Young Christian: Volume 32, 1942

“The Lord, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” Deut. 31:8.

Is Your Name Written in the Book of Life?

I was persuaded to go to hear a preacher who was well known in those days. He took for his text,

“Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:20.

The preacher in his discourse set forth the blessings and the precious privileges of those who, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, have become children of God. Alas! I knew well that was not my case; I had neither rest of heart, nor peace of conscience, still I greatly desired to possess these blessings of which I heard him speak.

“Ah,” I sighed, “if only my name was written in heaven.”

Just at this moment the preacher cried out:

“Perhaps there is some one here, a sinner, who would like to have an assurance of his name being written in heaven.”

And then, with accents full of love and sympathy he addressed all who, up to that moment, had lived without a desire to receive Jesus as their Savior, and who, on that account, had neither peace nor joy.

These words were just what I needed, they described exactly my case, but I was not yet wholly broken down. It was not that I did not accept the fact that I was powerless for good. But God did not abandon me. He made the light of the truth to shine into my soul, and little by little I came to realize my state of guiltiness, and how deserving of condemnation I was in the presence of a just and holy God.

Then Satan, that great enemy of souls, sought to frighten me by suggesting that I was too bad, that never a sinner as wicked as I was had received from God salvation and peace. Thus he succeeded in retaining me in his fetters.

At length I could hold out no longer, I was unhappy and distressed on account of my sins, and I cast myself down before the Lord and implored His compassion. Then I found peace and consolation by faith in the sacrifice of Christ, offered for me upon the cross, and accepted by God for me. Thus I obtained deliverance, and by the word of the Spirit of God, I found the assurance that God had received me as His child. O! what joy filled my soul. Now I knew without any doubt that my name also was written in heaven, inscribed in the Book of Life. My conscience was purified from all sin by the precious blood of Christ, which I knew had been shed for me, and by the power and the mercy of God I have been kept in the straight path of faith. All is pure grace, and it is always precious for me to be able to bear witness for the Lord, and to His love, before all whom He gives me to meet in my path, for, for such there could be nothing happier than to learn what the Savior has done for them in order that their names also might be written in heaven.

And now my dear reader allow me to address the same pressing question to you.

“Is your name written in heaven? Can you rejoice in the consciousness of it? If you cannot answer in the affirmative, have you a desire for it? It can only be through Christ Himself. If you come to Him as a repentant sinner; if by faith you lay hold of the efficacy of His sacrifice to take away your sins from before God, then you are one of those blessed ones whose names are written in heaven.” The word to the overcomer is:

“I will not blot out his name out of the book of life,” but on the other side weigh this:

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

Extract: "They Will Reverence My Son"

God sent His Son into the world with this thought, “They will reverence My Son;” but, alas! man's heart had no reverence for the “well-beloved” of the Father;—they cast Him out.

The First Epistle to the Corinthians: 14

Chapter 14

It is plain that one general subject occupies the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth chapters; it is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church or Assembly of God, and His gifts, with their proper exercise. No other subject has so large a place in this Epistle, and we may with sorrow add that it would appear that few other portions of 1st Corinthians have been more slighted in the practice of the religious systems of our day.

Verse 1. The thirteenth chapter has shown the way of surpassing excellence (chapter 12:31), and the opening words of our chapter leave no room for doubt as to the preeminent place of love in the assembly: Follow after love, and desire (or earnestly desire) spiritual manifestations, but rather that ye may prophesy. Evidently the believers at Corinth were most impressed by those gifts of the Holy Spirit which gave opportunity for display; speaking in tongues was of that character. The apostle tells them that prophesying was what they should desire.

Verses 2, 3. He that speaks in a tongue speaks not to men, but to God, for no one understands him, though in spirit he speaks mysteries. It is evident that such a one is not edifying-building up-the children of God. But he that prophesies, speaks to men to edification, and exhortation (or, more exactly, encouragement) and comfort. Thus souls are blessed and God is glorified.

It will be seen that prophesying is, in the Scriptures, not at all limited to foretelling events. Old Testament prophets did, it is true, on occasion foretell many things, but this was in every case only part of God's design to reach the consciences and hearts of His wayward people Israel. Acts 11:28, and 21:10, 11 tell of things foretold by a New Testament prophet named Agabus; and in Acts 13:1, and 15:32 we read of prophets about whom nothing is said as to foretelling.

It has long been rightly said, that prophesying is not so much foretelling, as it is forth telling, and that, the mind of God. Since the completion of the Bible, prophesying may have somewhat changed in character, because the Word of God is now complete and in our hands, but in the language of another,

“A prophet is one who is so in communication with God, as to be able to communicate His mind.”

Prophecy “might contain an application of the thoughts of God, and address on the part of God to the soul, to the conscience, which would be more than knowledge, but which would not be a new revelation. God acts therein without revealing a new truth or a new fact.”

“When any one teaches, he who is spiritual profits by it; when one prophesies, even he who is not spiritual may feel it; he is reached and judged; and it is the same thing with the Christian's conscience.”

Teaching is explaining the Word of God, and very much needed; but of greater value is that sort of ministry which brings a message from God exactly suited to the needs of the consciences of the saints. May He be pleased to bestow much more of it!

Verse 4. He that speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he that prophesies, edifies the Assembly,-how much more important! Indeed it is that which is given prominence in this chapter.

Verse 5. The Corinthians seem to have coveted the gift of tongues in a special way; the large hearted apostle says, I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied, for greater is he that prophesieth, than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the Assembly may receive edifying. The gift of tongues, with other gifts of the Holy Spirit, ceased long ago, with the spread of the gospel throughout the civilized world, the need for it having passed. Very useful it was on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4-11), we can see, and no doubt it was employed many times in the early history of the Church; but to be of value, the language spoken had of course to be understood by the hearers.

In the 6th verse the apostle begins to show by a series of examples how mistaken the Corinthians were in using the Spirit's gift of tongues as they did. First, a visit from himself is supposed: If he came to them speaking with tongues—and he possessed that gift more than all of the Corinthians (verse 18)—what should he profit them except he should speak to them either in revelation of truth, not theretofore made known, or in knowledge of truth already revealed? In the former case he would be prophesying; in the latter he would, we gather, be teaching, but in either he would be seeking their profit.

He turns to speak of lifeless things (musical instruments) giving a sound; if they give no distinction to the notes, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? And (verse 8) if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for war? Thus also (verse 9) those to whom the apostle writes, unless with their tongues they gave a distinct speech, how should it be known what is spoken? for they would be speaking to the air.

There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of undistinguishable sound. If, therefore, says the apostle, I do not know the power of the sound, I shall be to him that speaks a barbarian, and he that speaks a barbarian to me. Even so ye, he continues, forasmuch as ye are desirous of spirits (see the marginal note in your Bible), seek that ye may abound for the edification of the Assembly (verses 10-12).

How profited the children of God are, where the character of ministry reflects this seeking to abound to the edifying of the Assembly! And why should it ever be otherwise? Would that every brother, young and old, should realize in his own soul the important place which this chapter gives to the building up of the saints; and seek, through knowledge of the Scriptures and prayerful dependence upon God, to serve Him and His people in this way!

Verse 13. One having the Spirit's gift of tongues, should, realizing that it was not intended for the Assembly (verse 22), pray that he may interpret; not human intellect, but a further gift of God is needed, that the saints may be edified.

Verses 14-20. The edification of the Assembly continues to be the theme, and praying in a tongue, though one's spirit be engaged in it, is out of place there, because one's understanding is unfruitful; those present and hearing do not know what is said. Praying and singing and giving of thanks are to be not only the action of my spirit within me—for man is a tripartite being, spirit, and soul and body (1 Thess. 5:23)-but the understanding must be engaged; it follows then of necessity that I shall pray, or sing or give thanks in the language known to all; then the others will understand. Endowed beyond all to whom he wrote, with the gift of tongues, the apostle desired to speak five words with his understanding, that he might instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue. A needed word of admonition follows (verse 20):

“Brethren, be not children in your minds, but in malice be babes; but in your minds be grown men” (N. T.).

In the 21st verse the quotation is from Isa. 28:11, 12, where God warned Israel who would not listen to His servants, that He would speak to them with the stammering lips of foreigners; that would be a sign of their distance from Him, and of His judgment that would fall upon them. Tongues therefore (verse 22) were not for believers, but for the unbelieving; but prophecy is not to the latter, but to those who believe.

Finally the apostle, by an example of what might occur in Corinth, if the whole Assembly came together in one place, pictures the deplorable effect upon simple persons or unbelievers entering in and finding all to be speaking with tongues; will they not say, he says, ye are mad? But if instead, all were prophesying, and some unbeliever or simple person came in, he would be convicted of all, judged of all; the secrets of his heart are manifested; and thus, falling on his face he would do homage to God, reporting that God was indeed among them.

The day when the whole Church or Assembly of God might come together in one place has long passed, yet the original ground of gathering (Matt. 1:8: 20; Eph. 4:4, etc.), remains the refuge of all who in a time of ruin and failure cling to God's Word as sufficient for even the darkest day.

In verses 26-40 the apostle applies that which has been brought out in the three chapters (12, 13 and 14) to the regulation of the Assembly. There was much gift at Corinth (chapter 1:5), but little sense of responsibility to God, and every one came with a psalm, a teaching, a tongue, a revelation, an interpretation. All should be done to edification. If any should speak in a tongue, two, or at the most three should do so, and one must interpret; if there were no interpreter, silence was called for; such should speak to themselves and to God.

Two or three prophets might speak, and the others were to judge, or discern what was said, if it really came from God. But if there be a revelation to another sitting there, let the first be silent, says the inspired apostle. All might prophesy one by one. The spirits of the prophets were subject to the prophets; they were, as another has said, masters of themselves in the exercise of this marvelous power which wrought in them, unlike the frenzy which characterized those under the power of demons. For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace, as in all the Assemblies of the saints (verse 33, N. T.). Women are to be silent in the Assemblies; they are to be in subjection, as in the Old Testament.

The Corinthians had departed from the order of the Holy Spirit in the Assembly, and the apostle in closing the subject, dis cussed in these three chapters, inquires, Did the Word of God go out from you, or did it come to you only? And he lays down this rule,that if anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which he wrote to them are the Lord's commandments. If any were ignorant that he wrote by the Holy Spirit with God's authority, it was ignorance indeed; let such be given up to their ignorance.

In conclusion, the brethren were to desire to prophesy, and were not to forbid the speaking with tongues; but all things should be done decently and in order.

The Book "Par Excellence"

“Show me a book,” said a thinking man, “which will cause me to rejoice when I am sad; to feel strong when I am weak; which lightens the darkness; enables me to bear with meekness, the taunts and sneers of the world; to forgive my enemies and to love them; to live no more to myself, but for others—show me such a book, and I shall know it does not come from men, but from God.”

This book, we know is God's Word. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

“The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

“The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

“More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honey comb.

“Moreover, by them is thy servant warned; and in keeping of them there is great reward.” Psa. 19:7-11.

An Encouragement to Street Preachers

One Lord's Day evening a number of young men went down to a certain street corner and began to preach the gospel. As they told the old, old story of God's great love to sinners, and of the Savior who died on the cross, a number of passersby stopped to listen. Some of those who listened were quite attentive, but at the close there was no tangible evidence of any blessing. As these young men turned toward home, they might have felt somewhat discouraged; but they left the sown seed with God, knowing that He alone could bless and cause it to bear fruit.

Some days later a godly man and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Hunt, felt it distinctly laid on their hearts to visit the city hospital. They had done this occasionally, but this particular morning they were so especially pressed in spirit, that they laid aside their work to go.

Walking through one of the wards, Mrs. Hunt observed a young lady crying, and upon reaching her bedside inquired as to her health. The still sobbing young lady replied that her name was Jane, and that she was much improved in health. In fact, she was to be discharged that day as cured. This made the cause of her tears more of a mystery; and upon further questioning from Mrs. Hunt, Jane told her story.

On the evening of the above mentioned preaching, Jane had stopped and heard the good news of God's free salvation. She had for some time been burdened about her sins; and now for the first time in her life she heard that if she simply believed in the Lord Jesus, all her sins would be cleansed, and she be saved. With the eagerness of one grasping for a life preserver when about to drown, she accepted the Savior as her own. It was a happy moment for Jane. But Satan did not want to lose another one from his grasp, and he stirred up the wicked hearts of her parents. With a heart running over with her newly found joy, Jane had gone home and told her parents what, to her, was good news, only to be rebuffed with cursings and abuse. Although it was a very cold night they ordered her out of the house. She had nowhere to go, and had wandered about the streets taking a severe cold.

In an exhausted and critical condition, Jane had been taken to the hospital; but now she was to be discharged, and with no place to go. She was only twenty years old, and the prospects were black as she thought of going out into a cold world without a friend or a home. A new phase of her life was about to open. She was to learn that the One who saved her was watching over her, and knew all about her suffering for His sake. The Lord had sent these dear Christians to the hospital for her sake.

Jane left the hospital that day, but not friendless or homeless; for she was taken to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hunt. After remaining with these dear people for some time, she secured work with other Christians. Her testimony was steady, and she grew in grace and in the knowledge of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As she grew in divine things she desired to answer to the request of her Lord who said, “This do in remembrance of Me.” This happy privilege was soon granted to her.

Dear fellow-Christian, “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Gal. 6:9.

God has not promised us that we shall see results from our testimony in the gospel. He has told us to hold forth the Word of Life and to preach the Word. It is our business to be faithful in spreading the glad tidings as we have opportunity—redeeming the time—and leaving the results with Him.

“In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” Eccl. 11:6.

A Prairie Fire

There was joy in heaven the night that a young girl, whom we will call Sarah, took her place as a guilty sinner before God, and accepted Jesus as her Savior. There was real joy in our hearts, too; for we longed to see her saved. The seed sown in her heart had taken root, and brought forth good fruit. It was not a shallow conversion, but a really deep work in her soul.

Shortly after this, Sarah asked to be, and was baptized, publicly confessing Jesus as her Lord. She seemed to have a really earnest desire to please the Lord, and to live for Him. For several years we could see good spiritual progress with this young Christian.

But one day, Sarah met a very nice young man. Little by little this acquaintance grew, and his attentions to her became more serious. He was perfectly all right as far as this world is concerned, and might have been a model young man, but he was unsaved. He did not know Christ as his Savior, and that should have been enough for this dear Christian girl. She was warned of the danger, and her attention called to God's plain word which says,

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Beliel? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel (unbeliever, N. T.)?” 2 Cor. 6:14, 15.

Of course, Sarah did not at first expect to go so far as to really marry an unconverted man; but when we start out on a wrong path, there is no telling how far we will go in that path. It is very much safer not to enter into a wrong course, than to attempt to stop when we have taken a wrong step or departed in the least from God's written Word.

When Eve, in the garden of Eden, left the plain word of God in speaking to Satan about the fruit she was told not to eat, she had opened the door to that arch-deceiver, and before long had sinned by doing exactly the thing she was forbidden by God to do. Dear young Christian, it is very important to take the Word of God simply as it is; and when warned of something to

“Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.” Prov. 4:15.

Sarah's history followed the same sad course as that of many others who have failed to heed God's warnings in His Word. In the course of time she joined herself in marriage to this amiable, but unsaved man. This dear Christian girl had linked herself for life with one who knew not her Savior, and with whom she could not have the slightest fellowship in the things of the Lord. The One who was precious to her as the One who died for her on the cross, meant nothing to him. Sad, sad, indeed is such a union, to say nothing of the reaping time that is always sure to come.

For some time there was nothing to indicate the Lord's displeasure at her disobedience. The Lord is patient and longsuffering, but we shall surely reap what we sow (Gal. 6:7). All who disobey do not reap in the same manner or at the same time, for the Lord knows how to judge and when to do so. If we have sinned, He looks for true repentance and confession, but even then there is a reaping according to His love and wisdom.

Later, Sarah and her husband moved several hundred miles from the city. She had now cut the ties with the Lord's people she knew, and the meetings she used to enjoy. We heard nothing of her for a long time.

One day the news reached us that a big prairie fire had swept through the country where this couple lived. To our sorrow we learned that our dear sister had been severely burned and was in a hospital. Later we got more details as to the fire. When they saw it coming, they left their new home, and getting into their car tried to drive away from the fire. But the blaze advanced rapidly, ever faster and faster, until they decided to leave their car and take refuge on the sheltered side of a large rock. There was hardly room enough for two at the one end; so Sarah's husband took shelter a short distance away around the corner. After the fire had passed, he came out and went for his wife. To his terrible dismay, he found her in a most pitiful and helpless condition. The fire which had passed where he stood without touching him, had whipped in and hopelessly burned her. She was rushed to the hospital where everything possible was done to relieve her suffering and save her life. All efforts were of no avail; and after several weeks of the most intense suffering, she went to be with the Lord.

Neither the house from which they had fled, nor the automobile they left was touched by the fire. Had they remained in either the one or the other, they would have been safe. She would have been safe only a short distance from where she stood, but the Lord allowed this sad thing to overtake her. She had failed to glorify God in her body, and the Lord took her home.

Some may wonder that her husband was unhurt. But judgment begins at the house of God. Sarah knew better, and had been warned of the consequence of disobedience. Not that her husband was better off by being unsaved; for just think of the awful doom of the lost throughout eternity—the lake of fire where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth forever. He was preserved from the prairie fire, but he is not secure from the lake of fire. On the other hand, she was saved from the judgment to come, and will spend eternity with Christ in glory; but her life down here, as a Christian, was a failure, and she was taken home in God's dealings with His children. We, as God's children, are responsible to walk as His children, and He deals with us as with sons. We cannot escape His governmental dealings.

“As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.” 1 Peter 1:14-17.

The meaning of “if ye call on the Father” is “since you are children and address God as Father.” Therefore let us walk carefully and seek grace to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear (Heb. 12:28).

Extract From a Letter: A Crown

Rev. 3:11 is much before me in its connection. Who has the greater joy? The One who gives the crown, or the one who receives it?

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35.

The greatest sorrow for us, would be, not to lose the crown, but to deprive Him of His joy in giving it.

Extract: The World and the Child of God

“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” John 17:14. It does not matter what the world is, be it good or bad; the child of God is not of it, though in it, as the place of his daily toil, conflict, and discipline.

Extract: Senses vs. God's Word

Faith rests on a far more solid ground than the evidence of our senses, and that is, the Word of God. Our senses may deceive us, but God's Word never can.

Correspondence: 2TI 2:13; ROM 6:23 Physical or Spiritual?; 2TI 4:8 What Appearing

Question: What does “He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13) mean?

Answer: In this Epistle we find many bearing the name Christian, who have only a lifeless profession.

The true Christian is seen as dead and risen with Christ—Christ is his life (Col. 3:1-4).

In 2 Tim. 2:11, 12 the believers are encouraged to suffer with Christ. “For if we have died with Christ, we shall also live with Him. If we suffer we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.” Those who deny the person of Christ as the eternal Son of God, He will deny them.

Peter denied that he knew the Lord, and did not confess Him. He failed, but his faith did not fail, he was still a believer (See Luke 22:31, 32, 61, 62). Jesus' intercession for him was, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” “If we believe not” means: If we are unfaithful, “yet He abideth faithful. He cannot deny Himself.”

Our failures are met by the advocacy of Christ. His promise to His own is unfailing. “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,”—they are part of Himself.

Question: Rom. 6:23. “The wages of sin is death.” Is this physical or spiritual death?

Answer: God said to Adam, “In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Mortality entered then. “After this the judgment.” Heb. 9:27. The whole man is involved; death came by sin; sin must be judged.

“Death we have earned—it is the wages of sin; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is not merely that eternal life is the gift of God, but the gift of God is nothing less than eternal life. Death is purposely looked at in its simple character of death. No doubt it is judgment of sin in this world, and implies, unless redemption comes in, the judgment which comes after. It is the present effect of judgment on sin, and the divine officer and witness of sin, to conduct us to judgment—according to wrath revealed from heaven, but here it is the end of life which fruitless sin worked. It does lead to judgment—judgment of works done while living. God gives eternal life.”

Question: Please explain what “appearing” is referred to in 2 Tim. 4:8. (“All them also that love His appearing”).

Answer: It is when the Lord comes with His saints (1 Thess. 3:13, 4:14; 2 Thess. 1:7, 10).

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13. The “blessed hope” is His coming for us. The “glorious appearing” is His coming with us.

The Successful Farmer

A well-known farmer, who had held the record as a raiser of prize flocks of lambs and sheep for half a century, was visited one day by a deputation of farmers to discover, if possible, the secret of his success in gaining so many honors and prizes at the local fairs, for his much admired flocks and herds.

The farmer, who was naturally proud of his reputation, and the coveted honors awarded him for his fine flocks of sheep and lambs browsing on the fields by the riverside, took his visitors round to view them, one of the company remarking that he “surely ought to be a happy and a satisfied man, having met with such a measure of success as he had enjoyed for almost fifty years, as a farmer and a flock-raiser is that romantic place.”

To these remarks the farmer made the following answer, which greatly astonished his visitors, who had formed the opinion that wealth and popularity are the chief causes of giving happiness and satisfaction to those who obtain them,

“My friends,” said the farmer, as he looked on his fine flock, grazing by the river side, “you are mistaken, if you reckon that success as most people count it, brings true happiness and contentment with it. I can assure you that I have known neither the one nor the other throughout my long life as a successful farmer here. I have had more anxiety and care in my life, for the past thirty years of it, than I had when I was a poor man on a small farm, working hard and living frugally, with a wife and a large family to provide for and bring up, but with a soul at peace with God, and a life lived in the daily enjoyment of His 'great salvation' (Heb. 2:3), which, as a young man I came to know under the gospel preaching of an evangelist. I knew real happiness then, and amid my hard-working years, I had the conscious presence of God with me, and His service was my joy by day; and His 'perfect peace' (Isa. 26:3) the solace and enjoyment of my nights throughout the twelve years in which I possessed them in my soul. But when 'success' flowed in upon me, and I became engrossed in the things of the world, I gradually forgot God, and my mind became occupied with the things of this present world. My life became absorbed in my flocks, and the reputation I was making for myself as a successful farmer, and, as my heart became more occupied with my farm, I became less careful to please God and to live as a Christian should. By and by I lost assurance of my personal salvation, and this, was the greatest of all losses to me. I would give all I now possess, to have ‘the joy of God's salvation' (Psa. 51:12) restored to my soul, as I knew it when a young man. But I have allowed the world and its wealth and successes to come in and rob me of my best treasure which money cannot buy, and I know that I must leave all that I have lived for throughout my life, of what men of the world call my successful years, but which I have now come to reckon to have been my years of deepest loss, which have lost to me the peace of God in my soul, and the loss of the 'sunshine of His face on my path.'”

The aged farmer heaved a deep sigh, as he ended his story, and wiping the tear from his cheek, said slowly and sadly,

“You younger men, who have your lives yet to live, take warning from me, and do not allow the love of this world to rob you of the peace of God in your lives, or the quest for this world's wealth or its honors, to shut out God and Eternity from your view, as I have done. I can never get back the years I have spent away from God, and in the darkness of departure from Him and His Word. I am leaving all I have gained, to those who lured me on in the world's way. I see too late my folly, but spend my last strength to warn others who may yet escape the path I long have chosen, which I now see to have been all wrong, alike for Time and Eternity.”

He died, leaving a large fortune, with the reputation of being a successful farmer, but passed into the world beyond, saying he had lost “the one thing worth living for-the enjoyment of Christ, and the joy of God's salvation in his soul.”

Let the reader beware lest the love of the world and its reputation, cheat him in the same way. There are numberless such cases, even among those who, at one time, bade fair to become followers of Christ, but were “overcome” by the love of this world and its successes, which lured them on by its smile, to their undoing and loss.

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” 1 John 2:15, 16, 17.

“Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” Phil. 3:8.

Extract: The Gospel

The gospel reveals God Himself coming down in perfect grace, and putting away sin by the sacrifice of the cross; putting it away, in the most absolute manner, on the ground of eternal righteousness, inasmuch as Christ suffered for it, having been made sin for us.

The Comfort of the Blood

“The blood was my first comfort, and I believe it will be my last comfort... I feel as though the Lord were leading me from earth to heaven, by the steps of the twenty-third Psalm:

“‘The Lord is my shepherd,... and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.'”

The words came slowly from the lips of a dying man—a doctor—passing away from a loving wife and children, in the prime of life, with a rest and joy in the Lord I have never seen surpassed. A few days later he passed away, with “Bless the Lord” on his lips.

Many physicians are infidels. Why, I cannot say. I would that all such could have seen this dear friend of mine patiently pass through months of weakness, always rejoicing in Christ, and then at the last bear witness to the comfort of the despised blood of Jesus.

Ah! there is no real foundation for the soul apart from the blood of Christ. That blood cleanseth from all sin, removes every stain, purges the conscience, purifies the soul, relieves the distressed and sin-burdened heart, and sets the one who trusts it perfectly free in the presence of God. Death is robbed of its sting, the grave of its victory, and “judgment to come” has no meaning for the one who rests only on that which the Holy Ghost calls “the precious blood of Christ.”

What folly can exceed that which despises God's only way of salvation—Jesus's blood? No solid real comfort is found apart from Christ and His blood.

What a portion is the Christian's! He has a title without a flaw, and a prospect without a cloud.

Infidel, what comfort will you have on your deathbed?

Extract: A Heavenly Nature

God, in infinite grace, and on the ground of Christ's accomplished sacrifice, bestows upon me a nature which can enjoy heaven, and a heaven for that nature to enjoy; and not only a heaven, but Himself the unfailing spring of all heaven's joy.

The First Epistle to the Corinthians: 15:1-20

Chapter 15, verses 1-20

The subject of the resurrection, which occupies the fifteenth chapter, because of its special importance has been reserved almost to the last of the Epistle.

Without the resurrection of Christ there could have been no glad tidings of God's grace to reach our ears, our consciences and our hearts; therefore the believers at Corinth, beguiled by Satan into doubting or denying the resurrection of the body, are reminded first of all of the gospel which had been announced to them.

They had received it, and in it they stood; by it they were saved (if they held fast the word announced to them as the gospel) unless indeed they had believed in vain, or lightly. In verse 2 salvation is looked at as now going on in the life of the believer; it is so, frequently in the Epistles, but not always; for example, in 2 Tim. 1:9, and Titus 3:5, it is a thing long completed; both are, of course, true. Our souls are saved and we, believers, are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed. The righteous, referring to all true Christians, are with difficulty saved because Satan throws every hindrance in their path that he may, and there is an evil nature within us that delights in sin (1 Peter 1:9, 5, and 4:18).

“Able to save to the uttermost”, is our Lord Jesus, “seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them” that come unto God by Him. Heb. 7:25.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). So, in our chapter, the proof that it was a real work of God in their souls would be in their “holding fast,” as the marginal note correctly reads, not merely “keeping in memory” what they had heard.

Verses 3, 4. What Paul had received in the first place, that he passed on to his hearers for their faith to rest in, like his own; and it was this, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried; and that He was raised the third day, according to the Scriptures.

The Old Testament witnessed to the necessity for His dying for our sins (plainly, but by no means only in Isa. 53), and to His rising again (Psa. 16:10, but many passages which foreshadowed His death indicated His living again).

What a burden is taken off the anxious, convicted before God of sin, when once it is apprehended that Christ died for our sins! Not every one's sins, mark you, were laid upon Him.

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Heb. 9:27, 28.

He died for the sins of all who put their trust in Him, not for those who reject Him.

“Come unto Me,” is His word, “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.” Matt. 11:28-30.

You are not in truth a Christian, unless you have made the 28th verse your very own; and you are not a happy Christian, unless you have made the 29th verse your own too.

Verses 5-7: The fullest proof is afforded of the fact of Christ's resurrection. Mary Magdalene (John 20:14-18 and Mark 16:9,10) saw Him first, but her report (and that of others of her sex) was not given much acceptance then, as we learn from Mark 16:10,11. The first witness of His resurrection named in 1 Cor.15 is the better known Cephas or Simon Peter (see Luke 24:33,34), and the twelve are named next, passing by the two of Luke 24 who did not know Who the stranger was that walked with them, until He was about to vanish out of their sight. The third instance cited is of “above five hundred brethren at once”, of whom the greater part were living when Paul wrote. Of this meeting, and that with James, no account is given in Matthew, Mark, Luke or John's inspired writings, though in Acts 1:3 it is said that the Lord “showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them (the apostles) forty days.”

“And last of all,” says Paul in the 8th verse, “He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” The occasion was when he as Saul of Tarsus was going to Damascus, an open enemy of Christ, and suddenly there shone about him a light from heaven, and he fell to the earth, hearing a voice saying to him,

“Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?” Acts 9.

With becoming lowliness the apostle writes, “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called apostle, because I have persecuted the assembly of God” (verse 9, N. T.). The twelve had never been guilty of that, but Paul before his conversion had passed all others in sin against Christ, as he says in 1 Tim. 2:15, 16... “sinners, of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.”

And so in verse 10 of our chapter he says,

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace which was bestowed upon (or, was toward) me was not (or has not been) in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

In the Acts there is little mention of the twelve apostles except Peter and John, and they only to the 12th chapter, and again in chapter 15 where Peter is named. The risen Lord had given them a work to do, in Matt. 28:18-20, which it is evident they did not carry out, and we do not know from the Scriptures to what extent they really acted on those instructions. The Holy Spirit in the Acts, after the martyrdom of Stephen (chapter 7) by the Jews (“Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so do ye”—verse 51), is concerned with the Gentiles much more than with the children of Israel who had both rejected and crucified their Messiah and rejected the Holy Spirit in Stephen whom they stoned to death. The salvation of God was therefore being offered to the Gentiles (See Acts 28:23-29). This is no doubt the reason why we are told so little about the twelve, whose mission was primarily to Israel.

Verses 11-14. Whether Paul or the twelve preached the message of salvation depended upon the resurrection of Christ. So Paul had preached at Corinth, and so they believed. Now, he says, if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen; and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

Verses 15-17. It would necessarily follow then, that Paul and those with him, and all others who were making the way of salvation known, were false witnesses of God, because they had testified of Him that He raised up Christ, whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not raised, and if He be not raised from the dead, the faith of the Corinthians (and of all others, necessarily) is vain; ye, says the apostle, are yet in your sins.

What a test of any new teaching we have here! How, we may ask, does it affect Christ, His person, His work, His glory? In denying a bodily resurrection, the bold advocates of human reasoning overlooked the vital fact of His rising from the grave everything depends upon His resurrection; take only one passage: Rom. 4:24-25,

“Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.”

He was delivered up to the death of the cross, bearing our sins' judgment; but His raising again is proof that He had exhausted that judgment, so that it can never fall upon the believer.

“God will not payment twice demand;

Once at my bleeding Surety's hand,

And then again at mine.”

“He that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Rom. 8:11. We who trust Him as Savior, will be raised as surely as He was raised.

But the resurrection of Christ has other aspects. It was the seal of the miracles He had performed, and of His grace Who had gone down into death to deliver men from Satan's chains and from death.

Do not these verses show how fully Christ took His place with men—with his saints—

“If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen” (ver. 13).

“If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised?” (ver. 16).

He was taken out from among the dead, from the rest of the dead—the seal, as another has said, of His perfect acceptance; and we who believe shall be taken out from among the dead in the same manner; it is only a question of time. Beside this, the resurrection of Christ is evidence that all that have died shall rise again; not only the saints but the wicked; but each in his own order (John 5:28, 29).

Verse 18 speaks of those who have died in faith; they would be lost eternally if Christ is not raised; and verse 19 measures up the case of living believers, if there be then no hope beyond this life, they are of all men most miserable, because the world has no attraction for them; they are indeed spoiled for this world. But now (verse 20) is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of the sleeping saints. He, seated in glory, is my assurance that I shall be there also, through grace.

Neutrality

There can be no neutrality in divine things. When Christ's interests are at stake, we must either be for Him, or for His adversaries. We have it from His own lips,

“He that is not with Me is against Me, and He that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad.” Matt. 12:30. To this there is, and can be, no exception. I turn to the Old Testament for illustration. We will begin with Ex. 32. When Moses went up into the mountain to commune with God, and to receive the tables of the law from His hand, there was no need to ask, “Who is on the Lord's side?” Such a question in the camp of Israel would be superfluous. But when Moses returned with the tables of the law in his hand, Aaron had made the golden calf, and the Israelites were worshiping it; and Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said,

“Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me.” “And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.” No one could be neutral at such a time; they must declare themselves either on the Lord's side, or against Him.

