Young Christian: Volume 5, 1915

Twenty years ago it pleased God to visit the town of H., and the surrounding villages, with a time of general awakening. It bore no resemblance to those seasons of fitful and forced excitement, resulting from laborious efforts in what are called “special services,” which are too often mistaken for revivals in the present day. It was a time in which the awakening and converting power of God’s Holy Spirit was like “showers on the grass,” or “a dew from the Lord that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men” (Mic. 5:7). The preaching of the gospel was attended by crowds who had not been wont to attend it; seriousness sat on every countenance while listening to the Word; old and young, men, women and children, were impressed with the importance of eternal things; and numbers, among whom many have fallen asleep, but the greater part continue to this day, “were turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God.”

One of the converts in this time of blessing was Sarah A., a married woman of middle age, humble circumstances, and no education; but a person of stronger mind than many whose advantages were greater than hers. How she was first led to consider her fallen state, and solemn prospects for eternity, I do not at this distance of time remember; but her convictions and distress were so deep and long continued, as to leave an impression which no lapse of time could erase.

Regular in her attendance on the preached word, and diligent in searching the Scriptures, she cried earnestly to God for mercy, and was always ready to listen to any Christian who would converse with her on the solemn question of how she was to be saved. For months her distress continued, amounting sometimes almost to agony; and nothing that was addressed to her seemed to afford the least relief. Her case became the subject of frequent and anxious conference among those who were laboring for the Lord; and often did they unite in prayer on her behalf, but still deliverance was delayed.

The constant burden of Sarah A.’s complaint was the hardness of her heart. “My heart is so hard,” she would say; “I see what a sinner I have been, but I cannot feel it. I believe all you tell me, but though my sins stare me in the face, I cannot shed a tear; my heart is as hard as a stone. What is to become of me, poor, wretched, hardened sinner that I am?” Often and often was she told that we are not justified by feeling, but by faith: that even faith justifies only as it receives Christ, and trusts in Him, in whom all the saving virtue dwells; while she, on the other hand, was trying to make a Saviour of the softened, tender feelings after which she craved. I remember saying to her, “Hard-hearted as you are, it was for such as you that Jesus died. Come to Him as you are. Bring your hard heart to Him. Behold the Lamb of God. One believing look to Jesus will do more to soften your heart than pouring over your sins and impenitence will do in a year. You wish for penitential feelings as a warrant for looking to Jesus and trusting in His precious blood; but depend upon it, if ever you have such feelings as you desire, they will be the effect of beholding Him by faith—of believing God’s record of His Son.” But all seemed to be in vain. While actually holding up before her the love of God in the gift of Jesus, and the love of Jesus in dying on the cross for His very foes, her attention would be fixed, and the hope awakened in one’s breast that she was drinking in the good news. But no sooner did the sounds cease, than she would reply, with such a look of settled despondency. “It is all true, but I can feel nothing; my heart is as hard as a stone!”

One day, when we had almost become accustomed to her despairing looks and accents, we were all startled by hearing that Sarah A. was rejoicing in the Lord. No time was lost in visiting her, to hear from herself how this change had come to pass. Its reality was apparent in her countenance, and in her whole demeanor. Her account was as follows: “Last night was a dreadful night. Lying awake, and thinking of my sins, wondering how it was that I could neither feel them nor get rid of them, it seemed to me that God was quite giving me up to the hardness of my heart, and that there was nothing for me but the worm that dieth not, and the fire that is not quenched. What a night have I had! Towards morning I got upon my knees and began to cry to God. How long I continued I cannot tell; but what the Bible says about God so loving the world as to give His Son, and about Jesus dying on the cross, came to my mind, and somehow I began to think of His love, and I could think of nothing else. Before I was aware of it, my heart melted, and I found myself weeping to think of what Jesus had suffered for my sins. My tears flowed so fast, and yet they were not so much tears of sorrow as of joy. My load was gone, and I could only praise my Saviour, and weep before Him, that He should have died for such a wretch as me. What love! to die upon the cross for such a wretch as me!”

Such was her account; and, she gave it, she who had never shed a tear when bemoaning the hardness of her heart, wept profusely as she dwelt upon the love of Christ, exclaiming, again and again, “O the precious blood of Christ. That precious blood! It even avails for me!”

The change was as abiding as it was evident. It is many years now since the writer, from change of residence, lost sight of Sarah A.; but as long as he had the opportunity either of observing her or hearing of her, she was rejoicing in Christ, and enabled, amidst much outward trial, to adorn the doctrine of God, her Saviour.

Dear reader, are you, like this poor woman, looking into yourself for some softening of heart, for some deeper sense of sin, before you trust your soul to Jesus? May you learn by her case, that the only way to have your hard heart softened, is to look to Jesus as you are.

“Behold the Lamb of God!” It was for sinners such as you that His blood was shed; and His “blood cleanseth us from all sin.”

Nothing but Thy blood, O Jesus,

Could relieve the sinner’s smart;

Nothing else from guilt release us,

Nothing else could melt the heart.

Sense of sin doth only harden,

All the while it works alone;

But the grace that seals our pardon,

Soon dissolves a heart of stone.

The One Who So Loved Me

Jesus, I know that Thy blood can save,

For I know it has saved me;

I once feared death, and the dark, dark grave,

And the darker eternity.

I felt my sins were a fearful load;

No language my sorrow could tell;

And ah! as I walked the broad, broad road,

I knew ‘twas a journey to hell.

But I heard of One who loved me so,

That He came from His throne on high,

To bear the weight of my sins and woe,

And to bleed on the cross, and die.

He washed my sins in the crimson flood

That flowed from His open side,

And I knew I was saved by the precious blood

Of the Lord who was crucified.

So, now, a sinner redeemed by blood,

In Christ accepted I stand,

And wait, as a blood-bought child of God,

For my home in the heavenly land.

And this is the joy I seek below,

As I sing of His love so free,

That others the wondrous love may know.

Of the One who so loved me.

Tract Distribution: Is There No Hell?

One of old said, “One man might sow sand, another weeds, and another good wheat, but it was the value of the crop that gave value to the work.” Today there is much sowing that is not only valueless, but, like the tares in the parable, is producing an evil crop, to be bound up hereafter in bundles and burned. But the sowing of the good seed—the Word of God—is producing wheat that will be gathered into the garner before the tares are burnt up with the unquenchable fire. Blessed are they that sow this seed beside all waters! God gives the increase.

The following letter received by the printer of a tract, should be an encouragement to those who distribute, as showing how God may use a little tract to save a soul from death, and add to the number of the redeemed ones.

“Dear sir, I received a tract on Saturday evening while in the street car, and it says on it, copies may be had free from you. Now, I would like to tell you that I am saved. I was convicted through that tract, and last night, through reading another, I saw my ruined state, and accepted my Jesus as my Saviour. Now I have peace within, and the knowledge of sins forgiven. Praise God! I would like to tell all my friends, and would be glad if I could have a few tracts to help. (The name of the tract was “Saved or Lost.”)

My Dear Sirs:-While walking through Central Park over a week ago, I chanced to see a small piece of white paper laying on the ground. I passed over, but something within me seemed to tell me to go back and pick it up. Well, it was nothing other than one of your leaflets, entitled “Is There No Hell?”

Now, sirs, what I wish to tell you is this: My belief is the same as yours, in this respect, and, although I have gone to hear Pastor Russel preach, and I must admit that, although he preaches very logically, there is something in the way he speaks that he cannot believe everything he preaches.

I have a gentleman friend who is a private in the United States Army, and is what I call “God-fearing,” and I have come to the conclusion that if he had a few of these pamphlets, he could do a “world of good” by placing them in the hands of his comrades, who, he tells me, jeer anyone who professes a belief in God or even hell.

I am sending below his full name and address, so you may send the leaflets direct to him. I will notify him in the meantime, explaining it all to him, so that he will know where they come from.

Trusting that you will do me that favor, thereby favoring and perhaps being the means of enlightening dozens, I remain, Yours for the true Light. (_____ _____)

Would you kindly send me just the amount of tracts of this type that I am enclosing with the fifty cents. I also enclose a few other kinds as well that will attract those that are unsaved. The one I am sending for a sample seems to me just the right kind; it seems to hold people’s attention. It seemed to hold me, as I am only just come into the light. I was lost and now I am found. As I was leading a most sinful life before and I feel it is my duty to my Saviour and my Lord and Master to try and help others unto salvation for what He has done for me. Excuse my writing so much, but I feel I must do something and this seems my best way, as I can give the money I used to spend on pleasure and drinking for this work, which is the greatest work there is. Hoping to see a few of your other tracts, then I can pick a few out for any other time. Trusting you will kindly oblige yours in Christ Jesus, (_____ _____)

The Dying Man's Persuasion

A soldier lay dying in one of the hospitals. A visitor addressed him thus: “What church are you of?” “Of the church of God,” was the answer. “But I mean of what persuasion are you?” “Persuasion!” said the dying soldier, “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, my Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39).

Reader, I ask you to turn from every church, sect, and party, to the blessed Lord Jesus Christ, to His precious blood, to His finished work, to the right “persuasion.” What is that? Why, that the Spirit Of the living God has ransacked creation, and cannot find that which would separate me from the love of God in Christ. “Me!” the saved sinner! “Me!” the richest trophy of divine grace. Are you persuaded of this? Is it so that thy sins have been atoned for, and then forgiven? Are you “persuaded” of the full, present, and eternal forgiveness of sins—of thy sins? If so, cannot you say, “I am persuaded that love’s link will never be snapped; that creation above, beneath, past, present, future, cannot sever the everlasting tie formed between me and the eternal lover of my soul”? Reader, is this your persuasion?

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: Zeal

ZEAL.

I was one day walking along a road at what I thought at the time was a good pace. Presently I heard some one overtaking me, and in a moment or two a man, much smaller in stature than myself, caught me up, and easily passed me. Seeing one so small making better progress than I was, immediately stirred me to put forth more energy, and of course, being the taller of the two, I quickly overtook the little man, and as quickly left him behind. He had not slackened his pace, but I had practically doubled mine.

“Your zeal hath provoked very many” (2 Cor. 9:2).

Is there not a lesson for us in this, dear fellow believer? Of prominent gift we may have but little. We may be small in stature. But if what we have is made the most of, we are bound to be, not only a blessing ourselves, but an encouragement to others who have perhaps far more ability, but who are faltering through discouragement. We never know how far-reaching our influence is. “Your zeal hath provoked very many.” Many eyes are upon us, dear friends. Let us be zealous, therefore, in everything, and our reward will be great. Our opportunities will soon be gone. Today is all we have. May we be stirred up then to increased energy in the interests of our Lord, of His saints, and of poor, perishing sinners.

Questions for January

Always give Scripture for answers, as well as your own expressions.

1. Show the difference by Scriptures, between the Lord’s coming FOR His saints and His coming WITH His saints.

2. Where will we meet the Lord when He comes for His own?

3. Will the world hear the shout?

4. For what purpose will we appear at the judgment seat of Christ?

5. Give Scriptures, showing three different views of the judgment thrones, the places, and the character of those who shall appear at each period.

Scripture Study: Matthew 27

(Matthew 27.)

Matt. 27:1:2. In the morning the chief priests and elders of the people formally condemn the Lord to death. They bound Him and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate, the Gentile ruler (Matt. 20:18- 19).

Matthew 27:3-10. Judas, in despair at seeing Him condemned, repented himself. He no doubt thought he would get the money, and that the Lord would deliver Himself out of their hands. It was not godly sorrow for sin. It was the sorrow of the world that works death (2 Cor. 7:10); he went and hanged himself. His guilty conscience is another witness to the guilt of the Jewish leaders and to the Lord’s innocence. The priests, full of religious scruples, could not put the money into the treasury; they buy a field that is a perpetual monument to their guilt in selling the Lord their King. It was a place to bury Gentiles in. Truly the Gentiles came to rich blessing through it. Zechariah 11:12-13 is fulfilled.

Matthew 27:11-18. The question before the chief priest was, “Art Thou the Son of God?” The question before the Gentile ruler is, “Art Thou the King of the Jews?” He answers, “Thou sayest.” To all their accusations He answers nothing, so that the governor marveled greatly.

Pilate has another, a notable prisoner, Barabbas. He knew the envy of the Jews, and said, “Which will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas or Jesus which is called Christ?”

Matthew 27:19-24. Pilate’s wife now adds her testimony, warning her husband to have nothing to do with that just Man, for she had suffered many things that day because of Him. The chief priests and elders persuade the multitude to ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus, and to Pilate’s question, “What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ?” they all say unto him, “Let Him be crucified,” but there is no justice in it. Pilate says, “Why, what evil hath He done?” And again, with louder shout, they answer, “Let Him be crucified.”

Pilate, who should have carried out righteousness, as the ruler of the people, washed his hands, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.” What will he do when he stands before Christ to be judged?

Matthew 27:25-26. But the people are willing to take the guilt upon themselves, and say, “His blood be on us, and on our children.” Abel’s blood called for vengeance; the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, speaks infinite, eternal blessing to all who believe upon Him, but terrible judgment to those who reject Him (Heb. 10:29).

Matthew 27:26. They get their choice— “Barabbas” (which means son of the father)—a true child of the devil, like themselves (John 8:44). Then he scourged Jesus—made furrows on His back (Psa. 129:3)—and delivered Him to be crucified.

Matthew 27:27-32. The soldiers now display their brutality and enmity of heart. Gathering all their band, they strip Him, and array Him in mock glory; a scarlet robe, and a crown of thorns, a reed for a scepter in His right hand, and bowing the knee before Him, mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spat upon Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the head. After that they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own raiment on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

He endures it all in patient submission. His obedience was perfect. He bore it all without relief, doing the Father’s will.

John tells us He bearing His cross went forth; here Simon of Cyrene is compelled to bear it. An old writer says, “The decreed burden of every saint.” Afterward, Simon would feel it was an honor God had put upon him. Each one is shown out in his real character here by the Lord. Everything finds its true place as it touches Him.

Matthew 27:33-54. It is the place of execution. He refuses the stupefying cup. He will not avoid the suffering entailed in His path as the One doing the Father’s will. Psalm 22 is His experience now, also Psalm 69 and others. The Jews must bear the shame; their King was rejected and suffering, yet they revile and insult Him. Their hearts and the malefactors speak alike. But the deep anguish of the Lord grows deeper still. The depth of all His sufferings, who could conceive as wave after wave broke upon Him! As another has said, “His heart, His soul—the vessel of a divine love—could alone go deeper than the bottom of that abyss which sin had opened for man, to bring up those who lay there, after that He had endured its pains in His own soul.” A heart that had been ever faithful was forsaken of God. Where sin had brought man, love brought the Lord, but with a nature and an apprehension in which there was no distance, no separation, so that it should be felt in all its fullness. No one but He who was in that place could fathom or feel it.

It is also a wonderful spectacle to see the One righteous Man in the world declare at the end of His life that He was forsaken of God. But thus it was He glorified Him as none else could have done—made sin, in the presence of God as such with no veil to hide, no mercy to cover or bear it with.”

“Himself He could not save,

Love’s stream too deeply flowed.”

His enemies fulfilled the prophecies in their hatred and ignorance. He fulfilled them in suffering love, bore all the weight of the divine judgment against sin. There He made propitiation for our sins, made sin, Himself the sinless One; and at the close, out of the darkness that cry came which told of what His portion was from God as the sin bearer. Perfect as He ever was, this perfection shows itself when He says, “My God.” When He was abandoned His faith remained firm. He asks “Why,” but justified God in His forsaking, in the words, “But Thou art holy.” Here He is the offering for sin, made sin for us; here God is glorified, His righteousness manifested. Men did not understand, and said, “He is calling for Elias.” He is alone in this work of the cross. And now that the Scripture is fulfilled, His thirst quenched, He cried with a loud voice. His strength is manifest in it. He gave up the Spirit, He laid down His life, a willing victim. And behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. God is hidden no longer; the entrance into the holy place is made manifest—the “new and living way” which God has consecrated for us through the veil.

Now we can sing:

“The veil is rent, our souls draw near

Unto a throne of grace.”

Here is the witness that the Word is done, God’s hand rends the veil from the top to the bottom, the sin is put away, the believer is fitted to draw near. In His love we are brought nigh through His own precious work.

The earth did quake, the rocks were rent, the graves were opened. God’s power is manifest not only in creation, but also in resurrection, and Scripture tells us that after His resurrection many bodies of the saints arose, and came out of their graves, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many, witnessing that death’s power is annulled by Him who died upon the cross.

No wonder the centurion, and they that were with him, were so struck that they bore witness to the greatness of His person. They feared greatly, and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

We may yet see this chief executioner in the glory with Christ—fruit of that scene of death that made him utter this confession. It is the testimony of the far-off Gentile (Eph. 2:13).

Matthew 27:55, 56. Notice is taken of those devoted women who watched the crucifixion of tile One they loved, the Lord appreciates it fully and records it here.

Matthew 27:57-66. Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council, becomes bold to ask the body of Jesus, and shows he is of a different spirit from those who condemned the Lord (Luke 23:51). Through him and Nicodemus, special care was taken of the Lord’s body, as Isaiah 53:9 reads (New Trans.), “and (men) appointed His grave with the wicked, but He was with the rich in His death” (John 19:38-42). Man cannot go further than God allows him to go (Psa. 76:10).

The rich men, God-fearing men, are there at the right moment with the spices and linen and the new sepulcher wherein never man was laid, to care for the body that never saw corruption (Psa. 16), but it was the grave in which the Lord of life and glory lay for the appointed time. A great stone was rolled against the door and they departed, but there those two faithful, devoted women sat after all the others had gone.

The next day, which was the Sabbath, the chief priests apply to Pilate for soldiers to watch the sepulcher. They remember His words, “After three days I will rise again,” and try to hinder Him from rising. The soldiers become witnesses to the power of God, and the corruption of those religious leaders.

Christian Warfare.

We are hearing today a great deal about war. Very many young men are being enrolled under various banners to fight for king and country. They are being trained to be good soldiers, fitted to endure the hardness of the battlefield. There is a lesson for young Christians in all this. We are all called to be soldiers, but not to be soldiers of the world, not to fight for its glory and honor, with the terribly destructive weapons of the day. We are called to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ, enrolled under His banner—Love—to fight the good fight of faith. The rightful King has been rejected, and has gone away into a “far country.” Once He was here, and when a band of soldiers came to apprehend Him, one of His followers impetuously drew his sword and sought to deliver Him but the hour had not come to set up His kingdom on the earth, and He bade Peter put up his sword into its sheath, very graciously healing the wound he had inflicted. His kingdom was not of this world, else His servants on the earth would fight. His Father would have given Him more than twelve legions of angels, if He had prayed for them. But He would be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. He had come to save sinners.

In the Epistle to the church at Ephesus, where the Apostle Paul seems, after the manner of men, to have contended as with wild beasts, he brings before the believers Christ’s exaltation and tells them that the church is the fullness, or completeness, of Him that filleth all in all, that believers have been raised up together with Christ, and made to sit together in heavenly places in Him, that in the ages to come, God might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us through Christ Jesus. To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known through (not by) the church the manifold, or all varied, wisdom of God. At the end of the epistle, he tells them that they have to wrestle against these principalities, and powers, against world rulers of this darkness, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. What a terrible conflict! How can we wage such a war, in which it takes mightiest efforts simply to withstand and stand, to stubbornly maintain and retain? The power for this is, to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. I am united to Him, who has not only bound the strong man, taken away his armor and spoiled his goods, but has also destroyed him that had the power of death, by bruising his head at the cross. We are to fight the Lord’s battles against His enemies; for this the armor of God is provided, and we are to put it on—the whole armor. Let not any part be wanting, or our ever-vigilant foe will at once discover the weak spot and direct his attack against us there. The first thing to be put on is the girdle of truth. The loins, the place of strength, are to be girded, that there may be no hindrance to free action. The Word of God is to curb us, to brace us up for conflict, thus are we to obtain the firmness needed, the strength and comeliness of Christian character. Having then begun to prepare to meet the enemy by allowing the truth to search through and through and detect all that is contrary to God, the next thing is to put on the breastplate of righteousness—condition of the conscience—to have a conscience void of offense before God and man. Practical righteousness enables us to meet the foe fearlessly. When a soul is walking with God, the enemy is unable to accuse; where the breastplate of righteousness protects the vital parts, no self-accusation weakens the defense. The righteous is as bold as a lion. Then too, the believer’s walk must be that which becometh the gospel of peace, and so his feet must be protected by the strong, enduring, and not burdensome sandals of the preparation of the gospel of peaces Walk, life and conduct are to be such as becomes the gospel, which preaches peace by Jesus Christ: Having then the condition of soul shown by the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness; and the sandals of the gospel of peace, we are to take besides these the shield of faith over all, capable of being turned hither and thither to meet every attack and whereon the fiery darts will fall harmless and dead. Confidence in God, in the knowledge of Him as revealed in Jesus Christ. All the enemy’s darts are tipped with unbelief, and can only be quenched by the shield of faith—trust in God, as to what He is in Himself, and what He is for me—with a corresponding mistrust of myself. “Hangs my helpless soul on Thee.”

An example of confidence is told in connection with Napoleon Bonaparte. His horse taking fright, he was in imminent danger of being thrown, when a private soldier, springing from his place in the ranks, at the risk of his own life, seized the bridle and respectfully restored it to the emperor. “Thank you, Captain,” said the emperor. “Of what regiment, sir?” asked the soldier, saluting the emperor with unquestioning confidence. “Of my own guards,” replied the emperor, charmed with such a manifestation of faith and sincerity, and he galloped away. Instantly acting on the emperor’s word, the soldier laid down his gun, intimated his new rank to his companions, and passed over to the group of staff officers. “What does this fellow want?” haughtily asked one. “The fellow,” said the soldier, “is a captain of the emperor’s guards.” “A captain,” cried another; “who said so?” “The emperor said so,” replied the soldier. On which the officers immediately greeted him as one of themselves.

Then we have the helmet of salvation to protect the head—the seat of thought—a proper sense of our salvation in Christ Jesus. “O, God, the strength of my salvation. Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle” (Psa. 140:7).

The believer, then, braced up by the truth, with a good conscience, his path peaceful, having a perfect confidence in God, and a conscious joy of salvation has to take the sword of the Spirit. It is a two-edged one. How it is to be used, the Lord has Himself shown us when He encountered the enemy in the temptation in the wilderness, with the words, “It is written.” He applied the Scriptures to Himself, rebuked Satan so that he departed for a season. We cannot destroy him, but the soldier of the Lord arrayed in the whole armor of God, is assured, emboldened to withstand his attacks, and can hold his ground against him. “When we are weak then are we strong,” seems a paradox, but it teaches us that the a aspirations of our soul must mount always towards its source and its Deliverer, so that we are exhorted to pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and to watch thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Thus the soldier of Jesus Christ is not only to be equipped with the whole armor of God, but must be also in entire dependence upon Him, who has called him to be a soldier, ever seeking guidance, ever waiting His commands, ever vigilant.

There is also a negative side in connection with Christian warfare. “We do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh.” There is always a danger of the Christian forgetting this. It is only as we walk in the Spirit, we are preserved from the activities of the flesh. Had Simon Peter’s loins been girded with the truth, he would not have drawn the sword on Malchus, when the Scriptures were being fulfilled, which said, “He was led as a Lamb to the slaughter,” and “Smite the Shepherd of the sheep, and the sheep shall be scattered.” When David girded on Saul’s armor he put it off again, because he had not proved it, but he went against Goliath girded with the truth—the uncircumcised Philistine had defied the armies of the Living God. When charged with pride and haughtiness of heart, he could answer with divine intelligence and a good conscience, “Is there not a cause?” He had been saved by God from the lion and the bear. On his head was the helmet of salvation, while the Shield of Faith, his confidence in God, gave him assurance of deliverance.

We have need to remember that the conflict into which we are brought, is one of the Devil against God, and His purposes of Grace. Once we were on the other side as slaves of Satan, but now as the children of God, we need not shrink from the conflict, for greater is He that is for us, than all that be against us. So many give up when they find that there is a conflict to be waged. You get in John 6:60-71 many going back. The fight is too hard, too strenuous. Let the question, “Will ye also go away?” test us, and may our answer be, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” And so may we take up the cross daily and follow Him.

“Lead on, Almighty Lord,

Lead on to victory;

Encouraged by Thy blessed Word,

With joy we follow Thee.

Till of the prize possessed,

We hear of war no more,

And O, sweet thought! forever rest

On yonder peaceful shore.”

Salvation

I desire to press upon you a pointed and solemn question. Do not, I pray you, hand it over to another for reply, while you yourself leave it unanswered. Are you saved? Now, I leave you to answer it to the God who loves you, and to your own heart and conscience, while, for the present, I would very briefly tell you of—

The Saviour

“God manifest in the flesh,” —the eternal lover of our souls! He came down from heights of glory. He assumed holy humanity. Eternal as to His existence, divine as to His being, and distinct as to His personality, down, down He came, traveling in the greatness of His love until the lowest point was reached—Calvary’s depth of woe—Himself the holy One, undefiled, spotless, and pure, He entered into a scene of unmixed anguish and woe, in which, if any of the sons of men had stood, it were impossible ever to pass into the light and glory of God’s own presence. His blessed feet stood in the raging flood. The billows of divine wrath spent themselves upon Him. His was the cry which told out the anguish of His soul when suffering for sin— “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Now, for all believing on God, Christ has made an utter end of sin, abolished death, annulled Satan; and, what is better still, glorified God. Jesus Christ of Nazareth, crucified, hath God raised from among the dead. “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). Turn to Him now, dear reader; for, although in glory and His ear filled with praise, sweet and precious to Him is the cry and the coming of a sinner to Himself. Such is the Saviour.

Safe, or Saved?

The Hebrews in Egypt were groaning under the lash and cruel taskmasters of Pharaoh; and God heard their groanings, and beheld their affliction, and came down to deliver. Judgment must sweep through the land. And who could stand in that judgment? Could the covenant people? No more than the proud Egyptian. But God, ever rich in mercy, ever fertile in resources, meets the difficulty—moreover, it is righteously met. Judgment is not stayed; but it falls upon the Lamb instead of the Hebrew. Its blood shed, and then sprinkled, by the command of God, upon the lintels and doorposts of Israel’s dwellings was the divine answer to the act of judgment. “And when I (God) see the blood, I will pass over you,” was the pledge of assured safety. The blood stood between the sinner—Israelite and God the Judge. They were thus a “safe” people; the sprinkled blood being their alone security during that awful night of wrath and judgment. But they were not yet saved—being still in Egypt. Pharaoh—his chariots and horsemen were yet alive. The strength of Egypt was as yet untouched by the judgment.

They came to the shores of the Red Sea. Now they learn what “salvation” is. The Egyptian is behind, the deep waters of the Red Sea rolling on in front, and inaccessible mountains and rocks on either side. They encamp at Pihahiroth, which bears the significant meaning: “Opening of the door of liberty.” Here, for the first time in Scripture, we get the truth of that precious word, “salvation.” (Ex. 14:13-14.) “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”

God is alone in His mighty work. It is His salvation. The waters part on either side, and the people pass over dry-shod. They stand everyone on the desert side of the river of death. The strength, the beauty, and excellency of Egypt follow, but the waters return, and all are engulfed in the mighty deep. “There remained not so much as one of them.” Judgment has cleared the scene of every hated foe; and “saved” Israel “saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore.” Now the people sing. They could raise no song in Egypt; but now they sing the song of salvation—the song of triumph—the song of victory.

Have you known, dear reader, what it is to look back upon the cross and grave of Christ, and know that the passage of death has been traversed by you “in Him”? Can you not look behind and see every doubt, perplexity, and fear gone forever—every foe drowned in the depths of the Red Sea? Have you learned the song of salvation, “God for us”? That is salvation—not merely “safe” from judgment, but “saved,” and that for eternity.

Freely! Freely!! Freely!!!

“I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” —Revelation 21:6.

“Tell them.” said a young man who was dying in a workhouse infirmary, as his thin, bony finger rested for a few moments on the sixth Verse of Revelation 21, “tell them when you speak to sinners that it is “freely,” “FREELY,” “FREELY.” It is the message of God from the deathbed of one, who though a great sinner himself, has proved the truth of it.”

Life is found alone in Jesus,

Only there, ‘tis offered thee—

Offered without price or money;

‘Tis the gift of God, sent free,

Take salvation—

Take it now and happy be!

Correspondence: Matt. 24:6-7; Gen. 9:6; John 1:9; Phi 3:2

Question 113: Is the present war in Europe the fulfillment of the scripture Matthew 24:6, 7?

W. H. W.

Answer: Matthew 24:6, 7, refers to the time when the Jews will again occupy Jerusalem; when the gospel of the kingdom will again be preached (Matt. 24:14), and they will have their holy place or temple built again (Matt. 24:15), in the land of Judea (Matt. 24:16).

The wars, earthquakes, pestilences, and famines that have taken place or may take place, ever since the destruction of Jerusalem, are not the fulfillment of prophecy. Prophecy centers around Israel and Palestine. God holds the nations in His hand, overruling, that no one of them gain the ascendancy over the rest, till the Roman beast rises again, and that cannot be till the church is gone from the earth. The beast rises from the bottomless pit (Rev. 17:8) and his power is wholly from the Dragon, or Satan (Rev. 13:4). While the church is on earth, He who now restrains will restrain until He be taken out of the way, and then the lawless one can be manifested. (2 Thess. 2:7, 8.)

The hope of the church is the coming of the Lord to receive her to Himself (1 Thess. 4:15, 18), and there are no signs given for this, it may take place at any moment. The state of the church as in 2 Timothy, 2 Peter, Jude and Revelation 2 and 3, is our sign, and the conditions mentioned in these different Scriptures are already fulfilled. He may come now. Till He comes, we preach the gospel of the grace of God. The gospel of the kingdom comes afterward for Israel and the Gentiles.

Question 114: Will you kindly explain Genesis 9:6: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made He man”? A. L. S.

Answer: After the flood the government of the earth was put in the hands of men. Noah was the first governor: the executive power was put into his hands, and ever since, in every country, there have been “powers that be.... ordained of God.” (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13, 14.) The Christian is not a citizen of this world. He should not make the laws nor interfere with them, but be subject to them as ordained of God, except where they would come between his conscience and God, being contrary to the Word of God, having to obey God rather than men. (Acts 4:19; 5:29.),

Verses 5 and 6 require that a beast or a man that kills a man shall be killed by man.

Capital punishment was thus instituted by God and has not been repealed. It is for Jew, Gentile and Christian alike to be subject, but the Christian, being heavenly, should not interfere with the laws of the land in which he lives.

Question 115: What does “lighteth every man” in John 1:9 mean? S. P.

Answer: The “Word”, the Son of God, is the true light, and, coming into this world, shines for every man—both Jew and Gentile. It shows what every man is by nature. It does not mean that every man sees it. The sun shines on blind men, but they do not see it. The light shows out what man is, and “the light was the life of men.” It shines for every man so that all may receive the blessing of John 3:16.

Question 116: What is the meaning of “the concision” in Philippians 3:2? M. C.

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 Philippians 3:3 recognize this. Colossians 2:11 means dead with Christ. “The concision” do not know this, but teach the improvement of man without redemption.

Faith

Faith is a very simple thing,

Though little understood;

It frees the soul from death’s dread sting,

By resting in the blood.

It looks not on the things around,

Nor on the things within;

It takes its flight to scenes above,

Beyond the sphere of sin.

It sees upon the throne of God,

A Victim that was slain;

It rests its all on His shed blood,

And says, “I’m born again.”

Faith is not what we feel or see,

It is a simple trust

In what the God of love has said

Of Jesus, as “the Just.”

The Perfect One that died for me,

Upon His Father’s throne,

Presents our names before our God,

And pleads Himself alone.

What Jesus is, and that alone,

Is faith’s delighted plea;

It never deals with sinful self,

Nor righteous self, in me.

It tells me I am counted dead

By God, in His own Word;

It tells me I am born again

In Christ, my Risen Lord.

In that He died, He died to sin;

In that He lives—to God;

Then I am dead to nature’s hopes,

And justified through blood.

If He is free, then I am free,

From all unrighteousness;

If He is just, then I am just,

He is my righteousness.

What want I more to perfect bliss?

A body like His own

Will perfect me for greater joys

Than angels round the throne.

