The Mackintosh Treasury: Vol. 5

It is at once interesting and instructive to mark the varied lines of truth presented in the New Testament, all finding their common center in that blessed One who is the truth. We see this, both in the gospels and in the epistles. Each of the four evangelists, under the direct guidance and power of the Holy Ghost, gives us a distinct view of Christ. Matthew presents Him in His Jewish relations—as the Messiah, the Son of David, Son of Abraham—heir of the promises made to the fathers. Mark presents Him as the earnest workman, the diligent servant, the laborious minister, the incessant preacher and teacher. Luke gives us " The Man Christ Jesus," in His human relations, Son of man, Son of Adam. John is occupied with the Son of God, Son of the Father, the heavenly Man, in His heavenly relationships.

Thus each one has his own specific line. No two are alike, but all agree. There is lovely variety, but the most perfect harmony; there is diversity and unity. Matthew does not interfere with Mark; nor Mark with Luke; nor Luke with John. There is no collision, because each moves in his own proper orbit and all revolve round the one grand center.

Nor could we do without any one of the four. There would be a serious blank if one were missing. We could not afford to give up a single ray of the moral glory of the Son of God; and not only so, but we could not consent to ignore one of those instruments by which the Holy Ghost has presented Him to our view.

We want them all. Each fills his own niche and fulfills his own service, under the guiding hand of the Holy Ghost.

So also is it in the epistles. Paul's line of things is as distinct from Peter's, as Peter's is from John's, or John's from James. No two are alike, hut all agree. There is no collision, because, like the four evangelists, each moves in his own appointed orbit, and all revolve round the one common center. The orbit is distinct, but the center is one. Paul gives us the great truth of man's relation with God, on the ground of accomplished redemption, together with the counsels of God as to Israel and the church. Peter gives us the christian pilgrimage and God's government of the world. James insists upon practical righteousness. John opens up the grand theme of eternal life, first with the Father, then manifested in the Son; communicated unto us, and finally displayed in the glorious future.

Now, it would be the very height of folly on our part to institute any invidious comparison between those varied lines of truth or the beloved and honored instruments by whom those lines are presented to us. How silly it would be to set up Matthew against Mark, Mark against Luke, Luke against John, or John against all the rest! How puerile it would be for anyone to say, "I go in for Paul's line of things, only James seems below the mark. Peter and John 1 do not appreciate. Paul is the man for me. His ministry suits me. The others do not reach my heart, or feed my soul as he does."

All this we should, at once, denounce as the most sinful folly. It would not be tolerated for a moment.

The varied lines of truth all converge upon one glorious and blessed center. The varied instruments are all employed by one and the self-same inspiring Spirit, for the one grand object of presenting the varied moral glories of Christ. We want them all. We could no more afford to do without Matthew or Mark than we could do without Luke or John; and it is no part of our business to undervalue Peter or James, because they do not give such a lofty or comprehensive range of truth as Paul or John. Each is needful in his place. Each has his niche to fill, his work to do, his appointed line of things to attend to, and we should be doing serious damage to our own souls as well as marring the integrity of divine revelation, if we were to confine ourselves to any one particular line of truth, or attach ourselves exclusively to any one particular instrument or vessel.

The early Corinthians fell into this grave error, and thus called forth a sharp rebuke from the blessed apostle Paul. Some were of Paul; some of Apollos; some of Cephas; some of Christ. All were wrong; and those who said they were of Christ were quite as wrong as any of the others. They were carnal and walked as men. It was a grievous folly to be puffed up for one against another, inasmuch as they were all Christ's servants, and all belonged to the whole church.

Nor is it otherwise now, in the church of God. There are varied kinds of workmen, and varied lines of truth; and it is our happy privilege, not to say our holy duty, to recognize and rejoice in them all. To be puffed up for one against another, is to be " carnal and walk as men." To depreciate any of Christ's servants is to depreciate the truth which he carries and to forsake our own mercies. "All things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's."

This is the true and the divine way to look at the matter; and this, too, is the way to avoid sects, parties, cliques and coteries in the church of God. There is one body, one Head, one Spirit, one divine and perfect revelation—the holy scriptures. There are many members, many gifts, many lines of truth, many distinct characters of ministry. We want them all, and therefore God has given them all.

But, most surely, God has not given the various gifts and ministries for us to set one against another, but that we may humbly and thankfully avail ourselves of all and profit by them according to His gracious purpose in giving them. If all were Paul's, where were the Peters? If all were Peters where were the Johns?

Nor this only; but what must be the effect of going in for any one particular line of truth, or character of ministry "? What but to produce an imperfect christian character? W0 are all sadly prone to one-sidedness, and nothing more ministers to this evil than an inordinate attachment to some one particular branch of truth, to the exclusion of other branches equally important. It is by " the truth" we are sanctified—by all, not by some truth. We should delight in every department of truth, and give a cordial welcome to each vessel or instrument which our God may be pleased to use in ministering His truth to our souls. To be puffed up for one against another is to be more occupied with the vessel than with the truth which the vessel contains, more occupied with man than with God—a fatal mistake! " Who then is Paul, or who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man."

Hero lies the grand principle. God has various instruments for His work. We want them all, and we should value them all as His instruments, and nothing more. It has ever been Satan's object to lead the Lord's people to set up heads of schools, leaders of parties, centers of cliques, thus splitting up the church of God into sects, and destroying its visible unity, Let us not be ignorant of his devices; but in every possible way "endeavor to keep the unify of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace."

How is this great object to be attained? By keeping near the center—by abiding in Christ—by habitual occupation with Himself—by drinking deeply into His spirit and walking in His footsteps—by lying at His feet, in true brokenness of spirit and humility of mind, by thorough consecration to His service, the furtherance of His cause, the promotion of His glory, the prosperity and blessing of every beloved member of His body.

Thus shall we be delivered from strife and contention, from the discussion of profitless questions, and baseless theories; from partiality, prejudice and predilection. We shall be able to see and appreciate all the varied lines of truth converging upon the one divine center, the varied rays of light emanating from the one eternal source. We shall rejoice in the great fact that in all the ways and works of God, in every department of nature and grace, in things on earth and things in heaven, in time and eternity, it is not a dull uniformity but a delightful variety. In a word, God's universal and eternal principle is " Diversity and Unity."

Epaphras

(Col. 4:12.)

There is a very striking difference between the inspired records of the people of God, and all human biographies. The former may, truly, be said to be, "much in little;" while many of the latter may, as truly, be said to be, "little in much" The history of one of the Old Testament saints- a history stretching over a period of 365 years, is summed up in two short clauses. " Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." (Gen. 5:24.) How brief! But yet how full! how comprehensive! How many volumes would man have filled with the records of such a life? And, yet, what more could he have said? To walk with God, comprehends all that could possibly be said of any one. A man may travel round the globe; he may preach the gospel in every clime; he may suffer in the cause of Christ; he may feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick; he may read, write, print and publish; in short, he may do all that man ever could or did do; and, yet, it may all be summed up in that brief clause, " he walked with God." And right well will it be for him, if it can be so summed up. One may do nearly all that has been enumerated, and yet never walk with God, one hour, yea, he may not even know the meaning of a walk with God. The thought of this is deeply solemnizing and practical. It should lead us to the earnest cultivation of the hidden life, without which the most showy services will prove to be but mere flash and smoke.

There is something peculiarly touching in the mode in which the name of Epaphras is introduced to our notice, in the New Testament. The allusions to him are very brief, but very pithy. He seems to have been the very stamp of man which is so much needed, at the present moment. His labors, so far as the inspired penman has recorded them, do not seem to have been very showy or attractive. They were not calculated to meet the human eye or elicit human praise. But oh! they were most precious labors-peerless-priceless labors. They were the labors of the closet, labors within the closed door, labors in the sanctuary, labors without which all beside must prove barren and worthless. He is not placed before us, by the sacred biographer, as a powerful preacher, a laborious writer, a great traveler, which he may have been, and which are all truly valuable, in their place. The Holy Ghost, however, has not told us that Epaphras was any one of the three; but, then, my reader, He has placed this singularly interesting character before us, in a manner calculated to stir the very depths of our moral and spiritual being. He has presented him to us as a man of prayer- earnest, fervent, agonizing prayer-prayer, not for himself, but for others. Let us hearken to the inspired testimony.

" Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring fervently, (agonizing) for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis." (Col. 4:12, 13.) Such was Epaphras! Would there were hundreds like him, in this our day! We are thankful for preachers, thankful for writers, thankful for travelers in the cause of Christ; but we want men of prayer, men of the closet, men like Epaphras. We are happy to see men on their feet, preaching Christ; happy to see them able to ply the pen of a ready writer, in the noble cause; happy to see them making their way, in the true evangelistic spirit, into " the regions beyond;" happy to see them, in the true pastoral spirit, going, again and again, to visit their brethren in every city. God forbid we should undervalue, or speak disparagingly of such honorable services; yea, we prize them more highly than words could convey. But, then, at the back of all, we want a spirit of prayer- fervent, agonizing, persevering prayer. Without this, nothing can prosper. A prayerless man is a sapless man.

A prayerless preacher is a profitless preacher. A prayerless writer will send forth barren pages. A prayerless evangelist will do but little good. A prayerless pastor will have but little food for the flock. We want men of prayer -men like Epaphras-men whose closet walls witness their agonizing labors. These are, unquestionably, the men for the present moment.

There are immense advantages attending upon the labors of the closet-advantages quite peculiar-advantages for those who engage in them, and advantages for those who are the subjects of them. They are quiet, unobtrusive la-hours. They are carried on in retirement, in the hallowed, soul-subduing solitude of the divine presence, outside the range of mortal vision. How little would the Colossians have known of the loving earnest labors of Epaphras, had the Holy Ghost not mentioned them. It is possible that some of them might have deemed him deficient in zealous care on their behalf. It is probable that there were persons, then, as there are those, now, who would measure a man's care or sympathy by his visits or letters. This would be a false standard. They should see him on his knees, to know the amount of his care and sympathy. A love of travel might take me from London to Edinburgh to visit the brethren. A love of scribbling might lead me to write letters by every mail. Naught save a love for souls, a love for Christ, could ever lead me to agonize as Epaphras did, on behalf of the people of God, " that they may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God."

Again, the precious labors of the closet demand no special gift, no peculiar talents, no preeminent mental endowments. Every Christian can engage in them. A man may not have the ability to preach, teach, write or travel; but every man can pray. One, sometimes, hears of a gift of prayer. It is not a pleasant expression. It falls gratingly on the ear. It often means a mere fluent utterance of certain known truths which the memory retains, and the lips give forth. This is poor work to be at. This was not the way with Epaphras. This is not what we want and long for, just now. We want a real spirit of prayer. We want a spirit that enters into the present need of the church, and bears that need, in persevering, fervent, believing intercession, before the throne of grace. This spirit may be exercised, at all times, and under all circumstances. Morning, noon, eventide, or midnight, will answer for the closet laborer. The heart can spring upward to the throne, in prayer and supplication, at any time. Our Father's ear is ever open; His presence chamber is ever accessible. Come when or with what we may, He is always ready to hear, ready to answer. He is the Hearer, the Answerer, and the Lover of importunate prayer. There are no accents He likes better than, " I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." He himself has said, "ask-seek-knock"-"men ought always to pray, and not to faint"-" all things, whatsoever ye shall ask, in prayer, believing, ye shall receive"- "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God." These words are of universal application They are intended for all God's children. The feeblest child of God can pray, can watch, can get an answer, and return thanks.

Furthermore, nothing is so calculated to give one a deep interest in people as the habit of praying constantly for them. Epaphras would be intensely interested in the Christians at Colosse, Laodicea, and Hierapolis. His interest made him pray, and his prayers made him interested. The more we are interested for any one, the more we shall pray for him, and the more we pray, the more interested we become. Whenever we are drawn out in prayer for people, we are sure to rejoice in their growth and prosperity. So also, in reference to the unconverted. When we are led to wait on God about them, their conversion is looked for with the deepest anxiety, and hailed, when it comes, with unfeigned thankfulness. The thought of this should stir us up to imitate Epaphras, on whom the Holy Ghost has bestowed the honorable epithet of " a servant of Christ," in connection with his fervent prayers for the people of God.

Finally, the highest inducement that can he presented to cultivate the spirit of Epaphras is the fact of its being so directly in unison with the spirit of Christ. This is the most elevated motive. Christ is engaged in behalf of His people. He desires that they should "stand perfect and complete in all the will of God;" and those who are led forth in prayer, in reference to this object, are privileged to enjoy high communion with the great Intercessor. How marvelous that poor feeble creatures, down here, should be permitted to pray about that which engages the thoughts and interests of the Lord of glory! What a powerful link there was between the heart of Epaphras, and the heart of Christ, when the former was laboring fervently for his brethren at Colosse!

Christian reader, let us ponder the example of Epaphras. Let us imitate it. Let us fix our eye upon some Colosse or other, and labor fervently in prayer for the Christians therein. The present is a deeply solemn moment. A correspondent in Scotland makes the following most impressive statement: « Matters are coming to a crisis; and men are taking sides: and it is all well. We are no longer left in doubt as to who will serve the Lord, and who will not. May the Lord break up His own way into the hearts of many, and prepare His people for suffering and doing His holy will." These are true sayings, and they tend to make us feel our urgent need of men like Epaphras. Men who are willing to labor, on their knees, for the cause of Christ, or to wear, if it should be so, the noble bonds of the gospel. Such was Epaphras. The first notice we have of him is as a man of prayer (Col. 4:12); and the last notice of him is as a companion in bonds with the devoted apostle of the Gentiles. (Phil. 1:23)

May the Lord stir up amongst us a spirit of earnest prayer and intercession. May He raise up many of those who shall be cast in the same spiritual mold as Epaphras. These are the men for the crisis.

Saul of Tarsus

In contemplating the character of this most remarkable man, we may gather up some fine principles of gospel truth. He seems to have been peculiarly fitted to show forth, in the first place, what the grace of God can do; and, in the second place, what the greatest amount of legal effort cannot do. If ever there was a man upon this earth whose history illustrates the truth, that " salvation is by grace, without works of law," Saul of Tarsus was that man. Indeed, it would seem as though God had specially designed to present, in the person of Saul, a living example, first, of the depth to which a sinner can descend; and, secondly, of the height to which a legalist can attain. He was, at once, the very worst, and the very best of men-the chief of sinners, and the chief of legalists. He traveled down to the lowest point of human wickedness, and climbed to the loftiest summit of human righteousness. He was a sinner of the sinners, and a Pharisee of the Pharisees.

Let us, then, in the first place, contemplate him as

THE CHIEF OF SINNERS.

" 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 Tim. 1:15.) Now, let the reader note, particularly, that the Spirit of God declares, concerning Saul of Tarsus, that he was the chief of sinners. It is not the expression of Paul's humility, though, no doubt, he was humble under the sense of what he had been. We are not to be occupied with the feelings of an inspired writer, but with the statements of the Holy Ghost who inspired him. It is well to see this. Very many persons speak of the feelings of the various inspired writers in a way calculated to weaken the sense of that precious truth, the plenary inspiration of holy scripture. They may not mean to do so; but, then, at a time like the present, when there is so much mental activity, so much of reason, so much of human speculation, we cannot be too guarded against aught that might, even in appearance, militate against the integrity of the word of God. We are anxious that our readers should entertain the very highest thoughts respecting the inspired volume; that they should treasure it in their heart's affections, not as the expression of human feelings, however pious and praiseworthy, but as the depository of the thoughts of God. "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Pet. 1:21.

Hence, therefore, in reading 1 Tim. 1:15, we are not to think of the feelings of man, but of the record of God, and this record declares that Paul was the chief of sinners. It is never once stated that any one else was the chief of sinners. No doubt, in a secondary sense, each convicted heart will feel and own itself the vilest heart within its entire range of intelligence; but this is quite another matter. The Holy Ghost has declared of Paul, and of none other, that he was the chief of sinners; nor does the fact that He has told us this by the pen of Paul himself, interfere with, or weaken, in the smallest degree, the truth and value of the statement. Paul was the chief of sinners. No matter how bad any one may be, Paul could say, " I am chief." No matter how low any one may feel himself to be-no matter how deeply sunk in the pit of ruin-a voice rises to his ear from a deeper point still, " I am chief." There cannot be two chiefs, for if there were, it could only be said that Paul was one of them; whereas, it is most distinctly declared that he was " chief."

But let us mark the object of all this dealing with the chief of sinners. " Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them who should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting." The chief of sinners is in heaven. How did he get there? Simply by the blood of Jesus; and, moreover, he is Christ's "pattern" man. All may look at him and see how they, too, are to be saved, for, in such wise as the " chief" was saved, must all the subordinate be saved. The grace that reached the chief can reach all. The blood that cleansed the chief can cleanse all. The title by which the chief entered heaven is the title for all. The vilest sinner under the canopy of heaven may hearken to Paul saying, " I am chief, and yet I obtained mercy. Behold in me a pattern of Christ's long-suffering." There is not a sinner at this side the portal of hell, be he backslider or aught else, beyond the reach of the love of God, the blood of Christ, or the testimony of the Holy Ghost.

We shall now turn to the other side of Saul's character, and contemplate him as

THE CHIEF OF LEGALISTS

"Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more" (Philip. 3: 4.) Here we have a most valuable point. Saul of Tarsus stood, as it were, on the very loftiest crag of the hill of legal righteousness. He reached the topmost step of the ladder of human religion. He would suffer no man to get above him. His religious attainments were of the very highest order. (See Gal. 1:14.) No one ever got beyond him in the matter of working out a self-righteousness. " If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more." Is "any" man "trusting" in his temperance? Paul could say, " I more" Is " any " man " trusting'' in his morality? Paul could say, " I more.'' Is " any'' man " trusting " in ordinances, sacraments, religious services, or pious observances? Paul could say, "I more" Is "any" man proudly wrapping himself up in the pompous robes of orthodoxy, and " trusting " therein? Paul could say, " I more." In a word, let a man mount up the hill of legal righteousness as high as the most towering ambition or fervid zeal can carry him, and he will hear a voice falling upon his ear, from a loftier height still, " I more."

All this imparts a peculiar interest to the history of Saul of Tarsus. He lay at the very bottom of the pit of ruin, and he stood on the very summit of the hill of self-righteousness. Deep as any sinner may have sunk, Paul was deeper still. High as any legalist may have stood, Paul stood higher still. He combined, in his own person, the very worst and the very best of men. In him we see, at one view, the power of the blood of Christ, and the utter worthlessness of the fairest robe of self-righteousness that ever decked the person of a legalist. Looking at him, no sinner need despair; looking at him no legalist can boast, If the chief of sinners is in heaven, I can get there too. If the greatest religionist, legalist, and doer, that ever lived had to come down from the ladder of self-righteousness, it is of no use for me to go up. Saul of Tarsus came up from the depths, and down from the heights, and found his place at the pierced feet of Jesus of Nazareth. His guilt was no hindrance and his righteousness no use. The former was washed away by the blood, and the latter turned into dung and dross, by the moral glory of Christ. It mattered not whether it was " I chief" or " I more." The cross was the only remedy. God forbid," says this chief of sinners and prince of legalists, " that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Gal. 6:14.) Paul had just as little idea of trusting in his righteousness as in his crimes. He was permitted to win the laurel of victory in the grand legal struggle with his " equals in his own nation," only that he might fling it, as a withered, worthless thing, at the foot of the cross. He was permitted to outstrip all in the dark career of guilt, only that he might exemplify the power of the love of God and the efficacy of the blood of Christ. The gospel has a double voice. It calls to the slave of vice who lies wallowing in the mire of moral pollution, and says, " Come up" It calls to the busy, self-complacent religionist, who is vainly endeavoring to clamber up the steep sides of Mount Sinai, and says, " Come down." Saul was no nearer to Christ as the chief of legalists, than he was as the chief of sinners. There was no more justifying merit in his noblest efforts in the school of legalism, than in his wildest acts of opposition to the name of Christ. He was saved by grace, saved by blood, saved by faith. There is no other way for sinner or legalist.

Thus much as to Saul of Tarsus, in his twofold character as chief of sinners and chief of legalists. There is one other point in his history at which we must briefly glance, in order to show the practical results of the grace of Christ wherever that grace is known. This will present him to our notice as

THE MOST LABORIOUS OF APOSTLES

If Paul learned to cease working for righteousness, he also learned to begin working for Christ. When we behold, on the road leading to Damascus, the shattered fragments of the worst and best of men-when we hear those pathetic accents emanating from the depths of a broken heart, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?"-when we see that man who had just left Jerusalem, in all the mad fury of a persecuting zealot, now stretching forth the hand of blind helplessness, to be led like a little child into Damascus, we are led to form the very highest expectations as to his future career; nor are we disappointed. Mark the progress of that most remarkable man; behold his gigantic labors in the vineyard of Christ; see his tears, his toils, his travels, his perils, his struggles; see him as he bears his golden sheaves into the heavenly garner, and lays them down at the Master's feet; see him wearing the noble bonds of the gospel, and finally laying his head on a martyr's block, and say if the gospel of God's free grace-the gospel of Christ's free salvation, does away with good works. Nay, my reader, that precious gospel is the only true basis on which the superstructure of good works can ever be erected. Morality, without Christ, is an icy morality. Benevolence, without Christ, is a worthless benevolence. Ordinances, without Christ, are powerless and valueless. Orthodoxy, without Christ, is heartless and fruitless. We must get to the end of self, whether it be a guilty self or a religious self, and find Christ as the satisfying portion of our hearts, now and forever. Then we shall be able to say, with truth,

" Thou, Ο Christ, art all I want,

More than all in Thee I find."

Thus it was with Saul of Tarsus. He got rid of himself and found his all in Christ, and hence, as we hang over the impressive page of his history, we hear, from the most profound depths of moral ruin, the words, " I am chief"- from the most elevated point in the legal system, the words, " I more"-and from amid the golden fields of apostolic labor, the words, " I labored more abundantly than they all."

Philadelphia and Laodicea

I would observe that 1 Sam. 4 and 7 remind us of the churches of Laodicea and Philadelphia in Rev. 3 The former presents to us a condition which we should carefully avoid; the latter, a condition which we should diligently and earnestly cultivate. In Laodicea we see miserable self-complacency, and Christ left outside. In Philadelphia we see conscious weakness and nothingness, but Christ exalted, loved, and honored; His Word kept and His name prized.

And let it be remembered that these things run on to the end. It is very instructive to see that the last four of the seven churches give us four phases of the Church's history right on to the end. In Thyatira we find Romanism; in Sardis, Protestantism. In Philadelphia, as we have said, we have that condition of soul, that attitude of heart which every true believer and every assembly of believers should diligently cultivate and faithfully exhibit. Laodicea, on the contrary, presents a condition of soul and an attitude of heart from which we should shrink with ever-growing intensity. Philadelphia is as grateful as Laodicea is loathsome to the heart of Christ. The former He will make a pillar in the temple of His God; the latter He will spew out of His mouth, and Satan will take it up and make it a cage of every unclean and hateful bird-Babylon! An awful consideration for all whom it may concern. And let us never forget that for any to pretend to be Philadelphia is really the spirit of Laodicea. Wherever you find pretension, assumption, self-assertion, or self-complacency, there you have in spirit and principle, Laodicea, from which may the good Lord deliver all His people!

Beloved, let us be content to be nothing and nobody in this scene of self-exaltation. Let it be our aim to walk in the shade as far as human thoughts are concerned, yet never be out of the sunshine of our Father's countenance. In a word, let us ever bear in mind that the fullness of God ever waits on an empty vessel.

Holy Brethren

" WHEREFORE, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus." (Heb. 3:1.)

" And let us consider one another, to provoke unto love and good works." (Heb. 10:24.)

The two passages we have just penned, are very intimately connected. Indeed they are bound together by the simple fact that the inspired writer makes use of the same word in each; and, further, that this word occurs only in these two places throughout the whole of this marvelous treatise. We are to consider Jesus; and we are to consider all those who belong to Him, wherever they are. These are the two grand departments of our work. We are to apply our minds diligently to Him and to His interests on the earth, and thus be blessedly delivered from the miserable business of thinking about ourselves or our own interests; a morally glorious deliverance, most surely, for which we may well praise our glorious Deliverer.