The second illustration is in Judg. 4 and 5. God gave Deborah and Barak a great victory over the Canaanites, which they celebrated in a song; but the inhabitants of Meroz, instead of sharing the victory, were cursed. “Curse ye, Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.” In other words, they were cursed because they were neutral.

Thirdly, in Judg. 19 and 20, we read of the terrible state of things in Israel, and how, with much suffering and loss, Israel put away the evil from among them; but in Chapter 21:8-12, it comes out on inquiry, that the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead had been neutral, and they were treated exactly as the children of Benjamin had been treated, who had sinned against the Lord.

Fourthly; we have the solemn history of the old prophet of Bethel, in 1 Kings 13. In chapter 12, we find the worship of the golden calves introduced by Jeroboam, with the avowed purpose of keeping the people of God from going to Jerusalem, God's center of worship. One of these golden calves was set up at Bethel. Chapter 13:11 tells us that an old prophet dwelt there, but we do not read of a word of protest from him against the king and his altar. On the other hand, there is no reason to think he joined in the idolatrous worship of the calf. He was neutral. Consequently we read of a man of God, sent by God out of Judah, to cry against the altar in the word of the Lord. Notice how carefully he was warned against having fellowship with anyone at Bethel. He was to eat no bread nor drink water there, nor to return the way by which he went. Now, Jehovah, whose word this was, knew before sending him that the old prophet dwelt there, but He meant the man of God from Judah to have no fellowship with him. We also see divine wisdom in his being forbidden to return the way he went; for that would have emboldened the weak ones to go to Bethel, and join in idol worship. (Compare 1 Cor. 8.) “Surely,” they would have said, “it must be right when such a man of God goes.” But although many saw him go, none saw him return. What a melancholy thing it is to read of the determined effort of the old prophet to make the man of God from Judah recognize him in his neutral position! First of all, he goes a journey to reach him (ver. 13). Secondly, he lies, and deliberately falsifies the word of God, to accomplish his purpose. What a warning, for all time, to beware of those who are neutral in the things of God, and who, like the Pharisees, will compass sea and land to make one proselyte!

Finally, what can be worse than spiritual neutrality, or indifference to Christ, as set forth in Rev. 3:15-18?

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot, so then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable, and poor and blind, and naked.”

The next verse tells us of gold tried in the fire, of white raiment, and of eyesalve; that is, divine righteousness, practical righteousness, and spiritual discernment. Where these things are found, there is no lukewarmness, neutrality, in what is due to Christ. But wherever we find neutrality, in what is due to Christ, we are sure to see spiritual blindness and want of practical righteousness, as in the case of the old prophet of Bethel. Whether the gold tried in the fire is also lacking, we must leave the judgment seat of Christ to determine. It is said in 2 Tim. 2:19,

“The Lord knoweth them that are His,” but our side of it is, not neutrality or indifference, but,

“Let everyone that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

Reader beware of neutrality! “Who is on the Lord's side?”

Seeking Only Christ's Glory

It requires a very simple heart and single eye to be able to rejoice as unfeignedly in the fruit of another's labors, as in that of our own hands. O! what sacred rest—what true elevation—what perfect quietness of spirit flows from self-renunciation—such self-renunciation as results from having the heart wholly occupied with Christ! When we are honestly seeking the promotion of Christ's glory, we shall not be careful as to the instrument.

"Lord Jesus, Come"

Lord Jesus, come,

And take Thy rightful place

As Son of Man, of all the theme!

Come, Lord, to reign o'er all supreme,

Lord Jesus, come!

The Man of Sorrows once,

The Man of patience waiting now-

The Man of joy, forever,Thou,

Lord Jesus, come!

Lord Jesus come!

Crowned with many crowns-

The Crucified, the Lamb once slain,

To wash away our sin's crimson stain,

Lord Jesus, come!

And take Thy Father's gift,

The people by Thy cross made Thine,

The trophy of Thy love divine!

Lord Jesus, come!

That lost in Thee, our souls

May bow and worship and adore,

In Thy blest presence evermore!

Lord Jesus, come!

And in Thy glory shine,

That quickly these changed bodies may

Each one reflect a living ray,

Lord Jesus., come!

Lord Jesus, come!

Let every knee bow down,

And every tongue to Thee confess,

The Lord of all come forth to bless,

Lord Jesus, come!

Spirit and Bride,

With longing voice, say, Come;

Yea, Lord, Thy word from that bright home,

Is, “Surely, I will quickly come!”

E'en so, Lord, come.

Extract: The Time for Suffering, Affliction and Hardness

This is the time of suffering, the time for enduring afflictions and hardness; we must wait for the time of rest. There is a time when the Lord Christ shall reward His faithful servants—those who from love to His person, and by the energy of His Spirit, have performed acts of service for Him in the time of His rejection. These acts may not be seen, known, or thought of by men; but Jesus knows them, and will publicly declare them.

The Important Choice: Part 1

It is a fact which we do well to face, that every one is called to make a definite choice whether he will have Christ or the world. It is true that many have attempted to possess themselves of both, but it is always a miserable failure, for such people are never really happy.

Many there are who make a definite calculation as to whether they can part with the world, and they decide that they cannot. They would like to become children of God, they would like to be real Christians, they would like to have the assurance of salvation; but the cost to them seems too great. The world has its attractions, its pleasures and its excitements; they cannot bring themselves to give up its balls, its theaters, its concerts, and its round of amusements.

So thought a young girl with whom the Spirit of God was evidently striving. She had had the advantages of a Christian home and of earnest and whole-hearted Christian friends, but at school she had come in contact with worldly influences, and these had proved too alluring; she had learned to dance, and she loved it; she felt her whole nature going out toward the world and its pleasures. What was she to do?

“I cannot go into the world, and be a Christian too,” she said. “I must be one thing or the other.” It is a serious crisis in that young girl's life—may God help her to make the best and wisest choice!

“Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”

This earnest appeal to Israel of old on the part of Joshua (Josh. 24:15) we would solemnly press home upon all our young readers.

Joshua appeals to them upon the ground of all that they had proved God to be for them in the past. Read that chapter through, and see how full it is of God's goodness and love to the people. He “gave” them this, and He “gave” them that; He “delivered” them here, and He “delivered” them there. There was no question as to His love, He had proved it to them conclusively. The whole question lay now with them,

“Choose you... whom ye will serve.”

In writing this we have specially in view the young people who have had the advantage of Christian training, but have not yet made a definite choice for themselves—Choose you—yes, it must be a choice.

It must be a definite decision—no half-and-half measures will do. You know the gospel in your head, you could clearly present it to others, but you have not made the choice. Nay, is this true? You have already made the choice, but, alas! so far it has been the fatal choice. We want you now to alter your decision, and to choose Christ for time and eternity.

The young girl alluded to above, knew and understood the gospel; she knew that Christ had died for sinners, and that she could be saved the moment she put her faith in Him; but she felt that it must be a faith of the heart, and that if faith was that of the heart, it would be accompanied by a change of life, and would lead her to follow Christ consistently.

Let us imagine that two purses are lying on the table. The one contains one cent; the other five thousand dollars. A poor and needy man is told that he may have one or the other, but that he cannot have both-would it take him long to decide which of the two he would choose? Could we imagine anyone so foolish as to give up the purse containing five thousand dollars, because he could not bring himself to part with the one containing one cent?

This is but a poor and feeble illustration of the comparative values of the world and Christ. True, the world in the light of eternity, with all its pleasures, its gaities, its excitements, is worth absolutely nothing at all. But Christ? Ah, tongue fails to tell, pen is utterly unable to write, nor can thought conceive His unsearchable riches!

(To be continued)

Extract: Fullest Love and Fullest Hatred

In the cross is seen the fullest exhibition of divine love answered by the fullest exhibition of human hatred.

Correspondence: How Can We Apply 2TI 2:19-22 to Christians Now?

Question: How can we apply 2 Tim. 2:19-22 to Christians now?

Answer: 2 Timothy applies to individuals who desire to please God. It describes Christendom, and shows what man's failure cannot destroy (see chap. 1:1, 9; 2:19; 3:16, 17; 4:8, 18).

Chapter 2:19, tells us God's firm foundation stands. The Lord knoweth them that are His; and every one that nameth the name of the Lord is to depart from unrighteousness. We are not called upon to say who are the Lord's, but to separate from evil persons; and ways of Christians also, if associated with evil.

Verse 20 describes Christendom under the simile of a great house where confusion is.

Verse 21, calls on the man of God to separate from the mixture, and be thus suited for the Master's use.

Verse 22, tells us to judge our own ways in the words, “Flee also youthful lusts.” Then comes what we are to follow,—not men, “but follow righteousness” (that is, practically); “faith” (that is, obedience to the Word of God); “charity” or love (that is, the activity of the divine nature in us); “peace” (that characterizes the man of God). The next words tell us of others with whom we are to associate, “with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

We do not decide who are the Lord's; He knows them, but we are to associate ourselves with those who manifest themselves in separation from evil; those I am to know, own, and walk with.

The Lord would not give us such instruction if we could not carry it out; only let us faithfully ask Him to guide us to those who keep His Word, and do not deny His Name.

Alice

Alice was an only child, an heiress. Lovely and accomplished, she lived for this world, and this world offered her no ordinary attractions. Idolized by her parents, and beloved by an accepted suitor, she knew not the meaning of a wish ungratified.

But an unexpected visitor arrived at the mansion. A pale messenger came to Alice. A hectic flush suffused her beautiful face, rendering it, if possible, more lovely still. The eagle eye of affection soon perceived that the seeds of consumption had been laid. The skilled physician pronounced the heart-rending verdict that her days were numbered, and that the career of love and self-indulgence would soon close.

Alice sank by degrees, and as she lay on her couch surrounded by all the luxuries that wealth could procure, began to think how sad it was to leave her loving friends and all her brilliant prospects, and to go where? where?

She could not find an answer satisfactory to her soul.

So she sent for the High Church Clergyman.

He came. The family were assembled. He produced a missal. They all knelt round the bed. He intoned the service for the sick. Having received her confession and pronounced absolution, he, with peculiar genuflections, administered the sacrament, and placing his hands on her, blessed her, and pronounced her a good child of the church. He departed, perfectly satisfied with his own performances, and assuring the parents that all was right.

Was Alice satisfied?

She had submitted to all. She had endeavored to join in the service, but in her inmost soul she felt a blank.

“Father,” said she, “I am about to die. Where am I going?”

The father gave no reply.

“Mother, darling, can you tell me what I am to do to get to heaven?”

No reply save tears.

“William, you who were to be the guide of my life, can you tell me anything of the future?”

No response.

“I'm lost! lost!” she exclaimed. “Am I not father? Is there any one who can tell me what I must do to be saved?”

At length the father spoke.

“My child, you have always been a dutiful daughter, and have never grieved your parents. You have regularly attended church, and helped in its services, and the minister has performed the rites of the church, and expressed himself satisfied with your state.”

“Alas! father, I feel that is not enough. It is no rest to my soul. It is hollow—it is not real. O! I am about to die, and I know not where I am going. O, the blackness of the darkness! Can no one teach me what I can do to be saved?”

Blank despair was pictured on her countenance. Misery overshadowed the circle. They were overtaken by a real danger. Death was in their midst. Eternity was looming before them. They knew not how to answer the agonizing appeal of an immortal soul, awakened to a sense of sin—to a dread of appearing before God—to the terrors of hell.

Alice was attended by a little maid who was in the habit of frequenting a meeting held in the village where prayer and praise were offered up in simplicity, and where they sang the old hymns—

“There is a fountain filled with blood,

Drawn from Immanuel's veins,

And sinners plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.”

and

“God laid our sins on Jesus,

The spotless Lamb of God;

He bore them all and freed us

From the accursed load:”

She longed to tell her mistress that she might “wash and be clean,” but felt diffident. At last she took courage, and just as the Israelitish captive said unto Naaman's wife,

“Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy,” she told her mistress,

“There is a preacher in the village who proclaims salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and urges us to accept the forgiveness freely offered in the gospel.”

“O that I could see him,” exclaimed the dying girl.

Alice besought her father to invite the strange preacher to the house; and, though he thought it extraordinary, her wish was law.

Again the family were assembled, and the man of God entered the room. The dying girl, raising herself appealed to him.

“Can you tell me what must I do to obtain rest for my soul, and die at peace with God?”

“I fear I cannot.”

“Alas!” said she, “and is it so? Is there no hope for me?”

“Stay,” said he, “though I cannot tell you what you can do to be saved, I can tell you what has been done for you.”

“Jesus Christ, the Savior God, has completely finished a work by which lost and helpless sinners may be righteously saved.

“God, who is love saw us in our lost and ruined state. He pitied us, and in love and compassion sent Jesus to die for us.

“‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’

“He shed His precious blood on the accursed tree in the stead and place of sinners, that they might be pardoned and saved.

“‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.’”

“And have I nothing to do?”

“Nothing, but to believe. No doing, working, praying, giving, or abstaining, can give relief to the conscience burdened with a sense of guilt, or rest to the troubled heart. It is not a work done in you by yourself, but a work done for you by another, long, long ago. Jesus has completed the work of our redemption. He has said, ‘It is finished.' Through faith in Him you have pardon. It is impossible for a sinner to do aught to save himself. It is impossible to add anything to the perfect work of Christ. Doing is not God's way of salvation, but ceasing from doing, and believing what God in Christ has already done for you. God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”

“I do believe that Jesus died on the cross for sinners; but how am I to know that God has accepted me.”

“Jesus the God-man, has ascended into heaven. He has presented His blood before God, and has been accepted for us; and when you believe, you are accepted in Him.”

The awakened sinner listened with breathless attention. She received the Word of God, which revealed Christ to her soul. The glad tidings of salvation fell as balm upon her wounded spirit. Her face was lit up with heaven's sunlight. Looking upwards she exclaimed,

“O, what love! what grace!”

Fragment: A Crucified Man

If I choose to identify myself with a Crucified Man, because He is the Son of God, the whole order of the world is upset to me.

Where and what is the world to me, while I honor a Crucified Man as the Son of God in the highest heavens?

The First Epistle to the Corinthians: 15:21-28

Chapter 15, verses 21 to 28

Verse 21. “By man came death”, carries us back in thought to the first man, to Adam and his wife at the dawn of human history. Then it was that, as we read in Rom. 5:12,

“By one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

What a scene of sorrow this world has become through sin! Earlier or later, sickness and death are the common lot of man, because man is by nature a sinner.

But the Spirit of God here mentions the first man and his family in order to present in bright contrast another Man, concerning whom it is written,

“And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.” 1 John 3:5.

Coming into the world as man, but without sin; indeed, the sinless One, Christ at every step in His earthly pathway glorified God; and dying, gave His life that we might live eternally with Him. Death could not retain Him in its grasp, and He rose from among the dead. That victory was for us who trust in Him, and He in rising, was the first fruits of those fallen asleep, i.e., the dead in Christ; by Him is the resurrection of the dead.

Verse 22. There are thus in the world two families: the original stock or Adam family; and the new creation of God, the Christ family, which includes all that are truly His. Adam brought death into his family; Christ imparts life in the power of resurrection. And what are the identification marks of the Christ family? O, there are many of them. One is found in Rom. 10

“The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.” (verses 8-11.)

“As in Adam all die” has been true ever since the days of our first parents. There had been a solemn warning given (Gen. 2:15-17) which seems to have been (perhaps momentarily) forgotten by Eve; at least, she listened to the devil, fell into his snare, and was followed by her husband. Then they heard the decree (Chapter 3:19).

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” After that, “and he died” became the rule, beginning in the fifth chapter.

“Even so in Christ shall all be made alive,” treats of the members of Christ's family in resurrection-life-”they that are Christ's,” as in the 23rd verse.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Cor. 5:17: or, it is a new creation).

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” Rom. 8:1.

“Wherefore remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh... that at that time ye were without Christ... having no hope, and without God in the world; but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Eph. 2:11, 12, 13. Are you “in Christ,” dear reader?

Verse 23. The resurrection of the lost is not in view here, but only of Christ and His own. Each is in his own rank, the first fruits, Christ; then those that are Christ's at His coming, when what in John 5:29 is called the resurrection of life, takes place.

“Then the end, when He gives up the kingdom to Him (who is) God and Father, when He shall have annulled all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy (that) is annulled (is) death. For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says that all things are put in subjection, it is evident that (it is) except Him who put all things in subjection to Him. But when all things shall have been brought into subjection to Him, then the Son also Himself shall be placed in subjection to Him who put all things in subjection to Him, that God may be all in all” (verses 24-28, N. T.).

The resurrection of the lost, in order that they may be judged, forms only a secondary part of the Holy Spirit's theme in this chapter; it is, however, evident that verse 21, “by man came also the resurrection of the dead”, while primarily applying to Christ's resurrection and that of those who are His own, takes in also the raising of the rest of the dead, which will follow by the space of a thousand years the raising of believers who have died (Rev. 20:5; John 5:25-29 and 17:2). So also, in the quoted verses 24-28, the resurrection of the lost is included, though not mentioned specifically.

The Father has given Christ power over all flesh (John 17:2) and in the exercise of that power He will, after the resurrection of those that are His, rule as man according to the 8th Psalm—a passage which is in fact referred to in our verse 27. Among many passages dealing with the subject, we may refer to Rev. 19:11-16 and following; Matt. 24:27-44, and 25:31-46.

“The end,” in verse 24 is the end of Christ's kingdom as Son of man, and the dawn of eternity in its fullest sense; then the judgment of the great white throne will have followed the thousand years' reign, and hell will have received both the lost, and the devil that deceived them. Then will He deliver up the kingdom to Him who is God and Father, having put down (or annulled) all rule and all authority and power.

He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The nineteenth and twentieth chapters of the Revelation reveal these closing dealings with most of these enemies; and other prophetic Scriptures tell of others.

God has decreed that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of heavenly and earthly and infernal beings, and that every tongue shall confess Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9, 10).

The last enemy to be annulled is death; this involves the resurrection of those that are not Christ's, to meet their judgment, but as has been indicated, the subject of the chapter is the resurrection of believers, and the resurrection of the remainder of mankind is passed over in silence.

The 27th and 28th verses will perhaps be made clearer if the reader will refer to Rev. 5, where the Son, as man, takes over the execution of the divine judgments expressed in the book. Just so in these verses of 1 Cor. 15, He is looked at as man, ruling in the kingdom given to Him until that special kingdom has served its purpose; then He as man will be subject to Him that put all things under Him, that God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) may be all in all. He will be eternally man, and as such He will be subject as He was during His life on earth; but He is and ever will be God, and one with the Father, even as He also was here on earth. (John 10:30). As Man He will be forever the Head of the whole redeemed family, the Church His Bride.

Extract: The Spring of True Christianity

Love to Jesus is the spring of true Christianity.

The Important Choice: Part 2

“Choose you... whom ye will serve.”

2. It must be an individual decision-choose you. No one can choose for another. Christian parents may long and pray for their children's conversion, but conversion is an individual matter. It is possible to be a child of Christian parents, and yet not be a child of God. True, the parents are largely responsible in the way of bringing up their children, but this is not the point under immediate consideration. The choice, so far as the young are concerned, must be an individual one.

Weigh the matter over well, young friend. Place the scale where the light of eternity will shine upon its beam, put the world into one pan, and Christ into the other, and honestly decide which of the two outweighs the other, then fearlessly make your choice.

In writing thus we are not forgetting that it must be the work of the Holy Spirit. We are born “not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). Perfectly true, and yet while all is the sovereign work of God, the responsibility of the individual soul is as clearly insisted on. The preceding verse declares

“As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the children of God.”

It may seem hard to reconcile these two statements of God's Word, but there they both are, and both are true.

When Christ is presented to the soul, each one is responsible to receive Him, and, in fact, each reader of these lines has already so far decided either to receive or reject. Which shall it be? Choose you.

3. It must be an immediate decision. “Choose you this day.” More people die in youth, than in middle or old age. Constantly we hear of sudden deaths by accident and sickness. Be on the safe side, and decide at once! The one who in early life decides for Christ, who wholeheartedly and consistently follows Him, and seeks to serve Him devotedly, is far happier in this life than the one who chooses the world, and then plunges headlong into its pleasures. It is like the lamp to the poor moth; fascinated by its brightness, it flies into the flame, and soon lies scorched and crippled on the ground.

The sooner you decide for Christ, the safer will you be in the light of eternity, and the happier will you be throughout your earthly course.

“Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”

Is not Christ worthy of your heart's choice? Think of His love!

“If I were the only sinner in the world,” we were once asked, “would Christ have loved me enough to have died for me?”

The question was an unusual one, and set us thinking; but soon our thinking was turned to praising. We thought of Paul, who saw himself, as it were, the only sinner in the universe, and reveled in the thought of the individuality of Christ's love.

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

Himself for me!

What heart-melting words! It was as though all that Christ had, and was, He gave for Paul—all His love He poured out upon him. Yes, we are each one entitled to appropriate all the love of Jesus, as though we were its only object; and yet, what He is to each one individually, He is to all collectively.

“Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto His God and Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Rev. 1:5.

He “loved me and gave Himself for me,” says Paul. He “loved us, and washed us,” says John. Both are equally true, both are divinely perfect. What mysteries of redeeming love!

“Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”

(Concluded)

An Address to Young People - Psalm 139: Part 1

I think we might properly call this the “Searching Psalm”, for you will notice it starts,

“O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me” and it ends,

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.”

That is, God is as it were, just reaching right inside and turning us inside out. God is going inside here. Now man does not do much of that. The whole world around us is running on the principle of what man sees on the outside. It is a world of extremes. Man is satisfied to have it so, but God isn't. God desires truth in the inward parts. The outside means very little to Him. Our Lord Jesus when He was here pointed out some people who were very proud of their exterior, but oh, what He said of them!

“They are like whited sepulchers, but inside they are full of dead men's bones.”

What a contrast between a nice whitewashed exterior, and those corrupting bones on the inside. Our Lord wants reality. So the Psalmist begins here, verse 1,

“Thou hast searched me, and known me.”

I wonder if you have had this experience? Have you been searched? Have you been in God's presence? The one who wrote this Psalm was a man who had been in the presence of God. He had felt that awful searching power, that which reveals everything that lies hidden. Have you ever been through that?

If you and I are going to have the companionship of our blessed Lord in heaven, we will have to pass through the experience of God's searching power turned right in on our soul, and have Him see what is there.

“Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me.”

If it were not for Christ, that would be a terrible thing. If you and I had to have that divine searchlight turned on us, that reveals every secret thing, and brings it out into the white light of His presence, if we had to pass through that experience and had not Christ, it would be nothing but despair. It would be a terrible thing to be searched and have no refuge; to be exposed, and brought into the light, and have no answer to it. But, thank God, in Christ that is all taken care of, and that is how the Psalmist here can say,

“Search me, and know me.” Otherwise it would be unmitigated terror to your soul.

There is coming a time when men are going to stand before that Presence; those who know nothing about the merits of the work of Christ, and so awful is going to be that experience that they are going to cry to the mountains and rocks to fall on them, and hide them from the face of His presence. They cannot bear that searching; that gaze from which nothing is hidden. What an awful thing when men would rather be buried between tons of rock and mountain, than stand before the presence of God. But that is what we would all feel if it were not for Christ.

This Psalm divides itself naturally into 4 groups.

The first 6 verses, second 6, third 6, and the last 6. The first brings before us the omniscience of God. The all-knowing wisdom and intelligence.

The second division we might call His omnipresence. Nowhere can we go to get away from Him.

The third is his Omnipotence. That power which was in creation. The One who made the heavens, the One who formed us—Omnipotent.

The last section is the reaction of the Psalmist to all this knowledge. The reaction in his soul to God's omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. See how intimate that knowledge is in the first section-verse 2:

“Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.”

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Psa. 1:1.

There is someone sitting down here, but he is in bad company. The Lord knows all about it, too. Sitting down, but in bad company. Our Psalm says,

“Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising.”

Young folks, where do you like to sit down? What kind of companions do you choose? Remember the Lord knows all about you. What kind of folks do you like to chat with? Where do you feel most at home? With the enemies of our Lord, or with those who love Him? You can come to the meeting and be very pious, but what about those other times when you are not in the meeting, when you are just where you want to be without the knowledge of your brethren? What kind of companions do you enjoy? It is a wholesome thing for the soul to know,

“Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.”

God knows what we think about, and we are responsible for our thought-life. We are responsible for that part of our thought-life that is the fruit of our will. Your thought-life will have more to do with your spiritual development, your spiritual character, more power in forming it than your very acts. The thought-life is the basis of your whole character, and it is a dangerous thing for any of us to allow, to encourage, or to cherish wrong thoughts.

The Lord knows all about our thoughts. He doesn't judge us just by the words that fall from our lips, He knows what we think about, every imagination of the heart is known to Him.

“Casting down reasonings, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Cor. 10:5.

That sounds strenuous, doesn't it? That is God's recipe for wholesome thinking. It is the only standard. Christ must be the standard of our thinking as well as our acting.

(To be continued)

Are You a Backslider?

If you were ever a more faithful follower of the Lord Jesus than you are now, you are a backslider.

If you were ever more wholehearted in your love for the Savior than you are now, you are a backslider.

If you were ever more separate from the world which crucified the Son of God than you are now, you are a backslider.

If you were ever more zealous for the glory of God than you are today, you are a backslider.

If you were ever more earnest in reading the Word of God than you are today, you are a backslider.

If you were ever more frequent in prayer than you are now, you are a backslider.

If you were ever more anxious about the salvation of others than you are now, you are a backslider.

Solemn statements—but true ones! Think them over.

If you are a backslider, the voice of the Lord calls you,

“Return, O backsliding children.”

He would have you in the full glow of Christian blessing, brightly witnessing for Him, and living for His glory and honor.

It has been said that the backslider is a good advertisement for the devil. He can point to such a one and say to the world,

“You see he does not find happiness through Christ. He has given up his service.” Another solemn statement but a true one! Think it over!

“I have against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works.” Rev. 2:4, 5.

Be Still - Psalm 46

“The wrath of man shall praise Thee,”

The rest “shalt Thou restrain,”

And out of earth's disasters

Thou wilt bring eternal gain.

The purpose of man's evil heart,

Works out Thy sovereign will,

Our God is still upon the Throne,

Therefore beloved, “Be still.”

“Be still, and know that I am God,”

This banishes our fears,

While passing through this scene of strife,

Of sorrow and of tears.

The One who rules the heavenly hosts,

Holds all within His hand,

And none can say, “What doest Thou?”

Or can His arm withstand.

We're covered by His banner,

We're shielded by His might,

He knows the way He taketh,

His way is always right.

The surgings of the nations,

Can but fulfill His will,

His own may dwell in “perfect peace,”

He's over all, “Be still.”

“Fear not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord... the Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace.” Ex. 14:13, 14.

What Shall We Read?

A man in India, as he was searching for a book, felt a pain in his finger, like the prick of a pin. He took little notice of it; but soon his arm began to swell, and in a short time he was dead. A small, but deadly serpent was found among the books.

There are many who receive in a book, a bad wound that may seem slight, but proves fatal to the soul. Be careful what you read.

“It (the Word of God) shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear the Lord his God.” Deut. 17:19.

Correspondence: How Should the Offering Be Spent?

Question: How should the offering put into the Lord's Box on Lord's Day morning be spent?

Answer: Scripture is silent as to such details, and hence we cannot lay down any rule; but we may give our judgment, which must go for what it is worth. The money collected at the Lord's Table belongs to Him; and we believe He expects that those who take charge of it shall be wise, gracious, and faithful in their stewardship. No one individual should take upon himself the exclusive management of such a solemn and important business. There should be full, loving conference and fellowship on the part of those in whom the Assembly can place confidence. Those who have charge of the money should keep an accurate account of the collection and expenditure of each week; and this account should not only be open to the inspection of the brethren, but it should be, from time to time, duly laid before them.

As to the objects to which the Lord's money should be applied, there need be no difficulty. All righteous claims on the Assembly should first be met—for we must be just before we are generous; then the Lord's poor should be attended to; and finally, His work in its various departments, as may be agreed upon in conference.

We cannot but judge, dear friend, that we all need to have our hearts stirred up, our understanding enlightened, and our consciences exercised as to the matter of the collection. We do not give as we might and as we ought. Our hearts are narrow, and our notions crude. We can find means during the week for a good deal of self-indulgence, for the purchase of many things which we could do without, and yet when the Lord puts His box into our hands at His table, our offerings are poor indeed. The collection at the Lord's Table, on the Lord's Day, is a beautiful and integral part of our worship. It is the special occasion in which we can, in holy fellowship, pour our offerings into His treasury.

Her Name in the Will

An orphan girl had started to earn her living at a hat factory. She took such care and interest in her work, that before long she was placed in charge of an important branch of the business.

During this period, she received a letter from a lawyer, to let her know that by reason of the death of an aunt whom she had never known, she had inherited some property, and a large sum of money. The girl thought at first that there had been some mistake, and that this inheritance could not be meant for her; she spoke to her employer about it, and he advised her to go and see the lawyer.

She agreed to do so, and presented herself at the solicitor's office, with many excuses in case she had made a mistake,

“There is no possible mistake,” said the lawyer, “for your name is plainly written in the will, and no other but yourself corresponds with the name and description given.”

He then showed her her name written plainly by her aunt. Emilie B. had only to put her signature to a document, and immediately entered into an inheritance that she had never hoped for, for which she had not worked, but which was the free gift of another.

The years went by. Emilie was not now in charge of a branch of a hat factory, but lived in a peaceful village, as companion to an old lady, and was well-known for her works of love among the poor and needy of that district. She gave her powers and her money for the good of these unfortunates, and was called the “young lady who is good to the sick and poor.”

But in spite of her kindness, Emilie was not a Christian. She had never seen herself as a sinner before God having need of a Savior, and did not belong to the heavenly family, who are born of God.

While on a visit some distance from her home, she came into contact with some faithful preachers of the Gospel, and being awakened in soul, she soon felt her state as a sinner, and her need of a Savior. For some days she was in great anguish, and finally was advised to go and see the preacher who had been the means of her conviction of sin. She wanted to know for certain that the free gift of God was really for her.

The preacher, who knew nothing of Emilie's history, and wishing to make it quite clear that salvation was for her, employed this illustration,

“Suppose some rich person leaves you an inheritance, how would you be assured that it was for you and nobody else?”

Emilie smiled, and suddenly grew red in the face, for she well remembered the doubt which had assailed her on receiving the lawyer's letter.

“Would it not be,” continued the servant of God, “in seeing your name written in the will, and in proving that you are the person corresponding to the description given? It is the same with Christ and the salvation which He has brought. The Scripture says:

“‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.’ 1 Tim. 1:15.

“Nothing can be plainer, and we also read;

“‘While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ Rom. 5:8.

“The Savior came into the world to save a certain class of people described by the name of 'sinners.' Now the only point on which you need to be sure is,

“‘Do I belong to that class of people?'

“O! yes,” said Emilie, “I know that I am a sinner, and a greater one than I imagined I was; that is why I fear that salvation is not for me.”

“But the Word of God which I have quoted says the contrary, and which are you going to believe, your feelings, or the Word of God?” Emilie was silent.

“The entrance of Thy words giveth light,” but she hesitated to confess it. On her way home, the grand fact that for sinners, for the lost, Christ came, and not for the good ones, seemed to shine in all its simplicity;

“I see it, I see it, I understand,” said she with a loud voice, as she walked along; “it is for sinners as I am, therefore it is for me. My name is in the will. The inheritance is for me, and I claim it.”

And she did so, and henceforth her life showed that she was saved through faith in Christ Jesus her Lord.

“In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Eph. 1:7.

“To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:4.

"Sufficient Unto the Day"

The above quotation is from a precious verse in Matt. 6:34.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

From this we learn the needed lesson not to bring the “evil” of tomorrow into today—not to foredate sorrow. We have only to live by the day, and we shall find God's grace amply sufficient for the need of each day as it arises. But if we attempt to grapple today with the anticipated difficulties of tomorrow, we must do so at our own charges and shall not be able to meet the demand.

“Let each day upon its wing,

Its allotted burden bring;

Load it not, beside, with sorrow

That belongeth to tomorrow.

Strength is promised, strength is given,

When the heart by God is riven;

But foredate the date of woe,

And alone thou bear'st the blow.”

