Echoes of Grace: 1952

In itself New Year's Day is no more than any other day. Every day lengthens our history by so many hours, and shortens it by just as many. It adds one to the days that are past: subtracts one from the unknown number yet to come.

But it is none the less true that such a new beginning as New Year's Day may well be made a time for sober reflection. Who can forbear taking a glance backward? Who can say that he does not also take a significant look forward?

But how we are affected by such reflections is what should concern us. When a man is unconverted, the less the distance his mind's eye carries him, whether backward or forward, the better for his present enjoyment. He may have been all too successful in forgetting God, but he dreads the thought of eternity. And to look too far into the future would only remind him of a day of righteous reckoning for the past, and would spoil his present pleasures.

What makes the difference is whether we reckon with God, or without God. He who reckons with God can as calmly take eternity into his calculations as a schoolboy can contemplate his return to the love and shelter of a happy home.

The believer's future embraces an "eternal weight of glory," a share in God's own pleasures— "pleasures for evermore" and all this without the smallest shade of uncertainty. He has tasted here the love of Christ, and he knows no future but an eternity of its unhindered enjoyment.

The death of Christ was the clearest possible declaration that all hope in man naturally was over, and over forever. But His resurrection proclaims with equal clearness that God has found a new beginning for man and that beginning in the Man who glorified Him on the cross and who has been exalted to highest heavenly honor in consequence.

If the reader would have such a beginning for the New Year, he must begin with this man—with Jesus the exalted Savior, who has been made Lord and Christ. Have your past "beginnings" resulted in wearying, heart-saddening disappointment? It is all because you have begun with the wrong person—self instead of Christ. In that new creation human effort and human merit have no place at all; and he who begins with God's new beginning, and looks alone to Him, shall never be disappointed—never be put to confusion.

The Gift

"God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son."

1 John 5:11

Life eternal, life immortal,
Life unbounded, full and free:
This the promise of our Savior
Offered unto you and me.

Can we doubt Him Who was wounded
For our sins that we might live?
Let us praise Him for His mercy
All we have to Jesus give!

Jesus Said:

"Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37.

God's Blessed Man

Psalm 1:1

Some years ago Mr. Joseph Flacks was on a visit to Palestine. When he was in the city of Jerusalem he was given the opportunity of addressing quite a gathering of Jews and Arabs, all of whom were presumably unconverted.

For his subject Mr. Flacks took the first Psalm. Of course, he could repeat it to them in the Hebrew. He dwelt upon the tenses; "Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of the scornful."

He said to them: "Now, my brethren, who is this blessed man of whom the Psalmist speaks? Notice, this happy man is one who never walked in the counsel of the ungodly, he never stood in the way of sinners, he never sat in the seat of the scornful. He was an absolutely sinless man. Who is this blessed man?"

When no one answered, Joseph Flacks said, "Shall we say he is our great Father Abraham? Is it Father Abraham that the Psalmist is speaking of here?"

One old Jew said, "No, no; it cannot be Abraham, for he denied his wife, he told a lie about her."

"Ah," said Joseph Flacks, "it does not fit, does it? Abraham, although he was the father of the faithful, yet was a sinner who needed to be justified by faith. But, my brethren, this refers to somebody; WHO IS THIS MAN? Could it be our great lawgiver Moses?"

"No, no," they said, "it cannot be Moses. He killed a man and hid him in the sand." Another added, "And he lost his temper at the water of Meribah."

"Well," Joseph Flacks said, "my brethren, who is it? There is some man here that the Spirit of God is bringing before us. Could it be our great King David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, who wrote this psalm?"

"No, no," they cried, "it cannot be David.

He committed adultery and had Uriah slain."

"Well," he said, "who is it? To whom do these words refer?"

They were thoughtful and quiet for some little time. Then one Jew arose and said, "My brethren, I have a little book here. It is called the New Testament. I have been reading it. If I believed this book, if I could be sure that it is true, I would say that the man of the first Psalm was Jesus of Nazareth."

An old Jew got up and said, "My brethren, the man of the first Psalm is Jesus of Nazareth. He is the only one who ever went through this world and never walked in the counsels of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners."

Then the old man told how he had been brought to believe in Christ, and he took that occasion to confess openly his faith. He had been searching the Scriptures for a long time and had found out sometime before that Jesus was the One, but he had not had the courage to tell others. How happy he was now to bear testimony to the saving grace of the Holy One of God, "as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:18, 19.)

Jesus said: "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven."

Guilty or Not Guilty?

The court has assembled. The judge has taken his seat. The trials are about to commence. The oath is being administered to the jury. The instructions are: "You shall truly and justly try, and true deliverance make between the prisoner at the bar and this sovereign state."

The first man tried was charged with robbery. He had not robbed the government: it was a poor old widow with whom he lodged.

But in robbing the widow he had broken one of the laws of the land. Pronounced guilty, his sentence was according to the penalty attached to the breach of that law.

Did it ever occur to you, my unsaved reader, that this is exactly what will happen in your case if you appear before the bar of God? You will be judged, not according to the way your thoughts, words, and deeds have affected yourself or your neighbor; the verdict will be according to God's holiness, the way you have treated His righteous commands and the Son of His love.

"Ah!" you say, "I am not a common criminal. I have done my best to keep all of man's laws and God's." Let us see. The charge-sheet of some of your crimes is found in 1 Timothy 1:9. Let me read the terms of the indictment: "Murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers."

"Not guilty," you reply.

Stop a bit! Are you quite sure that YOU did not break your old Christian mother's heart, and bring your father's gray hairs in sorrow to the grave by your godless ways?

"Lawless and disobedient."

"Not guilty," you plead.

Is that absolutely true? How often have you said, "Oh, I don't care what anybody thinks; I shall do as I please"!

"Ungodly and sinners."

"Not guilty"? Be careful! As sure as you say that, another charge will be placed against you. What?

"Liars and perjurers." For listen! "ALL have sinned" (Romans 3:23). If ALL have, YOU have. Look back at your past history. Do you dare assert that since you were a child at your mother's knee you have never lied? Go over your school days. Look back at the years when you were growing up. Scan closely your private and public life. Now tell me if you can say honestly, "I have never deviated in thought, in word, nor in deed from absolute truthfulness." Before you reply let me remind you that the God in whose hand your breath is, says, "ALL have sinned." If you say you have not, you make Him a liar, and perjure yourself in doing so.

The other day a man was convicted. He had brutally treated his wife. She loved him and forgave him, and besought the judge to let him off. But could he? He was there to administer justice. The man was sentenced, and had to undergo his term.

"Oh," you say, "I just don't believe in judgment." So? Take the case of a prisoner who has been tried: witnesses had been called; books had been produced which proved his guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt.

The jury have pronounced him "Guilty." The judge is sentencing him, but is interrupted by the prisoner:

"Judge," he says, "I don't believe in judgment. I think a man ought to do as he pleases and be answerable to nobody but himself. Besides, I've never injured YOU, and I don't see how it matters about breaking laws."

"Perhaps you do not believe in judgment," the judge might reply, "but this court does! The policeman who arrested you, the witnesses who testified against you, the gentlemen of the jury who have pronounced you guilty,—they all believe in judgment. The warden who will now conduct you to your cell believes in it. And the moment those black doors close upon you, you, too, will believe in it."

Now, unsaved soul, what say you? "Oh," you say, "such a man must be a fool." Exactly. But if you think because you have injured nobody, and are as upright as your fellows, you will never come into judgment, you stand in a similar condemnation.

Let me urge you to take your Bible and find Daniel 7:9,10: "the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, AND THE BOOKS WERE OPENED."

Then find Revelation 20:12-15: "I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were JUDGED out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works... And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

If you die in your sins you will surely and certainly appear there. You may be a small or a great sinner in your own estimation. But with God there is no difference: ALL HAVE SINNED. For one sin man lost an earthly paradise. One sin is enough to shut you out of the paradise of God forever,—away from Him, subject to the second death. The second death is the lake of fire.

Will you risk your everlasting happiness by indifference? If you do, you will surely find yourself a prisoner at the bar of the Majesty on High to answer for your sins, and you will not be let off.

Listen! There is a way of escape—only one. You may have broken every law on the statute book and still be free if you now obey two.

Do you ask, "Which two?" I will tell you.

"God... now commandeth all men every where to repent." Acts 17:30.

"This is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ." (1 John 3:23.)

Let me urge you to plead "Guilty." Repent! Cast yourself on the mercy of God! Fix your eyes by faith upon Jesus, risen from the dead. Thus, and thus only, shall you never come into judgment, for it is written, "He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation." John 5:24.

Only thus can you escape judgment.

God says there is judgment to come. I believe it because God said it.

God said it the flood came.

God said it—Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.

God said it—the Jews were scattered.

God said it—and in the fullness of time He sent forth His Son to redeem the world sold out to Satan by Adam.

It all came true. And now God says that JUDGMENT shall overtake the unbelieving, small and great. What He said He carried out in the past. What He says He will certainly carry out in the future.

Get down, then, on your knees. Read those verses in Daniel and in the Revelation. Put your finger on them. Look up into God's face.

You dare not say, "I do not believe in judgment."

Comfort for a Seeker

"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Our rest comes not from our being what He wants, but His being what we want.

"I do not ask you to accept anything, but to believe that God has given and accepted His Son for you."

"Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near."

Isaiah 55:6.

High-Water Mark

Many who have watched the rise and fall of a tidal river have been impressed with the remarkable illustration it gives of man's life.

At the commencement of the tide only a slight ripple is seen to break on the bank; then gradually the water rises until, gaining in swiftness, it climbs the steep slopes as though there could be no limit set to that advancing flood.

High water mark is reached, and immediately the retreat begins. The waters decrease, with gradually diminishing force, until at last the original level is reached—the tide is out.

If you have not already passed it, you soon will reach the high-water mark of your life, dear unconverted reader. The height of your pleasures, the summit of your ambition, will have come and gone. To your disappointment, you will find that no power on earth can sustain the freshness and intensity of interest that you once found in life.

Then as the world recedes you will prove that it has not satisfied you; it has not filled the emptiness in your heart, for even the world's best is not enough. Across its streams of pleasure the Son of God has written, "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again."

But why pass through that bitter experience? Why not face the matter now? Do not let your life be a wasted, disappointed one. Turn from the unsatisfying pleasures of this fleeting world to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is longing to save your soul and satisfy your heart. God's world-wide invitation is still being given, "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely"; and for those who respond to it there is a life which has no ebb tide; a joy that is as pure as it is unending.

The moment is very near when every true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ will reach the high-water mark of his eternal stream of bliss—to be forever with the Lord, forever conformed to His image. No subsiding of that joy; no diminution of the blessing that flows from Him. "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst."

Until the realization of that sure and certain hope, the Christian's path is "as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Even though the outward man perish, the inward man is renewed day by day, so that instead of joyless, declining years full of disappointment and regret, the believer can increasingly "rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

Extract: Experience and Present Faith

Experience ought to strengthen faith but there must be a present faith to use experience.

Old Shoes

An officer was converted by hearing a cobbler preaching in the street. Standing at a distance, he heard him say, "Christ did not come to mend old shoes, but to give new ones." He went away and thought of that saying. It awakened him to see that his own righteousness could not avail.

Christ did not come to mend old garments, but to give us new suits from top to toe.

We will never put patches on ours then, but wear the best robe which He bestows.

JESUS SAID, “I AM
THE RESURRECTION,
AND THE LIFE:
HE THAT BELIEVETH
IN ME, THOUGH
HE WERE DEAD, YET
SHALL HE LIVE ...
BELIEVEST THOU THIS?”

John 11:25, 26

The Thunder of His Power

"Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades?" Job 38:31.

Traveling among the mountains we may see something of the Creator's might and skill. But the universe above us tells more of His eternal power and Godhead.

It is said by astronomers of note that "Alcyone, the brightest of the stars of the Pleiades, is actually, as far as is known, the center of our whole solar system the hinge or pivot around which our sun with all its attendant planets is believed to revolve.

"Now when we remember that the sun is more than three thousand billion miles away from Alcyone, we get some idea of how marvelous must be the 'influence' of the Pleiades which swings these planets the earth included around it at the rate of more than one hundred and fifty million miles a year, in an orbit so vast that one circuit would take thousands of years to complete.

"Who can contemplate without an overwhelming sense of solemn awe the mighty power of God referred to in this remote verse, in what is probably one of the oldest books in the Bible, and which recent astronomical discoveries enable us but dimly to appreciate?

"As the ages roll on the heavenly bodies are ever in motion: the moon revolving around the earth; the earth, with other planets, revolving round the sun; the sun, with all the solar system, revolving round Alcyone; Alcyone, with its myriad attendants, revolving round some other unknown center—all these, and countless other creations all unknown to man, revolving in awful grandeur around the center of centers: the throne of the Almighty.

"Moreover, it is worthy of notice that this `influence' is said to be 'sweet,' a word which in this connection is full of significance as we think how our vast solar system (with all the untold myriads of stars) is ever moving at such an amazing pace, like some complex and mighty machinery, yet with a regularity and evenness that can only be described as 'sweet'—the very word which engineers use today to describe perfectly smooth working."

Happy is the man who knows God as a Savior-God, and who, dwelling in the secret place of the most High, abides under the shadow of the Almighty.

Resting in Jesus

It is man's need that brings him to God, and Jesus is the One given of God on purpose to meet the case of each needy heart; on purpose to meet your case, if you are in need.

God wants the needy heart just to turn to Him, and get its need met; and not only does it get its need met, but the moment when the heart meets Jesus is the moment fraught with deepest, richest blessing to that heart for time and for eternity.

It is a real thing to meet Christ, to know Christ. Have you met Him, dear reader? Do you know Him? Can you say, "Oh, yes, I have met Him, and there is no one I know no one I trust like Him; no one I am on such intimate terms with as Jesus"? Each heart that knows Him would say that.

The heart that has not met Jesus has no rest. No doubt you have tried to find rest—tried to find it in good works, in pleasure, in many things. But it is all of no use; there is no rest for the human heart till it gets to Jesus, and His rest is perfect, and lasts forever. When He takes up your case it is an entire cure. If He has picked me up and saved me, it is for time and for eternity. If He has pardoned me (and He has), it is once and forever. His pardon can never be cancelled. The Lord give you to know the sweetness of resting in Jesus!

"Jesus! I rest in Thee,
In Thee myself I hide;
Laden with guilt and misery,
Where can I rest beside?
'Tis on Thy meek and lowly breast
My weary soul alone can rest.

"Thou Holy One of God!
The Father rests in Thee,
And in the savor of that blood
Which speaks to Him for me;
The curse is gone—through Thee
I'm blest;
God rests in Thee—in Thee I rest.

"Soon the bright glorious day,
The rest of God, shall come!
Sorrow and sin shall pass away,
And I shall reach my home.
Then, of the promised land possessed,
My soul shall know eternal rest."

God's Priceless Gift

I was hurrying out of the hospital and had got some distance down the corridor when a nurse with whom I had just shaken hands called me back, saying, "There is a dying man in my ward. He can scarcely speak, but I thought you would like to see him."

"Thank you," I said, and immediately entered I had seen the sick man before, but in a different ward. Many times he had heard me tell out "the old, old story of Jesus and His love"; but he had maintained a reserve throughout so that I knew not if in his case the Word preached was mixed with faith in him who heard it.

Wishing to know if he realized his soul's great need, I asked him: Have you prayed to God for mercy? Have you yet cried, 'God be merciful to me, a sinner'?"

In a tone expressive of intense earnestness the dying man speedily answered: "I have been crying to God for mercy!"

"Has He heard you?"

"I don't know."

"Still continue to cry to Him; 'for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.' For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.' Pray to God to save you for Christ's sake. He will hear and answer your prayer, and save your soul. 'The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.' "

The sick man was too exhausted to say more; but as I spoke of "the gift of God" he held up both hands just as a child will do to receive some precious gift. His was the silent attitude of one very eager to receive there and then some priceless boon. Commending him to the Lord I withdrew; he could bear no more.

I never saw him again, but inquired of the nurse who had called me back to see him as to his passing away.

"After you were gone," she said, "he was very quiet for a while. Then he asked for a Bible and I brought him one. I said all I could to him. He smiled happily but could not speak again. He died on Friday, and I believe he is with the Lord."

We praised our God for His mercy, and I told the nurse how, when I told the dying man of God's priceless Gift, he had held up both hands in his eager desire to receive it.

That he did receive eternal life, even at the eleventh hour, I doubt not. But while I praise God for His abounding grace towards him, may I ask you, dear reader, why not accept God's priceless Gift NOW? While you have health and strength He longs to bestow upon you life everlasting, for the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Prayers will not save you, but believing will.

"BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

Darkness to Dawn

"He that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth." John 12:35.

Among the last lines written by the late Robert G. Ingersoll, the famous agnostic, were the following:

"Is there beyond the silent night
An endless day?
Is death a door that leads to light?
We cannot say.
The tongueless secret locked in fate
we do not know,
We hope and wait."

Among some papers found in the desk of a man who once professed infidelity but realized his error before he died were found these words:

"I've tried in vain a thousand ways
My fears to quell, my hopes to raise;
But all I need, the Bible says,
Is Jesus.

"My soul is night, my heart is steel,
I cannot see, I cannot feel;
For light, for heat, I must appeal
To Jesus.

"He died, He lives, He reigns, He pleads;
There's love in all His acts and deeds;
All, all a guilty sinner needs
Is Jesus."

"I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12.

The Fountain

Over all earth's haunts of pleasure is written, "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again."

Christ says, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst." "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

Have you drunk of that water?

Christ Alone, the Savior

One evening I met an elderly man with a mason's tools slung over his shoulder. He stopped me with these words: "I say, sir; it's hard work, this I've in hand."

I said, "What is hard work?"

"Why, traveling about from place to place, seeking work and finding none."

After we had talked a while I said to him, "Your present condition is just like that of a soul without Christ—ever seeking rest and finding none. Away from Him there is no rest or peace; but it is blessed to know that He said, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' "

"Well, sir, I'm not a drinking and swearing man, I can assure ye."

"I didn't say you were, but do you expect to be saved simply because you don't drink and swear?"

"Well, no," he admitted.

"How do you expect to be saved?"

"By praying to Christ."

"You cannot be saved simply because you pray to Christ," I replied, "right though it is to pray. Our salvation depends upon what Christ has done. His merit saves. There is no merit in prayer."

He looked perplexed and, after a short pause, said, "I read my Bible."

"Reading your Bible will not save you any more than abstaining from swearing, or merely praying, will. These things, good as they are in their proper place, will not cleanse our souls from one single sin only `the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin,' Christ alone can save us."

Unwilling to be thus robbed of the thought that he could do something to merit salvation, he said, "I never lies down at night, sir, without saying this prayer: 'O Lord, keep me and all mankind this night, Amen.' "

"Does it do you any good?" I asked.