However, before proceeding to the great subjects which we are called to consider, we must dwell, for a little, on the wonderful title bestowed by the Holy Spirit upon all believers all—true Christians. He calls them, " holy brethren." This, truly, is a title of great moral dignity. He does not say, we ought to be holy. No; he says we are. It is a question of the title or standing of every child of God on the face of the earth. No doubt, having through sovereign grace this holy standing, we ought to be holy in our walk; our moral condition ought ever to answer to our title. We should never allow a thought, word, or act, in the smallest degree inconsistent, with our high 'position as " holy brethren." Holy thoughts, holy words, holy actings are alone suited to those upon whom infinite grace has bestowed the title of "holy brethren."

Let us never forget this. Let us never say, never think, that we cannot maintain such a dignity, or live up to such a standard. The very same grace which has bestowed upon us the dignity, will ever enable us to support it; and we shall see, in the progress of this paper, how this grace acts-the mighty moral means used to produce a practical walk in accordance with our holy calling.

But let us inquire on what does the apostle ground the title of " holy brethren "? It is of all possible importance to be clear as to this. If we do not see that it is wholly independent of our state, our walk, or our attainments, we can neither understand the position nor its practical results. We may assert with all confidence that the very holiest walk that ever was exhibited in this world, the highest spiritual state that ever was attained, could never form the basis of such a position as is set forth in the title of which we speak. Nay, more; we are bold to affirm that not even the work of the Spirit in us, blessedly essential as it is in every stage of the divine life, -could entitle us to enter upon such a dignity. Nothing in us, nothing of us, nothing about us could ever form the foundation of such a standing as is set forth in the title " holy brethren." On what then is it grounded? Heb. 2:11 furnishes the reply. " For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren." Here we have one of the most profound and comprehensive statements of truth contained within the covers of the divine volume. It is simply marvelous! Here we see how we become " holy brethren;" even by association with' that blessed One who went down into death for us, and who, in resurrection, has become the foundation of that new order of things in which we have our place; the Head of that new creation to which we belong; the Firstborn among the many brethren of whom He is not ashamed, inasmuch as He has placed them on the very same platform with Himself, and brought them to God not only in the perfect efficacy of His work, but in all His own perfect acceptability and infinite—preciousness. " The sanctifier and the sanctified are all of one."

Wonderful words! let the reader ponder them Let him specially note the vast, yea, the immeasurable difference between these two words "Sanctifier and sanctified." Such was our blessed Lord, personally, intrinsically, in His humanity, that He was capable of being the Sanctifier. Such were we personally, in our moral condition, in our nature, that we needed to be the sanctified. But-eternal and universal homage to His name! -such is the perfection of His work, such the " riches" and the " glory" of His grace, that it can be said, " As he is so are we in this world"" The sanctifier and the sanctified are all of one" -all on one common ground, and that forever.

Nothing can exceed this as to title and standing. We stand in all the glorious results of His accomplished work, and in all the acceptance of His Person. He has linked us with Himself, in resurrection-life, and made us sharers of all He has and all He is, save His deity, which was of course incommunicable.

But let us note, very particularly, all that is involved in the fact that we needed to be " sanctified." It sets forth in the clearest and most forcible manner, the total, hopeless, absolute ruin of every one of us. It matters not, so far as this aspect of the truth is concerned, who we were or what we were, in our personal history or our practical life. We may have- been refined, cultivated, amiable, moral and, after a human fashion, religious. Or we may have been degraded, demoralized; depraved, the very scum of society. In a word, we may have been, morally and socially, as far apart as the poles; but, inasmuch as all needed to be sanctified, the highest as well as the lowest, ere we could be addressed as " holy brethren," there is evidently " no difference." The very worst needed nothing more; and the very best could do with nothing less. Each and all were involved in one common ruin, and needed to be sanctified, or set apart, ere we could take our place amongst the "holy brethren." And now, being set apart, we are all on one common ground; so that the very feeblest child of God on the face of the earth belongs, as really and truly, to the " holy brethren" as the blessed apostle Paul himself. It is not a question of progress or attainment, precious and important as it most surely is to make progress; but simply of our common standing before God, of which the " Firstborn" is the blessed and eternal definition.

But we must here remind the reader of the vast importance of being clear and well-grounded as to the relationship of the "Firstborn" with the " many brethren." This is a grand foundation -truth, as to which there must be no vagueness or indecision. Scripture is clear and emphatic on this great cardinal point. But there are many who will not listen to scripture. They are so full of their own thoughts that they will not -take the trouble to search and see what scripture says on the subject. Hence you find many maintaining the fatal error that incarnation is the ground of our relationship with the Firstborn. They look upon the Incarnate One as our " Elder Brother," who, in taking human nature upon Him, took us into union with Himself, or linked Himself on to us.

Now, we do not believe it lies within the compass of human language to set forth, in adequate -terms, the frightful consequences of such an error as this. In the first place, it involves a positive blasphemy against the Person of the Son of God, a denial of His absolutely spotless sinless, perfect manhood. He, blessed be His name, was such in His humanity, that the angel could say to the virgin of Him, " That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." His human nature was absolutely holy. As a man, He knew no sin. He was the only man that ever lived of whom this could be said. He was unique. He stood absolutely alone. There was-there could be-no union with Him in incarnation. How could the holy and the unholy, the pure and the impure, the spotless and the spotted ever be united, ever be amalgamated? Utterly impossible! Those Who think or say they could, do greatly err, not knowing the scriptures or the Son of God.

But, further, those who speak of union in incarnation are, most manifestly, the enemies of the cross of Christ; for what need was there of the cross, the death, or the blood of Christ, if sinners could be united to Him in incarnation? Surely none whatever. 'There was no need of atonement, no need of propitiation, no need of the substitutionary sufferings and death of Christ, if sinners could be united to Him without them..

Hence we see how entirely this system of doctrine is of Satan. It dishonors the Person of Christ and sets aside His precious atonement. And, in addition to all this, it overthrows the teaching of the entire Bible on the subject of man's guilt and ruin. In short, it completely sweeps away all the great foundation-truths of our glorious Christianity, and gives us instead a godless, Christless, infidel system. This is what the devil has ever been aiming at; it is what he is aiming at still; and thousands of so-called Christian teachers are acting as his agents on the terrible business of seeking to abolish Christianity. Tremendous fact for all whom it may concern!

But let us reverently hearken to the teaching of holy scripture on this great subject. What mean those words which fell from the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ, and are repeated for us by God the Holy Ghost: " Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth allow"?" Who was this corn of wheat? Himself, blessed be His holy name! He had to die in order to " bring forth much fruit." If He was to surround. Himself with His " many brethren," He had to go, down into death in order to take out of the way every hindrance to their eternal association on the new ground of resurrection. He, the true David, had to go forth single-handed to meet the terrible foe, in order that He might have the deep joy of sharing with His brethren, the spoils of His magnificent victory. Eternal hallelujahs to His peerless name!

There is a very beautiful passage bearing upon our subject in Mark 8 We shall quote it for the reader. " And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly_ And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him."' In another gospel we are told what Peter said "Pity thyself, Lord: this shall not be unto thee."' Mark the Lord's reply—mark His attitude " But when he had turned about and looked on, his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men."

This is perfectly beautiful! It not only presents a truth to the understanding, but lets in upon the heart a bright ray of the moral glory of our adorable Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, eminently calculated to bow the soul in worship Before Him.," He turned and looked upon his disciples." It is as though He would say to His erring servant, " If I adopt your suggestion-if 1 pity myself, what will become of these?" Blessed Savior! He did not think of Himself. " He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem," well knowing what awaited Him there. He went to the cross, and there endured the wrath of God, the judgment of sin, all the terrible consequences of our condition, in order to glorify God with respect to our sins, and that He might have the ineffable and eternal joy of surrounding Himself with the " many brethren " to whom He could, on resurrection-ground, declare the Father's name. "I will declare thy name unto my brethren." He looked forward to this from amid the awful shadows of Calvary, where He was enduring for us what no created intelligence can ever fathom' If ever He was to call us " brethren," He must, all alone, meet death and judgment on our behalf.

Now, why all this if incarnation was the basis of our union or association? Is it not perfectly plain to the reader that there could be no link between Christ and us save on the ground of accomplished atonement? How could there be a link with sin unatoned for, guilt uncanceled, the claims of God unanswered'? Utterly impossible. To maintain such a thought is to fly in the face of divine revelation, and sweep away the very foundations of Christianity; and this, as we very well know, is precisely what the devil is ever aiming at.

However, we shall not pursue the subject further here. It may be that the great majority of our readers are thoroughly clear and settled on the point, and that they hold it as a great cardinal and essential truth. Still, we feel it of importance just now, to bear a very distinct testimony to the whole church of God on this most blessed subject. We feel persuaded that the error which we have been combating-the notion of union with Christ in incarnation-forms an integral part of a vast infidel and antichristian system which holds sway over thousands of professing Christians, and is making fearful progress throughout the length and breadth of Christendom. It is the deep and solemn conviction of this that leads us to call the attention of the beloved flock of Christ to one of the most precious and glorious subjects that could possibly occupy their hearts, namely, their title to be called " holy brethren."

We shall now turn for a few moments to the exhortation addressed to the " holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling." As we have already observed, we are not exhorted to be holy brethren; we are made such. The place and the portion are ours through infinite grace, and it is on this blessed fact that the inspired apostle grounds his exhortation: " Where fore holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus." The titles bestowed on our blessed Lord in this passage, present Him to our hearts in a very wonderful manner. They take in the wide range of His history from the bosom of the Father down to the dust of death; and from the dust of death back to the throne of God. As the Apostle, He came from God to us; and as the Priest He has gone back to God for us.

He came from heaven to reveal God to us, to unfold to us the very heart of God, to make us know the precious secrets of His bosom. " God who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by the Son [ἐν υἱῷ], whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

What a marvelous privilege to have God revealed to us in the Person of Christ! God has spoken to us in the Son. Our blessed Apostle has given us the full and perfect revelation of God. " No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." " God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath—shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (John 1; 2 Cor. 4)

All this is unspeakably precious. Jesus has revealed God to our souls. We could know absolutely nothing of God, if the Son had not come and spoken to us. But-thanks and praise to our God 1-we can say, with all possible certainty, " We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true: and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." We can now turn to the four gospels, and as we gaze upon that blessed One who is there presented to us by the Holy Ghost, in all that lovely grace which shone out in all His words, and works, and ways, we can say, That is God. We see Him going about, doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; and we see him healing the sick, cleansing the leper, opening the eyes of the blind, unstopping the ears of the deaf, feeding the hungry, drying the widow's tears, weeping at the tomb of Lazarus; and say, That is God. Every ray of moral glory that shone in the life and ministry of the Apostle of our confession was the expression of God. He was the brightness of the divine glory, and the exact impression of the divine essence.

" Thou art the everlasting Word,
The Father's only Son;

God manifest, God seen and heard,

The heaven's beloved One.

" In Thee most perfectly express'd,

The Father's self Both shine;

Fullness of Godhead, too; the Blest'

Eternally Divine."

How precious is all this to our souls! It is simply unspeakable. To have God revealed in the Person of Christ, so that we can know Him, delight in Him, find all our springs in Him, call. Him Abba Father, walk in the light of His blessed countenance, have fellowship with Him and with His Son Jesus Christ, know the love of His heart-the very love wherewith He loves the Son. What deep blessedness! What fullness, of joy! How can we ever sufficiently praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for His marvelous grace in having introduced us into such a sphere of blessing and privilege, and set us in such a wondrous relationship with Himself in the Son of His love? Oh! may our hearts praise Him! May our lives praise Him! May it be the one grand aim and object of our whole moral being to magnify His name But we must now turn for a little to another great branch of our subject. We have to " Consider the High Priest of our confession." This, too, is fraught with richest blessing for every one of the " holy brethren." The same blessed One who, as the Apostle, came to make Him known to our souls, has gone back to God for us. He came to speak to us about God; and He is gone to speak to God about us. He appears in the presence of God for us. He bears us upon His heart continually. He represents us before God, and ever-maintains us in the integrity of the position into which His precious atoning work has introduced us. His blessed priesthood is the divine provision for our wilderness path. Were it merely a question of our standing or title, there would be no need of priesthood; but, inasmuch as it is a -question of our actual state and practical walk, we could not get on for one moment, if we had not our great High Priest ever living for us in the presence of God.

Now, there are three most precious departments of our Lord's priestly service, presented in the epistle to the Hebrews. In the first place 4 we read, in chapter 4.: " Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not an high priest 'which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

Christian reader, only think of the deep blessedness of having One at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens who is touched with the feeling of your infirmities, who enters into all your sorrows, who feels for you and with you in all your exercises, trials and difficulties. Think of having a Man on the throne of God—a perfect human heart, One on whom you can count in all your weakness, heaviness, and conflict, in everything, in short, except sin. With this, blessed be His name! He can have no sympathy.

But oh! what pen, what human tongue can adequately set forth the deep, deep blessedness of having a Man in the glory whose heart is with us in all the trials and sorrows of our wilderness path? What a precious provision! What a divine reality! The One who has all power in heaven and on earth now lives for us in heaven. We can count on Him, at all times. He enters into all our feelings in a way that no earthly friend could possibly do. We can go to Him and tell Him things which we could not name to our dearest friend on earth, inasmuch as none but He can fully understand us.

But our great High Priest understands all about us. He has passed through every trial and sorrow that a perfect human heart could know. Hence He can perfectly sympathize with us, and He delights to minister to us in all our seasons of sorrow and affliction, when the heart is crushed and bowed beneath a weight of anguish which only He can fully enter into: Precious Savior! Most merciful High Priest! May our hearts delight in Thee! May we draw more' largely upon the exhaustless springs of comfort and consolation that are found in Thy large and loving heart for all Thy tried, tempted, sorrowing, suffering, brethren here below!

In Heb. 7:25, we have another very precious branch of our Lord's priestly work, and that is His intercession-His active intervention on our behalf, in the presence of God. " Wherefore 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."

What comfort is here for all the " holy brethren "! What strong consolation! What blessed assurance! Our great High Priest bears us upon His heart continually before the throne. All our affairs are in His blessed hands, and can never-fall] through. He lives for us, and we live in Him. He will carry us right through to the end. Theologians talk about " the final 'perseverance of the saints." Scripture speaks of the final perseverance of our divine and adorable High Priest. Here we rest. He says to us, " Because I live, ye shall live also." " If when -we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,"-the only possible way in which we could be reconciled-" much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life;"

that is His life up in heaven. He has made Himself responsible for every one of the " holy brethren," to bring them through all the difficulties, trials, snares and temptations of the wilderness, right home to glory. Universal and everlasting homage to His blessed name!

We cannot, of course, attempt to go elaborately into the great subject of priesthood in a paper like this; we can do little more than touch upon the three salient points indicated above, and quote for the reader the passages of scripture in which those points are presented.

In Heb. 13:15, we have the third branch of our Lord's service for us, in the heavenly sanctuary. "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name."

What a comfort to know that we have one in the presence of God to present our sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving! How sweetly it encourages us to bring such sacrifices at all times! True, they may seem very poor, very meager, very imperfect; but our great High Priest knows how to separate the precious from the vile; He takes our sacrifices and presents them to God in all the perfect fragrance of His own Person and ministry. Every little breathing of the heart, every utterance, every little act of service goes up to God, not only divested of all our infirmity and imperfection, but adorned with all the excellency of the One who ever liveth in the presence of God, not only to sympathize and intercede, but also to present our sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise.

All this is full of comfort and encouragement. How often have we to mourn over our coldness, barrenness and deadness, both in private and in public. We seem unable to do more than utter a groan or a sigh. Well, Jesus-it is the fruit of His grace-takes that groan or that sigh, and presents it to God, in all His own preciousness. This is part of His present ministry for us in the presence of our God, 'a ministry which He delights to discharge, blessed be His name! It is His joy to bear us upon His heart before the throne. He thinks of each one in particular, as if He had but that one to think of.

It is wonderful; but so it is. He enters into all our little trials and sorrows, conflicts and exercises, as though He had nothing else to think of. Each one has the undivided attention and perfect sympathy of that large, loving heart, in all that may arise in our passage through this scene of trial and sorrow. He has gone through it all. He knows, as we say, every step of the road. We can discern His blessed footprints all across the desert; and look up through the opened heavens and see Him on the throne; a glorified Man, but the same Jesus who was down here upon earth-His circumstances changed, but' not His tender, loving sympathizing heart: " The same yesterday, to-day and forever."

Such, then, beloved christian reader, is the great High Priest whom we are exhorted to " consider." Truly we have all we want in Him. His sympathy, perfect. His intercession, all prevailing. His presentation of our sacrifice, ever acceptable. Well may we say, " We have all and abound."

And nom-, in conclusion, let us glance for a moment, at the precious exhortation in Heb. 10:24: " Let us consider one another, to provoke I unto love and good works:"

How morally lovely is the connection! The more attentively we consider Him, the more we shall be fitted and disposed to consider all who belong to Him, whoever and wherever they may be. Show us a man full of Christ, and we will chew you a maw-n full of love, and care, and interest for every member of the body of Christ. It must be so. It is simply impossible to be near Christ and not have the heart filled with the sweetest affections for all that belong to Him. We cannot consider Him without being reminded. of them, and led out in service, prayer and sympathy, according to our little measure. If you hear a person talking loudly of his love for Christ, his attachment to Him, and delight in Him; and, all the while, having no love for His -people, no care for them, no interest in them, no readiness to spend and be spent for them, no self-sacrifice on their behalf-you may be sure it is all hollow worthless profession. " Hereby perceive we the love, because he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives "for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." And again, " This commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also." (1 John 3:16-18; 4:21.)

These are wholesome words for all of us.. May we apply our hearts most diligently to them! May we, by the powerful ministry of the Holy Ghost, be enabled to respond, with all our hearts, to these two weighty and needed exhortations to " Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession," and to " Consider one another!" And let us bear in mind that the proper consideration of one another will never take the form of prying curiosity, or unwarrantable espionage-things which can only be regarded as the curse and bane of all christian society. No; no; it is the very reverse of all this. It is a loving, tender care expressing itself in every form of refined, delicate and seasonable service-the lovely fruit of true communion with the heart of Christ.

C. H. M.

Ready

We want the reader to dwell, for a few moments, on the little word which forms the heading of this paper. If we mistake not, he will find it to be a word of immense depth and suggestive power, as used by the Holy Ghost in scripture. We shall, just now, refer to four passages in which our word occurs, and may the One who penned these passages be pleased to open and apply them, in divine power and freshness, to the heart of both writer and reader.

I. And, first, we shall turn to 1 Pet. 1:5, where it is used in connection with the word "salvation" Believers are said to be " kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time."

Here, then, we are taught that salvation is ready to be revealed at this moment, for we are, as John tells us, in the last times." And be it noted that salvation, as here used, is not to be confined to the mere matter of the souls deliverance from hell and perdition. It refers rather to the deliverance of the body of the believer from the power of death and corruption. In short, it takes in all that stands, in any wise, connected with the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We already possess the salvation of our souls, as we are told in the very context from which our text is taken. " Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls......wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ"

Thus we learn, in the clearest way, that the " salvation ready to be revealed" is linked on to " the revelation of Jesus Christ." This is confirmed, were confirmation needful, by Heb. 9:28, where we read, " So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time, apart from sin, unto salvation"

From all this, the reader may learn that the salvation which is ready to be revealed is the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. For this we are taught, as Christians, to look, at any moment. There is literally nothing, so far as God is concerned—nothing so far as the work of Christ is concerned—nothing so far as the testimony of the Holy Ghost is concerned, to hinder our hearing "the shout of the archangel and the trump of God" this very night—this very hour. All is done that needed to be done. Sin is put away, redemption is accomplished, God has been glorified by the work of Christ, as is proved by the fact of Christ's present place on the throne of the majesty in the heavens. From the moment that our Lord Christ took His seat upon that throne, it could always be said that " salvation is ready to be revealed."

But it could not have been said before. Salvation could not be said to be ready until the divine groundwork thereof was laid in the death and resurrection of the Savior. But, when once that most glorious work of all works was accomplished, it could, at any one moment, be said that " Salvation is ready to be revealed." " The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." (Psalm 110:1.)

II. But the apostle Peter gives us another instance and application of our word, in chapter iv. 5, where he refers to some " who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead."

Here the word stands before us in a form of awful solemnity. If, on the one hand, it be true that salvation is ready to be revealed for the everlasting joy of God's redeemed; it is equally true, on the other hand, that, judgment is ready to take its course, for the everlasting misery of those who neglect God's proffered salvation. The one is as true, and as pointed, and as forcible, as the other. There is nothing to wait for in respect to the judgment, any more than there is in respect to the salvation. The one is as " ready''' as the other. God has gone to the utmost in demonstrating His grace; and man has gone to the utmost in demonstrating his guilt. Both have reached their climax in the death, of Christ; and when we see Him crowned with glory, and seated on the throne, we have the most powerful evidence that could possibly be afforded, that nothing remains but for salvation to be revealed on the one hand, and for judgment to take its course on the other.

Hence it follows that man is no longer under probation. It is a grand mistake for any one to think so. It is a fatal delus on. It falsifies man's entire position and state. If I am under probation—if God is still testing me—if He is, even now, occupied in testing whether I am good for aught—if I am capable of producing any fruit for Him—if this be indeed the case, then it is not, and cannot be true, that " He is ready to judge." Nature is not ripe for judgment so long as a probationary process is pending—if there is yet something to wait for, ere judgment can take its course.

But no, reader; we feel bound to press upon you the fact that the period of your probation is over forever, and the period of God's longsuffering is nearly run out. It is of the utmost importance to seize this truth. It lies at the very foundation of the sinner's position. Judgment is actually impending. It is " ready," at this moment, to fall upon the head of the unrepentant reader of these lines. The entire history of human nature—of man, of the world—has been wound up and closed forever. The cross of Christ has made perfectly manifest the guilt and ruin of the human race. It has put an end to man's probationary season; and from that solemn hour until now, the true position of the world as a whole, and of each individual sinner, man, woman, and child, has been that of a culprit tried, found guilty, and condemned, but the sentence not executed. This is the present awful position of the unregenerate reader.

Dear friend, wilt thou not think of this? Fellow immortal, wilt thou not, even this very moment, bend the undivided attention of thy soul to this eternal question? We must speak plainly and pointedly. We cannot do otherwise. We feel, in some small degree, the awfulness of the sinner's state and prospect, in view of these weighty words, " ready to judge." We are convinced that the present is a moment which calls for serious and faithful dealing with the souls of our readers. We do not, as God is our witness, want to write essays or sermons; we want to reach souls. We want the reader to be assured of this, that he is not now reading a dry article on a religious subject, prepared merely for the purpose of filling a monthly number; but a solemn appeal made to his heart and conscience, in the immediate presence of " Him who is ready to judge the quick and the dead."

III. But this leads us to the third passage of holy scripture in which our weighty motto occurs. The reader will find it in Luke 12:40. " Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not."

If salvation is " ready" to be revealed, and if judgment is " ready" to be executed, what becomes us but to be "ready" also?

And in what does this readiness consist? How are we to be ready? It strikes us that there are two things included in the answer.

First, We must be " ready" in title; and, secondly, we must be " ready" in our moral state—ready in conscience, and ready in heart. The one is founded upon the work of Christ for us; the other is connected with the work of the Spirit in us. If we are simply resting, by faith, on the finished work of Christ, if we are leaning exclusively upon what He has done and what He is, then are we in very truth ready in title, and we may rest assured of being with Him when He comes.

But, on the other hand, if we are leaning upon our fancied goodness; upon any righteousness which we think we possess; upon our not having done any harm to any one; upon our not being worse than some of our neighbors; upon our Church membership; upon our attention to the ordinances of religion; if we are leaning upon any or all of these things, or if we are adding these things to Christ, then we may be assured we are not ready in title—not ready in conscience. God can accept nothing—absolutely nothing, as a title, but Christ. To bring aught else, is to declare that Christ is not needful. To bring aught beside, is to affirm that He is not enough. But God has borne ten thousand testimonies to the fact that we can do with nothing less, and that we want nothing more, than Christ. Hence, therefore, Christ is our all essential and all sufficient title.