What Should I Read? A Question for the Times

The question which forms the heading of this paper is one of real weight and practical importance. There is much more involved in it than we might perhaps be disposed to admit. It is a common saying, “Show me your company, and I will tell you what you are.” It may, with equal truth, be said, “Show me your library and I will tell you where you are.” Our reading may be taken, as a rule, as the great indicator of our moral, intellectual, and spiritual condition. Our books are our mental and spiritual pabulum the material on which the inner man feeds. Hence the seriousness of the entire question of Christian reading. Indeed, we may freely own to the reader of these lines that this subject has engrossed us much of late; and we feel constrained, in faithfulness to the Lord and to the souls of our readers, to offer a few words of admonition in reference to what we cannot but regard as a matter of real moment to all Christians.

We observe, with deep concern, a growing distaste for solid reading, especially among young Christians—though alas! it is not confined to them. Newspapers, religious novels, sensational tales, all sorts of poisonous and trashy literature are eagerly devoured, while volumes of most weighty and precious truth lie uncut and neglected on the bookshelf.

All this we consider most deplorable. We look upon it as a most alarming indication of a low spiritual condition. Indeed it is difficult to conceive how anyone possessing a single spark of divine life can find pleasure in such defiling rubbish as one sees now-a-days, in the hands of many who occupy the very highest ground of Christian profession. The inspired Apostle exhorts all Christians, “As newborn babes, to desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby.” How can we grow if we neglect the Word of God, and devour newspapers and light worthless hooks? How is it possible for any Christian to be in a healthy condition of soul who can barely find a few hasty moments to run his eye over a verse Or two of Scripture, but can give hours to light and desultory reading? We may depend upon it our reading proves, beyond question, what we are, and where we are. If our reading is light and frivolous, our state is the same. If our Christianity is of a solid and earnest type, it will be distinctly evidenced by our habitual and voluntary reading—the reading to which we turn for our recreation and refreshment.

Some, perhaps, may say, “We cannot be always reading the Bible and good books.” We reply, and that with plain decision and emphasis, the new nature would never care to read anything else. Now the question is, Whether do we wish to minister to the old nature or the new? If the latter, we may rest assured that newspapers and light literature are not the means to be used. It is utterly impossible that a truly spiritual, earnest Christian can find any enjoyment in such reading. It may be that a Christian engaged in business or in public official life, will have occasion, in connection with his business or his official duty, to refer to a newspaper; but this is another thing altogether from finding his actual enjoyment and recreation in such reading. He will not find the hidden manna or the old corn of the land of Canaan in the newspaper. He will not find Christ in the sensational novel.

It is a poor low thing to hear a Christian say, “How can we be always reading the Bible?” or, “What harm is there in reading a story book?” All such questions afford melancholy evidence of the fact that the soul has got far away from Christ. This is what makes it so very serious. Spiritual decline must have set in and made alarming progress, ere a Christian could think of asking such questions. And hence there is little use in arguing about the right or the wrong of things. There is no ability to argue aright, no capacity to weigh evidence. The whole spiritual and moral condition is wrong. “There is death in the pot.” What is really needed is thorough restoration of soul. You must “bring meal,” or in other words, apply a divine remedy to meet the diseased state of the constitution.

We feel pressed in spirit to call the serious attention of the Christian reader to this great practical question. We deem it to be one of deepest seriousness. We cannot doubt but that the extremely low spiritual tone of Christianity among us, is owing, in many cases, to the reading of light and worthless literature. The moral effect of all such is most pernicious. How can a soul prosper, how can there be growth in the divine life where there is no real love for the Bible, or for books which unfold the precious contents of the Bible to our souls? Is it possible that a Christian can be in a healthy condition of soul who really prefers some light work to a volume designed for true spiritual edification? We do not and cannot believe it. We are persuaded that all true-hearted, earnest Christians—all who truly desire to get on in divine things—all who really love Christ, and are breathing after heaven and heavenly things—all such will be found diligently reading the holy Scriptures and thankfully availing themselves of any good, helpful books which may come within their reach. They will have neither time nor taste for newspapers or light literature. With them it will not be a question as to the right or the wrong of such reading, they simply have no desire for it, they do not want it, would not have it. They have something far better.

“With ashes who would grudge to part, when called on angels’ bread to feast?”

We trust our readers will bear with us in writing thus plainly and pointedly. We feel constrained as in view of the judgment seat of Christ, to do so. And we can only say, Would that we could write as earnestly as we feel on the subject. We consider it one of the weightiest and most practical questions which can engage our attention. We entreat the Christian reader to shun and discountenance all light reading. Let us each ask the question, when about to take up a book or a paper, “Should I like my Lord to come and find this in my hand? or Can I take this into the presence of God, and ask His blessing upon the reading of it? Can I read it to the glory of the name of Jesus?” If we cannot say “Yes” to these questions, then by the grace of God, let us fling the paper or the book away, and devote our spare moments to the blessed Word of God, or to some spiritual volume written thereon. Then shall our souls be nourished and strengthened; we shall grow in grace, and in the knowledge and love of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; and the fruits of righteousness shall abound in our practical life, to the glory of God.

It may be, however, that some of our friends would repudiate altogether the habit of reading human writings. Some there are who take the ground of reading nothing but the Bible. They tell us they find all they want in that peerless volume, and that human writings are rather a hindrance than a help.

Well, as to this, each one must judge for himself. No one can be a rule for another. We certainly cannot take this high ground. We bless the Lord, each day, more and more, for all the gracious helps vouchsafed to us by means of the writings of His beloved servants. We look upon them as a most precious stream of refreshment and spiritual blessing, flowing down from our glorified Head in the heavens, for which we can never praise Him enough. We should just as soon think of refusing to hear a brother speak in the assembly, as of refusing to read his writings, For what is either but a branch of ministry given of God for our profit and edification?

No doubt we have to exercise a jealous care lest we make too much of ministry, whether oral or written; but the possible abuse of a thing is no valid argument against, the use of it. There is danger on every side; and most surely it is a very dangerous thing to despise ministry. We are, none of us, self-sufficient. It is the divine purpose that we should be helpful one to another. We cannot do without “that which every joint supplieth.” How many will have to praise God throughout eternity for blessing received through tracts and books. How many there are who never get an atom of spiritual ministry save what the Lord sends them through the press. It will be said, “They have the Bible.” True, but all have not the same ability to fathom the living depths, or seize the moral glories, of the Bible. No doubt, if we cannot have either oral or written ministry, the Spirit of God can feed us directly in the green pastures of holy Scripture. But who will deny that the writings of God’s servants are used by the Holy Spirit as a most powerful agency in building up the Lords’ people in their most holy faith? It is our firm conviction that God has made more use of such agency during the last forty years than ever before in the entire history of the church.

And cannot we praise Him for it? Truly so. We should praise with full and glowing hearts; and we should earnestly pray Him to grant still further blessing on the writings of His servants—to deepen their tone, increase their power, and widen their sphere. Human writings if not clothed with the power of the Holy Spirit, are just so much waste paper. And in like manner, the voice of the public preacher or teacher, if not the living vehicle of the Holy Spirit, is but a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. But the Holy Spirit does make use of both agencies for the blessing of souls, and the spread of the truth; and we deem it a serious mistake for any one to despise an agency which God is pleased to adopt. Indeed we must confess we have rarely met anyone who refused the help of human writings who did not prove exceedingly narrow, crude, and one-sided. This is only what we might expect, inasmuch as it is the divine method to make us mutually helpful one to another; and hence, if any one affects to be independent or self-sufficient, he must sooner or later find out his mistake.

“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

“Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine...

“Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all” (1 Tim. 4:12, 13, 15).

Tract Distribution: Twenty Years of Service Lost

On one of the river steamers, a Christian man on his holidays, was giving away tracts. Among others who received one was a gentleman who remarked as he received it, that he feared such efforts did little permanent good.

“I am not opposed to such work,” he said. “In my younger days I did a good deal of it myself, but I cannot say that I ever saw any fruit from it.”

The tract distributor was somewhat “damped” by that remark, coming from one who evidently was a Christian of many years’ standing. But he instantly remembered that his own conversion was brought about by means of a tract, which he received when a boy of twelve, as he walked along the street one wintry night.

As he passed the door of a Mission Hall, a young man, standing evidently for the purpose of getting passers-by to go in, handed him a tract, and asked him to go inside and hear the gospel. He did go in, and heard words there that awakened him to think of eternity and his state before God, and he went home in deep soul trouble. In his anxiety, he turned to the tract he had received, read it, and was saved. The tract distributor told this story to the gentleman, who listened with evident interest, and when it was finished, he said, “May I ask where this most interesting event took place?”

The man named the street, the hall, and the very night on which he got the tract, and was invited inside. The gentleman’s eyes filled with tears; he grasped the distributor’s hand; and said with great emotion— “It was my work for many a night, when a young man newly converted, to stand at that door giving tracts, and inviting passers-by, and I well remember inviting in the bright-eyed lad that wintry night. But I lost heart soon after that, and gave it up, thinking such work was almost useless. Now after twenty years, God has let me know it was not in vain, and if He spare me to return to the city, I shall by His grace return to the service He gave me long ago, confessing my faithlessness in leaving it.” But the twenty intervening years were lost. How many more golden sheaves might have appeared to that Christian worker’s account in the day of Christ, had he continued in the service that the Lord gave him to do.

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

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: Keeping Our Mouths

“I will keep my mouth with a bridle.”—Psalm 39:1.

A number of intimate friends being at dinner together on the Lord’s Day, one of the company, knowing that some at the table knew not the Lord, in order to redeem the time, said, “It is a question whether we shall all go to heaven or not.” This plain hint occasioned a general seriousness, and self-examination. One thought, “If any of this company go to hell, it must be myself;” and so thought another, and another; even the servants, who waited at table, were affected in the same manner. In short, it was afterward found that this one sentence proved by the special blessing of God upon it instrumental to their conversion. What an encouragement to Christians, to give a serious turn to conversation, and not to waste their time in needless remarks on persons and passing events. They should ever remember that to occupy the time with that which is uninteresting and unprofitable, is not only injurious, but an insult to the company they are in.

Questions for February

Always give Scripture for answers, as well as your own expressions.

1. What would the Lord have us doing till He comes?

2. What state of soul would the Lord have us in when He comes?

3. What effect should “seeing the day approaching” have upon us?

4. What will end the great tribulation?

5. When will the Day of the Lord begin?

Answers to Questions for December

Answers to Question 1.

1. Give scriptures, proving that Christ’s body was actually raised from the dead.

(a) “But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first-fruits of them that slept.” 1 Corinthians 15:20.

(b) “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3.

Answers to Question 2.

2. Give scriptures in regard to those who saw Him after the resurrection, and recognized Him as having the same body He had before, even to the wound-prints.

(a) “And He said unto them (the disciples),.... Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have.” Luke 24:38, 39.

(b) “Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless but believing.” John 20:27.

Answers to Question 3.

3. Give five Scripture proofs that the Lord is risen:

(a) The empty tomb.

(b) The Lord’s day.

(d) The New Testament.

(e) Five hundred and fourteen witnesses are recorded as having seen the Lord.

(a) “He is not here: for He is risen, as He said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Matthew 28:6.

(b) “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week....” Mark 16:9.

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” Revelations 1:10.

(c) “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us ward who believe which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead,.... and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.” Ephesians 1:19-23.

(d) “And for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” Hebrews 9:15.

“After that He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once.” 1 Corinthians 15:6.

“After that He appeared in another form unto two of them as they walked, and went into the country.” Mark 16:12.

“Afterward He appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat.” Mark 16:14.

“Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene.” Mark 16:9.

Answers to Question 4.

4. When and where must we give an account of our lives?

(a) “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” 1 Corinthians 4:5.

(b) “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10.

Answers to Question 5.

5. Give five scriptures which tell us that the Lord will come again for His own.

John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57; Philippians 3:20, 21; Titus 2:13,14.

Scripture Study: Matthew 28

Matthew 28.

Verse 1. “The end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn (really dusk) toward the first day of the week.” The Jewish day begins about sundown, so that this was Saturday, near evening. Those women showed their devoted affection and came to the grave to see it. It was all quiet and not opened. Jesus’ body still lay in death.

Verses 2-10. This is not consecutive; verse 5 is in the morning. We are not told when the earthquake took place, nor when the angel rolled away the stone and sat upon it. But early in the morning the women saw it was rolled away when they came again. The soldiers shook with fear and became as dead men. The angel comforts the women, “Fear not ye. I know that ye seek Jesus which was crucified. He is not here; He is risen, as He said Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and, behold, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him; lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear, and great joy; and did run to bring His disciples word.”

But they are to have more reward for their devotedness than seeing an empty grave or hearing an angel’s word, for “as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail, and they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.” They see and hear and hold Him; they know He is risen now; it is made plain to their senses. And this is in keeping with this gospel that presents Him as the Messiah. It is not the ascended One as we now know Him by faith, as in John 20:17-23, and where His God and Father is our God and Father.

It is the risen Messiah rejected at Jerusalem, but known and recognized by the believing remnant; and who promises to be with them to the end of the age in which Jesus lived on earth, which continues again after the present church period is finished.

Verses 11-15. What perfidy and antagonism are seen in the leaders of Israel? The soldiers witness to them that Christ is risen. They try to hide it by giving bribes to the soldiers to say, “His disciples came by night, and stole Him away while we slept.” And they promised to corrupt the governor also if it was needed for their object. All to blind the eyes of those who did not want to see.

Verses 16-18. Galilee is the place where He met His disciples to instruct them; it is the poor of the flock now. The Holy Spirit records that “when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.” After satisfying them that it was Himself, He said: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and on earth.” What comforting words these are, and must have been to them. He was still the rejected One, but all resources are in His hand, and nothing can happen to them without His permission. This is just as true for us now as for them.

Verses 19-20. “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

There are two distinct testimonies sent out by the Lord in Matthew’s Gospel: One to the house of Israel only (Chapter 10:5, 6) and before this one is completed the Son of Man will have come (Chapter 10:23). Then Matthew 24:14 is a message to the nations, or Gentiles, “And then shall the end come.” Here in Matthew 28 we find the disciples sent with the authority of their risen Messiah to receive the nations (Psa. 2:8-12). And they were to baptize them to the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit; as such the God of Israel— Jehovah—was now fully revealed. The teachings of the great prophet (Deut. 18:18), which they had heard in His lifetime, were what they were to give to the nations for their obedience.

This is not Paul’s commission, it is not the church, nor do we find that they are children of the Father having the spirit of adoption, nor are they members of the body of Christ, nor temples of the Holy Spirit. Paul could say “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel.” And the gospel Paul preached was the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4); those who receive it belong to Christ in heavenly glory. Paul’s converts were baptized, but it was individuals called out of the world. Here it is nations, and is the preparation for the setting up of Christ’s earthly kingdom, the kingdom of the Son of Man.

The Ministry in Acts is the continuation of Luke’s Gospel. Paul preached to every creature (Col. 1:23). His was more fully ministry of an ascended and glorified Saviour, to which the church belongs. This in Matthew stands alone; the disciples are not sent to Jews. Jerusalem is rejected and the remnant attached to Christ, called His brethren, are sent to the nations. This has had no fulfillment. It has given place to the gospel that calls out the church. After the church is caught up, this testimony will go forth before the Lord comes with His Saints.

What a strengthening word to them. “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” They could count on His presence and protection and provision for all their need in the midst of the upheavals of their time. And, beloved children of God, have we not the same promise and the Spirit to make it all good to us? “I will not leave you comfortless (orphans); I will come to you.” (John 14:18; Heb. 13:5). Our ever-present Saviour known to our faith will not fail us.

A Letter to an Evolutionist

My Dear—

After all, men deceive themselves when they conclude that the acceptance or rejection of the gospel is an intellectual matter. It is only partly so. In immensely greater proportion it is a moral question: that is, a question of the relations of the soul to God; a question of one’s individual responsibility as a sinner to a holy God. If I were to convince you by a chain of syllogisms of the truth of Christianity—that would be merely intellectual. The moral work—the reconciliation of your individual soul to God—would still remain to be done.

For you are a sinner. Needless is it to explain that this does not imply that you are either worse or better than other men, for “there is none righteous, no not one.” (Rom. 3:10.) But the realization of this, as regards myself, as an individual, is the beginning of Christianity in the soul. How glibly will men acknowledge that we are all sinners! But oh! how different indeed is the apprehension that there is an outstanding account between me and the Almighty, and that it is more than I am able to meet. Compared with this, the intellectual conviction of the truth of Christianity, is a small thing. You may have that, and yet not be a Christian at all (in the true sense of the word). This is what Christ referred to when He said, “Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 18:3.)

Since Christianity no one supposes an unholy God, though it was general before. But if a defiled and rebellious creature comes into judgment before a holy God the result can only be condemnation. Now this is man’s true position: he is on the way to judgment, and a judgment that must be condemnation. “When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hail thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. I tell thee thou shalt not depart thence till thou hast paid the very last mite.” (Luke 12:58, 59.) The apprehension of this serious truth, affects profoundly a man’s consideration of the gospel. If he wants a Saviour, there is a Saviour for him. If he is self-righteous, then he can afford to stand and dispute about the claims of Christianity. He can reject it, and go looking around the world for the best-seeming religion it can offer. But a Saviour is found in Christianity alone. New Theology has none.

Now, my dear friend, you will detect that instead of entering upon a philosophical discussion, I am putting before you the homely gospel of the salvation of the soul—for I am deeply convinced that, Christianity being true, we only need the proper moral focus, to see the glorious orb in its beauty, and this is what the Lord Jesus said in other words: “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God” (John 7:17).

However, having put this, the plain gospel before you, I must not altogether refuse your challenge, lest doing so should be translated as weakness. You refer to evolution as a “great fact,” and ask my attitude towards it. Well, you call evolution “fact.” In my vocabulary it is theory; theory undiluted, theory pure. To illustrate: I heard a university authority lecturing, when he referred to the analogy between the anatomy of the bird and the reptile (with which, doubtless, you are familiar), pointing out that the bird was an advance upon the reptile. And this was mentioned as a case of evolution. Now the “fact” in this case is the analogy in the anatomy of the two; that is the truth; true science. But that the one species sprang from the other is pure assumption—pseudo-science. One is true Baconian philosophy; the other is—well, evolution! And when you place your “evolution” on the same platform with gravitation, the Copernican system, or the sphericity of the earth, you must excuse me if a smile—yet, a broad smile—overspreads my countenance!

But in this opinion do not suppose that I am singular. Professor Mivart, late professor of biology in University College, London, says, “With regard to the conception as put forward by Mr. Darwin, I cannot truly characterize it except by an epithet I employ with great reluctance. I weigh my words, and have present to my mind, the many distinguished naturalists who have accepted the notion, and yet I cannot call it anything but a puerile hypothesis.”

Dr. Etheridge, of the British Museum—a famous palaeontologist—says, “In all this great museum there is not a particle of evidence of transmutation of species. Nine-tenths of the talk of evolutionists is sheer nonsense, not founded on observation, and wholly unsupported by fact. This museum is full of proofs of the utter falsity of their views.”

Professor Lionel S. Beale—who, you are aware, is in the first rank of scientists—says, “The idea of any relation having been established between the non-living and living, by a gradual advance from lifeless matter to the lowest forms of life, and so onwards to the higher and more complete, has not the slightest evidence from the facts of any section of living nature of which anything is known. There is no evidence that man has descended from, or is, or was, in any way specially related to, any other organism in nature through evolution or by any other process. In support of all naturalistic conjectures concerning man’s origin, there is not at this time a shadow of scientific evidence” (June, 1903).

The late Professor Sir Frederick McCoy told me with his own lips that he rejected Darwinism and evolution. From all this, my dear—, while I am one who refuses absolutely to accept evolution, I can afford to pass by your rather broad assertion that those who deny evolution are in the same category as those who reject gravitation or the Copernican system, or who say that the earth is flat.

But the German scientists are beginning to have their eyes opened. Professor Fleischmann, of Erlanger, in his book, “Die Darwinische Theorie,” states that “the Darwinian theory of descent has, in the realms of nature, not a single fact to confirm it. It is not the result of scientific research, but purely the product of the imagination.” In “Die Maschinentheorie des Lebens,” Driesch declares, “Darwinism belongs to history as does that other curiosity, the Hegelian philosophy. Both are variations on the theme, ‘How one leads an entire generation by the nose’—and are not exactly calculated to exalt our parting century in the eyes of later generations.” Edward on Hartman says, in “The Passing of Darwinism,” “In the first decade of the twentieth century it has become apparent that the days of Darwinism are numbered.”

But though I may smile at being classed with earth-flat-ists because of my rejecting evolution, I now come to something too serious, too sad, for anything but the most solemn consideration. On the basis of such a thing as evolution you abandon God’s blessed gift to mankind—the Bible! I cannot refrain from the poet’s exclamation—

“O judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts,

And men have lost their reason!”

For such a thing as evolution you give up the historical truth of the creation and the fall of man; also, the loving and marvelous interposition of God for man’s salvation by means of the incarnation and redemption! You reject the atonement for evolution! The historical record, in the gospels and the Acts, of the resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ—all are to vanish at the word evolution!

Excuse my giving way a little bit to feeling; but as one who has known you for so many years, and who, along with recollection of old times, has for you the feelings of sincere friendship—as one, too, who thinks of the eternity—that solemn eternity—which has come so near to us, I would ask you to reconsider your position. What I would humbly counsel and recommend to you is, to get down upon your knees and ask God’s forgiveness for your hitherto rejection of His Son; for your morally siding with those whose cry has come down to us through centuries—a voice borne along by one generation to another down to our own times, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him.” Do not flatter yourself that you can be neutral. You must take sides. At this moment you are on one side or the other!

“He that is not with Me is against Me.” “No man can serve two masters.”

Would you like to go into eternity as one who belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ? Now is your time to decide. Do not allow the enemy of your soul to befool you with such things as evolution or other empty and vain substitutes for the truth. Darwin cannot give you eternal life: the Lord Jesus Christ can.

Believe me, my dear —,

Yours very sincerely,

Salvation

IS SALVATION IMMEDIATE OR FUTURE? The thief on the cross, like many now-a-days, begged for a future salvation— “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom” — but “today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise,” was the gracious word of Christ, assuring him of a present salvation. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (judgment); but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). Mark the threefold link, Heareth, Believeth, Hath. My reader, have you heard Christ’s gracious words? (John 3:16, and similar portions.) Do you believe on God, who gave Jesus, and hath raised Him up from the dead? If so, eternal life is yours; “hath everlasting life” is His own word—not “will have it,” or “may have it.” No, “HATH” is the word assuring thee of the present possession of eternal life. Salvation is now—it is immediate—not future.

Lost

Reader, if unsaved, you are lost. Hoping to be saved is a sad delusion. Have you, then, reached that point in soul and conscience, lost? Have you taken the place of one lost—hence needing a Saviour? If you have, there is salvation for you; for the Saviour and salvation are for the lost. Have you grasped the weighty truth of Scripture as to your condition? From what point did the prodigal commence his journey to his father and home? Why, from this—the discovery that he was lost.

A servant of Christ traveling in the country overtook a fellow-traveler, and at once entered into conversation with him about his spiritual condition. The man said, “Sir, do you know who I am? I’m the worst man in the village of—.” “Well,” answered the servant of God, “you are most certainly in for it.” “In for what?” asked the man in some surprise. “In for salvation,” was the answer. Reader, what is your state? Are you willing to be saved? If so, you are “in” for salvation. It is God’s salvation to the lost and ruined.

Correspondence: The Spirit - Sending and Quenching; Heb. 10:23-25

Question 117: Was the Holy Spirit not sent forth before the Lord Jesus was glorified? G. A. G.

Answer: All God’s works at all times are done by the Holy Spirit, whether in creation or redemption. They are done by the Father’s will, by the work of the Son, by the power of the Spirit.

In the Old Testament times the Spirit came upon men. Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21.) The Spirit preached through Noah. (1 Peter 3:19, 20.) John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from his birth. (Luke 1.) But the Holy Spirit could not take His permanent abode in man till the blessed Son of God came; then we read, “Him hath God the Father sealed”, God witnessing to His sinlessness: “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3.)

When the work of redemption on the cross was accomplished and Christ was glorified, all who then and until His coming believe the gospel of their salvation, are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13.); this witnesses to the power of the precious blood that cleanses from all sin. (Acts 10:43; Eph. 4:30.)

He never leaves us. We are sealed unto the day of redemption, that is, till the Lord comes to take us up to be with Him.

Question 118: Where does “Quench not the Spirit” in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 apply? F. C.

Answer: In the meetings of the believers. We do not find a man presiding over a meeting in Scripture, where believers are gathered for edification. The Lord is in their midst (Matt. 18:20), and the Holy Spirit is to guide them, and occupy them with Christ. If the Lord lays it on the heart of one to speak or take part, and he does not do it, such a one is quenching the Spirit. If the Lord gives the word to one, and the others refuse to hearken, they, too, are quenching the Spirit. If one speaks when he should not, he is also quenching the Spirit. “Despise not prophesyings.” Verse 20 shows I should hearken and prove all things, and hold fast the truth. Ephesians 4:30 refers to our individual behavior at all times, because the Spirit dwells in us.

Question 119: Does Hebrews 10:23-25 refer to the coming of Christ for His saints? or does “the day” mean “the day of the Lord”? Is it the period of time between the coming of the Lord in the air for His saints until His coming with His saints? W. H.

Answer: There is no passage in Hebrews that refers particularly to the coming of Christ in the air for His saints. We might apply such passages as Hebrews 10:37 as the moment of our deliverance, but so might the believing Jews in the tribulation The Epistle to the Hebrews covers both. The passages referred to above are looking on to a time of judgment, that is, the day of the Lord, which begins when the Lord comes with His saints to the world as a thief in the night. (1 Thess. 5:2; Jude 14,15; 2 Tim. 4:1.)

The period of time between the Lord’s coming for His saints and His coming with them to judge, is called the tribulation.

The Church Hastening the Coming of the Lord

The object of this paper is to show how the Lord’s coming is, in a sense, dependent on our prayers, and communion with the Lord in that blessed hope. Does not the correct rendering of 2 Peter 3:12 lay that thought upon the mind? “Looking for, and hastening (speudontas) the coming of the day of God; wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved.”

At once, no doubt, the objection will arise with some, What! Can such an event as the Lord’s coming depend on our prayers—on us? I would answer, Yes, just in the same way as while the Lord has ordained all else for the Christian, so has He, also ordained the means, as Ephesians 2:10 tells us.

It is, I would remark, God’s great object and joy to have His people working with Him, partakers of His mind in whatever He does, or is about to do (Eph. 1:9). “Surely, the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants, the prophets.” (Amos 3:7.) In one sense, all the Lord’s people are prophets. (Psa. 105:15; John 15:15.)

Let us look at this truth as shown in the Old Testament. How is it respecting the bringing in again of Israel? Is there not a most deep and blessed communion of prayer, and desire respecting it? (Isa. 62:6, 7), “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” (See also Isa. 26.)

Is there not then many and many a sigh: “O! that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!” (Psa. 14:7; 53:6). And so we find it (Isa. 64), “O! that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at Thy presence, as when the melting fire burneth,.... to make Thy name known to Thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Thy presence!” And then, I think, the answer, verse 3: “When Thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, Thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at Thy presence. For. . .” and the whole part is full of it.

And so Luke 18, I suppose, continues from chapter 17, about the Lord’s coming: “And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry unto Him day and night, though He bear long with (or ‘over,’ or ‘respecting’) them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.”

And does not the position of the creature (Rom. 8), as viewed in God’s mind, lay this thought on us? The very creature is looked upon there as waiting thus intently. “The earnest expectation (apokaradokia) of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” Shall it be less so with us, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit? Blessed indeed it is, when He who testifieth these things saith, “Surely I come quickly,” to reply, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Blessed when such is the real position of our hearts—

“Our hearts are with Him on the throne.

No more we brook delay,

Each moment waiting for the word,

Rise up, and come away” —

yet willing to stay His full time in service. Surely then, dear brethren, these things have a solemn voice to us. Should the Lord take an unwilling, careless, worldly bride to Himself? Why has the Lord revived the thought, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh,” but that we should have communion of heart and desire with Him? Let us remember that we are joint heirs with Christ—His expectations, His hopes, are ours.

May we not learn something from the history of Israel in the wilderness? God brought them out of Egypt, and in the next year, I think, spies were sent up to search the land. But, through unbelief, they despised (perhaps better, “rejected”) the land. Consequently, they were left to wander forty years in the wilderness, until that generation was consumed. God did not lead them up into Canaan, for they were not prepared for it. And so again in its day, the Lord will have Israel prepared. (Zech. 13:9). “I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call upon My name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My people; and they shall say, The Lord is My God.”

Solemnly, then, I would say, dear brethren, should these things speak to us. If we get into worldliness and carelessness, are we, in truth, hastening that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ? I now commend these things to the hearts of all the Lord’s dear people, looking to Him for His blessing.

It Is Finished

Hang over each word, for they were uttered by the blessed lips, and were poured out from the soul of the “Purger of sins.” They are surely worthy of our profound musings.

“IT IS FINISHED!”

“It” —What? The atoning work—the propitiatory sacrifice—the perfect work of the Son of God. That by which God saves from wrath—the work for sin, for ruin, for guilt. That which has glorified God, annulled “the body of sin,” and Satan, too. That which cleanses from sins—which makes nigh to God—which has made peace—which gives a divine title to heaven—which perfects the conscience—which reconciles to God—which has met every phase of sin and guilt—which has given a divine and adequate answer to the righteous claims of the throne of God—which has greatly glorified God by the complete settlement of the question of sin, as also of the nature producing it.

“IT IS FINISHED!”

“Is” —not “will be” —not “may be” —not “may possibly take place” —not in the future—not in the present; it’s a past work. It was done nearly 2000 years ago; doing then, now DONE. Accomplished by Christ, accepted by God, witnessed to by the Holy Spirit, it leaves no room—gives no place for any present work to be wrought, or aught in the future. It “is” done once, and forever. The efficiency of that past work is eternal. He hath offered Himself once for all.

“IT IS FINISHED!”

“Finished” —complete—accomplished—perfected—done; nothing to add—nothing to make up—nothing to realize; no tears to shed—no feelings, experiences, or realizations needful; nothing a sinner can do, think, or feel, can add virtue to that finished work. The precious blood has been shed. Christ has died. Sins have been purged. The work is a finished one. God is pleased with it, for He has taken the finisher of it, in glory and righteousness, to heaven. Now all is settled between God, and man believing on Him. The cross has met ever claim. Sin, the root, and sins, the fruit, have been judged and condemned. Justice is satisfied, divine righteousness vindicated; glory established. “Finished,” —yes, “finished” —was, and is, to every poor sinner, the blessed word.

“IT IS FINISHED!”

BLESSED saying! the dying utterance of Christ on the cross. Dear reader, there is peace for thee in these words. Those three words contain fullness of redemption, fullness of blessing enjoyed now, and glory to be revealed. They express the completeness of the work which forms the basis which God can have to say to poor sinners.

Is my reader a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ? Then “It is finished” are words which contain the truth of what has made heaven sure to thee—paradise with its delights, its songs, its joys, its glories. Ah! you will need eternity to fully understand their deep, precious, and divine meaning. It will be as you gaze upon the Lamb slain that that divine saying will unlock its treasures, and unfold its depths to your wondering soul.

Reader, have you clung to Jesus! Do you not see this matchless work of grace and love accomplished or thee?

“IT IS FINISHED!”

Tract Distribution: The Dropped Sack

I went out one afternoon with a companion for the object of giving away some tracts, and we sought guidance that we might be directed aright. We had not gone far when we saw before us a large wagon, with a man walking by the side. I felt a great longing to give him a book, and to speak to him, but he was some distance in front, and we did not see how we could catch up to him. Presently my companion said, “Look! here is a sack lying in the road; that man in front must have dropped it,” and at once called out loudly to the man to stop. After the sack had been returned to the man, I spoke a few words to him about the Saviour. I found that he was one that indeed needed comfort, for he was in great sorrow, having just lost his wife and two children. I told him of that blessed one who alone could fill the void in his heart, and give him true happiness here and hereafter—even Jesus, who says, “Come unto Me, all that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Then I gave him the little book, and asked him to read it carefully at home.

