hears not the Voice ? The heathen makes his image, or bows to sun and moon; the scientist sweeps the heavens with his telescope, and pierces the penetralia of earth with his microscope; he talks learnedly and interestingly of "laws of nature," of "principles of physics and of chemistry," of gravitation, cohesion and affinity:but unless he has heard the Voice of Jehovah, he knows Him no more than the poor deluded idolater groveling before the hideous Vishnu.

This ignorance is a guilty ignorance, "for the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse :because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God," etc. (Rom. i:18-25). All men are in a measure conscious of this guilt and moral distance from God, and quite willing to remain in that condition. They stop their ears to the Voice of Him who is not far from every one of us.

If this is the inherent thought of this personal revelation of God, how important it was for Job to grasp it; how necessary too for us, as we speak of it, to realize His voice who speaks still in Nature and in His word. May it be ours, not to withdraw to a distance, nor to hide amid His beautiful trees, but to come near with unshod feet and veiled faces and hear what God the Lord will speak.

Looking at His words as a whole, we might be surprised at their character. They are not in one sense profound, as unfolding depths of theological truth. They are scarcely didactic in a moral sense, impressing upon man his duty. They are not so much a revelation of truth as a question to Job if he knows the truths that lie all about him in the vast creation of God.

It is this which makes these words of Jehovah so wonderful. He speaks, not "in a tongue no man can understand," but in the language of nature, about the earth, the sky, the clouds and rain, and beasts and birds. The number of the division, the fourth, is most appropriate. It is, as we know, the number of the creature, of creation; it suggests also the testing of man, and the weakness and failure which that testing so often brings out. How amazing it is to think that the Creator should thus veil His glory-that "light unapproachable"-and show Himself in the works of His hands.

For creation itself is, we would reverently say, a divine humiliation. It reminds us of Him who, "though He was in the form of God," emptied Himself of His glory and took a servant's form, being made in the likeness of men. Creation is the "lattice" behind which the Beloved hides Himself (Song 2:9). And yet He reveals Himself thus to faith. The swaddling bands of Ocean are but a figure of those bands which He who made all things took upon Himself, when He became flesh. The whole universe, immense and boundless, forms the garments of the infinite God, who thus reveals Himself.

So we may apply this fourth Division to Himself. He "humbles Himself to behold the things in heaven and in earth." The significance of the number encourages us to believe that He is drawing near to us, that the message He has to give is one of mercy.

But this message tests and humbles man. He who boasted in his righteousness, who seemed to consider his knowledge all sufficient, is obliged to own his ignorance, weakness, and his unrighteousness. It is divinely done, and done so effectively that the lesson brings Job to his true place for all time. Creation, we may say, is like the clay which the Lord put upon the eyes of the blind man. Like him Job can say, "Now mine eye seeth Thee."

God lays His hand upon His vast creation-the heavens, earth and sea-as though to say He is Master and Lord of all; as though to say to Job, "Canst thou doubt the power of such an One? or His wisdom ? Nay, canst thou doubt the goodness of One who sends His rain to render fertile the earth for man's need, or His faithfulness who brings day by day His mercies to His creatures ?"

This leads us to ask whether we may not expect a deeper meaning to all these questions as to nature -a moral and spiritual significance in them. Creation is a vast parable, and we fail to gather its lessons if we do not find, as we have already indicated, rich typical truth lying just beneath the surface. We cannot pretend to dogmatize; all that may be said is subject to correction; but we have no hesitation in saying that we should seek to find God's

" Secret meaning in His deeds."

We are encouraged to do this, for has He not said, " He that seeketh findeth? "

But let us take up our subject in an orderly way. S. R.

(To be continued.)
'THE STAR OF THE MORNING"

"The same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came JESUS and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when He had so said, He showed them his hands and his side " (Jno. 20 :19, 20).

"Shut in with Christ! Oh wonderful thought!
Shut in with the peace His sufferings brought;
Shut in with the love that wields the rod-
Oh company blest-shut in with God!"

Dear
" 'Midst the darkness, storm, and sorrow,
One bright gleam I see ;
Well I know the blessed morrow-
Christ will come for you and me."
Exodus 16:7 (first clause)-blessed hope!

Oh, glorious morning of a day without clouds !
" One little hour of watching with the Master ;
Eternal years to walk with Him in white ;
One little hour to bravely meet disaster;
Eternal years to reign with Him in light !

" Then, soul, be brave and watch until the morrow ;
Awake, arise, your lamp of purpose trim ;
Your Saviour speaks across the night of sorrow,
Can ye not watch one little hour with Him?"

"Surely I come quickly:Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus " (Rev. 22:20).

This thought, dear — , that soon, very soon, HE will come, seems to fill my heart this morning. What a wonderful hope !

" Oh joy ! oh delight ! should we po without dying :No sickness, no sadness, no dread, and no crying – Caught up through the clouds with our Lord into glory When Jesus receives His own."

How other things seem to recede as this thought stands out. Surely the time is short. May we redeem every opportunity to work for Him, and to bear a clear testimony.

The other evening I was riding home after a heavy day's work; I felt very wearied and sore depressed, when swiftly and suddenly as a lightning flash that text came to me:" My grace is sufficient for thee." I reached home, and looked it up in the original, and at last it came to me in this way:"My grace is sufficient for thee," and I said, "I should think it is, Lord," and burst out laughing. I never fully understood what the holy laughter of Abraham was until then. It seem to make unbelief so absurd. It was as though some thirsty little fish was troubled about drinking the river dry, and Father Thames said, "Drink away, little fish, my stream is sufficient for thee." Or like a little mouse in the granaries of Egypt after the seven years of plenty, fearing it might die of famine; Joseph might say; "Cheer up, little mouse, my granaries are sufficient for thee." Again I imagined a man away up in a lofty mountain saying to himself, "I breathe so many cubic feet of air every year, I fear I shall exhaust the oxygen in the atmosphere," and the earth would say, "Breathe away, little man and fill your lungs ever; my atmosphere is sufficient for thee."-O brethren, be great believers ! Little faith will bring your souls to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your souls. C. H. Spurgeon

When divine principles possess our souls, the details of conduct in carrying them out (however important in themselves, and surely matters of sorrow and shame when failure enters into them) are comparatively of minor importance. Nor are we concerned to justify all the details if the principle that underlies them is maintained. In saying this, we by no means wish to make light of failure in details of conduct, but to bring into relief the importance of the principle involved, over the manner of carrying it out. The real strength of any position is found in its principle. Failure in the details of carrying it out, lays the principle open to attack, and the importance of the detail lies in this. Not only does failure in detail give the enemy a positive advantage, but as it comes from want of waiting on God and subjection to His word, He chastens us for the failure, in His righteous ways, and for our good, though He will surely vindicate His own principles, and thus in the end those who have stood for them. "God," we read, "made known His ways unto Moses," but as Moses failed to "sanctify God before the people" in His ways, he was chastened for it-how unsparingly, we all know. This is a solemn thought.

When great issues are at stake, those who are governed by a divine principle are thrown together to maintain it, while those who are occupied mainly with details, are often in anxiety and distress-a source of weakness to the others-and may even ally themselves with those who are attacking the
principle, and opposing those who, right in principle, may have failed in their manner of carrying it out.

This is a very subtle and successful maneuver of the enemy, by which he enlists in the ranks of those who are his direct instruments of evil, even true-hearted and conscientious souls. The Scriptures themselves, together with lowliness of heart, are our safeguard against this kind of thing, and thus only shall we be able to say with the One who is at once our Guide and Pattern, concerning the works of men, "By the words of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer" (Ps. 17:4). From "Words of Truth"

" The Modern Conflict over the Bible."