The First Epistle to the Corinthians: 15:29-42

Chapter 15, verses 29-42

In the 29th verse the apostle returns to the subject directly before him to the 19th verse, for verses 20 to 28 form a parenthesis in which he made known the place in God's purposes that His Son has and will have as man, consequent upon His cross. Verse 29 closely connects with the 18th verse, and verses 30-32 with the 19th.

The 29th verse has been and is the subject of needless controversy; it involves little difficulty for the simple believer. The nature and meaning of Christian baptism is made clear in Rom.6: it is unto Christ's death; believers are buried with Him by baptism unto death.

“They... which are baptized for the dead” refers to this primarily, and it appears to take in also the thought of those who are baptized, filling up the ranks of believers depleted by reason of death—their taking the places of those who are fallen asleep in Christ, as new men are brought into a regiment of soldiers to take the place of those killed in battle.

If Christ is not risen, and if dead believers will not rise again, Christian baptism is a delusion; but He is risen, and the dead in Christ shall rise, according to an abundance of Scriptures. Likewise, Paul's endangering his life constantly (verses 30, 31) for his Master's sake was folly, unless the dead arise.

The incident at Ephesus referred to in the 32nd verse, takes us to Acts 19:29, and the Apostle here uses a figure of speech.

See the marginal note, which makes the verse read,

“If, to speak after the manner of men, I have fought with beasts of Ephesus, etc.”

They were human beasts, seeking his life because he preached Christ. What advantage was it to Paul that he should have such an experience, if the dead rise not?

In the latter part of verse 32, and in verses 33 and 34, it is made plain that the teaching that the dead do not rise, is a Satanic delusion.

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10), is one Scripture out of many that carry the assurance of the resurrection of the body.

“Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die,” springs from the arch-deceiver who would tempt men into the belief that death ends all. Some believers at Corinth, who ought to have been wary of Satan's wiles, had taken up with this delusion, and as the apostle says,

“Evil communications corrupt good manners.”

We should never give heed to that which is contrary to the Word of God, and in this case it is clear that the corruption of “good manners” was a result of that, in opening the door to the unbridled desires of the natural man. Therefore the word is, (verse 34).

“Awake to righteousness, and sin not!”

Their consciences must be stirred, the path of danger exposed. Some had not the knowledge of God, though at Corinth it was natural to boast of knowledge, as we have seen.

“I speak to your shame,” says the apostle. The knowledge of God is a deeper thing than the knowledge of Christ as your Savior; ignorance concerning Him leads to a careless walk in believers.

It is instructive to observe the wisdom of God in meeting, as in the verses that follow, the curiosity of man.

“But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?” (verse 35).

Natural curiosity is not satisfied in the explanatory verses which follow; indeed it is rebuked in pointing out what the worldly-minded Corinthians well knew. You sow seed, whether in your garden or in the field; it is not quickened unless it dies. Turn back the soil after the seed has germinated, and see, the thing you planted has died.

“And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain; but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body” (verses 37, 38). So will it be with the new and eternal body designed of God for His children; but more of this further on in the chapter.

Verses 39, 40, 41 point to the evident fact that God is not limited to the designing of bodies; each species has its own flesh, and there are heavenly bodies and earthly ones, differing in glory from one another. Each body is suited for the particular sphere for which it is made.

Verse 42. “So also is the resurrection of the dead,” that is, of the believing dead; for as we have seen, the resurrection of the lost is not the subject of this chapter. As the bare grain of wheat is sown, and out of its death there grows up a living thing of beauty, yet of the same nature; so, after the same order is it to be with the heavenly saints. The believer's body is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruptibility. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body (a body which had an animal life from the soul); it is raised a spiritual body; if there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one. How great is the change that awaits us!

(To be continued)

The Believer in Relation to the Gospel

“It is an unhealthy symptom,” says one, “when the simple gospel is not relished. It shows that the mind is at work, rather than the conscience exercised before God, or the affections engaged with Christ. The Spirit, who leads into all truth, connects everything in His teaching with those great primary truths, the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

There are not a few, alas! in our own day who are affected with this unhealthy symptom. “It is only the Gospel,” say some, especially those who assume a high tone of spirituality, and who speak slightingly of earnest gospel workers. But whatever may be our individual thoughts of the gospel, we are bound to think of it according to the word of the Lord, and for the sake of the unsaved.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36.

Here the blessed Master assures all His servants that one human soul is of more value than the whole material world. And can it be a light thing in His sight for any of His servants to be indifferent to the means of the eternal well-being of that which is so precious to Him? Did He not commend in the highest way the zeal of the “four” men who, in spite of every difficulty, brought the palsied man, and laid him at His feet?

“When He saw their faith” (not his) “He said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven.” Mark 2.

We want such zeal now, in connection with all our preaching rooms, earnest hearts that would bring, in faith, poor palsied souls to the place where the Spirit of God is working. Such zeal is sure to meet its bright reward. In no other way can a preacher be so helped and encouraged. He who honored the faith of the “four” then, is unchanged, and honors such faith, now.

A great responsibility thus rests with all who know the gospel, the glad tidings of salvation to the lost. To hold back this truth, or in any way to hinder its full and free proclamation, is to rob the sinner of his only hope of heaven, and Christ of His special glory as the Savior.

“It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Rom. 1:16.

What dignity and glory this gives to the gospel! It is nothing less than the power of God,

“The exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe; according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.” Eph. 1:19, 20.

Such are the marvelous results of the blessed mission of the gospel of the grace of God, that it raises all who receive it from the depths of their guilt and misery, and sets them in the presence of God, pardoned, and accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6, 19, 20; 2:1-10).

This is the gospel which the Lord has committed to His servants. May He in His mercy grant that both reader and writer may be found faithful to this sacred trust.

An Address to Young People - Psalm 139: Part 2

Turning to Colossians we get a word of warning along the same line,

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Col. 2:8.

Now, mind you, this was written to Christians, to Believers, and it is a solemn warning that we can be spoiled in our thinking, spoiled through philosophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, and not after Christ. There are many schools of opinion today—many religious schools, and they have all sorts of fine-spun theories hung together according to the judgments of men, but they are not after Christ. Dear young folks, that is all you need to know. Are they after Christ, or after the world? Don't be deceived by the fact that they are specious, plausible, enticing—don't let that get you off your guard. Do they agree with what you hear here in the meeting? Are they in line with what you are taught in the Bible School? Are they after the truth of God as you get it in the Word of God? If it is, you can trust it; if not, you cannot trust it. Once I saw a man getting change for a purchase he had made in a store. He threw the coin given to him down on the counter and listened to the ring. It had the right ring and he took it.

Test these things, dear young people. We need to test them for our minds can be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. It is easy to have our thinking spoiled by the philosophy of men. It is a dangerous thing; it is something to leave alone.

“After the rudiments of the world, not after Christ.”

You are safe when you are reading this blessed Book; when you have the Word of God in your hands. You can trust yourself in the reading meeting; and you can be thankful to be there for the Lord is there, and you will do well to listen to what you hear from those whom God provides to give out the Word of God, but beware of listening to a voice that is not the voice of the Spirit of God. It is dangerous and none of us know where we will land if we give heed to that which is not after Christ.

Verse 3: That is a broad term, “acquainted with all my ways.” That is not only, you see, when you are in the meeting; it is all through the week, “acquainted with all my ways.” That is far reaching; that is inclusive. That is how you act in the home, how you act in the office, in the school. That takes in all your acts. The Lord is acquainted with all your ways. He is searching us here. Well, do our ways stand the test? Do they stand that searching? Are they worldly?

What about your ways, young people? What about your companions and associates? Will they stand the test of the searching we are passing through here? “O,” you say, “the Brethren don't know anything about them.” Ah, but the Lord does; He knows all about them.

“Thou art acquainted with all my ways.”

Perhaps you are going on with some kind of reading, the kind you slip under your pillow when you hear someone coming. Father and mother don't know about it, but the Lord knows all about it. To what are you listening on the radio?

“Well,” you say, “when mother and father are not around I do turn on those programs once in awhile and listen to them. They think I am listening to the sermons.”

But God knows, and He is not mocked, and we reap the fruit of this kind of thing. Pay day will come, and soon enough, too. How much happier to have it all out before Him.

I am going to anticipate a little here: Go to the end of this Psalm. In the first verse He says, “God hast searched me” and in the 21st verse he says,

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts.” Here he is saying,

“Lord, I am glad you did search me, I needed searching, and I want you to search me because I don't dare trust myself. Before I know it something will filter in, Satan will get an advantage somewhere. Keep up the searching, Lord.”

We will never graduate from the searching process. We can go home from the meetings here and still be in need of searching.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart and try me.”

If we did that, perhaps we would find some of the things in our lives which we don't think are very serious. Things which we consider just a trifle. But submit it to the searching process and see.

Men can do wonderful things now days with the powerful instruments they have. They can magnify things a hundred thousand times. We used to think that to magnify a thing a hundred times was wonderful, but now they have an instrument which can magnify a hundred thousand times. We can actually see these things called viruses that cause such damage; they can kill off a million people inside a few months. So with spiritual matters, we need God's magnifying glass so we can see how deadly they really are.

Go back to the first section of this Psalm.

“For there is not a word in my tongue” (verse 4) “but O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether.”

O, how intimate is the searching in this Psalm. We see the Lord has His hands on us here; He is turning us inside out.

Well, we have heard about the path (verse 3), the downsitting and the uprising (vs. 2), and our ways (vs. 3).

Now there is not a word in my tongue, but the Lord knowest it altogether. He knows about the words we speak. There is not an idle word which we speak, but that we will have to give an account of to Him. The world can pick up whatever comes along, but I believe that you and I weaken our spiritual power when we deliberately take over expressions of the world. One is sometimes a bit shocked to hear young saints, even those who are breaking bread at the Lord's Table, utter some of these slang expressions that have taken possession of the young today. It is just a white-washed type of profanity, and to hear saints using these expressions is painful. But what about the Lord? What does He think of it?

Verse 5. “Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me.”

See what a position he is in. The Lord is behind him, and before him, and the Lord's hand is over him. That is where everyone of us is, and the soul that is going on with God would have it so. We do not want to have it any other way. We do not want to get in a position where we will use a lot of words we ought not, and think a lot of thoughts we ought not to be thinking—saying and thinking that which is not honoring to the Lord.

“Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me.” But should one say, “I would like to get away, and not be so near”? Young people feel like that sometimes. But what success will you have?

“Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee, but the night shineth as the day, the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee.” (Verses 7-12).

Yes, some think they can do things at night, in the darkness, and it will not be found out. Even Christians think this sometimes. Dear young soul, it is found out before you do it, “Thou understandest my thought afar off” (vs. 2). Before you ever committed the act, before you ever thought the thought, the Lord knew about it. You have not deceived Him. There is no getting away from Him. That darkness you think is your friend, will never cover you from exposure—remember that there is no darkness to Him. He sees just the same in the night as in the middle of the day. You can't get away from Him. If you know Him and love Him you will not want to get away from Him. You will be glad you can't get away from Him.

“Lo, I am with you always.”

If that is the attitude of the soul, you will delight in His presence. There is no such companionship as that. Nothing so noble and lovely in the world as a soul going on with God; with the blessed Lord, as his companion. One has known and watched those among the young at different places and what a joy to the soul to see them going on with God.

“Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” 1 Tim. 4:8.

You will never be deceived if you go on with God. He will take care of you down here, and stand by you, and when you are through down here, you have sent something on ahead over there for you. Companionship with Christ pays in this life and in the next.

So going on down in our Psalm, in the last section, he takes his place with the friends of God, and against the enemies of God. Where do you take your place? With God's people? Are you on God's side? In Psa. 119 he says,

“I am a companion of all them that fear Thy name.” Psa. 119:63.

That is better than any club you can join. Vastly better than the Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, or all of them put together. No better companionship can be found than that of the people of God against the enemies of God.

“Abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good.” Rom. 12:9.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Verses 23, 24).

If there is any wicked way take care of it, and cleanse me, Lord, and lead me in the way of righteousness. Do you want that? You can have it. Take these last two verses with you, and live them out day by day, and they will bear fruit in your life to His glory.

Always Abounding

“Is your father—the doctor—at home?” I asked a child.

“No, he's away.”

“Where do you think I could find him?”

“Well,” (with a considering air) “you've got to look for some place where people are sick, or hurt, or something like that. I don't know where he is, but he's helping somewhere.”

And I turned away with this little sermon in my heart.

“Let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have, therefore, opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” Gal. 6:9, 10.

None Like Christ

There is none like Christ; nothing like redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. There is no learning or knowledge like the knowledge of Christ; no life like Christ living in the heart by faith; no work like the service, the spiritual service of Christ; no reward like the free-grace wages of Christ; no riches nor wealth like the unsearchable riches of Christ; no rest, no comfort, like the rest, the consolations of Christ; no pleasures like the pleasure of fellowship with Christ.

Little as I know of Christ, and it is my sin and shame that I know so little of Him, I would not exchange the learning of one hour's fellowship with Christ for all the liberal learning in ten thousand universities for ten thousand ages, even though angels were to be my teachers; nor would I exchange the pleasure my soul has found in a word or two about Christ as my God, for all the cried-up pleasures of this world since time began. For what, then, would I exchange the being forever with Christ, to behold His glory, see God in Him as He is, and enter into the joy of my Lord.

Behold, He Comes

“I come quickly.” Rev. 22:12.

He comes! Emmanuel comes!

Jesus, the crucified:

The Man of Sorrows He,

Who bowed His head, and died;

Who loved and washed us in His blood,

He comes to take us Home to God.

He comes! Our Shepherd comes,

Whose eyelids never sleep,

To gather in the skies

The thousands of His sheep:

Where the eternal fountains spring

Of life divine, His flock He'll bring.

He comes! The Advocate,

Who bears us on His breast,

To take our wearied souls

To His eternal rest:

O, let this hope dispel each fear,

Our Great High Priest shall soon appear.

He comes! The King of kings!

His sword is on His thigh;

Crowned with many crowns

Of highest majesty:

Clothed with a vesture dipped in blood,

His mighty name, “The Word of God.”

He comes! The Heir of all,

Now all shall own His sway;

The Bridegroom with His Bride

His glories shall display:

But O, His love! what tongue can tell?

Eternal! vast! unsearchable!

“Behold, I quickly come.”

Responsive to Thy word,

The Spirit and the Bride

Cry, “E'en so, Come, O Lord!”

Naught else can satisfy her heart,

But to be with Thee, where Thou art!

Correspondence: Matt. 13:30; Is it Right to Say the Father Rested?

Question: Could the Scripture be applied now where it told the angels at harvest time to go and first gather the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into My barn? Does the wheat apply to Israel? (Matt. 13:30.)

Answer: The kingdom, in its present form, extends from Pentecost till the Lord comes for His saints.

There are many associations, both secular and religious, that might be spoken of as “bundles” of tares, but the wheat is mixed in with them. The wheat here is not Israel, but all who are the Lord's now; those who are cleansed from their sins and sealed by the Holy Spirit. When the Lord comes, He will gather them all into His granary. After that the angels will be called to do their work, (see verses 39, 41, 49).

The fishermen in verse 48 are the servants in the present time who understand what God is doing, not saving the world, but gathering out of it those who compose the body of Christ. They know that the gospel of the grace of God, that is preached now, gathers these only, and these are the good who believe the gospel to the salvation of their souls. The bad though, in the net, were only nominal Christians, that is, without being born again.

Question: Is it right to say that the Father rested from the work of creation? Was not the Son the Creator?

Answer: In Gen. 1:1 to 2:3, God is Elohim, a word that here stands for the whole Godhead, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

In the work of creation, or in the work of redemption, all are engaged. It is the Father's will, the Son's work, and the Spirit's power and witness. While the Son, or the Word, is ever spoken of as the Creator, all are involved in what is done by Him. So in Gen. 2:3 God rested, that is, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, but when sin came in, that rest was broken. It is said by the Lord Jesus, in John 5:17, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. (Col. 2:9). We are not slighting the Father, to say that the Son created all things. (Col. 1:15-17.) It is the best way to keep as close as we can to the language of Scripture.

The Organ Grinder

I was lonely and sad. Everything about me seemed dark and desolate, and my soul was cast down. I had forgotten the admonition:

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.” Psa. 55:22.

Suddenly, out of the deep silence and solitariness of that sad evening, came the sounds of sweetest melody. It was a street organ played by a young boy. I went out to give him a little money.

What an intelligent face was his, and at the same time those large dark eyes which he turned upon me, what a story of need and sorrow they told!

He is hungry, I said to myself, and placing bread and meat on a plate, I added a booklet which was lying on the table. I handed it all to him without any courage to say a word. Yet he deeply interested me, and as I watched him eating from behind the window where I sat, repeatedly my heart went up to God in prayer that the booklet might be used for his salvation. After eating, which was quickly done, he took up the booklet, read its title, “How to become a Christian,” and put it carefully away in his pocket.

Several years had passed, and the terrible war had broken out with its tale of sorrows and distresses, so my little organ grinder had passed out of my mind.

Sometime after, I went to visit a hospital where the wounded were cared for. The surgeon was making his rounds. Silent and sad he stood by one of the wounded, holding his wrist and counting his pulse which was growing weaker. I stopped to look at the patient. He was a very young man; his eyes were closed and the seal of death was on his face. At the same moment the chaplain came and leaned over the dying man, anxious to know if he still breathed. All at once the young man opened his eyes and asked,

“Am I going to die?” The chaplain, looking sad, made no answer.

“O, don't be afraid to tell me. I am ready.”

“I cannot say, my young friend,” said the chaplain, “but do you know the Savior of sinners? Do you love the Lord Jesus?”

“Yes, yes, I have just seen Him. I am not wandering. I must tell you before I go.”

“Have you a mother? Can I do anything for you?”

“Yes, sir, but she is not here. I am going to be with her soon; she is in heaven. But I have a young sister. Poor child, she will be lonely now. But I have committed her to the Lord, and He will not forsake her. I would like to send her a few things,” he made a special effort and drew from his pillow a purse, with a few gold pieces, then a Bible, a photograph, and a booklet quite worn, its cover soiled with blood.

“This booklet,” he said, “brought salvation also to my mother. Long ago, I was only a poor organ grinder, and I tried to care for my sick mother and sister. We were very miserable then, when a good lady gave me this little book.

“O, how glad my mother was when I read it to her! No one had ever given us anything to show us the way of salvation. No one had ever talked to us about that precious Savior who died upon the cross for our sins. The dear lady, we prayed for her every day. How I did long to see her again.”

I drew nearer to catch every word from the lips of the dying man, for I had recognized in him the organ grinder who had once cheered my depressed spirit.

I could no longer restrain myself, and I sobbed aloud. It roused the dying man, and looking at me, he recognized me.

Astonished, but unable to move, he said slowly,

“I thank Thee, Lord; I know Thou hearest prayer.”

Brothers, sisters, Christian friends, scatter the good news of salvation. Sooner or later you shall see it bearing fruit, and joy unspeakable shall be yours.

My Savior

Who kindly to my rescue ran?

Who laid redemption's wondrous plan

Ere earth was formed, or time began?

My Savior.

Then, who should claim my every thought,

And every act of service wrought-

Who thus my precious soul hath bought?

My Savior.

Unearthly Versus Heavenly

Christians should ponder well the heavenly calling; it is the only thing that will give full deliverance from the power and influence of worldliness. Men may seek abstraction from the world in various ways, but there is only one in which to attain separation from it. Again, men may seek to render themselves unearthly in various ways; there is only one way in which we can become really heavenly. Abstraction is not separation; nor is unearthliness to be mistaken for heavenliness. The monastic system illustrates very fully the distinction between these things. A monk is unearthly, in a certain sense, but by no means heavenly; he is unnatural, but by no means spiritual; he is abstracted from the world, but by no means separated from it.

Now, the heavenly calling enables a man to see his entire separation from, and elevation above, the world, in virtue of what Christ is, and where He is. The heart instructed by the Holy Ghost, as to the meaning of Heb. 2:11, knows the secret of his deliverance from the principles, habits, pursuits, feelings, and tendencies, of this present age. The Lord Jesus has taken His place on high, as the head of the body, the Church; and the Holy Ghost has come down to lead all the foreknown and predestinated members of the body into living fellowship with the living Head, now rejected from earth, and hidden with God. Hence in the gospel, as preached by Paul, the remission of sins is inseparably connected with the heavenly calling, inasmuch as he preached the unity of the one body on earth with its Head in heaven.

Praying and Planning

Praying and planning will never do together. If I plan, I am leaning more or less on my plan; but when I pray, I should lean exclusively upon God. Hence, the two things are perfectly incompatible—they virtually destroy each other.

No doubt, when faith allows God to act, He will use His own agency; but this is a totally different thing from His owning and blessing the plans and arrangements of unbelief and impatience. This distinction is not sufficiently understood.

The First Epistle to the Corinthians: 15:42-58

The young Christian will perceive from verses 42, 43, 44 that at the resurrection, we shall have bodies of glory; such is the completeness of God's redemption work that we shall not come into judgment (John 5:24, N. T.); foreknown, predestined, called and justified already, we are waiting to be glorified (Rom. 8:29, 30; see also Phil. 4:20, 21, and 1 John 3:2). We can see the pattern of the heavenly body in the Lord's, when He rose triumphant over death (Luke 24; John 20, 21).

Verse 45 refers to Gen. 2:7; “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.”

“The first man Adam became a living soul; the last Adam a quickening (making alive) spirit.” (verse 45, N. T.).

The name “Adam”, is used here as a title for the head of the race, and the first Adam is placed in contrast with the last, (last, because there will be no third) Adam.

“Was made”, in italics in the end of verse 45, should be left out; as Son of God, He always quickened. He became, as the Head of a new and spiritual race, a quickening Spirit, and to them He gives all that belongs to the position He has acquired as man before God. How great the contrast with what we were born into, as connected with the first Adam, who was a poor sinner before he had begotten any of his offspring!

Verses 46 to 49, bring out yet further the contrast between what is of the first man, and what is of the Second: When the first man fell from his place of innocence, God began to work in grace, and has continued ever since. It is out of poor sinners that He makes heirs of salvation.

The first man is “of the earth earthy”, or (more exactly) “out of the earth, made of dust” (see Gen. 2:7; 3:19); the Second Man “out of heaven”, as the end of verse 47 should be read, omitting “the Lord.” The next verses are rightly read thus:

“Such as He made of dust, such also those made of dust; and such as the heavenly (one), such also the heavenly (ones). And as we have borne the image of the (one) made of dust, we shall bear also the image of the heavenly (one)” (verses 48, 49, N. T.).

“Conformed to the image of His (God's) Son”, is in Rom. 8:29.

All of this magnifies the grace of God. Wonderful, amazing, that He should ever have purposed to bring into such a position of favor ourselves who, with nothing to commend ourselves to Him, have been led to put our trust in His Son! We have taken God at His word, and found happiness, peace, comfort, hope that is sure and abiding, in a new and eternal relationship He has Himself formed.

Verse 50 makes it very plain, if anyone thinks to attain God's kingdom in his own (imagined) sufficiency of goodness, that it is impossible; “flesh and blood” can not inherit that kingdom, neither doth “corruption” inherit incorruption. Could He speak more plainly? Only through Christ, and in Christ, is there salvation. “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.

Verses 51-52. This chapter has set out the truth of the resurrection, particularly as it affects God's children; we have no salvation unless Christ is risen, and His rising from among the dead is our assurance that we shall rise like Him. Here we have learned, too, of the glorious change that awaits the believer; having borne likeness to the first man, by whom sin and death came into the world, we are going, in the resurrection, to be like the Second Man, the heavenly One, and the Giver of life. Thirdly, we are introduced in verses 51, 52, to the manner of the resurrection, a secret given to the apostle Paul to reveal to the saints.

We shall not all fall asleep; surely by far the most of the heavenly saints have already fallen asleep, for the day of grace is manifestly drawing to its close, and those who remain alive now, are apparently few; their number would seem to be decreasing, though souls are still being saved. Before all are gone, so that not a single true Christian is left on earth, the resurrection will take place. The writer believes that that moment is now near.

“But we shall all be changed”. Not one of those who trust in Jesus, not a single lamb of His flock, will be forgotten then. Some of us will be asleep in our beds, for while it is daytime in part of the world, it is night at the opposite side; some of us may be at our daily tasks, or at school, when that moment comes. The very thought of it acts as a check on our minds, our ways, our words, for we that are Christ's do not want to be in any way displeasing to Him.

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” There is no warrant for supposing that believers will know of it even a moment beforehand, that they might have time to say goodbye to the unconverted of their acquaintance, or to give them a last warning. The twinkling of an eye is probably the shortest measure of time our bodies take knowledge of; a second on your watch dial is a much longer period.

The trumpet sounding the last trump is like the last signal given to a body of soldiers ready to break camp; they are off in an instant. The dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible, and we, His own who are living at that moment, shall be changed without passing through death. “This corruptible” and “this mortal” refer to our bodies even while we are alive; whether passing through death or preserved alive till then, we must put on incorruption and immortality; and that having taken place, Isa. 25:8 will have its fulfillment, as far as the great body of the heavenly saints are concerned.

Hos. 13:14, supplies the second Old Testament Scripture reference.

Not at the moment 1 Cor. 15:51,52 presents, will these Old Testament Scriptures have their complete and final enactment; Israel's deliverance comes later, but the resurrection of the heavenly saints is to be the first exhibition of that power which will completely annul the work of Satan, in the triumph of God's grace.

Verses 56, 57. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but death has lost its sting for the believer; for him, the grave has lost its victory. The law, by which is no deliverance for the guilty, rather provoked man to sin because of his rebellious will. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory by our Lord Jesus Christ; and meanwhile (verse 58) we are to be firm, immovable, abounding always in the work of the Lord, knowing that our toil is not in vain in the Lord. We know what awaits us, by divine grace, and though Satan may try to hinder, the end will be sweet.

A Strong Tower

The other morning at family prayers, I read this verse in Prov. 18:10:

“The Name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.”

I at once fastened it correctly in my mind, and as I walked to my office, I kept “eating” it, turning it over and over, and getting such a sweet taste out of it, and such a sense of strength and spiritual satisfaction

What I Found in the Word

“'The Name of the Lord,'” said I, “why that means the Lord Himself! He is a strong tower.”

“And the ‘strong tower’? In olden time, that was a place of defense and protection, like our forts today.”

“The ‘righteous runneth into it.’ Who can the righteous be, save those who are made righteous through receiving Christ by faith as their righteousness?”

“‘Runneth,’ there is a thought of haste because of the pursuit by the enemy,” and Paul's words came into my mind,

“We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual wickedness in high places.”

“‘Runneth into it, and is safe.’ O, the security and peace of the believer who puts his trust in God!”

And so I kept on “masticating” the word, and finding something new in it at every bite.

But that was not all. Before the day was over I needed all the strength I got out of it. There were trials that day, the enemy was on my heels, and how glad I was to run, and to know the place to run to and be safe!

Jeroboam

Read 1 Kings 11 and 12

The Word of God deals in facts, not theories. Man has been put on trial in every possible way. The results of these trials have been constant failures.

“Whatsoever things were written afore-time, were written for our learning.”

Scripture is also written for our admonition, drawing examples and warnings from the records of the past, as also instruction and stimulus for faith today.

A kingdom was given to Jeroboam by the appointment and power of God, and was lost by his own efforts to retain it. The call to the kingdom was of God, and the power to sustain in it was from Him also. God in His gifts has calculated for circumstances. He may use them to prove whether man will confide in Him. But to be swayed in our judgment by circumstances, is to put them above God, and thus forget that He is almighty.

King Solomon in the latter part of his reign “did evil in the sight of the Lord.” Solomon went after gods, and the Lord was angry with him,

“Because his heart was turned away from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice.”

Therefore the Lord promised to take ten of the twelve tribes away from Solomon's son and give them to Jeroboam to reign over. An absolute promise of God was given to Jeroboam,

“I will give ten tribes to thee.”

What God promises He is able to perform, and,

“Hath He said, and shall He not do it?”

Solomon's son, Rehoboam, in the exercise of his own will, provokes the people to rebellion. Thus the word of the Lord was fulfilled. Jeroboam reigned over the ten tribes of Israel after they had unanimously chosen him. God forbids Solomon's son, king of Judah, to fight against him, and commands every man to return to his own house, saying,

“This thing is from Me.”

If Jeroboam reflected on his elevation, and the manner of it, he could see that it was manifestly of God, and, because of God, the maintenance of the position was secured. What cause for gratitude and thanksgiving! What ground for confidence! Yet it is when in the most favorable circumstances that the heart of man is betrayed.

“Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David; if this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they shall kill me and go again to Rehoboam, king of Judah.”

Now this reasoning of Jeroboam would have been consistent in a man whose advancement had been the result of his own wisdom and strength. Forethought is eminently useful in worldly matters. What a man can attain unto, he may be deprived of. Weighing things well in such matters is consistent with the principles of the carnal heart, but Jeroboam owed his kingdom to God. He was chosen of God, called of God, set up in the mighty power of God, and possession of the throne promised to him and his seed after him, so long as he walked in the fear of God. What manifest unbelief is evidenced when he says,

“Now shall this kingdom return to the house of David.”

Circumstances touching his security harass his mind. The thoughts of his heart take the place of the testimony of God by the prophet. He reasons about matters which were only intelligible to faith, and the result is blind infidelity. He really contradicts God's faithfulness.

His place and his throne were from God and the security of both depended upon God. Circumstances, propitious or otherwise, had nothing to do with God's promise. Seeing the kingdom, and his life in danger, he takes counsel of others, and “made two calves of gold.” His ruin is accomplished by the very means he took to secure his safety. Lacking faith in God for the present, leads to the denial of His power in the past. Momentous warning! Referring to the golden calves he says,

“Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt; and he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.”

But his iniquity does not end here. He imitates the order of worship as practiced in Judah, but ordains priests of the lowest of the people which were not of the sons of Levi.

None but sons of Levi could be priests of God then, but Jeroboam sets up a false god with his own false priesthood. Nor is that all, for he orders a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month—a day which he devised in his own heart. What a terrible picture this is of the baseness of man. Jeroboam disowns God's care and perverts His worship. Then God pronounces judgment (chapter 13) on Jeroboam's altar by a branch of the house of David, but it works no repentance in him. Judgment is finally pronounced upon Jeroboam, and upon the ten tribes for the “sin of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin.”

May we who are Christians profit by this solemn account of the sin of Jeroboam, and the judgment of God which followed. God has blessed us abundantly, and promised to “never leave us, nor forsake us.” O, for grace to walk by faith and not by sight! Faith will reckon upon God, take all from God, and count on Him in all circumstances. He is above circumstances, and is the God of circumstances. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without Him, and no single thing can happen to the child of God without His allowing it. If and when we walk by sight, and take things out of His hand we will only bring trouble to ourselves. The man of this world may do the same thing, and use the same expediencies with a great degree of success, for he knows not God as his Father. When the Christian leaves God out, and stoops to human planning and scheming, he will surely miss the Lord's blessing and guidance in the path, bringing sorrow to himself.

Sacred Silence

Pray much and speak little. O, let me particularly recommend to you that sacred, gentle and peaceful silence which God and all His saints love so much! The spirit of talkativeness is the bane of all religious society, the extinction of devotions, occasions confusion of mind, is an abuse of time and a denial of the divine presence.

Love, obedience, courtesy or necessity, must influence the tongue to speak; else it should continue silent.

Edify one another more by a holy walk, than by a multitude of words. God dwells only in the peaceful souls, and the tongue must be at peace also.

Behold the fruit of sacred silence! It gives time, strength, collectedness, prayer, liberty, wisdom, the society of God and a blessed state of mind.

The Love of Christ, and Its Final Test: Part 1

“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.” Eph. 5:31, 32.

The quotation is from the building of Eve (Gen. 2:24). What is the “great mystery?” Surely not a man leaving his father and mother and being joined to his wife. There is no mystery in that. The great mystery is that Christ should leave His Father, and cleave to His wife, that He and she should become eternally one. There is great comfort to my soul in the fact stated that it is the man that cleaves to the woman, and not the woman to the man. It is not my feeble grip of Christ, my weak cleaving to Him, but it is His mighty cleaving in a deathless love to me that gives me assurance and joy, and leads me ever and anon to cry out,

“O faithful, eternal Lover.”

In order to more fully grasp its meaning and worth, we must go back to the garden scene of Gen. 3. There were Adam and his wife. Into the garden the tempter came. He did not go to the man. Why? I gather from 1 Tim. 2:14, that Adam could not be deceived-figure of the Coming One—but he went to the woman. She believed the lie, obeyed, ate, and died, spiritually, i.e., out of communion and fellowship with God, and physical death passed sentence on them. They both fell. Eve by Deception, Adam by Affection.