"Well, it's better than nothing."

"Does it give you peace of conscience after you have said it?"

"No," he said thoughtfully. "After repeating it can you say, 'Well, if God calls me before morning I shall wake up in glory'?"

"No, sir I can't."

"My friend," I said, "your good deeds, your reading, and your praying cannot give you peace of conscience peace with God. Nothing but faith in what God has said in His Word can give you those."

Turning to Romans 5:1, I read these words, "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

"You may remember," I continued, "that when the jailor at Philippi cried, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' the answer was, `Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' "

"Yes, sir I do remember—and I do believe too!"

It may be that you, like this old man, have a lurking thought in your heart that there is something you can do for God, that you can make yourself more acceptable to Him by reading the Bible, or by praying, and so you may be expecting salvation as much from your own efforts as from the Lord Jesus.

These things will not save you; you must be willing to be saved on the ground of the blood Christ shed for sinners on the cross— and on that alone.

An Infidel Converted

Hector Maiben was born and brought up in Scotland. After his conversion he used to say of himself that in early life he had been "an infidel of the worst kind." This he did not call himself because he was so very profligate—a drunkard or profane. It was because he was so moral and upright that people would point to him and say: "There is one who is an infidel, yet he leads a better life than some of you Christians!" Thus his influence against Christianity was greater than if he had been quite immoral.

The conversion of his sister troubled him. Together they had gone to shows and dances: but having chosen Christ as her portion, she found in Him her source of joy and would go with her brother to these worldly places of pleasure no longer. He had to acknowledge that as a sister she was as kind and dear as ever; but the change in her only embittered him against the gospel of God. What could be done with such a man? How could the Lord reach his heart? We shall see.

While in a book-store one day, Maiben's attention was drawn to a beautifully bound volume. He himself loved books, but seeing that this one was about something "religious," he bought it for his mother. It proved to be Dr. Keith's "Evidences of the Truth of the Christian Religion Derived from the Literal Fulfillment of Prophecy."

Was not God's hand in this? The purchaser was not an atheist. He believed in the existence of a supreme Being, but had never been convinced of the genuineness, authenticity and inspiration of the Scriptures. To exhort him, however earnestly, to become a Christian had no effect. What he needed was not his feelings moved, but evidence that the Bible is a revelation from God.

Maiben was a great reader. This beautiful book, therefore, could not be long in the house before he began to examine it. It proved to be just what he needed. As the author quoted the passages of Scripture concerning the Jews, Judea, Edom, Babylon, Tyre, Egypt, etc., uttered undeniably thousands of years ago, and then cited the testimony of travelers and historians as showing the literal fulfillment of the prophecies, Maiben became convinced that no mere man or group of men could have foreseen and foretold with such accuracy what has happened!

Concerning his conversion Maiben says: "I well remember the first time I prayed. All had gone to bed but myself and I was sitting alone in the parlor reading. I studied the predictions of the prophets which Dr. Keith cites, and over against them the undesigned corroboration of the infidel Volney, in his "Ruins of Empires," as to what he had seen in those lands. I had to admit the claim of Scripture—that these prophets of old spoke not of themselves but as they were inspired of God by the Holy Spirit. Without reservation I then accepted the Bible as God's written Word, and saw myself as I was in His eyes—a vile, lost sinner. Believing that I ought at once to confess to God, I got down to pray, and it seemed as though I shook the room in so doing." Like Saul of Tarsus, his question now was, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?"

He soon openly confessed Christ as his Savior and identified himself with the people of God. Step by step he was led onward until as "a pedestrian missionary," he occupied himself energetically in the work of an evangelist" in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States. His was "the pen of the ready writer," and many are the articles which he wrote in defense of the truth as it is in Jesus.

The Coming of the Lord Draweth Nigh

There is a growing conviction on the part of earnest Christians the world over that the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ is near at hand. Moreover there is a general feeling in the world, apart from Christianity altogether, that the world's affairs are in the melting pot and that extraordinary events lie before us. How graphically true are the words of Scripture: "Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth."

Luke 21:26.

The fact is, this world must go from bad to worse just in proportion as it gives up God. And the only way to get right with God. is through the Lord Jesus Christ; He must be known first as a Savior.

"Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." 1 Peter 3:18. There is no way to God except through Christ Jesus.

Reader, if the Lord were to come just now, would you welcome Him?

The words of Scripture are, "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema, Maranatha," (that is, "accursed at the Lord's coming"). 1 Corinthians 16:22.

Are you ready for that coming.? He is coming quickly He may come today.

Taste and See

A little girl was eating an apple, and she exclaimed, "Oh, how sweet!"

"How sweet?" asked one near her.

She replied, "I cannot tell you. Taste and see."

No preacher, however eloquent—no book, however clear—can tell you how good the Lord is. All we can say is, "O taste and see."

“THESE ARE WRITTEN,
THAT YE MIGHT BELIEVE
THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST,
THE SON OF GOD;
AND THAT BELIEVING
YE MIGHT HAVE LIFE
THROUGH HIS NAME.”

John 20:31

The Passport to Glory

The moment that you own that you are a lost sinner, you may look into the face of the Son of God and claim Him as your own Savior. And what a moment is that in the very courts of heaven!

"Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth." Luke 15:7.

Christ Jesus, the Son of man, came "to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10. The Lord of glory walked as a solitary man on the earth, except when He met a needy sinner. Such alone could interrupt the solitude of this heavenly Stranger. The world knew Him not. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." John 1:11. His path was ever lonely among men, except when He and a sinner found their way to each other. In drawing them to Himself He could say, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of." What joy to His lonely heart to have poor, lost, ruined sinners respond in truth to His constraining love! And for this response, weak and feeble though it may be, He gives unto them eternal life—the very life of God—relationship with God, the Father, as His child and through Christ Himself He presents to each redeemed sinner the passport to glory: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." John 14:6.

Will you not come unto Him on that basis, dear lost one? Own yourself helpless, guilty, ruined, a sinner in need of a Savior. Jesus stands ready and waiting to receive you, for for that very cause He came down from the courts of glory to die the death of shame on Calvary's cross. Believe Him, receive Him, and "thou shalt be saved." Acts 16:31.

God's Satisfied, so Am I

A guilty rebel lone and sad,
I trod destruction's road:
Earth's follies failed to make me glad;
I groaned beneath sin's load.
Salvation I'd neglected,
And mercy's call rejected;
And now I stood detected,
Before a holy God.

I longed for comfort, prayed for peace,
But longed and prayed in vain
My struggles brought me no release,
No rest could I obtain.
My sin was all detected,
Salvation still neglected,
And mercy's call rejected;
How deep the crimson stain!

At last I turned to Calvary's tree,
And saw the Crucified
Was it for guilty ones like me
That blessed Savior died?
My sin seemed ALL detected!
Christ's love I had suspected,
His finish'd work rejected,
His precious name denied.

My title's undeniable,
`Tis Jesus and His blood:
His word must be reliable,
For He's the Son of God.
And though my sin's detected,
My Substitute's accepted,
And now my soul's protected
From judgment's righteous rod.

And now upon the throne on high
He sits, my risen Lord
God's satisfied, and so am I
Who rest upon His word.
Redemption's toil's completed,
The pow'rs of hell defeated,
My Life's in glory seated:—
Jesus, the Christ, our Lord!

Out of Every Kindred, and Tongue, and People and Nation

Revelation 5:9

A STORY FROM ITALY

In 1833 Grand Duke Leopoldo appointed Count Piero Guicciardini to organize schools in Italy, and to prepare teachers for them.

To this end the Count sought the best books of a moral and religious nature that he could recommend. He asked advice from the Abbot Lambuischini, and the Abbot suggested first the Bible. Though a man of culture, the Count did not know Latin, and the Bible in Italian was not in the library of his family nor in those of his acquaintances and friends.

One day he discovered the porter of his house reading something furtively and trying to hide it when he saw the Count. The latter insisted on seeing it and found it was the Bible in Italian! He took the man, a believer in the finished work of Christ, to a quiet room where they read the Holy Word together. Through it the Count was brought to know the Lord Jesus as his Savior. He saw himself a sinner needing salvation, and happily accepted the pardon and forgiveness freely offered through Christ's work on the cross. He could not keep such good news to himself, and soon many of his friends were likewise rejoicing in the Lord.

They met secretly in caves about seven miles out of Florence; and sometimes, in order to escape the police, a few, riding in a carriage, or in a boat on the river Arno, read together the sacred pages. However, they were discovered and the Count was arrested and put in prison; but there, too, the One who had saved him filled his heart with joy and peace.

Later, through the influence of his family, Count Piero was released from prison but exiled to England. Here he met a fellow-countryman named Rosetti. The Count told him the good news of free salvation through Christ and His work on the cross, and soon he too was a happy believer in the Lord Jesus. Together they returned to Italy about 1860, and were much used of the Lord in spreading the gospel there.

But who shall say that the many souk saved in Italy through the ministry of the Count and his dear friend Rosetti were the fruit of their labors alone? How about the lowly Christian porter whose treasured Book was used of God to bring the Count into the light? And the venerable Abbot who gave preeminence to God's precious Word? Surely all who sow the seed of the Word in sincerity shall share in the reward. Paul said: "I have planted, Apollos watered: but God gave the increase." 1 Cor. 3:6.

You who have Bibles—do you value and read them? It is the God-breathed Book, His message to you. Do you know His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as your own Savior? If you have not accepted Him, read Romans 5, verse 8. "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

"Oh, do not let the Word depart,
Nor close thine eyes against the Light!
Poor sinner, harden not your heart;
Be saved, then, tonight."

Divine Impossibilities

Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14.

Without shedding of blood is no remission. Hebrews 9:22.

Without faith it is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6.

Where Is Your Treasure?

It is told of Constantine the Great that one day, when speaking to a miser, he took a lance and marked out a space of ground the size of a human body. As he did so he said to the old man, "Add heap to heap, accumulate riches upon riches, extend the bounds of your possessions, conquer the whole world—but in a few days such a spot as this will be all that you will have."

What a terrible thought it is for a man who is grasping all that he can lay his hands on in this world, that he can take nothing with him and will only have a narrow bed of earth when his life here is over!

What a beautiful thought for the Christian that he has treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust can corrupt, so that though he may be very poor here yet his riches are there!

Where is your treasure, dear friend? Remember: "The things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18.

"What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mark 8:36, 37.

The Receipt

Sam Baldwin lived on a "scrub" farm near the banks of a river. He had led a wild life, working hard and drinking hard; clearing, farming, butchering, and doing other things by turns. He had made money, and he had spent it as easily as he had made it. Drink had been his curse, and the tavern keepers had profited thereby. On leaving their places, he had had hairbreadth escapes riding home through the dark. Even good horses cannot guarantee drunken riders from injury. Again and again had he been thrown and dragged by the stirrup by his frightened beast, at the imminent risk of his life. Once he awoke in the morning lying head downwards on the river-bank, within a foot of the water, where he had been thrown the night before.

All this told upon his health, and disease laid hold upon the once rugged body. As he lay upon his bed, slowly dying, conscience began to make itself heard, and his past life with its iniquities came before him. He knew that he would soon have to meet God; but he knew not how to obtain forgiveness for his sins, and he was filled with dread. All this he did not attempt to conceal.

Visiting him one day, I said, "Sam, you know what debt is?"

"Yes," said he.

"And what a receipt is?"

"Yes, I've had plenty of them in my time."

"Well, now, if you were in debt, and could not possibly pay, and a friend came forward and paid the debt, handing you the receipt, would you fear the creditor?"

"No, of course not; the receipt would settle it anywhere."

"Your sins may be compared, then, to a debt. They stand between you and Almighty God. He demands satisfaction; and it must be rendered to Him, or you cannot escape hell."

"Ah, but can a receipt be had for that debt?"

"Yes," I said, and read to him the parable of the two debtors in Luke 7:41, 42. "But, Sam, you must own the debt, and acknowledge that there is no good in you, nothing worth offering to God—that you can't pay! Give up all attempts to appease your Creditor; own your debt in full and your assets nothing. Then God will freely forgive. 'If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' " 1 John 1:9.

"But the receipt,—what's that?"

"Well, 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.' His death on Calvary, His bloodshed there, was what paid the debt. God saw this world of lost sinners, and He `so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' God raised Christ from the dead, thus declaring to all that He, the Creditor, is satisfied with the work of His Son. He has taken Him up to heaven and given Him a place at His own right hand. That is really the receipt—Jesus Christ risen, ascended, and seated at God's right hand. But the Holy Spirit has come down and declared God's satisfaction in the work of Christ. He has caused it to be written in this Book, the New Testament. This is like a written receipt which any poor sinner who owns to God his sin and helplessness may hold in his hand. It gives a sense of security, and brings peace to his heart. It can never lie nor change."

All this Sam seized upon with eagerness, as a drowning man clutches the lifebuoy thrown to him. He received it as God's answer for him, and his heart was at peace.

On my next visit I thought I would test him. I reminded him of his sins, of the holiness of God, of the impossibility of a lost sinner finding a standing-place before this holy God, and of the hell that awaits all such.

Quiet attention gradually gave way to excitement. Raising himself upon his left elbow, with his right forefinger he touched several times the New Testament which lay unopened upon my knee. "Well," he said, "I can't read; but in that Book you read that Jesus Christ died for sinners. He died for me!" With this confession of faith Sam lay back again upon his bed.

Happy Sam! He had got the receipt, and he held it steadily to the end.

From Penance to Peace

Thomas Bilney (A. D 1530)

There was in Trinity College, Cambridge, a young student much given to study of canon law. He was of a serious turn of mind and of timid disposition, and his tender conscience strove, although ineffectually, to fulfill the commandments of God.

Anxious about his eternal salvation, this lad, Thomas Bilney, applied to the priests, whom he looked upon as physicians of the soul. Kneeling before his confessor, with humble heart and pale face he told him all his sins—even those of which he doubted. The priests prescribed at one time, fasting; at another, prolonged vigils; and then, masses and indulgences, which cost him dearly. The poor man went through all these practices with deep devotion, but found no consolation in them. He was a slender man, not very strong; and his body was further weakened and his purse depleted with the demands for penance. Finally he had to own, "My last state is worse than the first."

From time to time the thought had crossed his mind: "May not the priests be seeking their own interests, and not the salvation of my soul?" But immediately rejecting the impious doubt, he would again succumb to the iron hand of the clergy.

One day Bilney heard his friends whispering together about a new book. It was the Greek Testament, printed with a translation which was highly praised for its close adherence to the Latin form. As he listened, he was attracted by the beauty of the style rather than by the divinity of the subject, and desired to see it for himself. He stretched out his hand for the forbidden volume; but just as he was about to receive it from his friend, fear came upon him and he hastily drew back.

But was not this the Testament of Jesus Christ? Might not God have placed therein some word which perhaps might heal his soul? At last he took courage and, urged by the Spirit of God, he slipped into a house where the volume was sold in secret. He bought it with fear and trembling, and then hastened back and shut himself up in his room.

He opened it his eyes caught these words: "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." 1 Timothy 1:15. He laid down the book and meditated on the astonishing declaration. "What! St. Paul the chief of sinners? And yet St. Paul is sure of being saved!" He read the verse again and again. "O blest assertion of St. Paul, how sweet thou art to my soul!" he exclaimed.

This declaration of Paul's continually haunted him; and in this manner God instructed Thomas Bilney in the secret of His heart. He could not tell what had happened to him: it seemed as if a refreshing wind were blowing over his soul, or that a rich treasure had been placed in his hands. The Holy Spirit took of the things of Christ and ministered them unto him. "I also am like Paul," he cried with emotion; "and more than Paul I am the greatest of sinners. But CHRIST DIED TO SAVE SINNERS. At last I have heard of Jesus." His doubts were ended—he was saved!

"It is all clear," said Bilney; "my vigils, my fasts, my pilgrimages, my purchase of masses and indulgences, were destroying instead of saving me." All his efforts were but taking him out of the way of peace.

Bilney never grew tired of reading his New Testament, nor of telling others of the way of Life. A witness to the full efficacy of the shed blood of Christ had been "born from above"—born by the same power that had transformed Paul, Apollos, and Timothy.

And in those troublous times of the history of the church his life bore out his witness:

"I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Romans 1:16.

That's Just What I Want!

A poor woman lay very ill in a cottage in one of the mountain districts of France.

Her little house was isolated and lonely, but the heart of the invalid was still more so, for she lived without God and without hope in this world. She had never heard of the forgiveness of sins which is to be had through the Lord Jesus Christ. The peace of God, the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, were things quite unknown to her.

When she was thus compelled to lie in bed, weak and suffering, she found time to think. Her heart was filled with darkness; whether she thought of the past, the present, or the future, not a ray of light illumined her soul.

A Christian, having heard how ill she was, went to visit her. She read the Bible to her, but the poor woman did not seem to take the slightest interest in what she read. The Christian repeated her visits again and again for a long time, but without getting any response. Sometimes, indeed, it appeared as if she did not hear at all. One afternoon, however, as the visitor read in the first chapter of Paul's first epistle to Timothy, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," the sick woman cried out suddenly, "Stop! Stop! That's just what I want! Christ Jesus came to save sinners! I am a sinner. That's just what I want!" Peacefully she lay down again, repeating, "Christ Jesus came to save sinners; that's just what I want."

Spiritual Intelligence

Intelligence in divine things comes by conscience, not by intellect.

“THE NAME
OF THE LORD
IS A STRONG TOWER:
THE RIGHTEOUS
RUNNETH INTO IT,
AND IS SAFE.”

Proverbs 18:10.

“FLEE FROM THE
WRATH TO COME.”

Matthew 3:7.

The Glory of God

The husband of Mrs. Barnes was a self-avowed infidel. He became dangerously ill but remained deaf to every appeal and refused to turn to the Savior. His Christian Wife prayed to God continually for him, but had little to encourage her. One day a servant of the Lord visited him and quoted these, words of the Lord Jesus to him: "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" John 11:40.

The wife's heart laid hold of this declaration, and she wrote later to the one who had called her attention to the verse: "The glory of God! I have seen it. My dear husband is dead, but reconciled to God— saved as brand from the fire.

"His condition was so grave that the doctor never gave us hope for his recovery. Morphine was administered to spare him suffering but all in vain. Sleep would not come, and his agony of body increased as he saw death approaching. Notwithstanding all this he would not listen to a word about the Lord Jesus.

"One evening he was in such torture that I thought the end must be near. Oh, what grief to know that the end of this life meant endless torment for him I so loved! Then Satan whispered in my ear: 'You have believed in vain; it is useless for you to pray.' What could I say? What could I now believe?