Some weeks after, when inviting the people of the town to come to a special service, several wagons passed by; with one of them, to my astonishment, was the very man I had met three weeks before. He at once said: “I am glad to see you, to tell you how the Lord has used that little tract you gave me, for I know now that Jesus died for me, and that all my sins are forgiven through His death for me, and it has made me so happy. The Lord bless you.”

After a little more conversation he went on his way, and I have not seen him since, but he left me with a heart full of praise to Him who had so answered my prayer, and had let me know of it while here on earth.

May this little incident teach us not to be weary in well-doing, ever remembering the gracious words, “Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58.)

Take the Brake Off

A train was going through a solitary part of the country when one of the cylinders of the engine broke.

The engineer got down, and, with the materials he had at hand, began to mend it. To do this he had to get under the engine; so, to ensure that it should not move while he was there, he put on the brake.

His task completed, he took his place on the engine, turned on the steam, and expected it would move as before. It remained motionless.

He got down, overhauled his work, and tried again, putting on more steam. Still no progress.

“Have you taken off the brake?” asked a gentleman standing near.

Ah! there was the hindrance, the brake was still on. The driver removed it, and the engine steamed forward directly.

Thus it often is with young Christians. They have life; they are saved; they have the Holy Spirit within them, as power, but there is no progress, because the brake is on. Something here hinders them; something to which their hearts are clinging, and which they will not give up.

Young Christians, take away the brake, give up what hinders. Then, and not till then, will you truly advance in your Christian course, and grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: Meditation

There is not over-much meditation in these times. The spirit of haste and rush, which urges all on in a course of doing, lest they should be left behind, is contrary to the cultivation of meditation. But nothing is more helpful to the Christian than to sit still and calmly consider what God is for him. It will be found an ever-availing tonic for the soul to ponder over, even for five short minutes at a time, such facts as these, “God is my Father,” “The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me.” The Christian will rise up from his meditation strengthened in spirit, and will go on his way as a man who, upon a sultry journey, has slaked his thirst at the wayside spring.

“My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord.” (Psa. 104:34.)

Questions for March

Always give Scripture for answers, as well as your own expressions.

1. What will take place in heaven with us after we are caught up to be with the Lord?

2. When will the marriage of the Lamb take place?

3. What will the bridal robe be composed of? (See New Translation.)

4. When do we make the bridal robe?

5. What is the first thing given us that is to take place on this earth after the church is in heaven?

Answers to Questions for January

Answers to Question 1.

Show the difference, by Scripture, between the Lord’s coming for His saints and His coming with His saints.

FOR HIS SAINTS.

(a) “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 14:3.

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

WITH HIS SAINTS.

(a) The Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” Jude 14,15.

(b) “His wife hath made herself ready. and to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white.... and the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean,” Revelation 19:7-21.

Answers to Question 2.

Where will we meet the Lord when He comes for His own?

(a) “To meet the Lord in the air.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

(b) “While they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight..... This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:9-11.

Answers to Question 3.

Will the world hear the shout?

(a) The dead in Christ and those who are alive and remain are all who answer to that shout, therefore we judge the rest do not hear His voice at that time. 1 Thessalonians 1:16.

(b) The words “shout,” “voice of the archangel” and “trump of God” are all connected with the dead in Christ. 1 Thessalonians 4:16. But all shall hear his voice, those who are saved at the resurrection of life, and those who are lost at the resurrection of damnation. John 5:28, 29.

Answers to Question 4.

For what purpose will we appear at the judgment seat of Christ?

“We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10.

“If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved, yet as by fire.” 1 Corinthians 3:14, 15.

Answers to Question 5.

Give Scripture, showing the different views of the judgment thrones, the places and the character of those who shall appear at each period.

First throne judgment will be in heaven, and only saved people appear at it, to have their works tested and they to receive rewards or suffer loss. 1 Corinthians 3:13-15.

Second throne judgment will be the throne of His glory, on earth, when the Lord shall return with His saints, and the saved and lost of the living nations at that time will be gathered before Him. The saved will be brought into the kingdom, and the lost sent into everlasting punishment. Matthew 25:31-46.

Third throne judgment will be the great white throne, in space, heaven and earth having fled away, and the unsaved dead who have not had their throne trial, will be raised and tried according to their works and cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:12-15.

What Think Ye of Christ? Matthew 22:42

What think ye of Christ? Is the test

To try both your state and your scheme;

You cannot be right in the rest

Unless you think rightly of Him.

As Jesus appears in your view,

As He is beloved or not;

So God is disposed to you,

And mercy or wrath is your lot.

Some take Him a creature to be,

A man, or an angel at most!

Since these have not feelings like me,

Nor know themselves wretched and lost;

So guilty, so helpless am I,

I durst not confide in His blood,

Nor on His protection rely,

Unless I were sure He is God.

Some call Him a Saviour in word,

But mix their own works with His plan;

And hope He His help will afford

When they have done all that they can.

If doings prove rather too light

(A little they own they may fail),

They purpose to make up full weight

By casting His name in the scale.

Some style Him the Pearl of Great Price

And say He’s the fountain of joys,

Yet feed upon folly and vice,

And cleave to the world and its toys.

Like Judas, the Saviour they kiss,

And while they salute Him, betray;

Ah! what will profession like this

Avail in His terrible day?

If asked, What of Jesus I think?

Though still my best thoughts are but poor,

I say, “He’s my meat and my drink,

My life, and my strength, and my store;

My Shepherd, my Husband, my Friend,

My Saviour from sin and from thrall,

My hope from beginning to end,

My portion, my Lord, and my All.”

Sanctification

“Purge himself from these... follow them that call on the Lord.” 2 Tim. 2:21-22.

The electrician tells us that full power can only flow along the wire on two conditions, perfect insulation, and unbroken contact. Insulation, what is that but separation, the root idea of sanctification? And contact, what is that but unhindered communion by willing surrender, honest obedience, absolute dependence upon our God?—Herbert Brooke.

People say, “How few opportunities we have for serving the Lord!” Few opportunities! Why, your life is your opportunity No matter what your circumstances are, every act of your life brings you an opportunity to bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. G. V. W.

Scripture Study: Mark's Gospel

Each gospel has its own character of the Lord to present, and unfolds the truth in the view laid on the heart of the evangelist by the Holy Spirit. His divine and human nature in His person shines through each gospel. May we, as we read and meditate, do so with worshiping hearts.

We have seen how to Matthew it was given to write of Him as Son of David, and Son of Abraham, Emmanuel. Luke specially unfolds His beauty and grace as Son of Man.

John tells of the eternal word made flesh, the “only begotten Son” of the Father’s love.

Mark tells of Him as the “servant,” and leads us to consider His perfect abnegation and hiding of Himself as the instrument, that God might be known. His birth is not recorded, nor His genealogy given. If His family is mentioned, it is but to show His lowly parentage. Those who are offended at Him, call Him “the carpenter.”

Scripture Study: Mark 1:1-20

Verse 1. “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God.”

Verses 2, 3. Malachi 3:1, and Isaiah 40:3, are quoted to announce John as the messenger preparing Messiah’s way, but do not tell of the result. God’s thought is for blessing; judgment will result if the blessing be rejected.

Verse 4. “John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” This was good news to the remnant of Israel that felt their sins and their low estate. In answer to this preaching, many consciences were stirred, and Verse 5. “There went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.” We know some refused to bow in humiliation before Jehovah, but the excellent of the earth confessed their sins.

Verse 6. John’s clothing and food and isolation in the wilderness (Luke 1:80), tell of his separation from Israel’s state; his message was a righteous one, demanding repentance.

Verses 7, 8. He told of One coming “mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water, but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” John thus introduces Him as Jehovah, and as the One who, when the work is accomplished, and the Lord glorified, will baptize those who believe on Him with the Holy Spirit. Remission of sins for the repentant, that is, governmental forgiveness and a promise of blessing from the coming One, was the place John’s baptism brought them into. Note—This is not justification as in Romans (See Ex. 32:14, 34; 2 Sam. 12:13, 14.) Repentant Israel in the last days will be justified through the work of Christ. Believers are now justified eternally.

Verse 9. “And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.” How wonderful that one equal with Jehovah, should take a place among those repentant ones, showing His delight in them as the excellent of the earth. Confessed sinners they were, and He in lowly grace is with them in this right step. (Psa. 16:2, 3.)

Verses 10, 11. “And straightway coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” John saw and heard, but the words are addressed to the Lord for His comfort. He has taken the servant’s place, but He is none the less the Father’s beloved Son, the Father’s delight; heaven is opened. He is heaven’s object. He is sealed and anointed. He is the peerless, spotless, perfect Man.

Verses 12, 13. “And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness, and He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto Him.” this obedience is proved, He goes into the wilderness and is there forty days. Adam was tried in the Garden of Eden. Jesus was tried tempted of Satan, in the wilderness. Adam fell. Jesus was victorious, and bound the strong man. And what can wild beasts do against their Creator? When the trial is over, the angels minister to Him, the obedient One. There are no details of the temptations, as in Matthew or Luke, but enough to show us the servant fully fitted for the work to which He has given Himself. The Father has owned Him as His beloved Son; heaven is opened upon Him; Satan is overcome by Him; the wild beasts cannot harm Him—the Lord of all Creation; and the angels minister to Him. Wonderful Servant with whom none can compare.

Verses 14, 15. Isaiah 40:4, and Malachi 3:2, are not fulfilled yet. Instead, John is put in prison, and “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” It is good news He has come to bring, and not the judgment man so fully deserved. It is the time of the fulfillment of the ways of God, and men are called on to repent, take their place low before God, own their guilt and believe the gospel. There is forgiveness with God (Psa. 130), plenteous redemption.

Verses 16-20. He calls others into the work with Him. They are called to this ministry. “Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.” Simon and Andrew, at the call, forsook their nets and followed Him; James and John, sons of Zebadee, also left their father, ship and hired servants, and went after Him. They had been personally called before, but now it is to serve with Him. May we also know something of this call:

“Yet I will wait, in labor still

In Thy blest service here:

What Thou hast given me to fulfill—

Thy will—to me is dear!

Lord! let me wait, for Thee alone:

My life be only this—

To serve Thee, here on earth unknown;

Then share Thy heavenly bliss.”

(To be continued.)

Burning of the Books

(Acts 19:17 to 20.)

The people of Ephesus were almost all of them “worshipers” of a goddess, whom they called Diana, or Artemis; and they used to say “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” But God sent Paul to that dark city, given up to idolatry; and through his preaching, and the “special miracles” God wrought by his hands, many were brought to know that there was One who was greater than Diana, even “the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ.” When His holy name was taken in vain by wicked Jews, who had no faith in Him, God used even the power of an unclean spirit, to punish them, and to bring glory to Christ (ver. 13, 17). So it was felt to be such a real thing to have the power of the risen Jesus, put forth in their midst by His servant Paul, that it says, “fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.” He was now seen to be the “great” One, and Diana was but a “dumb idol.” Many of those who thus believed in Jesus came and confessed what sinners they had been; they “showed their deeds.” Having learned now in their consciences what was displeasing to God, they no longer covered up their sins, but confessed and declared what they had been doing (ver. 18). Others again did even more. They had been magicians, or sorcerers, and had used “books” of darkness, telling them how to “bewitch” the people, and get their money from them, by doing strange things that they could not understand. Now they were brought to God, who is “light,” and in whom is “no darkness at all”; so they could not go on with these “hidden things of shame.” And the “books” they had used they would keep no longer. They could not have any more to do with them themselves, and they would not sell them to others; so they made a great fire of them, “before all men.” It was not that they were books which had cost them nothing. They were worth more than $7,500 of our money! They “counted the price” of them, but they counted them only worthy of the flames. They had spent much to get them, but they could not now keep them and have a good conscience before God; so they reckoned it would be not loss but gain to get rid of them, and they burned them in some open part of the city.

But what a proof it was that they had found in the Lord Jesus what was “far better,” was it not? We do not read that Paul told them they must make this great sacrifice. Perhaps he did not even know they had these books: but God knew, and they knew; and they counted them all worthless for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord. Dear reader, has the world ever seen any proof that the Lord Jesus is a treasure to us that He was not once? He does not want us to say that we are Christians, and believe in Him, if our hearts are still at home in the world that would not have Him. But it is very sweet to Him to find that without our saying much, we give proof by our ways of how dear He is to us. We do not read of anything Mary said in John 12; but “the house was filled with the odor of the ointment” she spent upon Jesus, and He took her part when she was found fault with! He was pleased with that love to Him of which the “precious ointment” was so fragrant a proof. If we say we are His and He is ours, what proof do we give that it is so? What do your companions see in your ways, that convinces them that you are not now what you once were, and that now you belong to One you used to care very little about? He was nailed to the cross, and bore the judgment of a sin-hating God for such as you. There was no sorrow “like unto” His sorrow, which He passed through in the garden and on the cross. Is it nothing to you? Will you say, How can I “give up” my pleasures, and my company, and my parties to be a “Christian indeed”? “I should not like to be lost forever; but while I am in this world I must enjoy myself all I can.” Did He enjoy Himself when He came to seek your poor soul? Did He “give up” nothing, when He “gave Himself” for you, to make you “His own,” and that He might give you eternal life and glory? Was it no denial to Him, when He came not to reign as a king, but to give His “back to the smiters”? What have you to give up, compared with what he did give up? Do you say, “He only gave it up for a very little while, and soon went back to it all again?” Dear young reader, you who are not yet quite sure that Jesus, and the enjoyment of His love, are better than all beside, let me ask you, for how long do you think we can “give up” anything for the Lord who loves us? Where will all those be in a very “little while” who have followed Jesus below? Is it not in glory, in that “place” with Himself, which He is “gone to prepare, for all who are washed and forgiven?” Is it not worthwhile to be “a pilgrim and a stranger” for a few days, committing our full joy “unto Him, against that day,” that time of full, and unmixed, and eternal happiness (2 Tim. 1:12)? We may not have “books” in our possession, worth “fifty thousand pieces of silver,” to burn before all men, and show that we have “turned to God,” but there are many little things every day in which we may “give up” our will, or our pleasure, or our gain, for the sake of Him who has so loved us. Let us be neither slow nor unwilling to do it!

“O let us in His footsteps haste,

Counting for Him all else but dross;

For how will recompense His smile

The sufferings of this “little while!”

And if you know of anyone who “cares for none of these things,” who values his “books,” or his sins, or pleasures, more than all that is to be found in that blessed Lord Jesus, then remind him that there will be a greater fire one day than those converted men made at Ephesus. “The earth also and the works that are therein,” shall be burned up (2 Peter 3:10). Better burn the books ourselves, than for God to have to do it, and to cast into a “lake of fire” those who would have their sins rather than the Saviour!

The Living Link With a Living Christ

The Word of God links the soul with Christ as He was and is; it just gives one a written Christ. See in Matthew 5 “Blessed are the poor in spirit;” and who so poor in spirit as Christ? “Blessed are the pure in heart;” and who so pure as He? “Blessed are the meek;” and who so meek as He? “Blessed are the peace-makers;” He was the great peacemaker, the very Prince of Peace. The first thing, of course, is to have Him as the living Christ for the salvation of the soul; and then, through the written word, we get the spiritual perception of what this Christ is. It is the simple expression of Christ Himself, of Him who was the express image of God— “was made flesh, and dwelt among us, so that we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth;” and when we thus get the Spirit’s testimony to Christ, the heart clings to Him as the “holy” and the “true.” Thus the Christ found in the Word governs the affections; for we dare not, and would not, he without or depart from this written Christ. This living link to a living Christ is the only safeguard against them that would seduce you. A holy Christ in whom we have the truth is the blessed strong moral assurance of the soul when a mixed and lifeless Christianity is powerless against delusion, and when the same causes make the professing church incapable of discerning a plain path, when there is not faith enough to do without the world, and mixture is everywhere. Then a holy and true Christ is the assuring guide and stay of the soul. To Timothy Paul said, “From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus;” and surely there can be no better knowledge to be had than the knowledge of Christ. This was the point in John’s Epistle. The father in Christ knew “Him that is from the beginning;” he could tell what the true Christ was; he knew “Him that was holy, Him that was true.” It is not development that is needed, but merely the getting back to the simplicity that is in Christ—to know Him truly that was at first revealed, Him that was from the beginning. Therefore if my soul is attached to the Christ of the written Word, the Christ that I have loved down here is the same Christ that I am waiting for to come and take me up there.

All Things Work Together for Good to Them That Love God

What tender, yearning solicitude for our happiness and well-being is wrapped up in those dealings of disappointment over which we so often grieve. We see but the bright beginning of the path. He looks on to the end! He sees the whirlpool of trouble into which the pursuit of such a course would inevitably lead us. And in wonderful mercy He arrests our steps as we get in Hosea 2:6. He stops up our way. “I will hedge up thy way with thorns,” He says of Israel, “and make a wall that she shall not find her paths.” He frustrates our plans of earthly happiness. He disappoints our hopes; He allows nothing we do apparently to succeed. Ah! We may not see the reason now; we may fail to see love in His dealings with us; but not the less surely it is there. “Without this hedge of thorns,” says Rutherford, “on the right hand and on the left, we should hardly keep the road to heaven.”

“Our yet unfinished story,

Is tending all to this;

To God the highest glory—

To us the greatest bliss.

If all things work together,

For ends so grand and blest;

What need to wonder whether

Each in itself is best.”

Correspondence: Matt. 12:31-31; The Gospel; Acts 20; Rev. 14:6

Question 120: Please explain Matthew 12:31, 32.

“Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.” S. G.

“And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”

Answer: How forgiving God is. All manner of sin and injurious speaking shall be forgiven to men, but speaking injuriously of the Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. This blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was the malicious wickedness of the Pharisees who said of the Lord, “This fellow does not cast out devils but by Belzebub, the prince of devils.” The Lord Jesus knew their thoughts, and proved to them that Satan would not cast out Satan, and that the works He did were done by the power of the Holy Spirit. They were thus sinning against the clearest light, and there was no forgiveness for this sin, neither in the age of law in which Christ lived, nor in the millennial age when Christ would reign. It proved that they had rejected their king.

We must not mistake this with the failures of weak Christians, or of those who have backslidden in any way; nor does it mean that we cannot speak of grace in this period of grace to any sinner. We can preach the gospel to every creature, and can still use the Lord’s own words, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37.

Question 121: Is there a difference in “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 24:14) from “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20) and “the everlasting gospel” (Rev. 14:6)?

At what time does each apply? G. I.

Answer: The everlasting gospel is creation’s witness to its Creator, and shows His power and wisdom. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.” (Psa. 19:1-3.) All men everywhere have this testimony and will be judged by it, if they have no other. (Rom. 1:20.) They are without excuse; it is God’s testimony against idolatry. (Acts 14:11-18; 17-31.) In Revelation 14:6, 7, a special warning to “fear God” and to “worship Him who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” is sent to them that dwell on the earth to turn from their idolatry, for the hour of God’s judgment is come. It is called “everlasting gospel” because it is always true, and applies everywhere, since creation till the end of time.

“The gospel of the kingdom” was first preached by John the Baptist, then by the Lord Jesus and His disciples. It is the call to get ready to receive the King, foretold in all the prophecies. Those who believed it were baptized unto repentance, confessing their sins.

Jesus is introduced as God’s beloved Son (Matt. 3:13-7), sealed by the Spirit, and is the great fulfiller of righteousness. (4:1-11.) He is tempted, and found perfect in His dependance, binds Satan, the strong man, and then spoils his goods. (4:17, 23.) He preaches the gospel of the kingdom (verse 24) with all the powers of the world to come. He is the Great King.

The great thought before their minds and in all the teaching (except John’s Gospel) was the setting up of Israel as a kingdom on earth. The rejection of the king at that time broke off the preaching of the kingdom, but it will again be renewed in the tribulation period. (See Matthew 10:23 to Israel, and 24:14 to the Gentiles.) It will also be told in the time when Christ’s reign is begun, till the earth is full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (Hab. 2:14; also Isa. 52:7-10.)

The gospel preached on the day of Pentecost told that the Messiah was rejected, crucified, raised from the dead, and was now made Lord and Christ at the right hand of God. In Acts 3, Peter tells them that if they would repent and receive Him whom they had crucified, He would come back and set up His kingdom, as He had promised in all the writings of the holy prophets from Samuel on. Salvation is preached in His name, but He is the stone which the builders rejected, and His apostles are imprisoned and beaten, and Stephen is stoned. While He prayed for his enemies, he looked steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus at the right hand of God, saying: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God,” then committed his spirit to the Lord.

Israel as a nation is now rejected by God. The gospel consequently goes out to the Samaritans (chapter 8) and to the Gentiles (chapter 10). Saul is converted to carry the gospel to the gentiles, to kings and the children of Israel. Saul of Tarsus saw Christ glorified, and His gospel presents Christ thus. It is the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor. 4:4.) He had a special mission to the Gentiles. “My gospel,” he calls it. (Rom. 2:16; 16:25; 2 Tim. 2:8.) It is not setting up a kingdom on earth, but calling out the church, the body of Christ. (Eph. 3:4-6).

In Acts 20:21, the Apostle testifies to both Jews and Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, and calls it in the 24th verse “the gospel of the grace of God.” It is for every creature under heaven (Col. 1:23), and connects those who believe with the Saviour in heaven, who passed through death, teaching us that not only did He die for our sins, but that we died with Him, and, having risen with Him are seated in Him in heavenly places. God is our Father, we are His children, and we are united to Christ in glory, members of His body. (1 Cor. 12:12, 13.) The Holy Spirit dwells in us henceforth. We are not of the world, but are citizens of heaven.

When the Lord Jesus comes to call His people home, as seen in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, then will cease the preaching of the gospel of the grace of God. The day of salvation will then be over, the door will be shut.

The Subject of the Bible

The first Bible that was printed in the city of Philadelphia was the work of Mr. Robert Aitken, a godly bookseller of that city. Soon after its issue, a man came into his bookstore, and inquired if he had Paine’s “Age of Reason” for sale. The good man said he had not that work; but having entered into conversation with the applicant, and perceiving that he was an infidel, he told him that he had a better book than the Age of Reason, which he usually sold for a dollar, but he would lend it to him if he would promise to read it. Mr. Aitken added, that after he had actually read it, if he did not think it worth a dollar, he would take the book back again.

The stranger consented; the bookseller immediately put into his hand one of the new Bibles. He smiled when he saw what book he had engaged to read; but as he candidly confessed he never had read it, he said he would perform his engagement. He retired, and after some weeks, having finished reading the book he came back, and expressed the deepest gratitude for Mr. Aitken’s recommendation of it to him, saying with emphasis, that it had made him, what he never was before—a happy man; for he had found in it the way of salvation through Christ Jesus.

The good tradesman rejoiced with his friend, and had the satisfaction of knowing that this reader of the Bible, from that time till the end of his life, was a consistent Christian and at length died happy to go to be with the Lord.

But what is there in the Bible to make one happy? In order to answer this we must understand what is the object of it. There are in it, indeed, histories of ancient cities, and kingdoms, and states; but these are not the subject of the book. There are, indeed, wise proverbs, instructive lessons, holy precepts, and righteous laws; but the book is not mainly composed of these. There are in it biographies of many pious persons, with the records of their experiences, their fears, their desires, their prayers, their praises. But unless we see more than these, we shall miss the grand subject of the book.

The subject is Christ. The whole Bible is, more or less obviously, about Christ. Sometimes clearly, in prophecy or narrative; sometimes obscurely, in a sense which lies beneath the superficial literal sense; sometimes enigmatically, in type, or picture, or shadow. But in one way or other, Christ is the grand center, around which, in giving the Sacred Word, the thoughts of the Holy Spirit continually revolve.

And who is Christ? He is the expression of the infinite love of God to man. For Christ is God manifested in flesh—God in man’s nature apart from sin; and in this fact is embodied a transaction of the very highest moment to every human being.

God manifest in flesh! Here is shown the desperate state of man’s case; plunged in a ruin so immense, that no machinery could avail to lift him out of it—that the omnipotent God should identify Himself with His creature, by stooping to share his nature.

God manifest in flesh! Here is seen the amazing compassion of God. What love moved His heart towards your soul and mine, when, to save us from this black ruin, He hesitated not to become a “Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief”! How precious were sinners in His sight, when He willingly offered Himself, to bear their sins in His own body on the tree, that they, being freed from guilt, might reign in glory with Him! “Herein perceive we love because He laid down His life for us.” (1 John 3:16.)

God manifest in flesh! Here we see how immovably secure is the salvation of all who believe. It was the Almighty God who undertook the work! He never can be thwarted in His designs. It was the all-wise God! He makes no mistakes; the means He uses are sure to accomplish His ends. It was the unchangeable God! Nothing can ever turn Him from the purpose He has undertaken.

God manifest in flesh! A Man is at this very moment on the throne in heaven! In Adam all died; every human soul lay under the sentence of eternal death. But in Christ I see a man at the right hand of God. The great problem is solved! The great impossibility is accomplished, and man is raised to the highest place in glory. O, this fills me with great joy! I see why God came down and took my nature; it was to identify Himself with me, and me with Him; that, having put away my guilt by His own most precious sacrifice, He might bear me up with Him, so intimately united to His own blessed person, and seat me by His side in the everlasting glory of His kingdom.

God manifest in flesh! Is there not enough here to make any one happy? Trials, indeed, may be our lot—sickness, pain, poverty, contempt, bereavement; but if we can say with Paul, “Our life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory.” (Col. 3:3-4.) If you can say that, you are an unspeakably happy person.

O, my beloved reader, what would avail all the riches in the world, if you have the gloomy prospect of hell ever starring you in the face? What would it all be in comparison of being able to say, on solid, scriptural grounds, “Christ is mine, and I am His”!

And this every believer may say, on the best possible authority—that of God Himself. For to enable poor sinners to say this, is the very object of God’s book; and the wonderful plan by which it was accomplished, is its one grand subject—God manifest in flesh.

Jealous of the World

While visiting the other day in a little town where the Spirit of God had been working, I was much interested and not a little edified by the conversation of a bright young Christian.

I had been speaking to a Christian woman, who was too ill to have the privilege of attending the gospel meetings then taking place, telling her something about the good times we were having, when a young woman sitting by diligently at work chimed in with a heart evidently overflowing with love to Christ.

She had told us that she had been early converted, and it was easy to be seen that she had made a whole-hearted choice of Christ for her life on earth, as well as for heaven hereafter. As she simply and naturally spoke of her Saviour, it seemed clear to me that she had chosen Him instead of the world, for it is impossible to walk in company with both.

Consequently, I was not a little surprised when she told us that she had gone to the theater a few nights before. “I had never been to the theater in my life before, but a few nights ago I went to the Hippodrome, and oh! never felt so wretched, so miserable in all my life. I never want to be in such a place again. I felt as if I were in hell; and then to see those poor girls, little children, dancing on the stage before that crowd of godless men and women, I felt how awful to begin their young lives in such a hell. O! it was dreadful, I felt so ill, and wanted to get out. I was away in the back part of the stage. Somebody asked me if I was ill. I said, ‘Yes, I never felt so ill before.’”

Somewhat taken aback by this unexpected outpour, I said, “Well I am thankful that one dose has cured you, for I met a Christian only this very day who spoke approvingly of Christians attending the theater. But how came you to be there?”

“I am engaged to a young man who is an electrician,” she explained, “and he had to do some work for his firm in connection with the lights. His aunt asked me if I would take him his supper. I said I did not want to go into a theater. She said he was only working somewhere in the back part of the building; so I went, and not knowing where I was, I found myself in the back of the stage. O! it was terrible. I felt like being in hell.”

Here, my reader, was the effect upon a young Christian, who loved her Saviour, of a glance at the world’s efforts at pleasure apart from Christ. And I think we may fairly say that no Christian who loves Christ is likely to find much pleasure in such a scene.

She went on to describe the disastrous effect upon the spirituality of the young man of association with the world. “He’s not what he was,” she said with sorrow; “I said to him the other day, ‘O, A—, how can I think well of you when you turn your back upon my best Friend.’”

From the theater she hurried away to the little prayer meeting. “And oh! when I compared that little handful at the prayer meeting with that great crowd at the Hippodrome, I felt jealous of the world—I did indeed—I felt jealous for the kingdom of God.”

It did my heart good to listen to her simple testimony, and I felt that theater-going Christians will rarely, if ever, be seen at prayer meetings, and praying Christians will never be seen at theaters.

Fellow-believer, “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 2:15-17).

Tract Distribution: Love for the Perishing

A very large portion of the people in our own land are utterly ignorant of the way of salvation. This statement applies to the country as well as cities. In every place there are many who are never under the preaching of the gospel. They live and die without thought of God, or of their immortal souls.

What are you doing, young Christian, in the work of carrying the precious truth of God’s love and grace through the Lord Jesus Christ to the perishing souls of your immediate neighborhood? Close by your doors are those who, practically speaking, have as vague an idea of divine pardon, and as little desire, after the true God, as the heathen at the ends of the earth.

“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).

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: The Coming of the Lord, Part 1

The blessed and precious truth of the coming of the Lord for His own is ever presented to us as a present reality, and the reason for this is on account of its practical bearing upon our walk. Our questions, in the past months, on this subject, have brought many answers from Scripture, which show what should characterize us, both in our behavior and service, and we trust these portions will not be forgotten, but that there will be results from our searchings, bringing forth fruit in us to His praise and glory.

The very practical character of the second coming of Christ is found everywhere throughout the New Testament, but in no instance, perhaps, it is more strongly marked than by the Apostle John: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself even as He is pure.” 1 John 3:2-4.

As God has shown us so plainly in His Word that we are in the last moments, may each one of us seek to act according to this scripture, yea, all the many exhortations that are given to us in this connection.

Questions for April

Always give Scripture for answers, as well as your own expressions.

1. In what characters will the Lord come to the world?

2. What scripture in 1 Thessalonians shows us that we should not bear the character of the world which it will manifest when the Lord comes to it?

3. Who will be saved after the church is taken up?

4. What will happen to those who believe not the truth when the Lord takes His own away?

5. To what class of people will the man of sin belong?

Answers to Questions for February

Answers to Question 1.

1. What would the Lord have us doing till He comes?

(a) “Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58.)

(b) “Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” (James 5:8.)

Answers to Question 2.

2. What state of soul would the Lord have us in when He comes?

(a) “That ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.” (Phil. 1:10.)

(b) “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matt. 25:13.)

Answers to Question 3.

3. What effect should “seeing the day approaching,” have upon us?

(a) “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised:) and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Heb. 10:23-25.)

(b) “Let your moderation (gentleness) be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” (Phil. 4:5.)

Answers to Question 4.

4. What will end the great tribulation?

(a) The Lord coming out of heaven to take possession of the earth. (Rev. 19:14-21.)

Answers to Question 5.

5. When will the Day of the Lord begin?

(a) “The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” (1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10.)

(b) The day of the Lord will begin when the Lord will take His rightful place as “King of kings and Lord of lords.” (Rev. 5.19:16.)

Christian Love

“A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34).

What a lofty standard of love is set before us in the above words! We are to love one another as Christ loved us. Now, how did Christ love us? Well, He loved us notwithstanding all our infirmities, all our failures, and all our sins. He did not love us because we had none of these things, but despite them all His was a love that rose above every barrier, and proved itself superior to every hindrance. Many waters, even the dark waters of death, could not quench the love of Jesus. He loved us and gave Himself for us.

Now, this is to be our model. We are to love one another as Christ loved us. “Herein perceive we the love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” “And this is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as He gave us commandment.” “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love.” “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.”

This is Christian love. It is the outflow of the divine nature in the believer. It may express itself in various ways. It may sometimes have to rebuke, reprove, and smite. Our great Exemplar had occasionally to do so in reference to those whom notwithstanding, He loved with an everlasting and unchangeable love. It is a mistake to suppose that love is blind or cannot be faithful. Such love would not be worth having. Indeed, it should be called fatuity, not love. True love sees my faults, and can reprove them. It can occupy itself with my faults in order to deliver me from them. It will take occasion even from my very errors and infirmities to display itself in its own elevated and holy activities. “Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth.” “And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:4-8, 13.)

But there are two kinds of spurious love which we may just glance at, in contrast with the lovely moral picture presented in the above quotations. These are sectarian love, and clique love. We have to watch against these. We are in great danger of loving persons merely because they hold the same opinions as we do; or because their habits, tastes, and predilections are agreeable to us. The former is love of sect; the latter, love of clique; neither is Christian love. We may traffic largely in both the one and the other, and not yield obedience to the “New Commandment” —not love others as Christ loved us. It is not Christian love to love our opinions, or our own image. It is Christian love to love the image of Christ wherever we see it.