Now comes the great test. What will Adam do? He, standing in his innocency, unfallen and in communion with God, sees the wife of his adoption, the gift of his God, lying in misery, bondage, and death, with a yawning gulf separating them forever. Being only a living soul, unlike the last Adam, who was a life-giving spirit, he could not quicken her. Will he cleave to his Father, or will he leave his Father and cleave to his wife?

“For this cause shall a man leave,” so he deliberately, undeceived, yet consumed by his love, left his God that he might cleave to his wife. She fell by deception. He fell by affection. His love for her was so great that he descended to her level and became partaker with her of her ruin and death.

What a picture have we here of the last Adam who, without the sin, left His Father that He might reach and cleave to His bride; not cleave to her in her sin and shame, and thus become like her, but that He might impart to her His own life, and lift her to His own level and glory.

Our adorable Lord, in His consuming passion, stooped from heights no finite mind can scale, to depths no finite mind can fathom, but He “Stooped to Conquer.”

Look at this recorded stoop as traced in Phil. 2, this leaving and cleaving of the Christ, and remember it was not only a stoop for time, but, O matchless Lover, it was for Eternity! Here we are in the “Holy of the Holies,” in the very presence of the Shekinah, and we would seek for grace to tread reverently and softly.

“Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself and took the form of a servant (slave).” Phil. 2:6, 7.

Was He the very form of God? Then He took the very form of slave. Here we have the first step in the descent of His long, weary, and costly search for His bride. It is tremendous to contemplate. From very God to very slave, what an emptying! He who was co-equal and co-eternal with God of His own voluntary will, makes His choice, makes it for Eternity. Will He hold fast His equality with God? If He does, He and she are separated forever. Will His love stand the awful and eternal stoop? His was a love for which, if a man offered all he possessed, it would be utterly condemned. So for her sake He empties Himself, and takes the lowest possible place, the place of a slave. What means it, O my soul? It is love, yea, it is

“Love that no tongue can teach,

Love that no heart can reach,

No Love like His.”

He Surely Is Coming Soon

Soon Jesus will come, for the daylight is dawning;

He's coming to call all His ransomed ones home,

His voice may be heard in the night or the morning,

He surely is coming soon.

E'er long He will come, and the call will be given

His people will meet Him in glory on high,

Be taken by Him from the earth to the heaven,

He surely is coming soon.

How bright is the prospect now lying before us,

Of seeing the One who once hung on the tree,

Of being with Him in His home in the glory,

He surely is coming soon.

All changed in a moment, transformed to His likeness,

We'll see Him in glory, the glory divine,

When once in His presence we'll never be parted,

He surely is coming soon.

The night of His absence is growing still darker,

The star of the morning will soon be in view,

Take courage, dear Christian, you soon will behold Him,

He surely is coming soon.

O Christian, be ready, be waiting and watching,

Have on the whole armor, the armor of God,

From the head to the feet may there no part be lacking,

He surely is coming soon.

Rejoice then ye saints, for the moment is nearing

When heaven and earth will be filled with His praise,

No sorrow, no crying, no pain and no dying,

He surely is coming soon.

In the Midst of Evil

There is danger of being disheartened and “vexed” through the prevalence of evil, “Because of the abounding of iniquity, the love of many shall wax cold.” How perfect the blessed Lord was in this! All was iniquity around Him, yet, in perfect communion with God, His spirit walked in peace, so that He could notice and recognize even all that was naturally lovely—the lily of the field—God’s care of ravens—all that was of God here. But this is because He was perfectly near God (I speak of His mind as Man), but, for the same reason He judges perfectly man and all his thoughts and intents of heart.

We have a life that Satan cannot touch, God is its source, a risen Christ its channel, the Holy Spirit its power, heaven its sphere, and eternity its duration. Should we not he a happy people?

Extract: Perfect Man and Perfect Manifestation

We find in all the life of Jesus the perfect obedience of man, and the perfect manifestation of God.

Correspondence: JOH 20:5-7; Last Baptism with Holy Ghost/Fire?; PHI 1:19

Question: Why is each Gospel different in its account of the resurrection? What do we learn from the linen clothes and the napkin? (John 20:5-7.)

Answer: God has given us four Gospels, all intentionally different, yet all true. We cannot put them into one. If I ask a wife about her husband, she gives me his character as husband. I ask his son, and he tells me of his father. The servants tell me what he is as a master, and his master what kind of a servant he is. All are true, yet different because seen from a different point of view. We do not reconcile the Word of God, we believe it, and as we learn more of Christ, our fancied mistakes disappear.

Matthew begins with the Lord as Son of David, Son of Abraham, heir of the promises and heir of the throne of Israel. Accordingly we find His legal genealogy, and God speaks to Joseph.

In Mark, He is the Servant Son, so we begin with Him about thirty years of age.

In Luke, He is the Son of Man, so His actual genealogy is given, and God speaks to Mary. He was the seed of the virgin.

In John He is the eternal Son. “In the beginning the Word was... He was with God, and He was God.” His history on earth begins with verse 14.

In John 20, Mary of Magdala, in her ignorance, came to the grave, seeking for the living in the place of the dead. Her devoted love could not do without her Savior. This gave her the place to carry the message to the disciples of their new relationship to His God and Father in the risen and ascended Christ.

In chapter 19:39, 40, Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes about an hundred pounds weight, and they wrapped the body of Jesus in the linen clothes with the spices. When Peter and John entered the sepulcher they saw the linen clothes lying all undisturbed, and the napkin that was about His head not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. These show the calm dignity of One superior to death, who without haste or violence of any kind, rose triumphant from the grave. We would not for a moment think that the angel rolled away the stone to let Him out, as was the case in Lazarus being raised, but rather to witness that the sepulcher was empty, for He could not be holden of death. Nor must we let our minds run into imaginings—the Word of God is all we want.

Question: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. When did the last take place? (Matt. 3:10.)

Answer: The baptism by fire is the judgment that is yet to fall on the unbelievers spoken of in this portion.

Question: What is “the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ?” (Phil. 1:19.)

Answer: Paul was in prison for Christ's sake. His great concern was to give a right testimony, and that it should be done in the Spirit of His Lord. For this he counted on the prayers of the saints, and that through grace supplied by the Spirit, his life might have the character in which his adorable Lord ever acted and spoke, so that Christ might be magnified in his body, whether by life or by death.

May we also think of and pray for this grace to be given to us.

The Peddler's Message

B. was already well on in years when he found the grace of God, and became a happy Christian. In order to make up as much as he could for the time he had not spent in his new Master's service, he took advantage of every opportunity to speak to his customers about Him, and to bear witness to the grace of God which had saved him. Many and interesting were the experiences he had. The following is told by the lady who was used to his conversion.

B. had sold some of his pictures at the back door of a large mansion, and as he was leaving, so he related, he seemed to hear his Master say to him:

“B. go to the front door.”

He went, and at that moment a lady was coming out of the garden, and appeared to be very surprised at the courteous manner and the respectful salutation of the old man.

Hat in hand he approached her, and said,

“I beg your pardon, Madam, but what is that on your finger?”

“On my finger?” said she, surprised yet more at being accosted in this way, “do you mean my ring?”

“Yes, Madam; it is of gold, very precious and tried in the fire. It is round too, it has neither beginning nor end. It is like the love of Christ, very precious, it has passed through the fire of God's judgment for us, and it extends from eternity to eternity. It has neither beginning nor end. O, Madam, is your heart encircled by the love of Christ? If it is, then you are safe for all eternity.”

More surprised than she dared to show, the lady tried to detain the old man to ask him some questions, but it was useless.

“No, thank you, Madam, all the same,” he replied, “my Master wanted me to give you this message. I cannot stay. But there is a young lady in this town who spoke to me about Jesus, my Savior, and she will speak to you, if you ask her.”

He gave her my name and address, and the next day I received the following note:

“Dear Madam, I should be much obliged if you would kindly visit me at your earliest convenience. I shall be at home tomorrow morning. Please excuse me for troubling you.”

I knew the house perfectly well, but did not know the lady at all, nor had I the remotest idea of what had led to the note, so that the first words of our meeting were a total surprise to me.

“Let me tell you at once,” she said, “that I had a very strange interview the day before yesterday with a man who was selling pictures.” And she told the simple story just related.

“But,” she added in a tone, and with an expression that I shall never forget, “God must have sent him to me as His messenger at that very moment, for the doctor had just told me that I had cancer.” After a short pause, she continued,

“And I must die! My home will be broken up, I must leave my family, and—and—I am not ready! It was a terrible shock to get such news, and I went into the garden with despair at my heart. On returning to the house, I met that man who I thought was a tramp, and I heard these words which I shall never forget.” Then clasping her hands, she added:

“O, is it true? Is it true that God loves me, me? And that Jesus Christ cares about my soul? Tell me, O, tell me something to help and to comfort me! You teach the poor, try to teach me. Begin at the very beginning, will you not? O, is the love of Christ for me?”

I asked for a Bible. She rang for a maid, who brought one, and we sat down together, and read one passage after another, telling of the free salvation which God has prepared for all sinners through the perfect redemption made by Christ on Calvary. All those invitations of the mercy of God seemed to her perfectly beautiful. To her, the finished work of Christ was absolutely new:

“It is too wonderful,” she said again and again, “It is too wonderful!” Two verses especially took her attention:

“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. And:

“Jesus said unto them: I am the bread of life; he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.” John 6:35.

The dinner-bell put an end to our conversation, but only after we had promised to meet the next day. After a few more such meetings with our Bibles in our hands, the full light of redemption and forgiveness shone into her soul, and peace and joy filled the heart that had been the prey of indifference all the years of her life, and of awful anguish the last few days.

“And now,” she said one day, with the vivacity so natural to her, “now, we must make this good news known. I never knew these things before, although I have often been to church. I am sure my neighbors don't know them.”

“What makes you think they don't?” I asked.

“Why, they never talk about them. They never said a word to me on that subject. I am sure their lives would be different, if they knew that Christ died for them. No, they don't know it! And the poor in the village must hear it too. Will you help me to make the good news known?”

She then proposed to change a beautiful large room into a meeting-room, and to invite all her neighbors, rich and poor alike, to come and hear the gospel of God's grace once a week. The meeting continued for two years, and a great revival was wrought by the Spirit of God.

This true story is told in the hope that the reader, too, may simply trust the Savior, just as that lady did. Do not forget that the One who gave effect to the message of a poor picture-peddler, can and does use a modest booklet to carry His glad tidings to those who are willing to listen. Hear what the greatest of the Apostles wrote:

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

May those who are the Lord's, be willing to spend and to be spent for the Lord who has done so much for them, and for the spread of the gospel, that others may know Him. The time is short to serve Him thus.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 15:58.

“Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.”

2 Chron. 15:7.

The First Epistle to the Corinthians: 16:1-15

Chapter 16:1-15

The “collection for the saints” was for the believers in Judea who were in poor circumstances, it may be because of sharing all they possessed with one another (Acts 4:32-37), and by reason of the great persecution at the time of Stephen's martyrdom (Acts 8:1). This collection is referred to in a number of passages: (Gal. 2:10; 2 Cor. 8 and 9; Rom. 15:25-28, and Acts 24:17). The children of God are enjoined in Rom. 12:13 to care for one another's needs in a practical way, “distributing to the necessity of saints,” a word from which we may learn that God allows some of His children to have needs beyond their power to fill, so that those with plenty may have the privilege of sharing with them.

Verse 2. The first day of the week, the Lord's day (Rev. 1:10) is the day which Christians, as far as they can be free from secular employment, rightly set apart for Him. If at first they broke bread daily in remembrance of the Lord in His death for them, Acts 20:6,7 gives us to know that ere long the disciples came together to break bread on the first day of the week.

On this day of memory (John 20, Luke 24, Mark 16, Matt. 28) when the Lord rose from the dead in resurrection life, it was fitting that each should lay by at home in whatever degree he had prospered, part of the gift that all would soon be sending to Jerusalem. There is no thought here of Old Testament tithing, for the Christian is not under law; but young Christians and old Christians alike may profitably study 2 Cor. 8:1-5 and estimate, if they can, what share of the income of the Macedonian believers was devoted to the needs of the Lord's people in Judea. Is there a lesson for us to learn in the way of Christian giving, here, do you think?

Verses 3, 4. It was fitting that the Corinthian believers should send their gifts by messengers from among themselves, rather than that the apostle should carry the responsibility of it, though he might have them in his company. Acts 19:21, 22 indicates the time of the writing of this Epistle; it was written at Ephesus (verse 8), notwithstanding the uninspired note at the end of the letter; and Acts 20:4 gives the names of some of those that were with Paul on this journey to Jerusalem.

Verses 5-8. The apostle was not free to go to Corinth at this time, nor was Apollos (verse 12), because of the low spiritual state there, as he explains in the 2nd Epistle, 1st chapter, verse 23. Paul wrote this first letter out of much tribulation and distress of heart, and with many tears (chapter 2, 2nd Epistle), sending it with Titus; and, anxious to learn how it was received at Corinth, he crossed over from Troas to Macedonia to meet Titus on his return. Then he wrote the 2nd Epistle before fulfilling his purpose of going to Corinth.

Verse 9. God had opened a “great door” and an effectual one for the apostle's labors on behalf of his Master at Ephesus; and there were many adversaries, for Satan does all he can to hinder the work of God. Thus were there two reasons, beside the one not mentioned until the 2nd Epistle, why Paul did not at this time go to Corinth.

Verses 10, 11. Timothy and Erastus had been sent by the apostle into Macedonia (Acts 19:22). Timothy was young, as is shown by 1 Tim. 4:12; tender personal regard for him is evidenced by the verses in our Epistle, but it was because he worked the work of the Lord, even as Paul did, that the Corinthians were to receive him and set him forward on his way.

Verse 12. Not a suggestion of jealousy of Apollos as a fellow laborer for Christ is recognizable in the apostle's references to him. Shameful it is when such fruits of the old nature are allowed in any saint of God; thorough self-judgment is needful in all; in none is it more essential than in those who seek to serve the Lord.

Verses 13 and 14. The Epistle is drawing to its close; not doctrine now, but responsibility, and the Lord's service occupy the last chapter, and Paul's thoughts turn again to the Corinthian saints whose state pressed heavily upon him. “Watch ye” (or, be vigilant), for they had grown careless and negligent of what had been committed to them; “stand fast in the faith”: the Epistle has shown them many things in which human reasoning, and not faith, had been in exercise; most of all, perhaps, in the denial on the part of some that there is a resurrection of the dead.

“Quit you like men; be strong” for they had followed an easy path of their own choosing, which avoided reproach for Christ's sake.

“Let all your things be done in love”; this was the “more excellent way” of chapter 13. Weighty words of divine wisdom for the believer's earthly path are all these, and suited for every Christian in this day of weakness and departure from the written Word of God. Let us each take them to heart as written for ourselves.

(To be continued)

The Love of Christ, and Its Final Test: Part 2

“Ere He found His Church which was lost.”

The Infinite Stoop

My Savior, adored and adorable, hast Thou stooped low enough? Surely Thou hast. No, Thou hast not yet bottomed the terrible depths of her fall.

He was “made in the likeness of men.” As I trace the humiliating steps of His terrible descent into her abyss of ignominy, shame, woe, and death, I would seek, by God's help, to guard His holy humanity from being misunderstood. “Man's likeness,” what does it mean? Does it mean just like me? A thousand times “No.” The word likeness is used three times in the New Testament:

“Likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3),

“Likeness of men” (Phil. 2), and lastly,

“Likeness of His death” (Rom. 6:5).

This last quotation gives to me the true meaning of “Likeness of men.”

Note, baptism is said by God to be the likeness of His death. Would any one suggest that it was His death, or even approaching a sameness of His death? Thus, as baptism cannot by any possible stretch of imagination be made to mean the same thing as His death, no more can His spotless, untainted, and untaintable humanity be made the same as mine. In His humanity there was the great mystery of Godliness. God manifest in flesh, not God and man, but God-man, “Immanuel—God with us,” our great Savior, but also, and at the same time, “our great God” (Titus 2:13). He was the “seed of the woman.” Here His humanity and mine part company. Again, He was immaculately conceived, called by God “that holy thing.” As He lay in the manger God's testimony of the little Babe is:

“He is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

“He knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21)

“Did no sin” (1 Peter 2:22).

“Had no sin” (1 John 3:5).

As holy on the Cross as He was in His life. As holy in His life as He was in the manger, and as holy in the manger as He was in the Godhead. “That holy thing,” the incomparable God-man, a humanity which knew no taint of sin, no seed of mortality, taintless and untaintable, sinless and impeccable. The One concerning whom God said,

“I have laid hold on One who is mighty,” Satan's conqueror, the Stronger than the strong man, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, and my Redeemer.

My Savior adored, hast Thou not in the humiliating stoop of incarnation, reached her yet? Can she not be linked with Thy perfect humanity, and thus be lifted to Thy plane? No. She lies deeper still, further removed yet. No union or oneness possible in incarnation.

And being found in “man's fashion,” he was a real Man. Weary, hungry, sad, knowing throughout His life what poverty meant, suffering by His perfect sympathy, suffering for righteousness' sake, suffering as He came in contact with sin, and its concomitant evils, the terrible suffering of anticipation, for He was the only Man born with the express object to die; and, last of all, suffering as a sin-bearer on the Cross. Surely in all points, sin apart, He was tempted like as we are (Heb. 4:5). Note, “sin apart.” He never knew the temptations of sin.

The Deeper Descent

Being found in man's fashion did not reach her. He must descend lower still, if He is to get to her level. Therefore, as man, He emptied Himself and “became obedient even unto death, and that the death of the cross.”

At last He has reached her. He has gone to where she lay. He has taken her guilt, curse, and shame as His own. He carries it to Calvary, and there, instead of her, He pays the terrible price. She dies in Him. She is buried with Him, quickened with Him, raised with Him, and seated in Him at God's right hand. She died with Him to live with Him, and when He who is her life shall appear, she shall appear with Him in glory (Col. 3:4).

As we trace the terrible descent of the Son of God, and knowing all we know, yet we must say:

“None of the ransomed ever knew

How deep were those waters crossed,

Or how dark was the night

Which the Lord passed through

Ere He found His Church which was lost.”

Thank God, His love was stronger than death, waters could not quench it, floods could not drown it, Calvary, dark Calvary, could not separate her from it.

But we have not yet seen that love finally tested. Let us still seek for grace to consider Him.

Final Test of Christ's Love

“Then cometh the end when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God... and when all things shall be subdued unto Him that put all things under Him, then shall the Son Himself be subject, that God may be all in all.” 1 Cor. 15:24-28.

Here we have the eternal subjection of the Son. What does it mean? It is the final test of His love.

In order to understand it, let us read together the law of the Hebrew servant as we have it in Ex. 21. There we find that the term of his service was seven years, perfect and complete service. He can then go free, yea, as free as his master. If he brought a wife in with him, she can go out with him, but if his master gave him a wife, he must go out alone. Then comes the test of his love. If he says,

“I love my master, my wife, my children, I will not go out free,” then he is taken to the door-post, his ear bored, and he serves forever.

Our adorable Lord is the great Antitype, the perfect Hebrew servant.

“Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine Elect, in whom My soul delighteth.” Isa. 42:1.

These words were applied to Christ when He came up out of the waters of baptism in Matt. 3.

The time comes in His service when He has completely fulfilled the Father's will and completely finished His work. When the great purposes of servitude are accomplished, He can go free, back into God's form and God's equality.

But His bride, what of her? He cannot take her back into God's form of God's equality. She cannot go free. He came in by Himself, His Master gave her to Him.

If He goes out, He must go out alone. Now comes the greatest test of all, the final and eternal test. Listen, O my soul, in breathless suspense listen. Will His love, the love of Christ, stand the test? He speaks:

“For her I became a man, a slave. For her I died a malefactor's death. For her I made atonement, her sins I bore, her life I quickened. I lifted her from the lowest depths of shame and hell itself, to the highest heights of My acquired glory. My vast possessions and wealth inherited by Me as man glorified, I hold and value for her sake alone, that I may lavish them upon her forever. She is life of My life, soul of My soul, joy of My joy, My glory, and My crown. For her I wore the crown of thorns. I endured the fierceness of Thy wrath. Because of her, I carry with Me My death scars into everlasting rest, and count them among My most precious possessions. No, I love My wife, I will not go free. For her I became a man, a servant; for her I remain a man, a servant, forever. I have her in My own image, sinless and perfect, and throughout the eternal ages she shall be by My side.”

“She and I in that bright glory

One deep joy shall share;

Hers to be forever with Me,

Mine, that she is there.”

I think you can now more sincerely enter into the meaning of the apostle when he cries,

“The love of Christ constraineth us.” 2 Cor. 5:14.

May it so constrain us,that we render to Him a love for a love, a life for a life, a heart for a heart! Then shall we truly sing:

“O, Love that will not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in Thee:

I give Thee back the life I owe,

That in Thine ocean depths its flow

May richer, fuller be.”

(Concluded)

Fragment: Professing vs. Living

I believe the time is coming, if not already come, when it will no longer be the question of professing to be Christ's, but of whether we are living the life of Christ.

Take Heed What Ye Hear

Very recently a young sister told me that she is much distressed by the things she hears in her place of employment, and wonders what she should do about them. Now the Word of God will answer every difficulty for the Christian who seeks to please the Lord. It is indeed the “lamp unto my feet” (Psa. 119:105) to guide at each step of the way.

The world in which we live is “this present evil world.” It is full of many foul and impure words and deeds. These greatly distress the soul of the Christian who finds himself in the midst of rehearsals of moral depravity. Those of us who have had to rub shoulders with the unsaved in business or school, have heard some of this corruption. Many dear young Christians are deeply concerned as to what their attitude should be under such circumstances. Let us then turn to the unfailing Guide and see what our conduct should be. There are various phases of this important question, and we shall seek to consider them separately.

First

Many who have seen or heard of unlawful deeds which distressed the soul, were themselves out of place. If they had not been of their own choice in the midst of such company, they would not have heard their conversation. We see a remarkable example of this in Lot who dwelt in Sodom. His righteous soul was vexed daily with the things he saw and heard; but he never should have been there. His godly uncle, Abraham, was not there, and so did not hear such things. Lot had deliberately chosen the friendship of the world, and no doubt moved into Sodom because of worldly advantage. May we beware of choosing the companionship of the ungodly, for it will surely pull us down and defile us. We need to remember the first verse in the Psalms:

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”

We should avoid the companionship of the “ungodly,” “sinners” and “scornful.” We should seek our own company, which is Christian fellowship. Another verse bearing on this is:

“Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.” Prov. 4:14, 15.

Remember the sad trouble that Peter got into by warming himself at the fire of the ungodly. These scriptures and many others warn us to avoid the company of the ungodly; thus we shall be preserved from much defilement.

Second

At times we may find ourselves in the midst of defiling conversation which we should “reprove.” Our silence in such cases would be a mistake.

“Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” Eph. 5:11.

This calls to mind an incident a brother told me, of walking into the wash room of a train in the northwest just as one man was telling something vile to another. Without turning to look at either speaker or hearer, this brother said,

“The Word of God says, 'Fools make a mock at sin.'” Prov. 14:10.

The conversation stopped instantly with apologies. We need wisdom from above to know just when we should reprove the works of darkness.

Third

There are times when it is possible to leave a place of “evil communications.” If this should be the case, we should do so at once. In the verse quoted above from Proverbs we are told to “turn from it and pass away.” In such instances we would give silent, but effectual reproof by our act of leaving the scene. This does not require the courage that reproof does, but it preserves us from hearing all of the defiling talk; and it registers our definite disapproval to the speakers.

Fourth

There are certain times when we may not be able to leave the scene, and when circumstances would scarcely permit open reproof. In such cases the word in Eph. 5:11 is important:

“Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.”

We should be careful that under no circumstances we have “fellowship” with what is said or done. Fellowship is so easily expressed, that a little smile will suffice. We should be very careful what we laugh at. If we laugh or merely smile at “filthy conversation,” it shows that our righteous souls are not much vexed about it. This is a very definite way of showing fellowship, and increases our defilement. It is also an encouragement to the ungodly in the very thing that is going to bring judgment upon them, for we read:

“Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be ye not therefore partakers with them.” Eph. 5:6, 7.

Fifth

If we have heard a defiling story we should never repeat it to anyone. To do so would defile ourselves, and harm the one to whom we tell it, as well as displease the Lord.

“For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.” Eph. 5:12.

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” Eph. 4:29.

“But now ye also put off all these; ... filthy communication out of your mouth.” Col. 3:8.

Whatsoever things are pure, lovely, virtuous and of good report are to be the things we think about; and certainly then we would speak of them (See Phil. 4:8).

Sixth

Now it may truthfully be said that when we hear “evil communication,” although we neither have fellowship with nor repeat it, it still defiles us. Yes, we become defiled through unavoidable contact with evil or profane speaking, and need to heed a word found in Numbers nineteen which gives an important principle:

“And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.”

In this chapter many defiling things are mentioned. It is in the wilderness where defilement is contacted. How often our minds are like open vessels! They are standing idle, ready to receive anything that may fall into them. In the presence of evil conversation (supposing that we can neither leave nor reprove it), we should be careful that we do not allow it entrance to our minds. We need to gird up the loins of our minds (see 1 Peter 1:13), and be careful what we take into them. The following incident may make this more clear:

One night when preaching the gospel in a certain town, a sister in the Lord brought some children to the meeting. Among them was a child about nine years of age, who had been taught that it was wrong to listen to the truth of the gospel. On the way home after the gospel meeting, this child said to the other children,

“I thought about everything else I could all the time that man was speaking, so that I wouldn't hear a word he said.”

Now, this was not done in a good sense, but it explains how this child sought to keep her mind covered to what was said. Her mind was not open, but covered by a definite effort to think about other things. May we, fellow-Christians, be more careful, when within hearing distance of evil, to close our minds to it.

In closing, I would suggest that you look up these Scriptures referred to, and go over the whole matter carefully. It is of utmost importance that we do not come into unnecessary contact with the ungodly; and it is also important that we should act according to the Word of God if we do.

Extract: The Lord in the Midst

A true and solemn sense of the Lord being in the midst of those who are gathered together unto His Name, is indispensable for profit and blessing, and effectually excludes unholy intrusions. Where this is lacking, unbelieving contrivances easily come in; where it is really known as the place of holiness, as well as marvelous privilege, each member of the body of Christ is kept in his proper place and measure. Such will be solemnly exercised before the Lord, lest anything should be done unsuited to His presence, or dishonoring to His Name.

Correspondence: Every Unconverted Person a Child of the Devil

Question: Does it mean in 1 John 3:10 that every unconverted person is a child of the devil?

Answer: This Epistle contrasts the old nature of the flesh, which we received from our first parents, with the new eternal life communicated to us, and which is seen in all its perfection in our Lord Jesus Christ. Some of the contrasts are,

God contrasted with the devil.

Light contrasted with darkness.

Love contrasted with hatred.

Obedience contrasted with sin, lawlessness or disobedience.

Righteousness contrasted with unrighteousness or wickedness.

Life (eternal) contrasted with death.

The one belongs to the divine nature. Without it, all mankind are alike. Sin is the only fruit the flesh can bear. We were morally like the devil who sinned from the beginning. Such truth is disagreeable to our pride.

The blessed Lord is the only exception. “In Him is no sin,” and all He did was the Father's will. His one obedience has brought all believers into blessing. To Him is all the glory. Wonderful grace!

Now this “old commandment” (Christ the eternal life) is a “new commandment,” because it “is true in Him and in you” (See chap. 2:7, 8). The believer has now a life whose character is morally divine, but the flesh in us now hinders its full development as it was manifested in Christ. What bliss it will be when rid of this hindrance, and we will be with Him and like Him forever!

An Infidel's Deliverance

School days were happy days for A. J. This dear boy had many blessings, and not the least of them was having Christian parents. He was brought up in a God-fearing home where the Bible was read regularly. Being very diligent in all of his school work, he made ready progress. He was active and alert, and the years at school passed all too quickly. The time soon came for him to leave home for college.

Here, as at school, success went with him. He readily adapted himself to his new surroundings, winning friends and working studiously. There was a deadly evil prevalent at college, however, from which he had been sheltered in the seclusion of his home. That evil was infidelity, and he soon had to encounter its withering blasts. Both among the students and the faculty there were many who openly scoffed at the Bible as the Word of God.

Infidelity is not new, nor even reasonable; but quite often those who profess to believe it, make a great show of learning and knowledge. Frequently this deadly poison is taken in by very brilliant people. This fact was true in A. J.'s college, for some of the best students were the worst infidels. Among these was a young student whose name was E. D.

It was a sad day for our friend when he began to make a companion of this worldly-wise infidel. He should have been more careful in the choice of a close friend. God warns us in His word,

“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” 1 Cor. 15:33.

We are all more or less influenced by the company we keep, and for this reason should avoid companionships with the ungodly, even if they are very pleasing people. A. J. had to learn this sad lesson, for he was soon poisoned by the reasoning of his friend. Little by little he gave up his belief in his father's God, for vain human reasoning. By the time he was ready to leave college, he was among the number of those who talked against the Bible, and professed to believe there is no God.

A new chapter of A. J.'s life was about to open, and at this point he and his close friend were to part company forever. Each went a different way. Our young friend A. J. decided to travel about and see some of the country before settling down.

During his travels, he met an elderly man who was a true Christian and faithful servant of the Lord. This man spoke very earnestly to him about God, His Word, death, and judgment. This conversation made a deep impression on the young man. The truth of God was not like the hollow arguments of infidels, for it reached into his conscience. It made him uneasy and shook his confidence in infidelity. It again seemed real that there was a living God to whom he must give account.

The following night found A. J. seeking lodging in a large home where rooms were rented to travelers. The man of the house explained that there was only one vacant room left, and that it was next to a room which was occupied by a young man who was dying. After thinking it over, the tired young man assured the owner that it would not affect his sleep any, and he would take the room. In spite of his affected indifference, he could not sleep. He was very tired, but sleep went from him. The entire night was spent thinking about the young man in the next room who was dying. None of the foolish arguments of professed infidels could help him sleep. The realities of death and judgment, heaven and hell, pressed upon him, and the words repeatedly spoken to him by that faithful Christian kept ringing in his ears.

In the morning he was not only tired but wretched and miserable as he went down to the living room. There he was informed that the young man whose condition had cost him the night's sleep, had died during the night. This fell like a great weight on his already troubled soul, but a greater shock was yet to come. Out of human interest, he inquired the name of the man who died, only to learn that it was none other than his old college chum, E. D. This was almost too much for him, and he rushed straight back to his room. There for several hours he could think of nothing but those awful words, dead! lost! lost! All of his infidelity fled in the presence of death, and he cried to God for mercy. In anguish of soul he cut his trip short and returned home.

It was not long until he found peace and happiness through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He s a w the folly of his past course, and thanked God for delivering him from that dreadful delusion. He proved the truth of the Word of God, and found lasting joy and peace. From that day on, he sought to warn others to “flee from the wrath to come.” He began and continued to faithfully preach Christ and Him crucified.

Now dear young people, be warned by this experience, and do not choose companions from among those who hate Christ. Be like the Psalmist who said,

“I am a companion of all them that fear Thee, and of them that keep Thy precepts.” Psa. 119:63.

And remember that it makes no difference who it is that contradicts the Word of God; he is only doing the devil's work. From the days of the garden of Eden on down, Satan has been calling in question what God said. Do not be carried away in any small measure by the baseless, soul destroying poison of infidelity, even though it be garbed in the name of intellectual wisdom.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” and that is not wisdom which seeks to set aside the Creator for the mere hypothesis of evolution. It matters not how high one may climb in the field of intellectual knowledge; if he denies the truth of God, the day will come when he will see his great folly. It may then be too late, and he will have all eternity to remember with remorse. Remember, that only

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” Psa. 59:1. And may you say from the heart,

“I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right.” Psa. 119:128.

The First Epistle to the Corinthians: 16:15-24

Chapter 16:15-24

Verses 15, 16. The household of Stephanas were mentioned in the first chapter (verse 16) as having been baptized by Paul. They were the first at Corinth to open their hearts to receive the good news of God's salvation. In Rom. 16:5 Epaenetus is called the first fruits of Achaia, but this is a copyist's mistake, and the true reading is Asia, referring to the Roman province of that name.