Where were the promises? Then these words came again to my mind: 'If thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God.' Oh,' I cried, 'he cannot die now. Lord, show him what he is in Thy sight!'

"My husband opened his eyes, and shortly afterward he cried out: 'I am lost! I am lost!' Then I could give thanks with a heart overflowing with gratitude. I knew he would be saved, for 'He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.' Phil. 1:6. That was two o'clock in the morning. Until the evening of the following day he cried out often from grief and anguish; but the Lord gave me help in what I should say to him, and he found peace and joy in seeing that the Son of God had submitted to judgment in his place.

"His features, distorted by his intense suffering, relaxed, and with his last remaining strength he murmured: 'My Savior!'

Together we gave thanks to God for his salvation just as his eyes finally closed. A gentle sigh, and he fell asleep in Jesus."

Yes, she had indeed seen the glory of God shining in its grace towards the sinner. And again had been proved the word: "He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them." Heb. 7:25.

Jesus the Lord

Light of my gladness,
Joy of my soul;
Solace in sadness,
Making me whole;
Robe of pure whiteness,
Faith's free reward;
Sun of all brightness;
Jesus, my Lord.

Hope of tomorrow,
Strength of today;
Comfort in sorrow,
Succor and stay;
Mine of real treasure,
Mercy's free hoard;
Sum of all pleasure,
Jesus, my Lord.

Bright Star of Morning,
Hope of the heart;
Soon come the dawning
When we depart.
Then shall we meet
Thee With one accord,
Joyfully greet Thee,
Jesus, our Lord.

Son of the Father,
Gift of His love;
Then, all together
With Thee above,
We shall adore Thee,—
Harps in full chord,—
Fall down before Thee;
Jesus, the Lord.

God Is Love

Some people say they can't understand how God can hate sin and yet love the sinner, but surely it is not difficult to see this.

"God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8. Please notice these words: "While we were yet sinners." It does not say, "when we had gotten to be saints"; yet that is the way some would wish us to read the gospel story. God loved us while we were still sinners, and the proof of His love is seen in His having given Christ to die for us.

If you have a child who has been smitten with smallpox and must be quarantined, you don't hate your child, but you abhor the smallpox. It has come between you and your child, and you long for the day when the sickness will be over and your child can be restored to you.

God's love for man has never failed since the day that man came forth from his Creator’s hand, but sin has entered and separated man from God, and the wages of sin is death. Punishments and penalties have fallen upon transgressors, but love remains. To all who read these lines we would say, God loves you, and longs to bless and save you. Why not take Him at His word and rest in that love?

"I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee." Jeremiah 31:3.

One Thing Needful

There is nothing out of heaven so necessary for you as Christ.

Don't Use the Old Road

"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death." Proverbs 14:12.

For many years Jack Small had trodden the old road—the way which "seemeth right unto a man." Strong drink had ensnared him and now it was ruining him. It had robbed his purse. It had robbed him of prospects and of happiness. It was threatening to rob him of his soul. Although he was still a young man, comparatively indeed, in the prime of life he was truly in "the bondage of corruption." And content to be there! For he was unaware of the peril in which he stood. What could arouse him to a sense of his danger?

One afternoon on his way to a funeral he was walking along a familiar country road.

Ahead was a sign which he had never before seen. As he came near he saw inscribed upon it the words:

"DON'T USE THE OLD ROAD.
IT IS DANGEROUS.
KEEP TO THE NEW ROAD."

The sign referred only to the two roads branching off before him. They had no reference to spiritual matters but "all things serve His might." The message on the signboard made Jack think: it made him look down the years ahead. Was he not traveling on the old road of sin? It had seemed safe enough in his eyes, but what was it in the eyes of God? And what was to be its end?

"The end thereof are the ways of death."

The death of a friend had brought Jack to this district. Maybe his own death was not far off—nearer perhaps than he thought.

And beyond that dread event that would fix his destiny, lay eternity— ETERNITY—with all its bliss for the saved, but with all its woe for the ungodly. He was still on the "old road" and it was "dangerous" indeed. To pursue it further meant destruction in the end.

As yet it was not too late! Here before him was the new road, open and safe. He could tread it with a sure foot, for Christ Himself is "the way" of salvation and of peace.

Jack stood at the fork of the roads. The "old road," so familiar to him, would bring him most quickly to his destination, "the end thereof." But, at best, he had found "the old road"—the way of the transgressor— to be "hard." Though it was "broad" enough, there were many pitfalls to snare the unwary. Slippery mud-holes abounded, and thorns and briars thrust tenuous arms around those who came that way. Why should he not leave it? Many times, as he had washed off the mud and tried to cover or remove the scratches and bruises received on that devious route, he had thought of the course of Wisdom. But in his heart he had doubted that "her ways are ways of pleasantness,. and all her paths are peace." Proverbs. 3:17. Now, face to face with "danger" on one hand and an untried path on the other, he hesitated.

Again Jack looked at the sign-board. Was it an untried path? Someone was pointing him to it; someone had traveled the "new road"; someone had found it to be good. Oh, the folly of all the evanescent pleasures of the "old road"! Compared to the joys of the "new" they were indeed rubbish.

Ashamed of his doubts and his questionings, Jack turned to the One who had trodden the path before him. He fled to the Savior and received from His nail-pierced hands forgiveness, full and free. And today he keeps to the "new road" and rejoices as he treads it while ever nearing are the glorious courts of everlasting blessedness.

Oh friend, which road are you treading?

Be warned in time:

"DON'T USE THE OLD ROAD.
IT IS DANGEROUS.
KEEP TO THE NEW ROAD."

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." John 14:6.

Repentance

In God's Word two Greek words are translated into the one English word "repentance."

One of the Greek words means "change of heart," or "to turn about." The other Greek word means "regret."

Judas Iscariot had "regret," not a "change of heart." "Judas repented himself." Matthew 27:3. But a complete "change of heart" is indicated in the words of the Lord Jesus in Luke 13:3. He says there, "Expect ye repent, ye shall ALL likewise perish."

I'll Not Give God the Wreck

Will Ogilvie came to us from the North County, broken in health, hoping by a stay in the healthful climate of the great South-west to arrest the ravages of tuberculosis and to regain his physical strength. With nothing else to do but to eat and to rest, his thoughts often turned to the "great beyond." Before this he had given eternity little thought. Now it became a matter of supreme interest, for he discovered that he was not prepared to meet God.

An earnest Christian, a forest ranger, near whose cabin Will had taken up his abode, repeatedly sought to lead him to Christ, but although he listened reverently to every plea made, yet his only reply was that it would not be fair after ruining his life in sin to offer God the wreck at the close. He was still too much of a gentleman to do that!

He was in this frame of mind when I met him some time later at a sanatorium where he had gone to spend his last days on earth.

I spoke to him earnestly about his soul's salvation, and sought to point him to Christ, the sinner's Savior. But in response I only got the same excuse that he had offered to the forest ranger. "I'll not offer God the wreck now," he said.

After a moment's reflection I asked him how it might be if he could stay here another fifty years; would the wreck be better or worse? To this he replied that he did not see how it could be any worse, but neither had he any hopes of making it better, for he had tried that.

Then I said to him, "Has it ever occurred to you, Will, that you were a wreck to begin with?"

"A wreck to begin with! What do you mean?"

"Just what David meant when he said, `Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.' Psalm 51:5. And that is why the best of men, such as Nicodemus, 'must be born again.' "

The light now began to break into Will's soul. He saw what a helpless sinner he was, and always had been. And then it became easy to point him to the blessed Son of God who "came to seek and to save that which was lost."

Will now asked for a Bible. It was a pleasure to see how he enjoyed the Word of God, especially Paul's epistle to the Romans, which shows how a sinner can be justified.

That he had peace with God was evident from the manner in which he henceforth lived and died. At the last he said to me, "Peace with God," and a smile broke over his face as he clasped my hands in his and we took leave of each other till that "morning without clouds."

Reader, if unsaved as Will was, you too are a moral wreck. Flee now to Will's Savior, "who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification," and then you too will be able to say, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

The Cost of an Estate

"What is the value of this estate?" the question was asked by one man of another with whom he was driving. They had just passed a fine mansion surrounded by rich, fertile fields.

"I don't know what it is valued at; but I do know what it cost its late owner, now deceased."

"How much?"

"His soul."

A solemn pause followed. And well it might: he to whom the words were spoken had himself all his good things in this life.

His friend added, "Mr. (the former owner) was at one time an apparently religious man, but worldly success was his soul's ruin. On his deathbed he himself said so."

Beloved, whatever of earthly possession or blessing the Lord may allow you to have in this scene, I beseech you to hold it lightly.

Receive it as from Himself and use it for His glory. HAVE IT, dear ones, but NEVER LET IT HAVE YOU!

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

Mark 8:36.

No Flesh!

We need to learn distinctly and clearly that "flesh" never can be with God. It crucified Christ; it will not have God; and God will not have it.

Lord Byron's Lament

It was his last birthday and, forgotten and alone, the brilliant and handsome Byron took up his pen and in bitter disappointment wrote:

"My days are in the yellow leaf,
The flowers and fruits of life are gone,
The worm, the canker, and the grief
Are mine alone."

He had followed the bubble of fame, but it had burst in his grasp. He had reached the zenith of popularity, and had been flattered by royalty, but he died forsaken and unattended upon a foreign shore. He had drunk deeply of the sparkling drafts of this world's pleasure and lust, but the intoxicating cup had been rudely dashed from his hand and the bitter dregs alone were left him. One present when he died wrote: "No gleam of joy, of peace, or hope rose upon that melancholy scene; no prayer for forgiveness ascended. The Divine Redeemer was but once mentioned by the dying poet, and that only a painful exclamation."

A sad story. Yes, but a true sample of the way in which the world treats those who have served it most and loved it best. Fleeting and empty are its best pleasures. "Vanity" is written across its most cherished treasures.

Let your thoughts travel on ahead of you think of your dying day. Will the night of eternal darkness be before you? Or will the light of God's wondrous day fill your soul with radiance in that supreme moment?

Look ahead! Think of the time when you shall have ceased to sing and laugh, when someone else will sit in your place. Look into eternity, and let me ask you two questions:

"What shall it profit 'a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

Mark 8:36. "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?" Hebrews 2:3.

What answer can you give?

Indifference

Indifference is a sin of no ordinary kind; it is an offense of great magnitude it is pure and simple wickedness. To estimate this we must call to mind what it is that men treat with indifference. It is the claims of God that are set at naught, and the love of God that is despised. The gift of the Son of God, His work of infinite love at Calvary, the glory which that work has thrown open, and all the present blessings of the salvation of God are so many trifles to the indifferent sinner; he can afford to treat them with contemptuous disregard.

After all the resources of divine love have been taxed to the utmost, after the heart of God has told itself out in the most wonderful way, after all the treasures of heavenly grace have been presented, after the invitation has gone forth in its fullness —"Come; for all things are now ready"— the insulting answer which goes back to the, Giver of the feast is, "I pray thee have me excused." There is more wickedness in this than in all the crimes that stain the pages of any court's records.

Reader, forget not that

"Into the depths of endless woe
Rejectors of the Savior go;
Forbid the thought that you, who read,
Should longer have no sense of need."

Are You the Lord's?

If ye never had a sick night and a pained soul for sin, ye have not yet lighted upon Christ.

"WHOSOEVER
BELIEVETH THAT JESUS
IS THE CHRIST
IS BORN OF GOD."

1 John 5:1.

JESUS SAID:

"YE MUST BE
BORN AGAIN."

John 3:7.

Three Generations

A little group waited in the prayer-room after the Gospel meeting. They were an aged miner, a care-worn younger woman, and a little girl about ten years old. First, I sought to bring before the two older ones the good news of God's offer of salvation and the urgent need of their acceptance before it was too late. Then I turned to the little girl, saying, "And would you like to be saved, too?"

With a happy smile she replied, "I am saved, sir! I am just waiting till Mother is saved, too."

I thus became aware that the happy child was the daughter of the anxious woman whom I had been pointing to the Savior.

"And how do you know that you are saved?" I addressed this question to the child, desiring that might tell in her own simple manner the way of life, so that these two seekers could hear it. I knew she could tell it in a way that they would understand.

"It says in my Testament that Jesus died for sinners. That is what I am, so I know He died for me. And it says that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. I believe, and so eternal life is mine."

I turned to the old man and the woman and said: "Do you hear that? That is God's way of salvation, told by a little child who possesses it. Are you willing to be saved in the same way?"

By this time both were in tears, and I believe that, realizing their need of a Savior, both of them came to Him as sinners and received His salvation. The child rose with a beam of joy on her face. First, she threw her arms around her mother. Then, to my surprise, she kissed the aged man. He was her grandfather! All three went away rejoicing in Christ: yes, three generations saved by believing in the same Jesus in the same way—by simply trusting Him.

Are you saved, my reader? You can be right now; for this same Jesus waits to welcome you as He did those three. Come to Him now just as you are, for "This Man receiveth sinners." Luke 15:2.

"Now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2.

Eternity

"Eternity, Eternity! How long art thou, Eternity?"

Count the gold and silver blossoms,
Spring has scattered o'er the lea;
Count the softly sounding ripples
Sparkling in the summer sea;
Count the lightly flickering shadows
In the autumn forest glade;
Count pale nature's scattered teardrops,
Icy gems by winter made.

Count the tiny blades that glitter
Early in the morning dew;
Count the desert sand that stretches
Under noontide's vault of blue;
Count the notes that woodbirds warble
In the evening's fading light;
Count the stars that gleam and twinkle
O'er the firmament of night.

When thy counting all is done,
Scarce eternity's begun.
Reader, pause where wilt thou be
During thine eternity?

Which Was Right?

"Yes," said Harry, a young fisherman, "I was saved last night."

"Oh, go on! What's the use of talking like that?" exclaimed Jim, an older man, who was one of the same boat's crew. "You've always been a good kind of a chap, Harry. Don't get talking like that about being saved. You're not thinking of dying, are you?"

"No," answered the young man with a smile, "I didn't get saved in order to die, but so that I could live the right kind of life. I knew I was a sinner, a bigger one than you think, and I had no power to be different. So I made up my mind I'd have the real thing, and I came to Christ to save me, and He has done it."

Jim was not a man of many words, and he did not intend to enter upon a theological argument, so he shrugged his shoulders and moved away, muttering something about it's being "not likely to last."

Now let us face the question squarely: which of these two men was right? Is it really the case that a "good kind of chap" does not need salvation? Or is it true that even those considered by others to be good are bigger sinners than is thought, but that Christ can save them and give them the assurance that He has done so?

For an answer to our question we will appeal to the unerring Word of God. First let us notice that it knows nothing of "good" men. It declares that "all have sinned," and that "there is none that doeth good, no, not one." (Romans 3.) It tells us that all need to repent, and that the command of God is that all men should do so. (Acts 17:30, 31).

The Scriptures further tell us that, while "there is no difference" between man and man in His sight, He makes no difference in His treatment of them, He is rich unto all in His mercy. He has provided a Savior for all who will accept Him.

Why should you not share the joy and peace that come through personal faith in Christ as Savior? You are sure of a welcome, if you come as a sinner. The Savior's assurance is, "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37.

Fragment

The affections go before the feet.

Come, Hear the Gospel Sound

`Yet There Is Room'

(George West Frazer)

The conversion of George West Frazer, a twenty year old Irish lad, took place in Dublin, Ireland, in 1859. Vast crowds were attending the meetings in the "Rotunda" where the evangelist, Grattan Guinness, was preaching. Will Frazer, George's brother, was a Christian and was very anxious that his unsaved brother should hear the address; but when they arrived at the hall it was filled to overflowing and crowds blocked the entrance.

George had been indifferent as to these meetings. He had just purchased a new reading lamp and was anxious to get home and try it. But such is human nature that, finding there was no room inside, he determined to hear the preacher anyway. Leaving his cherished lamp to his brother's keeping, he climbed a rain spout and reached the ledge of an upper window. There he sat with legs dangling down, amazed at the sea of faces below.

However, something more important soon caught and held his attention. It was the preacher's text: "Yet there is room." Luke 14:22. Its appropriateness to himself struck him, and he listened attentively. As he heard the wondrous story of God's provision for lost sinners, of His great love in giving His own dear Son to die that they might be saved from sin and from judgment to come, George's heart was deeply stirred.

He climbed down from his perch an unhappy young man, determined not to rest until he had found the Savior for himself.

Fourteen days and nights were spent in an anxious and miserable state. One night, after having been on his knees repeatedly at his bedside and finding no relief, he determined to cease seeking and to have his fling in the world. Then came the thought that though he might forget his trouble, he still would have to face God, his sins, and a lost eternity. In deep anguish of soul he cried, "If I must perish, I am resolved to perish at His feet!" Then and there he cast himself at the feet of Jesus.

He was relieved, but not yet at peace. Presently a well-known verse of Scripture came with such force to his remembrance that it seemed spoken to him. It was 1 Timothy 1:15,—"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."

"That's just what I want! I'm a sinner, and Christ Jesus came to save such," he exclaimed. One who knew him well writes: "After lying awake praising God for hours, he fell into the first sweet, refreshing sleep he had had since that memorable night at the 'Rotunda.' "

Rising early the next morning to tell his brother the good news, the thought struck him, "What shall I tell him?" For the moment the peace and joy of the night before had vanished. Then he remembered: "It was that precious verse, 1 Timothy 1:15, that gave me rest last night." It was the same, though his feelings had changed. He simply trusted God's Word, and with a full heart confessed his faith in the finished work of Christ to his brother.

"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Romans 10:9.

For thirty-five years George Frazer lived a happy Christian life redolent with the savor of Christ. During this time he wrote some of the best hymns found in modern collections. They have been published in three separate volumes. But perhaps the one most widely known and used of God to the salvation of souls is a Gospel hymn which reflects his own conversion and the text that aroused him to a sense of his lost condition:

"Come, hear the Gospel sound,
`Yet there is room.'
It tells to all around
`Yet there is room.'
The sinner may draw near!
Though vile, he need not fear;
With joy he now may hear
`Yet there is room. "

The Gift, or the Wages?

Some working men were returning by train from a job in the country to receive their week's wages at their employer's office. An elderly man asked them, "Did you ever hear of a day when the worker will not want his wages?"

They stared at him in surprise. What a ridiculous question! Who ever heard of a man working and not wanting his wages?

"Listen, then," went on the old man, "God speaks of such a day," and opening a well-worn Bible which he had drawn from his pocket he read the words, "The wages of sin is death."

Reader, are you prepared for such wages? Would it not be better to accept the gift? "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

God is ready to give you the gift even now. He refuses none who come with repentance towards Him and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but if you will not accept the gift, you must receive the wages.