But, then, there is such a thing as professing to he ready in title, while, at the same time, we are not ready in our moral condition or practical state. This demands our gravest attention. There is a vast amount of easy going evangelical profession abroad, at the present moment. The atmosphere is permeated by the rays of gospel light. The darkness of the middle ages has been chased away by the brightness of a free gospel and an open Bible.

We are thankful for a free gospel and an open Bible. But we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that there is a fearful amount of laxity, unsubduedness, and self-indulgence going hand in hand with the evangelical profession of the day. "We notice, with the deepest anxiety, many young professors who have, or seem to have, a very clear insight, so far as the intellect goes, into the truth of the sinner's title, who, if we are to judge from their style, deportment, and habits, are not " ready" in their moral condition—in the real state of their hearts. We are at times, we must confess, sadly cast down when we see our young friends decking their persons in the vain fashions of a vain and sinful world; feeding upon the vile literature that issues in such frightful profusion from the press; and actually singing vain songs, and engaging in light and frivolous conversation. It is impossible to reconcile such things with " Be ye also ready."

We may perhaps be told that these things are externals, and that the grand point is to be occupied with Christ. It may be said—it has been said, " Provided we have Christ in our hearts, it does not matter what we have on our heads, or in our hands." We reply, " If we really have Christ in our hearts, it will regulate what we put on our heads and take into our hands; yea, it will exert a manifest influence upon our whole deportment and character."

We should like to ask some of our young friends this question, " Would you like the Lord Christ to come and find you reading a love story, or singing a song?" We feel assured you would not. Well then let us, in the name of the Lord, see to it that we do not engage in anything which does not comport with our being " ready Γ We specially urge this upon the young christian reader. Let this question be ever before us, "Am I ready? ready in title, ready in state? ready in conscience, ready in heart?" The times are really very solemn, and it behooves us to think seriously of our true state. We feel persuaded that there is a lack of real godly heart exercise amongst us. There are, we fear, many—God only knows how many, who are not ready—many who would be taken aback and terribly surprised by death or the coming of the Lord. There are things said and done by those who occupy the very highest platform of profession, which we dare not indulge in if we were really looking for the Lord.

God grant that the reader may know what it is to be ready in title, and ready in state; that he may have a purged conscience and a truly exercised heart. Then he will be able to enter into the meaning of the fourth and last passage to which we shall call his attention. It occurs in Matt. 25:10.

IV. "And while they [the foolish virgins] went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut."

How solemn! How awfully solemn! Those who were ready went in, and those who were not ready were shut out. Those who have life in Christ, and are indwelt by the Holy Ghost, will be ready. But the mere professor—the one who has truth in the head and on the lip, but not in the heart—who has the lamp of profession, but not the spirit of life in Christ -he will be shut out into outer darkness—in everlasting misery and gloom—the eternal monotony of hell.

oh! beloved reader, let us, as we take a solemn leave of you, put this question home to your very inmost soul, "Art thou ready?"

There Is One Body

1 Cor. 3:16 and 6:19

These scriptures set forth a truth which I believe to be of cardinal importance to every one of us, individually as well as corporately; the Church as a whole is the temple of God, and every believer is made such as really, as literally, as absolutely as the temple of old in which God dwelt, only, of course, in a different way. He dwells in each individual believer today. Mark that fact; ponder it. It is not a question of opinion; it is God's truth. If people do not bow to Scripture, it is of no more use to argue with them, than it is to talk to the ignorant scavenger about the highest principles of mathematics. I am deeply and thoroughly persuaded that I have a right to demand of every servant of Christ to bow down his whole moral being to the authority of Scripture.

The truth presented here is not one about which you may think this or that. God has a house here on earth. Take in that fact, beloved; ponder it. Do not say it is what we ought to be, but what we are, and then see the conduct that flows from it; see what becomes God's house: "Holiness becometh Thine house, 0 LORD, forever." Psalm 93:5.

This is the basis of the truth which underlies all discipline from the time that God had a house on earth. We never hear a word about God dwelling with man until redemption is accomplished. But the moment that Israel is out of Egypt, on the shore of the Red Sea, the first note that falls on our ear from the lips of a redeemed people is, "I will prepare Him a habitation." And the moment the last pin is put into the earthly tabernacle, the glory of God comes down in haste to take up His abode in the midst of His people.

But His presence demands and secures holiness. Read Joshua 6 and 7, and see how we get there two grand consequences of the self-same presence; Jericho in ruins, and the heap of stones in the valley of Achor. One man dared to defile the assembly of God! How solemn it is! It is a fine thing to see these bulwarks crumbling to dust beneath the feet of God's people. But mark; the same presence that laid Jericho in ruins could not allow that one man's sin to escape notice. The Holy Spirit has penned these records for us, and it is our bounden duty to hang over them, and to seek to drink into our souls the instruction in them.

The very instincts of faith ought to have taught Joshua that there was some hindrance. God's people were His habitation. That fact gave them a characteristic which marked them off from every other nation upon earth. No other nation knew aught of that great privilege but Israel. But God is God; He will be true to Himself; He will take care of His great name. Joshua thought the glory of that great name was involved, but there are more ways than one to maintain that glory.

If Jehovah is present to give victory over His enemies, He is also present to discipline His people. "Israel hath sinned"! God does not say, One man has sinned—find him out. No; it is the six hundred thousand of Israel, because Israel is one nation; one divine presence in their midst stamped and marked and formed their unity. Do not try to reason about it, brethren, but bow down your whole moral being to that truth. Do not judge it, but let it judge you. "Israel hath sinned"; that is the reason why they could not get the victory. And Israel must come up man by man, so that he who has transgressed the covenant of Jehovah may be taken. God cannot go on with unjudged evil. Weakness is no hindrance; wickedness is. Can God lend the sanction of His presence to evil? Never! If we are God's dwelling place, we must be holy. This is one of those eternal principles which can never be given up.

But the question is raised, How could it be said that Israel had sinned? Six hundred thousand innocent people! The answer is, The nation is one, and that unity has to be maintained and confessed.

In Leviticus 24 we read that twelve loaves were placed on the golden table before the Lord continually, with the seven lamps of the golden candlestick to throw their light upon them. The end of the same chapter shows us a man brought outside the camp, where all Israel is to stone him with stones. Why this grouping of passages? It is full of power. The grouping of Scripture is among some of its brightest glories; the very way in which the Holy Ghost groups His materials commands our attention. Every fact, every circumstance, tends to illustrate its infinite depths and its moral glories.

Why then do we find this connection in Leviticus? For the simple purpose of illustrating this great principle. Faith's power to grasp the eternal truth of Israel's unity, and to confess it in the face of everything—a grand, magnificent, practical truth. There is first the divine side, what Israel was in God's mind; and then what Israel might become under God's discipline. And it ever behooves the faithful company to confess and maintain the original truth of God, even in the midst of the ruin around. I earnestly, urgently, ardently press the necessity as from God today, to maintain the great truth of the unity of the body of Christ as that which we have to hold, maintain, and confess in face of everything. There is no truth in the whole range of revelation that the devil hates more cordially than the truth of the unity of the people of God.

Elijah on mount Carmel, when the kingdom was divided, called for twelve stones with which to build the altar. But Israel is no longer twelve tribes, it might be said; Israel's unity is broken and gone. No; it is an indissoluble unity, a unity which is never to be surrendered. Israel is twelve while God's eye rests on the twelve loaves on the golden table, on the twelve stones in Aaron's breastplate. Faith holds fast that truth, and Elijah builds his altar of twelve stones. The unity is never to be given up, though it may be like a chain flung across a river, with the tide flowing over it, so that you cannot see it. It was one on the day of Pentecost; it will be one in the glory; but it is as true today that there is one body and one Spirit, as it was when the Holy Spirit penned the fourth of Ephesians. How is this unity formed? By the Holy Ghost; it is union with the Man at the right hand of God.

Thus I get three substantial reasons for a life of holiness; I am not to dishonor Him to whom I am united; I am not to grieve the Spirit by whom I am united; and I am not to grieve the members to whom I am united.

I feel my responsibility to urge this truth upon you, beloved hearers. Let not the devil cheat you of the blessing of walking in it. See that you realize its formative, influential power. Think how your state and walk at this moment are affecting the saints in New Zealand. If "one member suffer, all the members suffer with it." All Israel was affected by Achan's sin. He thought nobody saw, nobody knew, and quietly hid the forbidden thing in his tent. If this is your state, there is a complete stoppage at once; there is no more power put forth on your behalf by God; there is power truly, but power not to act for you in victory, but to act toward you in discipline—power to smash you to pieces.

Let us not measure the Word of God by our consciences, or by our sensibilities, but in simplicity believe what it says. We read that there is one Spirit uniting every member to the Head in glory, and uniting every single member on the earth to every other. In this body a saint out of communion is like a waster in a candle; he affects the state of the saints of God everywhere. Confess this great truth, own it simply, come what may. Never deny it, never give it up. Take your eyes off your brethren, and fix them on the truth of God. Are you conscientiously gathered on the ground of the one body? I speak freely and pointedly to you, because I believe this truth is assailed. "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." (1 Cor. 6:17), and is joined to all who belong to Him. There is no such thing as independence in the Word of God. The assembly in each place is the corporate local expression of the whole Church of God, as we saw of the twelve tribes of Israel in the Old Testament.

This truth, like a golden thread, shines from cover to cover of the Book of God, and is always known to faith. Why did Daniel pray toward Jerusalem? The house of God is not there to the eye of man, but it is there to faith. Faith still recognizes the twelve loaves upon the golden table, and prays, though the lion's den be its reward.

Again, Paul before Agrippa. The nation may be scattered "among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other" (Deut. 28:64), but Paul will speak of "the promise unto which our twelve tribes hope to come"; and the noun is in the singular (in the Greek). Could Paul have shown them?

And are you going to give up the unity of the Church of God? Are you going to have to do with things got up by the devil to cast dust in the eyes of God's saints, and to hide from the mind the everlasting supreme truth of the one body? Is the body of Christ a little society based upon certain principles? How can you talk of joining anything? If you are converted to Christ, all the joining is done! You are "added unto the Lord"; you are a part of that which man cannot touch for a moment; no man can cut off one single member of the body of Christ which, according to the eternal purpose of God, and according to the operation of the Holy Ghost, is united to Him.

Have I got to organize a body? No, thank God, it is not man's work at all. The Holy Ghost came down at Pentecost to form a body, and He is still here. I would not surrender that great truth for ten thousand worlds, for, in the full view of all that has occurred, I can boldly say I have a deeper sense and a firmer belief that it is the truth of God for this present day, than I had forty-two years ago, when I first placed my foot on the ground which, through God's grace, I now occupy. It is not to be touched by any efforts of man. "Holiness becometh Thine house, 0 LORD, forever." In the glory it will be "the holy city, new Jerusalem,... prepared as a bride adorned for her husband," in which He will show forth "the exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness toward us, through Christ Jesus."

Life-Works

" As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all, especially unto them who are of the household of faith" Gal. 6:10.

If aught could enhance the value of these lovely words, it would be the fact of their being found at the close of the Epistle to the Galatians. In the progress of this very remarkable writing, the inspired apostle cuts up by the roots the entire system of legal righteousness. He proves, in the most unanswerable way, that by works of law, of any sort, moral or ceremonial, no man can be justified in the sight of God. He declares that believers are not under law, in any way whatever, either for life, for justification, or for walk—that if we are under law, we must give up Christ; we must give up the Spirit of God; we must give up faith; we must give up the promises. In short, if we take up legal ground in any shape whatever, we must give up Christianity and lie under the actual curse of God.

We do not attempt to quote the passages, or to go into this side of the question at all, just now. We merely call the earnest attention of the christian reader to the golden words which stand at the head of this brief article—words which, we cannot but feel, come in with incomparable beauty and peculiar moral force at the close of an epistle in which all human righteousness is withered up and flung to the winds. It is always needful to take in both sides of a subject. We are all so terribly prone to one-sidedness, that it is morally healthful for us to have our hearts brought under the full action of all truth. It is alas! possible for grace itself to be abused; and we may sometimes forget that, while we arc justified in the sight of God only by faith, yet our faith must be evidenced by works. We have, all of us, to bear in mind that while law-works are denounced and demolished, in the most unqualified manner, in manifold parts of holy scripture, yet that life-works are diligently and constantly maintained and insisted upon.

Yes, beloved christian reader, we have to bend our earnest attention to this. If we profess to have life, this life must express itself in something more tangible and forcible than mere words or empty lip profession. It is quite true that law cannot give life, and hence it cannot produce life-works. Not a single cluster of living fruit ever was, or ever will be, culled from the tree of legality. Law can only produce " dead works/é from which we need to have the conscience purged just as much as from " wicked works."

All this is most true. It is demonstrated in the pages of inspiration beyond all possibility of question or demur. But then there must be life-works, or else there is no life. Of what possible use is it to profess to have eternal life; to talk about faith; to advocate the doctrines of grace, while, at the same time, the entire life, the whole practical career is marked by selfishness in every shape and form? "Whoso," says the blessed apostle John, " hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" So also the apostle James puts a very wholesome question to our hearts, " What cloth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked or destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?"

Here we have life-works insisted upon in a way which ought to speak home, in the most solemn and forcible way to our hearts. There is an appalling amount of empty profession—shallow, powerless, worthless talk in our midst. We have a wonderfully clear gospel—thanks be to God for it! We sec very distinctly that salvation is by grace, through faith, not by works of righteousness, nor by works of law.

Blessedly true! But when people are saved, ought they not to live as such? Ought not the new life to come out in fruits? It must come out if it be in; and if it docs not come out, it is not there. Mark what the apostle Paul says, " For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast." Here we have what we may call the upper side of this great practical question.

But there is another side to which every true, earnest Christian will delight to give his attention. The apostle goes on to say, " We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before prepared that we should walk in them."

Here we have the whole subject fully and clearly before us. God has created us to walk in a path of good works, and He has prepared the path of good works for us to walk in. It is all of God, from first to last, all through grace, and all by faith. Thanks and praise be to God that it is so! But, let us remember that it is utterly vain to talk about grace and faith, and eternal life, if the " good works" arc not forthcoming. It is useless to boast of our high truth, our deep, varied, and extensive acquaintance with scripture, our correct position, our having come out from this, that, and the other, if our feet are not found treading that " path of good works which God hath before prepared" for us. God looks for reality. He is not satisfied with mere words of high profession. He says to us, " My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth." He, blessed be His name, did not love us in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth; and He looks for a response from us—a response clear, full, and distinct—a response coming out in a life of good works—a life yielding mellow clusters of those "fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."

Beloved christian reader, do you not consider it to be our bounden duty, to apply our hearts to this weighty subject? Ought we not diligently to seek to promote love and good works? And how can this be most effectually accomplished? Surely by walking in love ourselves, and faithfully treading the path of good works in our own private life. For ourselves, we confess we are thoroughly sick of hollow profession. High truth on the lips and low practice in daily life, is one of the crying evils of this our day. We talk of grace; but fail in common righteousness—fail in the plainest moral duties, in our daily private life. We boast of our "position" and our "standing;" but we are deplorably lax as to our condition and state.

May the Lord, in His infinite goodness, stir up all our hearts to more thorough earnestness in the pursuit of good works, so that we may more fully adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things!

Jehovah's Demand and Satan's Objections: Part 2

It is marvelous, and yet not marvelous, to note the way in which Satan disputes every inch of the ground, in the grand question of Israel's deliverance from the land of Egypt. He would allow them to worship in the land, or near the land; but their absolute and complete deliverance from the land is what he will, by every means in his power, obstinately resist.

But Jehovah, blessed be His eternal name, is above the great adversary; and He will have His people fully delivered, spite of all the powers of hell and earth combined. The divine standard can never be lowered the breadth of a hair. "Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness." This is Jehovah's demand, and it must be made good, though the enemy were to offer ten thousand objections. The divine glory is intimately involved in the entire separation of Israel from Egypt, and from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. " The people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations." To this the enemy demurs; and to hinder it lie puts forth all his malignant power, and all his crafty schemes. We have already considered two of his objections, and we shall now proceed to the third.

3. " And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh; and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord your God; but who are they that shall go? And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord. And he said unto them. Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones; look to it, for evil is before you. Not so; go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord, for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence." Exod. 10:8-11.

These words contain a very solemn lesson for the hearts of all christian parents. They reveal a deep and crafty purpose of the arch-enemy. If he cannot keep the parents in Egypt, he will, at least, seek to keep the children, and, in this way, mar the testimony to the truth of God, tarnish His glory in His people, and hinder their blessing in Him. Parents in the wilderness and their children in Egypt would be A terrible anomaly—a thing wholly opposed to the mind of God, and utterly subversive of His glory in the walk of His people.

We should ever remember—strange that we should ever forget!—that our children are part of ourselves. God's creative hand has made thorn such, and surely what the Creator has joined together the Redeemer would not put asunder. Hence we invariably find that Sod links a man and his house together. " Thou and thy house" is a phrase of deep practical import. It. evolves the very highest consequences, and conveys the richest consolation to every christian parent; and, we may truly add, the neglect of it has led to the most disastrous consequences in thousands of family circles.

Very many—alas! how many—christian parents, through an utterly false application of the doctrines of grace, have allowed their children to grow up around them in willfulness and worldliness; and, while so doing, they have comforted themselves with the thought that they could do nothing, and that, in God's time, their children would, if included in the eternal purpose, be gathered in. They have virtually lost sight of the grand practical truth that the One who has decreed the end has fixed the means of reaching it, and that it is the height of folly to think of gaining the end while neglecting the means.

Do we, then, mean to assert that all the children of christian parents are, of necessity, included in the number of God's elect—that they will all be infallibly saved—and that if not it is the parents' fault. We mean to assert nothing of the kind. " Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world." We know nothing of God's eternal decrees and purposes. No mortal eye has scanned the page of His secret counsels.

What, then, is involved in the weighty expression, "Thou and thy house?" There are two things involved in it. In the first place, there is a most precious privilege; and, in the second place, a holy responsibility. It is unquestionably the privilege of all Christian parents to count on God for their children; but it is also their bounden duty - do we dislike the homely word?- to train their children for God.

Here we have the sum and substance of the whole latter—the two sides of this great question. The word of God, in every part of it, connects a man with is house. " This day is salvation come to this house." "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." (Luke 19; Acts 16) Here lies the solid basis of the privilege and responsibility of parents. Acting on the weighty principle here laid down, we are at once to take God's ground for our children, and diligently bring them up for Him, counting on Him for the result. We are to begin at the very beginning, and go steadily on, from day to day, month to month, year to year, training our children for God. Just as a wise and skilful gardener begins, while his fruit trees are young and tender, to train the branches along the wall where they may catch the genial rays of the sun, so should we, while our children are young and plastic, seek to mold them for God. It would be the height of folly, on the part of the gardener, to wait till the branches become old and gnarled, and then seek to train them. He would find it a hopeless task. And most surely it is the very loftiest height of folly, on our part, to suffer our children to remain for years and years under the molding hand of Satan, and the world, and sin, ere we rouse ourselves to the holy business of molding them for God.

Let us not be misunderstood. Let no one suppose that we mean to teach that grace is hereditary, or that we can, by any act or system of training, make Christians of our children. Nothing is further from our thoughts. Grace is sovereign, and the children of christian parents must, like all others, be born of water and of the Spirit, ere they can see or enter the kingdom of God. All this is as plain and as clear as scripture can make it; but, on the other hand, scripture is equally clear and plain as to the duty of christian parents to "bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

And what does this "bringing up " involve? What does it mean? In what does it consist? These, surely, are weighty questions for the heart and conscience of every christian parent. It is to be feared that very few of us indeed really understand what christian training means, or how it is to be carried on. One thing is certain—namely, that christian training means a great deal more than drilling our children into religion, making the Bible a task book, teaching our children to repeat texts and hymns like a parrot, and turning the family circle into a school. No doubt it is very well to store the memory of a child with scripture and sweet hymns. No one would think of calling this in question. But is it not too frequently the case that religion is made a weariness to the child and the Bible a repulsive school book?

This will never do. What is really needed is to surround our children with a thoroughly christian atmosphere, from their earliest moments—to let them breathe the pure air of the new creation—to let them see in their parents the genuine fruits of spiritual life—love, peace, purity, tenderness, holy disinterestedness, genuine kindness, unselfishness, loving thoughtfulness of others. These things have a mighty moral influence upon the plastic mind of the child, and the Spirit of God will assuredly use them in drawing the heart to Christ—the center and the source of all these beauteous graces and heavenly influences.

But, on the other hand, who can attempt to define the pernicious effect produced upon our children by our inconsistencies, by our bad temper, our selfish ways, our worldliness and covetousness? Can we be said to bring our children out of Egypt when Egypt's principles and habits are seen in our whole career? It may be we use and teach the phraseology of the wilderness or of Canaan; but our ways, our manners, our habits are those of Egypt, and our children are quick sighted enough to mark the gross inconsistency, and the effect upon them is deplorable beyond expression. We have but little idea of the way in which the unfaithfulness of christian parents has contributed to swell the tide of infidelity which is rising around us with such appalling rapidity.

It may be said, and said with a measure of truth, that children are responsible spite of the inconsistency of their parents. But most assuredly, whatever amount of truth there may be in this statement, it is not for parents to urge it. It ill becomes us to fall back upon the responsibility of our children in view of our failure in meeting our own. They are responsible, no doubt, but so are we; and if we fail to exhibit before the eyes of our children those living and unanswerable proofs that we ourselves have left Egypt, and left it forever, need we marvel if they remain? Of what possible use is it to talk about wilderness life, and our being in Canaan, while our manners, our habits, our ways, our deportment, our spirit, the bent of our whole life bears and exhibits the impress of Egypt? None whatever. The language of the life gives the lie to the language of the lips, and we know full well that the former is far more telling than the latter. Our children will judge, from our conduct, not from our talk, where we really are; and is this to be wondered at? Is not conduct the real index of conviction? If we have really left, Egypt, it will be seen in our ways; and if it be not seen in our ways, the talk of the lips is worse than worthless; it only tends to create disgust in the minds of our children, and to lead them to the conclusion that Christianity is a mere sham.

All this is deeply solemn, and should lead christian parents into the most profound exercise of soul in the presence of God. We may depend upon it there is a great deal more involved in this question of training than many of us are aware of. Nothing but the direct power of the Spirit of God can fit parents for the great and holy work of training their children, in these days in which we live, and in the midst of the scene through which we are passing. That word falls upon the heart with heavenly sweetness and power: " My grace is sufficient for thee." We can, with fullest confidence, reckon upon God to bless the very feeblest effort to lead our dear children forth out of Egypt. But effort must be made, and made, too, with real, fixed earnest purpose of heart. It will not do to fold our arms and say, "Grace is not hereditary. We cannot convert our children, If they are of the number of God's elect they must be saved, if not they cannot."

All this is one-sided and utterly false. It will not stand; it cannot bear the light of the judgment-seat of Christ. Parents cannot get rid of the holy responsibility of training their children for God, that responsibility begins with, and is based upon, the relationship; and the right discharge of it demands continual exercise of soul before God, in reference to our children. We have to remember that the foundation of character is laid in the nursery. It is in the early days of infancy that christian training begins, and it must be steadily pursued, from day to day, month to month, and year to year, in simple, hearty dependence upon God who will, most assuredly, in due time, hear and answer the earnest cry of a parent's heart, and crown, with His rich blessing, the faithful labors of a parent's hands.

And, while on this subject of training children, we would, in true brotherly love, offer a suggestion to all christian parents, as to the immense importance of inculcating a spirit of implicit obedience. If we mistake not, there is very wide-spread failure in this respect, for which we have to judge ourselves before God. Whether through a false tenderness, or indolence, we suffer our children to walk according to their own will and pleasure, and the strides which they make along this road are alarmingly rapid. They pass from stage to stage, with more than railway speed, until, at length, they reach the terrible goal of despising their parents altogether, throwing their authority entirely overboard, and trampling beneath their feet the holy order of. God, and turning the domestic circle into a scene of godless misrule and confusion.