The language used in connection with Stephanas's household leaves no room for the conclusion that they occupied an official position; they had addicted, or devoted, themselves to the saints for service; indeed one trustworthy translator makes the passage read, “and that they appointed themselves to the saints for service.” It was, after all, service for Christ; as is plain from Matt. 25:40, though the reference there is to Jewish believers in the coming day; and will be recognized at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). Subjection to such is called for, and to every one joined in the work and laboring. This service for the saints is open to us all, wherever we may be. May the Lord exercise the hearts of many to serve Him in this needed way.

Verses 17, 18. Three brothers in the Lord at Corinth had taken it on themselves to go to Paul with provision for his needs; they were not sent by the assembly, but if there had been a happy Christian state at Corinth all would have joined together in ministering to the Lord's servant. There would thus seem to be a word for their consciences in the last clause of the 17th verse. The three brothers had refreshed the apostle's spirit, and he regarded it as sure that the assembly as a whole was refreshed too by what these had done in love to Paul.

Verse 19. The churches (really assemblies) of Asia were within the Roman province of that name which is now the most westerly part of Turkey, facing Greece (the ancient Achaia) across the Aegean Sea, Ephesus was the capital of the province, and we may gather that when the apostle Paul wrote to Corinth there were at least assemblies at Troas. Colosse and Miletus, beside Ephesus. The seven addressed in Rev. 2 and 3 were in existence when Paul wrote, and of course there may have been others also at this time, joining in salutation to their brethren across the sea.

Aquila and Priscilla were at Corinth when the apostle first visited that city; they had then lately come from Rome, and when he left for Ephesus this couple accompanied him (Acts 18:1-3, 18, 26). They may have been much with Paul, but were in Rome again when he wrote the Epistle to the Romans (chapter 16:3-5), not however, when the 2nd Epistle to Timothy was writ ten (chapter 4:19). The assembly “in their house” reminds us that in those days when sects and divisions were unknown, Christians, if at all numerous in a town or neighborhood, would have to meet in groups as they were able, though all together constituted the assembly of God in that town or district.

Verses 20 and 21 complete the brief chain of messages of Christian love from saints in Asia to saints in Corinth, one with them in Christ. How real that bond is, that unites all the children of God! Paul's signature on his letters which were commonly dictated to another (Rom. 16:22; Col. 4:18; 2 Thess. 3:17), was the token of their genuineness. One letter only seems to have been written by Paul's own hand-the Epistle to the Galatians (chapter 6:11).

Verse 22 is solemn: “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha”. Anathema is a Greek word left without translation; it is found also in Rom. 9:3; 1 Cor. 12:3 and Gal. 1:8 and 9, in each of these cases translated “accursed”. In the common use of the word, it meant an offering in a heathen temple, which could not be redeemed. The translators gave the true meaning of the word as applied in the Epistles—accursed—in each case, except that before us, preferring here to leave the connected words in their original languages: Anathema (Greek) Maran-atha (two Aramaic or Syriac words meaning “the Lord cometh”): His coming will mean for us the beginning of eternal joys; for the Christless professor there will be no redemption, instead the woes of a lost eternity.

The last two verses are precious:

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus.”

Much there had been to speak against, of what they had allowed to come in, to Christ's dishonor; and Paul had not hesitated to point it out, but now as he ends his letter, the grace which is in our Lord Jesus, and his own love for them, occupy his heart. Was he not like his Master?

Extract: Worldliness

Worldliness is heartlessness to Christ.

The Welcome

“I would give anything, or suffer anything, if I could only be as happy as I once was,” were the words of a woman of about thirty-five years, who was lying in a ward in L.

A neglected cold, and much want and trouble, had led to rapid consumption, and, when she was brought into the infirmary, it was clear that she had not many weeks to live.

Years before, an evangelist came to O., where this woman, then a girl, was living, and she, with many others, was converted, and her heart filled with joy. Time passed, and she wandered away from the Lord, until at last she had to say,

“I did once know the Lord, but not now.”

However, the Good Shepherd had followed His wandering sheep, and was even then about to bring her back. He spoke to her in various ways, and at last she listened and longed to return.

She was assured of the welcome that awaited her if she would but come, and urged to do so.

“If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father.” He begins His work when we sin, not when we repent or return to God, and that leads us to repentance. It was not long before the sick woman was to prove the truth of it for herself. A week later, on reading the latter part of Luke 15, the remark was made,

“That is just the welcome that awaits every one that returns to the Father.”

“Yes,” she said, “it is just the welcome I received when I came back.” After that she was full of joy.

She grew rapidly worse. Once, when speaking of her little boy, she said,

“My sister will take him. She will bring him up better than I could have done, but” (after a pause) “if I lived now I should want to live for Christ, and Christ only.”

Alas! the time had gone by, and yet God in His grace gave her an opportunity of testimony for Him in that ward at the very end. Both the nurses and the other sufferers noticed her patience and her trust, and were impressed by it.

One evening she had a very bad attack of difficulty in breathing, and she said to the sister of the ward, who was standing by her bedside,

“Is this the end?”

“I am afraid it is,” was the answer.

“O, I am glad; I am glad!” and with two or three words, telling of her confidence, she passed away to be with the Lord.

A week or two before her death, she sent a message to her Christian father, that his prayers for her were answered, “and tell him I am so happy.”

This little account is written with the hope that it may encourage some other who has wandered far away, and who longs for the joy now fled, to return without delay, and thus experience the same “welcome.”

And let us each one remember that now is the time to “live for Christ.” By and by the opportunity will be past, and it will be too late.

“The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that they which live, should not henceforth love unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them, and rose again.” 2 Cor. 5:14, 15.

“Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18.

As He Is, So Are We

“As He is, so are we in this world.”

1 John 4:17.

O! blessed wondrous words,

As Christ is, so are we;

Washed, sanctified, and justified,

From condemnation free.

Emancipating truth!

“As He is, so are we;”

He bore our sins, He paid our debt,

When hanging on the tree.

The Father sees us now

In Christ, His risen Son;

In favor thus, we stand in Him,

The Head and members one.

As Christ is, so are we,

Though this poor earth we tread;

In “righteousness transcendent” now,

We're linked with Christ, our Head.

And soon the world shall know

The Father sent the Son,

And loved us e'en as He loved

Christ, The spotless Holy One.

O! day of wondrous bliss,

When faultless we'll appear,

In bodies fashioned like His own,

And His blest image bear.

O! days of joy supreme,

When we His face shall see,

And know the depth of those sweet words,

“As He is, so are we.”

God Leading Us On

I am persuaded that when you look back over that part of life which you have passed, you see how God does, according to His promise, somehow or other, bring us on. How He will do so, we can never tell beforehand; but, when He is leading, He does lead on somehow or other; and as He has done for you and yours, through the years that are past, so He will do for the future also. He changes not.

Holding Forth the Word of Life

Fellow Christian—you who are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ—does your heart burn with a desire to see others saved? You, who are saved from the coming wrath, do you not wish to warn others to “flee from the wrath to come”? Would you not like to be used of the Lord to carry His message of love to some poor perishing souls?

All around us people are passing onward very quickly to the “lake of fire.” Neighbors, friends, and even relatives are perishing. Streets teem with people who, though living in a Christian land, have never really heard the story of God's great salvation, nor been warned of approaching judgment. The Lord Jesus beheld Jerusalem and wept over it when He thought of the awful time that was coming. Does not the sight of men, women, and children going heedlessly on to destruction, stir your heart? Or, are you satisfied to be saved yourself, and have no concern for those about you?

Remember that your God loved the world, and sent His only Son into it to provide the way of salvation. He is not willing that any should perish, but He desires that all men might be saved (John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Tim. 2:4).

Now, let us suppose that you have an opportunity, and the ability to preach the gospel to a crowd of 365 persons who are mostly unsaved. Would not that be a blessed privilege? It would indeed. Very few servants of the Lord have an opportunity to address such a large audience of unsaved people today. Yet you have practically that very opportunity. You may reply that you cannot preach, and are very timid about speaking to people. Still, you can reach a very large audience with the gospel. Does this statement amaze you?

It has pleased God to use the humble little gospel tracts to the saving of many souls. Young Christians (older Christians too), these gospel tracts are within your power to use. Do not despise the handing out of a tract because it is a small work. It is definitely a means that God has put within your reach for the spread of His Word. Just stop for a moment and think what a large audience you will have, if you present a tract to everyone you meet, or speak to each of the Savior. Distributing an average of only one tract per day, you will have presented the gospel to 365 persons within a year.

There are some Christians who do not have access to many unsaved, but who are using the mail to carry the precious seed in tract form. They gather names and addresses from various sources, and then mail out tracts regularly.

You may say that all of the tracts will not be read, and that is true. But if you could gather 365 people to hear you preach, all of them would not listen. However, would it not be worth all of the effort if only one soul got saved? And would not God be glorified, in that, the story of His love was proclaimed in the world, even if no one received it? Surely He would. We can look to the Lord for blessing on the tracts, and should remember to water the seed with prayer.

Tracts sometimes have a long life. They are often handed from one person to another. They may be thrown down, but they are always ready to tell their story again whenever they are picked up. They dread no insult and know no fear. Incidents are known of tracts having been discarded by the recipient, only to fall into the hands of some anxious soul, and be used for real blessing. People have been blessed by tracts found in waste paper baskets.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 15:58.

“Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Gal. 6:9.

“Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” Eccl. 11:1.

“In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” Eccl. 11:6.

If we continually wait for a more favorable time, we shall find that many opportunities have been lost. Another verse from the eleventh chapter of Ecclesiastes bears on this:

“He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.” Eccl. 11:4.

Grace

There was a peddler, who carried his wares from house to house. One day while upon his errands, he entered a cottage where a lady was visiting its inmates.

Some conversation ensued, when the lady inquired of the peddler,

“What, can you pray?”

“Well,” said he, “Yes, I can.”

“Then kneel down at once,” she cried, “and let me hear you.” Whereupon the man put his bag off his back, went upon his knees, and at once spoke thus to his God:

“O, God! give me grace to need grace.

“O, God! give me grace to ask for grace, when I am given to feel my need of grace.

“O, God! give me grace to receive grace, when Thou givest the grace I need.

“O, God! give me grace to show grace, when I have received grace from Thee, whether I get grace shown to me or not.”

We commend these practical and beautiful expressions of dependence on God to every one who is endeavoring to walk through this world to His honor and glory.

God Is

The following is a remarkable proof, for any who may need one, of the fact that, as the Apostle says:

“God is, and is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Heb. 11:6.

There was a missionary in Calcutta who spent his time in preparing translations of the Gospel of John into all the different dialects spoken by native tribes. These Gospels were sent all over the country, wherever there were no missionaries, and wherever they were needed.

One day, while at work in his room, his servant announced a man whose language even he did not understand, but who insisted on seeing the Sahib (master). When the man was brought in, he laid a little book on the table and pointed to it, while talking volubly in a tongue the missionary did not know.

On taking the book up, he at once recognized one of his own little Gospels, and noticed something written on the back page. It was a language he could not read, expert though he was in Indian dialects. So he sent out into the bazaars and Indian quarters of the city to find a man who could interpret the strange writing. At last one was found, and he read the words,

“White man, come!”

It appeared that the man who brought the book, had been sent by the chief of a tribe from the far North West of India, beyond the border, where a white man had never been, but where the little book had in some way been carried, and where a desire for the Word of God had been awakened.

But what was to be done? The missionary could not leave his work, and he had not the means to send even a native Christian. As usual, man's extremity is God's opportunity; He had already foreseen the need. That very day the missionary got a letter from an unknown man in California saying he had heard of his work for the Lord, and felt compelled to send him some money at once, to meet the expense of a missionary for any special mission he had in mind, and accordingly enclosed a draft for $1500!

Verily, God is!

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is upright towards Him.” 2 Chron. 16:9.

A Question Often Asked

What harm is there in these things, do you say? If they have occupied your heart, and made you slight God, that is the harm. This is a test to our souls all through the day. It is not a question of whether a thing is right or wrong, but what savor have the things of Christ to our souls in it? It may be a very small thing. If we find the reading of a book makes the manifestation of Christ to become less precious to us, we are away from God, and we cannot tell where the next step may take us. Satan often cheats us in this way.

The soul is put to the test day by day, whether the things that are revealed by God in Christ have so much power over us as to engage the heart; but if other things have come in between, when we want enjoyment of the things of Christ, we shall not have it, and this will show us how far we are away from Him.

If anything comes in, and takes the freshness of Christ from our soul, take heed! For if other things are catered for, when you have opportunity for the things of Christ, you will have no taste for them.

The Parents' Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, we bring to Thee

This dear but simple child,

And ask Thee to give new life,

Life pure and undefiled.

We owning what's a type of death,

Thy death that saves the soul,

That only through that precious blood

This child can be made whole.

Yes! make him Thine, give his young heart

Early to know Thy love,

That he may learn to walk with God,

And dwell with Thee above.

So give Thy blessing, gracious Lord,

While we bring him to Thee

O, keep and guard him night and day

Until Thy face we see.

We know Thy coming, Lord, is near,

Our hearts would watch and wait,

Save our dear children, for Thy name,

Thy glory, Lord, and sake.

Living a Good Life

My shoemaker is a religious, industrious man, but, on his own confession, he is not saved. I was in his shop lately, arranging to have some shoes repaired and took the opportunity of asking him if his soul was saved.

“No, sir; but I am trying to live a good life.”

I was forced to tell him that he could no more get to heaven that way than through trying to fly there by flapping his arms like wings. He seemed quite astonished at the statement. It would be a thousand times easier for a strong person to raise himself in a tub by his own strength, than it would be for a sinner to raise himself one inch nearer to God by “good works.”

Perhaps, like my shoemaker friend, you are astonished, and ask,

“Why cannot a person be saved by a good life and good deeds?”

The answer is extremely simple and final: Because it is not God's Way. It is not a sinner's good life that will ever save him, but it is Christ's good death that saves him.

The fairest human life is but a faulty thing when seen by the searching eyes of a holy God, and if you have nothing better to offer to God than your good life, it will go ill with you in the Day of Judgment.

Rest your soul on Christ's death for salvation first, and then live as good a Christian life, and perform as many good works, as possible. Do it now!

“What shall we do that we might work the works of God?”

“This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him Whom He hath sent.” John 6:28, 29.

“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, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” Eph. 2:8, 9, 10.

Correspondence: REV 22:1-2; MAT 5:23-26; MAT 18:15 & LUK 17:3; ROM 6:4

Question: What is the tree of life, and the river of life? Rev. 22:1, 2.

Answer: “The tree of life” is figurative language for the blessedness of Christ, known and enjoyed by our souls for all eternity. Its twelve manner of fruits every month, speak of its freshness and satisfying, but not satiating food for our souls. Its continual supply is the “River of Water of Life”, going out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Source and fountain of all blessedness, where there is no decay.

Question: (a) What connection has Matt. 5:23, 24, with the Lord's table? (b) What is the difference between Matt. 18:15, and Luke 17:3?

Answer: (a) The spirit of Matt. 5:23, 24, shows that if we have not endeavored to put ourselves right with a brother whom we have offended, or seems to be offended with us, we are not in the right spirit to approach God in prayer, either at the Lord's table, or anywhere else. (Mark 11:25, 26.)

(b) In both these passages we are told to rebuke or tell the brother his fault, but in Matt. we find more detail in trying to win, or gain the brother, and it might be necessary, as a last effort, to tell the case to the assembly. We need to humble ourselves first, and see that we are enjoying the love of Christ, and loving the brother with the love of Christ to him. Alas! this is where we so often fail. We fail in making his sin our own before God. We, as priests, are to eat the sin offering for our brother in the holy place. (Lev. 6:26). What we want is love in exercise (John 13:1; Eph. 4:2, 3).

Question: Please explain Matt. 5:25, 26, and Rom. 6:4.

Answer: To Matt. we might add Luke 12:58, 59. Both, primarily indicate Israel, or the Jews' position. It was a call to them not to reject Christ. It was the moment of their trial, but they did reject Him, and so were delivered up to the judge and to the officer, and have been cast into prison (out of their land, and among the Gentiles), out of which they can never come till the last farthing is paid, and they can never pay, but God who gave His Son to die for them, can in His own time say:

“Comfort ye My people. . . for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.” Isa. 40:1, 2.

But it is right to say that all unrepentant sinners of both Jews and Gentiles that die without Christ are eternally lost.

In Rom. 6:4, we see the significance of the act of the servant in baptizing; it was unto, not into, the death of Christ, and that should teach the Romans not to live in sin. We do not see the believer risen in this Epistle, but Christ is, and we, in it, are taught to walk in newness of life. Baptism changes the person's position on earth, and it gives a new responsibility, but confession is not attached to it. Acts 8:37, according to the best translations, is not acknowledged as the Word of God. There are many Scriptures to exhort believers not to walk in sin, but to walk after the pattern and example of the Lord Himself. 1 John 2:1, is a good example, also verse 6.

Why the Ball Dress Was Put Off

I had learned that Christ had died for my sins according to the Scriptures. But though I had the sense of pardon, I had not deliverance from this present evil world; but was mixed up with its pleasures, its balls and concerts, when the Lord put a stop to it all. I was all dressed for a large party, and my mother and maid had pronounced the word “perfection,” when it was found that I had half an hour to spare before the auto would arrive. Thanks be to God for that half hour! I dismissed my maid, and having locked my door, knelt down in prayer. On arising from my knees, I stood before the mirror, and felt ashamed before the Lord. I took up my Bible; it opened at the eighth of Romans, and my eye caught these words, “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” I again stood before the mirror, when in an instant every part of my costly attire—each ornament, each piece of jewelry—seemed to speak—all joined in one common chorus,

“After the flesh! after the flesh!”

For a moment there was a conflict. The coming scene, the brilliant drawing room, the gay, cheerful companions—all had their charms, and at that moment they pressed strongly on my heart. Again I turned to my Bible.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.”

All the love, the grace, the forgiveness, the kindness of God, seemed wrapped up in that little word, “no condemnation”; and all that it cost His own Son to secure for me that “no condemnation”: His death of agony, His being forsaken of God, seemed all to unfold from that little word, “in Christ Jesus,” and filled my soul with such a sense of God and His grace, that the conflict was over in a moment.

With a quiet joy, impossible to describe, I began to disrobe. I put off every ornament and all my costly attire; I put them off before the Lord—I put them off forever. When my relatives came in, they found me robed in a simple evening dress! I told them how God had spoken to me through His Word, and read the Scripture to them. It was a sore blow to my friends; but from that hour my whole life was changed; and, through grace, I seek now to live, not unto myself, but unto Him, “who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”

Perhaps you may say, dear young Christian, “I do not go to balls,” but stop and think over your daily life. Are there not ways that you are following, which you know are not pleasing to the Lord, which if weighed in His presence, you would be ashamed? We beg of you, to lay aside everything that is not in keeping with Him and His glory. The one walking with the Lord only, has a happy path, and the prospect of hearing His “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

“He exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.” Acts 11:23.

“He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again.” 2 Cor. 5:15.

Is He not worthy?

The World

“God forbid 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.

“We glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed.” Rom. 5:3, 4.

“Behold I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Rev. 3:11.

The world that crucified my Lord

Makes overtures to me,

And offers pleasures and reward,

If I will faithless be.

But when in Jesus' death I died

The world to me was crucified.

The world, that crowned my Lord with thorns,

Would crown me with success

If I would walk as one who scorns

The crown of righteousness.

But I will never cast away

The crown I hope for “in that day.”

The world, that set my Lord at naught,

Would bid me make a name,

By selling what His life-blood bought,

For wealth, and ease, and fame.

But I of these desire no part;

My name is written on His heart.

The world, that pierced His hands and feet,

And smote my Savior's side,

Would tempt me with some vain conceit

To pander to my pride;

But all earth's vanities are dross

To those who glory in the Cross.

The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: 1

Chapter 1

Turning back to the beginning of the First Epistle for comparison with the Second, we note how much wider it is in the scope of its address, taking in “all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord”; thus it embraces the entire Christian profession in the whole world. The divine reason for this breadth of address is not difficult to see: much of the sad departure from God's written Word that is now found in Christendom was already in essence at Corinth, and stands exposed and condemned in the First Epistle. But many nowadays do not appear to read the Bible with earnest desire to learn from it, else would they not give up what it condemns?

The Second Epistle, its address limited to “the Assembly of God which is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia,” differs much in character from the First. The Corinthians had, in considerable measure, judged themselves on account of the various things brought to their attention by the First Epistle, and Paul was now filled with comfort of which he must tell not them only, but also all the Christians in that country of which Corinth was a large and important city.

The second verse brings before us the changeless love and favor of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ for us who have heard and heeded the Word of God: grace and peace without measure.

Verses 3-5. The apostle's heart overflows in praise to God.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassions and God of all encouragement. Who encourages us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to encourage those who are in any tribulation whatever, through the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged of God; because even as the sufferings of the Christ abound toward us, so through the Christ does our encouragement also abound.” (N.T.)

Verse 3 in the better translation quoted from and Eph. 1:3 and 1 Peter 1:3, are alike in their opening words, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” but in 2 Cor. 1:3, the outburst of praise is on account of encouragement in trial; in Eph. 1:3, it is in acknowledgment of every spiritual blessing bestowed, and in 1 Peter 1:3 it is in view of His great mercy to the Jews who believed. So it is that the Christian's heart is drawn out in praise as he passes through the world, recognizing the hand of God in the very circumstances of his life; or as he surveys the many sided grace that has given us so rich a portion for time and eternity; or again, as he considers the depth of divine mercy meted out to poor sinners, whether Jews or Gentiles, without measure and free.

The title of “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” leads our thoughts to John 20:17, where the risen Lord communicated to Mary Magdalene a message to carry to those whom He could now call His brethren, saying,

“I ascend to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.” As another has said.

“Christ stands in two relationships with God, His Father. He is a perfect man before His God, and He is a Son with His Father. We are to share both these relationships.” God “is the God of Christ, when Christ is looked at as man; the Father of Christ, when Christ is looked at as the Son of His Love. In the first character the nature of God is revealed; in the second we see the intimate relationship which we enjoy to Him who bears this character of Father, and that according to the excellence of Christ's own relationship to Him.”

This line of truth is prominent in the Epistle to the Ephesians.

It is God so known through our Lord Jesus—as His God and Father—Himself having once passed through this world as a man, that fills the heart of the apostle. Moreover as Father He is the Father of compassions; as God He is the God of all encouragement—fit names to be applied to Him who makes Himself known—better known—in the circumstances of trial often found in a believer's life.

Then the practical working of this divinely given encouragement or cheer, in trial is,

“That we may be able to encourage those who are in any tribulation whatever, through the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged of God.”

This is what should be the common experience of God's children, but there was suffering out of the ordinary in the path of this devoted servant, and it is in view of this that he can add,

“Because, even as the sufferings of the Christ abound toward us, so through the Christ does our encouragement also abound.”

It was given to Paul to know suffering as no one else who came after him on account of the revelation of God in the gospel, he being the special witness-bearer to it, as he says in Col. 1:24,

“Now, I rejoice in sufferings for you, and I fill up that which is behind of the tribulations of Christ in my flesh, for His body which is the assembly, of which I became minister.”

Verses 6, 7. The apostle thinks of his tribulations as well as his encouragement, as for the encouragement and salvation of the Corinthian believers, wrought in the endurance of the same sufferings as he, “Knowing,” as he says, “that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so ye shall also be of the encouragement.”

The believers at Corinth suffered for Christ's sake; it could not have been otherwise at that time, even though they were going on badly; in due season they would find encouragement that Paul had been given, having put away the sin so dishonoring to the Lord which was a hindrance to their blessing.

Verses 8-11. That the Acts do not record all of the apostle's persecutions and sufferings is evident both from chapter 11:23-27, and from verse 8 now before us. The brief word about having fought with (human) beasts at Ephesus in 1 Cor. 15:32, joined with verse 8 gives us all we know of how near death Paul was at Ephesus some time before the end of his stay there, of which Acts 19 tells. It may have resulted from Satanic rage over the effect of the preaching as in Acts 19:18-20.

It was not God's way of dealing with His servant to spare him in some miraculous way from suffering, and He allowed him to get into such a position that he despaired even of living. But, as he says, (verse 9)

“We had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.”

Verses 10, 11. God had delivered Paul from so great a death, and continued to deliver him; in Him he confided that He would also yet deliver. In the eleventh verse the apostle refers to the part in prayer that all the saints had in the gift toward himself, i.e., the sparing of his life that he might continue in service as Christ's apostle-the gift thus becoming the subject of the thanksgiving of many for him.

In verse 12 no doubt the saints at Corinth were particularly in view, for they had much to learn and to unlearn in attaining ways suitable in a Christian. These were Paul's ways in Christ, not his by nature; what he had been he speaks of in 1 Tim. 1:13 (“who before was a blasphemer, and persecutor, and an insolent, overbearing man.”) (N. T.) But the twelfth verse was written at the Holy Spirit's direction for the Corinthians, and many others beside them, even for Christians today; it shows the character all the Lord's servants should have, and surely all of us may learn from this verse.

In verse 13 the sense in English is made clearer by substituting “what ye well know and recognize” for the words in the middle of the verse. Truth they had heard when the apostle was among them was what he was continuing to press upon them.

Verse 14. They had acknowledged or recognized Paul “in part” that he was their boast; this partial thing was to their shame, for God had used him in bringing them out of heathen darkness into the light of His truth; but the apostle only says, “even as ye also are our boast in the day of the Lord Jesus”; he is thinking of the day in glory when the saints as the trophies of God's grace will be displayed; when we are with and like our Lord.

Verses 15-18. Paul had purposed to go from Ephesus directly across the Aegean Sea to Corinth, and thence northward through Greece or along its coast to Macedonia; from there he would have returned to Corinth to start on his expected journey toward Judea. Because of the bad state in the Corinthian Assembly he did not go to them, but instead wrote his First Epistle, sending it by Titus. Was his decision not to go to Corinth a token that his word could not be depended upon? Some would have thought so, but it was not true; Paul however turns to the certainty there is in Christ, according to the preaching, (verse 19).

Verse 20. All the promises of God, whatever they are, and to whomsoever uttered, in Christ they are yea and amen; believers are the objects of these counsels of God; they are to His glory by us. How can this be? The answer is indicated in verses 21 and 22.

The doer of the work is God. He has established us in Christ; then we are secure for eternity; He has anointed us, given us energy of communion with His revealed mind (1 John 2:20-27). He has, moreover, sealed us (Eph. 1:13 and 4:30), having completely delivered us from Satan's slavery, made us His children by the new birth, washed us from our sins, and condemned sin in the flesh; and finally He has given the earnest or pledge of the Spirit in our hearts,—the pledge of the inheritance we have in and with Christ. What a wonderful place of blessing, both now and for eternity, the child of God is given!

Verses 23, 24. The apostle begins to explain why he had not come to Corinth; he hoped that their consciences would be reached by means of a letter, rather than himself to go there with a rod. It was not that he ruled over their faith, but was a fellow-workman of their joy; by faith they stood.

Valley of Weeping

“Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee... who passing through the valley of weeping, make it a well.” Psa. 84:5, 6.

I have been through the valley of weeping,

The valley of sorrow and pain;

But the “God of all comfort” was with me,

At hand to uphold and sustain.

As the earth needs the clouds and the sunshine,

Our souls need both sorrow and joy;

So He places us oft in the furnace,

The dross from the gold to destroy.

When He leads through some valley of trouble,

His omnipotent hand we trace;

For the trials and sorrows He sends us,

Are part of His lessons in grace.

Oft we shrink from the purging and pruning,

Forgetting the Husbandman knows

That the deeper the cutting and paring,

The richer the cluster that grows.

Well He knows that affliction is needed;

He has a wise purpose in view,

And in the dark valley He whispers,

“Hereafter thou'lt know what I do.”

As we travel through life's shadowed valley,

Fresh springs of His love ever rise;

And we learn that our sorrows and losses,

Are blessings just sent in disguise.

So we'll follow wherever He leadeth,

Let the path be dreary or bright;

For we've proved that our God can give comfort;

Our God can give songs in the night.

Do All to the Glory of God: Part 1

1 Cor. 10:31

It is most needful, when about to offer a word of admonition, to set forth the proper ground on which such a word can be received.

Now, as to the position of the believer, as set forth in the New Testament, it is one of the most complete—justification and acceptance “Justified from all things.” “Complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power.” “Accepted in the beloved.”

These are some of the expressions used by the Holy Spirit to set forth the believer's position before God—a position founded on the accomplished work of Christ, and not upon anything the believer has done. God's grace has assigned it to him; the blood of Christ has fitted him to occupy it; and the operation of the Spirit has led him into the enjoyment of it. His being in it, therefore, is the fruit of the combined action of the divine three in one; nor can aught in him ever interfere with that action. The believer's justification, and acceptance, are as independent of himself, and everything in him, as is the position of the sun in the heavens. There it is; but who set it there? God. There and thus is the believer; but who set him there? God. Hence one is as independent of him as the other, for both alike are founded on what God is.

We may think it all too good to be true: and too good it would assuredly be, were its truth in any wise dependent upon us; but not when its truth depends entirely on God. It might be too good for us to get; but not too good for God to give. This makes all the difference. When God gives, He gives like Himself. The blessedness of the gift must depend upon the giver, and not upon the receiver. He gives perfect justification. He gives complete acceptance. To whom? To sinners. On what ground? On the ground of Christ's accomplished sacrifice. For what purpose? That they might be to the praise of His glory. (John 17:2; Acts 13:39; Rom. 5;6:23; Eph. 1:6; Col. 2:10; Eph. 1:12.)

Hence it is clear that no warning or exhortation can involve or interfere with the believer's position and relationship. So far from this, the very fact of our being addressed in such a way proves, in the clearest manner, God's gracious recognition of our relationship. If God gives me a command, the fact of His doing so proves that He recognizes in me a principle of life and power, whereby I can both hear and obey. He would not call upon one “dead in trespasses and sins” to do anything. His command to such an one is to repent and believe the Gospel. But when one is born again, has entered into an eternal relationship, based upon redemption, then, and not till then, is he addressed in the language of warning and exhortation; and on his due observance of such language depends much of his present blessing and usefulness.

We are prone to confound two things: namely, our eternal relationship to God as His children; and our present responsibility to Christ, as His servants and witnesses. The former is the result of the action of the Divine will and power; as we read in James,

“Of His own will begat He us by the Word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures.”

The latter, on the contrary, is a thing devolving upon us daily, and calling for much holy diligence in the prayerful study of the Word, and waiting upon God.

Many of us fail in answering to our responsibility to Christ, in manifesting Him in our ways, and in our practical testimony for Him; but this, blessed be God, does not touch our eternal relationship with Him, though it may and does interfere with our enjoyment as children of God; yea, to talk of one without the other is to be “deceived by vain words.”

This train of thought leads us naturally to the immediate subject of Christian intercourse—a subject of much more importance than might at first sight appear.

By Christian intercourse, I do not mean that intercourse which we have when gathered, on solemn occasions, for worship or edification. The intercourse to which I allude is of a much more familiar character; and, for that very reason, it needs much more solemn watchfulness, lest in it the enemy should betray us into anything unbecoming the elevation which ought to mark the character and path of those who profess to be members of Christ's holy body, and temples of His Holy Spirit.

It is sometimes painfully humbling to observe the character of intercourse which prevails among those whose professed principles would lead us to look for very different results. While marking the intercourse, and the conversation which frequently obtains among professing Christians of the present day, one feels disposed to ask, Is it possible that these people really believe what they profess? Do they believe that they are “dead and risen with Christ”—that their calling is a heavenly one—that they are part of Christ's body—that they are crucified with Christ—that they are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit—that they are pilgrims and strangers—that they are waiting for God's Son from heaven?

It may be, that these weighty principles are items in the creed to which they have given a nominal assent; but it is morally impossible that their hearts can be affected by them. How could a heart, really under the power of such stupendous truths, take pleasure, or even take part in vain, frivolous, empty talk—talk about people with whom they have nothing whatever to do—talk about every passing trifle of the day? Could a heart full of Christ be thus occupied? It is as impossible as that noon could intermingle with midnight. Yet, professing Christians, when they meet at the dinner-table, and at their tea-parties, are, alas! too often found thus occupied.