It is a matter of thankfulness" to God in this day of widespread departure from the true Christian faith and from the Bible as the Word of God, to hear a voice boldly raised against this apostasy-especially against the theological schools which have so largely become schools of destruction of the faith in the young men that attend them. We refer to a little book with the above title, written and published by Rev. G. W. McPherson, Supt. of the Old Tent Evangel Committee of New York City, for the express purpose of exposing and smiting this apostasy in the face. For book, address Rev. G. "W. McPherson, 34 St. Andrew's Place, Yonkers, N. Y.-price, 55 cents postpaid. May also be had of Loizeaux Brothers.

The following first pages of the book give an index to its general tenor :

"We are living in a time when an array of insidious falsehoods has been launched against the Bible, and these ingenious misrepresentations are masquerading under the guise of scholarship, and in the name of religion; it is known as ' the new theology.' It is to combat, to expose this new theology that God is calling His people everywhere these days.

"Of course we have no fear as to the future of the Bible -Truth can defend itself. When Deity ceases to exist, then the Bible will perish. But we are concerned for the sake of the Church of God, because of the insidious attacks on the integrity of the Bible.

" That there is a conflict to-day over the Bible, few would dare deny. It is not a conflict over science, for true science is the handmaid of religion. It is not a conflict over philosophy, when philosophy knows its place and keeps within its proper bounds :but it is a conflict over the Bible-its interpretation, history, inspiration, miracles, doctrines, authority.

" In the Bible certain claims are made as to creation, Christ, redemption, salvation, etc., all of which the new theology denies. The Bible is practically rejected by this school as the one great authority of the Christian religion. Many of the advocates of the new theology deny that which the Church has always believed to be fundamental in the Christian Faith. New theology teachers have accepted the philosophy of evolution and rationalism as their working hypotheses, as the principles by which they interpret all life, though oft-times in contradistinction to the claims and authority of the Bible. The new theology is assailing the inspiration of the Bible and the deity of Christ. The attack is made in some of our institutions of learning, both secular and sacred, and in not a few of the pulpits of so-called orthodox churches, with the result that the faith of many is being shipwrecked.

" In the light of these facts, the call is loud to-day to enlist in this warfare against the apostasy of the new theology. We should not fear a righteous struggle. Christianity was born in conflict, and by conflict only can it triumph. We have no sympathy with those who would pursue a policy of silence and non-interference with the propaganda of the new theology apostasy-all such are cowards and unworthy the name of Christian. Next to peace, we should like nothing better than a holy fight for God and His truth. The man who would not fight for righteousness, merits the contempt of all good men. God has called us to warfare, and we ask, Have we heard the call ? Have we enlisted ? Do our friends know where we stand ?

" The great question before us to-day is, What are the rank and file, the great mass of the Christian people, going to do with the Bible? Shall we believe, for example, the modern evolutionists, or the writers of the Bible? Shall we believe Spencer and Haeckel, or Moses, Christ and Paul ? These are the questions now prominently before the churches for decision. These questions are insistent; they will not be silenced; they call for an answer; we cannot dodge them-the fight is on! "

How serious and unspeakably sad is the condition of Protestant churches when such an arraignment can be made of them!-"Protestants! "whose glory and power has been the restoration of the Word of God to the people whom Rome had utterly despoiled. How are the mighty fallen through the surrender of their birthright, and gone in captivity to the enemy, to whose hands they surrender " the sword of the Spirit" (Eph. 6 :16, 17).

Will there be a return to God and the authority of His word ? The author of this book evidently hopes so, and looks for it. Would to God that Protestants would return and cleanse themselves of this apostasy and idolatry of infidel learning-of "science falsely so-called." But that unerring guide-God's Word-gives no such final outlook, whatever temporary or personal deliverance may be expected :" For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God:on them which fell, severity ; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness; otherwise thou also shalt be cut off" (Rom. n :21, 22). See also 2 Tim. 3:13:4:3; and 2 Thess. 2:7,8.

National Humiliation

It was welcome news two or three weeks ago to read the President's Proclamation, as requested by Congress, appointing the 30th of May as a day of humiliation before God, with prayer and fasting, in connection with the present great war devastating the world. For the past four years already of tragic events, the nations at war have been too proud to call nationally upon God to stay the awful scourge. The great prosperity of the last decades has intoxicated the nations, who in pride and fulness of bread, have repeated Israel's sin-" Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked" (Deut. 32 :15)-pride, pleasures, self-will and ungodliness have been rampant, and godly fear and God's Word largely set at naught. God grant there may be genuine humiliation with confession and return to God, at least in all those who bear the precious name of Christian. What an example and encouragement the book of Jonah, and the repentance of Nineveh, is to the world now! "As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked ; but that the wicked turn from his way, and live:turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways ; for why will ye die, O house of Israel" (Ezek. 33 :11).

( Continued from page 194.)

To the sovereign choice of Jacob to the place of rule, as well as to the displacement of the seed of Abraham, according to the flesh, from the place of national prestige, because of their unfaithfulness, the question is raised,"Is there unrighteousness with God?" "Far be the thought," answers the apostle. The principle of sovereign mercy and the approval of righteousness in man wherever found, is what marks God in all His ways.

The Jew is reminded of that act of the Lord's mercy during the initial stage of Israel's history, when they had committed that awful sin against Jehovah-the sin of the golden calf.

"These be thy gods, O Israel, that brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. . . To-morrow shall be a feast unto Jehovah." Not only had they become idolaters, imitating the worship of the sacred bull of Egypt, but they had dared-and how awful the blasphemy of it-to put that august, that sacred name, the name of Jehovah, upon their idol.

Thus had they forfeited their place as His people, and their right to national existence. But God in His mercy, in response to the intercession of Moses, retreated into His own sovereignty and declared, "I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy "-mercy shown to them on the confession of their guilt. To this gracious action of God they owed their existence as a nation (Exod. 33:19).

But how far reaching is this principle of the "golden calf." Witness in our day this thing in all its hideousness set forth in Christian (?) Science. The holy name of God's anointed put upon the vaporings of demons ! The awful daring of their apostasy from the fear of God is seen in the putting of the name of Him who is the " Holy and the True" upon their blasphemies and lies:-the name of Him Who is the "Wisdom of God" upon the irrationalism of their foolish verbal mutterings. O my God, have mercy on their darkened souls, and translate them from the power of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of Thy love. Blessed God, blessed Saviour, how good is the light of Thy countenance!

To return:Is God a respecter of persons ? Will He refuse mercy to the Gentiles if they repent ? Will He reprobate Esau because of his wickedness, and yet condone wickedness in the Jew ? Nay, rather, " You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore will I punish you for your iniquity" (Amos 3:2). How futile in them to murmur against the mercy of God going out to the Gentiles in view of the record of their own history, that they owed to that mercy their national existence.

" So then it is not of him that willeth"-as Isaac might will the blessing to Esau-" Nor of him that runneth"-as Esau might easily outstrip Jacob- "but of God that showeth mercy." Poor Jacob was a fitting object of mercy, and God showed him mercy.

The promise laid down, around which the apostle's closely packed arguments turn, "Not as though the word of God had taken none effect, for they are not all Israel who are of Israel," is that which is constantly kept before us; and in keeping with this the apostle begins to argue up to the hardening of Israel on account of their unbelief:"For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show My power in thee, and that My name might be declared throughout all the earth."