Listening for a Sound

When I was a boy at school, unsaved and unconcerned about my salvation, I was brought to think of eternity and my lost condition through overhearing a conversation between my mother and a Christian woman who was at our house spending an evening. They were talking together about the second coming of Christ—a truth that they had just recently learned from the Scriptures—and the change that would be wrought among the living and the dead in that moment of His return for His people.

I was sitting in the room pretending to read a book at the time; but the conversation became so interesting that. I put aside my story and sat listening to what they were saying.

"There is a dark side to it," said the Christian lady to my mother. "What about those of our households who will be yet unsaved when Jesus comes? They will be left behind for the judgment. The doom of those who have lived rejecting Christ will be sealed then. I often think if we should be caught away during the still hours of night, what an awakening it will be to the unconverted ones under our roof, to find us gone, and them left behind!"

I could stay no longer. I crept out and got off to bed as quickly as possible. That word haunted me. What if the Lord should come during the night? I knew that my dear father and mother would be "caught up." They were both saved; so were my sister and our servant girl. I alone in the house was unconverted.

I spent several nights in sore trouble, thinking of the possibility of being left. Several mornings when I awoke in the early stillness I thought they had gone. One morning I felt so uneasy I arose, dressed, and stood on the stair listening for a sound from the kitchen. How thankful I was to hear Mary, the servant, lighting the fire! I knew then the Lord had not come yet, and that I had another chance given me to be ready for Him.

At last I could endure it no longer. I told a Christian young man who worked in my father's office about my state. He said it was God speaking to my soul, urging upon me the need of deciding for Christ. He advised me not to stifle my convictions, but to come to Christ, accepting Him as my Savior.

"If you have Christ, you can then rejoice that He is coming; but remember: there is no time to trifle!"

This sounded to me like God's final warning. I saw clearly that I had to make a choice between Christ and my own will: between Christ and the world. I could halt no longer. Going out into the dark night; I took off my cap and, looking up into the starry heavens, I prayed my first real prayer.

"Lord Jesus, I accept Thee as my Savior; I believe that Thou hast died for me; I want to be Thine."

And then He gave the answer from His own Word: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." John 3:36.

I believed God's testimony, and thanked Him for giving it to me as I hastened to my room. What relief! I was saved, everlastingly saved. I could scarcely realize that it was true, but my heart was filled with peace. I had the witness within me, as well as the word of God before my eyes, that I was in reality saved. I could not keep it to myself. I ran downstairs and told my parents and sister, and there was great joy that night.

Now I longed to see the Savior of my soul. No fear came at the thought that soon He would return to call His ransomed people home to share His glory, for "perfect love casteth out fear." Now the love of God was shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Ghost given unto me. (Rom. 5:5.) I loved Him because He first loved me. (1 John 4:19.) Happy portion of the believer!

Reader, have you ever thought what the coming of the Son of God will do for you? Will you be among those caught away to "eternal glory," or will you be left to "eternal judgment"? Pause and think!

"The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:16, 17.

"These shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."

Matt. 25:46.

Left, though God pleaded often,
Asked thee again and again:
Called, but thou wouldst not hearken;
Why was it all in vain?

Left, not because He wished it,
Left, at thine own self-will;
Left, and thy heart grew harder:
Thou roast rebellious still.

Left for the coming judgment,
Left for the sinner's doom;
Left, while thy life-day darkens
Into a solemn gloom.

Left, but instead of heaven
What will thy portion be?
"Weeping and wailing" only
All through eternity.

Where Is Thy Soul?

"Where's thy soul?" This question was asked, not by a minister from the pulpit—not by a neighbor of his friend next door—not by a district visitor of some poor invalid at the point of death; the inquiry was addressed by a young man to himself!

A sturdy miner in the prime of health, he had reached manhood's estate pursuing "the common round" of a worldly life, wholly oblivious of spiritual things. He had never entered a church; he had never heard a sermon; he had never attended a prayer meeting; he "cared naught for those things."

One day, in the midst of his work, the news came that his mother had suddenly died. The shock almost stunned him; yet immediately the query flashed into his mind, "Where's her soul?"

It was an agonizing problem which he could not solve. While pondering it, fear and trembling came upon him. Another question rang in his ears as though it were a voice from heaven: "Where's thy soul?"

Conviction of sin followed; a season of darkness and a deep distress. Through ignorance of God's Word and of God's plan of salvation, weary months were spent in groping after a ray of hope. The anxious inquirer missed no opportunity from which instruction might be derived.

It was on a New Year's Day. Hoping to find help in making "good resolutions," the heart-hungry man slipped into a mission hall. There, in simple words he heard for the first time in his life the sweet story of God's love for sinful man. As he listened eagerly to the message, the One who knoweth the heart gave him the faith to receive the blessed Savior of sinners. He believed "the Word of reconciliation" and was enabled to rejoice in the knowledge of sins forgiven and salvation through the precious blood of Christ. To him that New Year's Day was the beginning of a new life and in the years that have since passed, he sings happily on:

"My hope on nothing less is built
Than Jesus, and the blood He spilled;
Though all around my soul give way,
He still abides my lasting stay."

The Lord will take care of your feet if you take care of your eyes for "He keepeth the feet of His saints."

“HE THAT HEARTH
MY WORD, AND
BELIEVETH ON HIM
THAT SENT ME,
HATH EVERLASTING LIFE,
AND SHALL NOT COME
INTO CONDEMNATION;
BUT IS PASSED FROM
DEATH UNTO LIFE.”

John 5:24

Fig Leaves

"How long have you known the Lord?" was asked of a friend of mine, an old man, in Salem.

"About three weeks, sir; but I have been forty years sewing fig leaves together."

There is a great deal expressed in these few words. Thousands are employed in, -the same profitless work as my poor old friend.

Yes, thousands are occupied in the useless business of sewing fig leaves together. The man who is trying to save his soul by means of rites and ceremonies, ordinances and sacraments, church-going and mission-work, is just sewing fig leaves together. So also is the man or woman who is building upon prayers, fasting, and almsdeeds—just sewing fig leaves together.

These things have a place; but, as a foundation for the soul to rest upon for pardon and peace—as a title wherewith to draw nigh to a holy and righteous God—as a ground on which to build for eternity—

they are, in very truth, but sewing fig leaves together. All who trust in them for salvation will find them to be "nothing but leaves" when it is too late.

To possess true, solid, divine peace, the soul must rest simply on God and on His Word. Nothing else will—nothing else can—avail. Nothing can give peace but that which is of God.

"For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

"But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." 1 Peter 1:24, 25.

Calvary

There is a green hill far away,
Beyond a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified,
Who died for sinners all.

I may not know, I cannot tell
What pains He had to bear;
But I believe it was for me
He hung and suffered there.

He died that I might be forgiven,
He died to do me good:
That I might go at last to heaven,
Saved by His precious blood.

"Oh, How He Loves Me!"

"Do not say God loves me. He does not.

The only friend I had in the world died three months ago, and I am left alone. If God loved or cared for me, how could He treat me so?"

These impassioned words were spoken by a young lady, dressed in deep mourning, whom I found seated on a grave. She seemed to be oblivious to all around, absorbed in her grief and weeping bitterly.

Death had suddenly taken from her the father on whom she had leaned. He had watched over her most tenderly since, as a child, she had been bereft of her mother. Now she was alone in the world no one to care, to provide, to cherish her. In her days of sorrow, she had no loved one to comfort her.

Knowing the sore trials she was passing through, I hoped that some word of God's grace might reach her aching heart. Quietly I approached the place where she sat; and after a few words of condolence and reference to her departed parent whom I had known in business, I spoke of the love of God as shown forth in the gift of His dear Son, and of the peace that comes to the heart that receives Him.

After that one wild out-burst she listened quietly, but soon showed that she had no knowledge of such a God, and no desire for Him.

I could say little more, but I gave her an urgent invitation to attend some meetings which were being conducted in the little town. Then I lifted up my heart to God and asked that He might reveal His love as manifested on the cross of Calvary to this sorrow-stricken one. I knew that nothing short of Christ and a saving knowledge of God could help her bear her loss and grief.

On the following Lord's Day evening, to my joy I saw her enter the hall with one who had been converted during the meetings. The fresh and fragrant words of John 3:16 were the subject of that evening's address. She listened with marked attention to the Word all the time. At the close a hymn was sung:

"I know not why, I only cry:
Oh, how He loves me!"

These lines were repeated until they had a wonderful power over the heart. At the close, the bereaved girl laid hold of her companion's arm, saying: "I see it now; God proved His love for ME at the cross. Oh, how.

He loved me!"

Peace filled her lonely heart, and she could say: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5.

Eternity

Mr. Deane, a servant of the Lord, was resting one evening in his room after having preached the gospel, when there came a rap at his door and a visitor was announced. It was Mr. Hall, an acquaintance of the preacher's. After a little conversation about eternal and invisible things Mr. Hall said: "You know, Deane, that I have often heard you preach on this subject and I know all that you can tell me. It is all right for you who are a Christian; but what is it to me who believes neither in God, in heaven, nor in hell?"

"Well," replied Deane, "I also have heard all that you have had to say as to these things; but now allow me to ask you to do something for me."

"I will do it with pleasure, my friend."

"Very well. Go home, and for three consecutive nights, after putting out your light and before lying down on your bed, at the time that others would be addressing God in prayer, say these words: 'Eternity! Eternity! Eternity! I shall have to meet you; where? I do not want God; I do not believe in heaven; I deny that there is a hell; where am I going?' "

Hall agreed. That night he put out his light with a resolute air, and standing erect, he pronounced without hesitation the words which his friend had asked him to say.

The second night, he would have liked (although not ready to acknowledge it even to himself), that the light had not been extinguished before he said the words.

The third night he felt that he should let the light burn, and it was then that God, in His marvelous grace and love, began to respond to the prayers of his friend and to make the light shine into his soul.

Mr. Hall began: "Eternity! Eternity!

Eternity! I have to meet thee! Where? I do not believe in heaven." He stopped short. He could not say, "I do not want God," as he realized suddenly the presence of a holy and righteous God. "Where am I going?" he continued in a tone of agony and despair. The reply resounded from the depth of his soul:

"To hell, to hell! That is where I am going!"

Pursued by this thought which gave him no rest, in trouble which no words can express, he came back to his friend Deane after several days. He told him what he had been passing through, adding: "What can I do—what can you do for me?"

"Nothing," replied Deane calmly, looking down; "Nothing."

"What then ought I to do?"

"Nothing," was again the answer; "nothing."

"What? Do nothing when I am in a state of inexpressible misery?"

"No, nothing," Deane again repeated, looking first at his friend and then again fixing his look upon the floor. Full of thanksgiving to God at seeing his friend feel so really his misery and his helplessness, he felt that God was about to interpose.

"How is it," cried Hall, "that you can remain so calm at seeing me in this fearful perplexity? How is it that you can say so coldly that you can do nothing? You, a Christian, and to me, an immortal soul going to hell; you can say nothing! And it is you who has led me into this state of despair!"

"No," again Deane replied. "I can do nothing for you. I am, like yourself, only a weak and powerless creature. You can do nothing, and as to myself, I can do no more than you, absolutely nothing. But," he continued, raising his eyes and pointing to heaven, "God and He only, can do anything for you, and He has done all that is necessary."

Then divine light shone into this poor soul, banishing the darkness of infidelity and revealing Him who came to save sinners, bringing to light life and incorruptibility by the gospel, the good news of His grace. Thenceforth the question, "Where am I going?" could receive the joyful response: "To heaven, to be with Him who loved me and saved me from hell."

Reader, can you say as much?

God's Thoughts about the Sinner

"As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12.

"There is none that doeth good, no, not one." Psalm 14:3.

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8.

"The wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23.

God's Grace Towards the Sinner "Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom." Job 33:24.

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."

John 3:14, 15.

"Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Rev. 22:17.

"Grace and Truth" came by Jesus Christ. But grace comes first.

The Gates of Gaza

Judges 16

It was midnight, and the town of Gaza was in silence save for bands of men who laid wait near the gate of the city. Around one house a guard was set, for the Gazites (who were Philistines) had heard that Samson the Israelite was there, and they counted on taking his life in the morning.

Great deliverances had been wrought for the people of God (the Israelites) by the hand of His servant Samson. Now Satan and all his legions were in league against him.

At midnight Samson arose. Gates and bars could not hold God's man, and the watchful hosts were vanquished without a blow.

Strong men armed had been keeping the house, but a stronger came upon them and overcame them and spoiled their house. Of the Gazites we hear no more; but the doors of the gate of the city, with the two posts, bar, and all, Samson carried away upon his shoulders to the top of a hill before Hebron!

The devil was defeated.

Again it was night: the darkest night this world has known. God's Man, God's Son, was in the grave, the citadel of Satan, and against Him were arrayed all his demons. He was in the place of weakness and death.

The Pharisees and chief priests had taken every precaution at the bidding of Pilate.

They had rolled a great stone to the door.

They had sealed it and set a watch. Through the long hours of darkness and night they watched; they made the grave as sure as they could (Matthew 27). The devil, who had hitherto wielded the power of death, did not want to relinquish it. "Who shall roll us away the stone?" (Mark 16), say the trembling followers of the One whom Satan seemed to hold so securely. Ah, none apprehended who He was. "It was not possible that He should be holden" of death! Acts 2:24.

"He hell in hell laid low;
Made sin, He sin o'erthrew;
Bowed to the grave, destroyed it so;
And death by dying slew."

The morning of His resurrection came.

There was a great earthquake. An angel of the Lord descended (Matthew 28) and rolled away the great stone and sat upon it.

They who had been watching became as dead men. The gates of Gaza were upon the top of the hill! The Pharisees, chief priests, Herod and Pilate, with Satan at their head were conquered, for the Lord was risen!

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

The fearful women, the unbelieving disciples, who all their lifetime through fear of death had been in bondage, were free now, for the devil's power was broken. "God raised Him from the dead." Acts 13:30.

The gates of Gaza could not confine Samson. Far less could the great stone or the watching soldiers be any impediment to the Son of God.

Do you know what this means for you, dear believer? He "was raised again for our justification." Romans 4:25. The Lord Jesus bore your sins on the cross; He endured the penalty of death for you; He rose triumphant over death, hell, and the grave. Your sins are gone, for Jesus has risen without them, and He is in God's presence in proof of it. Look up and see Him there, a Man in the glory of God. No more need you fear the power of Satan in death, for Jesus rose from amongst the dead. When the disciples gazed within the empty tomb, they saw and believed. Dear soul, "be not faithless, but believing." John 20:8, 27, 31. You too may thus have the full assurance that in Jesus, the Son of God, you are free indeed. "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." John 8:36.

Sin and Sins

A little crooked s makes a great difference in many things. In the Word of God we find sin and sins clearly distinguished. "Sin" is the root that produces the bad fruit—"sins."

God judged sin; God forgives sins.

God condemned sin in the flesh, making His Son, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, by His dying in the likeness of sinful flesh on the cross. (2 Cor. 5:21.) And now he remits the sins of all who believe on Him.

Do you want forgiveness, and think you must utter many prayers to obtain it? Nay, God is offering you pardon, beseeching you, by His servants, to be reconciled to Him. (2 Cor. 5:20.) Sin has been judged. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and your sins are forgiven for His Name's sake (1. John 2:12), for He bore the sins of all who believe, in His own body on the tree. (1 Peter 2:24.)

And, if a believer, you have done with sin,— you are to have nothing more to say to it. (1 Peter 4:1.) But perhaps you will say:

"Suppose I sin again. Do I not then need to pray for forgiveness?"

Let God's own Word supply the answer:

"IF any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

1 John 2:1.

"If we confess our sins" (not pray for forgiveness), He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9.

It is very easy for a naughty child to say:

"Father, please forgive me." But it is quite another thing for a child to see its wrong as the father sees it, and to come before him in true self-judgment, confessing it.

So it is between God and His children. We ought not to sin; but if we do, we are exhorted to come before Him in self-judgment and heart-felt confession.

"The blood of Jesus Christ His [God's]

Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7.

True Merit

"There is no merit in religion." So the young minister said, and not a few of the church members were very ill pleased. This was a new doctrine to them, for they had been taught that RELIGION and the rigid observance of all its forms and ceremonies were the means whereby "Christ communicated to us the benefits of redemption."

No merit in religion! What, then, is the use of it? Nothing whatever, in so far as the salvation of a sinner is concerned. The only "merit" that avails for this is the work and worth of Jesus Christ, the once-offered sacrifice of Himself which He effected on Calvary, and which God has accepted and declared all-sufficient. To add the "merit" of prayer, or reformation, or any other human effort is to insult the God of heaven, and belittle the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His dear Son.

There IS no "merit" in religion no need for it, either. A sinner can be saved on the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. The Word of God tells us to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Acts 16:31. This requires neither priest nor altar, ordinance nor vow; but it is God's one simple way to make the merits of Christ "effectual" unto salvation.

Do you say that this is not enough? What more do you want? God is satisfied, yea, well pleased with the atoning death of His Son If you are ever to be saved, ever to be with Him in the Father's "many mansions," you must be so on God's own terms.

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other Name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12.

"Not my works, my prayers, nor tears,
Not my inward joys or fears;
Not my conduct—good or bad,
Not my feelings—grieved or glad.
But the Son of God who came—
Died for me and rose again;
Lives above at God's right hand!
‘Tis in Christ alone I stand."

Extract

"Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28.

“GOD SENT NOT HIS SON

INTO THE WORLD TO

CONDEMN THE WORLD;

BUT THAT THE WORLD

THROUGH HIM MIGHT

BE SAVED

John 3:17

Striving to Do My Best

In one of the wards of the hospital lay a man, dying. A servant of Christ told him of God's free grace; of His willingness to save; that He had met the prodigal from the far-off land; and that He had saved the thief on the cross. The sick man answered: "I believe it all."

"Then have you peace?"

"No, I haven't peace."

"Why?"

"Because, you see, sir," he answered, "I have come behind in doing my part. I do believe that God has done His; but then you see, sir, I must do mine."

"And what is your part?"

"Well, I must strive to do my best."

His heart was not open to understand "free grace," and for several days he persisted in struggling, striving, and seeking to work his way up to God. And each day he grew weaker as his life ebbed away.

Again the servant of God called to see him. Taking him by the hand, he said: "Well, what can you do now to get salvation?"

"Do?" said the dying man; "I can do nothing. My strength is gone. I can't lift that glass to my lips to take a drop of water."

"Then what will you do?"

The dying man looked up, his anxious face telling of the fearful struggle going on within. His eyes were glazed by the hand of death. "I'll do what the dying thief did," he said. "I'll turn my head and look."

So he did, blessed be God! He "looked to Jesus," and life and salvation were the immediate result. So simple, yet so great! "There is life in a LOOK at the crucified One. Then LOOK, sinner, LOOK unto Him and be saved." He has done ALL for thee.

"Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." Isa. 45:22.