Nor is it only in our intercourse with our fellow-Christians that we forget ourselves, or rather forget the Lord; but also in our intercourse with the world. How often, when we meet with unconverted people, do we slip into the current of their thoughts, and find a theme in common with them! Sometimes this is mourned over, sometimes it is defended, and the defense is founded upon an erroneous view of the Apostle's expression,

“I am made all things to all.”

This, surely, does not mean that he entered into the folly and nonsense of worldly men. By no means. This would be to assert too much. What then does the expression mean? It means, that Paul denied himself among all classes of men, in order that he might “by all means save some.” His object was to bring sinners to Christ, and not to please himself, by entering into their habits of conversation.

(To be continued)

Magnified in Me

“For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Phil. 1:19-21.

I dare not say I must succeed

In life's divine pursuit;

'Tis mine to sow the precious seed,

But God must give the fruit:

Thus will I serve that Christ may be

In all things magnified in me.

The way is often cold and drear,

The burden hard to bear;

With many a sigh and many a tear,

And many an anxious prayer.

Still I press on that Christ may be

In all things magnified in me.

When enemies God's Word deny,

And unbelief assails,

When adversaries terrify,

And courage almost fails;

Lord, make me bold, that Christ may be

In all things magnified in me.

I hope the Lord will come again

Ere death my light shall dim;

If not, my hope is not in vain,

For I shall go to Him;

And Christ, by life or death, shall be

In all things magnified in me.

To Meet the Lord

“To meet the Lord in the air”—what a volume in those words! Nothing can give cheerfulness in the thought of treading a path never trod before, but the Lord Himself being there—meeting Him there.

“I will come again, and receive you unto Myself.” This is the language of affection. He does not say, I will send for you. No, that would not satisfy the heart— “I will come.” He would not be content without having them where He is, and without coming to receive them to Himself.

The hope of the Lord's coming is a divine hope, centered in Himself; not only rejoicing in hope of the glory of God—more than that, waiting for Christ Himself, who, being now in the very highest point of glory, will come forth from that glory to take us up.

How are your hearts affected in regard to the thought of this Christ of God not only coming to throw open the Father's house, Himself to be our joy? Can you say that the longing of your hearts is flowing forth in the invitation continually ascending,

“Come, Lord Jesus”? That Nazarene has it in His heart to come, and if He speaks and says,

“Surely, I come quickly,” have such words, dropping from His lips, the continual answer in your heart.

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus”?

In Everything Give Thanks

Take your heart full of cares, and get into the presence of the God of peace in heaven, what will be the effect? Will they remain in you there? What are they? Only outside things connected with self. Can you find one sorrow of one individual believer from Abel downwards, of which you could say that sorrow was not in connection with the God of peace? Not that He is the sender of sorrow, but the God of peace, sitting in heaven and causing everything to work together for good to us, taking flesh into the account, sweeping the very ground of the heart, taking strength from the strong, causing pulsation to cease. But is anything terrifying when we get into His presence? No! all is peace in the presence of the God who counts the hairs of our head.

“In everything give thanks.” Is there a lust or a single thing in me that I would try to hide from God? No; I would like His knife to cut, to root up every evil, so that I may bear more fruit.

How apt we are to limit thanksgiving to things that we can understand to be good, but we have to give thanks for all things. If we are within the veil and living there, we shall know what it is to give thanks for all that is most contrary to what we should naturally choose. Are there any who have one thing for which they cannot give thanks? Whatever that particular thing may be, they have not entered into the light of God's presence. If they had, they would know what cause they had to thank God for that very thing, as for all else.

Extract: Christ in the Little Things

Are you so living to Christ that you take up all the duties that lie in your path, and do what your hands find to do unto Christ? Satan often blinds the eyes to the omnipotency of Christ, leading one to say,

“I cannot expect Christ to come into such a little thing.”

What! does not Christ fill little things as well as great? All the omnipotence and might of God is found in the heart of that risen Man. If not, prayers could not be heard. I get His whole attention when I speak to Him in prayer, as if there were not one more except me. If I say that anything so small cannot occupy Him, it is only pride denying His omnipotence.

How often one has had a powerful consciousness in the soul that prayer has been heard, when no word, or half a word, has been uttered: one has suddenly felt that the Lord has come in to answer.

Extract: Gazing

“We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Cor. 3:18.

Observe, “beholding... are changed.” There is no legal bondage-no restless effort-no anxious toiling. We gaze, and gaze, and-what then? Continue to gaze, and as we gaze, we become morally assimilated to the blessed Object, through the transforming power of the Holy Ghost. The image of Christ is engraved upon the heart, and reflected back in ten thousand ways, in our practical career, from day to day.

Correspondence: Taken When the Lord Comes; 1PE 3:18-19; ROM 9:18

Question: Does the Word of God teach that all Christians will be taken up when the Lord comes, even though they may be walking in the most worldly manner; or is the promise only to a waiting people, who look and long for His appearing?

Answer: All Christians will be taken up, whether those that sleep in Jesus, or those who are alive and remain until He comes. (1 Thess. 4:14-17; 1 Cor. 15:23.)

Who are Christians? According to Scripture, Christians are not found mixed up with all kinds of worldliness: they are not of the world even as He is not of the world. If practicing unrighteousness, no matter what a man professes to be, he is of the devil. (1 John 2:29; 3:7, 9, 10.)

The Christian in Scripture is regarded as waiting for the Lord (Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 Thess. 1; 10; 2:19); loving His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8); looking for it (Titus 2:13; Heb. 9:28); and keeping the word of His patience (Rev. 3:10).

Great numbers who pass for Christians with men, and who profess to be such, will be shut out. (Matt. 25:11, 12.) Solemn words! Jesus will say,

“Verily, I say unto you, I know you not.”

“Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name?... And in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” Matt. 7:22, 23.

We must not suppose that worldly Christians will be left behind; but that worldly professors will be left, shut out forever.

May not the blessed hope of the Bridegroom's return, restored to us in these last days, be used by the Spirit already to separate the true from the false?

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.” Rev. 22:17.

“The bride” will include every true Christian. And the Spirit is moving the hearts of all such to say, “Come.”

If you meet a mere professor who says that the coming of Christ is nothing to him, his heart is engrossed in politics, pleasure, or worldly gain. Could you say from Scripture that he is a worldly Christian? Satan is leading off his companies, and the Spirit is leading the bride to say “Come.” Every day shows that you cannot depend on profession. Blessed be God! we can depend on His Word, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Question: I do not understand “Quickened by the Spirit: by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison.” 1 Peter 3:18, 19.

Answer: This is evidently Christ in the Spirit preaching through Noah, before the flood, to those who were disobedient. Those now are spirits in prison, yes, in that prison in which the rich man lifted up his eyes being in torment (Luke 16). These are part of the dead, who will stand before the great white throne and receive the doom of the lake of fire. And let us not forget, that as it was in the days of Noah so shall it be when the Son of man cometh.

Question: Please explain, “Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth.” Rom. 9:18.

Answer: This verse sets forth God's sovereign right to do as He pleases. Man must bow. It is of no use to reason, or reply, for God must have the upper hand in the end. As to Pharaoh, the hardening of his heart was judicial. He had set himself to resist God's will, and he was given over to blindness and hardness of heart. No one was ever hardened or blinded who had the faintest or feeblest desire after God or His Christ. Theology makes difficulties in this matter: truth makes none.

How an Army Officer Was Saved!

Sir Henry N— began life as an army officer, became in due time Military Secretary to the government of India, and subsequently a colonial governor in the West Indies and Australia.

The story of his conversion is interesting. His sister had been converted to God, and persuaded her brother, after much entreaty, to accompany her to a mission service held in a little village in Somersetshire by the late Lord Radstock.

The room was packed. It was a time of real awakening. The power of God was felt. At the close of the service the well-known hymn was announced:

“Just as I am, without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bid'st me come to Thee:

O Lamb of God I come.”

He requested that only those who could sing the hymn truthfully should take part in the singing. This thoroughly upset the young officer. With anger and resentment in his heart he refused to sing.

Once outside the building he exclaimed hotly to his sister.

“This comes of attending an unauthorized place of worship, and hearing an un-ordained preacher, even if he be a lord. Never will I consent to come here again. Tonight I shall go to a respectable church and hear an ordained clergyman.”

Evening found the young officer at church. The preacher was a man of culture and commanding presence, and more than these, that which is becoming alas! very rare, an ardent evangelist.

The service was gone through with proper decorum, and the closing hymn announced,

“Just as I am, without one plea.”

“What,” said Sir Henry to himself, “that hymn again! I escaped from it this afternoon and here I am faced by it tonight. God must be speaking to me. God must be speaking to me.”

The Spirit of God pressed this powerfully upon the young officer's soul. The reading of the hymn ceased; the organ struck up the well-known tune, the audience rose, what should he do?

A momentous decision one way or the other must be made! Thank God, it was the right decision. Surrender to Christ was made. The young man with his brilliant prospects before him, with the siren voices of the world calling him to the paths of destruction, there and then rose, and with a full heart sang the hymn, as the confession to the Lord of trust and confidence of his soul in Him as Savior, and in the precious blood shed on Calvary.

How happy, when the end of a Christian life comes, to know that through the atoning merits of the death of the Lord Jesus, the eternal destiny is fixed for heaven and happiness.

But what can be said of the end of a Christless life? The thought is appalling, for Scripture gives no hope of salvation, except in this present day of opportunity. It knows of no second chance, but speaks solemnly of the “great gulf fixed,” the fire that is never quenched, and the worm that never dies.

My reader, if you were called to die, how would you die? If you were claimed, where would you spend eternity? Answer that question we beseech you. It will press for an answer one day. It is better to answer it when you can look at the matter with clear mind and purpose. It is folly, indeed, to put it off till racked with pain on a dying bed, till the mind is enfeebled and often past making decisions.

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

Danger of Controversies: Also, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: 2

There is danger when controversies arise through Satan's attacks upon the truth, of forgetting the need of souls—of being so occupied with the enemy, as to overlook the necessity of diligent and persistent ministrations of Christ to sustain and nourish souls, and thus enable them to repel the enemy's assaults. God's people cannot be fed, built up, with controversies-a warning word for the present moment.

The Second Epistle to the Corinthians 2

Chapter 2

The apostle continues in this chapter to explain to the Corinthian saints why he had not gone to them a second time. They ought to have understood it from the First Epistle, fourth chapter, and verses 18-21 particularly. In the first chapter of this Epistle he has told them that it was not a changeable mind in him that led to his staying away, but to spare them; for if he had gone to Corinth while they were in the state he had learned was true of them, he must indeed have dealt with them severely in the exercise of the authority the Lord had given him.

Verse 1. But Paul had determined this with himself that he would not come again to them in grief, and instead of going there he had written, was now writing a second time, hoping that they would judge thoroughly the sin that had crept in among themselves, that then he might again meet them face to face without grief.

Verse 2. If by his letter he gave them grief about their sinful ways, that very state of self-judgment produced in them would gladden the apostle; so (verse 3) he wrote, that, coming a second time he might not have grief from those with whom he ought to have joy, for he now trusted in them all, that his joy was that of them all. If they were subject to God, they would share the apostle's thoughts in what concerned Him. Now they had shown this, in measure, for they had put away the wicked person spoken of in the 5th chapter of the First Epistle.

Verse 4. So with confidence reestablished in part in his beloved Corinthians, Paul can now open his heart and tell them that the First Epistle was written out of much tribulation and distress of heart, with many tears; “not,” he says, “that ye may be grieved, but that ye may know the love which I have very abundantly toward you.”

Paul has been called the “pattern servant” of the Lord in the present interval of grace; if there were many like him in our times, could we not look for much blessing among God's people? We long to see much more Paul-likeness or better still, Christ-likeness, among those who seek to care for the sheep and lambs of the flock of God.

Servant of Christ, do you know much of distress of heart and tears on account of the present state of the Church? Ministry which has such a background is what is needed at this moment, and is sure to carry with it the Lord's blessing (See Psa. 126:5, 6).

In verses 5 to 11, the apostle refers to the believer who had fallen into sin (1st Epistle, chapter 5):

“But if any one has grieved, he has grieved, not me, but in part (that I may not overcharge you) all of you” (verse 5, N. T.).

He would have overcharged the saints at Corinth if he had said, “You are all bad,” but they had had their consciences aroused, and judged the sin that had been going on among themselves.

The discipline of the assembly, and the man's own conscience being awakened, had produced the needed effect in him; he abhorred his sin; the deepest sorrow was now his. The Word of God by the apostle is therefore, “Sufficient to such a one is this rebuke which has been inflicted by the many (the body at large)”; they should now show grace, or forgive and encourage him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with excessive grief. Therefore the apostle exhorts the gathered saints to assure him of their love, receiving him back to their number.

This was a happy outcome of assembly discipline; would that there were such a result in every case! But, alas! what do we sometimes see as we look around among the gathered saints today, and reflect upon the same course pursued by some who in years past were likewise subjected to assembly discipline, and were never restored? Instead of grief, and far from being swallowed up with overmuch sorrow on account of un-discerned self, because of which they had become an easy prey of the devil, some have nursed a grievance, and sat in judgment on the saints who, with sorrow of heart, dealt with them in discipline under the Lord's authority; it has even been the case that some under discipline have sought to draw away the disciples after themselves. Will such ways have the Lord's commendation in the coming day of rewards when the course of each of us is reviewed?

Paul wrote (verse 9) that he might know, by putting the saints at Corinth to the test, if as to everything they were obedient.

“But to whom ye forgive anything, I also; for I also, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, it is for your sakes in the person of Christ; that we might not have Satan get an advantage against us, for we are not ignorant of his thoughts” (verses 10, 11 N. T.).

The assembly at Corinth was responsible to act in restoring the repentant one, and the apostle adds his word as joining with them; “in the person of Christ” is as though He were personally present to give His authority to the act. Satan would separate the saints from Paul, if he could; would make a division between them and the apostle; this is work at which he has proved himself a master, turning as many as he can of God's people away from the truth of His Word.

When Paul, after writing the First Epistle to the Corinthians at Ephesus, and sending it with Titus, left that city, and came to the seaport town of Troas, from which he had first crossed over to Macedonia (Acts 16:8-11). There he now proceeded to make the gospel known, and a door was opened to him in the Lord; he should therefore, we may think, have remained at Troas, but he was so anxious about the effect his letter, correcting so many faults, and requiring the exclusion of a sinning saint, had produced at Corinth, that he had no rest in his spirit. Perhaps it was too soon to expect Titus back from his long journey to the Greek city; nevertheless Paul bade the Christians at Troas adieu and crossed the Aegean Sea to Macedonia. It was, perhaps, at Philippi, or at Thessalonica or Berea, that Titus, bearing good news from Corinth, met the apostle.

Of the meeting with Titus he says nothing. If he had failed in leaving the work at Troas in his concern over the Corinthian assembly, God had wrought for His own glory, so that Paul could say, as a willing captive in His train,

“But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in the Christ, and makes manifest the odor of His knowledge through us in every place” (verse 14, N. T.).

In verses 14 to 16 the apostle uses the figure of a triumphal parade such as the Romans used to celebrate the victorious conclusion of a military expedition, when the captured enemies formed part of the procession, and aromatic drugs were burned. Some of the captives would afterward be put to death. Paul looks at himself as the instrument whereby the sweet savor, or odor, of Christ was made known. To the saved, the odor was from life unto life; to those that perish, the odor was from death unto death. So is it with the gospel.

Verse 17. If in the 16th verse the apostle's expression, Who is sufficient for these things? shows how he felt the responsibility he carried, to make known the riches of Christ, in the closing verse of the chapter he could testify in his own behalf. Not as the many did he corrupt, or adulterate the Word of God, but as of sincerity, but as of God, before God, he spoke in Christ. We can thank the Lord that He had in Paul a faithful servant, and long for many more like him.

Extract: Dying for the Christian

The ark in Jordan was like Christ preceding us through the waters of death, which to Him overflowed its banks, while we follow dry-shod. For what is dying to the Christian? It is passing away from all sorrow into the presence of the Lord—the happiest moment in a Christian's existence.

Bearing His Reproach

Blessed are their eyes that see Him,

Him the holy and the true;

Gathered round Him, He among them,

His despised, rejected few;

He who hath the key of David,

God of resurrection power;

He hath opened heaven before them,

Shut them in for evermore.

Feeblest worms, yet dear to Jesus,

Weary hearts that wait for Him,

Eyes that look upon the glory,

Till all else is dark and dim;

Midst the wreck, the desolation,

Where the glorious city stood,

Called to raise the lonely altar,

One last witness for their God.

He the golden door has opened

Of His temple holiest place,

Midst these latter days of darkness

Called them in to see His face:

None can shut where He has opened,

None that “little strength” withstand,

Which He gave amid their weakness,

By the touch of His right hand.

Precious to the heart of Jesus,

Love that keeps the “Word” he spake,

Knowing somewhat of the sweetness

Of rejection for His sake;

Yet so little of the glory

Of His scorn, and cross, and shame,

That His love can witness only,

“Thou hast not denied My name.”

He their names will tell in triumph,

Rest not till the scorners own

All the love wherewith He loved them,

Till they see them on His throne.

He, for that bright day, is waiting,

They are waiting till He come;

Ere the judgment thunder pealeth,

He will take them to His home.

He, their Lord, is coming quickly-

Brethren, yet awhile hold fast;

In His God's eternal temple

They as pillars stand at last.

Here, to be cast out, rejected,

Here to bear the brand of shame;

There, go out no more forever,

Bear in light His God's own name.

He will write that name upon them,

His God evermore their own,

And the name of His bright city,

Of the bride who shares His throne;

And His own new name of triumph

Then shall shine upon their brow-

Shall they not rejoice in bearing

His reproach, rejection now?

Do All to the Glory of God: Part 2

1 Cor. 10:31

Let us look at the Master Himself, our great Exemplar, and inquire how did He carry himself toward the men of this world? Did He ever find an object in common with them? Never. He was always feeding upon and filled with one object, and of that object He spoke. He ever sought to lead the thoughts of men to God.

This, my beloved reader, should be our object too. Whenever we meet men, we should lead them to think of Christ; and if we do not find an open door for that, we should not certainly suffer ourselves to be carried into the current of their thoughts. If we have business to transact with men, we must transact it; but we should not have any fellowship with them in their habits of thought or conversation, because our Master never had; and if we diverge from His path as to this, we shall soon sink into an unsanctified tone of spirit. We shall be as “salt that has lost its saltness,” and thus be “good for nothing.”

I cannot doubt but that much of that lack of settled peace, of which so many complain, is very justly traceable to the light and trifling habits of conversation in which they indulge; to their reading of newspapers and other light works. Such things must grieve the Holy Spirit; and if the Holy Spirit is grieved, Christ cannot be enjoyed; for it is the Spirit alone who, by the written word, ministers Christ to the soul.

I do not mean to deny that very many feel this lack of peace, who do not engage in such things; but I say that these things must, necessarily, be productive of serious injury to our spiritual health, and must induce a condition of soul which is most dishonoring to Christ.

It may be, that many who have long been accustomed to high teaching, will turn away from such plain, practical principles as these; but we must expect this. It will be pronounced legalism; and the writer may be accused of seeking to bring people into a sort of bondage, and of casting them upon themselves. I can only say, God forbid.

If it be legalism to direct attention to the matter of conversation, then it is the legalism of the Epistle to the Ephesians; for there we find, that “foolish talking and jesting” are among the things which are not to be “once named among us, as becometh saints.”

The word which is rendered “jesting” takes to what is commonly called “wit,” “humor,” “punning,” and such like. It is well to remember this. The word “jesting” would let a great deal pass which should come under the edge of the original word, which is a compound of two Greek words, signifying “to turn well.”

Again, we read,

“Let your conversation be always with grace, seasoned with salt.” These are plain statements of Scripture—statements found in immediate connection with some of the most elevated doctrines of inspiration; and it will be found, that where those plain statements are not allowed their full weight on the conscience, the higher truths are not enjoyed. I can neither enjoy, nor walk worthy of my “high vocation,” if I am indulging in “foolish talking and jesting.”

I quite admit the need of carefully avoiding all affected sanctimoniousness, or fleshly restraint. The sanctimoniousness of nature is fully as bad as its levity, if not worse. But why exhibit either the one or the other? The Gospel gives us something far better. Instead of affected sanctimoniousness, the Gospel gives us real sanctity; and, instead of levity, it gives us holy cheerfulness. There is no need to affect anything, for if I am feeding upon Christ, all is reality, without any effort. The moment there is effort, it is all perfect weakness. If I say I must talk about Christ, it becomes terrible bondage, and I exhibit my own weakness and folly; but if my soul is in communion, all is natural and easy, for “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” It is said of a certain little insect, that it always exhibits the color of the leaf on which it feeds. So it is exactly with the Christian. It is very easy to tell on what he is feeding.

But it may be said by some, that “we cannot be always talking about Christ.” I reply, that just in proportion as we are led by an un-grieved Spirit, will all our thoughts and words be occupied about Christ. We, if we are children of God, will be occupied with Him throughout eternity; and why not now? We are as really separated from the world now, as we shall be then; but we do not realize it, because we do not walk in the Spirit.

It is quite true, that in entering into the matter of a Christian's habit of conversation, one is taking low ground; but, then, it is needful ground. It would be much happier to keep on the high ground; but, alas we fail in this; and it is a mercy that Scripture and the Spirit of God meet us in our failure. Scripture tells us we are “seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6); and it tells us not “to steal.” It may be said that it is low ground to talk to heavenly men about stealing; yet it is Scripture ground; and that is enough for us. The Spirit of God knew that it was not sufficient to tell us that we are seated in heaven; He also tells us how to conduct ourselves on earth; and our experience of the former will be evidenced by our exhibition of the latter. The walk here proves how I enter into my place there.

Hence, I may find in the Christian's walk a very legitimate ground on which to deal with him about the actual condition of his soul before God. If his walk is low, carnal, and worldly, it must be evident that he is not realizing his high and holy position as a member of Christ's body, and a temple of God.

Wherefore, to all who are prone to indulge in habits of trifling conversation, I would affectionately, but solemnly say, look well to the general state of your spiritual health. Bad symptoms show themselves—certain evidences of a disease working within—a disease, it may be, more or less affecting the very springs of vitality. Beware how you allow this disease to make progress. Betake yourself at once to the Physician, and partake of His precious balm. Your whole spiritual constitution may be deranged, and nothing can restore its tone, save the healing virtues of what He has to give you.

A fresh view of the excellency, preciousness, and beauty of Christ is the only thing to lift the soul up out of a low condition. All our barrenness arises from our having let Christ slip. It is not that He has let us slip. No; blessed be His name, this cannot be. But, practically, we have let Him slip, and our tone has become so low, that it is at times difficult to recognize anything of the Christian in us, but the mere name.

We have stopped short in our practical career. We have not entered, as we should, into the meaning of Christ's “cup and baptism”; we have failed in seeking fellowship with Him in His sufferings, death, and resurrection. We have sought the result of all these, as wrought out in Him; but we have not entered experimentally into them, and hence our melancholy decline, from which nothing can recover us, but getting more into the fullness of Christ.

(Concluded)

Man's Plans, but God's Purposes

The external course of events tells us nothing of what is really going on—that is inside it all. If the external planning of men or Satan, further God's plans, they succeed; if not, they come to nothing; but what is really going on is still inside them all.

The Jews would not have taken Jesus on the Feast day, not to have an uproar, but He was to be the Paschal Lamb, and He is taken. They would often have taken Him, but His hour was not yet come; when it was, they take Him—their wicked plans succeed.

To the outward eye, what happened to Job were raids of Arabs and Chaldeans—ordinary predatory raids, and a violent storm blew down the house; Satan was in it all, and behind him God arranging the purifying of Job's heart, and our instruction in all ages.

The political plans of Augustus, as to the census of the Empire, brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus, and then it was not carried out for nine years, when Cyrenius was Governor.

All we have to do is to discern God's will, and have faith and courage to do it. All His strength is power to carry us forward. It may seem to turn out ill, or be a cross—it may be so, but we shall have the result of God's counsels and blessings by the way.

Man succeeded in crucifying Jesus, because, however wicked the act on their part, it was just carrying out God's plans. Jesus knew His Father's will—sought only to glorify His Name—had faithful obedience to act upon it, though to man's eye it was the ruin of everything.

The Advantages of Tract Distribution

1. It affords work for young converts.

“There is no simpler method with which young converts may begin to engage in Christian work.”

Before ever the young Christian finds himself able for any other method of public testimony, he will find here an outlet for his energies.

2. The aged and infirm may engage in it. It need never be departed from, no matter how old or infirm one may become.

“It is a work in which an old convert may end his service for his Lord.”

3. It may be used to open the way for personal dealing. Many Christians would like to do personal work if they knew how to begin. Here, then, is a method. After one has given a tract it becomes comparatively easy to enter into conversation.

To summarize advantages of tract work we quote the following:

“Tracts can go everywhere. Tracts know no fear. Tracts never tire. Tracts can be multiplied without end by the press. Tracts can travel at little expense. They run up and down like the angels of God, blessing all, giving to all, asking no gift in return. They can talk to one as well as to a multitude, and to a multitude as well as to one. They require no pubic room to tell their story in. They can tell it in the shop, the home or the closet, in the railway coach, or in the bus, on the broad highway or in the footpath through the fields. They take no note of scoffs, or jeers, or taunts. No one can betray them into hasty or random expressions. Though they will not always answer questions, they will tell their stories twice or thrice or four times if you wish them. And they can be made to speak on every subject, and on every subject they may be made to speak wisely and well. They can, in short, be made the vehicles of truth, the teachers of all classes, the benefactors of all saints.”

“Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.” Eccl. 11:1.

Extract: A Living Christ

I have now a living Christ, perfectly awake to all His people's wants, a living person in heaven occupied with me.

God's First Question

And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him,

“Where art thou?” (Gen. 3.).

Coming to the New Testament, the first question asked by man is,

“Where is He?” (Matt. 2).

In the Genesis it is God in quest of fallen man,

Where art thou?

In the Gospel it is fallen man in quest of God,

Where is He?

One is also reminded of one of the questions asked in the oldest book in the world—Job:

“But man dieth and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the Ghost, and Where is he?”

Surely, every divine question deserves an answer? Reader, hear the voice of God from Eden, say, Where art thou? Art thou in darkness or in light; in life or in death? Which?

Art thou in Christ or in thy sins? Which?

It isn't a question of what you are, neither is it of what you have done, the question is, Where art thou? How do you stand in relation to God, to Christ and the Bible?

Where art thou?

By nature and practice, man is lost. If left to himself, he should be eternally lost.

Again, the voice of the seeking Savior cries, Where art thou?

Friend, shall you as the lost, yet seeking sinner cry,

“Where is He?” 'Tis to you He replies,

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”

“He is not far from every one of us.”

“For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Sinner, you are lost! Saved you can be.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:31.

Saved, and saved forever.

Where art thou?

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

I know right well the deep abyss of gloom, that like an atmosphere, surrounds the human heart; and I know, too, how often even physical weakness lets one drop into it, and how hard it is to shake it off. Our strength is gone, and oft we “wist it not”—so that I always say to myself,

“Take care, ward it off at the beginning.”

If one gives way, one drops deeper and deeper into it; into the thing, of all others, most fallen, most afar from God—a dark, brooding, human heart. The Lord is very pitiful to such a one—very tender and gracious; but if (as has been said) I have all the grace of Christ, I have no business to give way, as if it were not “sufficient.”

What oppresses me today, will be gone tomorrow; but a glimpse of Christ—the felt answer of His heart in the moment of oppression will last until tomorrow, and the next day, and forever, and forever.

Shame on the heart that can go down so low for the worry of the moment, and rise so little to the realities that are forever!

Extract: Real Knowledge of God

There is no real knowledge of God except in crushing nature in its impatience, pride of heart, self-confidence, and everything. And it is right that it should be so. It is a poor gain to acquire considerable knowledge of God, without its having at the same time a deep moral effect on the soul. God, at any rate, would have the two things together associated in us.

Correspondence: Why Couldn't Chaldeans Read the Writing on the Wall?

Question: Why could not the Chaldeans read the hand writing on the wall? (Dan. 5).

Answer: It was a warning, solemn, immediate, and before all. The language was Chaldean, and those who saw the hand, and the characters were Chaldeans. We might have judged then, that the mere letters must be more familiar to the Chaldeans than to Daniel. It is not the way of God, when He communicates anything, to put it in an obscure form. It would be a monstrous theory, that God, in giving a revelation, makes it impossible to be understood by those for whom it is intended.

What is it that renders all Scripture so difficult? It is not the language. Neither are the thoughts enigmatical or full of foreign allusions. The difficulty of Scripture lies herein, that it is the revelation of Christ, for the ones that have their hearts opened to receive and value Him. The real difficulty of Scripture, then, consists in its thoughts being so infinitely above our natural mind. We must give up self in order to understand the Bible.

To return, then, to the inscription upon the wall, the words were plain enough. All ought to have been intelligible, and would have been, had the souls of the Chaldeans been in communion with the Lord. I do not mean that there was not the power of the Spirit of God needed to enable Daniel to understand it; but it is an immense thing, for the understanding of the Word, that we have communion with the God who is making known His mind to us.

“Therefore,” said the apostle Paul to the elders, “I commend you to God, and to the Word of His grace.” Acts 20:32.

Daniel was outside the revelings and debauchery. He was a stranger to those who were at home there. He was called in from the light of the presence of God to see this scene of impiety and darkness; and coming therefore fresh from the light of God, he reads the writing upon the wall, and all was bright as the day. And nothing is more solemn,

“This is the interpretation of the thing” (Vers. 25-28). He at once sees God in the matter. The king has insulted God in what was connected with His worship.

“Tekel; thou are weighed in the balances, and found wanting.”

“Peres; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”

It was not that anything appeared then; nothing was seen at the time that made it even probable. It was God's last warning before the blow fell, and the interpretation was given before the Persians broke into the city—when there was not a sign of ruin, but all was gaiety and mirth.

“In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about three score and two years old.” In short, Babylon was judged.

"I'm Praying for You"

For some time I had been crying to God to save an ungodly brother of mine. He had been a great trial to my dear Christian father, who often gave him a word of warning. At last my brother was determined he would have his own way, and left his father's house for Australia.

Several years passed away, and then I wrote to my brother, entreating him to come to Jesus. I enclosed a hymn leaflet, every verse ending with these words:

“For you I am praying,

I'm praying for you.”

After three months I received an answer from my brother, desiring me never to write to him again, unless I could do so without alluding to religion, or that sort of thing; he was very angry with me.

I took him at his word, and decided that I would not write again, but would pray more for him. I also asked some Christians to carry him to God in prayer. About three months after this sad letter, came the postman and handed me another foreign letter, to my great surprise. And more surprised still was I, as I commenced reading the letter, which ran thus:

“My dear sister, you shall be the first to whom I will tell the good news that I am rejoicing in the joyousness of Jesus. O! dear sister, your letter made me wretched, but mine will make you glad; for I have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. After your letter came, I went more into sin than ever I had done, till one night I felt very ill, and then made up my mind if I got better I would go to chapel some Sunday. After I recovered I went, but it only made me feel more wretched. I was glad when the service was over. I felt there was no mercy for me. Then I was very ill again, and could not work.

“O! what a wretched time this was! I again thought if I got better I would go to chapel. God in His love, raised me up again, and I carried out my good resolution. I thought the preacher knew all about me, for every word he said was just for me; I could not rise from my seat; there I sat while the people all went out. I could not go; I sat and cried.

“A man came to me, and asked if I was saved; I told him, no, neither could I ever be. Several of God's people knelt down, and prayed for me, but this did me no good.

“Here at last I left. But I felt I could not go home, I walked about to a very late hour, praying to God to pardon my many sins, and to let me know it. And as I was walking and praying, these words came to me as if some one spoke to me:

“‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.’ 1 Tim. 1:15. I saw it, and went home rejoicing, dear sister. I at once went out and told others what the Lord had done for my soul; yes! the very people on the street knew I was a saved man; to God be all the praise.”

I would add a word to any of my Christian readers: O! be faithful with your unconverted relations! Never mind making them angry. The Word will be a savor of life unto life, or of death unto death to them. We can sometimes reach our friends better by letter, than by speaking to them; but let us write God's words and not our own. His words may have a lodging-place in their consciences long before it is made manifest to us, as was the case with my brother. Often those who seem to reject the name of Jesus, want Him in their hearts.

“The Word of God is living and operative, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and penetrating to the division of soul and spirit, both of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Heb. 4:12. (New Trans.)

