48. “D. Ε. Κ,” Colchester. Procure a copy of a pamphlet entitled, “The Righteousness of God,” by W. Kelly. To be had of Mr. Morrish.
44. “E. R.,” Epsom. We heartily thank you for your kind letter, and with a full heart we commend you to the faithful care of Him who alone is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.
45. “Ε. B.,” Manchester. We know of one most solemn and mysterious case in which a child of God was suffered to lose his reason, and, in that state, to commit the act you name. May the Lord keep us under the shadow of His wings!
46. “Τ. H,” Broad Hinton. God hid His face from the sin-bearer; but never was the Son more precious to the Father than in that terrible hour. It is not according to the integrity of scripture to speak of the Father as hiding His face from the Son.
47. “A Weary One,” Sligo. You are entirely too much occupied with your own state and feelings. Seek to be more simple, to rest like a child in your Father’s love, and stay your soul upon His faithful word. It is of no possible use to “try” to be this or that. The more you dwell, in calm sweet confidence, on the love of Christ—the more you think of Him and feed upon His word, the more you will grow into His likeness. “We all beholding.....are changed.” May the Lord keep you, beloved, and make you very sound in His own precious truth! To His own loving pastoral hand we commend you.
48. “J. H,” London. Thanks for the lines and accompanying note.
49. “H,” Torquay. (1.) All the Old Testament saints h ad divine life—a new nature, imparted by the power of the Holy Ghost. (2.) “Ye are not in the flesh,” refers to the actual position of believers now. They are on an entirely new footing—in the new creation—united to a risen Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost. (3.) The Holy Ghost dwells in the body of the believer. See 1 Cor. 6:1919What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19).
50. “R. C.” Stephen saw Jesus “standing.” But Heb. 1 and 10 present Him as sitting on the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. We should not think of raising any objection to those words in our beautiful hymn. We greatly dread being hypercritical. We bless God for what you say as to the little volume. Continue to wait on God for His gracious blessing.
51. “J. W.,” “J. P.,” “T. M.,” “Mrs. P.,” Bermuda. Accept our warmest thanks for your kind, interesting, and encouraging letter. The Lord be praised for all you are able to tell us of His goodness to you! May He bless you very abundantly, and lead you on, still further, in His most blessed ways. May He stablish, strengthen, and settle you on those eternal foundations which He has laid for us in Christ. To Him we do most affectionately commend you all, in spirit, soul, and body. We take it as a great kindness your writing to us.
52. “Β. Α.,” Ireland. It is, alas! possible that a Christian may find himself not in the spirit of prayer. When such is the case, he ought to judge himself, and cry to God to lead him into a right state of soul. Most surely, there is no value in form without power; but God is the abiding source of all power and freshness; and, blessed be His name, “He hath given us the spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Hence, therefore, when you find yourself not in a spirit of prayer, do not have recourse to a form, but to the living God.
53. “C. C. P. Α.,” London. If you will kindly forward those back numbers to our address, we can make good use of them. Address, “C. Η. M.,” 25, Portland Square, Bristol.
54. “L. D. T.,” Tipperary. No passage could more distinctly teach the two resurrections than the very one which your friend has quoted in opposition, namely, John 5:25-2925Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 26For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 28Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:25‑29). There is “the resurrection of life,” and “the resurrection of judgment.” It may be that your friend bases his objection on the fact that the word “hour” is used; but this has no force whatever, inasmuch as, in verse 25, the same word is applied to that period dining which the Son of God is quickening dead souls—a period which has already extended to 1870 years. Now if the word “hour” be applied to a period of nearly 2000 years, what difficulty can there be in applying it to a period half that length? We consider that Revelation 7:1-81And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. 5Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. 6Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. 7Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. 8Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. (Revelation 7:1‑8) refers to the saved remnant of Israel—the nucleus of the restored nation.
55. “C. L. C.” Your lines are safely to hand.
56. “E. J. P.” Scripture is very plain as to the place of the woman. (See 1 Cor. 11:1-161Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 2Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. 3But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. 4Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head. 5But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. 6For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. 7For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. 8For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. 9Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. 10For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. 11Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. 12For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God. 13Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? 14Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? 15But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering. 16But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God. (1 Corinthians 11:1‑16).) We do not believe it to be according to nature, or according to revelation, for a woman to be prominent either in the Church or in the world. It is our deeply cherished conviction that there is no sphere in which the woman can move with such grace and dignity, as in the shade and retirement of the domestic circle. There she can prove herself the helper of the man, in all good works. Home is pre-eminently the woman’s place. The Holy Ghost has assigned her work, most distinctly, when He declares that she is to “guide the house.” There may be here and there, exceptional cases in which the christian female, having no special home duties, may devote herself to outside work with real advantage to many; but such cases are few and far between. The general rule is as plain as possible. (See 1 Tim. 5:1414I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. (1 Timothy 5:14).) As to the question of “woman’s rights,” “female franchise,” &c, we have nothing whatever to do with politics. It is our desire to be taught exclusively by scripture; and, most certainly, we cannot find aught in the New Testament about women having a place in the legislature. In the history of Israel, it was always a proof of the nation’s low condition when the female was thrown into prominence. It was Barak’s backwardness that threw Deborah forward. According to the normal, the divine idea, the man is the head. This is seen, in perfection, in Christ and the Church. Here is the true model on which our thoughts are to be formed. So far as this poor world is concerned, it is all in confusion. The foundations are out of course. God has said, “I will overturn, overturn, overturn it, and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” (Eze. 21:2727I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him. (Ezekiel 21:27).) There can be nothing right until “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.” Till then, the Christian must be content to be a pilgrim and a stranger on this earth, having his citizenship, his home, Ids portion, in heaven. May it be thus with all who belong to Christ! We do not, of course, expect that persons who are bent on carrying out their own thoughts; whose will has never been broken; who reason instead of submitting to the authority of scripture; who say, “I think,” instead of seeing what God thinks—we do not expect that any such will approve or appreciate what we have advanced in reply to your question; but we must bow down to the authority of God in this as in all beside.