Heaven's Gates

Heaven's gates are wide enough to admit of many sinners, but too narrow to admit of any sin.

Is He Willing?

"Is God willing to save me?" This is asked by many a soul when brought to a sense of need. They do not doubt His power; but they question, "Is He willing?" Surely important this is, and only the Word of God can give the answer.

When the poor leper in Luke 5 came to Christ, the one thought in his mind was, "Is He willing?" When he saw Jesus he fell on his face and besought Him, saying, "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean."

The blessed Lord was not long in making His reply. Ah, no! His tender, loving heart was touched by the man's misery and helplessness, and He stretched forth His hand and touched him, saying, "I WILL: be thou clean." And immediately the leprosy left him.

Never was there a case of need, whether corporal or spiritual, that Jesus was unwilling or unable to meet. In His presence, and by His love and power, all need was met, whether it was a leper in his leprosy or a sinner in his sins. "I will: be thou clean," was spoken to the former, and "Thy sins are forgiven," to the latter. It is always so.

"Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37.

From Cross to Crown

The Father sent the Son
A ruined world to save;
Man meted to the sinless
One The cross, the grave.
Blest substitute from God,
Wrath's awful cup He drained;
Laid down His life, and e'en the tomb's
Reproach sustained.

Earth trembled as He died:—
God's well-beloved Son;
The darkness sought His woes to hide:
His work is DONE.
He lives to die no more,
Joy dwells upon His brow;
His agonies untold are o'er:
He triumphs now!

The new and living way
Stands open now to heaven;
Thence, where the blood is seen alway,
God's gift is given.
The river of His grace
Through righteousness supplied,
Is flowing o'er that barren place
Where Jesus died!

The Lord shall come again!
The conqueror must reign!
No tongue but shall confess Him then The
Lamb once slain.
JESUS is worthy NOW
All homage to receive;
O sinner! To the Savior bow,
The truth believe.

The Way

"I am the way," says Jesus: the way to God, the way to eternal glory. There is no peace, no joy, no light, no salvation apart from Him. "He that hath the Son hath LIFE." 1 John 5:12.

Reader, do you have Christ? I do not ask if you have religion, or if you have a good character in the world; but HAVE YOU CHRIST? If you have Him, you have all, for time and through eternal day. Without Him, you have nothing, though the wealth of the universe were in your possession. You are unblest still if you have not Christ. You are unsaved still if you have not Christ. You are on your way to eternal ruin if you have not Christ. You are lost if you have not Christ.

Oh, the grace that brought Christ down from the highest glory—down to us in our ruin, so that He, the good Samaritan, might have His way with us. (Luke 10.)

By nature we take our own way. Not only have we, like sheep, gone astray, but we have turned our own way. And oh, what a way it has been! Far from God, from Christ, without hope of salvation, on the dark, dark mountains of sin and of folly.

"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death." Prov. 14:12. Death, that grim monster, man's last enemy, like a mighty detective, waits at the end of man's way and hands him over to judgment.

My sinner-friend, truly the end of the day of grace is at hand. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. I beseech you, while it is yet "today," turn from your own godless, willful way. It leads only to destruction. "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found." Soon it will be too late. Turn to Him while He is near, for He has said:

"I am THE WAY, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." John 14:6.

The Trappist Monk

Some years ago there lived in north Germany a young man who did his own will and went his own way. He had no regard for his parents' wishes, nor for order nor government, and he learned to do wickedly. He was more desperate and foolhardy than all his wicked companions. But God was looking on, and He claimed the young German's soul for Himself. Karl was stopped in his wickedness, and convicted of his sin. He trembled as he thought of a judgment to come he ceased to do wickedly but knew not how to do well.

He was overpowered as he thought of his wicked life, and his one desire now was to atone in some way for his past sins. The question was HOW was he to do so! The monasteries he knew of in Germany were proverbial at that time for comfort and ease and good living. He felt to enter one would be but idle waste of time.

At last, after many inquiries, he heard of a monastery in Sicily, where there lived an order of monks called Trappists. Here everything was most severe. Little food, long hours spent in prayer and fasting, were the order of the house. No conversation was allowed except for an hour a week; no change of clothes; no outings; no letters. Life in fact was a scourge from morning till night.

Karl thought if he lived a lifelike this his position might in some way be eased in the judgment day and possibly some of the horrors of eternal punishment be avoided. So he set out to walk the long journey of hundreds of miles on foot, begging as he went.

At last he reached it, worn out with his weary tramp and the exposure it entailed, and rang the gate-bell for admittance. The gate was opened by a very aged monk, so old and feeble that it was as much as he could do to open the gate at all.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Oh," answered the young German, "I want to be saved, and to atone for a very wicked life by prayers and hard work and self-denial."

The old monk looked interested. "Come in," he said, "and sit down and tell me more about yourself."

He took him into a little room near the gate, where they were alone together. "Now tell me what you mean," said the old man; "I should like to hear your story."

So Karl told him his sad history and how he hoped that by spending his life in penance, he might escape some of the judgment he deserved. He ended his story by saying, "Tell me what I am to do and I will gladly do it."

"If you do what I tell you," replied the old monk, "you will go back to Germany. There has been One down here who has done the whole work in your place before you came. He has finished it, SO THERE IS NOTHING LEFT FOR YOU TO DO."

Karl did not know what to make of such words. "Who has done it?" he asked.

"Did you never hear of the Lord Jesus Christ?" asked the old man.

"Yes, of course I have heard of Him."

"Do you know where He is?" asked the monk again.

"Yes, of course I know; He is in heaven," replied Karl.

"But tell me," said the monk, looking earnestly into his face, "do you know why He is in heaven? He was not always in heaven, you know. He came here to do the work that YOU want to do yourself. He came down here to bear the punishment of your sins and He is in heaven BECAUSE THE WORK IS DONE. If it were not so He would still be here, for He came to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself; and if anything remained to be done, He would still be here; for He undertook to do the whole work Himself, and He has gone back to heaven because He has DONE it. He said on the cross, `It is finished.' What was finished? It was the work YOU want to do."

"And now," added the monk, "if you want to add the crowning sin to your wicked life, and do something worse than you have done before, you may stay here and cast contempt upon the blessed, perfect work of the Son of God by taking upon yourself to do what only He could do. It may seem strange to you that I stay here. where Christ is thus insulted but I am very old and can only walk to the gate, so I must stay till the Lord calls me home. You may remain three days and I will tell you all I can about the Lord Jesus; and then go, I beseech you, and preach to your friends in Germany."

Karl did stay; and peace and joy filled his heart in believing. Then he returned and spent the rest of his life telling in private and public the blessed news of the finished work of Christ.

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Rom. 4:5.

"Cast your deadly doing down,
Down at Jesus' feet;
Stand in Him, in Him alone,
Gloriously complete.
"It is finished!" Yes, indeed,
Finished every jot:
Sinner, this is all you need:
Tell me, is it not?"

A Lamp without Oil

An old lady about eighty-three years of age gives the following account of how the Spirit of God aroused her to a sense of her need of a Savior. She was at the time about sixteen years old and was at a gospel meeting.

The preacher took for his text the parable of the ten virgins as told in Matthew twenty-five. Towards the end of his message he related this incident: having heard of a young man in the neighborhood who was very ill, he went to visit him. The sick man refused to see him.

Several days later the man of God received a call. This same young man was sinking and wanted him to come. He responded willingly to the request.

As he entered the sick-room the minister was greeted with these words: "Friend, give me a little of your oil, for my lamp is going out."

The preacher was beginning his reply, "Go to Him who sells and buy for yourself"—but he had hardly uttered words when the poor earthen vessel broke and the young man was in eternity. Slowly and solemnly the minister concluded the story: "AND THE DOOR WAS SHUT."

Dear young friends, let me press upon you your need to come to the Savior NOW, that you too may "have oil in your lamps."

"Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your heart." Psa. 95:7, 8.

Fragment

Without God there is no anchorage: nothing but drifting.

Too Late! Too Late!

When the steamship "London" went down in the Bay of Biscay many years ago, two boat-loads of precious souls were taken off the vessel. One reached the shore in-safety The other was never heard of again.

The two boats were alongside the stricken ship and those who were willing to risk their lives in them were hastening to get in. It was plain that soon they must put off from the sinking vessel. While the last ones the boats could hold were being lowered, a woman ran below deck. She hastily collected her jewelry and money, thrust it into a bag, and ran back on deck to get into a boat. To her horror both boats had pushed off, and she was left with her treasures on the sinking "London."

She stood upon the deck crying in a voice of agony: "A thousand pounds, if you will take me into the boat!" It was too late! She went down with the ill-fated ship. Except for her love of her earthly treasures she might have been saved.

Dear reader, are you in the Life-Boat or on the sinking ship? You say, What do you mean? Listen. This world is sailing on without God sailing towards ETERNITY. You too, if not saved, are traveling on without God, headed for ETERNITY. As the steam-ship "London" and all on board her were swallowed up in the mighty ocean, so will you and all who appear before God by and by in their sins sink into eternal perdition.

"The heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." 2 Peter 3:7.

Everything around you may appear beautiful. Wonderful strides in arts and sciences are being made. Man's rejection of Christ, the Creator and the Savior, is lost sight of. To men's minds judgment, if believed in at all, is afar off.

Thus it was with the passengers in the steamer "London." She was a magnificent vessel with a skilful captain. What could they not face, what storm not out-ride? Not so. The waves engulfed her, and many went down with her. Their future prospects were a delusion.

This world is under judgment The day of execution is fixed. God has fixed it, and who can put it off? Its future prospects will all be blighted. From the height of its grandeur, attainment, and glory it will be dashed by His divine hand and cast into perdition. Sad end for this poor world! Thank God there is a Savior, a refuge, a divine life-boat. My reader need not be lost: he may be saved if he will.

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." 1 Tim. 1:15.

Christ Jesus, then, is that Savior, that refuge, that divine life-boat. He came into the world to save sinners. Blessed thought! He died, "the Just for the unjust," to save us from this world and the terrible course it has taken:—to save us from the sinking-wreck.

"The whole world lieth in the wicked one."

1 John 5:19: Awake to your sins, to your associations with the world, and to impending judgment! Why will you perish eternally? The storm is coming, mighty in its power to destroy. Soon you shall know and feel its force, when it will be too late!

Again I ask: Are you in the boat? Do you know-Christ as Savior? Are you justified by God's grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus? ARE YOU SAVED? If not, you 'have no part with Christ; and if the storm were to take you now, you would be lost forever. May Almighty God stop you in your course, and bring you to a consciousness of your danger and need.

"What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mark 8:36, 37.

Epitaph

On a tomb in St. Ives' churchyard.
Bold Infidelity! Turn pale and die!
Beneath this stone three infants' ashes lie.
Say! Are they lost or saved?
If death's by sin, they sinned: because
they're here;
If heaven's by works, in heaven they can't
appear.
Reason—ah, how depraved!
Review the Bible's sacred page the—knot's untied:
They died, for Adam sinned; they live, for
Jesus died!

“BLESSED ARE THEY WHOSE INIQUITIES ARE FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS ARE COVERED.”

Romans 4:7.

Afar off

Friend, are you only living for yourself? Is your one desire to make money, to enjoy life, to win a place for yourself, to gain the world? Then you are living without God. Oh, you may go to church on Sunday as a matter of conscience, or of form, or of habit; but you do not go to meet with God, nor to hear Him speak to you.

The Scripture says of all natural men that they are "without Christ," having no hope, and "without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12).

This is exactly your condition, if unconverted; it is a very pitiable, a very sad state.

You think with compassion of the heathen who have never heard of God. Your own condition is worse: you are more responsible, more guilty. You have the knowledge of God and of His Christ within your reach; the heathen have not. Your sin is greater: your condemnation will be heavier than theirs.

You are living a godless life by deliberate choice. YOU DO NOT WANT GOD.

You want your fill of sin, of the pleasures of the world. You cultivate your taste for these, and for these you give up or neglect the Gospel of God and the God of the Gospel. You cannot have God and sin, Christ and the devil, salvation and the lusts of the flesh. You choose sin, and turn from God.

Thus you live; thus you must die.

There will not, can not be any re-casting of your choice in eternity. As you choose here, you realize there. No God here on earth; no God in eternity. Is not that just and right? You cannot refuse to reap what you sow, to abide by your choice.

Look at the matter fully, honestly, squarely. Think of the consequences, the eternal results of remaining unconverted, of dying without God. "Why will ye die?" There is no reason why you should. Christ has come: come to seek and to save the lost. YOU are one of them; all who live "without God" are.

By His Cross, His blood, His love, His power, He can bring you to God as your Father. Christ died "that He might bring us to God" (1 Pet. 3:18).

All who believe the Gospel of God, owning themselves as lost and Christ as their only Savior, are in Him "made nigh" (Eph. 2:13), and are saved for all eternity.

Own yourself the sinner that you are—for "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:23. Take Christ, the Savior that He is: for "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."

1 Tim. 1:15.

Harvest

"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." Jeremiah 8:20.

Reader, are you saved? What an important question!

Around us we see men striving to get work done while the weather is favorable. They well know that if all is not "made snug" in time, there will be loss.

Are you as much concerned about your soul as you are about your dollars, your horse, or your house? Would you work hard, day and night, that you might know that your soul was saved?

Blessed be God, the glad tidings He has for man is, "to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Rom. 4:5.

Unsaved reader, "Flee from the wrath to come.” "Look not behind thee." The storm clouds of God's wrath and judgment are fast overspreading the horizon.

"Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh."

Matthew 24:44.

The Lost Found

In a cottage meeting where many were gathered not long ago' to hear the gospel, some of the listeners were aroused to-their present need of a Savior. While Jesus was being preached as the Savior for lost sinners a man of middle age' fell down on his knees crying out in agony of soul: "I'm lost! I'm, lost!" Looking up through his tears, he said: to those near him,:"This is a warning to you."

This poor, contrite sinner was down where God could find and bless him, for "the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10. Owning his true condition, the lost one can be found by the Savior, the sinless, spotless One who endured the cross of shame and agony in order to bring guilty sinners—cleansed through faith in His precious blood—to God as His children.

So it was with this man. In a few minutes he was rejoicing, believing in Jesus as a Savior for himself.

What about you, dear reader? Have you believed God's Word about yourself? Have you seen yourself a sinner both by nature and by practice? "As by' one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Rom. 5:12.

Thus spiritually ruined, and bad enough to be lost forever unless cleansed from your sins in the BLOOD OF JESUS, what will mere outward profession avail if underneath it there is nothing real for eternity?

Perhaps your religious belief does not embrace the word "LOST:" The fashionable professor of religion today leaves it behind. But remember: there is no word better known in HELL, and none will be better known in the "LAKE OF FIRE" forever. Its deepest meaning will be fathomed there where no Savior for the lost can be found.

Thank God, today Christ is near and is offered to you as a love-gift. Sin-burdened and helpless in yourself, by faith look to Calvary, and behold the question of sin (your nature as a child of Adam) and sins (your acts by thought, word, and deed in willful rebellion against God) settled once and for all on the Cross. And know this: the Man charged by God on that "CROSS OF CALVARY" with the whole question of sin is NOW on the "FATHER'S THRONE" as the "Lamb newly slain," "able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto. God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them." Heb. 7:25.

Surely such a Savior is worthy of your acceptance NOW. Will you have Him?

How to Be Saved

We are not saved by trying:
From self can come no aid;
'Tis on the blood relying,
Once for our ransom paid.
'Tis looking unto Jesus,
The holy One and just;
'Tis His great work that saves us
It is not TRY, but TRUST.

Feelings

"What is God to me, a guilty sinner?

"What has God done to save me, a lost sinner?

"What will God do for me, a seeking sinner?

"What will God be to me, a believing sinner?"

These were the questions of a young man in deep concern about his soul. He had introduced himself by saying: "I would like to speak to you by yourself. I am very anxious, very unhappy. I cannot rest. I cannot see my way clear at all."

"Well, what a mercy! What a mercy it is to have the conscience touched because of sin, and to have the heart turned in any measure to God! Can you believe that HE is doing this, and that it is because He loves you, a lost, guilty sinner? John 3:16 tells us that `God so loved the world.' Are you satisfied that GOD LOVES YOU, notwithstanding all your sins?"

"That is what I want to feel, but I can't feel it. I feel that I am a great sinner. You don't know what I have been. I can't feel as if I could be forgiven."

"Do you really believe that God regards you as 'a great sinner'?"

"Oh, yes indeed I do. I am sure of that."

"But now, tell me: how are you so sure of that?"

"Because I know it I feel it. I have been a great sinner."

"But is there no other way of knowing it besides feeling it? Has not God told us in His Word that we are all sinners? He says in Romans 3:23, 'ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.' "

"Yes, I know that, and I take my place among them but I WOULD GIVE THE WORLD to know that I am pardoned."

"Oh, don't speak about giving! God is not asking anything, nor is He seeking to condemn you because of your sins. He wants to turn your heart to Jesus, His 'only begotten Son' whom HE GAVE.

"God wants you to turn by faith to His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus. You can have to do with God ONLY BY FAITH. Know and believe that you are a sinner, not because you feel it, but because GOD SAYS IT.

"Now your first question: 'What is God to me, a guilty sinner?' Now don't look within and test your feelings. Look to God Himself and hear His Word. What does He say?

But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.' Rom. 5:8. Can you receive what is here so plainly stated? Can you believe that `God is love' to you, a guilty sinner?"

"The Word says it and we should believe it. I know that."

"But should not you believe it now? Will it be truer tomorrow? Does not God say He loves the sinner? You say that's what you are. Therefore He says plainly that He loves you."

"That's what I want to believe, but I can't feel that He loves me. My sins seem so great."

"True but instead of looking at your sins as you know them in yourself, look at them in the light of this verse. Only because of your sins can you know how much God loves you. It was your sins that drew forth His wondrous love in the gift of His dear Son Jesus.

"God loved us, Christ died for us, 'while we were yet sinners'—while we were as black and vile as sin could make us. Righteousness judged the sins; LOVE saves the sinner through the sufferings and death of the blessed Lord Jesus. Wondrous love!

"But this is not all. God manifested His love in giving Jesus to die for you, and the same love has followed you in all your wanderings. Now He has laid His hand of love on you to draw you to His beloved Son. Do not insult Him with your reasonings and feelings. Yield your heart to the drawings of His love. Look up! Look unto Jesus! Hear Him saying to you, 'Look unto Me ... .and be ye saved,' and 'Come unto Me and I will give you rest.'

"Let your whole soul rest on the truth of that word, 'The blood of Jesus Christ His [God's] Son cleanseth us from all sin.' The moment you take your place by faith among the 'us' who believe, your sins are all cleansed away. 'JESUS' is the answer to your every anxious doubt and earnest question."