May God give to us a deep reverence for "the Scriptures." The majesty of them is seen in that their Giver places them on an equality with Himself:"For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh." God had "raised up" Pharaoh, had raised him up on the throne of Egypt that, wicked and hard of heart as he was, he might be the suited vessel through which He might loudly warn the earth-might make His power known, and spread the terror and the glory of His name, thereby to turn men to repentance. But, so far as the record goes, only one poor "sinful woman, though all in Jericho had equal knowledge of God's dealings with Egypt and with His people, heeded the warning and turned to the true God.

"Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth." -" On whom He will." His will is perfect. On whom did he have mercy ? On poor weak vacillating Jacob-a suppliant before Him. Whom did He harden ? Pharaoh-proud, wicked and defiant. " Who is Jehovah ? I know not Jehovah, neither will I let the people of Israel go" (Exod. 5:2). If the weak and the suppliant receive mercy, and the proud and rebellious are hardened, what about Israel ? Is God a respecter of persons ? Shall God deal so with Pharaoh and otherwise with Israel, who, in view of their further light are surely as guilty as he ?

But if things have been carried through according to His will, "Why doth He yet find fault?" This bold and daring question, which is rooted in "no fear of Sod, "must be settled by the insistence of His sovereign majesty before there can be any further discussion of the question involved. "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?" Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, ' Why had thou made me thus' ? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor ? " Man in the hand of God, as clay in the hand of the potter ! Oh that men would fear Him! But has God "made" men to dishonor? Far be the thought. But "Man being in honor," and without understanding of his "honor"-in forget-fulness of God and in the abuse of power, is " like unto the beasts that perish.

Having insisted on the sovereign rights of God, the apostle now unfolds the facts in the case of Pharaoh. God had "endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction" – "fitted to destruction"-because of centuries of refusal of the light; because of their shameless idolatries and abominable wickedness. God would, in judging Egypt, "show His wrath and make His power known" so that the nations of the earth might know that He is God, and that they might know too the consequences of going on in idolatry and wickedness. Instead of judging Pharaoh and his people at one stroke, He held them under His hand, working wonder after wonder so that His Name, His wrath, and His power might be spread abroad. Egypt's cup was full. The hour of her judgment had come, and God saw to it that no passing spasm of fear which would have left unaffected Pharaoh's eternal destiny, was allowed to thwart His merciful warning to the other nations of the earth ; and to this end He hardened Pharaoh's heart (Exod. 4:21). He smote his heart with judicial hardness in retribution for his pride and wickedness.

But also, " Pharaoh hardened his heart " (Exod. 8:32), he steeled himself against all conviction in spite of the manifest interposition of divine power which again and again appealed to him, and the effect was "Pharaoh's heart was hardened "God did not harden Pharaoh's heart against true repentance toward Himself, but because the will of Pharaoh had set itself against Jehovah and the reception of His testimony, God would use the very wickedness of man to warn his fellows:"As I live saith the Lord I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth " (Ezek. 18:32 and 33:n). Had not He given the Gentiles over to a reprobate mind because they did not like to retain God in their knowledge " ? (Rom. i:28). Will He not, in the coming day, give over " to a strong delusion" those who "received not the love of the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness?" Why then should we evade the full force of these words. "And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thy hand; but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go" (Exod. 4:21). There is no question here of hardening his heart against repentance towards God. Pharaoh was already a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction–self-fitted by the evil of his ways and the defiant pride of his heart. He had reached

"That mysterious bourne
By which man's path is crossed,
Beyond which, God Himself hath sworn,
That he who goes is lost."

The hardening of his heart was " that he should not let the people go."

The acceptance of present light, as a condition to a further revelation, is laid down by the Lord Himself as recorded in Mark 4:11,12:"And He said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables, that seeing they may see and not perceive; and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them."

How solemn is this! He refuses to enlighten all who are not "within," Why? Because had they believed Moses and the prophets, had they received present light, they would have received Him; they would have been "within." "Think not that I will accuse you to the Father:there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words ?" (Jno. 5:45-47). The blessed Lord will not put dishonor upon the Scriptures, as though they were not sufficient in their testimony to Him. For the word of Jehovah is all in all to Him ; not even if it were to turn them to God and bring them the forgiveness of their sins will He dishonor, as though it were insufficient in its testimony, God's revelation of old to them.

Could any ground of judgment be more just to a Jew?-"Moses in whom ye trust" shall be your judge, because "ye believe not his writings." And so, in our own day, the truth of Christianity having' been established, it is unbelief that asks for a sign, a miracle, in further testimony to the truth of it. G. MacKenzie.

(To be continued.)

(John 4:21-23; Matt. 18 :20.)

Not Gerizim, nor Zion's mount, "
Nor temple made with hands:
The God of grace a dwelling-place
More glorious demands-
A temple built of living stones
From all earth's barren lands.

In love "made nigh," the Lord's redeemed,
Of every clime and race,
Can offer now, in worship true,
Before the Father's face
The sacrifice of praise, from hearts
That know the Father's grace.

Where loving heart and reverent hand
Our paschal feast prepare,
His grace makes e'en the humblest room
The Father's house of prayer;
For, gathered to His name beloved,
The Lord Himself is there.

His promise to the two or three
Doth blessedly abide;
And while our souls adoring see
The pierced hands and side,
The Spirit all pervading doth
Our hearts in worship guide.

The twos and threes, in light divine,
By sovereign grace made meet,
As members of one body now,
And as in Christ complete,
The first-fruits of eternal praise,
Now offer at His feet.

Within the veil-where Light and Love
Their glories full unfold-
Our hearts adoring bow before
The Mercy-seat of gold,
And in communion sweet, divine,
Th' atoning blood behold.

Behold the stricken Lamb of God-
Ordained ere time began,
By love's obedience to fulfil
Redemption's purposed plan-
A rebel world to reconcile,
Salvation bring to man;

From death and darkness' power redeem,
And bring to God in light;
From paths of sin and sorrow save,
To walk with Him in white,
And share the glories He hath won,
In glory's highest height.

Ah! well may we "remember" Him
With hearts that overflow,
Who bore our judgment unto death,
The uttermost of woe;
Endured God's righteous wrath that we
The Father's love might know.

Oh living Well in arid waste-
Where saved and Saviour meet!
Where love's redeemed, in blest commune,
In love's divine retreat,
Foretaste the joy of heaven now
In earth's "remembrance " sweet.

" Until He come," His blood-bought Bride
For glory's courts to claim,
Oh, let us all, in word and way,
His grace, His praise proclaim;
And till His face with joy we see
We'll "gather to His Name."

W. L. G.

Oh the peace of full surrender-
All my joy to do His will!
Mine to trust His faithful promise,
His the promise to fulfil.

Oh the glory and the rapture,
Thus to dwell with Christ the Lord;
New delight and wisdom gaining
From the study of His Word.

Pleasure's songs no more entice me,
Nor the bugle note of Fame;
Sweeter far the holy music
Of my dear Redeemer's name.

Oh the glory and the rapture-
Earthly burdens pass away!
Stormy winter turns to summer,
Lonely darkness into day.

Frederic R. Marvin

(1 Pet. 3:18)

In our unbelief we were not only "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise" (Eph. 2:12), but were also alienated from God, at enmity with Him. Morally we were at an infinite distance from our Creator, whose rights over us we had violated. Sin had effected all this, and brought us into this place of distance from God.