May we have grace to apply our hearts to the study, the cultivation, and the exhibition of genuine Christian love! May we drink more deeply into the spirit of Christ, and then we shall love people, not because they agree with us or suit us, but because they are agreeable to Christ and reflect His blessed image. O! for a vast increase of Christian love!

Scripture Study: Mark 1:21-45

Verse 21. The words “forthwith.” “immediately,” “straightway,” “anon,” tell us of the diligent Servant filling His day, doing the Father’s will. It is not like a memoir when the writer does all he can to eulogize the one he speaks of. It is the Holy Spirit giving us a life picture that to the opened eye and ear, shows how the blessed Lord hid Himself, and in the overflowing goodness of His heart in untiring patience, meeting the needs of all who came to Him.

Verse 22. “They were astonished at His doctrine: for He taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.” Their teachings were opinions of man; His teaching had with it the authority of the word of God. He spoke the truth, He was the truth, and the word He spoke being the word of God, aroused the opposition of Satan.

Verses 23, 24. There was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, saying, “Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth?... I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God.” What a state for man to be possessed by a demon; the Lord’s presence makes his state manifest, and the demon owns Jesus of Nazareth the Holy One of God, a man to whom Satan must submit.

Verses 25, 26. Jesus rebuked him, saying: “Hold thy peace, and come out of him.” He will not have testimony from Satan, and He delivers the man from his power. The unclean spirit, showing the reality of his presence and his evil influence, tore the man, and having cried with a loud voice, came out of him. It was the power of God, in the word of Jesus, who, as a man, had overcome the enemy in the temptations, and was now spoiling his goods.

Verse 27. “They were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What, thing is this? What new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth He even the unclean spirits, and they do obey Him.” Satan cannot stand before Him. He is the Deliverer foretold in Isaiah 61:1.

Verse 28. “And immediately His fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.”

Verses 29-31. They now leave the synagogue and go into the home of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever. Straightway her state is laid before Him. And He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. This is a case of violent fever, but the same power of good is with Him to rebuke it. The desire of His people is answered; they do not tell Him of her in vain. He took her by the hand, the fever fled at His touch, and she was able to serve them.

Verses 32-34. “And at even, when the sun did set (that is when the Sabbath was over), they brought unto Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door. And He healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils, and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew Him.”

He meets the need of poor, ruined men, but He will not allow the evil spirits to speak of Him. It is ever Satan’s effort to spoil the work of God by mixing evil with it. The perfect Servant knows this, and will not allow it.

Verse 35. It seems that He accepted the hospitality of that house for the night. “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed unto a solitary place, and there prayed.” He is the dependent One, ever doing the Father’s will. His communion was ever perfect, and here we see Him early in the morning seeking the presence of the Father alone in that solitary place, as He says in Isaiah 50:4, “The Lord God hath given Me the tongue of the learned (that is one instructed), that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth Mine ear to hear as the learned.” There is the source of His strength and guidance—walking in communion with His Father. What diligence we see in Him in this also. What a lesson for us to be much in prayer.

Verse 36. “And Simon and they that were with Him followed after Him.” This is very nice, but they seem a long way behind. The spirit indeed may be willing, but with us the flesh is weak. And they followed after Him; they have Him in view, and that is what we should seek.

Verse 37. And when they had found Him, they said unto Him, “All men seek for Thee.” But He had been with the Father, and had already His way laid out in which He should go. He will not be turned aside for men; He did not seek fame nor numbers of followers.

Verses 38, 39. And He said unto them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.” This was His special mission—to preach the Word. He keeps it before Him; healing comes in by the way. “And He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.” His word was with power, and delivered men from the yoke of sin and Satan: it is the goodness and power of divine love shown out in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Verse 40. And there came a leper to Him, beseeching Him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying unto Him, “If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.” It was bold for a leper to come so close. He was to stay in isolation, and when any one came near, he was to cry. “Unclean, unclean” (Lev. 13:45, 46), but this leper was drawn to Jesus, he was convinced of His power, but was not sure of His willingness. It was a sad picture of the defiling character of sin. He was a loathsome leper, but here he is drawn to Jesus, humbled on his knees and yearning for the healing power of Jesus. He did not know the love that was in His heart for him.

Verse 41. “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.” Elisha could not do this for Naaman. (2 Kings 5.) Elisha would have been defiled; but Jesus, the Holy One, could not be contaminated; instead, the leprosy fled at His touch, thus declaring that God was present. His deep compassion reached out to the man’s need; He came so near as to touch him. God had come down in love and grace. The leper is healed, cleansed.

Verse 42. “And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him and he was cleansed.” What gladness would fill that man’s heart.

Verses 43-45. “And He straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; and saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.” Could he keep such news to himself? Impossible, the vessel was too full; it must run over. The Lord owned the priest, sent the man there, and sought to hide Himself, but this new wine could not be contained in old bottles. The man went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to Him from every quarter—a crowd too great for the narrow streets to contain.

(Continued from page 75.)

Surely I Come Quickly

(Revelation 22:20.)

Christ is coming! Hark! He says so

In His faithful, precious Word;

He is coming! Signs are telling

Far and wide throughout the world.

He is coming! Sinner, hear it:

Will you then be hardened still?

Haste to know Him and embrace Him,

Thus fulfill His loving will.

He is coming! O the glory!

Clouds of angels throng around;

In an instant gathering to Him

All who wait the welcome sound.

He is coming! Precious Saviour,

Naught could such great joy afford;

Borne on angel wings to meet Him—

O what joy to see the Lord.

Thou art coming! Dearest Saviour,

O prepare us each for Thee;

Keep our hearts in loving waiting,

All Thy glories then to see.

Teach us all to serve Thee truly,

Suffer not our hearts to stray;

Help us—loving, working, longing,

So to hasten on that Day.

The Christian's Receipt: The Proof of His Acceptance

Some time ago, I was standing with a commercial gentleman in his office, conversing with him about his eternal prospects. He was one who had manifested some anxiety as to the great question of his soul’s salvation, and I had frequently spoken to him before. On the occasion to which I now refer, we were speaking about the ground of a sinner’s place in the presence of God. There were some files hanging up in a corner of the office, and pointing to them, I said, “What do you have upon those files?”

“Receipts,” said he.

“Well,” I said, “are you anxious about the amount of these various bills?”

“Not in the least,” he replied, “they are all receipted and stamped.”

“Are you afraid,” I continued, “lest those persons from whom you received the bills should come down upon you for the amount?”

“By no means. They are all legally settled, and do not cost me a single thought.”

“Now then,” said I, laying my hand upon his shoulder, “will you tell me what is God’s receipt to us all that we, as sinners, ever owed to Him as a righteous Judge?”

He paused to consider, and then replied: “I suppose it is the grace of God in the heart.”

“Nay; that would never do. God’s grace in my heart is no receipt for all I ever owed Him.”

My friend paused again, and then said, “It must be the knowledge of salvation.”

“No; you have not laid hold of it yet. You cannot but see the difference between your knowledge that these bills are paid, and the receipts which you have on your file. You might know they were paid, and yet, if you had no receipt, your mind would not be at ease.”

“Well,” said he, “it must be faith.”

“Not right yet,” said I. “Faith is no receipt.” At length, feeling assured he had the true answer, he exclaimed, “It is the blood of Christ.”

He seemed a good deal disappointed when I still demured, and quite gave up the attempt at further reply.

“Now,” said I, “it is most blessedly true that the blood of Christ has paid the debt which I, as a guilty sinner, owed to divine Justice; yet you must admit there is a difference between the payment of a debt and the receipt. For even though you had seen the full amount paid down, yet until you were in possession of the receipt, your mind would not be at ease, inasmuch as there was no legal settlement of the transaction. You must have a receipt. What, therefore, is God’s receipt for that heavy debt which we owed Him? Blessed be His name, it is a risen Christ, at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens. The death of Christ paid my debt, His resurrection is a receipt in full, signed and sealed by the hand of Eternal Justice. Jesus “was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification.” Hence, the believer owes not a fraction to divine justice, on the score of guilt, but he owes an eternity of worship to divine love, on the score of free pardon, and complete justification. The blood of Christ has blotted out his heavy debt; and he has a risen Christ to his credit.

How marvelous that a poor, guilty creature should be able to stand as free from all charge of guilt as the risen and glorified Saviour! And yet, so it is, through the grace of God, and by the blood of Christ. Jesus has paid all our debts, discharged all our liabilities, canceled all our guilt and has become, in resurrection, our life and our righteousness. If it be true that, “If Christ be not raised, we are yet in our sins,” it is equally true that, if He be raised, we who believe in Him are not in our sins.

On Evolution

A question as to the opposition of scientists to divine revelation, based on the theory of evolution.

You need not apologize for writing, for the subject is of such importance, and I myself having passed through a conflict of doubt and an agony of soul on these very points, it makes me anxious to help any who are passing through the like.

I was assailed with fierce doubts during the course of my scientific studies, and at the very time that I was actively engaged preaching the gospel.

The young naturally look with reverence upon their college professors, but as one grows older one perceives that there is no class of men more self-confident than so-called scientists, and hence none more untrustworthy as guides on such matters.

The Christian, of course, takes his stand upon the Word of God. He has learned to trust that Word, not because of its scientific instruction, but because it has a power over heart and conscience that no other book has. The Bible was not intended to be a scientific handbook, nevertheless being inspired of God, it is and must be perfectly accurate wherever it may touch on such matters—and this, given time for a fuller acquaintance with the facts of science and a clearer understanding of the Scriptures, is invariably found to be the case.

I myself never had much difficulty on the subject of evolution, other things troubled my mind more. For, after all, evolution is but a theory; perhaps I should say only a hypothesis, invented by man to account for certain things that he finds in the world around.

It has often been said that the facts of science are one thing, the conclusions which scientific men have based on these facts are quite another.

The facts nobody can deny. “Scalpel and microscope,” to use your friend’s words, may elicit the facts of science. Man attempts to account for these facts by theories of his own invention, forgetting that after all he is only finite, and not only finite, but fallen; his intellectual powers are as much fallen as are his moral faculties.

But the Word of God accounts for these facts, too, yet in a very different way from man’s theory of evolution. Here there is an antagonism. Your scientists tell you that they are so convinced of the truth of their theory of evolution, that they are content to give up the Bible!

This is the crux of the whole matter. A man who thus argues proves two things; first, his own overweening confidence in himself, and secondly, that he has never felt the beauty and power of the Scriptures.

Man has a conscience which no scientific theories and researches can silence—he has deep soul needs which the “scalpel and microscope” will never satisfy.

Give up the Bible! The noblest intellects have pored over its pages with love and reverence and adoration of its divine Author.

But does it not contain scientific mistakes? Is not Genesis 1 and 2 full of them? So says the superficial devotee of science. But in fact no chapters bear more conclusive evidence of divine inspiration than these. Written at a time when science was unknown, they treat briefly and yet exhaustively the whole subject of the origin of the universe. During the ages of the past man has invented and been obliged to abandon theories. Scripture has spoken once, and has never had to alter, correct, or modify.

And none of the facts of science can be shown to militate against the account of creation there given.

Why does man seek to get rid of creation and to substitute evolution? Because if there is such a thing as creation, then there must be a Creator; that is, there must be a God, and man does not like to believe in God, for his conscience makes him feel that he is not fit for His presence.... If people would read and study their Bibles more they would find out moral beauties that would bow their souls in adoration.

Are You a Dead Sea?

There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

Proverbs 11:24-25.

I looked upon a sea and lo ‘twas dead,

Although by Hermon’s snows and Jordan fed.

How came a fate so dire? The tale’s soon told:

All that it got it kept and fast did hold.

All tributary streams found there a grave.

Because this sea received and never gave.

Oh, sea that’s dead! teach me to know and feel

That selfish grasp and greed my doom shall seal,

And Lord! help me how best myself to give

That I may others bless and like Thee live.

Psalms 27:4-6.

Psalms 84:4.

Fruitfulness

“A TREE PLANTED BY THE WATERS.”

“A tree... that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.” Psalms 1:3.

Jeremiah explains the vigor and fruitfulness of God’s trees by a most suggestive metaphor, “They send forth their roots to the river.” God provides the water; it is a “river,” but we have to send forth “our roots” in search of it. Large trees can survive a drought that withers smaller ones because their roots go deep, and find sources of moisture that can never dry; and a strong, well-nourished Christian is proof against temptations and trials that wither feebler souls, just because his roots go deep into the water of life. He draws strength out of deep heart-intercourse with God, out of the secret study of the Word, out of private prayer, but these things he has to seek. He must go in search of the water, for the water will not come to him. There is a celebrated vine at Hampton Court that for many years disappointed the gardener’s hopes. It was quite healthy, but there were few grapes. One year, however, it was unexpectedly laden with clusters of the finest fruit. Seeking to discover the cause of this, the gardener laid bare its roots, and traced their ramifications and found that they had suddenly gone through the banks into the river Thames. It had “sent forth its roots to the river,” and thenceforth “ceased not from yielding fruit.”

This is a parable for us all. If we are to bear fruit in large abundance, we must get across to the hidden resources of God’s grace that are waiting for us to tap and that is a secret process, a secret between us and God alone. Without this deep fellowship. this secret communion with the Unseen, there will be no growth for any of us, but with this, and because of this, there will be abundant fruit—fruit even to old age. And He who is the unseen Giver, of what we unseen receive, will be glorified in us who are thus “enriched by Him unto all bountifulness causing through us thanksgiving unto Him.” “In the secret of His presence.”

The Voice

O! that I were a voice—a voice whose cry

The troubled heart might calm:

A faithful echo of the voice of old,

That cried, “Behold the Lamb!”

O! to be nothing, of all self bereft,

One theme alone be mine.

I would be but a sound to bear abroad:

No name, dear Lord, but Thine.

I’d stand and gaze on Thee, lost in the path

That Thy dear feet have trod.

And then I’d follow with the joyous shout—

“Behold the Lamb of God!”

Correspondence: 2 John 8-11; Matt. 24:40-41 and Luke 17:34-36

Question 122: Do the words, “doctrine of Christ” in 2 John 8-11, include the whole truth of the New Testament, or do they refer in particular to the person of Christ? Why does it say they “have not God”? W. H.

Answer: The words, “doctrine of Christ”, refer to the person of Christ, who was “from the beginning.” (1 John 1:1.) The Apostle insists on their abiding in what was from the beginning. (1 John 2:24.)

The word “transgresseth” (verse 9) means “goes forward”, that is, giving up what was from the beginning. If any did this they were apostates and such teachers were antichrists (1 John 2:18,19), who had thus given up Christianity. Notice in verse 19 the “us” is the apostles and their teachings. Those who give up the “doctrine of Christ” therefore “have not God”. They are blasphemers. We could not have fellowship with blasphemers of Christ. The elect lady is instructed not to receive such into her house, nor to salute such, for if she did receive them, she was partaking of their evil deeds. Nothing could be more serious; it is high treason against the Lord. But now quite often those who are separated from us through division, we can freely own as dear children of God.

Question 123: Please explain Matthew 24:40,41, and Luke 17:34-36. G.

Answer: These scriptures apply to the time when the Lord shall come to this world as Son of Man.

He will take away in judgment all that offend, and them that do iniquity. (Matt. 13:41, 49.)

Those left behind will be the King’s subjects in the earthly kingdom.

Judgment swept the earth in Noah’s day and in Lot’s day; so shall it be when the Son of Man comes.

We often hear the words “One shall be taken and the other left,” applied to the Lord’s coming for His church, but those who are taken in that event, are taken to be with the Lord, and those who are left are like the foolish virgins, left behind to believe the lie, and for judgment.

Matthew 25:13 should read, “Watch there for, for ye know neither the day nor the hour.” (See New Translation and Revised Translation.) The term Son of Man should not be here, as this passage stands in connection with the Lord’s coming for His own.

Give Ye Them to Eat

Nay, Lord, how can we do this, we have only five barley loaves and two small fishes, only just enough for ourselves, and hardly that; How can we feed so great a multitude? Servant of the blessed Master, is this your experience? Well, if it be so, listen to what Jesus says, “Bring them to Me”; and, His disciples having obeyed His word, He makes them give the people to eat, whether they would or not! Mark, He does not give the bread to the people Himself—He blesses, and He breaks it, and He gives to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitude, “and they did all eat and were filled.”

O, how precious is the grace that uses the earthen vessels! O, beloved servant of a beloved Master, think you that you cannot accomplish His bidding? Question it no longer; if you have, as it were, only five barley loaves and two fishes, it is enough, bring them to Him, and say, “Here is all I have, Lord.” Put it in His hands, and let Him break it up with His own blessing, and see how it will increase.

Enough, is there? O, yes, enough and to spare. Twelve basketsful left! You shall be the vessel, and His grace will accord to you the reward.

Gracious Master, let us ever listen to Thy voice, saying, Give ye them to eat, and as speedily obey, for Thy Name’s sake. Amen.

Sin Put Away

How very simple is the gospel of the grace of God! How leveling to all man’s proud pretensions! It lays in the dust, it grinds to powder, it tears in shreds the words, feelings. experiences, expedients, and efforts of poor man. Nothing is so withering to the flesh as the cross. The gospels of the grace and glory of God reveals Jesus; it tells of peace made by the blood of the cross, and preached fully and freely to every creature under heaven. It tells of sin put away. How? “By the sacrifice of Himself.” It reveals Jesus sacrificing Himself to put away sin. O! it is done. The work once accomplished needs no repetition. “Now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

He appeared in the world 1900 years ago. What for? To put away sin. How did He do it? By the sacrifice of Himself. His tears, His groans, His weariness, His nights of cold, hunger, and toil were fruitless to put sin away. Most blessed and solemnizing that wondrous pathway, shining in all divine and lovely perfection! But “without the shedding of blood there is no remission.” By “Himself” He has purged the sins of all who believe, and for them has “sat down” at God’s right hand. Sins purged and a seated Christ! What precious, yea, divine certainties are these! “There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” Sinner, is not this enough for thee? Sin put away by the sacrifice of Himself! Christ seated above, because His work for the sinner is done! And now the testimony of the Holy Spirit— “There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.”

Are you laboring to make your peace with God? Foolish attempt! Peace has been made. (Eph. 2.) Now, I beseech you, as one who struggled long and wearily at the sad task of propitiating God, cast your doings (they are only dead works) aside, and muse for one moment over these words— “There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” Do you turn then, in despair from self and self-doings, and give up all trying? Is it so? Stand still, now; you are free to listen to the voice of God— “Deliver him from going down to the pit. I have found a ransom.” God has found a ransom. Blessed news! Christ on the cross is God’s ransom for the poor sinner!

The Man, Christ Jesus, raised up from among the dead, has, by His own blood, settled to all eternity every question between God and man. God has positive joy in receiving sinners. It is His delight to save and deliver from the pit “whomsoever will.”

Are you satisfied with Jesus? May every reader of these pages rest simply in the faith that sin has been judged and set aside by the precious blood of Christ!

Tract Distribution: Suffering at Home

A young girl lay lonely and depressed on her couch. She was a sufferer from serious and complicated diseases, and, although very upright, very thoughtful, and intelligent, had continued until lately, a stranger to the power of divine grace. A near and dear friend had been the means of pointing her to Christ and she had found peace. Henceforth her life was filled with a new light, brightened by new pleasures; and, with the eager yearning of a newly converted soul, she longed to lead others to Christ. Fain would she have gone to engage in active service on behalf of her Saviour, but alas! she was a helpless invalid, and as such, doomed to perpetual inaction. She could sit and work with her fingers, or write, but she could not move from place to place without the aid of others.

Here, then, was a cross to bear—heavy, indeed. Longing to do good to others, and yet to be doomed to remain inactive—cut off from all opportunities of active work—seemed too great a trial of faith and patience. And as she noticed how some other people—strong, active, and gifted passed by all opportunities of doing good, seeking only their own pleasure, it seemed harder than she could bear. At times she sought to question God’s wisdom in thus afflicting her, and would tearfully ask why He had thus dealt with her. It was in such a mood as this that she now lay, tearful and deponding, yearning, O, so vainly, for something to do for the Master.

Just at this juncture, a knock was heard at the door, followed by the entrance of a visitor.

“Ah, Mrs. Williams! I am so glad to see you! I am so lonely!” was Maggie’s first exclamation.

“What! tears? What is the meaning of those tears? Are you crying as you count up your mercies, Maggie?”

“No. Mrs. Williams. Mercies! It seems to me sometimes as if I had far more trials than mercies. I would fain do something for Jesus, but I cannot. See, here I am chained to my couch, while many others, in the full flush of strength and health, care nothing at all about working for the Lord.”

“‘Thou didst well that it was in thine heart.’ Was not this commendation given to David in response to his desire to build the house of God, a sacred privilege which, however, he was not permitted to enjoy? So, Maggie, God says to you.

Mrs. Williams’ soothing words fell like oil upon the troubled waters of Maggie’s mind. Yes, truly, God knew that it was in her heart to do good; and knowing this, would He not accept the desire? Still—still— it was hard to sit still, in enforced seclusion and pain, at twenty, the age of exuberant youthfulness, and do nothing!

“Stay,” said Mrs. Williams, “the mail bears many missives of love and affection to thousands of homes and hearts. Could you not use this agency for doing good?”

“How?” questioned the invalid, looking up, surprised.

“In this way: You know some to whom a letter, or a leaflet, or a tract, would be a blessing. Send an affectionate, faithful letter to an unsaved friend, giving warning of judgment which lies ahead, and of the way of escape through Christ. Send a tract to a poor, tired child of God. Send a rousing, earnest appeal to one who may be indifferent or careless. And a tract, with directions as to the way of salvation, to any who may be awakened or anxious about their soul. Thus you will work for the Lord as truly, and possibly more successfully, than if you were working in a more prominent way. I earnestly counsel you to adopt this plan.”

“Do you really think that I shall succeed in doing anyone good in this way?”

“I do indeed. You are told to ‘sow beside all waters,’ and the ministry of tracts and letters is so unobtrusive, so secret, and yet so comprehensive and far-reaching, that Christians might do a vast amount of good in this way, if they would only lend their energies to the work. As a special department in Christian work, it is too much neglected. I am sure more souls might be won for Christ, and more wavering, anxious ones led to decide aright, if this way were only made use of to the extent which it might be, and no one can be the instrument of blessing to others, without receiving blessing themselves.”

Maggie said no more. To the young girl’s soul the advice of her friend came as a direct answer to her yearning for some path of usefulness, and, with “much prayer” for wisdom and guidance, she began her work.

We shall not quote her letters, nor the blessed results which she was allowed to know about, but the coming “day” will reveal how much honor and glory was brought to the Lord through her quiet, faithful labor for Him.

Helps to Young Christians: Part 1

1st. Renounce, once and for all, the legal thought that your acceptance before God depends on anything you are, or can be, or anything you do, or can do. Christ, and not your condition, or your conduct, is the ground of your acceptance. God accepts Christ for you, and accepts you in Christ. (Rom. 4:25; 5:1, 2; 8:1, 2; Eph. 1:6, 7; Col. 1:12-14.)

You’re not worthy—oh, no! Christ alone

Is righteous and true in God’s sight,

But you are in Him, who for sin did atone,

In whom is found all God’s delight.

2nd. Remember that you are now a Christian—Christ’s one, and as such seek to adorn “that beautiful name by which you are called.” (Acts 11:26; Eph. 3:15; James 2:7.) What is a Christian? Someone has said, “A Christian is C-H-R-I-S-T—Christ in full; and I-A-N (I am nothing)—me in initial.” Look up, then, for grace to be nothing, and to make Christ everything.

O to be but emptier, lowlier,

Mean, unnoticed, and unknown,

And to God, a vessel holier,

Filled with Christ, and Christ alone!

3rd. Be careful to have “a good conscience” —a conscience instructed by Scripture—pure and sensitive. Let conscience be like some finely polished mirror, that is dimmed by the slightest breath of the tempter. If you sin, confess at once, not as a sinner to God, but as a child to the Father. (Acts 24:16; Heb. 13:18; 1 John 1:9; 2:1, 2.)

Speak a shade more kindly

Than you have before;

Pray a little oftener,

Serve a little more;

Cling a little closer

To the Father’s love;

Life will then grow liker

To the life above!

4th. Be as lenient to the faults of others as you are hard on your own. Remember those three gracious F’s—Forbear; Forgive; Forget. If you detect the smallest grain of malice in your heart toward another, do not rest while it is there. You cannot be happy with the Lord till it is gone. (Rom. 12; Col. 3:12-15; Phil. 2; Eph. 4:1-3; 31-32.)

O, what a little thing can turn

A heavy heart from sigh to song!

A smile can make the world less stern;

A word can cause the soul to burn

With glow of heaven all night long.

5th. Keep a large heart as you tread the narrow way. By a large heart I mean a heart that takes in “all saints.” The path of faithfulness amid the ruins becomes increasingly narrow and exclusive, but a heart filled with the love of Christ expands, and becomes increasingly large and inclusive. (Look up the term “all saints,” as found in the epistles.)

Have you had a kindness shown?

Pass it on.

‘Twas not given for thee alone—

Pass it on.

Let it travel down the years,

Let it wipe another’s tears,

Till in heaven the deed appears

Pass it on.

6th. In any difficulty, let the Lord be your first resource. You have no wiser, kinder, nor stronger friend. Whatever, then, be the care—be it in the home circle, the school circle, the business circle, the church circle, the world circle, or the tiny circle of your own soul—go to Him about it. He delights to enter into our little concerns, and the simpler our faith the better it pleases him. (Phil. 4:6; 1 Peter 5:6, 7.)

No human voice may cheer thee,

No earthly listener hear thee;

But, oh, one Friend is near thee,

The kindest and the best;

Whose smile can banish sadness,

Whose presence fills with gladness

The solitary breast.

7th. Do not be content with praying, but grow in the school of secret prayer. It is a fact that the more you pray, the more you want to pray; and the less you pray, the less you want to pray. Depend upon it, when you feel least inclined for prayer, then your soul is most in need of it. Turn everything into prayer, and soon prayer will be to you a state as well as an act. (Matt. 26:41; James 5:13-16; 1 Thess. 5:17). (Luke presents Christ seven times as alone in prayer).

God’s ships of treasure sail upon a sea

Of boundless love, of mercy infinite,

To change their course, retard their onward way.

Nor wind nor wave hath might.

Prayer is the tide for which the vessels wait

Ere they can come to port; but if it be

The tide is low, then how can’st thou expect

The treasure-ship to see?

(To be continued.)

The Fragrance of a Lump of Clay

A Persian fable says: One day

A wanderer found a lump of clay

So redolent of sweet perfume,

Its odors scented all the room.

“What art thou?” was his quick demand,

“Art thou some gem from Samarcand,

Or Spikenard in this rude disguise,

Or other costly merchandise?”

“Nay, I’m but a lump of clay!”

“Thence, whence this wondrous perfume,

say?”

“Friend, if the secret I disclose—

I have been dwelling with the rose.”

Sweet parable! And will not those

Who love to dwell with Sharon’s rose

Distil sweet odors all around,

The low and mean themselves are found?

Dear Lord! Abide with us that we

May draw our perfume fresh from Thee.

Practical Conversations With Our Young People.: The Coming of the Lord, Part 2

We continue with our questions on the coming of the Lord again this month, as the desire is that this blessed truth in all its connections may be kept before our hearts, and that the searching of the Scriptures for the answers may enable each one of us to be better acquainted with it.

The coming of the Lord draweth nigh, and may we be like unto men who wait for their Lord.

This truth is calculated to cause us to be steadfast, unmovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. It can also comfort our hearts in the midst of sorrow, and will cause us to purify ourselves even as He is pure.

May our hearts be filled with the blessed prospect of seeing our Lord face to face, and praising Him as we would, and then saying from the depth of our hearts: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

Questions for May

Always give Scripture for answers, as well as your own expressions.

1. Give the different titles of the Lord Jesus in connection with His coming for His own.

2. Give the different titles of the Lord Jesus in connection with His coming to reign.

3. How many times in Matthew’s Gospel is the coming of the Lord referred to?

(Give chapter and verse.)

4. Whom do the five wise and five foolish virgins represent?

5. What are the marks of difference between the five wise and the five foolish virgins?

Answers to Questions for March

Answers to Question 1.

What will take place in heaven with us after we are caught up to be with the Lord?

(a) “He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.” Isaiah 53:11.

(b) “That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:27.

The judgment seat of Christ. (1 Cor. 3:13-15.) The marriage of the Lamb. (Rev. 19:7.)

Answers to Question 2.

When will the marriage of the Lamb take place?

(a) The marriage of the Lamb will take place before the bride comes out of heaven with the Lord to reign over the earth. (Rev. 19:7-9.)

Answers to Question 3.

What will the bridal robe be composed of?

(a) The bridal robe is composed of fine linen, which is the righteousnesses of the saints. (Rev. 19:8.)

Answers to Question 4.

When do we make the bridal robe?

(a) As the bridal robe is composed of the righteousnesses (new translation) of the saints, it must embrace all the works which they have done in this life that will meet with the Lord’s approval at the judgment seat. (1 Cor. 3:14.)

Answers to Question 5.

What is the first thing given us that is to take place on this earth after the church is in heaven?

(a) When the Lamb opened the first seal, John describes what he saw. “Behold a white horse, and he that sat upon it having a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering and that he might conquer.” (Rev. 6:1, 2).

We give here a quotation by way of explanation of this last answer:

“The first is the white horse, the symbol of triumphant and prosperous power. He that sat on him had a bow.” (Ver. 2.) The bow is the symbol of distant warfare. His course is evidently that of unchecked victory. The moment he appears, he conquers. The battle is won without a struggle, and apparently without the carnage of the second judgment, where the sword, the symbol of close hand-to-hand fighting, is used. But the first conqueror is some mighty one who sweeps over the earth, and gains victory after victory by the prestige of his name and reputation. There is no intimation of slaughter here.” (Lecture on the Book of the Revelation, by W. K. Page 136.)

This bloodless victory might also be gained by his skill as a diplomat making peace with the present warring nations, which peace the rider on the second horse takes from the earth.

Christ Is Risen

Dear young Christian, have you known the joy of turning from yourself and doings, to One who has done a God-glorifying, soul-saving work, and is now in resurrection life and glory? It is in resurrection that He declares the value of His work, and makes good the word, “Peace be unto you.” Can you then question the efficacy and perfectness of His blessed work, or doubt His precious word? “The Lord is risen indeed,” is surely a word sufficient, in the power of which you may bid farewell to doubts, perplexities, and fears. “Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord”; enough; joy and gladness filled the hearts of that sorrowing company as they gazed upon their risen Lord; “and He showed them His hands and His side.” Blessed tokens of accomplished redemption!

Scripture Study: Mark 2:1-17

Verse 1. After some days He comes into Capernaum again, and it was noised that He was in the house.

Verse 2. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and He preached the Word unto them. This is the special service He has before Him, and faithfully He attends to it. It would be the truth—what He Himself is, unfolded from the Scriptures, and new things from the divine storehouse; Israel’s Messiah promised; the Saviour of men, who can meet man’s need. His works conforming His word, carrying with it delivering power from every evil.

Verse 3. And they come unto Him, bringing one sick of the palsy (paralysis) which was borne of four. Here is the helpless sinner who cannot come, but four men who have confidence in the Lord carry him.

Verse 4. And when they could not come nigh unto Him for the press, they uncovered the roof where He was; and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. Their perseverance expressed their confidence in Jesus, in His love and in His power. Faith overcomes obstacles and presses on till its object is gained. The man is needy. Jesus alone can meet his need and they have confidence that He will heal him.

Verse 5. When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the sick of the palsy, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” The cause of man’s ruin was sin. Sin was the root of all the trouble and disease that had come upon man. Now the one who can meet the need is come, the great Messiah of whom it was written (Psa. 103) “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases.” He tells the man the cause of the trouble—it is sin. This is the teaching of God that draws the sinner to Christ (John 6:45). There He meets us and gives us soul healing—the remission of sins. It is the same faith we need to exercise now as Christians, that, making us feel our need, keeps us as needy ones drawing from His fullness, and assures us that He will not fail us. He will teach us patience and prove us, but He will answer the soul that relies upon Him. This is the Holy Spirit’s work in us.