The Harvest Is Great

Use me, O God, in Thy great harvest field

That stretcheth far and wide, like a wide sea.

The gatherers are so few, I fear

Thy precious work will suffer loss!

O, find a place for me; a place

Where best the strength I have will tell-

It may be one the other toilers shun;

Be it a narrow sphere or wide, 'tis well,

So that Thy work be only done.

The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: 3:1-7

Chapter 3, Verses 1-7

The division of the books of the Bible into chapters and verses, as is well known, is of human origin; and though it is a great convenience in referring to passages, it is faulty, sometimes in the division into verses, much more frequently in the arrangement by chapters. It is plain, for instance, that the third chapter's beginning is a continuation of the subject which was before the inspired writer at the close of the second chapter; and they should be read together.

The low spiritual state of the Corinthian saints called for the language the apostle uses. That is why he speaks in his own behalf, of the character of his service for God, in the last verse of chapter 2, and continues (verses 1-3): Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or do we need, as some, commendatory letters to you, or from you? Ye are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read (or well known) of all men, ye being manifested that ye are Christ's epistle, ministered by us; written, not with ink, but the Spirit of the living God; not on stone tables, but on fleshy tables of the heart.

Letters of commendation are much needed when saints go where they are not personally known, but so very much was the assembly at Corinth the result of Paul's labor for Christ in that place, that he could say to them, Ye are our epistle, our letter of commendation. “Written in our hearts,” tells of his affection for them. And if Paul's, they were Christ's epistle, ministered by the apostle, but written by the Spirit of the living God on fleshy tables of the heart.

This every gathering of God's saints is, and every individual saint—every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ—Christ's letter of commendation to an unbelieving world. The world of that day took knowledge of the Assembly of God at Corinth; they saw something of the result of the gospel of God's grace in human hearts, something of Christ in those Corinthians. So to the unbelieving world of today, having no regard for God or His Christ, and ignorant of His truth, you, dear young Christian, are in the position of recommending the Savior. May they see nothing in you but what recommends Him!

The reference to tables of stone in the third verse directs our thoughts to the tables or tablets of the law given to Moses (Exodus 24:12; 31:18; 32:19; 34:1, 4, 28; 40:20). And what a contrast this suggests! The law was a series of demands upon man which he could not meet; instead of it, we have Christ engraved on every believer's heart by the Holy Spirit.

Verses 4, 5: “And such trust (or confidence) have we through Christ towards God; not that we are sufficient (competent) of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency (competency) is of God.” The apostle refers to his work, his ministry; but in principle it is true of all the children of God, of every one who trusts in Jesus. We have confidence through Him toward God, because of the place of acceptance and of divine favor into which we have been brought.

Guarding against any thought of self-confidence or self-sufficiency, the apostle adds, “not that we are competent of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our competency is of God.”

Happy is that Christian, who is enabled by divine grace to find his all in God; in Him and His Word he rests, drawing from that high and inexhaustible source for every need.

In another place (Phil. 3:3), after warning those to whom he wrote against dangers in the believer's associations, the apostle adds, summarizing in a few words what a Christian is,

“For we are the circumcision, which worship God by the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”

May this characterization of the new man be true of you, dear young Christian, in the daily practice of your life!

Verse 6. Paul was made by God an able or competent minister of the new testament; he was fitted to serve, having learned the lesson of verse 5. The new covenant, for it is really that here, not “testament,” as the translators have generally made it, is referred to several times in the New Testament (See Heb. 7:22; 8 and 9; 10:16; 12:24 and 13:20, Matt. 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; Rom. 11:27; 1 Cor. 11:25). The same Greek word serves for both covenant and testament or will, and in Heb. 9:16 and 17 it is used in the latter sense. The new covenant is promised to Israel in Jer. 31:31-33, and Ezek. 16:60-62, and it will be theirs in the millennium.

The blood of the new covenant is, of course, the shed blood of Christ; His death is the basis of all God's dealings in grace with man. We who now believe, are getting the blessings of the future covenant with Israel, without its being made with us.

How could Paul be a minister of the new covenant before it is made? The reason is plain; the foundation on which it will stand has been laid, and the grace it provides was offered to the Jews at the beginning of the Church's history, but they would not have it, so we have the ministry of it now. We are under no covenant, but Israel was under that given at Mount Sinai, in the observance of which they failed completely.

Under the new covenant, the remnant of Israel brought through the judgments foretold in the prophetic Scriptures, will have the knowledge of God, and of the forgiveness of their sins; they will have His laws in their hearts and in their minds. What a change that promises from the unbelieving Israel of today!

Paul's ministry was “not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.” The letter is as far as the natural man sees—a law given, whose requirements he must keep or suffer the penalty; the mind of God—the purpose of God—is made known to faith by the quickening Spirit through the written Word.

Verses 7 to 16 form a parenthesis, the seventeenth verse joining on to what is said in the sixth; in this parenthesis the law given by Moses is contrasted with the gospel. The law was the “ministry of death” (verse 7), and the “ministry of condemnation” (verse 9); a ministry of death, because they who were under it were promised life only as they kept the law in all its requirements; but having a sinful nature, with its own desires and a will contrary to God, the law held out only death to all; it was a ministry of condemnation, because the law condemned every soul that continued not in all things written in it (Gal. 3:10; Deut. 27:26).

The law began with glory, so that the children of Israel could not fix their eyes on the face of Moses on account of the glory of his face, a glory which is annulled. The reference is to Ex. 34:29-35 when Moses the second time came down from the mountain of the law with tablets of stone containing the ten commandments. There is no mention of Moses' face shining with reflected glory when he came down the first time from the presence of God (Ex. 32:15-30). Then he had the law alone, but the second time Moses was able to communicate to the people along with the law that God is “merciful and gracious... keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,” and that law mingled with grace, and it was this that was introduced with glory, God having given Moses a glimpse of His glory in connection with His promise of mercy for sinning Israel.

The children of Israel, however, could not bear to look on Moses' face when he came down from Sinai, reflecting as it did some of the glory of God, nor were they able to understand the divine purpose in the giving of the law, or to apprehend the spiritual meaning of the system which Moses was directed to establish among them whereby relationship with God might be maintained. The letter of the law condemned those to whom it was given; further than that they understood very little, except as individual faith grasped the purpose of God to bless for His name's sake.

Full Deliverance

Once I stood in condemnation,

Waiting thus the sinner's doom,

Christ in death has wrought salvation,

God has raised Him from the tomb.

Once I was to God a stranger,

Filled with enmity and fear;

He has rescued me from danger,

Love revealed and brought me near.

Now I see in Christ's acceptance

But the measure of my own;

He who lay beneath my sentence,

Seated high upon the throne.

Quickened, raised, and in Him seated,

I a full deliverance know;

Every foe has been defeated,

Every enemy laid low.

Now I have a life in union

With the risen Lord above;

Now I drink in sweet communion

Some rich foretaste of His love.

Soon, O Lord! in brightest glory,

All its vastness I'll explore;

Soon I'll cast my crown before Thee,

Whilst I worship and adore.

I Will Come Again

“In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:2, 3.

This is a truly precious promise. It was given to comfort the hearts of the sorrowing disciples, and many a weary heart it has comforted since then. You will observe, that in these verses “I” and “you” occur very frequently. The heart of Jesus, and the hearts of His disciples, are in close quarters. Love unites them. In heart, they are one. The tender love of Jesus is sweetly manifested. The disciples were filled with sorrow because He was going to leave them.

“Whither I go,” He says, “ye cannot come.”

This was a trying word to the heart. In answer to Peter's question, “Whither goest Thou?” the Lord first refers to His own death on the cross for them, and then meets the trouble of their hearts with this blessed promise,

“I will come again, and receive you unto Myself.”

He does not say, “I will send for you,” O, no! but “I will come.” Such was His love, He would come for them Himself. Love values its object. To have spoken of sending others for His disciples, would not have expressed how much He loved and valued them.

But whither was He going? To His Father's house on high—to His immediate presence—He was going home. And will He receive us unto Himself there? He is there now, and He will come for us, and receive us to where He is Himself.

“That where I am, there ye may be also.”

Our place will be with Him, through the rich merits of His blood. And that, we know, is the highest—best—most blessed place in heaven. And though all will be in the same glory with Himself, yet each one will have his own distinct and special place there. Paul will not have Peter's, and Peter will not have Paul's. Each one will have his own place, not only in the heart of Christ, but in the house of many mansions, and in the glory of the Lord.

“I go to prepare a place for you.” In short, it will be home, our own eternal, happy home. Such is the love of Jesus! It is the love of the divine Bridegroom for His “ransomed bride”; and such His faithful promise, “I will come again.”

In the seventeenth chapter, we have the same precious truth presented, not in the form of a promise, but expressed as a prayer.

“Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me.”

He bears us on His heart continually. His great desire is, that we may see His glory, and be with Him in it. Here, it is His “given” glory that He speaks of. He glorified God on the earth, and God has glorified Him at His own right hand in heaven. (Compare John 12:28; 13:31, 32; 17:4, 5). And now He prays the Father that we may all be with Him in the glory.

“And Him the Father heareth always.”

“A little while,” and we shall be with Him, and like Him in His “given glory.” And O! surely, our deepest, highest joy will be to see Him, who passed through such shame and suffering for us, crowned with glory and honor. Our joy will not consist, so much, in being there ourselves, as in seeing Him there. Every eye will be fixed on Him—every heart will be ravished with His glory and beauty. And the thought that we are there through His suffering, shame, and dishonor, will tune every voice to sing His praise, in loudest, sweetest strains.

And now, having the promise, and knowing the desire of His heart, our true position is to be watching and longing for His coming. He has not named the day nor the hour, that we may be always waiting for Him. We are not to be looking for troubles, or trials, or death, but for the Lord Himself. These may come before Him, but this precious promise, “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself,” places nothing between the heart of the disciple, and his Lord's return. His coming again is the proper object of His people's hope. Like the Thessalonians who were “turned from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven.” Affection should lead us to pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.” Like the loving wife who counts the hours of her husband's absence, and longs for his return.

In Rev. 4 we find, in vision, the promise fulfilled, and the prayer answered. Affection, as well as faith, lays hold on this. The redeemed of the Lord are seen in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne. They are seated on thrones, wearing crowns and worshiping. And although “out of the throne proceed lightnings, and thunderings, and voices,” they are not disturbed. They are perfectly at home. They are with Christ, and that makes heaven home to them. His promise is fulfilled, and the desire of His heart of love is answered. Before a single seal is broken, a single trumpet sounded, a single vial poured out, the Church is called away. He comes for her, and receives her unto Himself—unto His own home, in His Father's house on high. She is secure within the veil. This is a deeply precious truth. Judgments are now coming on the earth, with overwhelming rapidity, as the lightnings, thunderings, and voices indicate. But she has been removed from the scene on which the judgments fall, and has entered with Christ on the scene of her eternal rest and glory. The promise is fulfilled, and the prayer is answered.

No Need to Fear

The Lord had said to the disciples on the sea of Galilee,

“Let us go unto the other side.” Mark 4:35-41.

This was a pledge to them that they were sure to reach the other side. They need not fear. They may, if they please, lay them down to sleep with their Master. But no—they fear, and consult with flesh and blood. And therefore they reach the other side with tremblings and amazement and shame. Their fears loaded their spirit with these burdens, which, had they left the fulfilling of the word to Him who had given the word, they would have been saved.

Many like experiences the disciples had, through their unbelief, as they companied with the Lord Jesus all the time He went in and out among them—and many such are known to us, His saints, at this day. Our spirits gather amazement and shame, when we might have known only the calm and bright enjoyments of faith, looking, if it were so, at a sleeping Jesus, and knowing His sufficiency for all promises, though winds and waves oppose.

The Fields Are White

A young lady who is an earnest Christian recently told us a little of her experience that we thought would be of interest and encouragement to other young Christians. With this in mind we will try to give you her words:

“Last Lord's day morning while on the way to remember the Lord in death with other Christians, I took along with me, as usual, a little package of gospel tracts; for I often have opportunities to give them to fellow passengers on the cars, and also to some who may stand near me while waiting at transfer points. On this particular morning there were three different people who in turn sat beside me, and to whom I gave tracts.

“The first was an elderly man carrying a Bible. As soon as he had settled himself beside me, I handed one of my tracts to him. He readily accepted it, and after reading it carefully said,

“'It is well to be aware of these things. It is now over forty-one years since I saw that I was a lost sinner and found the Lord Jesus as my own Savior.'

“Next, a woman of about middle age sat beside me, and also accepted a tract. After reading it, she turned to me and said,

“'I am so glad to see you giving these out. There is nothing like knowing the Lord Jesus. I have known Him a long time, and He has been a great help to me. I have had lots of sorrow and trouble in my life. During the last world war, we were still living in Europe, and both my husband and brother were killed in the war. I was also imprisoned and suffered much. Now another world war is raging and my son is in it.' She paused and then added,

“‘People ask me how I stand all that has happened, but they don't know what the Lord is to me. He has sustained me.’

“Later on, a modern young woman came to sit beside me. I felt that this was another opportunity to bring the gospel to a never-dying soul, and so handed her a tract. She accepted it, but made no comment whatever. Her manner and expression revealed her feelings and she sneeringly put the tract into her purse. It was plainly evident that she was a stranger to God and His grace, and had no interest in these things. This, however, did not discourage me; for no one can tell whether or not that very tract may yet be used to reach her conscience. At any rate, it was in her purse, and would of necessity be handled again. I could look to the Lord about it and leave the results with Him, remembering that we may plant and water, but He alone can give the increase (1 Cor. 3:6).

“When I first became exercised about giving out the gospel as and where a young woman might, I was very timid. It seemed to require almost more courage than I could ever acquire to hand a tract to someone. But I looked to the Lord, and He gave me the grace to do it. It was difficult at first; but it soon became easier, and now I can thank the Lord for this means of spreading the good news. Since then the Lord has given me some very definite encouragement in meeting real Christians who seem to value and appreciate the tracts, and encouragement in seeing those who are apparently unsaved reading them slowly and carefully, and putting them away for further reference. Eternity will declare the results. It is a happy service and one that I can do quietly, and as unto the Lord.”

We might add that in the same city with this young Christian, lives an aged Christian woman who has long known and served the Lord. She lives a great distance from the place where she goes to remember the Lord each Lord's day, but she has steadfastly refused to accept rides in automobiles with those living near to her house who drive. Her reason is that she cannot hand out tracts while rushing through the traffic in an automobile. She, therefore, prefers to walk, ride on a bus and a street car to have an opportunity to distribute the gospel in tract form on the way. The Lord will not forget her labor and sacrifice in her effort to tell poor sinners that God loves them.

It may be that in the coming day of manifestation, when the Lord will bring to light the hidden things, and make manifest the motives of the heart (1 Cor. 4:5), that some of these comparatively obscure sisters and brothers will hear Him say

“Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:23); whereas some loudly advertised, and well-known preachers will have little reward.

“The Lord seeth not as man seeth.” 1 Sam. 16:7.

He sees those things that are done for Him, that the eye of man does not see; and He also knows the motives of the heart—whether it is done for Him or for the praise of men.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 15:58.

Confess the Lord

“Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven.” Matt. 10:33.

If any of our dear young friends who know the Lord Jesus as their Savior, have been timid about confessing Him before others, I beg of you to do so now.

Go to the Lord alone first, and tell Him all the truth, then go to others. Like the man in Mark 5, begin at home.

“Go home to thy friends,” and tell them first. Also write to your friends, and tell them of what the Lord has done for you.

Confession of Christ will often meet a difficulty felt by many young converts, a difficulty which was once expressed to me by a young man in these words,

“I do want to follow Jesus, but how shall I get rid of my old companions in sin, for they seek to draw me aside?”

I advised him to tell them gently and lovingly of the Savior, and invite them, in the spirit of the hymn, to come to Him,

“O that my Savior were your Savior too!”

“You may be sure,” I said, “the result will be this: you will either win them to Christ, or they will leave you entirely.”

He promised to adopt this plan.

Now I would like to have you try the same thing, and you will find that those who care nothing for the Lord will drop off like autumn leaves.

How sweet, on the other hand, if you should thus be the means of leading a companion to Christ. You will find, as I have found, that if a bold, decided confession of Christ in your home, school, or business is unhesitatingly made, it will give glory to Him, and save you a great deal of sorrow and remorse.

An Appeal in These Last Moments

“Be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 15:58.

If there ever was a day when this word of exhortation and encouragement was needed, it is today, and especially for the young Christian.

Every evil doctrine is on the increase, and the advocates of such are showing increased energy in spreading them, and often with considerable self-sacrifice. On the other hand, those who are the Lord's, are to a great extent folding their hands, taking their leisure, and giving Christ up to His enemies.

May this not be the case with any of us who are readers of “The Young Christian,” but may each of us “be... steadfast, unmoveable.” Let us allow nothing to turn us out of the way, but be unmovable from the path of faithfulness and response of heart to the Lord for all He has done for us.

He has saved our souls at the great expense of giving Himself for us, and what more could He give than His life? He is not satisfied with doing this, but He is coming again for us, as the previous verses show, at any moment, to take us to be forever with Himself, and this is the reason for this word of exhortation.

Is that blessed hope so before our hearts, do we have it so as a present reality, that we are abounding in the work of the Lord? Let each of us ask ourselves the question, What am I doing for my Lord? What am I doing for the good of His people? What am I doing for the lost and perishing all around me? What about that unsaved class-mate? that unsaved fellow-workman? or that saved friend who needs instruction and encouragement in the things of God?

Often just a word to a young Christian friend, or a decided stand for the Lord, in all lowliness and meekness, gives encouragement to the other for faithfulness of walk. If we feel unable to speak, we have the printed matter, that can be procured at a very low price, and sent to them each month. Twenty-five “Echoes of Grace” can be sent to our unsaved acquaintances, at their different addresses, for less than is often spent on trivial things.

“The Young Christian” contains simple truths that most Christians need; and if we were to pick out as many of our Christian friends as we could afford to send this paper to, only a little done in this way by each reader, would cover quite a large number; and then the little we do, if watered by prayer, with the Lord's blessing upon it, who can tell the extent of the blessing, and the reward in that day so near?

May we be assured and encouraged by the last sentence,

“Your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

Correspondence: Lord of the Sabbath?; Hebrews 6:1

Question: Why does the apostle James use the title “Lord of Sabbath”?

Answer: James wrote by the Spirit of God to the twelve tribes scattered abroad. He includes unsaved ones in his Epistle. Its subject is practical righteousness. In Chapter 5:1-6, he is speaking against the wickedness of the rich men who were grinding the faces of the poor (Isa. 3:15), and defrauding their labors, and says their cries of distress under such tyranny, “are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath,” the great “Ruler over all,” Jehovah of Hosts. This is in keeping with the object of the Epistle, which contains truth alike applicable to Israel, or the Church.

Question: Please explain Heb. 6:1, especially, “Let us go on unto perfection.”

Answer: The Epistle to the Hebrews is occupied with Christ in contrast to Judaism, and we have Christ and His work unfolded to us. The rest is seen as but shadows which were the beginning of the doctrine or teaching, from which we must go on to what belongs to full growth.

The things mentioned in verses 1, 2, are as far as Judaism could give them. Verses 4, 5, are things belonging to Christianity.

It would be to profit if we could follow this out through the chapters and in reading the Epistle, it is well to keep this in view.

Prophets and angels, Moses, Joshua and David; the Aaronic priest must all give way to Christ. He was to be a Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. An earthly altar to give place to a Spiritual one, so the place of worship is within the veil. The many sacrifices that could never put away sins, pass away, and give place to the one great sacrifice that put away sin so perfectly, that every believer stands before God in its perfection. (Heb. 10:4, 12, 14, 17.) It could not be repeated.

The Son of God has accomplished it all, and is now a man living and glorified in God's presence.

To go on unto perfection, is to learn everything in the light of Himself as God and man, and to know that He is the one in whom we are accepted. There is no thought of what is commonly spoken of as sinless perfection, till Christ comes and claims His Church; then we shall be in all His perfection: spirit, soul and body.

Nothing but Christ

A man was taken ill and came to our institution, who, up to that time had lived in all the pleasures and distraction of the world. He was grateful for all the care that was shown him, indeed, for the affection with which he was ministered to, and wished in some way to express his gratitude to us. One day he offered a deaconess sister a ticket for a theatrical exhibition, to give her, as he said, “a pleasant evening.” The sister refused it, saying that she never went to the theater because she was a Christian.

The following day, the invalid offered the ticket to another sister, who was also a believer, and he received the same reply.

Two or three days after, he pressed a third sister to accept his ticket. This one, like the others, had the happiness of knowing the Lord Jesus as her Savior; knowing that she was a child of God, and an inheritor of His glory, she answered in a more explicit manner:

“I possess, for my heart, something that gives me joy infinitely beyond anything that all the theaters and all the pleasures of the world can give—my place is no longer in the theaters, and the theater has no longer a place in my heart, which is filled with peace and joy in the Lord.”

These words were to the poor man both strange and incomprehensible. The three testimonies, given by three different persons, astonished and troubled him. He asked the sister:

“How have you become a possessor of such happiness? And do you think that I, who am about to die, can obtain it?”

The sister had not time at the moment to speak with him, but she gave him a tract headed,

“Bad, but not bad enough.”

Singular title was it not? But there are indeed many persons who have this thought; they are willing to acknowledge that they are neither good enough, or holy enough to stand before God, but to be so bad and so guilty that they are wholly lost, they will not believe, and consequently put away from themselves the grace of God which is offered them. It is on this account that so few come to Jesus to find in Him the salvation they need.

The invalid read the tract, and two or three days after, he said to the sister that it was an exact presentment of his state of soul which he found just, except in one point.

“And what is that point?” asked the sister with some curiosity.

“Well,” said he, “your tract speaks of a man who is bad, but not bad enough in his own eyes to need a Savior, but does not speak of the case of a man who is too bad to dare to come to Jesus, and that is exactly my case. Ah! you do not know, sister, what a great sinner I am!”

“No,” replied the sister, “I do not know; but God knows, and He says in His Word by the mouth of the apostle Paul, ‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.’ 1 Tim. 1:15, 16.

“And now, the one who calls himself the chief, or the greatest of sinners, is in heaven, having been washed from his sins by the blood of Christ.”

The poor invalid could not at once lay hold of these precious truths. It was too much and too high for him. For several days he continued in dead silence, meditating upon the most serious of all subjects. He even seemed to desire to be left to his own reflections, although he visibly suffered under the weight of this question,

“What must I do to be saved?”

But at length such a change was effected in him, that it was apparent by the expression of his face, he had peace. The sister one day on bringing him something to eat, he said to her,

“O! sister, I have something to tell you, but I cannot find words to express it, I am so ignorant in these things. But I am so happy, yes, so happy, so full of joy, that I do not know how to tell it.”

The sister, desiring to hear from his own mouth, the reason for his happiness, asked him:

“Whence came this new found joy? You have appeared so unhappy for some time past.”

“How can I tell?” replied the sick man. “I do not know how to explain it, but so it is. When beforetime I thought of the past, when I looked back I only saw my life as sins upon sins; but now when I look back I only see Christ, and His work on the cross. Yes, and as to my actual position, I only saw suffering and misery; today, I see everywhere nothing but Christ and His love. If in the past, I thought of the future, I saw nothing before me but darkness and eternal torment, but now I seem to have nothing before me but Christ and eternal glory.”

Such were the words of the sick man. Happy the one who has nothing but Christ. Is it your case, dear reader?

“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:31.

The Voice of God

“He doth send out His voice, and that a mighty voice.” Psa. 68:33.

God spoke in power— “Let there be light,”

And light directly shone;

The voice of God resistless is,

He speaks, and it is done.

God spoke in judgment— “Thou shalt die.”

Man sinned, and death came in;

A blighted world attests the fact,

Of human guilt and sin.

God spoke in mercy— “Look to Christ,

Believe in Him, and live.”

Thousands receive the precious word,

'Tis God's delight to give.

And still in perfect love He speaks,

His accents all divine!

O wandering one, the call obey,

And glory shall be thine.

Extract: Clearness and Decision

Our ever-gracious God can give clearness and decision as to everything. If He does not give it, no one can. If He does, no one need.

The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: 3:8-18

Chapter 3, Verses 8-18

The apostle has asked, “But if the ministry of death, in letters graven in stones, began with glory... how shall not rather the ministry of the Spirit subsist in glory?” And he continues— “For if the ministry of condemnation be glory, much rather the ministry of righteousness abounds in glory. For also that which was glorified is not glorified in this respect, on account of the surpassing glory. For if that annulled was introduced with glory, much rather that which abides, subsists in glory” (verses 7-11, “New Translation” of J. N. Darby).

Is it not strange that so many Christians look upon the gospel as a sort of supplement to the Ten Commandments, and the system of law given through Moses, when the Scriptures, here and elsewhere (notably in the Epistle to the Galatians) set them in complete contrast? The system which Moses communicated was, as we have seen, the ministry of death and the ministry of condemnation; the gospel proclaimed since the cross of Christ is the ministry of the Spirit and the ministry of righteousness, eternal in its fruits; subsisting in glory; abounding in glory, a glory that surpasses the glory of the first covenant.

The gospel—you will find that the word in Rom. 1, verses 1, 9, 15 and 16, is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, because it is His presence and work which give character to the gospel. He has come to make God known through Christ. See verses 7-11 of John 16, the Acts (a preferable title for which, would be The Acts of the Holy Spirit, instead of The Acts of the Apostles) and Rom. 8; many other passages might be profitably examined.

The gospel is the ministry of righteousness, because Christ is the righteousness of the believer (Rom. 3:20-26). The law only condemned, but God is now giving righteousness; His own righteousness is upon all them that believe.

How great, how marvelous is the grace of God! O, that our souls may have an ever-deepening sense of this altogether unmerited favor of the Savior God! His own beloved Son has died, the just One for the unjust; our sins' judgment fell upon Him to the utmost. Think of those two utterances from the central cross:

“My God, My God, Why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Matt. 27:46, and

“It is finished!” John 19:30.

The first, as He was bearing our sins; the second, when the judgment of them was past.

Now, justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification. He has ascended in manhood to the very presence of God and is coming soon to claim all who have trusted in Him, that they may be with Him and share His glory. Meanwhile the Holy Spirit has come down to abide in and with believers; by Him we are baptized into one body, of which Christ is the Head; we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is the earnest of our inheritance. And so, left here for a season in the word, but possessing a sure and certain hope, the very thought of which moves the Christian's heart with longing desire, we are the epistle of Christ, written in our hearts by the Spirit of the living God. If the glory of God shone out in the giving of a mingled law and grace in the introduction of the first covenant with Israel, how much more is the present unfolding of His grace glorious!

Verses 12, 13. Having therefore such hope, the apostle uses much boldness or openness of speech, and not as Moses put a veil on his own face, so that the children of Israel should not fix their eyes on the end of that to be done away or annulled. What a contrast is here again set before us! The law condemned, and the sons of Israel, except where faith wrought in them, saw nothing in the sacrifices that pointed on (as we know they did) to the substitutional death of Christ. Nor was it the time for God to appear in grace; the law must continue to pronounce against sin.

Verses 14-16. But their thoughts have been darkened (literally, hardened), for unto this day the same veil remains in reading the old covenant, unremoved, which in Christ is annulled. But unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil lies upon their heart. But when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Israel should have relied upon the promises of God to the fathers of the nation; should have turned in heart and conscience at the message of their prophets, and should have gone to Him in deep conviction of sin, feeling that there was no escape for them from judgment to the full unless He should show mercy to the confessed sinner. But as a nation (not speaking of individuals, for God has always wrought in grace) they never did these things; they never have; the veil is still on their heart. When as a nation they shall turn to the Lord, the veil will be taken away; that day is coming, ever drawing nearer; but it will not be brought in by the preaching of the gospel, we have believed.

The young Christian will find it very profitable to study in connection with what we have been considering, the ninth, tenth and eleventh chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, wherein the Holy Spirit has explained the state of the Jews, of Israel. Two quotations from that portion of God's word must suffice here:

“But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that Stumbling Stone; as it is written, Behold I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense; and whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.” Rom. 9:31-33.

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” Rom. 11:25-27.

In verse 16 the long parenthesis of verses 7-16 (not noted as a parenthesis in the King James translation) comes to an end, and the inspired writer begins again where he had paused at the close of the sixth verse. The apostle had contrasted “the letter” and the Spirit; the first killing, the second giving life. The letter of the Word of God pronounces man's condemnation, but to the opened heart the Spirit of God brings not only light, but life, through the same word of truth.

In verse 17, then, verses 7 and 16 are connected; the Lord, to Whom Israel shall turn, is the Spirit who gives life. As another has expressed it,

“The revelation of the Lord is in the present power of the Spirit of God”; and again,

“Thus the apostle unites in the selfsame thought, the mind of God in the Word according to the Spirit; the glory of Christ who had been hidden in the Word under the letter; and the Holy Ghost Himself who gave its force, revealed that glory, and by dwelling and working in the believer enables him to enjoy it.”

And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. This it is into which the believer is brought; all fear is removed; so we sometimes sing,

“Death and judgment are behind us;

Grace and glory are before.”

Verse 18 in the “New Translation” is, “But we all, looking on the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit.”

“As in a glass” is left out, not being found in the best copies from which translations are made. “Changed” becomes “Transformed” to better express the meaning of the word in the original Greek, which has been made almost without alteration into an English word, “metamorphosed.” Four times only in the Scriptures is this Greek word used—twice in reference to the Lord when on the mount of transfiguration (Matt. 17:2, Mark 9:2), and twice (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18), telling of a change which should be going on in every true believer on earth, producing in each one a likeness to Christ.

O, let us endeavor with purpose of heart, to give joy to Him in the practical working out of these Scriptures in our lives!

Christian, Beware!

As a watchman, the prophet Ezekiel was told to sound an alarm when he saw danger coming (Ezek. 33). Today we see a great danger; the subtle enemy of souls is doing his damaging work at an increasing rate. We pray that God may deliver those of His people who are in danger.

The following is an extract from a letter by James Hudson Taylor to his younger sister, Louisa, whose spiritual welfare was much on his heart.

“There is one thing I would specially warn you against... one of the greatest curses I believe of the present day—the practice of novel reading. If you value your mind and soul, avoid it as you would a dangerous serpent. I cannot tell you what I would give to be able to forget certain novels I have read, and to efface their influence from my memory. And I firmly believe, though some would deny it... that no Christian ever did or ever will read them without injury, very serious injury too, if the habit is indulged in. It is like opium-smoking, and begets a craving for more, that must be supplied.

“Better books are neglected, and no one can estimate the mischief that results.

“None, I believe, could honestly ask God's blessing upon the reading of a novel, and few would venture to assert that they read them to the glory of God.

“The only safety lies in avoiding them as one of Satan's most subtle snares.”

Let us store our minds with His Word, and learn more of our blessed Lord during the little while that He leaves us here. Surely His coming is very near.

You will never get an end to the Word of God. Also the Lord has given His servants who have unfolded to us the deep and precious truths contained in it through their writings. There are many valuable books which will be of help to us in our study of the Bible.

Extract: Looking Above Our Path

Before we are in the glory, we are never on a level with the position we hold, while we have only this position to sustain us. We must look above our path to be able to walk in it. A Jew, who had the secret of Jehovah and who waited for the Messiah, was pious and faithful according to the law. A Jew, who had only the law, assuredly did not keep it.

A Christian, who has heaven before him, and a Savior in glory, as the object of his affections, will walk well upon the earth; he who has only the earthly path for his rule, will fail in the intelligence and motives needed to walk in it. He will become a prey to worldliness and his Christian walk in the world will be more or less on a level with the world in which he walks. The eyes upward on Jesus will keep the heart and the steps in a path conformable to Jesus, and which consequently will glorify Him and make Him known in the world.

Seeing what we are, we must have a motive above our path to be able to walk in it. This does not prevent our needing also for our path the fear of the Lord to pass the time of our sojourning here in fear, knowing that we are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.

I Shall Be There

Is there no joy in your heart to think that the One who came, and had nothing but a borrowed cradle, a cross built for a robber, and another man's tomb I say, is there no joy that God is going to give Him all His rights, and establish Him in them by-and-bye? I freely confess it is a great joy to me, and I love to think that when He comes back, I shall be there.

We shall be sharers of His glory and joy, and our hearts will be glad to the full, because it is the day of the exaltation of our own Jesus, our own blessed Savior.