How dreadful this is we need not say, or how utterly opposed to the mind of God, as revealed. in His holy word. But have we not ourselves to blame for it? God has put into the parents' hands the reins of governments, and the rod of authority, but if parents, through indolence, suffer the reins to drop from their hands; and if through false tenderness or moral weakness, the rod of authority is not applied, need we marvel, if the children grow up in utter lawlessness? How could it be otherwise? Children are, as a rule, very much what we make them. If they are made to be obedient, they will be so; and if they are allowed to have their own way, the result will be accordingly.

Are we then to be continually chucking the reins and brandishing the rod? By no means. This would be to break the spirit of the child, instead of subduing his will. Where parental authority is thoroughly established, the reins may lie gently on the neck, and the rod be allowed to stand in the corner. The child should be taught, from his earliest hour, that the parent only wills his good, but the parent's will must be supreme. Nothing is simpler. A look is enough for a properly trained child. There is no need whatever to be continually hawking our authority; indeed nothing is more contemptible whether in a husband, a father, or a master. There is a quiet dignity about one who really possesses authority; whereas the spasmodic efforts of weakness only draw out contempt.

We have found, through many years of experience and careful observation, that the real secret of successful training lies in the proper adjustment of firmness and tenderness. If the parent, from the very beginning, establishes his authority, he may exercise as much tenderness as the most loving heart can desire or display. When the child is really made to feel that the reins and the rod are under the direct control of sound judgment and true affection, and not of a sour temper and an arbitrary will, there will be comparatively little difficulty in training him.

In a word, firmness and tenderness are the two essential ingredients in all sound education—a firmness which the child will not dare to question—a tenderness which takes account of the child's every real want and right desire. It is a very poor affair indeed if the only idea which a child can form of parental authority be that of an arbitrary interference with his every wish, and a cold indifference to his every little want. This will never do. It is not thus that our heavenly Father deals with us; and He is to be our model in this as in all beside. If it be written, and it is written, " Children, obey your parents in all things;" it is also, in beautiful adjusting power, written, " Fathers, provoke not your children, lest they be discouraged." Again, if it be said, and it is said, " Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this is right;" it is also said, " Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." In short, the child must be taught to obey; but the obedient child must be allowed to breathe an atmosphere of tenderness, and to walk up and down in the sunshine of parental affection. This is our idea of christian education.

Most gladly would we dwell further on this great practical subject; but we trust sufficient has been said to rouse the hearts and consciences of all christian parents to a sense of their high and holy responsibilities in reference to their beloved offspring; and also to show that there is a great deal more involved in bringing our children out of Egypt, and taking God's ground for them, than many of us are aware of. And if the reading of the foregoing lines be used of God to lead any parent into prayerful exercise in this most weighty matter, we Shall not have penned them in vain.

4. We shall close this paper with the briefest possible reference to the enemy's fourth and last objection, which is embodied in the following words, " And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you." He would let them go, but without resources to serve the Lord. If lie could not keep them in Egypt, he would send them away crippled and shorn. Such is the enemy's last demurrer.

Butt mark the noble reply of a devoted heart. It is morally grand. " And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt-offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind: for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and," ponder these suggestive words! " we know not with, what we must serve the Lord until We come thither."

We must be fully and clearly on God's ground and at His stand-point, before ever we can form any true idea of the nature and extent of His claims. It is utterly impossible, while surrounded by a worldly atmosphere, and governed by a worldly spirit, worldly principles, and worldly objects to have any just sense of what is due to God. We must stand on the lofty ground of accomplished redemption—in the full orbed light of the new creation—apart from this present evil world, ere we can properly serve Christ. It is only when, in the power of an indwelling spirit, we see where we are brought by the death and resurrection of Christ—" three days' journey"—that we can at all understand what true christian service is; and then we shall clearly see and fully own that " all we are and all we have belong to Him." " We know not with what we must serve the Lord until we come thither." Precious words! may we better understand their force, meaning and practical application! Moses, the man of God, meets all Satan's objections by a simple but decided adherence to Jehovah's demand, " Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness."

This is the true principle, the true method, the true course, at all times, and under all circumstances. The divine standard must be maintained in all its integrity, at all cost, and spite of all objections. If that standard be lowered, the breadth of a hair, the enemy gains his point, and christian service and testimony are wholly out of the question.

May the eternal Spirit lead our souls into the wide field of practical truth indicated by the heading of this paper, " Jehovah's demand and Satan's objections!"

" Many were the chains that bound me,

But the Lord has loosed them all:

Arms of mercy now surround. me,

Favors these, nor few nor small:

Savior, keep me!

Keep thy servant lest he fall."

Jehovah's Demand and Satan's Objections: Part 1

"Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness." Exod. 5:1.

What a volume of truth is contained in the sentence which we have just penned! It is one of those comprehensive and suggestive passages which lie scattered up and down the divine volume, and which seize, with peculiar power, upon the heart, and open up a vast field of most precious truth. It sets forth, in plain and forcible language, the blessed purpose of the Lord God of Israel to have His people completely delivered from Egypt and separated unto Himself, in order that they might feast with Him in the wilderness. Nothing could satisfy His heart, in reference to them, but their entire emancipation from the land of death and darkness. He would free them not only from Egypt's brick-kilns and task-masters, but from its temples and its altars, and from all its habits and all its associations, from its principles, its maxims, and its fashions. In a word, they must be a thoroughly separated people, ere they could hold a feast to Him in the wilderness.

Thus it was with Israel, and thus it is with us. We, too, must be a fully and consciously delivered people ere we can properly serve, worship, or walk with God,. We must not only know the forgiveness of our sins, and our entire freedom from guilt, wrath, judgment, and condemnation; but also our complete deliverance front this present evil world and all its belongings, ere we can intelligently serve the Lord. The world is to the Christian what Egypt was to Israel; only, of course our separation from the world is not local or physical, but moral and spiritual. Israel left Egypt in person; we leave the world in spirit and principle. Israel left Egypt in fact; we leave the world in faith. It was a real, out-and-out, thorough separation for them, and it is the same for us. " Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness."

1. To this rigid separation, as we very well know, Satan had and still has many objections. His first objection was set forth in the following words spoken by the lips of Pharaoh, " Go ye, awl sacrifice to your God in the land." These were subtle words—words well calculated to ensnare a heart that was not in communion with the mind of God. For it might with great plausibility and apparent force, be argued, Is it not uncommonly liberal on the part of the king of Egypt to offer you toleration for your peculiar mode of worship? Is it not a great stretch of liberality to offer your religion a place on the public platform? Surely you can carry on your religion as well as other people. There is room for all. Why this demand for separation? Why not take common ground with your neighbors? There is no need surely for such extreme narrowness.

All this might seem very reasonable. But then mark Jehovah's high and holy standard! Hearken to the plain and positive declaration, " Let my people go I" There is no mistaking this. It is impossible, in the face of such a statement, to remain in Egypt. The most plausible reasonings that ever could be advanced vanish into thin air in the presence of the authoritative demand of the Lord. God of Israel. If He says, " Let my people go," then go we must, spite of all the opposing power of earth and hell, men and devils. There is no use in reasoning, disputing, or discussing. We must obey. Egyptians may think for themselves; Jehovah must think for Israel; the sequel will prove who is right.

And here let us just offer our readers a word, in passing, as to the subject of " narrowness," about which we hear so much now-a-days. The real question is, " Who is to fix the boundaries of the Christian's faith? Is it man or God—human opinion or divine revelation?" When this question is answered, the whole matter is easily settled. There are some minds terribly scared by the bugbear of " narrow-mindedness." But then we have to inquire what is narrowness, and what breadth of mind? Now, what we understand by a narrow mind is simply a mind which refuses to take in and be governed by the whole truth of God. A mind governed by human opinions, human reasonings, worldly maxims, selfish interests, self-will—this we unhesitatingly pronounce to be a narrow mind.

On the other hand, a mind beautifully subject to the authority of Christ—a mind that bows down, with reverent submission, to the voice of holy scripture—a mind that sternly refuses to go the breadth of a hair beyond the written word—that absolutely rejects everything—no matter what or whence it comes—which is not based upon " Thus saith the Lord,"—this is what we call a broad mind.

Reader, is it not—must it not be so? Is not God's word—His mind, infinitely more comprehensive, wide, and full than the word—the mind of man?. Is there not infinitely greater breadth in the holy scriptures than in all the human writings under the sun? Does it not argue much greater breadth of mind, largeness of heart, and devotion of soul to be governed by the thoughts of God than by our own thoughts or the thoughts of our fellows? It seems to us there can be but one reply to these questions; and hence the entire subject of narrowness resolves itself into this simple but very telling motto, " We must be as narrow as Christ and as broad as Christ."

Yes, here lies the grand solution of this and of every ether difficulty. We must view everything from this blessed standpoint, and then our entire range of vision will be correct, and all our conclusions thoroughly sound. But if Christ be not our standpoint, but self, or man, or the world, then our entire range of vision is false, and all our conclusions thoroughly unsound.

All this is as clear as a sunbeam to a single eye and An honest and loyal heart. And really if the eye be not single and the heart true to Christ, and the conscience subject to the word, it is a complete loss of time to argue or discuss. Of what possible use can it be to Argue with a man who, instead of obeying the word of God, is only seeking to turn aside its edge? None whatever. It is a hopeless task to reason with one who has never taken in the mighty moral import of that most precious word—obey.

We must now return to our immediate theme. There something uncommonly fine in Moses' reply to Satan's first objection, " It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord Dar God; lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone? We will go three days' journey into the wilder-

mess, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us." Exod. 8:26.

There would have been a lack of moral fitness in presenting to Jehovah, in sacrifice, the object of Egyptian worship. But, more than this, Egypt was not the place in which to erect an altar to the true God. Abraham had no altar when he turned aside into Egypt. He abandoned his worship and his strangership when he went down thither; and if Abraham could not worship there, neither could his seed. An Egyptian might ask, why? But it is one thing to ask a question, and another thing to understand the answer. How could the Egyptian mind enter into the reasons of a true Israelite's conduct? Impossible. What could such an one know of the meaning of a " three days' journey?" Absolutely nothing. " Beloved, the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." The motives which actuate, and the objects which animate, the true believer lie far beyond the world's range of vision; and we may rest assured that in the exact proportion in which the world can enter into and appreciate a Christian's motives must the Christian be unfaithful to his Lord.

We speak, of course, of proper christian motives. No doubt there is much in a Christian's life that the world can admire and value. Integrity, honesty, truthfulness, disinterested kindness, care for the poor, self-denial. All these things may be understood and appreciated; but, admitting all this, we return, with deeper emphasis, to the apostolic statement that " The world knoweth us not," and if we want to walk with God—if we would hold a feast unto Him—if it is our heart's true and earnest desire to run a consistent heavenly course, we must break with the world altogether, and break with self also, and take our stand outside the camp with a world-rejected heaven-accepted Christ. May we do so, with fixed purpose of heart, to the glory of His own precious and peerless name!

2. Satan's second objection is very near akin to his first. If he cannot succeed in keeping Israel in Egypt, he will at least try to keep them as near to it as possible. " I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away." Chapter viii. 28.

There is very much more damage done to the cause of Christ by an apparent, partial, half-hearted giving up of the world, than by remaining in it altogether. Wavering, undecided, half-and-half professors injure the testimony and dishonor the Lord, far more than thorough out-and-out worldlings. And, further, we may say, there is a very wide difference indeed between giving up certain worldly things, and giving up the world itself. A person may lay aside certain forms of worldliness, and, all the while, retain the world deep down in the heart. We may give up the theater, the ball room, the race course, the billiard table, the concert, the flower show, and the croquet ground; and yet cling to the world all the same. We may lop off some of the branches, and yet cling, with fonder tenacity, to the old trunk.

This must be carefully seen to. We feel persuaded that what hundreds of professing Christians need is to make a clean break with the world—yes, with the world, in all the length and breadth, depth and fullness. of that very comprehensive word. It is utterly impossible to make a proper start, much less to make any progress, while the heart is playing fast and loose with the holy claims of Christ. We do not hesitate to express it as our settled conviction that, in thousands of cases, where souls complain of doubts and fears, ups and downs, darkness and heaviness, lack of assurance, and comfort, of light, liberty, joy, peace, and vivid realization, it is owing to the simple fact that they have never really broken with the world. They either seek to hold a feast to the Lord in Egypt, or they remain so near as to be easily drawn back again—so near that they are neither one thing nor the other—so near that whatever influence they possess tells all the wrong way—tells against Christ and for the enemy.

How can such people be happy? How can their peace flow as a river? How can they possibly walk in the light of a Father's countenance, or in the joy of a Savior's presence? How can the blessed beams of that sun that shines in the new creation reach them through the murky atmosphere that envelopes the land of death and darkness? Impossible. They must break with the world, and make a clear, decided, wholehearted surrender of themselves to Christ. There must be a full Christ for the heart and a full heart for Christ.

Here, we may rest assured, lies the grand secret of christian progress. We must make a proper start before ever we can get on; and in order to make a proper start we must break our links with the world, or rather, we must believe and practically carry out the fact that God has broken them for us, in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. The cross has separated us forever from this present evil world. It has not merely delivered us from the eternal consequences of our sins, but from the present power of sin, and from the principles, maxims, and fashions of a world that lieth in the hands of the wicked one.

It is one of Satan's masterpieces to lead professing Christians to rest satisfied with looking to the cross for salvation while remaining in the world, or occupying a border position—" not going very far away." This is a terrible snare, against which we most solemnly ware the christian reader. What is the remedy? True heart-devotedness to, and fellowship with, a rejected and glorified Christ. To walk with Christ, to delight in Him, to feed upon Him, we must be apart from this godless, christless, wicked world—apart from it in the spirit of our minds, and in the affections of our hearts—apart from it, not merely in its gross forms of moral pravity, or the wild extravagance of its folly and gaiety, but apart from its religion, its politics, and its philanthropy—apart from the world in all that goes to make up that extensive phrase.

But here we may be asked, "Is Christianity merely a stripping, an emptying, a giving up? Does it only consist of prohibition and negation?" We answer,. with hearty and blissful emphasis, No! A thousand times, No! Christianity is pre-eminently positive—intensely real—divinely satisfying. What does it give us in lieu of what it takes from us? It gives us " unsearchable riches" in place of " dung and dross." It gives us " an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven," instead of a poor passing bubble on the stream of time. It gives us Christ, the goy of the heart of God—the object of heaven's worship—the theme of angels' song—the eternal sunlight of the new creation, in lieu of a few moments of sinful gratification and guilty pleasure. And finally, it gives us an eternity of ineffable bliss and glory in the Father's house above, instead of an eternity in the awful flames of hell.

Reader, what sayest thou to these things? Is not this a good exchange? Can we not find here the most cogent reasons for giving up the world? It sometimes happens that men favor us with their reasons for resigning this, that, and the other branch of worldliness; but it strikes us that all such reasons might be summed up in one, and that one be thus enunciated " A reason for resigning the world—I hare found Christ." This is the real way to put the matter. Men do not find it very hard to give up cinders for diamonds—ashes for pearls—dross for gold. No; reader, and in the same way, when one has tasted the preciousness of Christ, there is no difficulty in giving up the world.; nay, the difficulty would be to retain it. If Christ fills the heart, the world is not only driven out, but kept out. We not only turn our back upon Egypt, but we go far enough away from it never to return. And for what? To do nothing? To have nothing 9 To be gloomy, morose, melancholy, sour, or cynical? No.; but to " hold a feast to the Lord." True it is " in the wilderness;" but then the wilderness is heaven begun when we have Christ there with us. He is our heaven, blessed be His name!—the light of our eyes, the joy of our hearts, the food of our souls, for even Heaven would be no heaven without Him; and the wilderness itself is turned into a heaven by His dear, bright, soul satisfying presence.

Nor is this all. It is not merely that the heart is thoroughly satisfied with Christ; but the mind also is divinely tranquilized as to all the details of the path—the difficulties—the questions—the knotty points that so constantly crop up to trouble and perplex those who do not know the deep blessedness of making Christ their standpoint, and viewing all in direct reference to Him.

For instance, if I am called to act for Christ in any given case, and instead of looking at the matter simply in its bearing upon Him and His glory, I look at how it will affect me, I shall, most assuredly, get into darkness and hopeless perplexity, and reach a wrong conclusion. But if I simply look at Him and consider His glory, and see how the matter bears upon Him, I shall see the thing as clear as a sunbeam, and move, with holy elasticity and firm purpose, along that blessed path which is ever illuminated by the bright beams of God's approving countenance. A single eye never looks at consequences, but looks straight to Christ, and then all is simple and plain; the body is full of light, and the path marked by plain decision.

This is what is so needed in this day of easy-going profession, worldly religiousness, self-seeking, and manpleasing. We want to make Christ our only standpoint—to look at self, the world, and the so-called church from thence—to make Him our center, and reason from Him, utterly regardless of consequences. Oh! that it may be so with us, through the infinite mercy of our God. Then we shall understand something of the force, depth, beauty, and fullness of the opening sentence of this paper, " Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness."

The Three Crosses: Part 2

Having dwelt, for a little, on that marvelous center cross to which the Lord of Glory was nailed, for our redemption, we shall now turn to the other two, and seek to learn some solemn and weighty lessons front the inspired record concerning the men who hung thereon. We shall find in these two men samples of the two great classes into which the human family is divided, from the beginning to the end of time, namely the receivers and the rejecters of the Christ of God—those who believe in Jesus, and those who believe not. In the first place, it is of the utmost importance to see that there was no essential difference between those two men. In nature, in their recorded history, in their circumstances, they were one. Some have labored to establish a distinction between them; but for what object it is difficult to say, unless it be to dim the luster of the grace that shines forth in the narrative of the penitent thief. It is maintained that there must have been some event in his previous history to account for his marvelous end—some redeeming feature—some hopeful circumstance on account of which his prayer was heard at the last.

But scripture is totally silent as to aught of this kind. And not only is it silent as to any redeeming or qualifying circumstance, but it actually gives us the testimony of two inspired witnesses to prove that up to the very moment in the which Luke introduces him to our notice, he, like his fellow, on the other side, was engaged in the terrible work of railing on and blaspheming the Son of God. In Matt. 27:44, we read that " The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth." So also in Mark 15:32, They that were crucified with him reviled him."

Now, this is divinely conclusive. It proves, beyond all question, that there was no difference between the two thieves. They were both condemned malefactors; and not only so, but when actually on the very confines of the eternal world, they were both occupied in the awful sin of reviling the blessed Son of God.

It is utterly vain, therefore, for any one to seek to establish a distinction between these two men, inasmuch as they were alike in their nature, in their guilt, in their criminality, and in their profane wickedness. There was no difference up to the moment in which the arrow of conviction entered the soul of him whom we call the penitent thief. The more clearly this is seen, the more the sovereign grace of God shines out in all its blessed brightness. " There is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." And, on the other hand, " There is no difference, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him." Compare Rom. 3:22, 23 with chapter 10:12.

The only standard by which men are to be measured is " the glory of God; " and, inasmuch as all have come short of that—the best as well as the worst of men—there is no difference. Were it merely a question of conscience, or of human righteousness, there might be some difference. Were the standard of measurement merely human, then indeed some shades of distinction might easily be established. But it is not so. All must be ruled by the glory of God; and, thus ruled, all are alike deficient. " There is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

But, blessed be God, there is another side to this great question. " The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him." The riches of the grace of God are such as to reach down to the very deepest depths of human ruin, guilt and misery. If the light of the divine glory reveals—as nothing else could reveal—man's utter ruin; the riches of divine grace, as displayed in the Person and work of Christ, has perfectly met that ruin, and provided a remedy in every way adequate to meet the claims of the divine glory.

But let us see how all this is illustrated in the striking and beautiful narrative of the penitent thief.

It is very evident that the Spirit of God, in the evangelist Luke, takes up this interesting case at that special point in the which a divine work had really begun. Matthew and Mark present him as a blaspheming malefactor. We can hardly conceive a deeper shade of moral turpitude than that which he according to their inspired record exhibits to our view! There is not so much as a single relieving tint. All is dark as midnight—dark almost as hell; yet not too dark to be reached by the light that was shining straight down from heaven through the mysterious medium of that center cross.

It is well to get a very profound sense of our true condition by nature. *We cannot possibly go too deep in this line. The ruin of nature is complete—of nature in all its phases and in all its stages. If all have not gone to the same length as the thief on the cross—if all have not brought forth the same fruit—if all have not clothed themselves in forms equally hideous, it is no thanks to their nature. The human heart is a seed plot in which may be found the seed of every crime that has ever stained the page of human history. If the seed has not germinated and fructified, it is not owing to a difference in the soil, but a difference in surrounding circumstances and influences.

The testimony of scripture on this great question, is distinct and conclusive, " There is no difference." Men do not like this. It is too leveling for them. Self-righteousness is cut up by the roots by this sweeping statement of inspiration. Man likes to establish distinctions. He cannot bear to be placed in the same category with the Magdalenes, and the Samaritans and such like. But it must be so, and cannot be otherwise. Grace levels all distinctions, now; and judgment will level them all, by and by. If we are saved, it is in company with Magdalenes and Samaritans; and if we are lost, it will be in company with such likewise. There will, no doubt, be degrees of glory; as there will be degrees of punishment; but as to the real nature and character of the human heart, " there is no difference." " The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." What heart? Man's heart—the heart of the writer and the reader of these lines. "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." Out of what heart? Man's heart—the heart of the writer and the reader of these lines. These things could not come out of the heart if they were not there; and if they do not come out in action, it is not because they are not there, but that circumstances have operated to prevent.

Such is the clear and unvarying testimony of holy scripture; and whenever the Spirit of God begins to operate on the heart and conscience of a man He produces the deep sense and full confession of the truth of this testimony. Every divinely convicted soul is ready to adopt as his own these words, " In me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good." Every truly contrite spirit owns the fact of his total ruin. All wisdom's children justify God, and condemn themselves. There is not a single exception; and not only so, but every repentant sinner will, without any hesitation, own himself the chief. All who are really brought under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit will, without any reserve, set their seal—the seal of their whole moral being to the inspired statement, " there is no difference."

Any who hesitate to own this have yet to learn themselves, in the light of the holiness of God. The most refined, polished and cultivated person, if enlightened by the Spirit of God, will readily take his place with the thief on the cross, inasmuch as the divine light shining in upon him, reveals the hidden springs of his being, leads him to see the profound depths of his nature—the roots and sources of things. Thus while relatives, friends and acquaintances—mere onlookers, judging from the surface, may think very highly of his character, he himself, knowing better, because of divine light, can only exclaim, "O wretched man that I am "—" Behold I am vile "—" Woe is me, I am undone "—" I am a sinful man."

These are the proper utterances of a divinely convicted soul; and it is only when we can thus truly and heartily express ourselves that we are really prepared to appreciate the riches of the grace of God as unfolded in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Grace takes up real sinners. " The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost; " and the more fully I realize my lost estate—my hopeless ruin—my utter wretchedness, the more fully I can enter into the fullness and freeness of God's salvation—a salvation purchased by the blood of the cross.

Hence we see how brightly grace shines in the salvation of the thief on the cross. There can be no possible mistake as to him. Clearly he had no good works to trust in. He had performed no deeds of charity. Of baptism and the Lord's Supper he knew nothing. The rites, ceremonies and ordinances of religion had done—could do nothing for him. In a word, his case was a thoroughly hopeless one, so far as he was concerned. For what could he do! Whither could he turn! His hands and his feet were nailed fast to a malefactor's cross. It was useless to talk to him about doing or going. His hands, while he had the use of them, had been stretched forth in deeds of violence; and now they were nailed to the tree, and could do nothing. His feet, while he had the use of them, had trodden the terrible path of the transgressor; and now they were nailed to the tree, and could not carry him anywhere.