Verses 6-11. The scribes reason in their hearts, “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?” They are blind to the things of God; it is the carnal mind (Rom. 8:7), and it cannot receive the things of God (1 Cor. 2:14). Jesus knew their thoughts, for He was God manifest in the flesh who was present among them, and He answers them, “Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the paralyzed man, Thy sins be forgiven thee: or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins (He saith to the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed and go thy way into thine house.” God had come in love to pardon and to heal. He had the right and the power in His own person as Son of Man to meet man’s wretchedness, and to free him from the sufferings of body which sin had brought in; and to forgive His sins. Isaiah 53:4-6 tells us what it was to cost Him. He could speak it to the man, well knowing that God’s justice would be maintained by His finished work at the cross. Thus He proved Himself to be the Friend of Sinners, forgiving their sins and delivering them from sins forever, and by His grace attracting them to Himself as a loving Saviour.

Verse 12. “And immediately He arose, took up his bed, and went forth before them: insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, we never saw it on this fashion.” The man’s walk is a “witness” to the new power given him by the Lord Jesus.

Verse 13. “And He went forth again by the seaside; and all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them.” This is His special work again.

Verse 14. “And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alpheus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him.” The publicans were considered the lowest of the Jews, and were hated, as servants of the Romans, for collecting the Roman tributes from their brethren. The Jews hated to pay this tax. They were continually reminded by it of their sin that put them under the Roman yoke. The publicans were, therefore, despised and detested. Some of them grew rich and were blamed for defrauding the Jews to enrich themselves. In calling Levi, the Lord shows the true character of His mission, that it was to seek the lost, the needy sinner, that He came.

Verse 15. “And it came to pass, that as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His disciples: for there were many and they followed Him.” Luke 5:29, tells us that Levi (or Matthew) made a great feast to Jesus; it seems to be this same occasion.

Verse 16. The scribes and Pharisees show their ignorance of their own state under their religious garb, questioning His disciples. “How is it that He eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?”

Verse 17. “When Jesus heard it, He saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” What a rebuke to them, to their pretended sanctity, and what grace to the lowly confessed sinner—grace in seeking the lost; forgiving the guilty; welcoming and gathering the needy repentant souls, to give to them remission of sins.

This is not law; the law demanded righteousness from man and cursed him for not having it (Gal. 3:10). But the Lord Jesus is full of grace and truth seeking sinners to forgive their sins, as we know (Rom. 3:25), righteously, because of the work He would do upon the cross, “There is none righteous” otherwise (Rom. 3:10). He does not send the sinner away, but seeks him and sits and eats with him while still being Himself altogether holy. This is the love of God winning the hearts of men, and producing confidence towards God in these hearts; to give them a perfect object, and to form them after His image. May we contemplate His glory as thus revealed, that we may be drawn after Him.

God is revealed to us in the gift of His Son; the cross manifests that love in giving Him for us. And in righteousness, too, for there we see the blessed Lord made sin for us, and we are now made the righteousness of God in Him, and have an inheritance awaiting us in glory. We are also God’s dear children. What a contrast with law which demands and gives nothing.

(To be Continued.)

Choose Thou for Me

Whatever in the future lies,

My God shall choose the best;

His loving kindness compassing—

To Him I leave the rest.

I do not know, cannot tell,

What God’s love may prepare;

I only know I cannot get

Beyond my Father’s care.

Choose Thou for me; I do not ask

To see and know my way;

If I am His, then He is mine—

My Comfort and my Stay.

King Jehoshaphat: Be Careful in Your Choice of Companions, Part 1

Our readers will know that Jehoshaphat was king of Judah at the same time that “Ahab, the son of Omri,” was king over Israel. When David and Solomon reigned, “Israel” included the twelve tribes. After Solomon’s death, the kingdom came to Rehoboam, his son.

The young reader will remember that “all the congregation” of Israel came to Rehoboam and complained that Solomon had made their “yoke grievous”; they desired a more gentle rule. So the “old men” of experience were consulted; the young men Also were asked to give counsel. The advice of the aged men was to act tenderly, and with consideration towards the people, adding that if the king acted in this manner “they will be thy servants forever” (1 Kings, 12:7). This advice was good. On the other hand, the young men advised Rehoboam to say to the people, “My father chastised you with whips; but I will chastise you with scorpions,” a cruel instrument of punishment, a long and heavy scourge armed with numerous knots and with spikes of metal. As people grow older they generally become kinder and more thoughtful for the sorrows and afflictions of others.

“Speak gently, it is better far

To rule by love than fear”;

And we have read that “you do not alienate men by allowing them opportunities of improving their condition, and a slack chain is less easily broken than a tight one.” Well, Rehoboam drew the chain so tightly that it broke. In other words, the people revolted. “So Israel rebelled against the house of David, unto this day.” It was only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin that clung to Rehoboam; the ten tribes, now called “all Israel,” made “Jeroboam, the son of Nebat,” their king.

Accordingly from this time, we read of kings of Israel and of kings of Judah, and of these kings on both sides, some were good and others were bad kings.

Among the kings of Israel you will remember Ahab, the son of Omri, of whom it is said that “he did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.” While of Jehoshaphat, who reigned over Judah at the same time it is written, “And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the ways of his father David.” As Israel was going on badly, Jehoshaphat strengthened himself against them. In those days riches were a sign of the favor of the Lord, but it does not follow that those so favored made a right use of the riches with which they were entrusted. It is to be noticed that Jehoshaphat’s having “riches and honor in abundance” is connected with his joining “affinity with Ahab,” and we shall see what trouble this affinity or fellowship brought him into, though he did not get into trouble all at once. People seldom do. “After certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria” (2 Chron. 18:1.)

In the fable of the owl and the moth, the latter inquired of the owl how she should act with regard to the candle which had singed her wings; the owl counseled the moth to keep away from the candle, saying, “Don’t so much as look at the smoke.” You scarcely know where the first wrong step in bad company will lead you, but certainly it will lead you away from God, and from happiness. Ahab was evidently very much pleased to get Jehoshaphat down to Samaria, and as people say, he made a good deal of him. Young reader, be careful of those who would make a good deal of you, for when this is the case we are inclined to make a great deal of ourselves, and Satan then often entraps those who are filled with self-importance. Would you not rather be like the violet than the showy poppy? It was easy enough for poor Jehoshaphat to be “persuaded” to go up with the wicked King Ahab to Ramoth Gilead, after being so feasted and feted. And now, he who had strengthened himself against Israel and refused to walk in their godless ways, says to one of their wickedest kings, “I am as thou art, and my people as thy people, and we will go with thee in the war.”

This was just what Ahab wanted. Ahab may have said something like this, “Now you are what I call large-minded and liberal, not like those narrow-minded people who will not join with one in well-intentioned schemes.” Yet, however Ahab might flatter, Jehoshaphat was far from feeling comfortable. He had been in the habit of seeking the Lord’s mind before engaging in any enterprise. “Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord today. It was serious that Jehoshaphat had not done this before he went down to see Ahab. Let us learn to do the right thing at the right time. How many mistakes in life are made because young people do not inquire “at the word of the Lord” first, but perhaps think of it when too late. Of Ahab’s four hundred false prophets we hope to speak another time.

(To be Continued.)

Purpose of Heart

Put your whole heart into whatever you do for the best of Masters—the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is a fine text in 2 Chronicles 31:21, “In every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.”

Now, may it be true of you, dear young friends, who love the Lord, and before Him seek that which is “good and right and truth,” and whatever you do may be done for Him with all your heart. Half-hearted people are poor servants, and we should not be poor servants of our Lord and Saviour. It is a happy sight to witness a child serving his mother with all his heart, doing his very best for love’s sake. The Lord of All is pleased with such service rendered to Him.

Victory Over the World: 1 John 5:4-5

“Who is He that overcometh the world?” The first thing I have to know is, what the world is, and in one verse this is summed up: “The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but of the world.” Of course if I do not know what the world is, I cannot know what I ought to be delivered from. The world knew not Christ; whatever knows not Christ is the world, and whoever loves it, the love of the Father is not in him.

There are, I may say, four distinct ways in which we are delivered, or rather, in which the sense of deliverance is made known to the soul, as well as the power of it.

1. The first is stated as a principle in the passage before us. “That which is born of God overcomes the world;” and, therefore, every divinely newborn soul does in some degree overcome the world. Faith is the power by which it is effected; and the Son of God is the object for faith, by which the victory is consummated. If I, by faith, have my soul set on Jesus as the Son of God, apart from, and beyond the world, I receive the strength and sense of His victory over it. I am of good cheer, because He has overcome it. I am in His strength. and with Him above it. I am not alone, buffeting the adverse activities here; but I see Him above them all, as having surmounted them, and from the very fact of my believing in Him, my soul is with Him, away and apart from all that is contrary to Him. I am above it, in the very action of life, the result of faith in Him. If the world besets me, or hampers or baffles me in any way, the moment my eye rests on Him, the Son of God, I am above it. I may not see my extrication, but I am in victory over it, I have a place and power superior to it.

2. The second way or power of deliverance is that my true place now is with Christ in heaven. That is the reach, if I may so say, of the Spirit of God now. It is the place where the soul, by faith, enters into the great result of the love of God: that inner circle of His presence where the prodigal shares in the joys of God, and knows that He is in intimate nearness in his Father’s house; where he is unencumbered, irreproachable, and irreprovable in His sight. My citizenship is there, and if known and enjoyed there, I must, in proportion, be dissociated in principle, taste and interest from the world. A really heavenly man could not be of the world, for the great power, or effect, of being in heaven now, even by faith, is an unconsciousness of the existence of that which connects me with the world, while abundantly conscious of the great blessedness into which I have been introduced. A man happy with Christ in heaven as his own place, could not be happy in the world as such.

3. The third is that I am dead—that God treats me as dead. Now if I am dead, the world is nothing to me, because it is only as a man I could enjoy the world. A man really dead has no interest whatever in it.

The place of death in which God sets us morally, effects varied blessings for us in respect to our deliverance from the world. Let us note them seriatim.

In Romans—I being dead through the body of Christ am freed from the law, and therefore I am to present my body a living sacrifice as my reasonable service; not conformed into this world, but transformed by the renewing of my mind. How else could it be if I am freed from the law by being dead? What more grateful than to present it to Him who freed me from a world where I could only cry out, “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

In 1 Corinthians 1—the Apostle shows how the cross of Christ sets aside the wisdom of the world; and therefore he determined to know among them only Jesus Christ, and Him crucified; for if there had been wisdom in the world, the prince of it would not have crucified Him, therefore the cross is foolishness to it. The cross—Christ crucified—delivers me from the wisdom of the world, as in 2 Corinthians 5, I am an entirely new creation; “old things are passed away, all things are become new.”

In Galatians—I find that because I am crucified with Christ, the law has no place in perfecting me; and therefore the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world.

In Ephesians—I am on the other side, through Christ’s death, and therefore above the prince of the power of the air, which otherwise I could not be.

In Colossians—I am not like the Gnostics. trying to detach myself from the world by not touching or tasting, but through Christ, I am dead to the rudiments of the world.

4. The fourth way in which I am loosened and detached from the world is by being pressed with the vanity and impermanency of it; but this is the lowest order of deliverance. It is only alluded to when there is distinct leaning of the heart to earth. Paul speaks of it in 1 Corinthians 7, when writing on marriage; and again in Hebrews 12, but he never speaks there of their being dead, though he connects all their blessings with resurrection. James speaks of the world being a vapor which passeth away; and Peter dwells largely on the present heaven and earth being dissolved, and argues there from what manner of persons ought we to be? Finally, John in the Revelation, judges, afflicts, and by terrible strokes, crushes the whole of the present order of things, so that there is not a shred left for nature to cling to—the wrath of God devouring it all.

Correspondence: Heb. 10:25; Hab. 3:3; Iniquity, Transgression, Sin; Genealogoes

Question 124: Does Hebrews 10:25 mean the Lord’s coming for us, or the day of judgment? M. T. K.

Answer: Hebrews looks on to God’s eternal kingdom. It is in view of it, and God’s judgment on every false way. (Chapter 12:28, 29.)

Question 125. Please explain: “God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran.” Habakkuk 3:3. M. B.

Answer: Deuteronomy 3:2 would show us that there were places where God came forth to deliver His people from their enemies. (See also Obad. 1:9-14.) The prophet encourages Israel by this to trust in Jehovah.

Question 126: What is the difference between “iniquity,” “transgression” and “sin”? Have we all iniquity? M. B.

Answer: Iniquity is self-will and unrighteousness.

Transgression is breaking the law.

Sin is offense against God.

We have all sinned against God, but we may say, as in Isaiah 53:6, “Jehovah hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Question 127: Why are the genealogies in Matthew and Luke different? P. H.

Answer: The difference will be better understood by considering the subject of each gospel.

Matthew presents the Lord Jesus as heir of the promises and heir of the throne of Israel. To be this He must have a legal title by His birth through Joseph, who was the natural heir to the throne. So Matthew’s Gospel gives Joseph’s geneology, who was the husband of Mary; this gave Jesus the title as Joseph’s Son.

In Luke the Lord is presented as Son of Man. Jesus was of the royal lineage of David, but was only supposed to be the Son of Joseph. Matthew 1:20 and Luke 1:35 show His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit. We must find therefore the actual geneology in Luke. Mary, therefore, was of David’s line, but through Nathan, not Solomon; from there the line is different. Now Joseph, the supposed father of Jesus, was not the son of Heli, but was the son of Jacob (Matt. 1:16). So we must leave out the words in Italics and read: Jesus.... was of Heli, of Matthat, of Levi... of Adam, of God. Jesus was of all these.

From David’s sons the line varies because the one is Joseph’s and the other Mary’s geneology.

Mark presents the Lord as the Son of God as Servant, so begins when His service begins, with no geneology.

John presents Him as Son of God, the eternal Word, who was with God and was God. God has no beginning, no parentage.

Remarks on Infidelity

J. N. D. once said in answer to all these infidel reasonings as to God, something like this: “There are too many evidences of wisdom, power, and design for any reasonable being to suppose that things came into existence without a God; on the other hand, there are too many evidences of misery and evil for any one to imagine that a God of power and love could have created things as they now are.”

While it is perfectly true that the mind of fallen man is naturally infidel, yet, on the other hand, man’s mind is so constituted that it cannot conceive of anything coming into existence without a cause.

Let anybody seriously consider, and he is driven to the conclusion that there must be a God. The first question that arises in the mind as we look at anything is, Who made that? Let it be a terrestrial globe, we say, Who made it? A man would be looked upon as a fool who would reply, Nobody made it. If we cannot conceive of that globe coming into existence without a maker, how much less this earth of which it is but an insignificant representation!

Yes, the mind of man cannot conceive of anything in existence that has not had a maker—such a thing would be unthinkable. There must be a cause for every effect. I ask, Who made that table? You reply, The carpenter. Then I ask, Who made the carpenter? Somebody must have made him; and so you get back to the first original cause, and that is God. Hence the first of Genesis opens, sublime in its grandeur and simplicity— “In the beginning God created.” This commends itself to every man’s reason; he knows there must be a God. Yet no uninspired man would have written that first chapter of Genesis as it stands.

What groupings in the dark have we in the philosophy of the ancients, and the scientific hypotheses of moderns! What voluminous treatises on cosmogony! What changing theories as fresh light breaks in exposing the fallacy of earlier conclusions!

But God’s Word never changes. Though not intended as a handbook of science, it nevertheless alludes to scientific subjects, and in a miraculous manner is always right. Take such a chapter as Genesis 1, written between three and four thousand years ago, at a time when the science of geology was unknown, treating of a vast subject, namely the creation, doing so in the briefest manner possible, and yet invariably correct—How could this be accounted for apart from inspiration?

I merely give this as one evidence of inspiration, not by any means the greatest, but still there it is.

Now I quite admit that honest reason must bring a person to believe that there is a God, but mere reason can teach us nothing whatever about that God. The same process of reasoning that leads me to the conclusion that there must be a God, also proves to me that I cannot under stand Him, or know anything about Him unless He is pleased to give me a revelation. For I cannot conceive of anything that has not had a cause, And yet who caused God? He was the great cause of all things, but had no cause Himself.

We have reached, then, two conclusions; First, there must be a God; and second, He must reveal Himself if I am to know anything about Him.

But the Bible is this revelation. Shakespeare does not pretend to be a revelation from God; it has no authority upon any man, nor is it a guide to conduct.

The Bible is the only book that gives me certain information as to God, as to the creation, as to how man comes to be in the state of sin and misery in which he is found today. It is the only book that makes known to me God’s remedy for sin—a remedy which no man could ever have invented or dared to propose, but which nevertheless the whole moral being recognizes as altogether worthy of God.

But what is man to say, “The only God I would accept is a God of love, and not a God of vengeance”?

Imagine a prisoner at the Old Bailey saying in open court, “The only judge I will accept. . .” Such an one would very soon learn that government has authority and power. And is God, the course of all supreme power, to be dictated to by His creatures? It is absurd. “Power belongeth unto God.” (Psa. 62:11.)

“We know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord.” And again: “The Lord shall judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. 10:30. 31.)

But the fact is that God is a God of love—He is love, and has so loved the world as to give His Son. And what has man done? Spat in His face and crucified Him, mocking Him as He died. Is this a small sin? But people today may say, ‘We did not do that.’ Yet each one has taken sides either for Christ or against Him.

The proudest will must bow. It is no use to kick against the pricks.

No one need be lost in hell, for God has provided a Saviour for all. Only man must bow, repent, and believe the gospel. Saul of Tarsus had to yield and own that he was the chief of sinners, though outwardly his was a blameless life.

The only place we can adequately measure sin is at the cross of Christ. By comparing ourselves with one another we get very poor ideas of what sin is. The greatest crime that could be committed was the murder of the Son of God, and we must remember that we belong each one of us to a world that has cast God out of it when He came in grace and love.

All the human reasoning as to the inconsistency between a few years of sin and ever lasting punishment is folly. The fact is, men love sin and hate Christ more than they fear hell.

Man’s mind is a poor and finite thing. The moment we have to do with God we have to do with the infinite. And so (1) the enormity of sin in God’s sight, (2) the infinite value of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, (3) the immortality of the soul, (4) the eternity of glory for the redeemed, and (5) of punishment for the despisers of Christ’s sacrifice and God’s grace—these are all things which far exceed all power of man’s mind to understand. “By faith we understand.”

His Guiding Hand

When I trace the way He’s led me

Through the many years gone by,

Brought me through some sore temptations,

Sent me succor from on high,

Kept me in the hour of trial,

When the tempter’s voice was heard,

In my soul I’ve heard Him whisper,

Child of God hold fast My Word.

Then I’ve found the strength I’ve needed,

And my soul was filled with praise,

All temptations lost their power,

And He kept me in His ways.

When I look into the future,

Think of what I yet may meet,

Of the way the subtle tempter

Spreads his snares to, catch my feet,

Of his vile and subtle purpose

To entice me day by day

From the path where God has called me,

From the straight and narrow way,

Into what defiles the conscience,

Brings dishonor on the Lord,

Gives the enemy occasion

To blaspheme God’s holy Word.

Then my eye would turn to Jesus,

Seated on the Father’s throne,

Think of Him, my Intercessor,

Pleading for His feeble one;

And my prayer to Him ascending

Saviour keep me when I call,

Hold me by Thy mighty power,

Keep me or I’ll surely fall;

Put Thine arms of love around me,

Let me feel Thy presence nigh;

Keep me, Lord, O keep me ever

Till with Thee I rest on high.

Tract Distribution: What One Tract Did

The importance of having good reading cannot be overestimated. As one goes from place to place the lack of this is felt. Few Christians are without a weekly or daily newspaper, yet again and again one finds not one good helpful Christian paper in such homes, and the prophet’s word might be used, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

It is true the Word of God must have first place in a Christian home. We believe where the Book of Books is valued and studied as it should be by us, anything that helps to further understanding its precious contents will be hailed with great delight.

Eternity alone will fully reveal the loss to many who now heap up riches upon the earth and fail to lay up treasures in heaven. Oh, how many a child of God we have heard bless the Lord for the written ministry. It goes where the voice cannot go, and will speak when we are gone. Many have been brought to God through reading some gospel incident recording the conversion of others. Upon no subject should we be more awake. What a field we have in the home and among our neighbors to serve the Lord Jesus. These fields lay open everywhere. What are we doing in this respect?

What one tract did!

A woman whose name has been forgotten dropped a tract in the way of a very wicked man. He picked up the tract and read it and it was the means of his conversion, and through him multitudes were brought to Christ.

Who can measure the influence of one little tract put into the hands of an unconverted person?

An aged Christian a short time ago came into a tract depot and bought a few dollars’ worth of tracts, and said, with tears coursing down his cheeks, that a neighbor living nearby for nine years had just died and that he had never so much as given him a tract or paper setting forth the gospel before him, or warning him of his danger, and now he had died suddenly and he feared he was lost.

O, beloved, what are we doing? What a thought for us? One soul gone into eternity—lost forever—whom we knew on earth!

Often there are difficulties in the way of speaking to people about eternal realities, when one gospel tract, of but one or few pages, handed on with a kind word, or silently, or sent through the post, could do the work. It can reach the king’s palace, it will enter the jail and prison, the borne of the poor, and stay for weeks, months and years, and turn tip in time and deliver its message true and faithful just the same as it could the day it left the kind and thoughtful hand that passed it on.

Thousands upon thousands can rise up and testify that a tract was the means of their conversion. Thousands will tell us they have been restored from paths of sin and vice to that of peace and righteousness by the truth carried by these silent messengers of God.

Others have been cherished comforted and stimulated in their Christian lives by them; and, again, what light and truth they have carried to people and homes, making the Bible a new book to them.

Helps to Young Christians: Part 2

8th. Never refuse any teaching because it is new to you; but never accept anything till you see it for yourself in the Word of God! Inability to receive is not tantamount to rejection. Do not judge the doctrine of an address by the man who delivers it, or gauge the truth of an article by the initials at its close.

Be sure though slow in acquiring truth. All that we receive from God is taught us by Him in this way. Though you may get truth through a human channel, get it from God. Learn to learn at the Master’s feet, and then you will have no need to learn to unlearn. (1 Thess. 5:20, 21; Isa. 28:10; John 16:12.)

Make sure of Truth,

And truth will make you sure;

It will not shift, nor fade, nor die,

But like the heavens endure.

Man and his earth

Are varying day by day;

Truth cannot change nor ever grow

Feeble and old and gray.

9th. In connection with private Scripture study there are five important things:

Reading (1 Tim. 4:13).

Searching (Acts 17:11).

Finding (Psa. 119:162).

Meditating (Jer. 15:16).

Practicing (James 1:22-27)

In reading you skim the surface—a pleasant exercise. In searching you let down your line into its depths. In finding you bring up something which makes you tingle all over with holy glee. In meditating you feed upon and enjoy what you have. In practicing you show it all in your life before others.

A glory gilds that sacred page,

Majestic like the sun;

Which gives a light to every age—

Which gives but borrows none.

10th. Beware of evil speaking, in all its multiplied and invidious forms. Prudently, kindly, and alone tell your brother or sister the fault, and speak to God about it, but do not whisper it to another. Evil speaking is a most prolific cause of sorrow, and always betrays a soul out of communion, as it always grates upon a soul in communion. “If we come forth from the closet of communion, the atmosphere of evil speaking will be to us as the tainted air of some great city to one that has been breathing the pure air of a mountain-top, or the fresh breezes of the seashore.” (1 Peter 2:1, 2; James 4:11; Eph. 4:25, 26).

Seek grace to speak so as to help and not to hinder.

If any little word of mine

Can make a life the brighter

If any little song of mine

Can make a heart the lighter.

God help me speak that little word,

And take my life of singing.

And drop it in some lonely vale,

To set the echoes ringing.

11th. Keep a warm gospel heart. Christian experience, according to Philippians, is full of the gospel. (See the epistle.) Paul was as hearty in gospel work at the close of his course as at the commencement. (Compare Acts 9; Philemon; and 2 Timothy.) Never deceive yourself by the thought that because you are getting on in higher lines of truth, therefore your interest in gospel work must flag. The joy of Father, Son and Spirit in Luke 15 is essentially a gospel joy. Muse well on that word— “Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth.” Take care not to follow in the wake of the elder son— “he would not go in.”

Lord, lay some soul upon my heart,

And love that soul through me,

That I may nobly do my part

To bring that soul to Thee.

O Saviour, heed my fervent cry,

Since Thou hast died for me;

I long Thy name to glorify

In bringing souls to Thee!

12th. Finally, never take your Christianity from Christians. If you want perfect Christianity, get your eye on God’s perfect Christ. “Without Me ye can do nothing,” said He. Tell Him this, and seek grace so to abide in Him that you shall intuitively follow in His steps, and walk as He walked. Avoid asceticism—monkish piety—on the one hand, and worldly conformity on the other. View all down here in the perspective of Christ crucified, risen, and ascended; and live in sweet and present association with Him where He is. Let Him daily bring you, in spirit, into His banqueting house, there to feast and to commune under the shadow of His banner, Love. Thus others will “take knowledge of you, that you have been with Jesus,” and a gentleness of spirit, combined with all the outward activities of inward devotedness, will plainly mark you out as His.

Let us together breathe the prayer—

Lord, may our walk and service be

An image bright, of things above—

A glass to show the unity

Of Father, Son, and Spirit’s love;

A living picture to display

The love that we can ne’er repay,

(Continued from page 122.)

In Thy Youth

“I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth.” (1 Kings 18:12.)

What a blessed statement of Obadiah’s! The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and if we know the Lord as our Saviour, and start with true wisdom (the fear of the Lord), our path will be a happy one in serving our blessed Lord.

We call to mind what a dear old brother, who is now with the Lord, said, when addressing a number of young Christians: “You, dear young people, in all the freshness and bloom of youth, remind me of a very beautiful bouquet of flowers. Suppose you desire to present to a dear friend of yours a very beautiful bouquet of flowers. You purchase the bouquet and it is so beautiful that you wish to keep it for yourself the first day. The second day you admire it so much that you still keep it; but the third day you notice it is beginning to wither, and you hasten to give the faded bouquet to your friend.

“Do not treat the Lord in this way. Give yourselves to Him while in your vigor and strength. Serve Him with your whole heart. Remember what He has done for you.”

O! how little do young men and women appreciate the blessing of giving God their youth—their best days, the strongest and heartiest time of their short life!

“In thy youth,” dear reader, give yourself to God for His service and honor. “In thy youth,” be out and out for Christ, a good soldier for Him. Say not in your heart, “Why should I not delight myself in the world and its joys, as do others?” for Jesus, the Son of God beckons you to a nobler life; He calls you to self-sacrifice and devotion, in which you shall have joys beyond all that this poor world ever gave to its servants.

Dear young Christians, the truly happy life is that which is given to the Lord. There are more joys found in His service than in all the pleasures of the world, and we appeal to you, now in your youth, to devote yourselves to Him.

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: The Coming of the Lord, Part 3

Across the waters, in the beautiful city of The Hague, stands a great marble structure, proudly called the “Palace of Peace.” Millions of dollars were expended in its erection, and it was purposed to peaceably adjust within its walls the quarrels of all nations. Great men said, “War is no more. Peace reigns.” But God is not mocked. He had said, “I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him.” Ezekiel 21:27. As if to mock the wisdom of man, there rages almost within the shadow of this deserted palace the greatest conflagration of war this earth has ever witnessed. Perhaps before its flames are extinguished, they will lick the very domes of the proud structure.

Young people, God is speaking in all these things. To the unsaved He is saying, “Flee from the coming wrath.” (Matt. 3:7.) To you, young believer, He is saying, “The end of all things is at hand, be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” (1 Peter 4:7.) In view of the awful condition in which the world finds itself today, how fitting and good for the young Christian to be occupied with the Word of God and with looking into its promises with reference to the coming again of his blessed Lord.

Questions for May

NOTE: At the end of the year rewards for the three most satisfactory series of answers to these questions will be given as follows:

First Reward: A copy of the “New and Concise Bible Dictionary,” Cloth edition.

Second Reward: A copy of J. N. D.’s New Testament. Cloth.

Third Reward: A copy of the music edition of “Messages of Love” hymn book.

Always give Scripture for answers, as well as your own expressions.

1. Where is the first mention in the Word of the Lord’s coming for His saints?

2. Where is the second mention of it?

3. To what church did Paul write two letters in every chapter of which the Lord’s coming again is mentioned? Give references.

4. What is meant by the word “rapture,” as applied to Christ’s coming?

5. Will it be in the daytime or at night that the rapture will take place?

Answers to Questions for April

1. In What Characters Will the Lord Come to the World?

(a) As a thief in the night. (Matt. 24:43; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10.)

(b) As Son of Man. (Matt. 24:30, 44; 25:31.

2. What Scripture in 1 Thessalonians Shows Us That We Should Not Bear the Character of the World Which It Will Manifest When the Lord Comes to It?

(a) “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” 1 Thessalonians 5:6.

3. Who Will Be Saved After the Church Is Taken up?

(a) Evidently some of those who have not heard the gospel of God’s grace, as 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 shows what will happen to those who did not believe the truth.

(b) Revelation 7:1-8 gives us the symbolical numbers of the Israelites who will be saved during that time, and verses 9-17 gives us the saved out of the nations.

4. What Will Happen to Those Who Believe Not the Truth, When the Lord Takes His Own Away?

“For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:11, 12.

In Revelation 19:20, 21 we have first the beast and the false prophet, which deceived the people, cast into the lake of fire; and then the deceived people slain with the sword that will proceed out of the mouth of the Lord, which would be His word.

5. Of What Class of People Will the Man of Sin Be?

(a) He will be a Jew, as Daniel 11:37 reads: “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers.”

(b) 2 Thessalonians 2:4 shows us that he will sit in the temple of God; only a Jew could get that place.

Grace

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

Some conversation ensued, when the lady inquired of the peddler, “What, can you pray?”

“Well,” said he, “I ken 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 everyone who is endeavoring to walk through this world to His honor and glory.

How Do I Know My Sins Forgiven?

We give here a quotation by way Jesus for our sins and raised Him up from the dead for our justification? Do not mind feelings at present; but do you really believe God, who has thus acted for the glory of His Son, as also for the eternal good of the sinner? “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.” Can anything be simpler? Could language be more precise or plain? Confession with the mouth, belief in the heart; and this connected with God. What follows? “Thou shalt be saved.”

The knowledge of the forgiveness of sins is not a matter of attainment; it is simply and only a question of, faith in the simple Word of God.

“Who is a pardoning God like Thee!

Or who has grace so rich, so free?”

Even a babe in Christ can know now, at this present moment of time—while his eye scans these lines—that all his sins are frankly and fully forgiven. God charges His memory to forget them all—for “their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” The Apostle John says, “I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.” (1 John 2:12.) He writes down your full acquittal, so that you may read it for yourself, and be in confidence before Him. Paul says, “We have redemption through His blood—the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:14.) “We have” redemption and forgiveness. Could language be simpler? “We have” surely expresses present possession. Peter says, after preaching a risen and glorified Christ— “Be it known unto you, therefore... that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by Him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38-39.) And what is the effect of preaching a present salvation and the knowledge of it—of redemption and forgiveness of sins, as a personal and present possession? Why, it has ever this effect: it fills the soul with peace and joy. Could it be otherwise? (Acts 13:52.) Can you tell of one who had his sins forgiven, and knew it too from God, and yet was unhappy? Impossible. David (Psa. 32) describes the blessedness of the forgiven man. Paul (Rom. 4) says, “This blessedness cometh upon us—upon all who believe.”

“Thy sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:48, Mark 2:5). Jesus says so. God has pronounced it, and has taken to Himself the character of a pardoning God. Paul, John, Peter, and David concur in one united testimony, namely: the present, full, frank, and eternal forgiveness of all the believer’s sins.

Reader, are thy sins forgiven?

Scripture Study: Mark 2:18-28

Verses 18-20. “And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto Him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bride chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.” The fasting of John’s disciples was in accord with conviction under a broken law. Jesus’ disciples could not fast for they had the Bridegroom with them; they were the children of the bridechamber, and so could not fast, but rejoice that He was with them. But when He was gone, the joy of His presence would be turned into the sorrow His absence would create in their hearts; then shall they fast in those days. But see John 16:16-22, for their joy after His resurrection, which gives another reason for their not fasting.