Obedience

The path of obedience is alone the path of happiness. If we were more successful in doing violence to self, our spiritual condition would be far more vigorous and healthy than it is. Nothing so ministers to health and vigor of soul as undeviating obedience; there is strength gained by the very effort to obey. This is true in the case of all, but specially so in the case of those who stand as ministers of the Lord. Such must walk in obedience if they would be used in ministry. How could Elijah have said as he afterward did, upon Mount Carmel,

“If the Lord be God, follow Him,” if his own private path had exhibited a willful and rebellious spirit? Impossible.

The path of a servant must be the path of obedience, otherwise he ceases to be a servant. The word servant is as inseparably linked with obedience, as is work with workman.

“A servant,” as another has said, “must move when the bell rings.”

Would that we were all more alive to the sound of our Masters bell, and more ready to run in the direction in which it summons us.

“Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.”

Here is our proper language. Whether the word of the Lord summon us from our retirement into the midst of our brethren, or from thence into retirement again, may our language ever be,

“Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.”

The word of the Lord, and the attentive ear of the servant, are all we need to carry us safely and happily onward.

Now, this path of obedience is by no means an easy one; it involves the constant abandonment of self, and can only be pursued as the eye is steadily kept on God, and the conscience kept under the action of His truth. True, there is a rich reward in every act of obedience, yet flesh and blood must be set aside, and this is no easy work. Witness the path of our prophet. He was first called to take his place by the brook Cherith to be fed by ravens! How could flesh and blood understand this? Then again, when the brook failed, he is called away to a distant city of Zidon, there to be nourished by a destitute widow who seemed to be at the very point of dying of starvation! Here was the command,

“Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.”

But what were the circumstances which met the prophet's eye upon his approach to Zarephath? A widow and her son starving two sticks and a handful of meal! and yet the word was,

“I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.”

How trying! how deeply mysterious was all this! Elijah however, staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. And he was able without a shadow of doubt to say:

“Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruise of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.”

Here we have the reply of faith to the language of unbelief. “Thus saith the Lord” settles everything. The moment the spirit apprehends God's promise, there is an end to the reasonings of unbelief. Unbelief puts circumstances between the soul and God; faith puts God between the soul and circumstances. This is a very important difference. May we walk in the power and energy of faith, to the praise of Him whom faith ever honors.

Would They Be Happy in Heaven?

“Although my children are very good to me,” said an aged Christian widow, “there is a distance felt between us. They are not happy, as I am, to have the things of God often before them the things in which I find all my joy, comfort, and satisfaction. Of course, they assert that they are Christians, and hope to go to heaven; but I wonder why they want to go there. They are not happy to have the close companionship of Christians on earth, and I wonder how they think they would ever be happy in the company of the Lord, and of Christians for all eternity.”

Yes, that Christian was right, they would not be happy in heaven. No unsaved person would ever be happy in heaven, for he would be there in his sins, exposed by the light and glory of that place. He could not stand the searching light of the presence of a holy God, but would flee from it. People who know not Jesus as their Lord and Savior, vainly imagine that they want to go to heaven, but even a sober reflection would tell them they are wrong. They dread the thought of meeting that holy God. They are not even happy in the presence and company of a Christian who is walking a consistent, godly, and separated life down here, and much prefer the company of those who, with themselves, enjoy the pleasures and vanities of this poor world. There will be none of the pleasures of this fallen world in heaven—not one. The constant and unending joy and occupation of heaven will be the Lord Jesus Christ. Every heart and tongue there will swell with praise to Him who loved them and died for them. There will indeed be a time of perfect joy, unmarred by anything.

Yes! in that light unstained,

Our stainless souls shall live,

Our heart's deep longings more than gained,

When God His rest shall give.

His presence there, my soul,

Its rest, its joy untold,

Shall find when endless ages roll,

And time shall ne'er grow old.

Like Jesus in that place

Of light and love supreme;

Once Man of Sorrows full of grace,

Heaven's blest and endless theme.

Friend, how is it with you? Are you saved? Are your sins forgiven? Do you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior? If your answer is “Yes” you will be one of that happy company in heaven. You will be fully fitted to enjoy that home above forever and ever. But if you can only say “No” to those questions, then you will never be in heaven (no matter what your neighbors think about you); and you would not want to be there. Your solemn doom will be the blackness of darkness forever (Jude 13)—confined with the ungodly of all ages, and with the Devil himself—banished from the presence of God. Hear what the word of God has to say about the blessing and joy of the

Saved:

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Rev. 21:4.

“And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: and they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for Ever and Ever.” Rev. 22:4-6. God also tells about the

Lost.

“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Rev. 21:6.

“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Rev. 20:15.

It Is Not yet Too Late

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

“Christ died for the ungodly.” Rom. 5:6.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:31.

“Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” Heb. 3:15.

True Service

Two things give character to all true service. One is, the world has rejected Christ; the other, man is no longer under probation, as the world is a judged scene, but out of it God is gathering a people for heavenly blessing.

These two facts, rightly apprehended and practically acted upon, would materially alter the character of much that professes to be the service of God, and change the labors of many whose efforts are now misdirected. In every good work we are to do the will of God.

Many works, good in man's eyes, are not according to the revealed will of God. To ensure the Master's “well done” in the coming day, our service must be marked by intelligence, as well as obedience. We are to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our intelligent service, and not to be conformed to this world. (Rom. 12:1, 2.)

Here we have the positive and negative side—devotion to that which is good on one hand, and separation from evil on the other —these are moral requisites for practical acquaintance with the Master's will.

It is in action we prove what is the “good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” To admire a truth is not enough, we must practice it to prove its reality.

“If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God.” John 7:17.

Fragment: God's Ways

God's ways are behind the scenes; but He moves all the scenes which He is behind. We have to learn this, and let Him work, and not think much of man's busy movements: they will accomplish God's. The rest of them all perish and disappear. We have only peacefully to do His will.

Fear Thou Not

Isaiah 41:10

“Fear thou not, for I am with thee.”

O! what words of comfort, peace;

Trusting in the loving Father,

Doubts and fears and terrors cease.

Wild the storms may beat around thee,

Angry billows loud may roar,

But the eye on Jesus gazing

Far beyond them all can soar.

Grief may fill thy heaving bosom,

Crush thee down with weight of woe;

Yet He'll carry all the burden,

If thou wilt to Jesus go.

Whatsoe'er may be thy portion-

Dark or bright thine earthly lot-

Trust, in child-like faith, thy Savior,

He is with thee, “Fear thou not.”

Correspondence: 2 Pet. 2:20 vs. John 10:28; John 15:2: Concision

Correspondence

Question: How do you understand 2 Peter 2:20-22, when John 10:28 gives positive assurance of the believer's eternal security?

Answer: You must ever remember that Scripture cannot contradict itself. Hence, when you read in John 10 such words as these, “My sheep shall never perish,” your heart should rest in the full assurance of the eternal security of the very feeblest of Christ's blood-bought sheep. Many other scriptures establish the same precious truth.

Evidently, then, 2 Peter 2:20-22 cannot possibly clash with John 10 and kindred passages. But what does it teach? Simply that when professors of religion return to their old habits, they are in a worse condition than if they had never made a profession at all. It is obvious that true Christians are not in question here. A “dog and a sow” cannot be looked upon as “sheep,” however they may profess “the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Question: Please explain John 15:2.

Answer: The real secret of the difficulty felt by so many in this scripture is that they seek to make it a question of eternal life and security, whereas it is simply a question of fruitbearing. If we do not abide in the vine, we shall prove fruitless branches, and all such branches the Husbandman removes from the place of fruitbearing. The question of salvation is not touched.

Question: What is the meaning of “the concision” in Phil. 3:2?

Answer: The concision mean those who are trying to improve the flesh by cutting off bad habits. The truth teaches us that the death of Christ is the end of the flesh before God, and that our old man is crucified with Him. (Rom. 6:6). The circumcision in Phil. 3:3 recognize this. Col. 2:11 means dead with Christ. “The concision” do not know this, but teach the improvement of man without redemption.

An Anxious Moment

When on a train, a fellow-passenger informed me that she resided in S. to which she was then going. Being desirous of knowing whether she was on the right line for eternal glory, I respectfully inquired; and was pleased to receive an answer in the affirmative. However, to be more assured, I asked,

“And where is your trust?” to which question the unhesitating answer was given,

“In Jesus only.”

There was a freshness about the apparently unstudied reply which was cheering, as it showed too that this woman's trust was not in herself, nor in her good works, nor in “the church,” but in Jesus Christ, or, as she herself expressed it, “In Jesus only.”

“On Christ the solid rock I stand,

All other ground is sinking sand.”

Yes! “Jesus only” is, so to speak, the believer's only password through the “pearly gates” of heaven.

I received from a Christian friend a story about a man, who was likely to have been shot, through giving a sentry the wrong password. It was at the time of the Civil War. A Mr. S. (known to the friend referred to, and who has given me the details of the affair) had been chosen President of a Commission, the object of which was the spiritual welfare of the camps and hospitals engaged in the war.

In the performance of his important services, he was one evening returning from visiting a camp near the enemy's front. A sentry approached, saying,

“Who goes there?” to which reply was made,

“A friend with the countersign.”

“Advance, friend, and give the countersign,” replied the soldier.

Now, be it understood that strict orders had been given that if any failed to give the right password, he was to be shot down there and then. While the sentry was prepared with his rifle, Mr. S. gave what he believed to be the right password, which had been given him that morning, namely, “Lincoln.” At this the sentry leveled his rifle at the heart of Mr. S., and a deathlike silence followed, causing an agony of suspense, the moments appearing like months or years.

The feeling that something was wrong seized the President of the Commission. Great was his relief when the sentry spoke out, saying,

“At the risk of my own life I spare yours, sir. I know you and your mission, but I have to tell you, that you have given me the wrong password, and for me to give you the right one, is much more than I dare to do. But go at once to headquarters and obtain the right password.”

In doing this, no time was lost, and it was with some excitement that Mr. S. reached the officer in charge, and said or rather gasped out,

“You gave me the wrong password, and had not the sentry known me and my mission, I should not be here to tell you.”

The officer expressed his deep regret, and said,

“We changed the password this evening from 'Lincoln' to 'Massachusetts.'”

Thus fortified, Mr. S. again went forth to meet the challenge, “Who goes there?” and now the correct password being given, how different the experience which followed the “Pass on, friend,” from the challenger.

Mr. S. walked on a few paces, and, turning round to the sentry, addressed him thus,

“Young man, I owe you a debt of deep gratitude, on account of what you have done for me this evening. You have spared my life, and that at the risk of your own, giving me the opportunity of obtaining the right password after having given the wrong one, and ere we part do let me ask you in view of our both passing onward to eternity, ‘Have you the password?’

“Should any cross the line without the right one, there will then be no opportunity given of obtaining that which ought to have been obtained before. There will be no such chance of getting it made right, as you have given me; therefore, eternal death would be the consequence. Now, do you know the right password to heaven?”

“Yes,” was the unhesitating reply of the sentry.

“I challenge you now for the right password for that place Christ has prepared for His own.”

“Jesus,” was the ready answer to that question.

“Right,” said he, who had now become a kind of spiritual sentry on guard. “And now,” asked Mr. S., “tell me, where did you get to know this precious Name?”

“From your own lips in your Sunday-school in Philadelphia” (Mr. S. was superintendent of one of the largest Sunday-schools in Philadelphia, the friend who furnished me with these details, being a scholar in this very school).

This answer, which was scarcely less pleasing than surprising, must encourage Sunday-school teachers, and all who are interested in the spiritual welfare of the young, about which much might be said, but space forbids just now.

Well might Cowper write—

“How sweet the name of Jesus sounds.”

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

Depend upon it, reader, salvation must be by this Name, or there will be no salvation for you at all.

Abhor That Which Is Evil; Cleave to That Which Is Good

We cannot exaggerate the heinousness of sin. Grace can forgive the worst of sinners; but never let us allow any thought of sin, except that it is most hateful to God. To have the strongest sense of sin, is in no way incompatible with the utmost pity for, and interest in, him who is deceived and guilty and condemned. On the contrary it is as much a Christian's duty to abhor that which is evil, as to love that which is good. So true is this, that the man who does not abhor evil, can never be justly thought to have real love in his heart for what is good; because it is always in proportion to moral power that one hates the false and evil, and loves the true and good.

Accepted in the Beloved

O God of matchless grace!

We sing unto Thy name!

We stand accepted in the place

That none but Christ could claim.

Our willing hearts have heard Thy voice,

And in Thy mercy we rejoice.

'Tis meet that Thy delight

Should center in Thy Son!

That Thou shouldst place us in Thy sight,

In Him, Thy holy One!

Thy perfect love has cast out fear,

Thy favor shines upon us here.

Eternal is our rest,

O, Christ of God, in Thee!

Now of Thy peace, Thy joy possessed,

We wait Thy face to see.

Now to the Father's heart received,

We know in Whom we have believed.

A sacrifice to God,

In life or death are we;

Then keep us ever, blessed Lord,

Thus set apart to Thee!

Bought with a price, we're not our own,

We died, we live to God alone.

The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: 4:1-14

Chapter 4, Verses 1-14
The ministry of the glorified Christ, committed to Paul as to no other of the apostles, filled his heart and formed his life. In this once wicked man, persecutor of Christians to death (Acts 22:4), we now see the “chosen vessel” of Acts 9:15, 16; the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15) has become the pattern servant. Thus in verse 1 he speaks of mercy received or shown him, the mercy of God; and in a deep sense of that mercy, he applied himself to the service of his Master.

“We are not as many, which corrupt the Word of God; but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ,” Paul wrote in chapter 2 (17); and continuing to pen words which the Holy Spirit supplied, he in the second verse of our chapter tells more of the character of his ministry,

“But (we) have renounced (or, as more accurately expressed in the New Translation, have rejected) the hidden things of shame (see the margin of your Bible); not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.”

Thus the Word of God, exactly as it was communicated to the apostle Paul, has been delivered to us by him in the writing of his epistles. How thankful we should be, and surely we are, to God for this!

Now this manifestation of the truth which had been given to Paul, commended him to every one's conscience in the sight of God. Deep down in every human breast there is a little monitor that, notwithstanding the passing of fifty-nine centuries and an increasing tide of evil, still persists. It was at the fall of Adam that man received a conscience (Gen. 3). It tells the wrongdoer of his guilt, though its voice may in many be very faint; but it requires the all-powerful Word of God to bring the sinner to a true sense of his sins to see his profound need of a Savior. So the small, still voice of the conscience may be at work, telling the possessor of it that there is reality in the preacher's message, in the message borne by a tract; that there is a God, and some day he must meet Him in regard to his sins.

“But,” continues the apostle, “if our gospel be hid (literally, veiled), it is hid (veiled) in them that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light (radiance) of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (verses 3, 4).

This is most solemn. Here is the gospel of the glory of Christ Jesus, the Savior of sinners, revealed in the world; it is exactly what everyone should wholeheartedly and without reservation accept and believe to the saving of his soul; yet many, as it surely appears, are unmoved by the thought of it; they continue as though God had not spoken, had provided no way of salvation from impending, eternal judgment; as though the cross of Christ and the promised day of doom for the lost were but idle tales.

The explanation is at hand: If the gospel be hid, it is hid to those who are lost, in whom the god of this world—Satan, man's ancient and relentless enemy has blinded the thoughts of the unbelieving so that the radiancy of the glad tidings should not shine forth for them.

How is it with you, dear reader, as your eyes fall upon these pages? Is the gospel anything personal to you? Not all who call themselves Christians are true. Have your eyes been opened to see the truth of the word in Rom. 3, that all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God? And has your heart been opened to receive Christ as your personal Savior, like Lydia, the seller of purple, in Acts 16:14? If your answer be an unqualified Yes, then you are not in the dangerous darkness and blinding of Satan of which verses 3 and 4 speak.

Verse 5. Christ was the apostle's theme; he did not preach to exalt himself, but the person and work of his Savior and Lord. Paul and his companions were servants for Jesus' sake of those who owned Him as their Savior. One cannot read much in the Epistles without being impressed by the various titles given God's beloved Son; they are indeed many, and by prayerfully noting in what connection a title or name is used, we may learn with profit to our souls.

“Jesus,” is of course His name as Man: “... and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins,” was the angel's word to Joseph, Mary's husband, in Matt. 1:21. It is only in this chapter that the Second Epistle to the Corinthians gives that name; see verses 5, 10, 11 and 14. Does it not, in each case, bring before us Himself as the God-Man who trod this earth in lowliest grace? The apostle desired to be like Him in his own path of service.

“Because it is the God who spoke that out of darkness light should shine, Who has shone in our hearts for the shining forth (or radiancy) of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (Verse 6, N. T.)

By the example of the divine act from the first of the six days in Gen. 1, here referred to, we are shown what a work of God's power is the causing of the light of His truth to shine into darkened human hearts. The apostle, we may suppose, was thinking too, of that unforgettable meeting on the road to Damascus of which he told King Agrippa in Acts 26:12-18. It was then that God had shone in Paul's heart to give forth the light of the knowledge of His own glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

Salvation is indeed a work of divine power in the soul. It is not attained by human effort, but by the word of God being received. “Being born again”, as says the apostle Peter in his First Epistle, chapter 1:23,

“Not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever.”

The light of God shines into the soul as into a vessel, a lamp, that it may shine out, and this treasure, this light of the knowledge of the glory in the face of Jesus Christ, is, as we are reminded in the seventh verse, in earthen vessels, that the excellency, or surpassingness, of the power may be of God, and not from us. The vessel is as nothing, compared with the light it has, to be shining out for others that are lost to see.

In a marked degree the light shone out from Paul, the earthen vessel, and to keep him in a true sense of his dependence upon God, he must be in uncommon measure a sufferer for Christ. As another has said,

“The vessel is made nothing of, but it is sustained by another power, which is neither the treasure, nor the vessel, and so the man is dependent.”

“Everyway afflicted, but not straitened; seeing no apparent issue, but our way not entirely shut up; persecuted, but not abandoned; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying, or putting to death, of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body; for we who live are always delivered unto death on account of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh; so that death works in us, but life in you. And having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I have believed, therefore have I spoken, we also believe, therefore also we speak; knowing that He who has raised the Lord Jesus, shall raise us also with Jesus, and shall present us with you” (Verses 8-14, N.T.).

These verses tell something of the life of the apostle Paul; no easy path was his as he toiled for his Master in the glad tidings of salvation for perishing sinners. Seeking to make Him known, he went into the darkened lands of paganism, and met there the reproach that only the name of Christ could bring upon him.

I Am the Lord's

I am sure you recollect one place in Scripture that speaks of believers in Christ Jesus:

“Whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.” Rom. 14:8.

That is a blessed truth as it stands; and it is written,

“Our life is hid with Christ in God.”

But I see a constant use of that word, that we are the Lord's, as separate to Him; and subject to Him who now is in glory, and to return; which will keep our peace and establish our hearts; and that is this, that not only is it a truth and a fact, but that it ought to be running always in our minds, “I am the Lord's,” till it becomes the fixed habit and thought of the soul, “I am the Lord's,” and to meditate upon it.

It will keep us free and separate in the strivings of the world or its disturbances; it will keep our eyes from its pleasures; it will keep us from its devices; it will keep us as it runs in our hearts, lively in duty.

So may it prevail more and more in our hearts and minds. We may go here and there, up and down, with this circumstance or that, yet “I am the Lord's,” going with us, will keep our paths as becoming the brightness of His coming.

Be careful about everything, that, because you are the Lord's, you may not fail in anything; but be not anxious about anything, making known your requests, great and small, with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving; and the peace of God, such peace as God has, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The Love of Christ

2 Cor. 5:21

He took our position with all its consequence, that we might have His position with all its consequences.

He was treated as sin upon the cross; that we might be treated as righteousness in the presence of God.

He was cast out of God's presence because He had sin upon Him, by imputation; that we might be received into God's bosom because we have perfect righteousness upon us, by imputation.

He passed through three hours of darkness; that we might walk in everlasting light.

All that was due to us as ruined sinners was laid upon Him; that all that was due to Him as accomplisher of redemption might be ours.

There was everything against Him when He hung upon the accursed tree; that there might be nothing against us when we stand before God.

Fragment: Liberal Provision

“The God which fed me all my life long unto this day.” Gen. 48:15.

Has not God provided liberally for you? You never eat, but mercy carves for you; you never go to bed, but mercy draws the curtains, and sets a guard. of angels about you.

“Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7.

Demas

“For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.”

“For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.” 2 Tim. 4:6, 10.

“I am ready to be offered;

Ready, for the strife is done,

For the cause on earth is finished,

And the crown is nearly won;

Oft in weariness and weakness,

Oft in peril of the sword,

Still I strove in faith and meekness

I, the prisoner of the Lord.

Come, for autumn winds are wailing,

And the spirit longs for Thee;

Age is lonely, friends are failing,

Demas hath forsaken me.”

Thus the words of Paul the aged

Echo down the aisles of time,

Telling of a trust unshaken,

And a life that was sublime;

Only one soft note of grieving

Through the triumph makes its way—

In the world that he was leaving

One faint heart had gone astray;

Waiting for a glorious morrow,

Soon his risen Lord to see,

Still he sighs, in human sorrow,

“Demas hath forsaken me.”

There are thankless souls, and faithless,

Father, in this world of Thine,

From the Bread of Heaven turning,

To the husks that feed the swine;

And Thy servants, toiling, praying

For the kingdom of Thy grace,

Weep to see these children straying

Far away from Thy dear face;

Bring them back to paths of gladness,

Let Thy Spirit strive for Thee,

Lest they hear Thee say in sadness,

“Lo, ye have forsaken Me!”

The Way of the Lord

The life of Jesus was the bright shining of a candle. It was such a lamp in the house of God as needed no golden tongs or snuff-dishes. It was ordered before the Lord continually, burning as from pure beaten oil. It was making manifest all that was around, exposing and reproving, but it ever held its own place uncondemned.

Whether challenged by disciples or adversaries as the Lord was again and again, there is never an excusing of Himself. On one occasion, disciples complain,

“Master, carest Thou not that we perish?” but He does not think of vindicating the sleep out of which this challenge awakes Him. On another occasion they object to Him,

“The multitude throng Thee and press Thee, and sayest Thou, 'Who touched Me?'” But He does not heed this inquiry but acts upon the satisfaction of it.

At another time, Martha says to Him,

“Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died,” but He does not excuse His not having been there, nor His delaying for two days in the place where He was, but instructs Martha in the wondrous character which His delay had given to that hour.

What a glorious vindication of His delay that was! And thus it was on every like occasion whether challenged or rebuked, there is never the recalling of a word, nor the retracing of a step. Every tongue that rises in judgment against Him He condemns.

The mother rebukes Him in Luke 2, but instead of making good her charge she has to listen to Him convicting the darkness and error of her thoughts. Peter takes it upon himself to admonish Him,

“This be far from Thee, Lord, this shall not be unto Thee,” but Peter has to learn that it was Satan himself that in Peter prompted the admonition.

The officer in the palace of the high-priest goes still further correcting Him and smiting Him on the cheek, but he is convinced of breaking the rules of judgment in the very face and place of judgment.

All this tells us of the way of the perfect Master. Appearances might have been against Him at times. Why did He sleep in the boat when the winds and waves were raging? Why did He loiter on the road when Jairus' daughter was dying? Or why did He tarry where He was when His friend Lazarus was sick in the distant village of Bethany? But all this is but appearance, and that for a moment. We have heard of these ways of Jesus—this sleep, this loitering and this tarrying, but we also see the end of Jesus, that all is perfect.

Appearances were against the God of Job in patriarchal days. Messenger after messenger seemed too much, unrelenting and inexorable, but the God of Job had not to excuse Himself, nor has the Jesus of the evangelists.

Therefore when we look at the Lord Jesus as the lamp of the sanctuary, the light in the house of God, we find at once that the tongs and snuff-dishes cannot be used. They are discovered to have no counterpart in Him, consequently they who undertook to rebuke or challenge Him when He was here, had to go back rebuked and put to shame themselves. They were using the tongs and snuffers with a lamp that did not need them, and they only betrayed their folly, and the light of this lamp shone the brighter, not because the tongs had been used, but because it was able to give forth some fresh witness (which it did on every occasion) that it did not need them.

And from all these instances we have the happy lesson that we had better stand by, and let Jesus go on with His business. We may look and worship, but not meddle or interrupt, as all these were doing in their day—enemies, kinsfolk and even disciples.

They could not improve the light that was shining, they had only to be gladdened by it, and walk in it and not attempt to trim or order it.

Let our eye be single and we may be sure that the candle of the Lord, set on the candlestick, will make the whole body full of light.

Christ's Last Message

Revelation 22:16-21

This closing message of the Lord Jesus must have a special interest to every child of God-to every one of “His own.” And especially so as in it He presents Himself under the name which is so dear to every one of them.

“I Jesus.” It is as if it were “I myself, Jesus.” It is He who in love stooped to the manger cradle of Bethlehem and lower still to the atoning cross of Calvary.

Jesus the despised of men, the outcast of Israel. The Lover of our souls. The “same Jesus” who has ascended is He who is in glory on the throne of God, the “Same Jesus” who is coming again. It is in this last connection that He is heard speaking in this passage. He has command of the angelic host and had sent one of their number to bear testimony concerning the things shortly to come to pass, to the assemblies of His loved ones.

But for them He is coming Himself. No messenger would do for this. It is a service He will commit to none. He, will perform it Himself.

He shows His relation to Israel, His earthly people. He is the Root from which David sprang, and He is the offspring of David, and so shall sit as David's Son on David's throne, and reign in the soon coming glory day.

But to His Assembly which passes through the night of His rejection, He is “The Bright and Morning Star.” The bright star throws its light amid the darkness, and the Morning Star is the harbinger of the coming day. It tells that the darkness will soon be past and the long night will close. Meanwhile faith pierces the gloom, and sees Him and waits for Himself.

The Holy Spirit is here as a heavenly unknown Stranger indwelling those who form the Bride, and He prompts her to respond to Him who has won her affection,

“And the Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come’.”

They answer the declaration of Himself by the united invitation. This Bride is the whole company of His Church gathered out of the world during His absence to await His return.

Then the call comes to the individual to echo that invitation.

“Let him that heareth say ‘Come’.”

Then, in the joy of grace known and delighted in, the message goes out to the thirsty in an unsatisfying scene.

“And let him that is athirst come.”

And, finally, with the heart yearning after the world of men, the fullest and widest of invitations is sounded,

“And whosoever will let him take the water of life freely.”

The last “whosoever” of the Bible is heard sounding, far and wide speaking of the open door of blessing still.

And so we reach the final testimony from the Savior as to the imminence of His return,

“Surely I come quickly. Amen.”

It has been pointed out that as we hear,

“Behold I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book” (verse 7), there is no reply. Which of His own could claim to have been faithful in his responsibility?

Also that in verse 12 when the Lord declares,

“And behold I come quickly: and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be”, again there is no response. Who of His servants feels that he can look for reward?

But in verse 20 there is no thought of responsibility or of reward. The person of the Lord Jesus Himself is before the mind, and the response of the heart is given immediately,

“Even so, Come, Lord Jesus.”

Correspondence: At Creation, Did God Bless Then Curse?

Question: Did God say when He created everything, that it was good, very good? Did He bless His creatures and man, then curse them, and make the ground bring forth thorns and thistles, and put away Adam forever, making him return to dust?

Answer: God did say that His creation was very good. (Gen. 1:31.) He blessed His creatures and mankind (vs. 22, 28), and so it remained till sin came in and blighted God's fair creation. But this was not allowed to defeat His purpose which concerned His Son. He devised means that His banished ones be not expelled from Him. He cursed the ground for man's sake. He did not curse man, but the serpent was cursed (Gen. 3:14), and God began to work out a new creation of which His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, was to be the Head (Col. 1:18; Rev. 3:14). There was nothing for the serpent but eternal judgment (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10).

In announcing the judgment on the serpent through the seed of the woman, Adam heard the gospel, and believing it, called his wife's name Eve. Then God clothed them with coats of skins, which typically speaks of God's righteousness, Christ put upon every believer (2 Cor. 5:21).

Abel believed the same gospel and approached God as a worshiper through the firstlings of his flock, with the fat thereof; whereas Cain would not submit himself to God's appeal, and was lost. He is a type of the Jew who murdered Christ, and deliberately refused God's offer of salvation, and also all men who walk in his ways.

Man's wickedness filled the earth with violence and corruption, till God repented that He had made man on the earth (Gen. 6:7). Then He sent the flood and swept them all away, but the house of faith. Man is a lost and ruined sinner, but there is salvation for men.

“Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom.” Job 33:24.

There are no promises to Adam, the head of a fallen race. The promises are to Christ, the Head of a redeemed race. But for this the Lord must die, and believers are saved through His death. Adam heard God speaking it to the serpent. A Savior was coming to destroy the works of the devil. Precious announcement of the Savior's death and suffering to annul Satan's power and to glorify God, so that God in righteousness can bless repentant sinners.

Adam's body was mortal and returned to dust, but God in grace could set aside this judgment, and take Enoch and Elijah up to heaven without dying, as he could save their souls also, because of what Christ was to do upon the cross (Rom. 3:25).

The New Testament tells us that every man and woman will be raised from the dead, so that spirit, soul and body will be united again. The believers are to be with Christ in His eternal glory, and the unsaved to be in the lake of fire forever.

Adam was driven out of the garden lest he should eat of the tree of life, and thus be perpetually in a ruined condition. The flaming sword and the Cherubim guard it, and keep man away till he believes on the Savior. By and by he will, when with Christ above, eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God (Rev. 2:7). Paradise on this sin blighted earth is gone forever, but God will have a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. All believers will be there where sin can never come (2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 21:1).

Young Christian: Volume 32, 1942

Table of Contents

"He Knoweth the Way"

Is Your Name Written in the Book of Life?

Extract: "They Will Reverence My Son"

The First Epistle to the Corinthians: 14

The Book "Par Excellence"

An Encouragement to Street Preachers

A Prairie Fire

Extract From a Letter: A Crown

Extract: The World and the Child of God

Extract: Senses vs. God's Word

Correspondence: 2TI 2:13; ROM 6:23 Physical or Spiritual?; 2TI 4:8 What Appearing

The Successful Farmer

Extract: The Gospel

The Comfort of the Blood

Extract: A Heavenly Nature

The First Epistle to the Corinthians: 15:1-20

Neutrality

Seeking Only Christ's Glory

"Lord Jesus, Come"

Extract: The Time for Suffering, Affliction and Hardness

The Important Choice: Part 1

Extract: Fullest Love and Fullest Hatred

Correspondence: How Can We Apply 2TI 2:19-22 to Christians Now?

Alice

Fragment: A Crucified Man

The First Epistle to the Corinthians: 15:21-28

Extract: The Spring of True Christianity

The Important Choice: Part 2

An Address to Young People - Psalm 139: Part 1

Are You a Backslider?

Be Still - Psalm 46

What Shall We Read?

Correspondence: How Should the Offering Be Spent?

Her Name in the Will

"Sufficient Unto the Day"

The First Epistle to the Corinthians: 15:29-42

The Believer in Relation to the Gospel

An Address to Young People - Psalm 139: Part 2

Always Abounding

None Like Christ

Behold, He Comes

Correspondence: Matt. 13:30; Is it Right to Say the Father Rested?

The Organ Grinder

My Savior

Unearthly Versus Heavenly

Praying and Planning

The First Epistle to the Corinthians: 15:42-58

A Strong Tower

Jeroboam

Sacred Silence

The Love of Christ, and Its Final Test: Part 1

He Surely Is Coming Soon

In the Midst of Evil

Extract: Perfect Man and Perfect Manifestation

Correspondence: JOH 20:5-7; Last Baptism with Holy Ghost/Fire?; PHI 1:19

The Peddler's Message

The First Epistle to the Corinthians: 16:1-15

The Love of Christ, and Its Final Test: Part 2

Fragment: Professing vs. Living

Take Heed What Ye Hear

Extract: The Lord in the Midst

Correspondence: Every Unconverted Person a Child of the Devil

An Infidel's Deliverance

The First Epistle to the Corinthians: 16:15-24

Extract: Worldliness

The Welcome

As He Is, So Are We

God Leading Us On

Holding Forth the Word of Life

Grace

God Is

A Question Often Asked

The Parents' Prayer

Living a Good Life

Correspondence: REV 22:1-2; MAT 5:23-26; MAT 18:15 & LUK 17:3; ROM 6:4

Why the Ball Dress Was Put Off

The World

The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: 1