"Oh, I do believe! I see it so differently now. I thought I must feel it in myself before it could be made good to me. Now I see that only by faith in Jesus do I get the answer and the benefit."

Dear young reader, are you too troubled with such doubts? Take your eyes off of self and fix them upon Jesus! FAITH NEVER REFERS TO SELF, BUT ALWAYS TO THE WORD OF GOD. Many want to feel that they are believers, but have never received the truth. They want to feel that they are saved before they trust in Jesus.

This is confusion. The truth to be believed is outside of self: the enjoyment of it is within. When God's Word is believed indeed, the voice of Jesus speaks peace to the soul.

Faith then appropriates the blessed, never-ending consequences which the Spirit of truth declares to be:

1. Being justified.

2. Having peace.

3. Standing in favor.

4. Waiting for glory.

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Rom. 5:1, 2.

God's Great Mercy

Emil lived in Central Europe in a village with a long unpronounceable name. One day three men who had offended the government were brought into the village to be hanged.

Two of the men were put to death at once but the third, who had a wife and several young children, begged for mercy.

The officials present sent to headquarters some miles distant to ask if it might be granted to him. All day long the villagers, the condemned man, his wife and children waited in suspense, sometimes almost beside themselves in anguish and terror. At last the crowd made way for the messenger bringing the reply. It was a glorious answer the man was to be forgiven and released. The joy of all was great; and the man went home with his wife and family, free to enjoy a happy meal and then a peaceful sleep a forgiven man to whom mercy had been shown.

Emil, who had witnessed all that had happened, could not sleep that night. He went' over all the events of the day; and as he thought and thought, it came to him that the man who was pardoned had asked for mercy and received it. Then his thoughts tuned upon himself. He knew that he was a sinner in God's sight, and condemned for what does God say? "He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:18

Emil knew that he had never believed and felt his need for mercy, and so he got out bed and on his knees. He prayed to God to forgive is sing, and give him faith in His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a never to be forgotten night for Emil, for "God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we Were dead in sins," gave him to know in his heart and mind that he was forgiven. He got up and dressed to start a new day with a new life, for God had had mercy on him.

Every man, woman and child is in need of this grace and mercy of God. Adam fell into sin. The whole human race partakes' of that fall. We are by nature rebels against' God—we have all sinned against Him. BUT, even though we are His enemies, He sent His Son to die in our stead, and now offers a free pardon to all who will accept.

Have you seen your own ruined, lost, desperate condition before God? How much greater is it than that of the condemned man in our story! We stand in danger of eternal imprisonment in the lake of fire. But God does not will the death of the sinner, but rather that he might accept the free gift of God—eternal life—and be saved forever to live and rejoice in God's great, eternal, boundless love.

Believe NOW while it is called today, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

Lines Found in an Infidel's Bible

The proudest heart that ever beat
Has been subdued in me;
The wildest will that ever rose
To scorn Thy friends, to aid Thy foes,
Is quelled, my God, by Thee:
Thy will and not my will be done;
I would be ever Thine,
To sing Thy praise, Incarnate Word,
My Savior, Christ, my God, my Lord;
Thy cross shall be my sign.

Your Race Is Run: Prepare to Meet Thy God

It was a notice on a board at the races. Probably the earnest man who carried it never knew the result of his humble service. But a day is coming when it and every effort for Christ's glory will receive its reward.

The unmistakable message reached the conscience of a young prodigal. He was sowing his wild oats. Giddy and careless, he pursued the path of pleasure and sin. Eternity was so small account indeed to him.

Amid the gay racing scene with its noise and excitement, it was amazing that conviction of sin should be forced home on a man's conscience. Yet so it was. The plain, solemn words of warning did their work, and the young man left the multitude to go its way. He could follow no longer on the road to eternal doom.

Earnestly he tried to make himself fit for heaven; but all his efforts at reformation failed to meet' the demands of his conscience. In spite of all his endeavors and failures he knew that he was still unprepared to face a holy God.

How could he, a sinful man, "prepare to meet God"? This question was ever uppermost in his mind. At last, in his distress and helplessness, he bought a Bible and in the quiet of his own room he searched its pages for comfort and help. And there, alone with God, he found the answer to his soul's need; there he heard the voice of the Savior:— "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." Believing on Christ, receiving Him as his own personal Savior, he learned to know Him as "Jehovah Tsidkenu"—Christ our righteousness. In Him he found peace and rest with assurance of eternal salvation.

Dear young friend, are you, too, rushing on with the pleasure-mad world to a Christ-less eternity? I beseech you, heed this sign before it is too late: PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD!

Extract

When unbelief is in action it produces only troubles and sorrows.

“WITHOUT SHEDDING
OF BLOOD IS NO
REMISSION.”

Hebrews 9:22.

“SO CHRIST
WAS ONCE OFFERED
TO BEAR THE SINS
OF MANY.”

Hebrews 9:28

Out of the Depths

"He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord." Psalm 40:2, 3.

While he was but a boy, John Newton, a wild English lad who hated restraint and longed for adventure, ran away from home. As the most likely means of "seeing the world," he engaged for service aboard a merchant ship. As part of its ungodly crew. John Newton soon forgot all the benefits of his earlier home life and conformed in every way to the rough licentiousness of his shipmates.

In the course of time John Newton, a victim of ship-wreck, was cast upon the coast of Africa. Here he was captured by a native tribe and sold to a negress. He sank so low that he lived on crumbs from her table and on wild yams dug at night. His clothing was reduced to a single shirt which he washed in the ocean. When he finally escaped, he lived the base life of the natives. It does not seem possible for a civilized man to have sunk so low.

But the saving grace of the Lord Jesus was presented to him through a missionary, and in childlike faith he looked to Him for the cleansing that only His precious blood can give. Then, even as wholeheartedly as he had served Satan, John Newton's one desire was to be out and out for the One who had so loved him and given Himself for him. He never tired of preaching the Gospel of His grace, but for himself he was content to take a low place.

In a churchyard in London there is an epitaph John Newton wrote for himself. It reads: "Sacred to the memory of John Newton, once a blasphemer and libertine and slave of slaves in Africa, but renewed, purified, pardoned and called to preach that Gospel which he labored to destroy.'

The influence of that life, once so low in sin, still goes on in. blessing to thousands through the many, beautiful hymns he wrote. Well known among them is one that was written in 1779:

"How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear!
It soothes his sorrow, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.

"It makes the wounded spirit whole,
It calms the troubled breast;
'Tis manna to the hungry soul,
And to the weary rest.

"Blest name! the Rock on which we build,
Our shield and hiding-place;
Our never-failing treasury, filled
With boundless stores of grace."

"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." 1 Tim. 1:15.

Scripture Portion

"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat;... incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live." Isa. 55:1, 3.

Jesus said: "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:14.

"Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37.

Sins Covered

What folly, sinner, for you to attempt to "cover" your sins! Scripture says, "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper." Prov. 28:13.

How is it possible to truly "cover" them since "all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do"?

God only can forgive sins, and He only can "cover", because against Him and Him only have we sinned and done evil in His sight.

Hence the preciousness of that word from God Himself: "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered." Rom. 4:7. How it speaks as to WHO is the Coverer! 'Tis even He who can say of every one that believes in Jesus: "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." And again: "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more". What a Coverer—the blessed God! What a covering—the precious blood of Christ!

God loved us:—He could not like us. But He makes us what He likes in Christ.

God Calling Yet

Mary Thomas had been brought up by a God-fearing mother whose earnest desire was to see her child brought to the Lord. She often spoke to Mary about her soul, as did others interested in her welfare; but their words made no impression. She heard what was said, but paid no attention; her heart was hardened and she was far from God.

One night when she was still in her teens, Mary had a dream which made a very vivid impression upon her. She dreamed that she had died and was in hell. In that dreadful place she saw the flames kindling and leaping about her.

Awakening from this horrible dream she was in great terror. She would have been glad to go to sleep again and forget this terrible vision, but she felt that she did not dare do this. She feared that she might awake in hell in reality.

Mary had allowed all warnings, all admonitions to slip by unheeded. She was as one that heard not. Her own purposes and plans had filled her heart; but now God was opening her ears and she would have to hear.

"In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; then He openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, that He may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. He keepeth back his soul from the pit." Job 33:15-18.

Morning came; and Mary, busy with her duties, forgot all about her dream, and the day passed quickly by. But God did not forget. That evening there was a Gospel meeting to be held some distance away, and Mary, with a group of young folks, went over the hills to attend it.

They reached the place—a private house—and entered. Soon the room was filled.

When all were seated, Mary looked about her to see who was there, and very quickly concluded that there was present only one unsaved person besides herself. This made her very uncomfortable, and all the more so as every word the speaker uttered as he proceeded seemed to apply to her. At least, she thought it was intended for her.

This was too much for Mary; she could not endure it. But what should she do? Being of a ready mind she soon devised a plan. Feigning severe toothache, she muffled her wraps up about her face and ears and leaned her head on her hands.

But all in vain! She had thought to drown the sound of the preacher's voice, but his words still reached her ears. This tried her sorely, but she had still another source of anxiety: she fancied that all present were watching her to see if she were moved by the message. This touched her pride and she inwardly resolved that they should know nothing of her thoughts. She closed her eyes, began to breathe heavily, and in every way she could she pretended to be asleep.

How subtle, how deceptive the arch-enemy is! And how the heart of man yields itself a willing victim to his wiles!

But the Lord had His eye on this dear girl and He was about to break through her defenses, and to overcome her willful opposition. While she was refusing to hear, and seeking to hide her' thoughts, the speaker uttered, three times dyer, in ringing tones, these solemn words: "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Ah, Mary was roused now. God was speaking! Toothache and sleep vanished. Before her rose her terrible dream of the night before, and now God, by His Word, seemed to confirm the horror that rose in her soul.

How terrible! There WAS a place where the fire would never be quenched. God's word declared it, and she had in spirit tasted of it. Was this to be her portion forever?

While these thoughts crowded into her mind the closing hymn was read and sung. One verse arrested Mary's attention. It was this:

"God calling yet! I cannot stay;
My heart I yield without delay.
Vain world, farewell! From thee I part;
The voice of God has reached my heart."

Mary listened; the words sank down into her soul. Yes, God was calling. Should she yield? Here was the world she loved, with all its enticing allurements. Could she say farewell to it? Truly the voice of God had reached her heart; but instead of yielding at once, she struggled against it. She knew God was now calling her; but in spite of the terror that had been hers, she was not ready to give up the world. That would be too great a sacrifice!

At first she thought she would like to have Christ and the world, too; but she knew in her own soul that this would not do: she could not have both. Then a voice seemed to say: "Which will you have—Christ or the world?" Still she did not yield. Her inward reply was: "I want both!"

On the way home Satan still further assailed her; he whispered that she was "too bad" to come to the Lord, she was "too frivolous," she was "too young." Poor Mary, conscious that she was serving Satan, answered him in her heart: "I'll serve you a little longer. Then if I don't find peace I'll turn to the Lord."

How true it is that "the god of this world" blinds "the minds of them which believe not"! Mary thought she might serve Satan and have the world, and yet get peace! And if not ah, peace was beginning to look sweeter to her than all else.

This unholy resolution did not settle the question. Quite the contrary, for she felt more and more wretched as they walked towards home. She wished that some one of the little company would speak to her; but no one spoke, and she walked on filled with gloomy thoughts and forebodings which at times were displaced by gleams of hope.

On reaching home she sought her mother and said to her: "Mother, how did you feel when you were saved?"

Her mother answered: "I believed that Jesus, in His great love for me, had died to put away my sins. I beheld Him suffering for me, bearing my iniquity, and my heart overflowed with love for Him. I felt free from my guilt and shame, for He had borne it all away." She then asked Mary: "Do you now believe, my child?" And in simple faith Mary answered: "Yes."

"How thankful I am," said her mother.

"It has ever been my prayer that your heart would turn to Him who bore your judgment and the punishment due you on Calvary. May He ever keep you close to His wounded side."

Ah, now the truth reached Mary's heart as well as her conscience. She did believe on that blessed One who had suffered for her sins, and her soul rejoiced. The conflict was over. She thought again of the world and its pleasures: its hopes and joys would soon pass away. She gazed by faith at the suffering Savior on the cross of Calvary, and her heart overflowed with sorrow and love. Then she beheld the glorious prospect: in the Father's house! Instead of the horrors of eternal torment, her portion now was to be forever with the Lord who loved her and washed her from her sins in His own precious blood. (Rev. 1:5.)

Dear one out of Christ, God is calling yet. Have you heard His voice, and will you refuse Him? He is stretching out His hand to you; and will you not regard? Beware! If you "set at naught" His counsel, and will none of His reproof, the day will come when He will "laugh at your calamity," and will mock at your fear, when it cometh as desolation, and your destruction as a whirlwind.

Ah, then it will be too late. You will call, but get no answer; you will seek, but you will not find. Have not these words a voice for you as well as for dear Mary Thomas?

"God calling yet! I cannot stay;
My heart I yield without delay.
Vain world, farewell! From thee I part;
The voice of God has reached my heart."

Jesus said: "HIM THAT COMETH TO ME I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT." John 6:37.

Nothing but Christ

A man had been taken desperately ill and had been brought to the city hospital. Up to that time he had lived in all the pleasures and distractions of the world. He was grateful for the care that was shown him, and especially for the tenderness with which he was ministered to; and he wished in some way to express his gratitude.

One day he offered one of the nurses a ticket to the theater, "to give her," as he said, "a pleasant evening." The nurse refused it, saying that she never went to the theater because she was a Christian. The following day the invalid offered the ticket to another nurse who was also a believer, and he received the same reply.

Two Or three days later the sick man urged a third nurse to accept his, ticket. This one, like the others, had the happiness of knowing the Lord Jesus as her Savior. As a child of God and an inheritor of His glory, she answered more explicitly: "I possess for my heart something that gives me joy infinitely beyond anything that all the theaters and all the pleasures of the world can give. My place is not in the theater, and the theater has no place for me. My heart is filled with peace and joy in the Lord."

These words were to the poor man both strange and incomprehensible. The three testimonies, given by three different persons, astonished and troubled him. He asked the nurse: "How have you become the possessor of such happiness? Do you think that I, who am about to die, can obtain it?"

The nurse had not time at the moment to talk with him, but she gave him a tract entitled: "Bad, but not bad enough." Singular title, was it not? But there are indeed many who have this thought: they are willing to acknowledge that they are neither good enough nor holy enough in themselves to stand before God; but to be so bad and so guilty that they are wholly lost they will not believe. Consequently they put away from themselves the grace of God which is offered them. This is why many do not come to Jesus to find in Him the salvation they need.

The sick man read the tract, and a few days later he told the nurse that it was an exact picture of his case. He accepted the condemnation as just, except in one point. "And what is that point?" she asked with some curiosity.

"Well," said he, "your tract tells of a man who is bad, but not bad enough in his own eyes to need a Savior. But it does not speak of one who is too bad to dare to come to Jesus; That is my position. Ah! You do not know, nurse, what a great sinner I am."

"No," replied the nurse, "I do not know; but God knows, and He says in His Word, by the mouth of the apostle Paul: 'This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.' 1 Timothy 1:15, 16. And now the one that calls himself the chief, or the greatest, of sinners is in heaven, having been washed from his sins by the blood of Christ."

The distressed invalid could not at once lay hold of these precious truths. For several days he was very quiet, meditating upon the most serious of all subjects. He even seemed to desire to be left to his own reflections, although he visibly suffered under the weight of this question: "What must I do to be saved?"

At length a remarkable change was apparent in him. By the expression on his face he showed that he had PEACE. One day when the nurse brought his tray he said to her: "Oh, nurse, I have something to tell you, but I can't find words to express it. I am so ignorant of these things. But I am happy—oh, so happy— so full of joy—I don't know how to say it."

The nurse, desiring to hear from his own lips the reason for his happiness, asked him: "Where did you get such joy? For days you have looked so sad."

"How can I tell?" replied the sick man.

"I can't explain it, but so it is. Before, when I thought of the past, I looked back and saw my life as sins upon sins. Now, when I look back, I see Christ and His work on the cross. Yes, and as to my future, I saw only suffering and misery. Today I see every-where nothing but Christ and His love. Soon it will be nothing but Christ in eternal glory.

This I know is just because He saw me, a poor lost sinner. He loved me, and gave Him-self to die for me."

What a confession of faith in the Savior! Happy the one who has "nothing but Christ." Is He your portion, dear reader?

Blest Substitute

The Father sent the Son
A ruined world to save;
Man meted to the sinless One
The cross—the grave.

Blest Substitute from God,
Wrath's awful cup He drained:
Laid down His life, and e'en the tomb's
Reproach sustained.

The new and living way
Stands open now to heaven;
There, where the blood is seen alway,
God's gift is given.

The river of His grace,
Through righteousness supplied,
Is flowing o'er the barren place
Where Jesus died.

Grace brings the sinner and God together. Therefore, there is nothing holier than grace.

“THIS IS HIS
COMMANDMENT,
THAT WE SHOULD
BELIEVE ON THE NAME
OF HIS SON
JESUS CHRIST.”

1 John 3:23

“DOST THOU
BELIEVE
ON THE SON
OF GOD?”

John 9:35

Only Come

Some time ago John was led to feel that he had need of a Savior. He was very unhappy and could find no peace although the gospel of the grace of God was presented to him many times. They told him that Jesus had come to save sinners "to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10. They told him that "Christ died for the ungodly."

Rom. 5:6. But this did not bring any relief to poor John, who continued to be completely miserable. At length in his distress he told his wife what was troubling him. He concluded with this statement: "I greatly desire to belong to Christ."

She, dear matter-of-fact soul, had for many years known the joy of sins forgiven and the simple faith that trusts in Jesus. She had throughout these years been looking to the Lord to save her dear John, and now his own expressed desire for the blessing of salvation filled her heart to overflowing. With happy voice she cried: "You want to belong to Christ? Well, why don't you do it, then?"

God blessed these few simple words. John knew that Christ had finished, upon the cross, the work by which the righteousness of God was satisfied. He knew that God now offered him salvation as a gift entirely free, and that he had only to submit to the Word of God that told him this good news. He came to Jesus as he was and ever since, he has gone on his way rejoicing.

Dear unsaved reader, why do you not come to Jesus? Are you troubled as John was?

Then come to Jesus just as you are. Bad as you know yourself to be, Jesus knows much better than you the wickedness of your heart. He knows all, and yet He invites you:

"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." His promise is: "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37. Do not delay, but come, for "Now is the accepted time."

What Is Truth?

The truth is the exact description of what is. GOD IS. Christ is the truth. He, and He only, therefore, can reveal God. Hence to avoid Him is to remain ever in ignorance of God.

Peace

What is this sound I hear far-flung
Around this weary world?
"PEACE!" What a word for sin-sick souls
And war-racked fields of old.