Verses 21-22. “No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment, else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but the new wine must be put into new bottles.” The old is Judaism; the new is Christianity. The new wine—the truth and spiritual ceremonies of Judaism. The new wine would burst the old skin bottles; the new cloth—God’s righteousness—would not agree with man’s efforts to work out his own righteousness (Rom. 10:3, 4).

Grace and law do not mix; it is important for us to have done with what recognizes the first man. We have a new life; Christ risen from the dead, is the beginning of the creation of God (Col. 1:18; Rev. 3:14). We are redeemed, and are children of God the Father. Christianity is not Judaism improved; it is a new order of things in the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet Christians have tried to mix up the two opposites—law and grace—which has resulted in a corrupt thing which we speak of as Christendom. The truth abides, may we abide by it.

Verses 23-28. “And it came to pass, that He went through the corn fields on the Sabbath day; and His disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto Him, Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful? And He said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungered, he and they that were with him? How He went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the show bread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: Therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath.”

The institution of the Sabbath, the sign of God’s covenant with Israel, was founded by God (Ex. 1:17). When God ended creating, He rested the seventh day; it was given to man (Exo. 16) with the Manna. When Israel was put under law it was given again. It is not “a” seventh day, but “the” seventh day. Israel did not keep the law; they transgressed, the covenant was broken.

But the Sabbath was made for man. The Lord brings before them the time when David was the rejected king and he ate the show bread. Now a greater than David was rejected, even God’s beloved Son, and could God delight in their keeping the Sabbath when they had broken His command? No. But the Son of Man is Lord of it, and He can use it for man’s benefit. This is what pleased Him, to show mercy to needy men. God could not respect those who despised and rejected His beloved Son. This is brought out in Chapter 3:1-5.

(Continued from page 131.)

King Jehoshaphat: Be Careful in Your Choice of Companions, Part 2

How distinct and how serious is the difference between what is said of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 17 and 18. In the one it is said—that he “strengthened himself against Israel”; and in the beginning of the other it is stated that he “joined affinity with Ahab.” This signifies a fall, and is not without its warning to ourselves. In chapter 20, Jehoshaphat is assailed by enemies. “The children of Ammon, and with them other besides the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.” The king is cast upon God—his language breathes a true spirit of dependence and real humility. He prays thus, “O our God, wilt Thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us: neither know we what to do but our eyes are upon Thee.”

All this teaches us that we have greater reason to fear Satan as a flatterer than as an open foe. The serpent is subtle, the lion ferocious, and Satan is likened to both. He deceives, and he also seeks to devour. King Ahab did not come against Jehoshaphat as an enemy, but rather as a friend. It is here that we need to be on our guard. Jehoshaphat is by no means comfortable, however liberal he was in offering to be one with Ahab in retaking Ramoth-gilead. Who had ordered Ahab to undertake such a service? He was like certain prophets of whom we read, “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.” (Jer. 23:21.) Jehoshaphat felt this.

Moreover, Ahab was for madly rushing into battle with the Syrians without asking counsel of God or of anyone else. Now we come to a solemn matter for consideration. When men have made up their minds to do evil, like Ahab, “who sold himself to do evil,” God in His judgment may allow them to be deceived. Our Lord said in His day, “I am come in My Father’s name and ye received Me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.” Blindness from God is terrible indeed. Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel had four hundred prophets—they were numerous, but false—and the Lord permitted an evil spirit to deceive them all. “There came out a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will entice him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets, and the Lord said... go out and do even so.” (Chapter 19:21.)

One might have supposed that what was said by so many must be true, but this shows how we may be misled by the Devil with a cloak of sanctity. The four hundred prophets prophesy before the deluded king, and say, “Go up; for God will deliver it unto the king’s hand.” This is, as I have said, very serious, and shows the need of prayer and acquaintance with the mind of God as revealed in His Holy Word. The writer remembers reading of a servant of the Lord who had been preaching to a somewhat indifferent congregation of people. He returned home weary and discouraged, and retired to his study. It seemed to him that if he preached of eternal judgment, people sat unmoved, and if he dwelt upon a sweeter theme, even the love of God to sinners, it was the same thing. As the preacher sat thinking of these things he fell asleep and dreamed. He dreamed that he was in the council chamber of hell, and Beelzebub was at the head of the council. The arch-fiend asked who would go into the world and deceive it. “I,” said one. “And what will you tell the people?” “I will tell them there is no hell; they can eat, drink and be merry.” “That won’t do,” said Satan. Then another spoke, “Let me go and deceive the world.” “And what will you tell the people?” “I will tell the people that there is a hell, but I will whisper in their ears, ‘There is plenty of time yet.’” “You may go,” said man’s enemy. The preacher woke and saw how Satan blinded people by helping them to put off day after day, year after year, the salvation of their souls. Young people are not always so alive to Satan’s deception as older people are, and therefore are more likely to be deceived.

But to return, Jehoshaphat was not satisfied with the four hundred prophets. Poor Jehoshaphat! one cannot but pity him; he was in a false position from which it was not easy to escape. He was like the poor fly that gets entangled in the web of the spider. “Is there not here a prophet besides, that we might inquire of him?” said Jehoshaphat. “Yes, there was one more—Micaiah, true, but persecuted. Ahab says, “But I hate him.” He was hated because he was faithful. Wicked men and women do not like to be told the truth, they love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. But soon it was shown that this solitary and persecuted prophet was right, and the four hundred fawning prophets were wrong. Ahab went to battle (and Jehoshaphat with him), but not to prosper, as the false men had said he would. God did not deliver Ramoth-gilead into his hand. On the contrary, a man drawing a bow at a venture sent the arrow unerringly through an opening in Ahab’s armor and fatally wounded him, “and about the time of the sun going down he died.”

Poor, but true-hearted Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord; he knew where to look in danger and distress, and of his deliverance and restoration we will write (D. V.) next month.

Passed From Death Unto Life

The son of a wealthy grazier was taken to hear the gospel. Afterward he became a frequent attendant, though living at the distance of twenty miles. The old man, his father, just then four-score, perceived the change which had taken place in his son, who, on inquiry, told him all the circumstances, and the signal blessings which had attended the preaching he had heard. “Son,” said the old man, “I wish I could hear the man myself; Do you think I can ride as far?” “Father,” said he, “if you will go to cousin W’s overnight, I think you could.” The horses were saddled, and off went father and son on Saturday night. On Sunday they both went to hear the preacher, and the Lord blessed the very first discourse to the old man’s heart, and from that day he began to confess Jesus Christ as his Redeemer. During two summers he attended at the same place; but infirmities confining him to his bed he could not continue. When thus prevented from leaving his home, a friend called, and in the course of conversation said, “How old are you?” “Little more,” said he, “than two years old; for I can only reckon my life from the time I knew the Lord Jesus; the fourscore years before were but a life of death.” At eighty-four he departed, and entered into the joy of his Lord.

“This month shall he unto you the beginning of months it shall be the first month of the year to you.” (Ex. 12:2.)

From Darkness to Light

Once the world and its vain pleasures

Filled my heart and ev’ry thought;

Jesus and His heavenly treasures

Were unheeded and forgot;

Could a sinner

From so sad a state be brought?

Yes, for He who hath no pleasure

In the death of him that dies,

Stopped me, ere I filled the measure

Of my vast iniquities;

Gave repentance,

Break my chains, and bade me rise.

Deeply mourning, broken-hearted;

O, how sinful sin did seem!

From its ways I straight departed;

God I sought, and only Him;

Blest redemption!

It shall henceforth be my theme.

He who thus in mercy sought me,

Whilst I valued not His grace,

Kindly found me out and brought me

From destruction’s crooked ways,

Even Jesus

Will I ever love and praise.

Hence, the life I now am living,

Doth from Christ Himself arise,

Whilst by faith new strength receiving,

I press forward to the skies;

There faith ceaseth,

All is seen with open eyes.

Correspondence: 1 John 10-11; Acts 8; Fasting

Question 128: Please explain 2 John 10, 11. B. S.

Answer: In all of John’s epistles the truth that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, that is: that He is a real man as well as the eternal God (John 1:14), is jealously guarded. The Scriptures everywhere declare it and assure it. “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever,” is said to the Son of God (Heb. 1:8), yet he was also the Son of Man. (Heb. 2:6, quoted from Psa. 8.)

He was always God and with God (John 1:1), and when He took manhood, He could not cease to be a man. So we find Him in resurrection, “the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim. 2:5.) He is the sustainer of the universe. (Eph. 1:20-22; Col. 1:16, 17; Heb. 1:2, 3.)

2 John 10, 11 tell us how to treat those who deny the truth that Christ is truly God and man. The elect lady was not to receive such a one into her house, nor bid him God speed (salute him). For he that biddeth such God speed, is partaker of his evil deeds. Such a teacher is an antichrist. (1 John 2:22.) His teachings are blasphemy.

Question 129: Do you think Simon, the sorcerer was truly converted? Acts 8. M. A. H.

Answer: Simon the sorcerer was the first one we read of being baptized with Christian baptism; so was nominally a Christian, but in reality was unconverted. He was the first tare in the wheat field. (Matt. 13.) The first one at the feast not having on a wedding garment. (Matt. 22.) The first of the foolish virgins who had lamps, but had no oil in their vessels with their lamps. He would illustrate the one described in Hebrews 6:4, 5, as once enlightened, but without life; as having tasted of the heavenly gift, but did not feed on it; as a partaker of the Holy Ghost, being in the house of God (by baptism), where the Holy Ghost dwells, but he is not sealed; and as having tasted the good word of God, yet did not make it His own; he also saw the powers of the world (age) to come, the miracles wrought by Philip.”

In verse 13 we read; “Simon himself believed,” showing that his faith was only of himself, the natural mind, like those in John 2:23-25, who believed when they saw the miracles, but the Lord did not commit Himself unto them. (See John 6:66.) We see in Ephesians 2:8 where true faith comes from, “For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”

We have just to read Acts 8:20-23, to see that Simon was still a slave of sin and Satan, a lost man.

Question 130: Is fasting useful now, or was it only under the law? C. M.

Answer: The Lord said: “This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” Matthew 17:21. Prayer expresses our dependence on God. Fasting, where it is real, expresses a lowly, contrite condition of soul that refuses self-gratification for the purpose of being more in the presence of God. This is not imposing a rule on oneself or on any one, but it is feeling the necessity of being more abstracted from things around, that we might be more alone with God. The passage before us warns us not to appear fasting before men, but in secret with the Father, in the realization of having to do with God. There is no satisfaction in it to the flesh. To boast about, or to be proud of it, is to show that it was a sham. We find it used both in the Old and New Testament times.

How to Meet Modern Infidelity

It is ever a good thing to have the eyes opened to facts, even though the facts be distressing. To live in the imagination that all is going on well, when the absolute contrary is the case, is but to live in a vain show, to live life in unreality. God has done much latterly to open Christian people’s ears and eyes to the real state of the professing church, and to prove to them that the boasted progress of today is, as far as Christian faith goes, progress towards the apostasy foretold in the Scriptures.

The most treasured of Christian truths are scorned, in not a few instances, even by ministers of the Christian religion, and truths once revered as the very holiest of all are defiled by the boldest infidelity. Twenty years gone by, it would have been deemed miserable croaking to whisper, that we should live to see men rejecting the truth of atonement, permitted to hold high places in what are called orthodox Christian communities, or to find the protests of Protestants perishing as uncharitable speeches out of the land.

What will a few more years bring forth? The seeds of infidelity are sown broadcast over the land, and every fresh crop of weeds only multiplies a thousand-fold the awful and soul-destroying growth. “The time will come,” says the Word of God, “when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” and really it would seem that that dark day here foretold is present. The prophecy continues: “And they shall turn away their ears from the truth” —showing the willful character of the perverseness, and it closes: and shall be turned into fables” (2 Tim. 4:3, 4). For the judgment of God lies upon the perverse, so-called Christians, who reject His truth. Men are already being turned to the fables of Buddha in our “Christian land.” while blank, dead No-God-ism is an accepted creed by many. “Benevolent agnosticism” merely tolerates the acceptance of the Christian faith in “weak-minded” men and women out of consideration for their feeble brains!

Christians in deed, and not in name, need arouse themselves. Every believer in God and His truth has a work to do, and probably but little time in which to do it. The same page which foretells what is now upon us, gives us our orders for the battle— “But watch thou in all things.” Be thou awake thyself in all things, arouse out of the easygoing, feather-bed Christianity that prevails—For who can deny that the very privileges our forefathers won for us by their blood, have become but armchairs for us to repose in? Who can question that the favors of God to us in this our day of Christian liberty are too often made by us but a bed of ease upon which to lie? God calls us to the front, to labor, and to suffering, and such a life must be one of trial, and hence runs the order of the day, “Endure afflictions.”

The indifference of believers and of the day, is to be met by a wakeful spirit; its ease, by the endurance of afflictions; its infidelity, by the evangelist’s labor. “Do the work of an evangelist.” The scornful men, still called Christians, who believe in no God, require to hear the gospel of God. Or, if they have so turned, away their ears from the truth that they will not listen to it, or if because of their perverseness, God has in judgment turned their minds to believe fables, then their scholars and their dupes require to hear the truth. “Do the work of an evangelist,” then, fellow Christian. Labor for souls, for that is the evangelist’s work, and for this work a heart devoted to the Lord is requisite.

“Do the work of an evangelist!” Be the sphere of the work where it may, be you man or woman, rich or poor. Let the field of labor be that of the large congregation, the Sunday school, or, more important still, the private circle and the home life— “Do the work of an evangelist.”

Remember what an evangelist is: one sent from God to proclaim His heart of love to perishing men. The affectionate appeal, the loving testimony, the witness to what Jesus is, and to what He does for souls, have in them such winning power, that nothing this day’s religion offers, can approach unto. There is power in the gospel that infidelity cannot withstand; there is might in the truth of God, that no lie of the devil can resist—labor then for souls.

Meet modern infidelity by doing the work of an evangelist; meet the agnostic by the truth of the love of God; meet the remorse that the service of sin produces in the soul in the slave of sin, by the truth of the preciousness of the blood of Christ; meet the blank, dead creed of no future existence, by tears such as Jesus shed over the refusers and rejecters of God’s grace. “Do the work of an evangelist.”

Modern infidelity must be met, as all infidelity has to be met, in God’s way, by God’s power. The heathen are converted to God from their idols by the truth of God’s gospel; the practical heathen in our own cities and villages are converted to God in the same way, and so are the educated, the refined, the learned, who ridicule the word which in their souls they do not comprehend.

The King's Daughter

The calm sea shone like a mirror, and reflected on its placid bosom the clear blue sky and white fleecy clouds, while nearer the shore the soft verdure that crowned the neighboring heights was reflected in living green. Young children were playing merrily on the smooth, soft sands, while their mothers and nurses were reposing under the pleasant shade of the high cliffs, occupied with their books, knitting, or pencils, according to their various tastes or duties. The day was too hot for walking. I had myself come down to the beach to enjoy a peaceful hour; and seeing a young party with whom I was acquainted, I sat down near them. After watching the children some time, and assisting them to construct the castles, dykes, and canals, about which they were so busy, I turned to their governess and sat down by her.

Having some reason to think she was one who loved the Lord Jesus, I ventured to accost her by saying, “Well, my dear young friend, What are you doing to serve the Lord?”

“I!” she replied quickly, “Nothing.”

“How is that, if He has redeemed you, loved you, washed you?”

“But I do not know this; I am not a Christian.”

“How is this? I thought you were. You seem very anxious about the souls of your little pupils, you like to hear the gospel preached; you seem to like to speak and hear of the love of Jesus.”

“Yes, but I do not know that He is my Saviour. I fear I have no right to love Him; I think if I had, I should not be so often cross to the children; I should not have such worldly thoughts; my mind would not wander in prayer, as it does. I should like to know that I am a Christian, but how can I think so while I feel so sinful?”

“The truth is this, Miss H,” I replied, you want to see fruits of faith before you will believe you have the root. You will not believe that the foundation of the house is laid, because you cannot see the roof and chimneys. Let me try to explain myself by a parable.

“A certain king, having large and boundless wealth, resolved to adopt some of his subjects into his family, and to give them all the privileges of his own sons. He did not choose his adopted children exclusively from his nobles and gentry, but he made a general proclamation to his subjects to the effect, that whoever would, might become the king’s son or daughter.
This proclamation was from time to time repeated and re-echoed in every alley and garret through his empire. Some accepted the invitation; more rejected it. Among those who had heard of the king’s gracious offer was a young girl of low degree. Her heart burned to be the kings daughter, But how should she attain to this honor? She was poor, without friends, without education; her clothes were ragged and dirty, and her whole appearance forbidding.”

“‘Can this invitation be for me?’ she exclaimed.

“‘Yes, for you,’ replied the king’s messenger. ‘What must I do then?’

“‘Only go to the palace door and knock till you are admitted.’

“The messenger left her; but the next day, again meeting her, ‘Why have you not gone to the palace?’

“‘O, sir! I have been trying to mend up my clothes; and today I shall borrow a bit of soap to wash them.’

“‘Go just as you are,’ he replied.

“‘Why are you yet outside the palace gate?’ said he another day. ‘You are losing a great deal of time.’

“‘Sir,’ she replied ‘my speech is so uncouth; I want to take a few lessons in grammar, and to learn how to behave.’

“‘You will never learn court manners,’ said he, ‘till you go to court. ‘You will then be in the king’s company, and will learn from him how to behave, and how to speak; and as to your rags and dirt, you will never be free from them while you live in this filthy alley. Besides which, when you enter the king’s palace, he will take from you all your filthy rags; he will cause you to be thoroughly washed in a fountain kept for the purpose; and then you will be clothed in entirely new garments. So you are wasting time in making all these preparations.’

“The young girl thus addressed was at length wise enough to take her friend’s advice; she rose up, went straight to the palace gate, knocked as though she expected to be answered, and walked in as soon as the door was opened. She was washed, and clothed, and instructed. Gradually she learned the habits of the family. She enjoyed the love and care of the king all her life, and was as happy as a queen.

“Now, Miss H.,” continued I, “if you will but consent to knock at the palace gate—that is, if you come to God by faith in His dear Son, He will at once admit you into His family. He will wash you in the blood of Jesus Christ His Son which cleanses from all sin. He will take away the filthy garments of your own righteousness, in which by nature is all your trust. He will clothe you in His own righteousness. He will make you a daughter of the Lord God Almighty.”

“Ah!” replied my friend, “but the girl in your parable knew very well when the door was opened. If I could but see the door opened, I should know I could enter in and be saved.”

“In that difference lies the difficulty; and in that the blessing. What the Lord wants in you is not to act by sight, but by faith. He hath said, ‘Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.’ Can you simply take Him at His word?”

This was all that this dear young woman needed. The door was open for her, He was ready to receive her. All that was required of her was to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Tract Distribution: A Grand Work

The distribution of tracts is a grand work. It is a work in which the young and old, rich and poor, educated and illiterate, can have a part: tracts run up and down like angels of light, blessing all and asking nothing in return. They can travel at little expense. They can tell their story in kitchen or shop, the parlor or closet, in the hotel, omnibus or railway train and stations, in the footpath or in the fields, and can be made to speak on any subject. In short, they can be made the vehicles of truth and the teachers of all classes, the benefactors of all saints.

A lady once traveled nearly two hundred miles to tell the writer personally how a little leaflet that had been given her the year before had led to her conversion. By the use of a similar card a young man was led to accept the Lord Jesus, and through his influence both his father and mother were brought into the Master’s service.

The writer being led to speak to an engineer about his soul’s welfare, and leaving a little card bearing the gospel message (after personal dealing), received, a short time after, a letter, saying, “Do you remember me? I was lost that night you came and spoke to me on the train, but thank God for sending you to me. I have found peace and joy in the Lord Jesus, and am so happy I feel like shouting all the time. The Bible is a new book to me now.”

A Christian worker in England tells the following incident: I was called to see a dying woman. I found her rejoicing in Christ, and asked her how she found the Lord. “Reading that,” she replied, handing me a torn piece of paper. I looked at it and found it to be a part of an American newspaper containing an extract from one of Spurgeon’s sermons. “Where did you find this?” I asked. She answered, “It was wrapped around a parcel sent me from Australia.” Think of that! A sermon preached in London, conveyed to America, then to Australia, part of it torn off for the parcel, sent to England, and after all its wanderings giving the message of salvation to that woman’s soul!

Truly “God’s Word shall not return unto Him void.”

I am convinced that Christian workers could greatly increase their influence by more liberal use of printer’s ink in this direction.

The methods of using tracts are innumerable. Let us be encouraged to keep on hand a choice selection to enclose in letters and to give to those by the way with whom we are called to deal, or leave in the pathway of others.

N. B.—Make yourself familiar with the tracts you distribute in order that you may bestow them wisely; also study your field—the world—and remember if you trust Him the Lord will guide you and direct you in every detail of this work.

May our God mightily stir His people everywhere to action. Time is flying, souls are dying, tell of Jesus’ love. “Today may be your last chance” to speak for Christ.

Satan’s hosts are exceedingly busy filling the land with that which leads souls down to hell. Beloved, think of the tens of thousands of tracts, silent messengers which speak for Him many times, in many places and to many hearts. which you may have fellowship in sending forth, and know assuredly that in the day of manifestation a host shall come before Him, saved through such instrumentalities, besides the many saints that have been refreshed by the way through the written ministry.

Oh, beloved, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Perchance in heaven, one day, to me

Some blessed saint will come and say,

All hail, beloved, but for thee

My soul to death had fallen prey!

And oh, what rapture in the thought

One soul to glory to have brought.

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

“We reap what we sow.”

The Practical Christian Life

The chief desire of the true Christian is to live to God. The divine life that the believer possesses is evidenced by godly desires, while the Spirit of God, who dwells in His people is ever most graciously controlling the heart and leading the believer towards God. But we have to look well to ourselves, lest our desires remain but such. God calls upon us to devote ourselves to Him. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,” says the Apostle, “that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” God gave His Son to die, a sacrifice for us; God expects from us that we give ourselves to Him a continual life sacrifice. This is the path of real holiness, and a lifelong path it is.

Further the exhortation runs, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” (Rom. 12:1, 2) The inward work here spoken of is continuous—it is a work that goes on, or should go on, day by day. Maybe, a very little day by day, yet it is everyday work. The mind, the seat of man’s intelligence, is graciously acted upon by God the Spirit, and thus through the renewing of it the transforming of the whole man takes place, so that at length the Christian rejoices in what God is, and what He delights in.

Let us seek from God for a portion of His Word that may be to us the day’s bread, and let that portion fill our minds; and thus renewing of the mind will take place. Then we shall not be conformed to the world, but shall be transformed to likeness to Christ, and we shall prove for ourselves in our experience what is the good, and perfect, and acceptable will of God.

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: The Coming of the Lord, Part 4

With almost every square mile of what was once the old Roman Empire plunged into a struggling chaos of hatred, war, and slaughter; with nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom; with wars and rumors of wars so frequent as to lose their first awful shock to the minds and hearts of mankind—must not even the careless Christian feel that the end is near? There is the famous proverb among men that, “Coming events cast their shadow before them.” While it is true that the first forty-one verses of the twenty-fourth of Matthew cannot be fulfilled until after the church is safely housed in glory (Rev. 3:10), yet it seems more than probable that the preparation for this “hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth,” is being shadowed forth under our very eyes. Probably somewhere on this earth today that man, the antichrist, is nursing his base ambitions, and that other coming prince, the head of the future Roman Empire, is laying his plans for his great Confederacy.

Young Christian, let us search our Bibles, and see what light God has given us on these rapidly and surely approaching events. “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding; that when He cometh and knocketh, they may open unto Him immediately.” (Luke 12:35, 36.)

Questions for July

NOTE: At the end of the year rewards for the three most satisfactory series of answers to the 35 questions will be given as follows:

First Reward: A copy of the “New and Concise Bible Dictionary,” Cloth edition.

Second Reward: A copy of J. N. D.’s New Testament Cloth.

Third Reward: A copy of the music edition of “Messages of Love” hymn book.

Always give Scripture for answers, as well as your own expressions.

6. What does the word “prevent” in 1 Thessalonians, fourth chapter, mean?

7. How long a time will it take the Lord to gather us all unto Himself in the air?

8. What will become of our present bodies?

9. Whom does the “dead in Christ” include?

10. What will happen to your unsaved friend, relative, servant, or employer, after Jesus catches us up to glory?

Answers to Questions for May

1. Give the Different Titles of the Lord Jesus in Connection With His Coming for His Own.

The Bridegroom. Matthew 25:1.

The Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:16.

The Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. (New Trans.) Philippians 3:20.

Alpha and Omega. Revelation 22:13.

The Root and Offspring of David. Revelation 22:16.

The Bright and Morning Star. Revelation 22:16.

2. Give the Different Titles of the Lord Jesus in Connection With His Coming to Reign.

The Sun of righteousness. Malachi 4:2.

The Son of Man. Matthew 25:31,

The Lord Jesus. 2 Thessalonians 1:7.

The Lord. Jude 14.

Faithful and True. Revelation 19:11.

The Word of God. Revelation 19:13.

King of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:16.

3. How Many Times in Matthew’s Gospel Is the Coming of the Lord Referred to? Give Chapter and Verse.

The Lord’s coming is referred to twelve times in this gospel.

Matthew 3:12; 10:23; 16:27; 24:30, 37, 39, 42, 44, 46; 25:1-13, 31; 26:64.

4. Whom Are the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins Representing.?

The five wise represent those who are saved in the present dispensation. The five foolish represent those in the present dispensation who make a profession but have not the Spirit.

5. What Are the Marks of Difference Between the Five Wise and the Five Foolish Virgins.

The five wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps, but the five foolish took no oil. The oil is a type of the Spirit.

When the Bridegroom came, the five wise were ready and went in with Him to the marriage. The five foolish went to buy and had to hear that word: “I know you not.”

Life for the Sinner

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (literally, judgment), but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

“Verily, Verily,”

Is a word of confidence, a word of divine and positive assurance—fitly chosen, divinely selected—a word only thus found in the Gospel of John—a gospel which gives us the blessed unfoldings of Christ as Son come down from the bosom of the Father. He tells of His Father’s unfathomable love, and lest our hearts refuse to credit the tale of such love and grace, He prefaces it with a word on which faith may surely rest, and the heart be established in unshaken confidence before Him.

“He That Heareth My Word.”

O turn from man, poor sinner, to Him whose “sayings are true and faithful!” Listen I beseech thee, to the Son of God! Heareth is the word, not feeleth or striveth. He claims your attention; He wants your listening ear. O that His voice may fall upon your soul, calming the unrest within! Dear reader, drink in those precious words uttered by Himself— “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28.) “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For 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 3:14-16.) Surely His voice should alone be heard, and command the deepest attention of the soul. The world, the heart, and Satan have each spoken to man and been eagerly listened to; And what has been the result? The world alluring to destruction, the heart only condemning, and Satan falsifying the character of God. O that men would hear the voice of the Son of God!

“Believeth on Him That Sent Me.”

There is no word here about experiencing anything—a feeling something within. All true experiences follow believing. Before ever one is called upon to feel anything, or realize aught, he is called, commanded, and besought to believe on Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. My reader, do you believe on God? He gave Jesus for our sins; He raised Him up for our justification; He gave Him in love for the sinner. God could not be satisfied while man stood in the place of distance—in the place of guilt. O, He so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son! He loved you. You are in the world, part of it, and hence your claim to His love is a valid one. Now, won’t you believe on Him? What more—What else could He do to win your confidence?

“Hath Everlasting Life.”

Are the two conditions complied with? Have you heard His word? Have you believed on God, the giver of Jesus? Then you have everlasting life. It is a settled fact. It is not a maybe. God’s word is settled in heaven, and this word, assuring the hearing and believing sinner of everlasting life, is therefore a word settled in heaven. Hast thou heard His blessed word? Hast thou believed on God? If so, thou hast everlasting life; not a life clogged with conditions, or one which can be sinned away. It is everlasting.

“Is Passed From Death Unto Life.”

I need not wait until the judgment day to know that all my sins have been forgiven; the day of glory will undoubtedly manifest in power the blessed results of the cross, but I can know it all now. I pass from death unto life now.

Reader! what say you to all this? Now, may the gracious Lord lead you to the blessed knowledge of Himself. It is eternal life to know Him and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.

The Heart in Heaven.

Keep your taste, your love, and hope in heaven it is not good your love and your Lord should be in two sundry countries.

Scripture Study: Mark 3

The Son of Man, as Lord of the Sabbath, would not allow man’s thoughts of it to hinder Him from meeting the need of a ruined world and showing mercy to the needy ones who came before Him. It is God in grace, telling out His heart to His needy creature: it is love finding its true rest, amidst evil, in blessing man.

Mark 3:1-5. He was in the synagogue again and it was the Sabbath day. There was a man there, who had a withered hand, and they watched Him, whether He would heal on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse Him. He knew what they were thinking and said to the man which had the withered hand, “Stand forth,” and He saith unto them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath day or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?” But they held their peace. Their guilty consciences would not own their state. They would do any evil their traditions allowed them to do, but, of mercy for the needy man, they had none. They were silent before Him. He was angry with their wickedness, being grieved at the hardness of their hearts, and saith unto the man, “Stretch forth thine hand.” And he stretched it out and his hand was restored whole as the other. His heart was in His work. It was God who delighted to bless and to give: His service declared it. It was not law, demanding; it was grace, giving. Divine goodness thus set aside a Sabbath that was only an ordinance, to bring in mercy and to show if they had eyes to see their need of that mercy, and that it was for them. They had not kept the law and He could not honor their keeping of a Sabbath.

Mark 3:6. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. Such was their wickedness, that even the Sabbath did not hinder them plotting for His destruction, and these hitherto enemies to each other, became of one mind in their zeal to destroy the Lord. The most open enemies united to oppose Him.

The Lord set aside the dispensation of law since Jewish forms could not be mixed with Christian grace. God’s love and delight to bless ruined men was manifest in the works and words of Jesus, but it ran counter to man’s religion and worldly opposition. This was the character of the Lord’s service, yet men counseled how they might destroy Him.

Mark 3:7-12. Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea. A great multitude from many places followed Him, having heard what great things He did. He spoke to His disciples, that a little ship should wait on Him, that the multitude might not throng Him; for He healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon Him for to touch Him. As many as had plagues, and unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him, and cried, saying. “Thou art the Son of God.” He straightly charged them that they should not make Him known. Man’s enmity could not drive Him out of His path, as the servant doing the Father’s will. He went into new and larger fields, to proclaim the truth, to heal the diseased to deliver the captives out of Satan’s power. The love and power of God were seen in Him. It was not demanding righteousness from man, but giving to him, blessing, forgiveness and the righteousness of God.

Mark 3:13-19. He went apart from the multitude up into a mountain, and called unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him. He appointed twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. Not only could He work miracles, but He could give the power to others to do the same, that is, the power and authority of God. These twelve were His apostles for His mission on earth. He gave some of them names, according to their character, which He knew from the first.

Mark 3:20, 21. In the house the crowd was so great that they could not so much as eat bread. His relatives thought it was time for them to interfere and went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, “He is beside Himself” (out of His mind). How little any of them understood who He was!

Mark 3:22-26. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, “He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth He out devils.” They owned that He had the power, and that He could cast out devils, but they said it was the power of Satan. He called them to Him and reasoned with them in parables. How can Satan cast out Satan? A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Satan divided against himself hath an end.

Mark 3:27-30. This world was Satan’s house. A stronger than he was now come and had bound the strong man, Satan (in the temptations), and now was spoiling Satan’s goods by delivering the captives out of his power. But their malice and enmity to God showed itself in ascribing to Satan what they knew was done through the power of God. They might not and did not understand the person of the Son of Man, but they knew that none, but the power of the Holy Spirit, could cast out Satan. This was the sin that had never forgiveness, for he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is in danger of eternal damnation. This does not refer to a Christian at all. It was in the dispensation of law, when the Lord was on earth, and when they said, “He hath an unclean spirit” (v. 30). In this time, we can say, “The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all (every) sin” (1 John 1:7), and, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17).

Mark 3:31-35. We find in the figure of His mother and His brethren (His natural relationships), Israel set aside. Here the principle is seen of not knowing any man after the flesh. Relationship is doing the will of God and this is formed by the word of God, when received into the soul.