But, reader, note this. Although the poor thief had no longer the use of. his hands and his feet—so indispensable to a religion of works—his heart and his tongue were free; and these are the very things that are called into exercise in a religion of faith, as we read in that lovely tenth of Romans, " With the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Precious words! How suited to the thief on the cross! How suited and seasonable for every poor helpless, hopeless, self-destroyed sinner! For we must all be saved in like manner as the thief on the cross. There are no two ways to heaven. There is not one way for the religionist, the moralist, the pharisee, and another way for the malefactor. There is but one way, and that way is marked from the very throne of God down to where the guilty sinner lies, dead in trespasses and sins, with the footprints of redeeming love; and from thence back to the throne by the precious atoning blood of Christ. This is the way to heaven—a way paved with love, sprinkled with blood, and trodden by a happy holy band of redeemed worshippers gathered from all the ends of the earth, to chant the heavenly anthem, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain."

We have said that the heart of the thief was free—yes, free under the mighty action of the Holy Ghost, to turn toward that blessed One who hung beside him—that One whom he had just been reviling, but on whom lie could now fix his repentant gaze, and to whom he could now bear the noblest testimony ever uttered by men or angels.

But it is most instructive and interesting to mark the progress of the work of God in the soul of the dying thief. Indeed the work of God in any soul is ever of the deepest possible interest. The operations of the Holy Spirit in us must never be separated from the work of Christ for us; and, we may add, both the one and the other are founded upon, and inseparably linked with the eternal counsels of God with respect to us. This is what makes it all so real, so solid, so entirely divine. It is not of man. It is all of God, from first to last—from the first dawning of conviction in the soul until it is introduced into the full orbed light of the glorious gospel of the grace of God. The Lord be praised that it is so! Were it otherwise—were there a single atom of the creature in it, from beginning to end, that one atom would neutralize and destroy the whole, and render it not worth having.

Now in the case of the penitent thief, we discern the first touch of the Eternal Spirit—the very earliest fruit of His sanctifying work, in the words addressed to his fellow, " Dost thou not fear God?" He does not say, " Dost thou not fear punishment?" The sanctification of the Spirit, in every case, is evidenced by the fear of the Lord, and a holy abhorrence of evil, for its own sake. " The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." There may be a fear of judgment, a fear of hell, a fear of the consequences of sin, without the smallest particle of hatred of sin itself. But where the Spirit of God is really at work in the heart He produces the real sense of sin and the judgment thereof in the sight of God.

This is repentance; let the reader ponder it deeply. It is a grand reality; an essential element, in every case. " God commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent." (Acts 17:30.) There is no getting over this—no setting it aside. Some may seek to do away with man's responsibility on the plea of his inability to do anything right or good. They may seek to persuade us that it is useless, yea unsound, to call upon men to repent and believe, seeing that men can do nothing of themselves. But the question is, what is the meaning of the words which we have just culled from the apostle's address at Athens? Did Paul preach the truth? Was he sound in the faith? Was he sufficiently high in doctrine? Well then Paul declares, in the clearest and most emphatic manner, that " God commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent." Will any turn round and say they cannot? Will any venture to deny man's responsibility to obey a divine command? If so, where are they? On very dangerous ground. If God commands all men to repent, woe be to those who refuse to do so; and woe be to those who teach that they are not responsible to do so.

But let us devote a few moments to the examination of this great practical question in the light of the New Testament. Let us see whether our Lord and His apostles called upon men—" all men—everywhere, to repent."

In the third chapter of Matthew's gospel, we read, " In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

It will, perhaps, be said that John addressed himself specially to Israel—a people in recognized relationship with Jehovah—and hence this passage cannot be adduced in proof of the universal and abiding necessity of repentance. Well we merely quote it here in order to show that man, whether Jew or Gentile, is responsible to repent, and that the very first voice which falls upon the ear, in the time of the New Testament, is heard calling sinners to repentance. Was the Baptist right or wrong? Was he trespassing upon the domain of sound doctrine when he summoned men to repent? Would some of our modern theologians have called him aside, after he was done preaching, and taken him to task for deceiving men by leading them to suppose that they could repent? We should like to have heard the Baptist's reply.

But we have the example of a greater than John the Baptist, as our warrant for preaching repentance, for in Matt. 4 we read, " From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Dare any one turn round and say to the Divine Preacher, " We cannot repent. We have no power. We are not responsible!" Ah! no; men may argue and reason, and talk theology; but there stands the living record before us—Jesus called upon men to repent, and that, too, without entering, in any way, upon the question of man's ability here or there. He addressed man as a responsible being, as one who was imperatively called to judge himself and his ways, to confess his sins, and repent in dust and ashes. The only true place for a sinner is the place of repentance; and if he refuses to take that place, in the presence of divine grace, he will be compelled to take it in the presence of divine judgment, when repentance will be too late. " God commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent."

Passing on to the opening of the Acts of the Apostles, we are privileged to hearken to Peter's great sermon on the day of Pentecost—the most fruitful sermon ever preached in this world—a sermon crowned with the glorious result of three thousand souls! And what did Peter preach? He preached Christ and he called upon men to repent. Yes, the great apostle of the circumcision insisted upon repentance—self-judgment—true contrition of heart before God. " Then said Peter unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38.) And, again, " Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." Chapter iii. 19.

Was Peter right in calling upon men to repent and be converted? Would any one be justified in saying to him, at the close of his preaching, " How can men repent How can they be converted? They can do nothing. They are not responsible." We should vastly like to hear Peter's reply. One thing is certain, the power of the Holy Ghost accompanied the preaching. He set His seal to it, and that is enough. " God commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent." Woe to all who refuse.

We have already referred to the preaching of the blessed apostle of the Gentiles, and the great teacher of the church of God. He himself, referring to his ministry at Ephesus, declares in the audience of the elders, " I kept back nothing that was profitable, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 20:20, 21.) So also, in his marvelous address to Agrippa, he says, " I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision; but showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance."

Thus we have a body of evidence, drawn from scripture, such as cannot be gainsayed, proving the universal and abiding necessity of repentance. " God commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent." There is no avoiding this. Let men beware how they set it aside. No system of theology can be sound that denies the responsibility of the sinner to repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

We have digressed; but the digression was needful, and we hope, in our next issue, to return to our theme.

The Three Crosses: Part 1

We want the reader to turn aside with us for a few moments, and meditate upon those three crosses. If we mistake not, he will find a very wide field of truth opened before him in the brief but comprehensive record given at the head of this article.

I. And first of all, we must gaze at the center cross, or rather at Him who was nailed thereon—Jesus of Nazareth—that blessed One who had spent His life in labors of love, healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, opening the eyes of the blind, raising the dead, feeding the hungry, drying the widow's tears, meeting every form of human need, ever ready to drop the tear of true sympathy with every child of sorrow—whose meat and drink it was to do the will of God, and to do good to man—a holy, spotless, perfectly gracious man—the only pure untainted sheaf of human fruit ever seen in this world—" A man approved of God "—who had perfectly glorified God on this earth, and perfectly manifested Him in all His ways.

Such, then, was the one who occupied the center cross; and when we come to inquire what it was that placed Him there, we learn a threefold lesson—or rather, we should say, three profound truths are unfolded to our hearts.

In the first place, we are taught, as nothing else can teach us, what man's heart is toward God. Nothing has ever displayed this—nothing could display it, as the cross has. If we want a perfect standard by which to measure the world—to measure the human heart—to measure sin, we must look at the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot stop short of the cross, and we cannot go beyond it, if we want to know what the world is, inasmuch as it was there that the world fully uttered itself—there fallen humanity fully let itself out. When the human voice cried out, " Crucify him Crucify him! " that voice was the utterance of the human heart, declaring, as nothing else could declare, its true condition in the sight of God. When man nailed the Son of God to the cross, he placed the topstone upon the superstructure of his guilt and moral turpitude. When man preferred a robber and a murderer to Christ, he proved that he would rather have robbery and murder than light and love. The cross demonstrates this tremendous fact; and the demonstration is so clear as not to admit of the shadow of a question.

It is well to seize this point. It, most certainly, is not seen with sufficient clearness. We are very prone to judge of the world according to its treatment of ourselves. We speak of its hollowness, its faithlessness, its baseness, its deceitfulness, and such like; but we are too apt to make self the measure in all this, and hence we fall short of the real mark. In order to reach a just conclusion, we must judge by a perfect standard, and this can only be found in the cross. The cross is the only perfect measure of man—of the world—of sin. If we really want to know what the world is, we must remember that it preferred a robber to Christ, and crucified between two thieves the only perfect man that ever lived.

Such, beloved reader, is the world in which you live.

Such is its character—such its moral condition—such its true state as proved by its own deliberately planned and determinedly perpetrated act. And therefore we need not marvel at aught that we hear or see of the world's wickedness, seeing that in crucifying the Lord of glory, it gave the strongest proof that could be given of wickedness and guilt.

It will, perhaps, be said, in reply, the world is changed. It is not now what it was in the days of Herod and Pontius Pilate. The world of the nineteenth century is very different from the world of the first. It has made progress in every way. Civilization has flung its fair mantle over the scene; and, as respects a large portion of the world, Christianity has shed its purifying and enlightening influence upon the masses; so that it would be very unwarrantable to measure the world that is by the terrible act of the world that was.

Reader, do you really believe that the world is changed? Is it really improved in the deep springs of its moral being—is it altered at its heart's core? We readily admit all that a free gospel and an open Bible have, by the rich mercy of God, achieved here and there. We think, with grateful hearts and worshipping spirits of thousands and hundreds of thousands of precious souls converted to God. We bless the Lord, with all our hearts, for multitudes who have lived and died in the faith of Christ; and for multitudes who, at this very moment, are giving most convincing evidence of their genuine attachment to the Name, the Person, and the cause of Christ.

But, after allowing the broadest margin in which to insert all these glorious results, we return, with firm decision, to our conviction that the world is the world still, and if it had the opportunity, the act that was perpetrated in Jerusalem in the year 33, would be perpetrated in Christendom in 1873.

This may seem severe and sweeping; but is it true? Is the Name of Jesus one whit more agreeable to the world today, than it was when its great religious leaders cried out, " Not this man but Barabbas! " Only try it. Go and breathe that peerless and precious name amid the brilliant circles that throng the drawing rooms of the polite, the fashionable, the wealthy, and the noble of this our own day. Name Him in the saloon of a steamboat, in a railway carriage, or in a coffee room, and see if you will not very speedily be told that such a subject is out of place. Any other name, any other subject will be tolerated. You may talk folly and nonsense in the ear of the world, and you will never be told it is out of place; but talk of Jesus, and you will very soon be silenced. How often have we seen our leading thoroughfares literally blocked up by crowds of people looking at a puppet show, or listening to a ballad singer or a German band, and no policeman ever told them to move on. Let a servant of Christ stand to preach in our thoroughfares and he will be summoned before the magistrates. There is room in our public streets for the devil, but there is no room for Jesus Christ. " Not this man but Barabbas."

We ask can any one deny these things? Have they not been witnessed in our cities and towns, times without number? And what do they prove? They prove, beyond all question, the fallacy of the notion that the world is improved. They prove that the world of the nineteenth century is the world of the first. It has, in some places, changed its dress, but not its real animus. It has doffed the robes of paganism, and donned the cloak of Christianity; but underneath that cloak may be seen all the hideous features of paganism's darkest clays. Compare Rom. 1:29-31 with 2 Tim. 4 and there you will find the very traits and lineaments of nature, in its darkest heathenism, reproduced in connection with " the form of godliness "—the grossest forms of moral pravity covered with the robe of christian profession.

No, no, reader; it is a fatal mistake to imagine that the world is improving. It is stained with the murder of the Son of God; and it proves its consent to the deed in every stage of its history, in every phase of its condition. The world is under judgment. Its sentence is passed; the awful day of its execution is rapidly approaching. The world is simply a deep, dark, rapid stream rushing onward, in an impetuous torrent, to the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. Nothing but the sword of judgment can ever settle the heavy question pending between the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and that world which murdered His Son.

Thus it is, if scripture is to be our guide. Judgment is coming. It is at the very door. Eighteen hundred years ago, the inspired apostle penned the solemn sentence that " God is ready to judge." If He was ready then, surely He is ready now. And why tarries He? In long-suffering mercy, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Precious words! Words of exquisite tenderness and matchless grace! Words that tell out the large, loving, gracious heart of our God, and His intense desire for man's salvation.

But judgment is coming. The awful day of vengeance is at hand; and, meanwhile, the voice of Jesus, sounding through the lips of His dear ambassadors, may be heard, on every side, calling men to flee out of the terrible vortex, and make their escape to the stronghold of God's salvation.

II. But this leads us, in the second place to look at the cross as the expression of God's heart toward man. If on the cross of our adorable Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we read, in characters deep, broad, and unmistakable, the true state of man's heart Godward; in the selfsame cross, we may read, with no less clearness surely, the state of God's heart to manward. The cross is the divinely perfect measure of both.

"The very spear that pierced thy side, Drew forth the blood to save."

We behold, at the cross, the marvelous meeting of enmity and love—sin and grace. Man displayed, at Calvary, the very height of his enmity against God. God, blessed forever be His name, displayed the height of His love. Hatred and love met; but loved proved victorious. God and sin met; God triumphed, sin was put away, and now, at the resurrection side of the cross, the eternal Spirit announces the glad tidings that, grace reigns through righteousness, unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. At the cross, the battle was fought and the victory won; and now the liberal hand of sovereign grace is scattering, far and wide the spoils of victory.

Reader, do you really desire to know what the heart of God is toward man? If so, go and gaze on that center cross to which Jesus Christ was nailed, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. True it is, as we have already seen, man did, with wicked hands, crucify and slay the blessed One. This is the dark side of this question. But there is a bright side also, for God is seen in it. No doubt, man fully let himself out at the cross; but God was above him. Yes, above him and above all the powers of earth and hell which were there ranged in their terrible array.

As it was, in the case of Joseph and his brethren; they told. out the enmity of their hearts in flinging him into the pit, and selling him to the Ishmaelites. Here was the dark side. But then, mark these words of Joseph: " Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me; for God did send me before you to preserve life."

Here was the bright side. But to whom were these wondrous words of grace addressed? To broken hearts and penitent spirits, and convicted consciences. To men who had learned to say "We are verily guilty." It is only such that can at all enter into the line of truth which is now before us. Those who have taken their true place—who have accepted the judgment of God against themselves—who truly own that the cross is the measure of their guilt—they can appreciate the cross as the expression of God's heart of love toward them—they can enter into the glorious truth that the selfsame cross which demonstrates man's hatred. of God, sets forth also God's love to man. The two things ever go together. It is when we see and own our guilt, as proved in the cross, that we learn the purifying and peace-speaking power of that precious blood which cleanseth us from all sin.

Yes, beloved reader; it is only a broken heart and a contrite spirit that can truly enter into the marvelous love of God as set forth in the cross of Christ. How could Joseph ever have said, " Be not grieved with yourselves," if he had not seen his brethren broken down in his presence? Impossible. And how can an unbroken heart, an unreached conscience, an impenitent soul enter into the value of the atoning blood of Christ, or taste the sweetness of the love of God? Utterly impossible. Joseph "spake roughly " to his brethren at the first, but the very moment those accents emanated from their broken hearts, " We are verily guilty," they were in a condition to understand and value the words, " Be not grieved with yourselves." It is when we are completely broken down in the presence of the cross, seeing it as the perfect measure of our own deep personal guilt, that we are prepared to see it as the glorious display of God's love towards us.

And then and there we escape from a guilty world. Then and there we are rescued completely from that dark, broad, and rapid current of which we have spoken, and brought within the hallowed and peaceful circle of God's salvation, where we can walk up and down in the very sunlight of a Father's countenance, and breathe the pure air of the new creation. " Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!"

ITT. And, now, one word, ere closing this branch of our subject on the cross as displaying the heart of Christ toward God. We can do little more than indicate this-

point, leaving the reader to prove its suggestive power, under the immediate ministry of the Holy Ghost.

It is an unspeakable comfort to the heart, in the midst of such a world as this, to remember that God has been perfectly glorified by One, at least. There has been One on this earth whose meat and drink was to do the will of God, to glorify Him, and finish His work. In life and death, Jesus perfectly glorified God. From the manger to the cross, His heart was perfectly devoted to the one great object, namely, to accomplish the will of God., whatever that will might be. " Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God." In the roll of God's eternal counsels, it was written of the Son that, in due time, He should come into this world, and accomplish the will of the Godhead. To this He dedicated Himself with all the energies of His perfect being. From this He never swerved the breadth of a hair from first to last; and when we gaze on that center-cross which is now engaging our attention, we behold the perfect consummation of that which had filled the heart of Jesus from the very beginning, even the accomplishment of the will of God.

All this is blessedly unfolded to us in that charming passage in Phil. 2 " Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus; who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, lie humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Verse 5-8.

How wonderful is all this! What profound depths there are in the mystery of the cross! What lines of truth converge in it! What rays of light emanate from it! What unfoldings of heart there! The heart of man to Godward—the heart of God to manward—the heart of Christ to God! All this we have in the cross. We can gaze on that One who hung there between two thieves, a spectacle to heaven, earth, and hell, and see the perfect measure of everyone and everything in the whole universe of God. Would we know the measure of the heart of God—His love to us—His hatred of sin? we must look at the cross. Would we know the measure of the heart of man—his real condition—his hatred of all that is divinely good—his innate love of all that is thoroughly bad? we must look at the cross. Would we know what the world is—what sin is—what Satan is? we must look at the cross.

Assuredly, then, there is nothing like the cross. Well may we ponder it. It shall be our theme throughout the everlasting ages. May it be, more and more, our theme now! May the Holy Ghost so lead our souls into the living depths of the cross that we may be absorbed with the One who was nailed thereto, and thus weaned from the world that placed Him there. May the real utterance of our hearts, beloved reader, ever be, " God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." God grant it, for Jesus Christ's sake!

(To be continued if the Lord will.)

The Three Crosses: Part 3

The case of the penitent thief furnishes a very fine illustration of Peter's weighty sentence, " Repent and be converted." It teaches us in a clear and forcible manner, the true meaning of repentance and conversion- two subjects so little understood—so sadly clouded by false teaching.

The human heart is ever prone to take divine things by the wrong end; and when false theology combines with this tendency of the heart, by presenting things in a one-sided manner, the moral effect upon the soul is something terrible. Hence it is that when men are called upon, in the gospel message to repent and turn to God, they think it needful to set about doing something or other, in the shape of reading, praying, and attending upon the ordinances and offices of religion, so called. Thus they become occupied with their doings instead of judging their state.

This is a fatal mistake—the result of the combined influence of self-righteousness and bad theology—these fruitful sources of darkness and misery to precious souls, and of serious damage to the truth of God.

It is perfectly marvelous to note the varied forms in which self-righteousness clothes itself. Indeed so varied are these forms that one would scarcely recognize it to be what it really is. Sometimes it looks like humility, and speaks largely of the evil and danger of being too presumptuous. Then again, it assumes the garb and adopts the language of what is called experimental religion, which, very often, is nothing more than intense self-occupation. At other times, it expresses itself in the thread-bare formularies of systematic divinity—that stumbling block of souls and the sepulcher of divine revelation.

What then is repentance? It is in one of its grand elements, the thorough judgment of self—of its history and its ways. It is the complete breaking up of the entire system of self-righteousness and the discovery of our complete wreck, ruin and bankruptcy. It is the sense of personal vileness, guilt and danger,—a sense produced by the mighty action of the word and Spirit of God upon the heart and conscience. It is a hearty sorrow for sin, and a loathing of it for its own sake.

True, there are other features and elements in genuine repentance. There is a change of mind as to self, and the world, and God. And further, there are various degrees in the depths and intensity of the exercise. But, for the present, we confine ourselves to that deeply important feature of repentance illustrated in the touching narrative of the penitent thief, which we may term, in one word, self-judgment. This must be insisted upon constantly. We greatly fear it is sadly lost sight of in much of our modern preaching and teaching. In our efforts to make the gospel simple and easy, we are in danger of forgetting that " God commandeth all men everywhere to repent." The sinner must be made to feel that he is a sinner—a lost sinner—a guilty sinner—a hell-deserving sinner. He must be made to feel that sin is a terrible thing in the sight of God—so terrible that nothing short of the death of Christ could atone for it—so terrible, that all who die unpardoned must inevitably be damned—must spend a dreary, never ending eternity in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone.

Is there, then, anything meritorious in repentance? Is there anything to build upon or to boast in? Has it aught to do with the ground of our salvation, our righteousness, or our acceptance with God? As well might we inquire if the consciousness of bankruptcy could form the basis of a man's credit or future fortune. No; no, reader, repentance, in its deepest and most intensified form, has nothing to do with the ground of our pardon. How could the sense of guilt have aught to do with the ground of pardon? How could the feelings of a drowning man have aught to do with the life boat that saves him? Or the agonies of a man in a house on fire have aught to do with the fire-escape by which he descends from the burning pile?

Look at the case of the thief on the cross. Hearken to his words. " Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed, justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds." Here are the accents of a genuine repentance, "we indeed justly." He felt and owned that he was justly condemned—that he was reaping only " the due reward of his deeds." Was there anything meritorious in this? By no means. It was the judgment of himself—the condemnation of his ways—the sense of his guilt. And this was right. It was the sure precursor of conversion to God. It was the fruit of the Spirit's work in his soul, and enabled him to appreciate God's salvation. It was the hearty acknowledgment of his own just condemnation; and most surely this could, in no wise, contribute to his righteousness before God. It is utterly impossible that the sense of guilt could ever form the basis of righteousness.

Still, there must be repentance; and the deeper the better. It is well that the plow should do its work in breaking up the fallow ground, and making deep the furrows in which the incorruptible seed of the word may take root. We do not believe that any one had ever to complain that the plowshare entered too deeply into the soul. Nay, we feel assured that the more we are led down into the profound depths of our own moral ruin, the more fully we shall appreciate the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all them that believe.

But, be it well understood, repentance is not doing this or that. What did the thief do What could he do? He could not move hand or foot. And yet he was truly repentant. He is handed down, on the page of history, as " the penitent thief." Yes, he was penitent; and his penitence expressed itself in the unmistakable accents of self-judgment. Thus it must ever be. There must be the judgment of sin, sooner or later; and the sooner the better; and the deeper the better.

And what then? What is the divine order? " Repent, and be converted." " Repent, and turn to God." Beauteous order! It is conviction and conversion. It is the discovery of self and its ruin, and the discovery of God and His remedy. It is condemning myself and justifying God. It is finding out the emptiness of self, and finding out the fullness of Christ. It is learning the force and application of those few words, " Thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thy help."

And see how all this comes out in the brief but comprehensive record of the thief. No sooner does he give expression to the sense of his own just condemnation, than he turns to that Blessed One who was hanging beside him, and bears the sweet testimony, " This man hath done nothing amiss." Here he gives a flat contradiction to the whole world. He joins issue with the chief priests, elders and scribes who had delivered up the Holy One as a malefactor. They had declared, " If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee." But the dying thief declares " This man hath done nothing amiss." Thus he stands forth in clear and decided testimony to the spotless humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ—that grand truth which lies at the very base of, " The great mystery of godliness." He turns from a guilty self to a spotless Christ; and he tells the world that it had made a. terrible mistake in crucifying the Lord of glory.

And was not this a good work? Yes, truly, the very best work that any one could do. To bear a full, clear, bold testimony to Christ, is the most acceptable and fragrant service that any mortal can render to God. Millions bestowed in charity—continents traversed in the interests of philanthropy—a lifetime spent in the dreary exercises of mechanical religiousness -all these things put together are as the small dust of the balance when compared with one word of heartfelt, genuine, Spirit-taught testimony to God's beloved Son. The poor thief could do nothing and give nothing; but oh! he was permitted to enjoy the richest and rarest privilege that could possibly fall to the lot of any mortal, even the privilege of bearing witness to Christ, when the whole world had cast Him out—when one of His own disciples had denied Him—another had sold Him—and all had forsaken Him. This, indeed, was service, this was work—a service and a work which shall live in the records and the memory of heaven when the proudest monuments of human genius and benevolence shall have crumbled and sunk in eternal oblivion.

But we have some further lessons to learn from the lips of the dying malefactor. Not only does he bear a bright and blessed testimony to the spotless humanity of Christ; but he also owns Him as Lord and King, and this, too, at a moment, and amid a scene when, to nature's view, there was not a single trace of lordship or royalty. " He said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom."