"There is no PEACE" for this poor world
That murdered God's dear Son
Until the Church is called away
And judgment's day is run.

This weary world, with all its care,
Its turmoil, grief, and pain,
No lasting "PEACE" shall ever know
Till Christ the Lord shall reign.

Hold forth the Word of Life, dear saint!
Sweet portion here below!
To point poor dying souls to Christ,
The only "PEACE" we know.

Unbelief vs. Faith

Unbelief is like a bat: at home and bold in the darkness, whereas in the light it flounders against all objects.

Faith, on the contrary, moves not when there is no light, but quietly waits for that which it knows will surely come. God speaks, faith hears His voice, and sees all things plainly.

I Want to Know!

One morning while out for a country walk I followed a foot-path across some fields. A stile over a thick hedge afforded me a fairly comfortable seat, and I rested there.

As I sat there I tried to call to mind the words of a hymn which had struck me as suitable for my message at that evening's meeting. I recollected the chorus:

"What shall I do? What shall I do?
Oh, what shall I do to be saved?"

But I could not remember the first lines of the opening verse. I continued humming the chorus until at last the forgotten words flashed into my mind, and I sang them out lustily:

"Oh, what shall I do to be saved
From the sorrows that burden my soul?"

"THAT'S JUST WHAT I WANTS TO KNOW," came a gruff but rather muffled voice from somewhere nearby. I looked in every direction, but could see nothing of the speaker. I climbed down from the stile and there under the hedge sat the man. He was evidently a farm laborer and he was eating his lunch of bread and cheese.

"What is it you want to know?" I enquired.

"Why, what you was a-singing about: how I can be saved."

"You were not at the meeting last night at the schoolroom, were you?"

"No, I warn't," said old "Hodge," for that was his name.

"Do you ever go to church, or to any religious meetings?"

"Aye sometimes I goes to church, and sometimes I've been to meetings but Lord bless ye, sir, it's too much for me! I ain't no scholar, ye see, and I can't understand what the learned gentlemen says. WHAT I WANTS TO KNOW IS, HOW I CAN BE SAVED. CAN YE TELL ME THAT?"

"I'll try," was my reply. I sat down by his side and put my hand on one of his. Looking into his honest face, I asked him solemnly:"Do you see yourself to be a sinner?"

"Aye, and a black one, too!" Tears dimmed his truthful eyes as he spoke. Here was a precious soul under deep conviction of sin, just ready to be pointed to the sinner's Savior.

We were seated near an old oak stump, and opposite to us appeared two gnarled roots of the tree. Pointing to the root on our left, I said: "Let this stand for you, the sinner. You said just now that you are a black sinner." Taking off my black hat I covered the root with it and left it there.

"There you are, black, in your sins. Do you see that?"

"Aye, I sees that plain enough."

Next I pointed to the root on our right, saying: "Let this root stand for the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know who He is?"

"Aye, I knows; He is the Son of God."

"There was no sin in Him, was there?
Nothing black there?"

"No."

"No; He was pure, sinless, spotless," I said. "Do you see that?"

"Aye."

I then covered the root on my right with my white handkerchief. In front of us we now had, on the left, the root covered with the black hat; and on the right was the root draped with the white handkerchief.

"Now," I said, "see God's way of saving the sinner. He takes the sin off you and lays it upon Christ." I here moved the black hat from the root on the left and placed it over the root on the right, saying: "And where the sin was laid, there God's awful stroke fell."

"The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6.

"O Christ, what burdens bowed Thy head!
Our load was laid on Thee;
Thou stoodest in the sinner's stead,
Didst bear all ill for me.
A victim led, Thy blood was shed:
Now there's no load for me."

"He, the sinless One, suffered for you, the sinner; He, the just One, for you, the unjust. Do you see that?"

"Aye," said Hodge; "but is that all?"

I opened my Bible and read to him 2 Cor. 5:21 (revised version): "Him" [Christ] who knew no sin, hath He [God] made to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

"Now what have you to do in order to be saved?" I asked.

"That's what I wants to know," answered the anxious one.

"You have simply to put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thus receive Him as your own blessed Savior. As you believe on Him, you receive Him: He becomes your righteousness. For 'Christ Jesus... is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.' " 1 Cor. 1:30. As I uttered these words I removed the white handkerchief from the root on the right to the naked root on the left, and I asked, as I covered it: "Do you understand that?"

"I SEES IT! OH YES, I'LL TRUST HIM!" shouted dear Hodge, with a radiant face. And he did. TO YOU, READER:

Before you throw this booklet aside with the thought in your mind, very probably that it is fit only to be read to an infant class in Sunday School, please read what follows.

That evening the Gospel meeting in the large schoolroom was well attended. Having been told that there were some present as ignorant as was my friend Hodge, I repeated, in the course of my address, the conversation I had held with him that morning. I also made use of the simple illustration, or object lesson, of the hat and handkerchief.

Seated near the front were Dr. and Mrs. Deane. I knew the wife to be a follower of Christ; and, partly, perhaps, from the fact of her husband attending this simple gathering, I concluded that he too was on the Lord's side.

Next day, while at luncheon at my kind hostess's table, I was told by the maid that Dr. Deane was there and would like to see me. As I entered the parlor, the doctor met me. Taking both my hands in his, he said in a tone of deep feeling: "Can you believe it—I never saw God's way of salvation until last night when you gave us that childishly simple illustration with the hat and handkerchief? I never understood it before."

Kindly mark these facts: Dr. Deane was a noted surgeon and was well known as an unusually intellectual man. He had regularly attended church services for years; and yet (to quote his words) he had been partly depending upon ordinances, partly upon giving a vague mental assent to the truth of the Gospel, and partly upon someday rendering himself acceptable to God (he hoped) by his good works. He astonished me by saying: "I knew as little of God's way to be saved and of my need of a personal transaction with Him as did that uneducated laboring man."

Now, my reader, are you depending upon religious forms, church connections, or personal attainments for your salvation? Mark it well: "God is no respecter of persons." Acts 10:34. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:23. High and low, rich and poor, must alike "come unto God by Him." Heb. 8:25.

An Offering for Sin

Isaac was a Jewish boy living in Russia, brought up to read the Old Testament and to know God's law and His commandments and judgments. He was taught by a learned Rabbi, and all went smoothly with him as far as his outward life was concerned.

But one thing troubled him greatly. He knew that he was a sinner, and he was constantly thinking about his sins and how he could rid himself of them. His teacher told him that his father would bear them for him until he was thirteen years old, and Isaac dreaded the thought of what would happen then.

When that unhappy day arrived, he went to his parent and said, "Father, won't you bear my sins a little longer, just a month more?" But his reply was, "no, my son you must bear them yourself now. I can do no more for you."

This was bad news to the sin-burdened boy. Hopelessly he went on reading the Old Testament, especially interested in Abraham's history. He read how God had called him to leave his country and kindred and go to a land which he would show him. The more Isaac thought over this, the more he felt sure that God was calling him in the same way. At last he made up his mind to leave home and go to Germany. His parents, seeing that his mind was made up, gave him their blessing and let him go.

He first went to Hamburg, and then crossed to England, finally settling in London. Here he met a German Jew, Rabbi Stern, who, noticing his sad expression, said to him kindly, "Are you a Jew, my brother?" This was so tenderly expressed that Isaac opened his heart to him, and told him his history, and how he was burdened with the weight of his sins, which he had had to carry since he was thirteen years old.

Mr. Stern had himself left home and country to find rest for his soul, so took the greatest interest in Isaac. He read to him the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, and explained to him that the Messiah, as foretold in this and other Scriptures, had come and had suffered for the sins of the Jews and for all those who put their trust in Him. Isaac listened intently as Mr. Stern read through this wonderful chapter containing the following passages: "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities... The Lord hath laid on Him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all... For the transgression of my people was He stricken. ... Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin... He [Jesus] shall bear their iniquities."

Many times in the chapter the words sin, transgressions, iniquities, occur, and in each case they were borne by the Messiah, Jesus, of whom it was said: "He shall save His people from their sins." Matt. 1:21.

Little by little the truth found its place in Isaac's heart. He believed the Scriptures and realized that Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God, loved him, a lonely Jewish lad, and had given Himself for him. His heart was rested; the burden of his sins gone; and he wrote home to tell his father what had happened. He put it in this way:

I heard a sweet voice gently say,
"Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
Thy head upon My breast."

He did not want to write the verse as it really reads:

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Come unto Me and rest;"

for he knew how his father hated that precious name; but to give him first to understand what rest of heart was now his. Later on he told him the whole truth.

When Isaac's father read his son's first letter, he was afraid that he had come in touch with Christians. He wrote warning him to have nothing to do with such as Rabbi Stern; but Isaac was so convinced that he was right that he replied telling his father his convictions.

The New Testament which his friend gave him was the key which unlocked the Old Testament and explained many things which had puzzled him. So much so, that his next letter home was very definite: "The Messiah has come; I believe in Him," was his comment.

His parents were very angry when they found that their son had become a Christian. They disowned him as a relation, and refused to have anything to do with him. But Isaac was proving the goodness of God at every turn in his path, and now he learned the truth of a verse which he had read many times: "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up." Psa. 27:10.

His faith and hope increased as the years went on, and he said to his friends, "Above all, why I believe in Jesus is because I feel He has silenced the yearnings of my soul." He meant that not only were his sins gone, but his heart was satisfied.

This is what God will do for everyone who believes in Jesus. He will forgive their sins and fill their hearts with peace and joy in believing. May God grant that no one reading this will miss such a blessing for time and eternity.

"He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." Psalm 107:9.

In the Heart

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee." Psalm 119:11.

A Hindu lady had learned to know the Savior of sinners as the One most precious to her heart. In her desire to please Him she meekly endured persecution and the loss of much for Christ's sake.

Her husband forbade her Christian friends to come near her when she was dying, and he burned her Bible and her Christian books. But she continued faithful to Him who loved her and gave Himself for her.

In a few words spoken to her husband before her death she revealed the secret of her peace: "You have forbidden my friends to come to see me. You have destroyed my Bible and my other Christian books. There is one thing of which you cannot rob me—the story of my Savior's love—for that is written in my heart."

Is it thus with you? Is Christ precious to you? Is the story of His love the cordial in every sorrow and your comfort when all else fails? Oh, dear soul, put first things first. May you have no rest, no peace, until, safe in Him, you truly "know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge." Eph. 3:19.

"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:9, 10.

"Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself." Dan. 1:8.

"Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone;
Dare to have a purpose true:
Dare to make it known!"

“YE KNOW THAT YE
WERE NOT REDEEMED
WITH
CORRUPTIBLE THINGS,
AS SILVER AND GOLD
... BUT WITH THE
PRECIOUS BLOOD
OF CHRIST.”

1 Peter 1:18, 19

“RETURN UNTO ME;
FOR I HAVE
REDEEMED THEE.”

Isaiah 44:22

Rock of Ages

Of our many beautiful hymns "Rock of Ages" is probably first favorite. It has voiced the heart's desire in countless numbers of instances. The groan of distress from the sin-convicted soul has found expression in the simple words of the sweet poetry.

Augustus Toplady, the author of the hymn, was the son of an army officer, Major Toplady. After his father's death, he went with his mother to Ireland on a visit. While there he one day found his way to a gospel meeting which was being held in a large barn. The preacher was not an educated man by any means, but he was clothed with divine earnestness. The boy of sixteen listened intently to the good news proclaimed from the scripture:

"But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometime were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." Eph. 2:13.

His attention was riveted. He saw his need as a sinner. He realized his distance from God. He fled for refuge to the Savior.

He was cleansed and made nigh by the precious blood of Christ. Hidden in the Rock himself, he penned the lines which have pointed the way of salvation to thousands, and have given spiritual comfort to as many others. When Albert, Prince Consort of Queen Victoria, lay dying, his lips faintly repeated the words of the hymn. A prince was sustained by the words which flowed from the pen of a poet converted through the peasant preacher.

Did that humble servant of God, telling of the Savior's grace, ever hear of the lad's conversion in the old barn? We know not.

But "little is much if God is in it."

Well indeed is it when the sinner truly says:

"Nothing in my hands I bring."

He has nothing to give to God, but God has everything to give to us, and He can give it freely and righteously because of the cross of His dear Son. Because of it we find our refuge in that blessed "Rock of Ages"—which is Christ Himself.

Fragment

"Christ died for the ungodly." Rom. 5:6.

The Sheep of the Flock

We oft hear the plea for trying to keep
The lambs of the flock in the fold;
And well we may! But what of the sheep?
Shall they be left out in the cold?

'Twas a sheep—not a lamb—that wandered
away
In the gospel of Luke fifteen:
A grown-up sheep that had gone astray
From the flock in that wilderness scene.

Out in a desert land, out in the cold,
'Twas a sheep the good Shepherd sought;
And back to the flock, then safe in the fold,
'Twas a sheep the good Shepherd brought.

And why for the sheep should we earnestly
long,
And as earnestly hope and pray?
Because there is danger, if they go wrong,
They will lead the young lambs away.

For the lambs will follow the sheep, you
know,
Wherever the sheep may stray.
If the sheep go wrong it will not be long
'Til the lambs are as wrong as they.

And so with the sheep we earnestly plead
For the sake of the lambs today.
If the lambs are lost, what a terrible cost
Some sheep will have to pay!

Your Greatest Sin

What is the greatest sin you ever committed?

You have committed many sins of various kinds and characters. Sins directly against God, and sins directly against man. Sins of thought, sins of word, sins of deed. Sins of omission, sins of commission. All of these are serious. There are no little sins. But what is the greatest of all your sins?

This: that you have not given the son of God His rightful place in your heart. The Lord Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come and convict the world "of sin, because they believed not on Me."

They had done much that was evil—indeed, their whole life had been sinful but—their chief sin had been that they believed not on Him.

He had come into the world of sinners that He might save them. He had spoken words of grace; He had wrought deeds of mercy. He had shown His goodness. He had revealed His power. But they would not receive Him. They would not own His claims. They would not bow to His rule. They rejected Him in whom all the love of God had been expressed. They would not have Him to reign over them.

Have you never refused Him His rights in your life?

Again and again He has knocked at your heart's door. Again and again He has sought for admission. At gospel preachings, through the earnest words of loving parents or friends, by the Word of God and by gospel periodicals, He has called for you to yield to Him. It has been all in vain hitherto. Is it to be in vain forever?

The last knock at your heart's door will come; perhaps it comes by this paper now in your hand. As you value your soul, open and let Him in.

If you do not receive Him you will be like those who rejected Christ, and of whom He said, "Ye shall die in your sins."

And if you die in your sins, the greatest of them all will have been that you believed not on the Son of God.

"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Cor. 6:2.

Thirteen Years a Mourner

I had been preaching the Gospel in a California city some years ago, and noticed one evening in the audience an elderly woman who listened attentively throughout. My attention was attracted to her by a peculiar, puzzled expression on her face.

In the course of the address I mentioned how I had myself obtained the assurance of salvation in a moment by believing John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoso-ever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

At the close of the meeting the old lady pushed her way through the crowd and caught me by the hand. As she did so, she exclaimed: "Sir, I'm afraid you made it too easy tonight. You said you were saved in a moment. I'm afraid you haven't got it right. Why, it took me thirteen years to get where you said you got so quick. I can't believe God would have put me off so long if He could have just as well have done it in a moment. I was thirteen years a mourner before I got peace."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, then added: "Tell me about it. I should like to hear just how you did get saved."

She readily complied, and her story was very much like this:

When she was a young girl about sixteen years old, she became troubled about her soul. With her parents she had gone to an old-fashioned camp-meeting in the country.

There she had been brought face to face with her sins. She was not by any means what one would have called a wicked young woman; but her awakened conscience told her she was a poor, lost sinner, utterly unfit for heaven. She at once set about the great task of making peace with God. She did not know that Christ had "made peace by the blood of His cross." Col. 1:20.

She "went forward" to the "mourners' bench," and there wrestled and prayed, confessed her sins, promised to do better, vowed to give up all for Christ, to be or do anything or to go anywhere for Him, if He would only give her to know herself forgiven.

Some in the tent that night professed to find deliverance from their load of guilt; but there was no such joy for her. At last, as the lights were about to be put out, she turned from the bench, thoroughly exhausted and disheartened, and still weeping and agonizing, but dark as ever as to eternal things.

This was the beginning of a thirteen years' struggle. From that night until she was past thirty years old she never lost an opportunity to go forward for prayer. She was known as the "revival stand-by." That means that at the first call for "seekers" she always led the way to the "mercy-seat." Oh, that she had been pointed to the true Mercy Seat!

In answer to her anguished inquiries as to what to do to be saved, she was exhorted to "give up," "surrender all," "forsake sin," "pray more earnestly," "repent more sincerely," "promise to obey God fully," "put all on the altar," and much more. She honestly sought to do all she was told,. but no peace came.

Shortly after her awakening at the country camp-meeting, she had "joined the church" on probation, but the six months went by and she had no more rest than before. She made up her mind not to be a hypocrite by becoming a "full member," and so practically remained a "probationer" for twelve years and a half.

She read her Bible every day, prayed regularly, went to church, was active in works of benevolence, and did her very best to merit the favor of God; but it was all to no purpose.

"And how," I asked, "did you get peace at last?"

"Well, you see, sir," she replied, "I had been a-seeking for thirteen years; and one night I went to a big meeting, and sat through it, very miserable. When the call came for seekers I rose up, mechanically like, and went forward as I always had for so long. When I got to the bench a feeling of hopeless despair seemed to come over me. I had tried so hard; and still God didn't seem satisfied. I had prayed so much; but no peace came.

"This night I grew afraid of myself, for I just felt I couldn't pray any more. I had done everything I knew to do; and it seemed a hopeless task. I was afraid I never could get what I wanted. But suddenly I says: `Well, if I've got to go to hell, I'll go praying anyway;' and I commenced.

"But I couldn't pray like I generally did.

I just said: 'Well, Lord, I don't see what more I can do. I've got no heart left. My strength seems all gone. If You don't save me tonight I'll be eternally lost, for I'm in despair.

I CAN'T SAVE MYSELF!' And then, heartbroken, I fell sobbing to the floor."

"And then?" I inquired eagerly, for I felt the crisis had been reached.

"And then," she repeated, "I seemed to see it all. Jesus had died for me, and I could be saved by trusting Him. I remembered a verse that said: 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' I knew at once I did believe, and a strange peace came into my heart. It just seemed as though God told me I was saved. I never went forward since. But it took me thirteen years to get it!"

"Yes," I said, "do you know why?"

"Well, I guess I wasn't earnest enough before, and I don't think one could get earnest enough in so short a time as you spoke of tonight."