Israel’s story ended in their rejection of Christ, until grace restores them again, after the church is removed from the earth.

King Jehoshaphat - Be Careful in Your Choice of Companions: Part 3

Through the mercy of the Lord, it is written of Jehoshaphat that he “returned to his house in peace,” although not without rebuke, for “the son of Hanani went out to meet him,” and put this important question to the erring, if repentant, king, “Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord” (2 Chron. 19:2, 3).

God had been very gracious to Jehoshaphat.

He always is gracious; while rebuking the king, He did not forget that there were “good things” found in him. God in His holiness judges wrongdoing, but does not overlook any good in His people. It is said, “and by Him actions are weighed” (1 Sam. 2:3). God in His grace forgives, but then His ways in government must continue all the same.

Our readers may have heard of the little boy whose conduct so displeased his father, that he said he would drive a nail into a post in the garden every time he was naughty in the future. A considerable number of nails were driven in, alas! After a time, however, a difference became apparent in the boy’s behavior; there were kind acts instead of cruel ones, obedient ways instead of disobedient ones, and the father promised to take a nail out of the post every time that he observed these altered and better actions.

Accordingly, one bright day the happy parent took his boy into the garden to see the last nail taken out of that tell-tale post. The boy was not so pleased as his father expected, and being questioned, he answered, “Father, you have taken away the nails, but you have left all the holes behind!” If the withdrawing of the nails told of the father’s forgiveness, the holes showed where the nails had been. So it was with Jehoshaphat; he “returned to his house in peace,” but “wrath was upon him from before the Lord” for being unequally yoked with the ungodly.

When King David exclaimed, “I have sinned,” the confession was met with “the Lord hath put away thy sin,” but we know if grace puts away the sin, government must decree that the sword shall not depart from the house of David. Repentance to be effectual must be heartfelt, yes, and conscience felt too; and then the fruits of repentance will be seen. Jehoshaphat was now not only desirous of being right with God Himself, but we observe that, he was desirous of bringing back those he had led astray, for had he not said to the ungodly Ahab, “I am as thou art, and my people as thy people, and we will be with thee in the war.” But now “he went out again through the people from Beersheba to Mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the Lord God of their fathers. And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, “Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.” This sounds wholesome. Jehoshaphat has learned a deep lesson; he now knows what a valuable thing is the fear of the Lord, and how serious a thing it is to act without the sense of that fear. We fear that a good deal of so-called repentance is very superficial and shallow. It is refreshing to read what the Apostle Paul says of the Corinthians: “For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation.... In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter” (2 Cor. 7:11).

Have any of our readers lost their first love, or are they in danger of losing it? Or are they un equally yoked with unbelievers? Cry to the Lord, for only He can deliver. Jehoshaphat might have used on his restoration, and after having nearly lost his life through backsliding, the words of the Psalm: “Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands asunder.”

“O that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder” (Psa. 107).

The Flight of Time

How quickly the moments are passing away,

And speeding us on our heavenly way;

‘Mid trials and sorrows we press onward still,

Assured what befalls us fulfilleth His will.

The days, and the months, and the years fly apace,

And soon we will come to the end of the race,

Where no trace of sin will disturb our repose,

Where we will be free from the worst of all foes.

At rest in the presence of Him we so love,

And all His redeemed in the glory above.

A few fleeting moments and life will be past,

And we will have reached our fair haven at last,

Our all at His feet we will gladly lay down,

And own Him as worthy of many a crown.

When time will have ended, or race fully run,

Our service completed, our work for Him done,

We’ll view with rejoicing the path we have trod,

And see carried out the wise counsels of God.

With this hope before us of soon being home,

How little we’d care for this scene where we roam.

How gladly we’d bid it farewell and arise.

And welcome the shout of our Lord in the skies.

A few fleeting moments and time will have fled.

And living believers, and those who are dead,

Be caught up together to meet in the air,

Not one will be missing, we all will be there.

Forever to lean in our Saviour’s embrace,

And know what it is to be saved by His grace.

The flight of time ended, no longer to roam,

Redeemed and Redeemer forever at HOME.

India Rubber Men

“India-rubber men, two a penny!” Such was the street cry, that the other day fell upon our ears, and so charmed were we with the idea, that we did not even turn round to see what the cheap little flexibilities were like. India-rubber men! Who can deny the abilities of flexibilities? They may be turned and twisted, drawn out and pinched into countless shapes, which, were they not India-rubber men, would be impossible.

An India-rubber man will do anything you wish. You can make what you like of him by your finger and thumb. He is unresisting, pliable, without a character of his own, and, after having been pulled into a variety of shapes, returns by the force of his elasticity to his original form.

And how cheap they are! yet surely none too cheap, for they are not worth much, since they are, after all, but playthings. India-rubber men? No, they are not men at all, but India rubber!

Young Christian, be not of this race and genus, for though we live in the Iron age, the times have made many men mysteriously pliable, or, maybe, men have made in these times a manufactory for turning out flexibilities.

Remember, if you are to be of practical worth on this earth, you must be firm for God. You must have a conscience. You yourself must be strong and decided.

Correspondence: Cross Time; 1 Ti. 4:7; Luke 8:31-33; Christ in War;2 Tim. 2:20-21

Question 131: Please explain the hours Jesus was on the cross. P. C. B.

Answer: Mark 15:25. “It was the third hour, and they crucified Him.” This answers to 9 a.m. in our time. Verse 33, “And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour”; that is, from noon till 3 p. m. After the darkness, Jesus said: “It is finished,” and “Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit”; then He died. It was near the end of the day, sundown, when He was buried, that is “even.” (v. 42.)

Judging from John 19:14 John reckoned time after our standard Roman time.

Question 132: What is meant by “profane and old wives’ fables”? 1 Tim. 4:7. P. C. B.

Answer: The natural superstitions of the human mind produce stories of ghosts, fairies and goblins and other nonsensical things; these are all profane, they leave out true thoughts of God. We are to exercise ourselves rather unto godliness; this is true submission to God’s Word. (2 Cor. 10:5.)

Question 133: Has Luke 8:31, 32, 33, a dispensational meaning? Does it refer to any special class of people? W. W. H.

Answer: The man out of whom the demons were cast is a picture of the believing remnant of Israel, who, after he met the Lord Jesus, was found sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind. It is also a picture of all believers.

The swine is a picture of the apostate nation of Israel, who, under the power of Satan, rush on downward to their destruction. It is also true of all Christ rejecters. Thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth verses show the believer’s desire to be with the Lord, but in the meantime he was to wait in the world out of which his master was sent and there to witness to what God had done for him. (Phil. 2:12-16.)

Question 134: What do the Scriptures teach is the Christian’s path in time of war? M.

Answer: James 4:1, 2, tells him where war comes from. The believer belongs to Christ, he is bought with a price. (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23.) Christ’s teaching and example is for the believer. (Phil. 2:5; 1 John 2:6.) The believer is a citizen of heaven. (Phil. 3:20; Heb. 3:1.) Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. (John 18:36.) The believer is not of this world. (John 17:16.) The Lord teaches him not to resist evil. (Matt. 5:39.) To love his enemies. (Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:27, 28.) He is to suffer rather than to fight. (Rom. 12:19-21.) He is to obey the powers that be (Rom. 13:1; 1 Peter 2:13), to pray for the rulers (1 Tim. 2:1) and to submit to them in every right thing, but if contrary to the word of God, he is to obey God rather than men. (Acts 4:19, 20; 5:29.)

In the Old Testament, Israel was God’s earthly people. They were to fight against Gods enemies and to possess the land of Palestine. (Psa. 149:6-9; Deut. 8:7-10; 34:1-4.)

The Christian blessing is seen in Ephesians 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3, 4. He needs strength to suffer (Phil. 1:20, 29; Col. 1:11), he is to find it in Christ. (Phil. 4:13, 19.)

He may need to die for Christ (Luke 21:16, 17), but not a hair of his head shall perish. (Luke 21:18.) And the heavenly kingdom is secured for him, and he will be preserved for it. (2 Tim. 4:18; 1 Peter 1:4, 5.)

Question 135: Please explain 2 Timothy 2:20, 21. B. L. S.

Answer: The truth of the church of God as the body and the bride of Christ, and as the habitation of God through the spirit, is unfolded in the letter to the Ephesians.

First Timothy instructs the man of God how to behave in this house or habitation of God. (3:15.)

Second Timothy instructs the man of God how to walk when disorder and confusion has spoiled it as God’s witness on earth. It teaches him that there is a path of faith, which is a path of obedience to God and to His Word. In this epistle we find all kinds of evil have come in. but God has not disowned it: the Holy Spirit still dwells here on earth in it. In chapter 2:15, the believer is to seek the approval of God, dividing and applying the Word according to God’s mind revealed in the Scriptures. In verses 20 and 21 and their context, the path of faith and separation from evil is marked out. Verse 20 compares Christendom to a great house, in which is a mixture of bad and good; all is in confusion.

It is a picture of the professing church on earth. We are in it, we are not told to leave it, but the twenty-first verse calls on the believer to purge himself from the mixture; that is, to be separated from the mixture so to walk in a separate path, and thus be a vessel unto honor, set apart, and meet for the Master’s use and prepared unto every good work.

Verse 22 teaches us that a right condition of soul is needed, as well as a right position of separation. So it reads, “Flee also youthful lusts.” These words would teach us to judge our own hearts and ways, so that we are not allowing things inconsistent with the true character of a Christian. Next he is told what to follow—not people, but— “righteousness, faith, love, peace—practical righteousness in our ways; faith in God and His Word as our guide (see 3:16, 17). Love is the divine nature in its activity, it goes out in compassion for the newly and the lost, and it embraces as one with them all the children of God; it is also love in the truth, it rejoices not in iniquity; peace, we follow peace, the Christian is to be a peacemaker, and have his feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Ministering peace to the troubled heart of saint or sinner out of the fullness of the grace of God. Following thus we find others doing the same, and in the unity of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3), we follow with them; they call on the Lord out of a pure heart. We are not called on to decide who are the Lord’s and who are not, but we are to discern those who seek to follow the Lord in simplicity and sincerity, and to follow with them.

The Security of Christ's Sheep and Lambs

One evening, after a gospel preaching, a young woman returned to the room, desiring to speak with me. After a few minutes’ conversation, I found that, though she did believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as the One who had died to save her, and put away her sins by His precious, atoning blood, yet she was not at rest about her eternal salvation and security, saying that she was afraid she would lose, or let Him go.

I then asked her, “Can you rest upon Him as the One who ‘once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God’?” (1 Peter 3:18.) She immediately replied, “Yes, I can.”

Seeing that her difficulty was that, though she had faith in Him as the One who had died for her, and rose again, she had not faith in Him as the living omnipotent Saviour and Shepherd of the sheep in the bright glory of God above, I said, “Suppose you could see a shepherd coming across yonder field, with a little, strayed lamb in his arms, tell me, would the shepherd be carrying the lamb, or the lamb carrying the shepherd?”

“Why, of course, the shepherd would be carrying the lamb,” was her reply.

“Yes, of course,” I said. “Now tell me which are you, the lamb or the shepherd?”

“The lamb,” she replied.

“Yes, to be sure; and do you not see the lamb does not hold the shepherd, but the ‘good’ and the ‘great’ Shepherd, the Lord Jesus, holds in His omnipotent arms the little lamb, and carries it safely home to glory?”

“Yes, I see,” she said, “and I can rest now quietly and safely in Him.”

“Thank God,” I said; “and now let us bow down on our knees, and praise and bless Him for His boundless grace to us in giving Himself for us, and for His infinite power and might in thus carrying us safely through all the dangers of the desert way to His glory and rest above.”

We did so, and she arose and went on her way, happy and rejoicing.

May God, in His wondrous ways of wisdom and love, use this brief story to establish many of His sheep and lambs in the infinite love and power of our “Lord Jesus Christ,” as the only “Saviour” and Great Shepherd of His flock. (Luke 15:4-6; Isa. 40:11; Heb. 13:20.)

Love Not the World.

Is it right for Christians to attend theaters and other places of amusement? This is a question often asked, as it is one of great importance, affecting the testimony here on earth, and also the reward in eternal glory, it is well that it should be answered in such a way that there may be no possibility of mistake.

For God’s people, God’s Word, which is given to be a lamp to the feet and a light to the path, should be the guide in all such questions. And no surer guide are the chart and the compass to the mariner in his path across the trackless deep, than is the Bible to the Christian in his pathway through the mazes of this world. Its principles are sufficient to govern and guide him in whatever circumstances he may be placed.

But all Christians are not willing to be governed by God’s Word; and such as are not must, sooner or later, go through a breaking which will bring them into subjection. Happy those who unresistingly yield submission to the cleansing power of that Word. To such there is joy now, true joy being found in the path of obedience, and blessing for eternity.

Christians may be divided into two classes: those who “cleave with purpose of heart to the Lord,” and those who “follow afar off.” The first class, allowing God’s Word to shed its light on their pathway, seek to avoid worldliness, and evil in every form.

The second class, giving little or no heed to God’s Word, take what comfort or pleasure they can get, going into the world as far as they can without disturbing their consciences too much. Of this class are those who are found spending hour after hour at games of various kinds. If spoken to about it, they will tell you they see no harm in these “innocent amusements,” and they do not see that the Bible speaks against such things! Such are not governed by the principles of God’s Word; and if they have any thought of pleasing the Lord Jesus, they have little realization of what is due to Him. Do they ever seek to measure the uncounted hours thus passed, every one of which will have to come in review before the judgment seat of Christ? Do they ever stop to question how they will feel in the presence of His all-searching gaze, and what account they shall render for this worse than wasted time? For we shall have to meet Him face to face, and shall then have to speak with Him of things done and things left undone, and each of us will receive according to the deeds done in the body. I cannot answer for your wasted time, and you cannot answer for mine. Each must give account for himself; and it will be a true account that we will render in that day. In the presence of that light which will search us through and through, it will be useless to seek to cover anything up, or to hold anything back. “There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; neither hid that shall not be known.” (Luke 12:2.)

Is it, then, nothing to the Christian that his life down here should be such that he will have no fear nor dread to have all laid bare when he shall stand before Christ? Will he allow the things of time to shut out the eternal things, and go on from day to day as if this life were all? He may forget, as the days and weeks pass on, the many failures that come into his life, but God does not forget.

True, those who have eternal life will not come into judgment; God says it (John 5:24): and the sins and iniquities of those who believe in Jesus will never be remembered more (Heb. 10:17). But while we will not come into judgment on account of our sins, because the judgment has been borne by another, we will have to be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, in order to “receive the things done in the body”; according to what we have done, “whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). If errands of mercy, words of kindness and self-denying deeds of love have abounded in our lives; if prayer and the study of God’s Word have found place in our spare moments; how much more will it be to our praise than if a score of amusements have filled up the time! Is eternity a reality to us? If so, is it nothing to me, is it nothing to you, what shall come out to our shame or praise in “that day”?

To return to our question. Is it right for Christians to attend theaters and other places of amusement? That these things have their origin in the world, and are supported by it, no one will deny. The question, then, resolves itself into this: Has the Christian a right to take part in that which is purely of the world? He himself is not of the world (John 17:15). Shall he, then, seek and find his pleasure in those things whose source and strength are only of the world? The two things do not agree together. If he is “not of the world,” how can he find his joy in that which is of the world? Pursuing worldly pleasures and lending his support to these things will gain for him the love of the world which provides these pleasures; but here again is inconsistency, for Jesus says, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because we are not of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” (John 15:19.) This Scripture should search the conscience of every one who bears the name of Christ.

It is sadly true that a Christian may so far get into the spirit of the world that his ways would lead us to think he is of the world. Too often his ways are not such as to condemn its ways, and instead of having the hatred of the world he has its love. But such a one is in a false position, and will suffer great loss. And if there is one of my readers who does not shun the pleasures of the world, and frown upon its follies, he may well question if he belongs to Him who says of His own, “They are not of the world.”

It is most important to see that there is a breach between God and the world which has crucified His Son, and that we cannot have part with both: we cannot at the same time be friends of God, and the friends of the world. God shows us this in His Word. He says, “Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God” (James 4:4.) Dear reader, are you a friend of God, or an enemy? Have you known the grace that has wrought for you, the love that has met all your need? Has the voice of Jesus reached your soul, and have you passed from death unto life? Is there, then, no answering chord in your heart to that love which led your Saviour to drink the awful cup of God’s wrath and judgment against sin for you? And when He bids you follow Him, and bear His yoke, do you say, It is too heavy a burden? If He has redeemed you, and marked you off for eternal blessing, and now says to you, I want you to live in separation from the world for the little while I leave you in it, until I call you to Myself, to be with Me, where I am, do you say, It is too hard; I cannot live in separation; I must have some of the innocent amusements of this world? If this is the language of your heart, —or of your life—where is the proof that you have bowed to Him and owned His Lordship? And where is the answering love in your heart to that love which led Him to go down into the deep, dark waters of death for you—a death made appalling through God’s forsaking, and that because of your sins borne by Him? Stop! Think! Where are you? What are you doing? Has Jesus strewn these worldly pleasures in the “narrow way” that He has marked out, or has Satan spread them along the “broad road” to allure souls on their way to destruction? And have your feet been caught in the snare? If so, may the Lord deliver you from Satan’s toils! A Christian walking with the world, and finding his pleasure in the things of the world, is a most unenviable person. He cannot have the Lord’s approval, and, with a bad conscience, he cannot find comfort or satisfaction in pursuit of that which the Lord forbids.

(To be continued.)

Work for the Lord

The Sunday School.

There is, perhaps, in many respects, no work for the Lord so adapted for the young Christian as putting the gospel before the children, and we feel sure these lines will be read by many who although really fitted by God for Sunday school teaching, have never yet taken it up.

While there is danger in “all work,” there is a greater danger in “no work”; that while in the former we may become absorbed in “our” doings, and become mere “Marthas,” in the latter we are apt to sink into a state of listless indifference.

There are many Christian “drones” who, not content with idleness, are apt to look upon themselves as superior beings, and to slight the poor working bees.

Are you a “working bee,” or a “drone,” dear reader? Perhaps, like Count Zinzendorf, you will be startled out of sleep if that question rings in your ears, “What hast thou done for ME?”

What are you doing for Christ, after what He has done for you?

It is clear from the Word of God that the children had and still have a large place in the heart of the Lord. He said, “Suffer, little children to come unto Me; and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” We are here in the Lord’s stead, and in this one verse we get sufficient authority for the carrying out of our work. Surely it is most desirable that they should be taught that clear and blessed gospel which God “according to His abundant mercy” has made known to us. And I sometimes ask myself the question, “How would the young be reached if it were not for the Sunday school?”

Do we believe that “broad is the way that leadeth to destruction”? (Matt. 7:13.) Do we indeed believe it? And the multitudes of young people and children around us “without Christ,” who are therefore going down to an eternal hell? O, why waste our precious time? A great harvest field lies around us, ripe for reaping, and laborers are few.

“The night is far spent, the day is at hand”; yes, “The coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” The traps of Satan, and the tempting baits which he holds out to catch the inquisitive eye, and the hungry heart that wants satisfying, and yet, as those who are the Lord’s what precious things we have to offer. O, dear young Christians, be persuaded to lose no opportunity of pointing them to Christ, telling them that there is a free, present, personal and perfect salvation, offered to all, “without money and without price.” (Isa. 55:1.)

Look around you on every hand and see the many who do not know the way of salvation. Hand them a “Messages of Love,” and invite them to your private room, or under the trees, or to the Sunday school, or in some other way. But let us desire, while the Lord tarries, the blessed privilege of gathering the children, to tell them of Jesus, each of us looking to God for guidance and, being fully persuaded in our own minds, do the work He has set before us.

O, speak to the dear young souls gently, lovingly, and tenderly, but speak. Get them alone if you can, draw out their confidence in any way you find best. Our purpose is not to offend, but to win; our message is one of grace, of invitation, of offered blessing; yes, “God doth beseech by us,” let this give our tone in speaking, let us not be weary of speaking. If they will not heat our oft repeated entreaty, then let us continue to live for God before them; and, above all, to pray for them, and for the seed sown that it may bring forth fruit to His praise and glory.

Wouldst Thou Speak a Word for Jesus?

Wouldst thou speak a word for Jesus?

Lean upon His tender breast;

Then tell heavy-laden sinners

Where to find eternal rest.

Wouldst thou speak a word for Jesus?

Waiting, sit at His dear feet,

And in the savor of that presence

Go those weary souls to meet.

Wouldst thou speak a word for Jesus?

Dwell in fellowship divine;

With the brightness of that glory

E’en thy very face shall shine.

Wouldst thou speak a word for Jesus?

Ponder on His mighty love;

Think how He to save poor sinners,

Left His glorious throne above.

Wouldst thou speak a word for Jesus?

Drink of that life-giving stream,

Till thine heart with joy o’erflowing

Cannot fail to speak of Him.

Of no coldness then complaining,

Thou a joyous song shalt raise;

His own love thy heart constraining,

Thy whole life shall speak His praise.

Soon thou’lt be at home with Jesus,

And He’ll speak these words to thee,

“Well done, good and faithful servant,

Enter into joy with Me.”

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: The Coming of the Lord, Part 5

The Word of God plainly tells us “that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (2 Peter 3:3, 4.) And what is the reason for such a state of things? The Word answers this question too. They are “willingly ignorant”. (2 Peter 3:5.) It isn’t because God hasn’t been faithful through the centuries in warning men as to the end. He has. It may surprise some of our readers to know that the second advent of the Lord is referred to, more or less distinctly, 730 times in the Bible, namely 345 times in the Old, and 385 times in the New Testament. Yet nine out of ten professed Christians not only do not know anything about the Lord’s coming, but they do not want to know. They are “willingly ignorant.” O, dear Christian, let none of us be willingly ignorant.

The world may be boasting of its Grand World’s Fair, and there demonstrating the proud advancement of mankind in every, line of skill, education, and scientific achievement. They may even have the heartlessness to do it while one half the world is baptized in blood, even while civilization is tottering on its very base. But the true child of God knows that all this boasted progress is doomed. Christ is coming; wrath is on the way. Then “let us not sleep as do others; but let us watch and be sober, for God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thess, 5: 6, 9.)

Questions for August

NOTE.—As a reward to the young Christians sending in the most satisfactory series of answers to these thirty-five questions, a first, second, and third reward will be given, as announced in the June number of “The Young Christian.”

Always give Scripture for answers, as well as your own expressions.

11. Will the Lord Jesus come in spirit or in body?

12. After we meet the Lord in the air, how long do we remain with Him?

13. Where will we be, when “the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father and with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works”?

14. What three little words in the book of Revelation give us an intimation of the point where the church is viewed as caught up to heaven?

15. What topical company of people in Revelation represent the risen and glorified saints in heaven?

Answers to Questions for June

1. Matthew 25:5, 10.

2. John 14:3.

3. 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 2:19; 3: 13; 4:16; 5:23. 2 Thessalonians 1:10; 2:1; 3:5.

4. The word rapture comes from the Latin word rapture, and means “to snatch away”. So, as applied to Christ’s coming, it means His catching away from the earth His bride, the church.

5. It will doubtless be daytime for the saints in one part of the world, and night time for others, as one half of the earth is in darkness all the time. But no one save the Father knows the moment set. So we may expect Him day or night. (Matt. 24:36.)

Promises or Facts?

The sinner needs salvation. Is he called upon to trust the promises—to grasp them? What says God upon this deeply interesting subject? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.... He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that what He had promised He was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.” (Rom. 4:3, 20-25.)

Abraham believed that God was able to perform what He had promised.

Now we believe, not what God is able to do, but what He has done. It is no longer promise, and God’s ability to perform, but righteousness shall be imputed to us if we believe on Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification.

The gospel is a divine statement of accomplished facts. God is not now promising to give Jesus for our sins and raise Him from among the dead. He has delivered Him for our offenses. He has raised Him for our justification.

Reader, are facts or promises before your mind? God’s facts are for the sinner; God’s promises for the saint. You can’t change or alter in the very least the character of a fact, so you can’t in anywise affect the unchanging nature of God’s wonderful work in redemption. “The cross still stands unchanged”; there it is, the solid and eternal foundation of peace with God. Christ was given in love for my sins. His work accepted, and Himself owned on high, is surely the rock on which every believing one may plant his feet. It is God’s work from first to last. He has laid the foundation, and then “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” (Psa. 40:2.) What then? Is it promises or facts? Facts, surely; for God accomplished His mighty work of grace for the sinner eighteen centuries ago.

And now there are no promises in God’s word to the sinner. All the promises are “yea and amen in Christ Jesus”; most weighty and precious they are, but all for the saint. It is Christ for the sinner. God’s work in perfect grace, putting sin away, and judging it according to His own absolutely holy nature, and the love of His heart—has been accomplished. It will never be repeated. It is finished. All is done. Can’t you, won’t you, believe now on God, who has thus wrought for you; sparing not His own Son, that He might righteously spare thee? Reader, if thou canst say, “He was delivered for my offenses, and was raised again for my justification,” then go in peace, thou art saved, thou art justified. Go in peace, and the promises will cheer thee in thy path; but first see to it that thou hast truly grasped God’s facts, and then God’s rich and precious promises will cheer thee on thy way.

Scripture Study: Mark 4

The Lord in figure has left Israel, of whom He received no fruit. His service in sowing the Word is to produce fruit by the Word received into the heart. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

It is not national relationship, but individual now.

Verses 1, 2. He sat in a ship with the multitude on the shore before Him, and He taught them many things by parables.

One would naturally think with such a teacher all must be convinced and believe His word, but His first parable shows how mistaken we are in such a thought.

Verses 3-8. “Hearken: Behold, there went out a sower to sow.” Some fell by the wayside, some fell on stony ground, and some fell among thorns, and some on good ground. In three places it is without fruit, and on the good ground the seed does not produce alike in every one. Yet it sprang up, and increased and brought forth, some thirty, some sixty, and some an hundred. And He said unto them, “He that hath ears to hear, let Him hear.” Yes, why it should be so with us is worth pondering.

Verses 10-12. When He was alone, they that were about Him with the twelve asked of Him the parable. He said unto them, “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: that, seeing, they may see, and not perceive; and hearing, they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.”

This applies to Israel as a nation. Individuals did receive the word and were forgiven (Verse 12 is a quotation from Isa. 6:10. See also Acts 28:25-28.)

Verse 13. He seems to reprove the disciples for not understanding the parable, but graciously goes on to explain it.

Verse 14. “The sower soweth the word.” It is the Word of God, and where it finds entrance, it must bring the soul into thoughts of God. This begets exercise in the conscience.

Verse 15. The wayside hearer does not take it in, and Satan immediately comes and takes it away.

Verses 16-18. The stony ground hearer receives it at once with gladness. Grace sounds nice, and is a pleasant story, and has beauty in it, but when it brings affliction and persecution, the natural heart wants none of it.

There was no sense of need, no conscience exercised about having to do with a holy God, so, like those in John 6:66, they go away. When true need is there nothing can satisfy but Jesus. ( John 6:68, 69.) Without this exercise there is no self judgment, it is only surface work, and soon disappears.

Verses 18, 19. The seed sown among thorns pictures those who seem to receive the Word, but soon the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful. “Other things” show that God is not first. God has not His true place in the soul.

Verse 20. The good ground brought forth fruit and increased, but we might well ask ourselves, Why do we not bring forth the full measure of fruit? The Sower was good, and the seed was good, so it must be in the tilling of the ground; it could not have been properly cleared of weeds and thorns. We saw in the last instance how these hindered the growth of the seed. We need to be exercised to judge all that is of self and self-interests if we are to bring forth fruit to God. The fruits of the Spirit can only be produced in us by letting the Spirit occupy us with Christ. (Gal. 5:22. 2 Cor. 3:18.)

Verse 21. The seed in good ground keeps growing, and is to be a light to others. The ways and testimony, word and work of believers are not to be covered up by business (the bushel); nor by ease or pleasure (the bed), but is to be set on a candlestick. We receive that we may give. God hath shined in our hearts, that the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ might shine out. (2 Cor. 4:6.) This is more than gift; it is grace in each one to live Christ, to love the truth and to walk the truth, and thus glorify the Saviour in our lives, by His grace given to us.

Verse 22. All is intended for manifestation, and will be.

Verse 23. “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.” May our hearts ponder this truth.

Verse 24. “Take heed what ye hear.” It is the same lesson, and shows that what we receive and practice of the truth, will increase our store and enable us in a measure to meet our responsibility to others. And if we do not practice this precious love and grace, we will lose much in our soul’s enjoyment of Christ.

Verse 25. How true this was of the Jews who had many privileges, but did not receive Christ, and so lost what they had. And then to those who received Christ, more was given, for they were to know Him afterward as the Glorified One, and are thus brought into full blessing in Him.

Verses 26-29. The Lord sowed at the beginning “as if a man should cast seed into the ground.” Now He has gone away, and it is as if the man should sleep, and rise night and day. and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. So it has been going on as if the Lord was not regarding it, but at the end He is seen again. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately He putteth in the sickle because the harvest is come. We know that all blessing is wrought by His grace, through the Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Verses 30-32 give another picture of the kingdom growing from a small seed to a tree greater than all herbs, so that the fowls of the air lodge in its branches. This pictures a great system, that can receive under its branches what is foreign to its character and to the object for which it was intended. The testimony of Christ on earth has become a great political system and under His name every evil finds a shelter.

Verses 33, 34. With many such parables spake He the Word unto them as they were able to hear it, so that those who had ears to hear would receive the suited Word for their souls. And those who were His disciples, when alone with Him, received a full explanation. What love, what intimacy this tells us of and encourages us to go to Himself for our explanations.

Verses 35-41. In this incident we have the Lord’s unfailing power and love and care for His own displayed. It was the evening of the same day, the shadows were lengthening, when He leaves to journey across the lake with His disciples. They take Him as He was with them, for He had said, “Let us pass over unto the other side.” Those words should have given them assurance that they would get there safely. And there were also with Him other little ships. Did He not care for them also? Were they not also of His company? We may be sure of it, for He upholds all things by the word of His power. But His people have their trials, their faith must be tested. “Ye believe in God, believe also in Me” ( John 14:1); for “We walk by faith not by sight.” To Martha Jesus said, “Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” (1 Peter 1:6, 7.) So, “There arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.” The Lord was asleep on a pillow in the hinder part of the ship. As a laborer, He had seized an opportunity to rest. And they thought He did not care. Did He not know their trouble? Did He not care? Yes. He knew, He cared. It was the testing time they needed that they might know Him better. They could not trust Him, they did not see His care exercised. And with unbelief of heart they awoke Him, saying, “Master, carest Thou not that we perish?” And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, “Peace, be still.” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And He said unto them, “Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

What comfort amid the storms that beset the church of God. What comfort to each of us in our little ship that He is with us. He knows the end from the beginning, and we will reach the other side safely. We may have trials, and be tempted to think He does not care, but “We cannot perish for our Lord is nigh; And His own hand will all our need supply.”

“I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.” John 14:18.

King Jehoshaphat - Be Careful in Your Choice of Companions: Part 4

“Satan Himself is Transformed into an Angel of Light.”

We cannot conceive Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, saying to another king outside of Israel, “I am as thou art, and my people as thy people, and we will be with thee,” as he so blandly replied to Ahab. No! it is an easier matter to discern evil in its open form and character in the world, and thus unhesitatingly to shun it.

Was not Ahab a king of Israel? Could he not say, “Know ye that Ramoth-Gilead is ours, and we be still?” Is it not our common enemy who has taken Ramoth-Gilead from us? It is here, we repeat, where discernment is needed, for while evil in its true and undisguised character is avoided, evil in its untrue character, so to speak, is often fallen in with. Albeit, Ahab was king of Israel, the people of the Lord, yet for all that he was a very wicked man indeed. It is recorded of him that “he did evil in the sight of the Lord, above all that were before him. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.” (1 Kings 16:30-31.)

Who would suggest that it was a proper thing for Jehoshaphat to have fellowship with such a wicked man even if he were king of Israel, the favored people of God? Could anything be more shocking than to go on with wickedness, because pursued by those who bear the Lord’s name? Far be the thought!

But here it is, alas, that we are so often deceived. Look for a moment at another striking example of how the world in its open form was avoided, while in its disguised form it was fallen into.