Reader, think of this! Think of one who had, as it were, a moment before, been railing on the dying Savior, now owning Him as Lord and King! Truly this was divine work. Surely this was real conversion- a true turning to God. " Lord, remember me." Oh! how unspeakably precious is this golden chain with its three links! How lovely to see a poor worthless, guilty, hell-deserving " me " linked on to the divine Savior, by that one word, " remember! "

This was life eternal. A Savior and a sinner linked together, is everlasting salvation. Nothing can be simpler. People may talk of works, of feelings, of experiences; but here we have the matter presented in its divine simplicity, and in its divine order. We have first the fruit of a genuine repentance, in the words, " we indeed justly; " and then the sweet result of spiritual conversion in the one simple but powerful utterance " Lord, remember me." " Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." " Repent and turn to God."

What marvelous depth and power in those words! To repent is to see the utter ruin of self. To turn to God, is life and peace, and everlasting salvation. We discover self and we loathe and abhor it. We discover God and turn to Him with the whole heart, and find in Him all we want for time and for eternity. It is all divinely simple and unspeakably blessed. Repentance and conversion are inseparably linked together. They are distinct yet intimately connected. They must neither be separated nor confounded.

And, now, let us note the divine response to the appeal of the penitent thief. He had said, " Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." What is the answer? " To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise." It is as though the blessed Savior had said to him, " You need not wait for the glory of the kingdom; this very day thou shalt taste the grace of the house—the love of my Father's home above; I shall have you with me in that bright paradise, to enjoy full communion with me long before the glories of the kingdom shall be unfolded." Most blessed Savior! Such was Thy matchless grace!

And not one reproving word! Not a single reference to the past! Not even a glance at the recent heartless wickedness! Ah! no; there is never aught of this in the divine dealing with a penitent soul. The thief had said—said from the depths of a broken and contrite heart, " we indeed justly." This was enough. True, it was needful; but it was enough. " A broken and a contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise." No; and not only will He not despise it, but He will pour into it the rich and precious consolation of His grace and pardoning love. It is the joy of God to pardon a penitent sinner; and none but a penitent sinner can truly enjoy the pardon of God.

" Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Here the glories of a present, personal, and perfect salvation pour themselves in divine luster, upon the gaze of the astonished thief.

And, be it noted, that there is not one syllable about doing, or giving, or feeling, or aught else that might turn the eye in upon self. The eye had been turned in, and rightly so; and it had seen nothing but a deep, dark abyss of guilt and ruin. This was enough. The eye must henceforth and for evermore be turned outward and upward; it must be fixed on the precious Savior who was bringing him to paradise, and on that bright paradise to which was bringing him.

No doubt the thief could Laver forget what a sinner he had been—never forget his gat and wickedness -never could he, never shall he; yea, throughout the countless ages of eternity, he and all the redeemed shall remember the past. How could it be otherwise? Shall we lose the power of memory in the future? Surely not. But every remembrance of the past shall only tend to swell the note of praise which the heart shall give forth as we think of the grace that shines in those most precious words, " Their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more." Such is the style of divine forgiveness! God will never again refer to those sins which His own loving hand has canceled by the blood of the cross. Never. No, never. He has cast them behind His back forever. They have sunk as lead into the deep, unfathomable waters of His eternal forgetfulness. All praise to His glorious Name!

But we must now fix the eye, for a brief moment, upon the third cross. On it we behold—what? A guilty sinner? Not merely that. The penitent thief was that. They were in the same condemnation. No one need go to hell simply because he is a sinner, inasmuch as Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners " even the chief." There is not a sinner, this day, outside the precincts of hell, who is not within the reach of God's salvation if he only feel his need of it. No one need be lost, merely because he is a ruined, guilty, hell-deserving sinner.

But what do we behold on that third cross? We behold an unbelieving sinner. This is the solemn point. We may, without any hesitation, declare that had the occupant of that cross, like his penitent companion, cast himself upon the grace of the dying Savior, he would, most assuredly, have met with the same response. There was grace in the heart of Jesus to meet the one as well as the other. But he did not want it, would not have it. He remained impenitent and unbelieving until the dark shadows of death gathered round him, and the darker horrors of hell burst upon his guilty soul. He perished within arm's length of the Savior.

Tremendous thought! what finite mind can take it in? Who can fully estimate the contrast between those two men? True, the contrast was in one point; but that one point involved consequences of eternal moment. What was it! It was this—the reception or rejection of the Son of God—believing or not believing on that blessed One who was hanging between them -as near to the one as He was to the other. There was no difference in their nature; no difference in their condition; no difference in their circumstances. The grand and all important difference lay in this, that one believed in Jesus, and the other did not; one was enabled to say, " Lord, remember me; " the other said, " If thou be the Christ."

What a contrast! What a broad line of demarcation! What an awful chasm between two men so like in other respects—so near to one another—so near to the Divine Savior! But it is just the same in all cases, everywhere, and at all times. The one simple but solemn question for each and for all is this, " What is my relation to Christ? " All hinges upon this -yes, all for time and eternity. Am I in Christ? or am I not?

The two thieves represent the two great classes into which mankind has been divided, from the days of Cain and Abel down to this very moment. God's Christ is the one great and all deciding test, in every case. All the shades of moral character—all the grades of social life—all the castes, classes, sects and parties into which the human family has been, is, or ever shall be divided- all are absorbed in this one momentous point—" In or out of Christ." The difference between the two thieves is just the difference between the saved and the lost—the church and the world—the children of God and the children of God's great enemy. True it is that in the case of the two thieves the matter is brought to a point so that we can see it at a glance; but it is the same in every case. The Person of Christ is the one great boundary line that marks off the new creation from the old—the kingdom of God from the kingdom of Satan—the children of light from the children of darkness, and this boundary line stretches away into eternity.

Reader, what sayest thou to these things? On which side of this line art thou, at this moment, standing? Art thou, like the penitent thief, linked on to Christ by a simple faith? Or dost thou, like his impenitent companion, speak of Christ with an " if " Say, dear friend, how is it? Do not put this question away from thee. Take it up and look it solemnly in the face. Your eternal weal or woe hangs on your answer to this question. Oh, do, we beseech of thee, think of it now! Turn to Jesus now! Come now! God commands thee! Delay not! Reason not! Come just as thou art to Jesus who hung on that center cross for us.

Grace and Government

The title of this paper may possibly present a theme to which some of our readers have not given much of their attention; and yet few themes are more important. Indeed, we believe that the difficulty felt in expounding many passages of holy scripture, and in interpreting many acts of divine providence, is justly traceable to a want of clearness as to the vast difference between God in grace and God in government. Now, as it is our constant aim, in the conducting of this periodical, to meet the actual need of our readers, we purpose, in dependence upon the Spirit's teaching, to unfold a few of the leading passages of Scripture in which the distinction between grace and government is fully and clearly presented.

In the third chapter of the book of Genesis we shall find our first illustration—the first exhibition of divine grace and divine government. Here, we find man a sinner—a ruined, guilty, naked sinner. But here, too, we find God in grace, to remedy the ruin, to cleanse the guilt, to clothe the nakedness. All this He does in His own way. He silences the serpent and consigns him to eternal ignominy. He establishes His own eternal glory, and provides both life and righteousness for the sinner—all through the bruised seed of the woman.

Now, this was grace—unqualified grace—free, unconditional, perfect grace—the grace of God. The Lord God gives His Son to be, as " the seed of the woman," bruised for man's redemption—to be slain to furnish a robe of divine righteousness for a naked sinner. This, I repeat, was grace of the most unmistakable nature. But then, be it carefully noted, that in immediate connection with this first grand display of grace, we have the first solemn act of divine government. It was grace that clothed the man. It was government that drove him out of Eden. " Unto Adam also, and to his wife, did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them." Here we have an act of purest grace. But then we read, " So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden, cherubims and a flaming sword, which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." Here we have a solemn, soul-subduing act of government. The coat of skin was the sweet pledge of grace. The flaming sword was the solemn ensign of government. Adam was the subject of both. When he looked at the coat, he could think of divine grace; when he looked at the sword, he was reminded of divine government.

Hence, therefore, the " coat" and the " sword" may be regarded as the earliest expression of " grace" and " government." True, these things appear before us in new forms, as we pass down along the current of inspiration. Grace shines in brighter beams, and government clothes itself in robes of deeper solemnity. Moreover, both grace and government assume an aspect less enigmatical, as they develop themselves in connection with the personal history of the people of God, from age to age; but still it is deeply interesting to find those grand realities so distinctly presented under the early figures of the coat and the sword.

The reader may, perhaps, feel disposed to ask, " How was it that the Lord God drove out the man, if he had previously forgiven him?" The same question may be asked in connection with every scene, throughout the entire book of God and throughout the entire history of the people of God, in which the combined action of grace and government is exemplified. Grace forgives; but the wheels of government roll on in all their terrible majesty. Adam was perfectly forgiven, but his sin produced its own results. The guilt of his conscience was removed, but not the " sweat of his brow." He went out pardoned and clothed; but it was into the midst of " thorns and thistles" he went. He could feed, in secret, on the precious fruits of grace, while he recognized, in public, the solemn and unavoidable enactments of government.

Thus it was with Adam; thus it has been, ever since; and thus it is, at this moment. My reader should seek to get a clear understanding of this subject, in the light of scripture. It is well worthy of his prayerful attention. It too frequently happens that grace and government are confounded, and as a necessary consequence, grace is robbed of its charms, and government is shorn of its solemn dignities; the full and unqualified forgiveness of sins, which the sinner might enjoy, on the ground of free grace, is rarely apprehended, because the heart is occupied with the stern enactments of government. The two things are as distinct as any two things can be, and this distinctness is as clearly maintained in the third chapter of Genesis, as in any other section of the inspired volume. Did the "thorns and thistles" with which Adam found himself surrounded, on his expulsion from Eden, interfere with that full forgiveness of which grace had previously assured him? Clearly not. His heart had been gladdened by the bright beams of the lamp of promise, and his person clothed in the robe which grace had fashioned for him, ere he was sent forth into a cursed and groaning earth, there to toil and struggle, by the just decree of the throne of government. God's government " drove out the man;" but not until God's grace had pardoned and clothed him. That sent him forth into a world of gloom; but not until this had placed in his hand the lamp of promise to cheer him through the gloom. He could bear the solemn decree of government, in proportion as he experienced the rich provision of grace.

Thus much as to Adam's history, in so far as it illustrates our thesis. We shall now pass on to the ark and deluge, in the days of Noah, which, like the coat of skin and the flaming sword, exemplify, in a striking way, divine grace and divine government.

The inspired narrative of Cain and his posterity presents, in lines of unflinching faithfulness, the progress of man in his fallen condition; while the history of Abel and his immediate line, unfolds to us, in glowing contrast, the progress of those who were called to live a life of faith in the midst of that scene into which the enactments of the throne Of government had driven our first parents. The former pursued, with headlong speed, the downward course, until their consummated guilt, brought down the heavy judgment of the throne of government. The latter, on the contrary, pursued, through grace, an upward course, and were safely borne, through the judgment, into a restored earth.

Now, it is interesting to see that before ever the governmental act of judgment proceeded, the elect family, and all with them, were safely locked in the ark, the vessel of grace. Noah, safe in the ark, like Adam clad in the coat, was the witness of Jehovah's unqualified grace; and, as such, he could contemplate the throne of government, as it poured its appalling judgment upon a defiled world. God in grace saved Noah, ere God in government swept the earth with the besom of judgment. It is grace and government, over again. That, acts in salvation; this, in judgment. God is seen in both. Every atom of the ark bore the sweet impress of grace; every wave of the deluge reflected the solemn decree of government.

We shall just select one case more from the book of Genesis-a deeply practical case-one in which the combined action of grace and government is seen in a very solemn and impressive way. I allude to the case of the Patriarch Jacob. The entire history of this remarkable man presents a series of events illustrative of our theme. I shall merely refer to the one case of his deceiving his father for the purpose of supplanting his brother. The sovereign grace of God had, long before Jacob was born, secured to him a pre-eminence of which no man could ever deprive him; but, not satisfied to wait for God's time and way, he set about managing matters for himself. What was the result? His entire after life furnishes the admonitory reply. Exile from his father's house; twenty years of hard servitude; his wages changed ten times; never permitted to see his mother again; fear of being murdered by his injured brother; dishonor cast upon his family; terror of his life from the Shechemites; deceived by his ten sons; plunged into deep sorrow by the supposed death of his favorite Joseph; apprehension of death by famine; and, finally, death in a strange land.

Reader, what a lesson is here! Jacob was a subject of grace—sovereign, changeless, eternal grace. This is a settled point. But, then, he was a subject of government likewise; and, be it well remembered, that no exercise of grace can ever interfere with the onward movement of the wheels of government. That movement is resistless. Far easier would it be to stem the ocean's rising tide with a feather, or check the whirlwind with a spider's web, than to stay, by any power, angelic, human, or diabolical, the mighty movement of Jehovah's governmental chariot.

All this is deeply solemn. Grace pardons; yes, freely fully, and eternally pardons; but what is sown must be reaped. A man may be sent by his master to sow a field with wheat, and through ignorance, dullness, or gross inattention, he sows some noxious weed. His master heart of the mistake, and in the exercise of his grace he pardons it—pardons it freely and fully. What then? Will the gracious pardon change the nature of the crop? Assuredly not; and, hence, in due time, when golden ears should cover the field, the servant sees it covered with noxious weeds. Does the sight of the weeds make him doubt his master's grace? By no means. As the master's grace did not alter the nature of the crop, so neither does the nature of the crop touch, for a moment, the master's grace, nor interfere, in the smallest degree, with the pardon flowing there from. The two things are perfectly distinct; nor would the principle be infringed even though the master were, by the application of extraordinary skill, to extract from the weed a drug infinitely more valuable than the wheat itself. It would still hold good that " Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap."

This will illustrate, in a feeble way, the difference between grace and government. The passage just quoted from the sixth of Galatians, is a brief, but most comprehensive statement of the great governmental principle—a principle of the gravest and most practical nature—a principle of the widest application. " Whatsoever a man soweth." It matters not who he is. As is your sowing, so will be your reaping. Grace pardons; nay, more, it may make you higher and happier than ever; but if you sow weeds in spring, you will not reap wheat in harvest. This is as plain as it is practical, and as practical as it is plain. It is illustrated and enforced both by scripture and experience.

Look at the case of Moses. He spake unadvisedly with his lips at the waters of Meribah. (Numb, xx.) What was the result? Jehovah's governmental decree prohibited his entrance into the promised land. But, be it noted, while the decree of the throne kept him out of Canaan, the boundless grace of God brought him up to Pisgah. (Deut. 34) where he saw the land, not as it was taken by the hand of Israel, but as it had been given by the covenant of Jehovah. And what then? Jehovah buried His dear servant! What grace shines in this! Truly, if the spirit is overawed by the solemn decree of the throne at Meribah, the heart is enraptured by the matchless grace on the top of Pisgah. Jehovah's government kept Moses out of Canaan. Jehovah's grace dug a grave for Moses in the plains of Moab. Was there ever such a burial? May we not say that the grace that dug the grave of Moses is only outshone by the grace that occupied the grave of Christ? Yes; Jehovah can dig a grave, or make a coat; and, moreover, the grace that shines in these marvelous acts is only enhanced by being looked at in connection, with the solemn enactments of the throne of government.

But let us take another case, ere we close this paper. Look at David, "In the matter of Uriah the Hittite.'' Here we have a most striking exhibition of grace and government. In an evil hour David fell from his holy elevation. Under the blinding power of lust, he rushed into a deep and horrible pit of moral pollution. There, in that deep pit, the arrow of conviction reached his conscience, and drew forth from his broken heart those penitential accents, "I have sinned against the Lord." How were those accents met? By the clear and ready response of that free grace in which our God ever delights. " The Lord hath put away thy sin." This was absolute grace. David's sin was perfectly forgiven. There can be no question as to this. But hardly had the soothing accents of grace fallen on David's ear, ere the solemn movement of the wheels of government was heard in the distance. No sooner had mercy's tender hand removed the guilt, than " the sword " was drawn from the scabbard to execute the necessary judgment. This is deeply solemnizing. David was fully pardoned, but Absalom rose in rebellion. "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap." The sin of sowing weeds may be forgiven, but the reaping must be according to the sowing. The former is grace; the latter is government. Each acts in its own sphere, and neither interferes with the other. The luster of the grace and the dignity of the government are both divine. David was permitted to tread the courts of the sanctuary, as a subject of grace, (2 Sam. 12:20,) ere he was called to climb the rugged sides of Mount Olivet, as a subject of government; (2 Sam. 15:30,) and we may safely assert that David's harp never sent forth sweeter notes in praise of divine grace than at the very moment in which he was experiencing the impressive action of divine government.

Sufficient has now been said to open to the mind of the reader a subject which he can easily pursue for himself. The scriptures are full of it; and human life illustrates it every day. How often do we see men in the fullest enjoyment of grace, knowing the pardon of all their sins, walking in unclouded communion with God, and, all the while, suffering, in body or estate, the terrible consequences of past follies and excesses. Here, again, you have grace and government. Nothing can be more important, in its way, than a clear sense of this subject. It is immensely practical, and will be found to aid the soul very effectively in its study, not only of the page of inspiration, but also of the page of human biography.

I shall close this article by quoting for my reader a passage which is often erroneously adduced as an exhibition of grace, whereas it is entirely an exhibition of government. " And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation." (Exod. 34:6, 7.) Were we to regard this passage as a presentation of God in the gospel, we should have a very limited view indeed of what the gospel is. The gospel speaketh on this wise, "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." (2 Cor. 5:19.) "Visiting iniquity" and "not imputing" it are two totally different things. The former is God in government; the latter is God in grace. It is the same God, but a different manifestation.

The True Workman: Part 2

The reader will discern a very marked difference between Christ's message to John and his testimony of John. In speaking to His servant, He lets him know, in a way not to be mistaken, that He felt his question. We can have no difficulty in seeing this. We feel persuaded that the Lord's answer to His servant contained a sharp arrow. True, that arrow was enclosed in a very delicate case; but it was an arrow, and a sharp one too. " Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." John would, doubtless, understand this. It was designed to go right home to his very inmost soul. That dear servant had said, in reference to Jesus, " He must increase, but I must decrease," and he was called to enter practically into this, not merely in his ministry, but in his person. He had to be content to end his career by the sword of the executioner, after having spent his closing days in the gloom of a dungeon. How mysterious! What a profound lesson to be set down to How difficult to flesh and blood J What need—what urgent need there was, at such a moment, for John to have whispered into his ear these words, afterward uttered to Peter, " What I do, thou knowest not note; but thou shalt know hereafter."

What pregnant words! " Now" and "Hereafter." How much we all need to remember them! often it happens with us that "Now" is involved in deep and impenetrable obscurity. Heavy clouds hang upon our path. The dealings of our Father's hand are perfectly inexplicable to us. Our minds are bewildered. There are circumstances in our path for which we cannot account—ingredients in our cup the object of which we cannot understand or appreciate. We are confounded and feel disposed to cry out, '· Why am I thus! " We are wholly engrossed with " Now " and our minds are filled with dark and unbelieving reasonings until those precious words fall, in a still small voice upon the ear, "What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter." Then the reasonings are answered, the storm hushed, the dark and depressing " Now " is lighted up with the beams of a brilliant and glorious " Hereafter," and the subdued heart breathes forth, in accents of holy and intelligent acquiescence, " As thou wilt, Lord." Would that we knew more of this! Assuredly, we need it, whatsoever may be our lot in this world. We may not be called, like the Baptist, to the prison and the block; but each has his "Now" which must be interpreted in the light of " Hereafter." We must look at the " seen and temporal in the clear and blessed light of the " unseen and eternal."

But let us now turn, for a moment, and hearken to Christ's testimony of John. " And, as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.

For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."

Such was the glowing testimony borne by Christ of His servant, John the Baptist. "Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than he." There is a great principle in this—a principle which we may see illustrated, again and again, in the record of God's dealings with His people. If the Lord had a message to send to His servant, He would send it. He would speak to him, plainly and pointedly. But, the moment He proceeds to speak of him, the case is totally different.

Thus it is always, and blessed be God that it is so. We have our ways and God has His thoughts; and while He will deal with us faithfully as to the former, He can only speak of us according to the latter. What relief for the heart is here! What comfort! What moral power! What solid ground for self judgment! God has given us a standing, and He thinks of us, and speaks of us according to that. We have our practical ways, and He deals with us and speaks to us in reference to them. He will expose us to ourselves, and make us feel our ways and judge our doings; but the moment He begins to speak of us to others, He brings out the perfection of His own thoughts respecting us, and speaks of us according to the perfect standing which He has given us in His presence, the fruit of His own eternal counsels respecting us, and of His perfect work en our behalf.

Thus it was with Israel, in the plains of Moab. They had their ways, and God has His thoughts; and while He had, often and often, to reprove them for their ways, to speak plainly to them about their perverseness and stiff-neckedness; yet no sooner did the covetous prophet appear upon the scene, to curse Israel, than the Lord placed Himself right between His people and the enemy to turn the curse into a blessing, and pour forth the most sublime and' marvelous strains of testimony on their behalf. " God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless, and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt: he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel; according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!" Numb, 23: 19-23.

What grace is here! "I have not beheld iniquity, nor seen perverseness." What could the enemy say to this? "What hath God wrought!" It is not, "What hath Israel wrought!" They had wrought folly, many a time; but God had wrought salvation. He had wrought for His own glory, and that glory had shone out in the perfect deliverance of a crooked, perverse, and stiff-necked people. It was no use the enemy's talking of iniquity and perverse-ness, if Jehovah would not see either the one or the other. It is of very little consequence to us that Satan accuses, when God has acquitted—that Satan counts up our sins, when God has blotted them all out forever—that Satan condemns, when God has justified.

" I hear the accuser roar,

Of ills that I have done;

I know them well, and thousands more,

Jehovah findeth none.

But some may feel disposed to ask, " Is there not danger in the statement of such a principle as this? Might it not lead us into the dark and perilous region of antinomian-ism?" Header, be thou well assured of this, thou art never further removed from that, justly dreaded region than when thy soul is basking in the bright and blessed beams of God's eternal favor, and exulting in the stability of His unconditional and everlasting salvation. There never was a greater mistake than to imagine that God's free grace and full salvation could ever lead to unholy results. Man's notions of these things may have that effect, bat wherever grace is fully known and salvation enjoyed, there you will, most assuredly, find " The fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." But we know it is an old habit of ignorant and self-exalting legality to attribute an antinomian tendency to the free grace of God. " Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" is no modern objection to the precious doctrines of grace; and yet those doctrines remain untouched in all their purity and power, and find their divine center in the Person of Christ Himself, who, having died on the cross to put away our sins, has become our life and righteousness, our sanctification and redemption, our all in all. He has not only delivered us from the future consequences of sin, but from the present power thereof.

This is what God hath wrought, and this is the groundwork of the great principle on which we have been dwelling, and which we have seen variously illustrated in God's dealings with Israel in the plains of Moab, and in Christ's dealings with the Baptist in the dungeon of Herod. Jehovah was compelling Balaam to exclaim in the ears of Balak, " How goodly are thy tents, Ο Jacob, and thy tabernacles, Ο Israel," at the very moment when those tents and tabernacles were furnishing ample material for judgment. So also, Jesus was telling out in the ears of the multitude the greatness of John the Baptist, at the very moment when the messengers were on their way back to their master, carrying with them an arrow for his heart.