Now the aim of sin is to dishonor God; Satan's design, in whom it originated, is to dethrone God, to destroy His sovereignty and set up in its place the supremacy of evil. When this conception of sin is apprehended it will be realized how abhorrent to God sin must be. There would have to be an impossible change in God's nature and character to reconcile Himself to the continuance of sin in His universe. Sin is intrinsically abhorrent to Him, and of necessity God must put sin at an infinite distance from Himself. In doing this, God is only maintaining His sovereign right, and the necessity of His nature.

But what a dreadful thing it is for a moral creature to be identified with what God has necessarily to put at an infinite distance from Himself ! A creature made to have communion with God, put away at an infinite distance from Him-how dreadful is the thought ! How dreadful to us even in our very imperfect realization of the awful reality of sin.

But this terrible position of separation from God was once ours. We were sin's captives, taking our
part in Satan's struggle to dethrone God; doing our share in the abominable effort to dishonor Him. It is a position in which we necessarily were the objects of His displeasure. While we followed the course of this world, to which we belonged and of which we were a part, we were "sons of disobedience," and naturally "children of wrath" (Eph. 2:2, 3). We were appointed to death and the judgment that comes after death (Heb. 9:27)-objects of God's present displeasure and exposed to His eternal wrath. How awful the doom that was before us ! How little we then realized it !

But this is not all. As regards deliverance from this position in which we stood, we were absolutely helpless, entirely without resources to deliver ourselves from it. The redemption of the soul is costly (Ps. 49:8). Who has the price? Silver and gold are valueless here. Even were it possible to gain the whole world it were valueless for the redemption of the soul.

Entirely helpless men are, then, to deliver themselves out of the position in which sin has brought them. No ability to free themselves from the penalty of their sins. They cannot turn aside the death to which they are appointed. They cannot free themselves from the eternal judgment to which they have been sentenced. But, thanks be to God, in infinite grace He has intervened in behalf of man in the time of his extremity. He has not left men, has not abandoned them to a just and eternal doom. He might have done so, and no one could say to Him, Nay. He would have been just in exercising His sovereign right. But while it was His right to leave men to their deserts, it was in His heart to interpose on their behalf. It was a necessity of His nature to love the moral creature He had created. He could but love him still after his fall. Man's sin could not change the heart of God. It was a necessity of God's nature to abominate man's sin, but it was also a necessity of His nature to love man even though he was estranged from Him, and to pity him in his helpless and hopeless condition. Oh how good and blessed for us that this was so !

And if God could love and pity man in his sins, He was not without power to exercise His love and show His pity. Love in God was not helpless. It was able to interpose on man's behalf. It had resources righteously to intervene and to meet man in his need and extremity. It was a necessity of God's nature to bring in the resources of His love, wisdom and power in man's behalf. If it was impossible for man to get back to God, it was possible for God to come out to man, to lay hold of him and bring him back.

Let us consider, briefly, the intervention of God to meet sinful men in their extremity. He has raised up a Man capable, through an atoning sacrifice and thus righteously, to open the way for the recovery of sinful men to Himself. He has given His well-beloved, His only Son to become the Mediator between the righteous claims of His nature and sinful men-One able to answer to God concerning men's sins. God gave His Son-the Jehovah-Messiah promised of old-to suffer sacrificially for sin that He might bring sinners back to Himself.

The Son of God thus became the Redeemer-became a Man to be that; but to redeem men He must needs purchase the right of redemption. This could only be at an infinite price. The price was His infinitely precious blood, the giving of His life to establish the right to forgive sins and give eternal life. This is what He does for all who will own Him as Saviour. He has obtained the right to do this by taking the penalty of our sins upon Himself.

Now the gospel is, in its essence, the proclamation of the love of God for sinners as manifested in the gift of His Son to be their Saviour; and the grace and love of Christ in suffering in behalf of sinners, to acquire the right of redemption which He now exercises in our behalf. It is by these two things-the love of God and the grace of Christ- that the gospel appeals to sinners. In taking effect in the souls of sinful men, it brings them to Christ, it breaks down their alienation and enmity, and makes them willing to bow the knee to Him, with willing hearts to confess Him as their Saviour, and acknowledge Him as their Lord.

Thus are sinful men reconciled and brought to God, and the Christ to whom they bow the knee, freely forgives their sins and gives them eternal life; they are passed thus out of death into life:out of distance into nearness to God, forever freed from the eternal doom to which they were exposed because of their sins. Brought to God to live in fellowship with Him the rest of their life here in the flesh, and in a fuller and richer measure to be with Him eternally in His heavenly home !

Brought to God-the God of our Lord Jesus Christ -the God of holiness! Brought to the God who
would not look upon His own Son when He stood for us before God to answer to Him concerning our sins!

Beloved brethren, to what extent has this great and blessed fact laid hold of our souls? To what extent are we in the realization that we have been brought to a God of uncompromising holiness ? Is this blessed fact having its full fruit in our lives ? How far is it practically true of us that we are living "to the will of God?" Is it a past thing in our life to have wrought the will of the Gentiles ? To what extent are we living the remainder of our life in the flesh to the lusts of the flesh or to the will of Him who died for us and rose again ?
These are serious questions. Is there not great need of asking them ?Do we not-one and all- need to challenge our hearts, and soberly consider whether we are duly responding to the claims which God's love has upon us ? Is it not necessary to ask ourselves if, in some sense, the grace of Christ be in vain with us ? Shall we boast of being positionally in nearness to God while we are not morally in the condition that answers to the position? Surely the Scriptures imply that our blessed position involves a corresponding condition. Let us then be exercised as to how far this is true of us; and may God bless the exercise, and grant it to be fruitful. C. Crain

… It is indeed true, as you write, " The children of faith-children of God-recognize one another, and have fellow feelings." It must be so, for they are, all of them, indwelt of the one Spirit, and have the new nature, which is not of man, but of God. The same hope animates them, and they look for the same heavenly possessions.

Of course we can, none of us, set a date for our Lord's appearing, but we know the time approaches. My dear mother, now with our Lord, was very desirous of being on earth at the time of our Saviour's return, but it was not His will, and His will is always better than our desire. The terrible times through which the world is now passing, awaken in my heart new hope. I think the time must be very near. Let us watch, and work, and pray, with great rejoicing. "We shall soon be with Him, whether we go to Him through death or are caught up to meet Him. I think it more than likely that His feet are even now upon the threshold ; yet I would not be thought to have in mind any date. What God has not disclosed, I may not pry into with irreverence.

"Watchman, what of the night 1 The "watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night"-Isa. 21:11, 12.

What of the night of travail sore
That hath held in dark embrace,
From unbelieving sire to son,
The line of Judah's race ?
Doth the night of pain and exile wane,
The day-dawn wax apace ?

Oh, why have Salem's scattered sons
Been set with sorrow round ?
And why is Zion's holy hill
With mosque of Omar crowned ?
And where the song of praise should rise,
" Lo-Ammi" wails resound ?

Because, O Salem, ye denied
The Holy and the True,
Long, long, o'er David's royal tower
The cruel Crescent flew,
And unbelieving Moslem reigned
O'er unbelieving Jew.

But Israel, for the fathers', sake,
Is precious in His sight,
And harbingers of coming day
Now gild their long, dark night-
For Moslem flag no longer flies
O'er Zion's sacred height.

The Powers of earth their wars may wage
Their rival goals to gain,
But faith discerns God's arm outstretched
To bring His own again:
For He who gave the spoiler power,
Alone can break his chain.