"No, no, that was not it at all. You were thirteen years getting to the end of YOUR earnestness. You, like all others, got saved when you despaired of yourself and turned alone to Christ. If you had done that thirteen years before, you would have been saved then."

"Oh, but I hadn't repented enough before."

"True; you never did repent until that night. Praying, and agonizing, and promising are not necessarily repentance. True repentance is taking God's side against yourself.

You repented when you acknowledged your strength was gone and you were hopeless to save yourself. When you gave up trying, then you found peace; for Christ began when you left off. Had you stopped trying at first, you'd have had thirteen years to rejoice in, instead of being thirteen years a mourner."

The dear old soul looked strangely at me, and then said slowly: "And so I might have had it all thirteen years before? Yes, yes; I see. Well, I guess your way isn't too easy after all, for perhaps it's God's way."

"Yes, it is God's way, for He says in Isaiah 55:7: 'Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.' God's way is Christ, who says in John 14:6, 'I am the way.'

Happy is the soul that rests in the fact that the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all' Isa. 53:6, that He, 'His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree'." 1 Pet. 2:24.

When one rests in Christ and receives the new life that God gives to all who believe, then the desire of the heart is to please the One who has so loved poor lost sinners.

Dear reader, have you forsaken your way and your thoughts? Believe, then, in Christ, and His word is: "Thou shalt be saved!"

Harvest Past

NOW is the harvest time of salvation. NOW is the season for blessing. We know not when it may be over. We know not when the glad tidings of forgiveness will cease to be sounded. NOW is yours to use if you are wise. But NOW is yours to lose if you are unwise. In that day many will have to say

"The Harvest is Past,
The Summer is Ended,
and
We Are Not Saved."

Jer. 8:20.

A Precious Five Minutes

"Will you please take this box of tomatoes to Mr. H—with my love? He is so fond of tomatoes." I was just leaving to visit the hospital when my wife gave me this loving commission.

Arriving there, I went from ward to ward, speaking to some the Word of Life and handing out gospel tracts to others. At last, glancing at my watch, I found that I had just ten minutes left in which to fulfill my loved one's commission.

I delivered the box of tomatoes to Mr. H—and with it my wife's kind message. I stood talking to him for a few minutes, seeking to strengthen him in the Lord, as he was a happy believer in Christ.

Soon I observed that the visitors at the other end of the ward had left and I was now the only one remaining. Turning round, I said to all the patients: "Would you like to sing a hymn?"

A patient at the far end of the ward promptly replied: "Yes, sir; I do like to praise God."

I handed out hymn-books and we sang:

"The Savior lives, no more to die;
He lives, our Head, enthroned on high;
He lives, triumphant o'er the grave;
He lives, eternally, to save."

As soon as we had finished, I went from bed to bed collecting the books. Taking the one this patient had been using, I said to him: "Can you say your Savior lives, no more to die?"

"I wish I could, sir. I am not a Christian."

I was thus brought face to face with a poor soul longing for God's salvation, and in about five minutes I was due to leave the ward. Looking to the Lord for wisdom and words, I said: "My sins were laid on Jesus when He suffered on the cross. Were your sins laid on Him then?"

"yes?

"Where is Jesus now?"

"In heaven."

"Are there any sins upon Him now?"

"It's my opinion He has been bearing them ever since."

"Oh, no! Hear what the Word of God says about that: 'As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us!' Psalm 103:12. When John the Baptist saw Jesus he said: 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' John 1:29. The soul who believes this is entitled to say: 'God laid my sins on Jesus. I believe it! He has borne them away; they are gone! Gone forever!' "

Each fleeting moment was now precious. I asked: "Have you ever opened your heart to the Lord Jesus?"

"Yes, hundreds of times."

"Then believe Him; tell Him that now you receive Him. Trust Him fully, and let Him in! He Himself has said: 'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.'

Rev. 3:20. You cannot have Christ in your heart and your sins too. Receive Him, believe Him, cast yourself upon Him! He will cleanse you from all sin by His own precious blood. 'The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.' " 1 John 1:7.

Time was passing rapidly—he still lacked the assurance of faith. Now I asked him:

"Have you heard the word of Jesus?"

"Yes."

"Do you believe that the Father sent His Son into this world to die to save poor lost sinners?"

"Yes, I believe that."

"Then, according to John 5:24, you have everlasting life. I will repeat the whole verse:

" 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.' "

The clock was striking; time to leave! I held out my hand to the sick man upon whose face a peaceful smile was dawning. With a thankful heart for such a Savior, I bade him good-bye with the words:

"God said it;
Christ did it;
I believe it;
That settles it!"

"The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Gal. 2:20.

“THOUGH
THIS MAN [JESUS]
IS PREACHED UNTO YOU
THE FORGIVENESS
OF SIN”

Acts 13:38

December

Fully Persuaded

"For many years I believe God's Holy Spirit has been striving with me and urging me to accept Christ. I have for the last six years associated with believers, especially since I have been on this ship.

"I have heard time after time that grand old story of how Jesus died for me: and I am a man who ever loved to hear that old, old story.

"I have been 'almost persuaded' more than once, but my heart was like a stone. It seemed as if I could not decide for Christ.

"And so I remained still far away from Him who is ever saying, 'Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.'

"So time rolled on. When the holiday season came around again, everybody was wishing each other a happy time. Then I began to think seriously, and I said to myself, `What is it that can make one happy?' Surely there can be nothing lasting in all this noise, hilarity, eating, drinking, and singing of songs. However, the holidays passed away, and I was still undecided.

"Soon afterward I became most uneasy in my conscience. Just then I received a letter from my wife. She said in her letter that the dying moments of the old year seemed to her just like the fire in the grate: both must die and go out, and come to an end. I was seriously impressed by this idea, and the thought struck me: there is a lesson to be learned even from the fire in the grate. We all must die, for 'all in Adam die.'

"Suppose God were to call me hence, and require me to give an account. Would I be ready? Could I say, in the words of the hymn, 'Take me as I am'? The answer came, No, I could not say, 'Take me as I am.'

"The solemn moments of the year were fleeting fast away my last, perhaps, on earth. God was speaking to my soul, and saying, 'Behold, now is the accepted time; now is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation.' I felt that I could no longer delay; I must decide one way or the other. And I did decide; I accepted Christ as my Savior, 'I have found in Him a resting place, and He has made me glad.'

"My conversion is not of long standing, but I am 'looking unto Jesus,' and trusting to Him to keep me walking in the light that has now dawned upon me. I know that 'His grace is sufficient for me,' and that He will never leave nor forsake His own."

Beyond

Count the gold and silver blossoms
Spring has scattered o'er the lea,
Count the softly winding ripples
Sparkling on the summer sea;
Count the lightly flickering shadows
In the autumn forest glade,
Count the falling feathery snowflakes—
Icy gems by winter made.

Count the myriad blades that glitter
Early in the morning dew;
Count the desert sand that stretches
Under noontide's vault of blue.
Count the notes that wood-birds warble
In the evening's fading light:
Count the stars that gleam and twinkle
O'er the firmament by night.

When thy counting all is done,
Scarce ETERNITY'S begun;
Sinner, pause! Where wilt thou be
During God's ETERNITY?

Thou Remainest

At the end of the year we naturally consider the fleeting character of life, and the nature of our transient stay on earth. This is good and right. Well would it be if we never forgot these things, and did most earnestly pray to God, "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

But our own brief life and its uncertainty turns our thoughts also to God's ever abiding and unchangeable being: "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God." He changes not in the past, the present, nor the future—the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Christ is ever the same. Friends change, home changes, we ourselves change but God is ever and at all times the faithful God.

What a rest and a refuge is here for the soul who trusts in Jesus! Weak and erring, with a sense of many, many opportunities wasted, and much unfaithfulness during the year that is past, we can yet cast our very selves, just as we are, upon our abiding, unchanging, faithful God.

We look back at the mercies of the past year; we recall its sorrows and its trials; but every memory only leads us the more and more to throw ourselves upon our God—our ever faithful God.

"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms."

Deut. 33:27. WHAT A RESOURCE!

Where to Rest

Nothing can be lasting that is not built on God alone. How can you have settled peace? Only by having it in God's own way.

By not resting it on anything, even the Spirit's work, within yourselves, but on what Christ has done entirely without you. Then you will know peace; conscious unworthiness, but yet peace. In Christ alone, God finds that in which He can rest, and so it is with the saints. The more you see the extent of the evil that is within, as well as that without and around, the more you will find that what Jesus is, and what Jesus did, is the only ground at all on which you can rest.

J.N.D.

The Cleft Rock

"Be saved by hiding in the cleft of the Rock," the preacher had said "for that Rock is Christ!"

Later, some men who had heard this solemn word were talking together. Said one: "Saved in the cleft of a rock! I know what that means. I was saved that way once, nor can I ever forget it."

"How did it happen? Tell us about it."

"You remember that when the railroad first came through our town it was a single track. Remember that long curve at the foot of the hill? Hardly any space was left between the rocky cliff and the tracks on the one side, nor from the tracks to the deep water on the other."

"Yes, I have often thought how awful it would have been if the train had run off the track there. On the cliff side there was barely enough space for the train to pass without striking the rocks."

"And on the river side there was no place for a person to stand if a train should come while he was there. It was an awful place before the second track was laid and the roadbed widened. I shudder to think what might have happened to me there.

"It was when we were yet children, a short time after the railroad was built. My sister and I were coming home from school, and we thought it would be shorter and easier, as well as more pleasant, to try the railroad cut instead of the long walk over the hill-path. We knew that it was past the time for the express, and that no other train was due: so we felt safe enough. In fact, we did not think of danger. My sister was older than I, and I left all care to her.

"We were going along leisurely. I was skimming stones across the water and she looking on, when suddenly she caught my hand, screaming, ‘Run! The express is coming!'

"Listening, I heard its distant roar. Its whistle sounded as it neared the curve. We could not see it yet but boys, you know, learn to tell trains and locomotives by their sounds and by the differences in their whistles. I knew that it was the express. My heart seemed to stop. Had not my sister forced me on, I would have been powerless to run. We ran as fast as possible; but what are the feet of children in a race with an express train, and that train behind time and trying to make up its schedule?

"Had we gone back we would have been safe, for we had only just started on the narrow and dangerous stretch when we heard the train. All that long run was ahead before we could reach a spot wide enough to let a train go safely by—and not far behind came that express.

"It was a cloudy day in early winter so that it seemed quite dark, especially on that side of the hill. Perhaps it was the darkness, perhaps the curve that prevented the engineer from seeing us. He had not yet seen us: the train was coming on as fast as ever.

"Oh, that awful terror of that minute—for it was but a minute! Each moment we felt must be our last. We could hear the roar of the train coming nearer and nearer. We did not know but that it was almost upon us. We dared not look around lest we should lose time. We dared not even speak! Tightly holding each other's hands, we ran on. All this, you need not be told, took less time than it takes to tell it.

"Suddenly the whistle blew. The engineer had seen us, but too late to stop the train.

Whether or not the whistle made my sister notice, I don't know; but just then we reached a place where a large piece had been blown out of the rock by the side of the track: it seemed as if the rock had parted and a wedge had been taken out.

"Before I had time to think, my sister let go of my hand and at the same moment threw her arm about me and pushed me into that cleft in the rock. Then she threw herself forward and crowded me into the opening.

"Hardly had she done this when the train rushed by and left us safe in the cleft. We were saved—saved by a single moment only. Had we gone ten yards farther the train would have caught us, and—well, I would not be here to tell about it."

"That was a narrow escape, surely."

"Yes; and I never think about it without a shudder. WE WERE SAVED BY THAT CLEFT IN THE ROCK. If ever children were thankful for anything, we were for that cleft rock. I sometimes think, 'What if it had not been there!' "

"I can see that the preacher's message would make you think of your terrifying experience. But why be so wrought up over it? We are all honest, law-abiding citizens, and need not be concerned for the future."

"Ah, but I am deeply concerned, and each of us should be, I fear. We are in the way of danger, and, unless we take heed, in the way of eternal death. Destruction's express train is rushing along. It may soon overtake us. Then what? That sermon meant me. I am afraid that it meant you, too.

"But it is not so much of that I'm thinking: I can't forget that Rock that the preacher said was cleft for us. It is the 'cleft in the Rock' that is on my mind. I know what it means."

"I can't say I do."

"Had you been saved as I once was 'in a cleft of a rock,' you would understand. We are both on a dangerous track, and in the way of destruction. It is coming, too, and not far behind. Running away will not help: we can't get out of its way by running. We must find some place to hide, some place where destruction's train cannot reach us.

"Right alongside of WHERE WE ARE is a cleft Rock. In that is the place to hide.

That Rock is Christ. That is what the preacher meant when he said that we must `hide in the Rock Christ.' That is what is meant by the hymn:

'Rock of ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.'

"I have made up my mind to hide in that Rock. I know now that only there can I find eternal safety. Will not you, my friends, seek that place of security from all that would destroy your souls? Hiding in Him, resting on Him, will bring peace and joy."

"A Man [the Lord Jesus] shall be as a hiding place... as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." Isaiah 32:2.

Fragment

You must become hopeless as to yourself before you can hope in God.

None Doeth Good

The pretense to "do our best" is a denial of our utter badness. The first thing is to take the place of badness.

I Got Christ Tonight!

In a little country village lived one who for years had been troubled concerning her eternal future. She was truly anxious to find peace with God, but was hindered by the false doctrine that some are born to be saved, others to be lost. Yet she was unwilling to give up hope. She would frequently send for me, and ask me to pray for her.

This I ever most readily did, pleading with her to cast herself on Christ, and trust Him fully. Her answer would invariably be: "I can't I wish I could. But don't give me up!"

This distressed soul constantly attended the preaching of the Word, and eagerly drank it in but the only effect apparently was to make her more miserable. This continued for about two years. I almost despaired of her conversion, but at length God's time came for answering prayer.

One Lord's Day evening I was about to conduct a service in the village. On retiring beforehand for prayer, the burden of souls pressed so heavily upon me, and especially the case of this woman, that I said, "Lord, Thou art surely going to bless tonight let Mrs.—be saved."

At the very moment that the preacher was thus alone with God about the woman, she was alone with the devil, who tempted her spirit, whispering into her heart: "You are a fine hypocrite, going to hear the gospel preached, making people believe you want to be saved; and you know you never will be."

"Well, after this night I will never go any more; but I will go this once," she said.

During the address this verse was quoted: "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Rom. 10:8, 9.

As the people were leaving, a voice whispered to the preacher, "I got Christ tonight!" There stood before him the woman for whom he had prayed saying, "Lord, let her be saved"—the very woman, who had told the devil she would go to no more gospel meetings after that night.

"It was that verse that did it," said she.

"How was it you never told me these things before? I could not help myself, but just said in my heart: 'I do confess Thee, Lord. I do believe from my heart that God hath raised His Son from the dead. So I am saved. I will tell them at once! I will confess Him with my mouth.' Then the devil whispered, 'Don't do it now. There's your neighbor behind you.' I was nearly yielding to the temptation, and felt a darkness coming over my soul so I hastened to confess Him to you."

She did not stop with telling me. She went home and told her husband. Then she told her friends what great things the Lord had done for her. She still rejoices in the Lord.

Who? What? Where?

WHO?

The Glorious Person:

"When He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high."

Heb. 1:3.

The Lord Jesus is God, the Son.

He is the Mighty Creator and Mighty Upholder of all things. Everything was made by Him. Everything is held together by His power. In Him God has been fully revealed.

He was called Emmanuel—"God with us."

"God manifest in flesh" was seen in Him.

"In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the God-head bodily." Col. 2:9. He is "over all, God blessed forever." Rom. 9:5. It is He Himself who became man, that He might do

WHAT?

The Glorious Purgation:

The mighty work of redemption which none but He Himself could accomplish. No man or angel or archangel was great enough.

The Lord of Glory must take the servant's form and die if sinners were to be saved. In love to us therefore He came. In love to us He suffered upon the cross. In love to us He, the Sinless One, was made there an offering for sin and died. In no other way could He make atonement or meet our deep need.

"'Twas great to speak a world from naught,
'Twas greater to redeem."

He could not save us from the eternal throne, so He stooped to Bethlehem's manger and to Calvary's cross. There He bore the judgment. There He by Himself purged our sins. Where is He now?

WHERE?

The Glorious Place:

He is now at the right band of the Majesty on high.

He is not on the cross. They took Him down from that tree of shame.

He is not in the grave. The angel at the sepulcher said, "He is not here: for He is risen."

Where, then, is the One who "by Himself purged our sins"?

He is at the "Right Hand of the Majesty on High."

He who was in the lowest place of shame for us, is now in the highest place of glory.

His mighty work is done, all done. Thus He is risen. Thus He is glorified. It was not possible that the Son of God could be held captive by death or see corruption.

Christ—"the Man, Christ Jesus"-is in heaven. He has sat down there because the work of redemption is done.

Now Jesus says: "And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?" John 11:26.

“WHILE WE
WERE YET SINNERS,
CHRIST DIED FOR US”

Rom. 5:8

Echoes of Grace: 1952

Table of Contents

A New Beginning

The Gift

Jesus Said:

God's Blessed Man

Guilty or Not Guilty?

Comfort for a Seeker

High-Water Mark

Extract: Experience and Present Faith

Old Shoes

The Thunder of His Power

Resting in Jesus

God's Priceless Gift

Darkness to Dawn

The Fountain

Christ Alone, the Savior

An Infidel Converted

The Coming of the Lord Draweth Nigh

Taste and See

The Passport to Glory

God's Satisfied, so Am I

Out of Every Kindred, and Tongue, and People and Nation

Divine Impossibilities

Where Is Your Treasure?

The Receipt

From Penance to Peace

That's Just What I Want!

Spiritual Intelligence

The Glory of God

Jesus the Lord

God Is Love

One Thing Needful

Don't Use the Old Road

Repentance

I'll Not Give God the Wreck

The Cost of an Estate

No Flesh!

Lord Byron's Lament

Indifference

Are You the Lord's?

Three Generations

Eternity

Which Was Right?

Fragment

Come, Hear the Gospel Sound

The Gift, or the Wages?

Listening for a Sound

Where Is Thy Soul?

Fig Leaves

Calvary

"Oh, How He Loves Me!"

Eternity

God's Thoughts about the Sinner

The Gates of Gaza

Sin and Sins

True Merit

Extract

Striving to Do My Best

Heaven's Gates

Is He Willing?

From Cross to Crown

The Way

The Trappist Monk

A Lamp without Oil

Fragment

Too Late! Too Late!

Epitaph

Afar off

Harvest

The Lost Found

How to Be Saved

Feelings

God's Great Mercy

Lines Found in an Infidel's Bible

Your Race Is Run: Prepare to Meet Thy God

Extract

Out of the Depths

Scripture Portion

Sins Covered