Now, we want the reader to get a clear view of this principle, and to bear it in constant remembrance. If we mistake not, it will greatly help him, not only in the understanding of God's word, but also in the interpreting of His ways. God judges His people. He will not and cannot pass over a jot or a tittle in their ways. The splendid testimony of Balaam on Moab's heights, was followed by \he sharp javelin of Phineas in Moab's plains. " Our God is a consuming fire." This is what our God is now. He cannot tolerate evil. He speaks of us, He thinks of us, He acts toward us according to the perfection of His own work; but He will judge our ways. Let an enemy come forth to curse, and what is it? Not a spot, not a stain, all perfect and comely and goodly. How could it be otherwise? How could the eye of God behold those sins which have been forever obliterated by the blood of the Lamb? Utterly impossible. What then? Does this make light of sin? Far be the thought. Does it open the door for licentiousness? Nay, it lays the only true foundation of personal holiness. " The Lord will judge his people." He will look after the ways of His children. He will take care of His holiness, and not only so, but He will make His people partakers of that holiness, and chasten them with the rod of faithful discipline for that very purpose. It was just because Israel's tents were goodly in the eyes of Jehovah, that he sent Phineas into those very tents with the javelin of righteous judgment in his hand. And so, now, it is because His people are precious to Him, and comely in His eyes, that He will not suffer aught in them, or in their ways, contrary to His holiness. " The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God." (1 Peter.) God is not judging the world now. He is judging His people now. He will judge the world by and by. But, be it remembered, that it is as a "holy Father" He judges His people; it is as a righteous God He will judge the world. The object of the former is practical holiness; the issue of the latter will be eternal perdition. Solemn thought!

But there is another point in connection with this which we desire to press upon the attention of the Christian reader—a point of very great practical moment, namely this, we must not measure our standing by our state, but ever judge our state by our standing. Many err in reference to this, and their error leads to most disastrous results. The standing of the believer is settled, perfect, eternal, divine. His state is imperfect and fluctuating, lie is partaker of the divine nature which cannot sin; but he bears about with him also his old nature which can do nothing else but sin. Now his standing is in the new and not in the old. God sees him only in the new. He is not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. He is not under law, but under grace. He is in Christ. God sees him as such. This is his perfect and unalterable standing. His sins gone. His person accepted. All complete. His practical state can never touch his standing. It can very seriously affect his communion, his worship, his testimony, his usefulness, his spiritual enjoyment, his mental repose, the glory of Christ as involved in his practical career. These are grave consequences, in the estimation of every sensitive conscience and well-regulated mind; but the standing of the true believer remains, and must ever remain intact and unalterable. No power of men or devils can ever interfere, in the smallest degree, with that which has been given of God, and is perfect in Christ. The very feeblest member of the family of God has his place of security and settled repose behind the impregnable bulwarks of God's salvation. To deny this is to remove the only true basis of self-judgment and practical holiness.

Hence, if the Christian sets about measuring his standing by his state, he must be miserable, and his mental misery must be commensurate with his honesty and intelligence. There may be cases in which ignorance, self-complacency, or want of sincerity, will lead to a sort of false peace; but where there is any measure of light, intelligence, and uprightness, there must be mental anguish if the standing i« measured by the state.

But, on the other hand, let it never be forgotten, indeed the earnest Christian never could desire to forget, that the state must be judged by the standing. If this wholesome truth be lost sight of, we shall very speedily make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience. We have to keep the eye of faith steadily fixed on a risen Christ, and never be satisfied with anything short of perfect conformity to Him, in spirit, soul, and body.

The True Workman: Part 3

A very few words will suffice to present to the reader the remainder of those rebuffs with which our blessed Lord had to deal, as recorded in our chapter. Having disposed of the question of the Baptist and his ministry, He turns to the men of that generation, and says, " But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children."

The piping and the mourning were alike neglected by an unbelieving age. "John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not." The Lord Jesus came in perfect grace, and they would not have Him. The stern and distant minister of righteousness, with the ax of judgment in his hand, and the lowly, gentle Minister of divine grace, with words of tenderness and acts of goodness, were alike rejected by the men of that generation. But wisdom's children will ever justify her, in all her doings and in all her sayings. The Lord be praised for this rich mercy! What a privilege to be of the favored number of wisdom's children! To have an eye to see, an ear to hear, and a heart to understand and appreciate the ways and works and words of divine wisdom! "Oh! to grace how great a debtor."

" Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tire and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tire and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell; for if the mighty works which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom, in the day of judgment than for thee."

With what deep and awful solemnity does the word " Woe!" fall upon the ear, as coming from the lips of the Son of God. It is the woe consequent upon rejected grace. It is no longer merely a question of law broken, ordinances dishonored and abused, divine institutions shamefully corrupted, prophets and wise men rejected and stoned. All this there was, alas! But there was more. The Son Himself had come, in purest, richest grace. He had spoken in their ears such words as none other had ever spoken. He had wrought His mighty miracles in their midst. He had healed their sick, cleansed their lepers, raised their dead, fed their hungry, opened the eyes of their blind. What had He not done? What had He not said? He longed to gather them beneath His sheltering wing; but they would not nestle there. They preferred the wings of the archenemy to the wings of Jehovah. He had opened His bosom to receive them; but they would not trust Him. All day long had He stretched forth His hands to them; but they would not have Him; and now, at length, after long forbearing, He pours forth His solemn woes upon them, and tells them of the appalling destiny awaiting them.

But, beloved reader, does it not occur to you that the " woe" of the eleventh of Matthew may have a wider range than even Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum? Should it not fall with still deeper emphasis, and more soul-subduing power, upon the ear of Christendom? For our part, we cannot doubt it for a moment. We cannot attempt to enter upon the circumstances which conspire to aggravate the guilt of the professing Church—the wide diffusion of scriptural knowledge and evangelical light—the numberless and nameless forms in which spiritual privileges lie scattered upon the pathway of this generation. And what is the return? What the true practical condition of even those who occupy the very highest platform of Christian profession? Alas! who shall venture a reply? We look in one direction, and see the dark shadows of superstition enwrapping the minds of men. We turn the eye to another point, and there we see infidelity raising its bold and audacious front, and daring to lay its impious hand upon the sacred canon of inspiration. Combined with these, we see the poor heart eagerly grasping at everything that can possibly minister to ease and self-indulgence. In a word, it may be safely affirmed that during the entire history of the world, there has not been exhibited a darker spectacle than that which professing Christianity presents at this very hour. Take Chorazin and its companion cities; take Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain; take Tire and Sidon; put all these together into one scale, with all their guilt, and Christendom will outweigh them all. For if, in those cities, you find wickedness and infidelity, you do not find them, as in Christendom, tacked on to the name of Christ, or covered with the specious robes of Christian profession. No, this latter was reserved for Christendom, and hence the terrible " woe unto thee " may be heard by all who have ears to hear—a woe, the solemnity of which is only to be measured by the vastness of her privileges and consequent responsibility.

If, however, these lines should be scanned by one who, up to this moment, has rejected the testimony of the gospel, we would affectionately remind him that he, as an individual, should feel the solemnity of the words, " Woe unto thee." We fear that very few, comparatively, realize the awful responsibility of continually hearing and rejecting the gospel message. If it was a solemn thing for Capernaum to reject the light which shone upon it, how much more solemn is it for any one now to reject the still brighter light that shines upon him in the gospel of the grace of God. Redemption is now accomplished, Christ is exalted to be a Prince and a Savior, the Holy Ghost has come down, the canon of inspiration is complete, everything has been done that love could do. If, therefore, in the face of all this accumulated light and privilege, a man is found still in unbelief, still living in his sins, surely he has much reason to fear lest this word should be pronounced upon him, at the last, " Woe unto thee, gospel rejecter." " Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded; but ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me." (Pro. 1; 24-28.) May these words be used by the Holy Ghost, to awaken some careless reader, and lead him to the feet of Jesus!

Let us now turn, for a moment, to

THE RESOURCES

which the true, the perfect, the divine Workman found in God. That blessed One had, most surely, His rebuffs in this wretched world; but He had His never-failing resources in God; and, hence, when everything seemed against Him, when Pie might say, "I have labored in vain, and spent my strength for naught and in vain;" when unbelief, impenitence, and hardness of heart met His view, on every side, "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, Ο Father, Lord of heaven and earth because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father; and no man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."

Here, then, were the resources—the rich and varied resources of the true Workman, who could thank God for everything. He was unmoved in the midst of all. If the testimony was rejected, if the message fell upon deaf ears and uncircumcised hearts, if the precious seed which was scattered by His loving hand fell upon the beaten highway and was borne off by the fowls of the air, He could bow His head and say, " I thank thee, Ο Father. Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight." There was no failure on His part. He ever walked and worked in the perfect line of the divine counsels. Not so with us. If our testimony is rejected, if our work is unproductive, here or there, we may have to inquire as to the cause. We may have to judge ourselves in the matter. Perhaps we have not been faithful. The lack of result may be wholly attributable to ourselves. It might have been different had we been more single-eyed and devoted. We might have gathered golden sheaves in yonder corner of the field, had it not been for our own carnality and worldliness. We were self-indulgent when we ought to have been self-denying; we were governed by mixed motives. In short, there may be a thousand reasons, in ourselves and in our ways, why our labor has proved unproductive.

But with the only perfect Workman, this was not the case, and hence He could calmly retire from the rebuffs without into the resources within. It was all bright with Him there. " I thank thee" He stayed His heart upon the eternal counsels of God. All things were delivered unto Him; and, as He says, elsewhere, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me." It was all settled, and all right. The divine counsel shall stand, and the divine good pleasure shall be accomplished. What a sweet relief for the heart amid rebuffs and disappointments! God will perfect that which concerneth His servants; and even where there are mistakes and failures, as, alas! there are in abundance with all of us, the Lord's rich grace abounds over all, and actually takes occasion from our very mistakes to shine out all the more brightly—though, assuredly, the mistakes must produce their own painful and humiliating results. It is the remembrance of this which alone can give calm repose in the midst of the most discouraging circumstances. If we take the eye off God, our souls must soon be overwhelmed. It is our privilege to be able, in our little measure, to thank God, in view of everything raid take refuge in His eternal counsels which must be made good despite all the unbelief of man, and all the malice of Satan.

But we must draw this paper to a close, though we confess the difficulty of so doing with such a very fruitful and interesting section of inspiration before us. We shall do little more, however, than quote the precious words which set forth

THE RETURNS

which our blessed Lord and Savior makes to us. " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

These words are familiar to our readers, and have been directly dwelt upon in one of our earlier numbers; but we introduce them here as completing the lovely picture presented in ομΓ chapter. We feel assured the spiritual reader will greatly enjoy the presentation of the divine Workman in His rebuffs, His resources, and His returns. It is a marvelous lesson indeed. The Lord Jesus retires from a scene of disappointments, and finds all His springs in God; He then comes forth into the midst of the very scene that had repulsed Him, and makes His gracious returns. It is all in perfect grace—grace unfailing- mercy inexhaustible-patience unwearied. True, He had sent an answer to the Baptist; He had faithfully portrayed the men of that generation; He had denounced a solemn woe upon the impenitent cities; but He can come forth in all the divine freshness and fullness of the grace that was in Him, and say, to every heavy laden soul, " Come unto me."

Beloved reader, all this is divine. It draws cut our hearts in worship and thanksgiving. If faithfulness is constrained, in the view of aggravated impenitence, to say, " Woe unto thee," grace can address every burdened heart in the touching accents, " dime unto me." Both are perfect. The Lord Jesus felt the rebuffs. He would not have been very man if He had not felt them. Yes, He felt the rebuffs. He could say, " I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none." Mark, " I looked" His loving human heart fondly "looked" for pity, but found it not. He looked for comforters, but looked in vain. There was no pity for Jesus—no comforters for Him. He was left alone. Loneliness and desolation, thirst, ignominy, and death—such was the portion of the Son of God and Son of man. " Reproach," says He, " hath broken my heart." It is a fatal mistake to suppose that the Lord Jesus did not feel, in every respect, as man should feel, the varied exercises through which He passed. He felt everything that man is capable of feeling except sin, and this latter He bore and expiated on the cross, blessed be His name!

This is not only a great cardinal doctrine of the Christian faith, but a truth of infinite sweetness to the heart of every true believer. Jesus, as man, felt what it was to be neglected, to be disappointed, to be wounded and insulted. Blessed Jesus! thus it was with thee, down here, because thou wast very man, perfect in all that became a man, in the midst of this heartless world. Thy loving heart sought sympathy, but found it not. Loneliness was thy portion while craving sweet companionship. This world had no pity, no comfort for thee.

And yet, mark the grace which breathes in those words, " Come unto me." How unlike us! If we, who so often deserve them, because of our ways, meet with rebuffs and disappointments, what returns do we make? Alas! for the answer. Chagrin and sourness, faultfinding and bitter complaints. And why is this? It may be said we are not perfect, certainly not in ourselves; but we may rest assured that if we were more in the constant habit of retiring from the rebuffs of the world or of the professing Church, into our resources in God, we should be much better able to come forth and make gracious returns in the midst of the scene which had repulsed us. But it too often happens that instead of being driven in upon God, we are driven in upon self, and the consequence is that instead of returning grace we return bitterness. It is impossible that we can make a right return if we fail to realize our right resource.

Oh! that we may really learn of Jesus, and take His very yoke upon us. May we drink into His meek and lowly spirit! What words! " Meek and lowly! " How unlike nature! How unlike the world! How unlike us! Ηow much pride, haughtiness, and self-sufficiency in us! What self-confidence, self-seeking, and self-exaltation! May the Lord give us to see ourselves as He sees us, so that we may be in the dust in His presence, and ever walk humbly before Him. May it be given us to prove, in this day of headiness and high-mindedness, the moral security of a lowly mind and an humble spirit! It is a wonderful thing to be called to wear the self-same yoke that Jesus wore—the yoke of entire subjection to the Fathers will in all things. This is the secret of true peace and power. We can only taste of true rest of heart when the will is kept in subjection. It is when we can meet every dispensation of our Father's hand with an " even so," that rest is cur portion. If the will is active, rest must be out of the question. It is one thing to receive rest of conscience, on coming to Jesus, at the first, and quite another thing to find rest of heart through taking His yoke, and learning of Him. May it be given us to know very much more of the latter, in this day of restless activity.

The True Workman: Part 1: His Rebuffs, His Resources, His Returns

(Read Matt, xi.)

There is a never-failing freshness in every part of the Word of God, but especially in those portions of it which present to us the blessed Person of the Lord Jesus; which tell us what He was, what He did, what He said, how He did it, and how He said it; which present Him to our hearts in His comings and goings, and matchless ways, in Η is spirit, tone, and manner, yea, in His very look and gesture. There is something in all this that commands and charms the heart. It is far more powerful than the mere statement of doctrines, however important, or the establishment of principles, however profound. These have their value and their place, most assuredly; they enlighten the understanding, instruct the mind, form the judgment, govern the conscience, and, in so doing, render us invaluable service. But the presentation of the Person of Christ transfixes the heart, rivets the affections, satisfies the soul, commands the whole being. In short, nothing can possibly exceed occupation of heart with Christ Himself, as the Holy Ghost has unfolded Him to us in the Word, and especially in the inimitable narratives of the gospels. May it be given as, beloved reader, to prove this, as we hang together over the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, in which we shall get a view of Christ, he true Workman, in His rebuffs, His resources, and His returns—the rebuffs which He met with in His ministry; the resources which He found in God; and the returns which He makes to us. And first, then, let us look at The Rebuffs.

There never yet was one who stood as a workman for God, in this world, that had not to encounter rebuffs in some shape or form, and the only perfect Workman is no exception to the general rule. Jesus had His rebuffs and disappointments, for had it been otherwise with Him, He could not sympathize with those who have to meet them at every stage of their career. He, as man, perfectly entered into everything that man is capable of feeling, sin excepted. " He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." " He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.' He perfectly understands, and fully enters into, all that His servants have to pass through in their work.

Now, in this eleventh chapter, the Spirit has grouped together a series of those rebuffs or disappointments which the perfect Workman, the true Servant, the divine Minister had to encounter, in the discharge of His ministry. The first of these came from a quarter from which we should not have expected it, namely, from John the Baptist himself. " Now, when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?"

It is very evident that at the moment in which the Baptist sent this message to his Master, his spirit was under a cloud. It was a dark season in his experience. This was nothing uncommon. The very best and truest of Christ's servants have had their spirits overcast at times, by the dark shadows of unbelief, despondency, and impatience. Moses, that highly honored, faithful servant of God, gave forth, on one occasion, such accents as these, " Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant, and wherefore have I not found favor in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me......I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favor in thy sight, and let me not see my wretchedness." (Numb. 11:11-15.) Such was the language of the meekest man upon the face of the earth -language drawn forth, no doubt, by very aggravating circumstances, even by the murmuring voices of six hundred thousand footmen—but still it was the language of Moses; and surely it would ill become us to marvel, for where is the mere mortal who could have endured the intense pressure of such a moment? What merely human embankment could have resisted the violence of such a mighty tide?

Again, we find Elijah the Tishbite, in a moment of heavy pressure, when a dark cloud was passing over his soul, flinging himself down under a juniper tree, and requesting for himself that he might die. " It is enough; now. Ο Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers." (1 Kings 19:4.) This was the language of Elijah, one of the most highly honored of the servants of Christ—language evoked, no doubt, by a combination of the most discouraging influences-but still it was the language of Elijah the Tishbite; and let no one blame him until he himself has passed, without a wavering feeling or a faltering word, through like conditions.

In like manner, also, we find Jeremiah, another of Christ's highly-favored workmen, when under the smitings of Pashur, and the derisive insults of the ungodly around him, giving vent to his feelings in such language as this, " Ο Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed; I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name." And, again, "Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed. Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad. And let that man be as the cities which the Lord overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide. Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me. Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?" (Jer. 20:7-9, 14-18.) Such was the language of the weeping prophet—language drawn forth, no doubt, by sharp rebuff's and sore disappointments in his prophetic ministry, but still the language of Jeremiah; and, ere we condemn him, let us see if we could acquit ourselves better under similar pressure.

Need we wonder, then, after reading such records as the above, when we find the Baptist, amid the gloom of Herod's dungeon, faltering, for a moment. Should we be greatly astonished to discover that he was made of no better material than the workmen of former generations? If Israel's lawgiver, Israel's reformer, and Israel's weeping prophet had, each in his day and generation, tottered beneath the ponderous weight of his burden, are we to be surprised to find "John the son of Zacharias" giving way to a momentary feeling of impatience and unbelief, beneath the dark shadow of his prison walls? Assuredly not, until we ourselves have sat unmoved amid similar influences.

And yet we have ventured to assert that John's message was a rebuff and a disappointment to the spirit of his Master. Yes, that is just what we assert, and we find the authority for our assertion in the style of Christ's answer. " Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me."

It is very possible, nay probable, that the Baptist, under a passing shadow of unbelief, had been tempted to wonder if indeed Jesus was the One to whom he had, in the discharge of his ministry, borne such full and unqualified testimony. He was, doubtless, stumbled, for the moment, when he saw himself in the iron grasp of Herod, and heard of the works of Christ. His poor heart might indulge itself in such reasoning as this, " If indeed this be the glorious Messiah for whom we looked, whose kingdom was to be set up in power, then why is it thus with me His servant and witness? Why am I here in the gloom of this prison? Why is not the strong hand of power stretched forth to free me from these bonds and fling open these prison doors? "

If such were the reasonings of the captive Baptist, and we can easily believe it, what a powerful, pointed, pungent answer lay folded up in his Master's reply! He points him to those grand moral evidences of His divine mission, which were amply sufficient to carry conviction to every one that was taught of God. Was it not to be expected that if the God of Israel appeared in the midst of His people, He should address Himself to their actual condition? Was that the moment for the display of mere power? Could the Son of David set up His throne amid disease and misery? Was there not a demand for the exercise of patient, lowly grace and mercy in the midst of the varied and multiplied fruits of sin? True, mere power could have burst open Herod's prison, and set the captive free; but then what about the lame, the blind, the deaf, the leper, the dead, the poor, the wretched? Could the display of royalty alleviate their condition? Was it not plain that something else was needed? And was it not equally plain that that something was being supplied by the gracious, tender, soothing ministrations of the lowly Jesus of Nazareth? Yes, and the Baptist ought to have known this. But ah! beloved reader, you and I may well tread softly in the prison chamber of this honored servant of Christ, not only because grace would have us so to do, but also because of the conviction which, assuredly, must possess our souls that, had we been in his position, the foundations of our personal faith, if not sustained by grace, would have given way far more deplorably.

Still, it is important that we should fully comprehend the failure of John the Baptist, and sedulously gather up the seasonable instruction furnished by his temporary depression. We shall do well to see, with distinctness, what was lacking in his faith, in order that we ourselves may profit by this touchingly interesting narrative. It would have greatly helped the Baptist had he only understood and remembered that this is the day of Christ's sympathy, and not the day of His power. Were it the day of His power, there would be no dungeon, no block, no stake, no trial, or pressure, or sorrow of any sort or description for the saints of God. There would then be no ripple upon the ocean, no cloud in the sky, no storm to brave, no roughness to endure. But this is the day of Christ's sympathy; and the question for the tried and tempted, the harassed and oppressed, is this, " Which would you rather have, the power of Christ's hand in deliverance from the trial, or the sympathy of Christ's heart in the trial? " The carnal mind, the unsubdued heart, the restless spirit, will, no doubt, at once exclaim, " Oh! let Him only put forth His power and deliver me from this insupportable trial, this intolerable burden, this crushing difficulty. I sigh for deliverance. I only want deliverance."

Some of us can well understand this. We are so often like a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke, restlessly struggling, instead of patiently submitting; rendering the yoke all the more galling and grievous by our senseless and useless efforts to shake it off. But the spiritual mind, the subdued heart, the lowly spirit, will say, and that without a single particle of reserve, "Let me only enjoy the sweet sympathy of the heart of Jesus in my trial, and I ask no more. 1 do not want even the power of His hand to deprive me of one drop of consolation supplied by the tender love and profound sympathy of His heart. I know, assuredly, that He could deliver me. I know that He could, in the twinkling of an eye, snap these chains, level these prison walls, rebuke that sickness, raise up that beloved object that lies before me in the cold grasp of death, remove this heavy burden, meet this difficulty, supply this need. But if He does not see fit to do so, if it does not fall in with His unsearchable counsels, and harmonize with His wise and faithful purpose concerning me so to do, I know it is only to lead me into a deeper and richer experience of His most precious sympathy. If he does not see it right to take me off the rough path of trial and difficulty—that path which He Himself, in perfection, and all His saints, from age to age, in their measure, have trodden—it is His gracious purpose to come and walk with me along that path which, though rough and thorny, leads to those everlasting mansions of light and blessedness above."

We cannot, for a moment, doubt but that the knowledge and recollection of these things would greatly have relieved the heart of John the Baptist, in the midst of his prison experiences; and surely they would serve to soothe and sustain our hearts amid the varied exercises through which we are called to pass, in the wilderness scene. The moment has not vet arrived for Jesus to take to Himself His great power, and reign. It is the day of His patience with the world, of His sympathy with His people. We must ever remember this. He did not put forth the strong hand of power to avert aught of His own suffering. Nay, when Peter, in mistaken zeal, drew the sword in His defense, He said, " Put up again thy sword into its place; for all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be? " Matt. 26:52-54.

But while we fully recognize the momentary failure of John the Baptist, and while we clearly discern the points in which his faith proved itself defective, let us remember the pressure of his circumstances, and the great practical difficulty of the lesson which he was called to learn within his prison walls. It is very hard for a workman to find himself laid aside. Indeed there are few things more difficult for an active mind than to learn that we can be done without. We are so apt to think that the work cannot get on without us. And yet the Lord can soon teach us our mistake. Paul's bonds advanced the cause of Christ. The imprisonment of one great preacher drew out a multitude of minor preachers. Luther's confinement in the Wartburg furthered the cause of the Reformation.

Thus it is always, and we have all to learn the wholesome lesson that God can do without us, that the work can go on without us. This holds good in every case. It matters not, in the least, what our sphere of action may be.

We may not be apostles or reformers, teachers or preachers; but whatever we are, it is well for us to learn that we can very easily be spared from the scene around us. The remembrance of this gives great rest to the heart. It tends amazingly to cure us of all that bustling self-importance which is so truly hateful, and enables us to say, " The Lord be praised! The work is being done. I am satisfied."

To be continued, if the lord will.

One-Sided Theology

We have received a long letter from America, furnishing a very striking proof of the bewildering effect of one-sided theology. Our correspondent is evidently under the influence of what is styled the high school of doctrine. Hence, he cannot see the rightness of calling upon the unconverted to "come," to "hear," to "repent," or to " believe." It seems to him like telling a crab tree to bear some apples in order that it may become an apple tree.