O'er all a warring world portends,
The Spirit-taught can hear
The voice prophetic, fraught with hope,
To outcast Israel's ear,
And on the withered fig-tree see
The budding life appear.
The mercies sure of David stand
For Jacob's chosen race;
And He who scattered in His wrath
Shall gather in His grace,
And plead, as with their sires of old,
With Israel face to face.

Their long, last exile o'er, they'll come
From many an alien strand;
Their fathers' God shall guard and guide
With His o'er-ruling hand,
Till Ephraim, Judah, reconciled,
Possess in peace the land.

But ere the day of Israel come,
Ere reigneth David's Heir,
The day of grace in judgment ends
In night of dark despair:
E'en now the words loom on the wall
That Gentile doom declare.

While arch-deceivers, serpent-tongued,
Beguile on every hand,
The swelling flood of unbelief
Sweeps o'er a darkening land-
On the rock of God's Inerrant Word
How few, alas, now stand!

And He who wept o'er Salem, left
To desolation's reign,
Now grieves o'er Gentile unbelief,
And warns, entreats-in vain!
Ah, soon may Israel's olive root
Bear Jewish branch again.

The fulness of the Gentiles come,
The day of grace will close,
And Judah's Lion shall arise
In wrath to smite His foes:
Man's vaunted " Peace " but ushers in
Jehovah's judgment woes.

The heavens will yield, in glorious power,
Earth's rightful Heir and Lord-
His grace despised, His mercy spurned.
His kingly claims ignored,
He'll come in righteousness to wield
Our God's avenging sword.

For haughty man's apostate pride
No bound nor limit knows,
Till-oh, the blasphemy supreme!-
He e'en as God will pose,
And Gentile Empires' sun will set
In Armageddon's throes.

Then o'er this weary, war-worn world,
With healing in His wing
The Sun of Righteousness shall rise,
And peace and blessing bring;
And all creation hail as Lord
Jehovah's Priestly King.

W. L. G.

Fifty pointed Questions for the consideration of those who deny the everlasting and conscious punishment of the finally lost, and the consciousness of all while in the disembodied state.

1. What did our Lord mean, when He said not to fear those "who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do," if the loss of the soul is the same as physical death ?

2. A soul which cannot be killed with the body, is it not immortal ?

3. Have you noticed that Scripture uses the terms "mortal," " mortality," and "immortality " in relation to the body ? (See Rom. 8:ii; i Cor. 15:53.)

4. If a spirit cannot live without a body, how do you account for the existence of God, who "is a Spirit ? " (John 4:24.)

5. What of the angels, who are called " spirits ? " (Heb. i:7, 14.)

6. How do you account for the prolonged existence of demons, who are wicked and lost spirits ? (Luke 8:27-29; Mark i:23-26.)

7. What of the angels that sinned, who are reserved under chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day ? (Jude 6.)

8. How could the people of Sodom and Gomorrah be suffering the vengeance of eternal fire, if they were annihilated, or totally unconscious, when destroyed by material fire ? (Jude 7.)

10 How could Abraham, Isaac and Jacob be said to "live unto Him," thousands of years after they had died, if death and extinction of being are synonymous? (Luke 20:38.)

11. Do you not think all who heard the Lord Jesus relate the story of the rich man and Lazarus, would naturally suppose He meant to teach conscious existence after death in happiness or woe ? (Luke 16:19-31.)

12. If it is "only a parable," and represents the changed relations of Jew and Gentile after Christ's rejection, as some teach, why is the great gulf fixed?

13. Could you honestly say that they who would pass from Judaism to Christianity, or vice versa, cannot do so ?

14. If "eternal does not mean eternal" why is it put in contrast with "temporal ? "-" The things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (2 Cor. 4:18.)

15. If there is a stronger word for eternal than that used for eternal or everlasting punishment, why is not the stronger word used for "eternal life," the "eternal Spirit," and the "King eternal?" (Matt. 25:46; Heb. 9:14; i Tim. i:17.)
16. If all the solemn statements as to an undying worm, outer darkness, and a lake of fire are symbols, is it to be supposed that the reality is weaker or less than the figures employed to picture it ?

17. If final punishment is extinction, how will it be possible for the judgment of the people of Sodom
to be more tolerable than that of those of Capernaum ? or that of Tyre and Sidon, than Bethsaida and Chorazin ? (Matt, 11:21-24.)

18. If Judas is annihilated, what special force can you see in the Lord's words, "It had been good for that man if he had not been born ?" (Matt. 26:24.)

19. In what sense will it be any worse for Judas than for any other lost one, if all are to be annihilated together ?

20. If "cast into the lake of fire" results in extinction, how is it that "the beast and the false prophet" are described as alive in it a thousand years after they are cast into it ? (Rev. 20:10.)

21. On the same hypothesis, what force can you see in the words, "Shall be tormented, day and night, forever and ever ? " (Rev. 20:10.)

22. What warrant have you to explain, " Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever," and " He that liveth forever and ever," as meaning eternity, while you limit, " tormented day and night forever and ever," to a brief period ?

23. Do you really see any hint or thought of annihilation in the expression, " Wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever?" (Jude 13.)

24. Do not the words just quoted at least seem to picture the lost as comets or stars out of their orbit, for all eternity away from the Sun of righteousness ?

25. Can you logically couple the thought of abiding wrath with annihilation? (John 3:36.)

26. Could unconscious spirits "desire a better country ? " If not, how do you explain Heb. 11:16 ?

27. If Paul believed that his soul and spirit would become unconscious at death, what did he mean when he wrote of being " willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord? " (2 Cor. 5:8.)

28. Could one be absent from the body and asleep in the body at the same time ?

29. What did Peter mean when he wrote :"Knowing that I must shortly put off this my tabernacle? " (2 Pet. i:14.)

30. Does it not imply, at least, that he would be living apart from his bodily tabernacle ?

31. If souls cannot consciously exist out of the body, why are they so pictured in Rev. 6:9-11 ?
32. In what sense are some to be beaten with few stripes, and others with many, if all who die in their sins are to be annihilated? (Luke 12:47, 48.)

33. Is it honest to say,"Death means extinction, or annihilation," in the face of, "She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth?" (i Tim. 5:6.)

34. If death means extinction, did Christ become extinct when He died ?

35. If so, do you not see that He could not be "that Eternal Life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us ?" (i John i:2.)

36. Have you observed that the same Greek word which is translated "destroy" in many passages, is translated lost in Luke 15:32 ?

37. Would you conclude from this that the prodigal had been annihilated while he was in the far country ?

38. If not, is it logical – is it true, or false – to maintain that destruction and annihilation are synonymous ?

39. Have you observed that in Scripture life and existence are never confounded?

40. If men exist now, who "have not the life" (i John 5:12), why may they not exist eternally without that life-which is eternal life ?

41. Christians are said to "have come to … the spirits of just men made perfect" (Heb. 12:23). In what sense have these spirits been made perfect, if unconscious ?

42. It is sometimes said that as no human father would cast his child into material fire, so God will never cast sinners into the fires of hell and let them suffer there forever; but is not this an ignoring of what we see every day ?

43. Would you allow one you loved to be afflicted with a painful or loathsome disease if you could hinder it ?

44. Does not God permit such afflictions to go on for years ?

45. If He permits great anguish in this life as a result of sin, who can say what sin may entail in the world to come ?

46. Have you observed that sinful men eagerly accept the teaching that punishment is not eternal,
while holy men have ever received the Bible's teaching as to it ?

47. If annihilation is the punishment of sin, why did the Lord Jesus speak of "weeping and gnashing of teeth," following the being cast into outer darkness? (Matt. 8; 12.)

48. If hell-or rather "hades," is merely the grave, why is it put in contrast with heaven in Luke 10:15 ?

49. Since the people of all cities of the past have gone down to the grave, in what sense was Capernaum's punishment different from theirs ?

50. Caviler! Consider this well:" How shall you escape the damnation of hell ?" (Matt. 23:33).

(Continued from page 244)

(3) The earth and sea include the two great material factors before man's eyes. Jehovah passes next to the great recurring features of nature, as seen in the day and night. Has Job ever, since the beginning of his life, commanded a single morning to appear, or caused the dawn to know the place of its appearing ? With all his supposed knowledge and power, man cannot command the forces of nature to do his bidding. Day by day the light appears in its appointed place, flooding the earth with light from which the guilty flee. Evening falls, and no word of man can arrest or quicken this constant action. Only One gave His command at the beginning, " Let there be light," and since that time evening and morning have known their appointed time and place. Joshua, speaking in the word of the Lord, can arrest the course of the day, and the prophet gives Hezekiah a divine sign, in turning back the shadow upon the sun-dial; but these only emphasize the fact that none but God can command the light." I form the light, and create darkness" (Isa. 45:7).Let us gaze with rapture at the glorious sunset, or watch with awe the dawning of a new day, and say from the depths of our hearts, " The day is thine, the night also is thine :Thou hast prepared the light and the sun " (Ps. 74 :16). The dawn knows its place-in the east, and yet varying daily as the year progresses. Astronomy marks these varying changes of place, and of time as well. All is perfect, and all sings His praise who commanded and maintains it."Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to sing" (Ps. 65 :8, marg.) Our wisdom is to see and own it all as divine, to say with the poet:

" On the glimmering limit, far withdrawn,
God made Himself an awful rose of dawn."

With the dawning of the light evil men hide themselves. Literally as well as figuratively is this true of "the unfruitful works of darkness." As the mark of the signet-ring upon the formless clay, so the light stamps upon the face of the earth the varied forms and colors of all things. They stand out like a lovely garment-or the reverse, a scene of ruin-under the light. The light shows all things as they are:"Whatsoever doth make manifest is light" (Eph. 5:13). The night is the light of the wicked; they hate the light, and will not come to it lest their deeds should be reproved. The entrance of the light arrests their deeds. Their uplifted arm is broken.

Thus the light of God's presence detects evil. When He causes the dawning of a new day-"The day of the Lord"-evil doers shall be shaken out of the earth. For this cause, His people who are " children of the light and of the day," order their life by the light. For this cause, in that fair land where there is no night, nothing that defileth can enter. It is the home of the light. None could remain there but the sons of light. " The Lamb is the light thereof."

This appeal to day and night is most effectual. Shall Job accuse One who is Light, who sees all things as they are ? Shall he doubt One who knows the secrets of his heart, and the reason for these chastenings ? Do not these questions give a hint that God will cause Job's night to end, and at the appointed time cause His dayspring to visit the poor sufferer ?

(4) In intimate connection with the all-manifesting power of the light, God probes Job further. Does he know secret things ?-"which belong unto God." The hidden depths of the sea with its countless dead; the gates of death and what lies beyond. Has Job searched this out ? Has he fully known the breadth of the earth-all that it contains ? Does modern science know it really ? What is the "home," or origin of light, or of darkness? Men have been inquiring into "the origin of evil;" what do they know apart from divine revelation ? Modern science sees more clearly of late years that the sun is not the origin of light, which exists independently of that, or any other visible source. These questions of Jehovah are addressed not merely to Job, with his knowledge limited to that time, but to men of the present day. Whether we regard verse 21 as a question, as in our version, or as a statement in divine irony-" Thou knowest it for then thou wast born," etc.-the meaning is obvious.

(5) Jehovah speaks next of the phenomena of snow and rain, of frost and dew, with their effects upon the earth and man. Here again man's ignorance and helplessness are displayed in the presence of the wisdom, power and beneficence of God, as well as His chastening hand.

The snow and hail are laid up in storehouses- where ? Not in some hidden locality, in vast masses, not merely in the viewless vapor filling the firmament, as science now would say, but back of all that, those storehouses of mercy and of judgment are in the hand of God. It is by His word they are produced-the snow, for protection of the grass in winter, and for cooling and refreshing in summer; the hail, in smiting plagues and sweeping judgments (Isa. 28:17). Snow, we are told, is produced by the action of cold upon vapor, turning its molecules into crystals of lovely and varied form. Those forms are planned-by whom? Whose laws are fulfilled by these tiny crystals ? The working of whose mind do they display ?

Next to its coldness, perhaps more striking than that, snow is the standard for absolute whiteness, of purity. Perhaps Job did not know that this whiteness was caused by the pure white light reflected from the countless faces of its crystals. But what "treasures" of whiteness are reserved by God? He is light, and the snow reflecting the sunlight, suggests how completely His essential righteousness is displayed in that work of redemption which enables Him to say:"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isa. i :18). Sins that once cried for vengeance, now, through the precious blood of Christ, reflect the glory of God's character! " To declare His righteousness, that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Rom. 3 :26). In the " redemption that is in Christ Jesus," He has exhaustless stores of whiteness and protection for the sins of the world. What fearful judgments will follow the rejection of that grace! "The wrath of the Lamb ! " The "snow" now falling in a pitiless storm of destruction.

This thought is emphasized in the hail, the frozen drops of rain. Those gentle showers which water the earth that it may bring forth its fruits, turned into death-dealing wrath ! For a Christ-rejecting world there is laid up " wrath against the day of wrath," of which the hail is a figure (Ex. 9:22; Hag. 2:17; Ps. 18 :12; Rev. 16 :21).

And yet these fearful judgments-God's "strange work "-will tell forth the glory of a righteousness, inflexible as well as full of love. " Praise Him . . . fire and hail; snow and vapors; stormy wind fulfilling His word " (Ps. 148:8).

Let Science tell us all it can discover of the laws and effects of the snow crystals, of the varied temperature of the air currents, of electric discharges and equalizations; let us penetrate as deeply as we may into these second causes, and we shall find them to be the outer court of His tabernacle, the display of His attributes, leading us on into the holiest of His revealed Person, as seen in Christ Jesus.

Passing from these phenomena of winter and of storm, the Lord asks as to the method of distribution of the light (for this seems the thought of ver. 24). How amazing are the "partings" of the light-permeating every part of the earth where its rays fall. How unthinkably swift are "the wings of the morning," flashing from sun to earth in a few moments. How beautiful are those "partings," as seen in the spectrum, the rainbow painting in living colors the whole landscape. Why and how is one object green, another blue, another red? Is it sufficient to say that each substance reflects certain rays? That these, in turn, are produced by varied vibrations of inconceivable rapidity ? We ask about the "X-rays," with their penetrating power; about the ultra-violet and red rays, of chemical and heating power. Science has much to tell us that might well fill us with wonder and amazement, and with awe and worship-of whom ? The more we know of His displays, the less we know, save as He makes Himself known in Christ, of Himself.* *It would lead us far into this field, if we were but able, to search into the endless details of the laws, manifestations and effects of the light, and their spiritual significance. It is a field in which comparatively little has been done, and yet what has been told us might well make us hunger for more. The white undivided light is composed of three main rays-blue, green, red. God is Light! Three is manifestation. God fully manifested is seen as three persons. Blue, the heavenly color, tells of the Father in heaven ; green, the color of life upon earth, tells of the Spirit, the giver and maintainer of life ; red, the color of heat, speaks of the Son, the expression of the love of God, whose precious blood is the measure of that love.