Now, we thoroughly believe that faith is the gift of God, and that it is not according to man's will or by human power, in any shape or form. And further, we believe that not a single soul would ever come to Christ if not drawn, yea, compelled, by divine grace so to do; and therefore all who are saved, have to thank the free and sovereign grace of God for it; their song is, and ever shall be, " Not unto us, Ο Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake."

All this we believe not as part of a certain system of doctrine, but as the revealed truth of God. But, on the other hand, we believe, just as fully, in the solemn truth of man's moral responsibility, inasmuch as it is plainly taught in scripture, though we do not find it amongst what are called " The five points of the faith of God's elect." We believe these five points, so far as they go; but they are very far indeed from containing the faith of God's elect. There are wide fields of divine revelation which this stunted and one-sided system does not touch upon, or even hint at, in the most remote manner. Where do we find the heavenly calling? Where the glorious truth of the church as the body and bride of Christ? Where, the precious sanctifying hope of the coming of Christ to receive His people to Himself? Where have we the grand scope of prophecy opened to the vision of our souls, in that which is so pompously styled, " The faith of God's elect?" We look in vain for a single trace of them in the entire system to which our American friend is attached.

Now, can we suppose, for a moment, that the blessed apostle Paul would accept as "The faith of God's elect" a system which leaves out that glorious mystery of the church of which he was specially made the minister? Suppose any one had shown Paul " The five points" of Calvinism, as a statement of the truth of God, what would he have said? What! " The whole truth of God"—" The faith of God's elect"—"All that is essential to be believed"—and yet not a syllable about the real position of the church—its calling, its standing, its hopes, its privileges! And not a word about Israel's future! A complete ignoring, or at best a thorough alienation, of the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. The whole body of prophetic teaching subjected to a system of spiritualizing, falsely so called, whereby Israel is robbed of their proper portion, and Christians dragged down to an earthly level. And all this is presented to us, with the loftiest pretensions, as " The faith of God's elect."

Thank God it is not so. He, blessed be His name, has not confined Himself within the narrow limits of any school of doctrine, high, low, or moderate. He has revealed Himself. He has told out the deep and precious secrets of His heart. He has unfolded His eternal counsels, as to the church, as to Israel, the Gentiles, and the wide creation. Men might as well attempt to confine the ocean in buckets of their own formation as to confine the vast range of divine revelation within the miserable enclosures of human systems of doctrine. It cannot be done, and it ought not to be attempted. Better far to fling aside all systems of theology and schools of divinity, and come like a little child to the eternal fountain of holy scripture, and there drink in the living teachings of God's Spirit.

Nothing is more damaging to the truth of God, more withering to the soul, or more subversive of all spiritual growth and progress than mere theology, high or low,—Calvinistic or Arminian. It is impossible for the soul to make progress beyond the boundaries of the system to which it is attached. If I am taught to regard " The five points" as " The faith of God's elect," I shall not think of looking beyond them; and then a most glorious field of heavenly truth is shut out from the vision of my soul. I am stunted, narrow, one-sided; and not only so, but I am in danger of getting into that hard, dry state of soul which results from being occupied with mere points of doctrine instead of with Christ. A disciple of the high school of doctrine will not hear of a world-wide gospel—of God's love to the world—of glad tidings to every creature under heaven. He has only gotten a gospel for the elect. On the other hand, a disciple of the low or Arminian school will not hear of the eternal security of God's people. They are only safe as long as they continue faithful. Their salvation depends partly upon Christ, and partly upon themselves. According to this system, the song of the redeemed should be changed, Instead of " Worthy is the Lamb," we should have to add, " and worthy am I." We may be saved to-day, and lost to-morrow. All this is most miserable. It grossly dishonors God, and robs the Christian of all true peace.

We do not write to offend the reader. Nothing is further from our thoughts. We are dealing not with persons, but with schools of doctrine and systems of divinity which we would, most earnestly, entreat our beloved readers to abandon, at once, and forever. Not one of them contains the full, entire truth of God. There are certain elements of truth in all of them; but the truth is neutralized by the error; and even if we could find a system which contains, so far as it goes, nothing but the truth, yet if it does not contain the whole truth, its effect upon the soul is most pernicious, because it leads a person to plume himself on having the truth of God when, in reality, he has only laid hold of a one-sided system of man.

Then again we rarely find a mere disciple of any school of doctrine who can face scripture as a whole. Favorite texts will be quoted, and continually reiterated; but a large body of scripture is left almost wholly unappropriated. For example, take such passages as the following, " But now God commandeth all men everywhere to repent." (Acts 17:30.) And again, " Who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim. 2) So also, in 2 Peter, "The Lord.... is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (Chap. iii. 9.) And, in the very closing section of the volume, we read, " Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

Are these passages to be taken as they stand? or are we to introduce qualifying or modifying words to make them fit in with our system? The fact is, they set forth the largeness of the heart of God, the gracious activities of His nature, the wide aspect of His love. It is not according to the loving heart of God that any of His creatures should perish. There is no such thing set forth in scripture as any decree of God consigning a certain number of the human race to eternal damnation. Some may be judicially given over to blindness because of deliberate rejection of the light. (See Rom. 9:17; Heb. 6:4-6; 10:26, 27; 2 Thess. 2:11, 12; 1 Pet. 2:8.) All who perish will have only themselves to blame. All who reach heaven will have to thank God.

If we are to be taught by scripture we must believe that every man is responsible according to his light. The Gentile is responsible to listen to the voice of creation. The Jew is responsible on the ground of the law. Christendom is responsible on the ground of the full orbed revelation contained in the whole word of God. If God commands all men, everywhere to repent, does He mean what He says, or merely all the elect? What right have we to add to, or alter, to pare down, or to accommodate the word of God? None whatever.

Let us face scripture as it stands, and reject everything which will not stand the test. We may well call in question the soundness of a system which cannot meet the full force of the word of God as a whole. If passages of scripture seem to clash, it is only because of our ignorance. Let us humbly own this, and wait on God for further light. This, we may depend upon it, is safe moral ground to occupy. Instead of endeavoring to reconcile apparent discrepancies, let us bow at the Master's feet and justify Him in all His sayings. Thus shall we reap a harvest of blessing and grow in the knowledge of God and His word as a whole.

A few days since, a friend put into our hands a sermon recently preached by an eminent clergyman belonging to the high school of doctrine. We have found in this sermon, quite as much as in the letter of our American correspondent, the effects of one-sided theology. For instance, in referring to that magnificent statement of the Baptist in John 1:29, the preacher quotes it thus, " The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the whole world of God's chosen people"

Header, think of this. " The world of God's chosen people I" There is not a word about people in the passage. It refers to the great propitiatory work of Christ in virtue of which every trace of sin shall yet be obliterated from the wide creation of God. We shall only see the full application of that blessed scripture in the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. To confine it to the sin of God's elect can only be viewed as the fruit of theological bias. There is no such expression in scripture as " Taking away the sin of God's elect." Whenever God's people are referred to we have the bearing of sins—the propitiation for our sins—the forgiveness of sins. Scripture never confounds these things; and nothing can be more important for our souls than to be exclusively taught by scripture itself, and not by the warping, stunting, withering dogmas of one-sided theology.

We sometimes hear John 1:29 quoted, or rather misquoted by disciples of the low school of doctrine in this way, " The Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world." If this were so, no one could ever be lost. Such a statement would furnish a basis for the terrible heresy of universal salvation. The same may be said of the rendering of 1 John 2:2, " The sins of the whole world." This is not scripture but fatally false doctrine, which we doubt not our translators would have repudiated as strongly as any. Whenever the word "sins" occurs, it refers to persons. Christ is a propitiation for the whole world. He was the substitute for His people.

Note.—It is deeply interesting to mark the way in which scripture guards against the repulsive doctrine of reprobation. Look, for example, at Matt. 25:34. Here, the King, in addressing those on His right hand, says, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Contrast with this the address to those on His left hand: " Depart from me ye cursed (He does not say ' of my Father') into everlasting fire, prepared (not for you, but) the devil and his angels." So also, in Rom. 9 In speaking of the "vessels of wrath," he says " fitted to destruction"—fitted not by God surely, but by themselves. On the other hand, when he speaks of the "vessels of mercy, he says, " which he had afore prepared unto glory." The grand truth of election is fully established; the repulsive error of reprobation, sedulously avoided.

Living by Faith

" The just shall live by faith." This weighty statement occurs in the second chapter of the prophet Habakkuk; and it is quoted by an inspired apostle in three of his epistles, namely, Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, with a distinct application in each. In Rom. 1:17, it is applied to the great question of righteousness. The blessed apostle declares himself not ashamed of the gospel," For it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed, on the principle of faith, to faith; as it is written The just shall live by faith."

Then, in the third of Galatians, where the apostle is seeking to recall those erring assemblies to the foundations of Christianity, he says, " But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident, for The just shall live by faith."

Finally, in the tenth of Hebrews, where the object is to exhort believers to hold fast their confidence, we read, " Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith." Here we have faith presented not only as the ground of righteousness, but as the vital principle by which we are to live, day by day, from the starting-post to the goal of the christian course. There is no other way of righteousness—no other way of living, but by faith. It is by faith we are justified and by faith we live. By faith we stand; and by faith we walk.

Now, this is true of all Christians; and all should seek to enter into it fully. Every child of God is called to live by faith. It is a very grave mistake indeed to single out certain individuals who happen to have no visible source of temporal supplies, and speak of them as though they alone lived by faith. According to this view of the question, ninety-nine out of every hundred

Christians would he deprived of the precious privilege of living by faith. If a man has a settled income; if he has a certain salary; if he has what is termed a secular calling by which he earns bread for himself and his family, is he not privileged to live by faith? Do none live by faith save those who have no visible means of support? Is the life of faith to be confined to the matter of trusting God for food and raiment?

Who would cede aught so monstrous? It seems to us a complete lowering of the life of faith to confine it to the question of temporal supplies. No doubt, it is a very blessed and a very real thing to trust God for everything; but the life of faith has a far higher and wider range than mere bodily wants. It embraces all that, in anywise, concerns us in body, soul, and spirit. To live by faith is to walk with God; to cling to Him; to lean on Him; to draw from His exhaustless springs; to find all our resources in Him; and to have Him as a perfect covering for our eyes, and a satisfying object for our hearts. To know Him as our only resource, in all difficulties and all our trials. It is to be absolutely, completely, and continually, shut up to Him; to be un-dividedly dependent upon Him, apart from and above every creature confidence, every human hope, and every earthly expectation.

Such is the life of faith. Let us see that we understand it. It must be a reality or nothing at all. It will not do to talk about the life of faith; we must live it; and in order to live it, we must know God practically—know Him intimately, in the deep secret of our own souls. It is utterly vain and delusive to profess to be living by faith and looking to the Lord, when, in reality, our hearts are looking to some creature resource. How often do people speak and write about their dependence upon God to meet certain wants, and by the very fact of their making it known to a fellow mortal, they are, in principle, departing from the life of faith. If I write to a friend, or publish to the church, the fact that I am looking to the Lord to meet a certain need, I am virtually off the ground of faith in that matter. The language of faith is this, " My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from him." To make known my wants, directly or indirectly, to a human being, is departure from the life of faith, and a positive dishonor done to God. It is actually betraying Him. It is tantamount to saying that God has failed me, and I must look to my fellow for help. It is forsaking the living fountain and turning to a broken cistern. It is placing the creature between my soul and God, thus robbing my soul of rich blessing, and God of the glory due to Him.

This is serious work, and it demands our most solemn attention. God deals in realities. He can never fail a trusting heart. But then He must be trusted. It is of no possible use to talk about trusting Him when our hearts are really looking to creature streams. " What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith?" Empty profession is but a delusion to the soul and a dishonor to God. The true life of faith is a grand reality. God delights in it, and He is glorified by it. There is nothing in all this world that so gratifies and glorifies God, as the life of faith. " Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!" Psalm 31:19.

Beloved reader, how is it with you in reference to this great question? Are you living by faith? Can you say, " The life that I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me?" Do you know what it is to have the living God filling the whole range of your soul's vision? Is He enough for you? Can you trust Him for everything—for body, soul, and spirit—for time and eternity? Or are you in the habit of making known your wants to man, in any one way? Is it the habit of your heart to turn to the creature for sympathy, succor, or counsel?

These are searching questions; but we entreat you not to turn away from them. Be assured it is morally healthful for our souls to be tested faithfully, as in the very presence of God. Our hearts are so terribly treacherous that when we imagine we are leaning upon God, we are really leaning upon some human prop. Thus God is shut out, and we are left in barrenness and desolation.

And yet it is not that God does not use the creature to help and bless us. He does so constantly: and the man of faith will be deeply conscious of this fact, and truly grateful to every human agent that God uses to help him. God comforted Paul by the coming of Titus; but had Paul been looking to Titus, he would have had but little comfort. God used the poor widow to feed Elijah, but Elijah's dependence was not upon the widow, but upon God. Thus it is in every case.

A Letter to a Friend on Eternal Punishment

Beloved Friend,

I have been thinking a good deal of late, on the last verse of the third chapter of John. It seems to me to furnish a most powerful answer to two of the leading heresies of this our day, namely Universalism on the one hand; and Annihilationism, on the other: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

The deniers of eternal punishment, as you are fully aware, are divided into two classes, each differing from the other very materially. Some profess to believe that all will, ultimately, be restored and brought into everlasting felicity: these are the Universalists. Others, again, are of opinion that all who die out of Christ are annihilated, soul and body—made an end of thoroughly—will perish like the beast.

Now, I think you will agree with me in the thought that John 3:36, completely demolishes both these fatal errors. It meets the Universalist by the sweeping and conclusive statement that the unbeliever " Shall not see life." It entirely sets aside the notion of all being restored and eternally saved. Those who refuse to believe the Son, shall die in their sins, and never see life.

But, were this all, the Annihilationist might say, " Exactly so; that is just what I believe. None but those who believe in the Son shall live eternally. Eternal life is only in the Son, and hence, all who die out of Christ shall perish, soul and body, they shall be made an end of."

Not so, says the Holy Ghost. It is quite true they shall not see life; but—tremendous fact! " The wrath of God abideth on him." This, beyond all question, gives a flat contradiction to annihilationism. If the wrath of God is to abide upon the unbeliever, it is utterly impossible he can be made an end of. Annihilation and abiding wrath are wholly incompatible. We must either erase the word " abiding" from the inspired page, or abandon completely the notion of annihilation, to hold the two is out of the question.

Of course, I am merely now referring to this one passage of holy scripture; and truly it is enough, of itself, to settle any mind that simply bows to the voice of God, as to the solemn question of eternal punishment. But here, my beloved friend, is just the point. Men will not submit to the teaching and authority of holy scripture. They presume to sit in judgment upon what is and what is not worthy of God to do. They imagine that people may live in sin, in folly, in rebellion against God, and in the neglect of His Christ, and after all, go unpunished. They take upon them to decide that it is inconsistent with their idea of God to allow such a thing as eternal punishment. They attribute to the government of God what we should consider a weakness in any human government, namely, an inability to punish evil doers.

But ah! the word of God is against them. It speaks of "unquenchable fire"—of an "undying worm"—of a "fixed gulf"—of " abiding wrath." What, I would ask, is the meaning of such words, in the judgment of any honest unprejudiced mind? It may be said that these are figures. Granted that the " fire," the " worm" and the " gulf" are figures but figures of what? Of something ephemeral—something which must, sooner or later, have an end? Nay; but something which is eternal, if anything is eternal. If we deny eternal punishment, we must deny an eternal anything, inasmuch as it is the same word which is used in every instance to express the idea of endless continuance. There are about seventy passages in the Greek New Testament where the word " everlasting" occurs. It is applied amongst many other things to the life which believers possess, and to the punishment of the wicked, as in Matt. 25:46. Now, upon what principle can anyone attempt to take out the six or seven passages in which it applies to the punishment of the wicked, and say that in all these instances it does not mean forever; but that in all the rest it does? I confess this seems to me perfectly unanswerable. If the Holy Ghost, if the Lord Jesus Christ Himself had thought proper to make use of a different word, when speaking of the punishment of the wicked from what He uses when speaking of the life of believers, I grant you there might be some basis for an objection.

But no; we find the same word invariably used to express what everybody knows to be endless; and therefore if the punishment of the wicked be not endless, nothing is endless. They cannot, consistently, stop short with the question of punishment, but must go on to the denial of the very existence of God Himself.

And indeed I cannot but believe that here lies the real root of the matter. The enemy desires to get rid of the word of God, of the Spirit of God, the Christ of God, and God Himself; and he craftily begins by introducing the thin end of his fatal wedge, in the denial of eternal punishment; and when this is admitted the soul has taken the first step on the inclined plane which leads down to the dark abyss of atheism.

This may seem strong, harsh and ultra; but it is my deep and thorough conviction; and I feel most solemnly impressed with the necessity of warning all our young friends against the danger of admitting into their minds the very shadow of a question or doubt as to the divinely established truth of the endless punishment of the wicked in hell. The unbeliever cannot be restored, for scripture declares " he shall not see life." Moreover, he cannot be annihilated, for scripture declares that " the wrath of God abideth upon him."

Oh! my beloved friend, how much better and wiser and safer it would be for our fellow men to flee from the wrath to come than to deny that it is coming, or that when it does come it will be eternal.

Ever, believe me,

Most affectionately yours,

C. Η. M.

Publicly and From House to House

The sentence which we have just penned is taken from Paul's farewell address to the elders of Ephesus, as recorded in Acts 20 It is a very suggestive sentence, and sets forth in a most forcible manner the intimate connection between the work of the teacher and that of the pastor. " I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you," says the blessed apostle, "but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house."

Paul was not only an apostle; he combined, in a truly marvelous manner, the evangelist, the pastor, and the teacher. The two last-named are closely connected, as we may learn from Eph. 4:11; and it is of the very utmost importance that this connection should be understood and maintained. The teacher unfolds truth; the pastor applies it. The teacher enlightens the understanding; the pastor looks to the state of the heart.

The teacher supplies the spiritual nutriment; the pastor sees to the use that is made of it. The teacher occupies himself more with the word; the pastor looks after the soul. The teacher's work is, for the most part, public; the pastor's work chiefly in private. When combined in one person, the teaching faculty imparts immense moral power to the pastor, and the pastoral element imparts affectionate tenderness to the teacher.

The reader must not confound a pastor with an elder or bishop. The two things are totally distinct. Elder and bishop are frequently interchangeable, but pastor is never confounded with either. Elder is a local charge; pastor is a gift. We have nothing about elders or bishops in 1 Cor. 12 and xiv., or Eph. 4, though in these scriptures we have the fullest unfolding of the subject of gifts. We must carefully distinguish between gift and local charge. Elders or bishops are for rule and oversight. Teachers and pastors are to feed and edify. An elder may be a teacher or pastor, but he must keep the two things distinct. They rest upon a different footing altogether, and are never to be confounded.

However, our object in this brief article is not to write a treatise on ministry, or to dwell elaborately upon the difference between spiritual gift and local charge, but simply to offer to our readers a few words on the immense importance of the pastoral gift in the church of God, in order that they may be stirred up to earnest prayer to the great Head of the church, that He may graciously be pleased to shed forth this precious gift more abundantly in our midst. We are not straitened in Him. The treasury of spiritual life is no υ exhausted; and our Lord Christ loves His church, and delights to nourish and cherish His body, and to supply its every need out of His own infinite fullness.

That there is urgent need of pastoral care throughout the length and breadth of the church of God, few can deny who know what pastorship is, and who are at all acquainted with the true condition of the church. How rare is the true spiritual pastor! It is easy to take the name, and assume the office; but, in point of fact, pastorship is neither a name nor an office, but a living reality—a divinely-imparted gift—something communicated by the Head of the church for the growth and blessing of His members. A true pastor is a man who is not only possessed of a real spiritual gift, but also animated by the very affections of the heart of Christ toward every lamb and sheep of His blood-bought flock.

Yes, we repeat it, " every lamb and sheep." A true pastor is a pastor all over the world. He is one who has a heart, a message, a ministry, for every member of the body of Christ. Not so the elder or bishop. His is a local charge, confined to the locality in the which such charge is entrusted. But the pastor's range is the whole church of God, as the evangelist's range is the wide, wide world. In New Zealand, in London, in Paris, or Canton, a pastor is a pastor, and he has his blessed work everywhere. To imagine a pastor, as confined to a certain congregation to which he is expected to discharge the functions of evangelist, teacher, elder, or bishop, is something altogether foreign to the teaching of the New Testament.

But, ah! how few real pastors are to be found in our midst! How rare is the pastor's gift, the pastor's heart! Where shall we find those who duly combine the two grand and important elements contained in the heading of this paper—" Publicly and from house to house?" A man may, perhaps, give us a brief address on the Lord's day, or a lecture on some week-day; but where is the "house to house" side of the question? Where is the close, earnest, diligent looking after individual souls, from Monday morning till Saturday night? Very often it happens that the public teaching shoots completely over the head; it is the house to house teaching that is sure to come home to the heart. How frequently it happens that something uttered in public is entirely misunderstood and misapplied, until the loving pastoral visit during the week supplies the true meaning and just application.

Nor is this all. How much there is in a pastor's range that the public teacher never can compass! No doubt public teaching is most important; would we had ten thousand times more of it than we have. The teacher's work is invaluable, and when mellowed by the deep and tender affection of a pastor's heart, can go a great way indeed in meeting the soul's manifold necessities. But the loving pastor who earnestly, prayerfully, and faithfully goes from house to house, can get at the deep exercises of the soul, the sorrows of the heart, the puzzling questions of the mind, the grave difficulties of the conscience. He can enter, in the profound sympathy of an affectionate heart, into the ten thousand little circumstances and sorrows of the path. He can kneel down with the tried, the tempted, the crushed, and the sorrowing one, before the precious mercy-seat, and they can pour out their hearts together, and draw down sweet consolation from the God of all grace and the Father of mercies.

The public teacher cannot do this. No doubt, if, as we have said; he has something of the pastoral element in him, he can anticipate in his public address a great deal of the soul's private exercises, sorrows, and difficulties. But he cannot supply the house to house ingredient. He cannot fully meet the soul's individual need. This is the pastor's holy work. It seems to us that a pastor is to the soul what a doctor is to the body. He must be able to feel the spiritual pulse. He must understand disease and medicine. He must be able to tell what is the matter, and what remedies to apply. Alas! how few proper doctors there are. Perhaps they are as rare as proper pastors. It is one thing to take the title, and another thing to do the work.

Christian reader, we earnestly entreat you to join us in fervent believing prayer to God to raise up true pastors amongst us. We are in sad need of them. There is great dearth indeed, both of teachers and pastors. The sheep of Christ are not fed and cared for. We are occupied so much with our own affairs, that we have not time to look after the beloved flock of Christ. And even on these occasions, when the Lord's people assemble in public, how little there is for their precious souls! What long barren pauses!—the silence of poverty! What aimless hymns and prayers! How little leading of the flock through the green pastures of holy scripture, and by the still waters of divine love! And then, all through the week, no loving pastoral call, no tender solicitous inquiry after soul or body. There seems to be no time. Every moment is swallowed up in the business of providing for ourselves and our families. It is, alas! the old sad story—" All seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's." How different it was with the blessed apostle! He found time to make tents, and also to " teach publicly and from house to house." He was not only the great apostle, ranging over continents and planting churches, but he was also the loving pastor, the tender nurse, the skilful spiritual physician.

Let no one suppose that we advocate idleness. The Lord preserve us from any such moral mischief! We believe there is nothing like abundance of healthful occupation. Indeed, the apostle himself afforded a living example of this, by working with his hands the thing which is good, that he might not be chargeable to any.

But for all that he found time to teach, preach, and pastorize. He had a heart for Christ and for His body, the church, and for every member of that body. Here lies the real secret of the matter. It is wonderful what a loving heart can accomplish. If I really love the church, I shall desire its blessing and progress, and seek to promote these according to my ability.

May the Lord raise up in the midst of His people pastors and teachers after His own heart—men filled with His Spirit, and animated by a genuine love for His church—men competent and ready to teach—"publicly and from house to house"