The three kinds of rays-the light ray, the heat ray, and the actinic, or chemical ray, may also tell us of the Trinity. The first, of the Father, who "hath shined in our hearts ; " the second, of the Son, healing, warming, sustaining ; the third, of the Spirit's most needed but inscrutable working. All are inter-related and complementary in their work. What would light be without heat? It could only show the wreckage of creation; spiritually, it manifests the hideous ruin of man's fallen nature. And what would both light and heat effect, save to warm, and ultimately consume the ruin ? So all waits on the actinic rays in which life is sustained ; the Spirit must accompany and make good all the brightness of divine revelation, all the warmth of the love of Christ.*

From the east, the apparent source of the light, comes also the sweeping east wind, distributed over the land in the storm-a picture of wrath-His wrath-who in the light had spoken so silently. But even the east wind is held in His fists, controlled by His will.

But storms and storm-clouds are but the prelude to the rain. Here, too, God is seen, bringing refreshing after the storm. So with Job, his chastening will be followed by the showers. Who knows how to "divide," to distribute, these refreshing showers ? Man would distribute them unevenly, or out of due time. God knows when and how to send the welcome relief. Nay, the very lightning and thunder are but the vehicles upon which the showers come, as Science now declares.

How widely distributed is this rain, reaching out beyond the abodes of man, to the waste places of the earth. Where the tiniest blade of grass grows, there is seen the truth that, " His tender mercies are over all His works."
Nor are these things merely acts; they are, so to speak, the offspring of God's love and care. Rain and dew, ice and frost, are all the children of the great and good God.

" These are Thy works, Thou Parent of all good! "

Can we doubt Him ? Shall we misjudge Him ? How our unbelief and discontent witness against us, as Job's complainings did against him. S. R.

(To be continued.)

QUES. 9.-The Lord says to His disciples, "It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven "(Matt. 13 :11); has that kingdom come in the mystery form ? Is the parable of the wheat and the tares primarily Jewish?

ANS.-What that kingdom is must first be clearly understood. Let us trace it.

It had been promised and much prophesied of in the O. T. (1) The place of the King's birth was given; (2) His descent from David foretold, as well as (3) the glory of His person ; (4) the manner of His coming, and (5) the character of His kingdom. As to all this, see (1) Micah 5:2 and Matt. 2:1-6; (2)2 Sam. 7 :16, Ps. 132 :11, and Matt. 1:1-16; (3) Isa. 7 :14 ; 9 :6, 7, and Matt. 1 :21-23 ; (4) Zech. 9 :9, and Matt. 21:4-14 ; (5) Isa. chaps. 11, 12. These scriptures, with many others, show what the godly in Israel were to expect. (See Luke 2 :26-32.)

Let us trace it now in Matthew's Gospel. John the Baptist (the King's forerunner) then came and began to preach :" Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand " (Matt. 3 :1-3), and the Lord afterward preached the same (ch. 4 :17). The king was from heaven, and His kingdom a kingdom of the heavens, in contrast to the kingdoms of the world.

Attracted by the works of power-the healings, the signs and wonders, and the teachings-multitudes came and followed Him (ch. 4:23-25), "and seeing the multitudes He (the King) went up into a mountain," and gave utterance to the rules, the ways and laws of His kingdom in chaps. 5-7. These three chapters are called "the Magna Charta, or Constitution of the kingdom," in Feb. Help and Food, page 49. (Read that page, and part of the next, carefully.)

But the rulers manifested deadly opposition (ch. 9 :34, 35), and the mass of the people soon showed no heart for the King, His kingdom, and His messengers (ch. 10 :16, 17) ; judgment then was pronounced upon those who had most seen His mighty works and had not repented (ch. 11 :20-24). Then the opposition grows ; the rulers ascribe to the devil the works of power, which they could not deny, yet resisted, and they seek to destroy Jesus (ch. 12).

The abandonment of Israel is typified by the Lord leaving the Jewish house (ch. 13) and going out to the sea-typical of the Gentiles-where the precious seed of the gospel is to be sowed, and the results are given in parables.

Why are they called "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven " ? Because the rejected King was going away, and mysterious results would appear from the good and the evil seeds sown, and the work of opposing powers would produce a condition of things apparently great (as the mustard seed), but with the deceitful working of evil within (as the leaven in the meal). All these parables then show what the kingdom would become in the absence of Hie King.

If these things are apprehended, it becomes perfectly plain that the kingdom in this mystery form applies exclusively to Ike time of the King's absence. When the King returns in power and glory there shall be mystery no longer. He shall render to His servants as their work has been. He will judge the evil servant, and judge the world in righteousness, as fully set forth in Matt., chap. 25.

(Section 3.-Self manifested-Continued from December].

2.-Present shame (chap. 30).

Dwell upon the past as long he may, Job is at last forced to turn to the present with its wretched contrast. This portion may be divided into seven parts, giving the thought of complete misery, which thus exceeds his former greatness.

(1) His wretched mockers (vers. 1-8).

(2) Their scorn (vers. 9-12).

(3) Their persecution (vers. 13-15).

(4) His sufferings (vers. 16-19).

(5) No help from God (vers. 20-23).

(6) The triumph of misery (vers. 24-27).

(7) Complete woe (vers. 28-31).

(i) Job's words as to his former greatness were in description of his beneficent pity for the wretched outcasts to whom he ministered comfort and cheer. Passing into the present, he seems to have changed places with these, or those like them, and in turn speaks of them not with the language of sympathy but of deepest contempt. Pride speaks of them- "whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock." Their elders were beneath his contempt, and now the younger have him in derision. The verses following describe these wretched persons who now exalt themselves above him. They are weak and unprofitable-as decrepit old age. Withered up from hunger, they gnaw the roots of weeds growing in the waste which for long has ceased to yield true food for man. The mallows, or salt wort, and the sedge, or juniper, have become their food. These are the contemptible wretches which mock him who once was so great. Driven from men as thieves, their habitation in valleys and dark holes, croaking or braying as beasts-these outcasts pour their contempt upon him !It is a hideous picture, reminding us of One who in a far different spirit said, " I was the song of the drunkards" (Ps. 69:12).But in Job there is no turning to God in such unjust treatment. Evidently the wound to his pride, in having such a rabble mock him, is the deepest of his mental sufferings. He had previously described persons like these (chap. 24) as illustrating the unequal lot that comes upon men and as showing the oppression of the prosperous wicked. But he is not here the advocate of these downtrodden men; his own soul is writhing under their contempt. It is a sad picture of pride, which grows bitter as it dwells upon its wrongs.

(2) Scorn them as he may, Job is compelled to acknowledge that he is mocked by them, their song and their by word. We can but compare his anger at their taunts with the meekness of Him "who when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not."All through life our Lord had the shadows of man's rejection falling upon Him, but in His darkest hour-"your hour and the power of darkness "-they poured out their maledictions and their taunts. But He, as One that heard not, "gave His back to the smiters and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting" (Isa. 50:6). Who is it that said this ? Not a man lamenting over former grandeur, but one who had voluntarily relinquished His glory in love for His enemies, who could at any moment have delivered Himself from His troubles by an appeal to His Father or by the putting forth of His own power. "But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be?" (Matt. 26:54). We need only to meditate upon such words to see the pitiful petulance of Job in painful contrast. In all his sufferings Job felt, as he had frequently declared, the hand of God upon him, and he connects this with the scorn of these abject men who took advantage of God's dealings to vent their hatred upon him. "God hath forsaken him:persecute and take him." The "rabble" (as the word has been rendered) press upon his right hand, they thrust his feet away from their only standing-place, and lift up their own destructive ways. We can only again remark how unlike Job was to our blessed Lord in similar circumstances.

(3) The scorn and mockery, which we have seen increasing in violence, now bursts out in a storm of persecution. These puny, helpless men turn now in violence upon him; they tear down his path- destroy the way of one whose footsteps had "well-nigh slipped." They would contribute to his overthrow. They burst upon him like a flood breaking through restraining banks; they roll over him with the deafening noise of their tramp. "The floods of ungodly men made me afraid." Like a pack of cowardly wolves they pounce upon the fallen man, whose soul, or rather "nobility," is swept aside as by a fierce hurricane; " Like a cloud my prosperity passed away." This is beautiful poetry, abounding in bold images; but Job does not show himself to advantage. The weakness of his spirit is seen in the lack of dignity with which he undergoes his misfortunes. Evidently his faith is in eclipse. This is apparent in what follows.

(4) His soul is poured out, and days of suffering are his portion. The nights are no better, for the gnawing disease does not sleep as it bares his bones out of his very flesh. His garment is no longer an adornment, but clings to his emaciated body, as his collar discloses the poor bony neck. It is all vivid as a picture, and as repulsive. All this Job ascribes to God. It is His great force which has thus emaciated him and laid his honor in the dust. He has brought him into the mire and made him as worthless as the dust and ashes in which he sits. Do we hear him taking counsel with his soul in this time of suffering ?-"Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God:for I shall yet praise Him who is the health of my countenance, and my God " (Ps. 42:n).No; instead of encouraging himself thus, he accuses his Maker.

(5) He cries to Him for help, but no answer comes from above. He stands in all his wretchedness before God, who looks upon him but does not pity. This is the force of ver. 20., It is not merely "Thou regardest me not;" the negative is not in the original; God does regard him, in the sense of looking upon him and remaining unmoved by his woes. "Thou changest Thyself to a cruel being toward me." Oh, if Job had but known the tender love which would have spared him from all this suffering, but for his own good! He knows not that "the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy." That will come when he sees "the end of the Lord"- the purpose that is in view (Jas. 5:n). Now he can only see that strong hand reached out to make war against him. It is this stormy wind which lifts up the frail sufferer as chaff and drives him along to vanish in the warring storm. Beautiful poetry indeed, but wretched unbelief this is. Job sees nothing before him but death, the house appointed for all living. His faith seems to have suffered a great eclipse. May we not see the reason of this in that self-occupation which marks these two chapters and the next ?

(6) His misery is complete; it rises over all other thoughts. Verse 24-whose meaning is obscure in the A. V.-has been rendered:'' No prayer availeth when He stretcheth out His hand; though they cry when He destroyeth." That is, it is useless to cry to Him for pity, for He will not regard the prayer of those upon whose destruction He is bent. It is a most hopeless view of God, of which Job has shown he is quite capable. Delitzsch, however, renders it as though Job is explaining his cries. Is it not natural for one to reach forth his hand for help? So he translates:" Doth not one, however, stretch out the hand in falling; doth he not raise a cry for help on that account, in his ruin ? " This suits with what follows:he is only asking what he had shown to others in their time of stress-he has wept for those in trouble and grieved for the needy He sums up his misery in verses 26, 27. In his prosperity he had looked forward for good all his days; instead of that, misery had overtaken him, darkness instead of the wished-for light. Instead of a heart at rest, his inner man was a seething caldron of anguish-" Days of misery met me."

(7) At last we reach the end of the wail-the last of those laments which pierce the heart. He pictures himself as a lonely wanderer in the dark, a companion of beasts and birds which shun the face of man. He might well hide from them, for his skin drops off his putrid flesh; his very bones are parched and dry. Such misery must surely appeal to the most stolid. Must these friends not listen to such woe, and have pity ? Job has sounded all the depths of his suffering and grief; his harp has no notes but the sad wail of mourning; his pipe leads in no dance, it is turned alone to notes of sorrow.

Thus the wail ends in a threnody of sadness, without a note of faith. Oh, let us thank our God that Another has lifted His voice out of deeper darkness than all that pressed upon Job with words of sweet assurance, "The cup which my Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?" "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Jno. 18:11; Luke 23:46). To Him-our Saviour, our Lord, our all-We turn, and learn in our grief to say, "Thy will be done."

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look, not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen:for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:17, 18). S. R.

(To be continued.)

Preaching the Kingdom of God

In his last interview with the elders of the assembly at Ephesus, the apostle speaking of his labors among them says:"And now, behold, I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more " (Acts 20:25); and in verse 21 he gives the subject and character of his preaching as '' testifying both, to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."

It is to be feared that this first part of the apostle's preaching-"repentance toward God"-has been largely left out in modern evangelism. Even where the last part of Paul's preaching has been pressed-"faith in our Lord Jesus Christ"- the first part is often neglected. The pressing of faith in Christ appeals to the intelligence, to the understanding, but if apart from repentance toward God, the conscience and natural pride remain unsubdued, unbroken, and the throne of God is but feebly established in the heart. A knowledge of salvation through faith may be held whilst the ways and thoughts and even practices of the world, in the less offensive forms, remain. Christ is held with one hand and the world with the other !

Is this in any measure true of the reader? Beloved, turn away from it! Let there be heart confession to God, while turning to Him for deliverance from it. Our Lord has said, "No man can serve two masters:for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6:24), so that, "Whosoever will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God " (Jas. 4:4). "The kingdom of God is not meat and drink ; but righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Rom. 14:17).

"Rest"in a world of unrest, of sin, of conflict, of sorrow and pain, how sweetly this word rest falls upon the ear ! It is like a note of music from another world, and it has its source indeed from another heart than that of fallen man. But where is it to be found, and how is it to be obtained in this distracted world ?

God's faithful word holds it out to "the poor in spirit" in a threefold way.

(1) "I will give you rest" says the Lord Jesus:' 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." And what a numberless multitude of sin-burdened, of self- and world-weary hearts have proved the truth of these gentle words! But harken well to His words:"Come to ME," says the Saviour-not to the Virgin, not to the Church, not to forms and ordinances, not to self-imposed tasks or reformations, not to pledges, but,

"Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind,
Sight, riches, healing of the mind-
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come."

(2) Having found Him, and the "rest" gives, the same gentle Voice says:

Now, " take my yoke upon you"-the yoke of submission to My guidance, to My will, to My path for you. As I delighted myself in My Father's will, even in the path of suffering, so do ye, "and ye shall find rest to your souls."

Fellow-believer, is it not just here we rob ourselves so much of what might be our precious portion? Obedience to our Lord is, how of ten, limited; reserves are made; the will is not joyfully surrendered; His yoke, in full surrender, not being taken up, the rest of heart through all circumstances is but partially found. " I beseech you by the mercies of God," says the apostle, "that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service . . . that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:i, 2). To the Philippians he wrote:"Have anxious care for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God; and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus " (Phil. 4:6, 7).

Then, a third, and eternal "rest" is held out before us:

(3)'' There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God" (Heb. 4:9). We are exhorted not to settle down here; for while we possess the "rest" of forgiveness and acceptance with God, and the "rest" as to His care in our journey through this world, the place of our eternal rest with God is not here.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, dwelt in tents all their days, waiting for "a better country" and a city "whose builder and maker is God" (Heb. u:10). And to us our Lord says, "Arise, let us go hence" (John 14:31).