The “man of God” was proof against the offers or reward and refreshment of “Jereboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin,” but proved vulnerable to the deception of the “old prophet in Bethel.” Doubtless if Jereboam had declared to the man of God that “an angel spake” to him, he would not have been believed, but he believed the prophet, and he an old one, and believed him to his ruin. This, my dear young friends, is a serious matter, yet we need not be discouraged or afraid. If—

“Sin, Satan, Death appear,

To harass and appall,

Yet since the gracious Lord is near,

Backward they go and fall.

Before, behind, around,

They set their fierce array,

To fight and force me from the ground

Along life’s narrow way.

I meet them face to face,

Through Jesus’ conquest blest,

March in the triumph of His grace

Right onward to my rest.

No less a number than four hundred prophets had assured Ahab and Jehoshaphat that it was not only the Lord’s mind that they should go to Ramoth-Gilead, but that He would deliver it into the king’s hand, yet it is not to be wondered at that Jehoshaphat was dissatisfied with their flippant statement, for had not the Lord permitted a lying spirit to put the words into the mouth of these flattering prophets? If it be asked why the Lord put this lying spirit into their mouth, it must be answered by saying that it was done judiciously, and has an analogy to the terrible statement respecting Ephraim, who was “joined to idols,” and meant to go on with them at all costs. “Let him alone.” (Hos. 4:17.) God could not go with Ahab in his undertakings, however commendable they might appear to be, even if Jehoshaphat would accompany him.

One is led to wonder why King Jehoshaphat did not use means to extricate himself from the mess he had got himself into. Ah, herein lies a grave cause for consideration, which is, that the result of an evil alliance and position is to blind the eyes and to enervate the spiritual energies of the soul., Look what a dragging it took to get Lot out of Sodom! Something of the seductive power of sin must have been known by the poet when he states—

“Vice is a monster of such hideous mien,

As to be hated needs but to be seen;

But seen too oft, familiar with her face,

We first endure, then pity, then embrace.”

The bell in the tower which when struck alarmed the young birds, alarms them no longer they build their nests there, they are used to it. O! may our Lord preserve the reader and writer from becoming accustomed to evil! It would appear that there was an abundance of false prophets in Ahab’s time. Not long before the faithful Elijah had caused four hundred and fifty to be put to death. (1 Kings 18:40.)

Besides these there were four hundred more “prophets of the groves” which did eat at Jezebel’s table. It is ever so: more false than true. Four hundred false prophets to one true. It is a striking disparity, and tells its own story. Yet, blessed be God! He has His precious piece of gold, where there is so much brass. His faithful Micaiah, as distinguished from the faithless, flattering, time-serving four hundred. Micaiah, of course, must suffer, but he has God with him, is in communion with Him, and it has been asked, “What can compensate for the loss of communion with God?” It might be said that the four hundred prophets all spoke the same thing, they were unanimous. They were, but it was a unanimity with Satan as its author. Their counsel was taken, but it was not the counsel God would have been pleased to give, “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of Me.” (Isa. 30:1.)

Doubtless it often proves trying to be singular, but if faithfulness to God is the cause of being singular, may we have grace singular to be. Ahab escapes not, notwithstanding his cleverness in disguising himself, “for a certain man draws a bow at a venture (in his simplicity) and smote the King of Israel between the joints of harness... about the going down of the sun, he died.” (2 Chron. 18.)

Our Father's Care

One day I made a purchase at a shop in a country town. The shopkeeper offered to send her little girl with my parcel to the railway station, and, as I had other calls to make, the offer was accepted. I reached the station first, and crossed the line at a level crossing from one platform to the other. The little girl presently came up with the parcel, but before crossing she carefully looked both ways to see that no train was approaching.

When I had received the parcel, I said to her, “Were you not afraid to cross at such a dangerous place, where trains pass so quickly?” The child, to my amazement, answered, without any hesitation, “I was very careful, sir, for I don’t know what my father would have thought if anything had happened to me, for My father thinks the world of ME!”

She knew something of the interest her father had in her, and took care of herself accordingly! What a lesson for me was this! My heavenly Father thinks more than the world of me; He gave His Son, who created all worlds, for me! O, then, how much does our God and Father care for us; of what value we are to Him, and what an interest He has in us, His children, and how we ought to take care how we walk!

Correspondence: Jude 9; Matt. 18:20; Confession vs. Forgiveness

Question 136: Why did not Michael, the archangel, rebuke Satan, seeing he was a dignity? (Jude 9.) E. M.

Answer: Because he would not go beyond his authority, but carried out his orders, in the spirit of dependence and subjection to his Lord, owning, all the authority he possessed was from the Lord; he hid himself behind that. See the contrast in the 8th and 10th verses with the self-assertive spirit of men of the present day. Lowliness and meekness become the followers of the Lord.

Question: 137. Is there any difference between “Where two or three are gathered together unto My name” and saying, “Where two or three are gathered together”? W. S.

Answer: (Matt. 18:20.) Christ is the center; the condition needed for His presence is to be gathered in or to His name; that is, in separation from evil and in the unity of the Spirit, for it is only thus the Holy Spirit would gather the members of the body of Christ.

Incidental meetings of Christians may be precious seasons, but they have not the authority of the presence of the Lord in the midst. The two on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24) had the light of Christ’s word shining upon them, making their hearts burn within them, yet they did not know His presence; when they returned to Jerusalem, they had both His presence before them and His word shining in their souls.

Question 138: Please tell me if there is any difference between confessing our sins and asking the Father to forgive us our sins. M. M.

Answer: We cannot rightly ask forgiveness of our sins when we know we are forgiven for His name sake. We are forgiven for eternity. (1 John 2:12.) But it is needful to confess our sins if we would walk in communion with God. And “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Poor Sinner! God Loves Thee!

“Herein is love, not that we loved Gad, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10.

A gay votary of fashion, a woman of the world, living for it, and giving herself up to it, was slightly indisposed and lying in bed, when her sisters came in, full of merriment and laughter. “Have you heard,” said they, “the latest joke?”

“No, what is it?”

“O, there is a mad fellow come to town, preaching what he calls ‘the gospel’. It is the most ridiculous thing out. We are going to hear him.”

By and by they were gone; and as this poor girl was lying alone in her bed, there came into her unsatisfied heart—she did not exactly know why—an indescribable desire to go too. She rang the bell for her maid and said, “I want you to dress me.”

The maid looked surprised and said, “You are not fit to get up, ma’am.”

“Never mind, I am going to get up; send for a carriage.”

The maid expostulated, but she would go. She got into the carriage and drove to the hall. There was but one vacant seat, just in front of the platform, and she was shown into it. By the time the hymn was sung and prayer offered, she was tolerably solemnized. Then there was a dead silence as the strange preacher came to the front of the platform and looked her full in the face, as if he had been specially sent to her. He paused for a moment, and as she looked up, wondering, her eyes met his. Gazing at her, as though he would read the secrets of her heart, he suddenly exclaimed, “Poor sinner! God loves thee!”

“I do not know,” she afterward stated, “what more he said. I have no doubt he preached the gospel very fully, but I heard nothing more. I sat there sobbing as if my heart was broken. I scarcely knew why it was, I could not help it. As I sat there, it seemed as though my whole life passed before me—a loveless, godless life—I had turned my back on God, lived for the world, lived for pleasure, lived in sin. That voice kept ringing in my ears over and over again; I could hear nothing else: ‘Poor Sinner! God loves thee!’ How I got out of the room, I do not know. I found myself by and by kneeling by my own bedside; tears were still streaming from my eyes; still I heard that voice within my soul: ‘Poor sinner! God loves thee!’ At last I looked up, conscious of my own utter unworthiness; I dared to look up, and I cried out: ‘O my God, if Thou lovest me, I take Thee at Thy word; I trust Thy love; I cast myself on Thy love.’”

Then the world faded away from this dear soul; its attractions lost their charm; the empty gaieties of life, in which she had been living, passed away like a dream of the morning; and she went on her way a new woman, born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the received love of God.

Saved to Serve Christ

A young lady, who had left the hall at the close of an afternoon Bible reading, came back to ask how she could be saved. Her earnest, yet trembling, inquiry was as sweet music to our ears. Only two days before, we had ventured to ask her as to her spiritual state, but had failed to obtain a single word in reply. How gladdening, therefore, it was to hear now the inquiry as to her salvation, springing spontaneously from her lips! Opening the New Testament, we pointed out that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth, reading also other kindred Scriptures. She listened, as only those listen who are awakened to concern about their souls by the Spirit of God, and, as we read, light from above broke in upon her. Every word was as a ray of sunshine, every text as a well of comfort, and sorrow and sighing fled away.

“Should I continue to teach in the Sunday school?” she suddenly asked, now that the way of salvation had been made clear to her. The question was quite an unexpected one, and somewhat surprised us.

“Teach in the Sunday school?” we questioningly replied. “Yes, to be sure, if you have a mind to. It seems to us as if you were only now fitted to teach others of Christ. What makes you put such a question?”

“O!” she said, in a quiet, subdued manner, “I feel so conscious of my own sinfulness that I do not see how I could teach the children.”

We simply repeated our former statement, that it was only now, in knowing Jesus as her Saviour, that she was in a fit condition to be a Sunday school teacher.

“Then you really think I should go on teaching?” she asked in a most eager way.

“Most assuredly.” we answered.

To help her, if possible, by way of illustration, we told her of a maid who was sweeping a room; the sun’s rays meanwhile revealing the dust she was raising. Being rebuked for, making such a dust, she replied, “O! it is not me, it is the sun that is doing it.” “Thus,” I added “the light of God’s truth by shining into your heart, now reveals what was always there, though unseen because of the darkness that covered it.” She smiled when she saw the point.

“Now that you know Jesus as the Saviour from sin, go and teach the little children about Him,” we said, “and you will be sure to teach them as you never did before.”

“I will,” she replied.

We then prayed for God’s blessing on her, and on her labors for the Saviour whom she had found, and bid her farewell.

The Lord's Day

The Lord’s day is a most precious gift from God, and the true Christian enjoys it with all his heart; and if he is faithful, he finds himself in the spirit to enjoy God happy to be freed from material labor to adore God as his Father, and to enjoy communion with the Lord.

It is always a bad sign when a Christian talks of his liberty and makes use of it to neglect the Lord, in order to give himself to the material work or pleasures of the world. However free a Christian may be, he is free from the world and from the law, in order to serve the Lord. How much good may he not do on the Lord’s day!

Bring the Little Ones to Jesus

Fellow Christian, God has given

To you a sacred charge,

To gather in the little ones,

The small as well as large.

He asks of you to bring to Him

The young as well as old;

For in His sight the souls of men

Are far more worth than gold.

‘Twas by the word that from His lips

The world and all therein

Came into being, but how great

The work of purging sin.

The soul of that dear little child

Is precious in His sight,

And ‘tis a privilege you have

To bring them to the light.

O! think of what a portion lies

Beyond the reach of hope,

Where every soul that knows not Christ

Will drink the bitter cup.

Store well their minds with sacred things,

The plain, pure gospel teach,

Leave it with Him to do the rest,

And He their hearts will reach.

And if at times discouragements

Of every kind appear,

O, falter not, remember to

The Saviour they are dear.

Just look upon that little child

And think of Satan’s aim

To lead that precious soul astray,

To suffer endless shame.

And can you let those souls be lost,

By carelessness to win

In early life, the little ones

Back from the paths of sin?

O! Christian, seize the privilege

So quickly gliding o’er.

Tell to the little children—

Christ lives forever More.

Yes, tell to them that Jesus

To save their souls did die,

And tell them of the welcome

That awaiteth them on high.

A little while, and Jesus

Will call you faraway,

To spend with Him in glory

One endless, cloudless day.

O may there be some jewels,

To deck your crown up there;

The souls of little children

You won for Him while here.

Remember, too, in service,

‘Tis only in His hand

You can draw the hearts of children

To that bright and better land.

Then seek with fervent purpose

The young to gather in,

And bring them unto Jesus,

Saved from the paths of sin.

Canst thou tell the value of a soul immortal? Worlds on worlds, amazing pomp.

Redouble that amaze, then twice ten thousand add.

One soul outweighs them all, and call the astonishing magnificence of an unintelligent creation—poor.

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: Bodily Resurrection

The unconverted man hates the idea of bodily resurrection, for it means that the same body in which he has lived his Christless life, is to be reunited to his lost soul, to be brought before the bar of God. Accordingly there is a determined, relentless effort on the part of the enemy today to rob souls of the simple truth of the resurrection of the physical body. Even children of God have sometimes very hazy ideas about what kind of a body they will have in resurrection. But the simple truth for us to lay hold of is this: we shall have for eternity this very same body in which we have lived down here. God is not going to give us a newly created body, for, if He did, it would not be resurrection at all, for resurrection is the raising up again of that which existed before. It is true, the Christian’s body will be changed into the fashion of the body of Christ, (blessed be God) but it will be the same body renewed.

On the other hand, the wicked will not have their bodies renewed like unto His body of glory, but will be raised again in their bodies to be cast alive into the lake of fire, there to suffer the doom of the eternally lost.

Yes, Europe’s present holocaust of war has probably sent into corruption the bodies of three million men. But God does not forget, and everyone of those poor soldiers will yet stand bodily in God’s presence. O, may we not pray, in the light of these solemn truths, that the Lord’s warning might be heeded by these myriads of armed men; “Be not afraid of them that kill the body and after that have no more that they can do, but I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him.” (Luke 12:4, 5.)

Questions for September

Always give Scripture for answers, as well as your own expressions.

16. What is the meaning of John 11:26?

17. How long a period is the “hour” mentioned in John 4:21?

18. What is the “hour” spoken of in John 5:25?

19. Give the passages of Scripture that mark the beginning and the end of the “hour” of John 5:29.

20. Who are the three classes of resurrected saints mentioned in Revelation 20:4?

Answers to Questions for July

6. “Prevent” in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 means, “get there ahead of.”

7. A moment, the twinkling of an eye. 1 Corinthians 15:52.

8. They will be changed into bodies like the Lord’s own body of glory. (Philippians 3:20, 21.)

9. The “dead in Christ” are all who have died in faith, for it is only in virtue of the Person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ that any could be delivered from the just judgment of God and have part with Christ. Hebrews 11:13, in speaking of those of Old Testament times, whose names are given in previous verses of the chapter, says: “These all died in faith . . .” and then verse 40, “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” (See also Luke 20:35-38; John 11:25; 8:24.)

10. They will be left without a ray of hope, the ready victims of strong delusion, and will finally find their place in the lake of fire. (Matt. 25:10, 12; 2 Thess. 2:10, 11; Rev. 21:8).

Comfort for a Bereaved Heart

It is sweet to see the Lord’s hand in all His ways of tender, faithful love towards us. He only loves. Judgment is passed. Love alone remains for the dear children of His grace. There is nothing penal in the dispensations of a Father’s hand. He chastens us; but if He does, it is only “that we may be partakers of His holiness.”

(Heb. 12:10.) And, blessed be His name, if the chastening leaves a deep furrow, in the bereaved heart, it is but a channel through which the love of our heavenly Father’s heart may flow. This love may be manifested in various ways. Sometimes He gives us a sight and a sense of the wretchedness and loathsomeness of our own nature, so that we cannot bear to look at ourselves; and then we are glad to turn to the blessed Lord and gaze on what we are in Him, who is in the Father’s presence for us. Such experience had David, Peter, Paul, and many others.

But sometimes His tender heart will seek to bring about the same blessed results by sore bereavement. He breaks one cord of the heart after another, until He comes to the last, and that, too, must go; for He will have us wholly to Himself. His love can endure no rivals.

However, though the relationship be broken on earth, the affections are formed anew in resurrection in connection with Christ, our heavenly center, where they can never more be interrupted. They are re-set, re-strung, re-established, forever, in purest, brightest glory. God must have us entirely to Himself. He cannot afford to let the affections of His children go, out after another. But oh! sweet thought! the cord which He has snapped on earth, He has joined in heaven, in resurrection life and glory. It is but the more closely, permanently, and gloriously joined, never, no never more to be undone. Sooner or later, every one of our heart-strings must be broken, with all that pertains to self and the world, and be restrung for a glorious immortality.

All this is divinely true, now, in the blessed Jesus. He is done with everything that could have kept us from God. He came, in perfect grace and love, into the state we were in by sin. Himself absolutely sinless, He passed through it all for us. “For in that He Himself suffered, being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.” (Heb. 2:18.) And now He would have us, in reference to these things, to be as He is—to enter into His joy. He is now at home in the presence of God, leaving sin, nature, the world, and all such, behind. And He is now saying to us, “See what I have done, in you and for you.” Enter into the reality, and taste the sweetness of it all. “All things are yours. Lift up your eyes, and behold the fields of glory; reach hither your hand, and pluck the clusters from the vine of God. Let God be your joy your resource, your object, as He is Mine.”

There is no rest, no resource, but in the living God—no happiness, but in Him.

Scripture Study: Mark 5:1-23

In this chapter we have a picture of Israel’s state and God’s ways in grace. The man possessed of the devil is the delivered remnant, while the swine taken possession of, is unbelieving Israel rushing on to their destruction. The Lord, cast out of the world, leaves the man behind to testify for Him. Jairus continues the picture; he, the believing remnant, is concerned about his daughter, who lay at the point of death. She pictures the Jewish hopes. Jesus goes to heal her; but on the way another picture comes in, that is, the present time—the church period—when individual faith gets the blessing; this is suited to the Gentile also. When He reaches Jairus’ house, the daughter is dead, but the Lord encourages Jairus with the words: “Be not afraid, only believe.” She is dead to all but Jesus; then He raises her up and commands them to feed her. This is His care over restored Israel. Let us draw some lessons from the chapter.

Verses 1-5. Here we find man under the power of Satan; his dwelling is among the dead, and no man can bind him with chains, he is untameable, and he is miserable, night and day, crying, and cutting himself with stones. Try to improve the flesh, put it under restraint, all its good resolutions are broken, all its goodness disappears, and it is the same at the end. None but the Lord can meet such a case. It is the same with us all; in reality, there is no difference.

Verses 6-8. “But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshiped Him.” Satan tries to hold on to his prey, but must yield to the, Son of God. He said: “Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.”

Verses 9-13. The man is the mouthpiece of the demons; how terrible is his case; but there is a Deliverer. Satan’s day with that man is over; the demons do not want to be chained up in the bottomless pit. (See Luke 8:31.) The Lord allows them to enter the herd of swine—unclean Israel in figure—they ran violently down a steep place into the sea and were choked in the sea. Israel’s destruction.

Verses 14-17. “And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind.” What a change to that dear man; his unrest, his wretchedness, his nakedness are all gone, and there he sits in the presence of his Saviour! Were the people glad to see it? No, they were afraid; and when those who saw it, told how it came about, instead of worshiping the Saviour, they besought Him to go away out of their country. They had lost their swine, they loved their uncleanness, the pleasures of sin which are for a season. The Lord is the cast out One now. The world seeth Him no, more. He is the rejected One, cast out by the world.

Verse 18. “And when He was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed Him that he might be with Him.” How nice this is, how refreshing to the Lord’s heart, that precious soul now delivered from Satan’s power, wants His company. Is it so with us, beloved children of God? Is Christ’s presence the one desire of our hearts now? But it could not be yet, he was to remain where his Lord was cast out. But his very desire to be with the Lord, showed he was the fit man to represent Him where He was cast out.

Verse 19. “Howbeit, Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.” Does the man do it?

Verse 20. “And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.” “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5.) Now, He is gone, we are to shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life. (Phil. 2:15, 16.) May we be able to tell out to others what the Lord has done for us.

Verses 21-23. We find the Lord going on with His ministry. Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, when he saw Him, fell at His feet, and besought Him greatly, saying, “My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray Thee, come and lay hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.” Jairus, a type of the believing remnant of the Jews, sees his daughter (in figure the hopes of the Jews) dying; he is much concerned. Why should not the Lord, the true Messiah, set up His kingdom at once. The Lord goes with Him. He knew Israel would reject Him, but He waits on them in longsuffering even after He is raised from the dead, giving them another offer (Acts 3), but instead of repenting and receiving Him, they stone Stephen, declaring by it, “We will not have this Man to reign over us.” (Luke 19:14.)

(To be Continued).

The Unspeakable Gift

If we were to attempt to enumerate all the blessings which God has bestowed upon man, we should find it to be an impossible task. This also was the experience of the Psalmist: “Many, O Lord my God, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto Thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.” (Psa. 40:5.)

The prophet Jeremiah, too, adds his testimony “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.” (Lam. 3:22, 23.)

From the cradle to the grave, man is the recipient of boundless mercies. Every blessing we enjoy comes to us from God’s bountiful hand, as the Apostle James says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” But great as are the gifts of God, there is one which stands out infinitely beyond them all. Well may it be spoken of as the “unspeakable gift.” No language can set it forth so sweetly as the Saviour’s own words: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” ( John 3:16.)

Age after age has this blessed story been told out, but still it is as fresh as ever. It is a perennial fountain, whose living waters have been flowing onwards through the long course of time, refreshing the weary sons of men. We often learn to know the value of things best by comparison, but no comparison can be made between this and other gifts. It stands pre-eminently alone.

Among the shining ranks of angels not one was found who could undertake the mighty work of man’s redemption—no power save that which is divine could have recovered him from his lost estate. Hence we see the superlative value of God’s “unspeakable gift.”

In what glowing terms does the prophet Isaiah speak of this wondrous gift: “Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and. His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6.)

A multitude of the heavenly host heralded His birth; at His baptism a voice from heaven spake, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Again, at His transfiguration there was a manifestation of His glory, whilst at His death the heavens were shrouded in darkness. Then He was “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” (Rom. 1:4.)

And finally, when He ascended into heaven, He was hailed as the Mighty Conqueror, and took His seat at the right hand of the Majesty

“Worthy of homage and of praise,

Worthy by all to be adored;

Exhaustless theme of heavenly lays

Thou, Thou art worthy, Jesus Lord.”

My dear reader, the above is but a feeble expression of the worthiness of Jesus. No mortal tongue can adequately set it forth on earth.

“He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross: wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth: and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:8-11.)

My dear reader, this wondrous gift, this unspeakable gift is for a guilty world.

“He came unto His own, and His own received Him not; but as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons (children) of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:11, 12.)

Have you listened to the call of God? Do you own yourself guilty before Him? Then know upon the authority of the Word of God that this gift is for you. The great question of sin was divinely settled on the cross, all God’s righteous claims were fully met there, so that now salvation is free to all who in humble penitence thankfully accept it.

“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23.)

“Of all the gifts Thy love bestows,

Thou Giver of all good,

Not heaven itself a richer knows,

Than the Redeemer’s blood.

Faith, too, that trusts the blood through grace,

From that same love we gain;

Else, sweetly as it suits our case,

The gift had been in vain.

We praise Thee, and would praise Thee more,

To Thee our all we owe;

The precious Saviour, and the power

That makes Him precious too.”

Be of Good Courage

Do not be ashamed of your colors, young Christians. It may be more difficult for a young Christian to show his colors than for an older one, because the older is recognized as what he is, whereas the younger has to fight his way into a position. But the difficulty should but add intensity to the appeal—do not be ashamed of your colors. Your young friends will make their bids for you, no doubt—the society in which you move will try to win you for itself; but you cannot serve two masters—you cannot serve God and mammon.

Everyone who tries the experiment of serving God and serving the world fails in doing so—nevertheless, thousands waste many of the precious years of their lives in the attempt. So long as you try to serve two masters you will get no respect from the servants of either! Worldly people despise the Christian who is afraid of showing his colors; Christian people distrust him. There must be no shilly-shallying ever the matter—you cannot be loyal to Christ if you are serving His enemies—therefore the more you need not be ashamed of your colors.

It is the fashion in our, day for religious people to salute every religious flag—to be ready to dip the colors of the Lord Jesus Christ to those of His enemies, and to call such treachery charity. But there are disguised rebels in the ship, whose advice produces this false peace. On such lines the day must come when Christ’s enemies will get the command, and then woe to the professor of His name.

Such time-serving ways take the very heart and soul out of true religious conduct, and make men, who ought to be firm for the truth, limp and worthless. True, it is no easy thing for the young to go against the fashion! “Why should I be peculiar?” “Why should I do what others object to do?” are questions of very great weight with young people. All the more need, then, not to be ashamed of your colors.

One thing is certain, where there is devotion to Christ and love for Him, the fashion of the day will have but little effect on the conduct of the Christian. What! be loyal to Christ and allow your friends to ridicule His Name, or to make light of God’s Word in your presence! To joke over texts of Scripture and take the sacred Word of God—perhaps part of a verse—to make a riddle out of in order to raise a laugh! No; such behavior would be impossible to the loyal heart. But this kind of thing is one of the small and low fashions of our day, and one from which the young Christian does not always find it too easy to clear himself. Therefore, all the more need to show your colors.

“Be of good courage” is a divine exhortation to us. So long as this world has Satan for its god, and Jesus, its rightful King, is rejected, let us quit ourselves like men and be strong. If strong and brave for Christ, our path in life as Christians will be comparatively easy, but if weak-kneed and feeble-hearted, our Christian life will be a sorrowful one—one ever of attempt at compromise, and always a compromise of Christ’s glory, and of our own integrity of conscience.

Be of good courage, young Christian, for the Lord is your strength, and you shall become strong in Him and in the power of His might. A life spent bravely for Christ is a life worth living.

Love Not the World

God’s Word is clear, strong and unmistakable. He says: “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” (1 John 2:15). Here we find God’s answer to our question, Is it right to attend theaters and other places of amusement? It is a word that should search the conscience of every child of God, and this not only as to games and places of amusement, but also as to reading, singing and companionship and many another thing that is only of the world. Is it not love of the world that leads one to find pleasure in the things of the world? If one participates in these things, is it not because his heart is in them? The natural heart craves the things of the world; the Christian, as born of God, turns away from these things, and presses on with his heart set on the “brighter, better things above.”

If a Christian gives way to the world, where is his power for testimony? The wife who attends the theater wishes her husband would become a Christian, but her words have no weight with him. Is it difficult to see why? One who loves the world enough to attend the theater will display many other inconsistencies as a Christian, and where the ways are inconsistent, the words must fall powerless.

A young lady who bears the name of Christ, but who is often found at the party, and games, expresses a desire to see her brother a Christian. But as long as the gaieties of the world are claiming her time and heart, what power has she to lead her erring brother to Christ?

Does that wife rise from her knees to go to the theater? And is the desire of her heart in going, the glory of God?

Does that sister sit down to her game of cards in the name of the Lord Jesus?

Unless it be so, God’s Word is unheeded by them, for He says, “Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” “Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:17.)

Ministers and plenty of Christians go to the theater, is a plea often used; but it will not answer with God. Because there are ministers who love the world, this will not excuse me for loving the world, nor you. Each must give an account of himself to God. Let us not stumble over ungodly ministers, and thus be turned aside from the right path.

Worldly Christians might well stand aghast in the presence of the language with which God denounces worldliness and worldly ways in those who bear the name of Christ. He says, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?” ( James 4:4.) All loving of the world, and all fellowship with it, is unfaithfulness to Him who has so loved us; and in the measure in which it is followed, it proves us, in that far, untrue to Him. It is spiritual adultery, and as such it will be counted to the sore loss of hire who indulges in the friendship of the world. It is the one who has pledged himself to. Christ, finding his joy in that which is opposed to Christ, and this He must denounce. He wants the hearts of His own to be true to Himself. He is not satisfied to have them bear His name and have their hearts remain in the world. His word is, “Love not the world.”

What will the end be? The world is going to “pass away,” God’s judgment coming upon it, and its lusts will also pass away. Solemn thought! All these lusts, these desires and pleasures that have drawn away hearts from Christ, coming under God’s displeasure, passing away under His ban! Is there no voice in this for you, O, careless, worldly Christian?

In marked and blessed contrast with this we have, “He that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” In which position, dear reader, are you? Are you drinking at the fountain of this world’s pleasures which can never quench your thirst; or do you, seeking the will of God, turn away from these things, and look on to the pleasures which are forevermore?

Dear fellow-pilgrim, once more let me ask, Is there no constraining power in the love of God, to keep us apart from that which is at enmity with Him? Are we so short-sighted as to allow the fleeting pleasures which end in death to displace the unending joy of eternity? O, let it not be so. The gain that will be ours, if we live for Him who has died for us, is beyond computation. Let us not, then, fritter away our precious time in that which can only prove loss. Let us not grieve the heart of Him who has purchased us at such a cost, and who would have us purify ourselves as He is pure, and keep ourselves “unspotted from the world.” Let us heed His bidding, “Love not the world.” Let us seek to realize the force of His words, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

The path of separation is not an easy one; and the Lord does not so present it to us. It involves self-denial and the bearing of the cross; and this means death to the world. Jesus says: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it.” (Luke 9:23, 24.) This does not mean ease, but suffering with and for Him in a world which cast Him out. But if not an easy path, it is a blessed one, and the Lord will sustain us in it, if we set ourselves to follow Him. In order to a true following, there must be purpose of heart. A man will not succeed in any avocation in this life unless he has purpose; and no more will the Christian prosper in his Christian life unless with purpose of heart he cleave to the Lord. It will not do to put our hand to the plow and look back. The world has its thousands of allurements, but the Christian who is cleaving to the Lord will steadfastly resist these and press on. A little more climbing up the narrow, rugged path, a little longer turning away from the pleasures of this world, then the rest, the joy, the never-ending pleasures in those courts of light above, the welcome and approval from Him whose love words cannot measure, nor thought comprehend, for it is a love that passes knowledge.

O, will not the “well done” from His lips more than compensate for all that we have given up for Him? Viewed in the light of “eternal things,” how can we for a moment cling to that which is of the world?

We are going to have part in that coming eternity of glory, and we are going to be His loved companions forever and forever, sharing all the blessedness He has purchased for us. Only a little while, and we shall be in His presence there.

The days are fast speeding on. Shall we not live them for Him instead of living to ourselves?

The Lord give to us to be true to Him, and, guided by His Word, to turn away from all that savors of the world.

Love not the world: its smiles, its hopes

May lure thee on;

But cup of joy, and dream of bliss

Will soon be gone.

Those dreams will fade, as mist in morn,

Those hopes will die;

And in that cup of seeming joy

Deep sorrows lie.

Love not the world: it, with its lusts,

Must pass away;

Its pleasures sweet, its hopes so bright,

Must all decay.

Its glories, too, must have an end,

Must pale and die,

And all its empty bubbles burst;

They’re Satan’s lie.

But he who does the will of God,

For aye will live,

And drink the streams of heaven’s delights,

Which Christ will give.

He’ll weep no more on that blest shore:

No marvel this,

For joys well up, and fill his cup;

Naught, naught but bliss.

Dear fellow pilgrim in the path,

Look up. Look on

There waits above, a home of love,

Where Christ is gone.

And pleasures bright, in courts of light

Shall ever be,

Throughout a happy, long and blest

Eternity.

(Continued from page 204.)

Correspondence: 1 John 3:9; Josh. 1:8; Matt. 11:29-30; 2 Tim. 2:26

Question 139: Why does it say in 1 John 3:9, he cannot sin, instead of it, the nature? B. B.

Answer: It is the man that sins by allowing the old nature a place. John’s epistle looks at the child of God as identified with the new life. He is not acting as a child of God if he allows the flesh to work in him. (1 John 2:1.) This is meant to exercise all our hearts.

Question 140: Does “keeping the book of the law” in Joshua 1:8, and similar scriptures, correspond with our keeping the Lord’s commandments and words in John 14:21, 23? What is the difference between “commandments” and “words” for the Christian in this scripture? M. L. E.

Answer: Yes, it is the hearty, loving obedience to the Word of God. The soul delights in meditating therein day and night; making the way of the soul prosperous, and growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We might think of the commandments here (verse 21) as the will of the Lord expressed in the scriptures; and of the Word—not words—(verse 23), as the mind of God that we gather while in communion with the Lord, though not fully expressed. Mary anointed the Lord for the day of His burying. The Lord expressed His approval of it afterward.

Question 141: What is “My yoke” in Matthew 11:29, 30? E. R.

Answer: Read from verse 25. This context tells of our Lord’s perfect submission to the Father’s will; then He reveals the Father (verse 27), and (verse 28) says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” This includes the knowledge of the Father, and gives us the place of children, so that the rest He gives is the result of His finished work. He knows the weary toilers for salvation, toiling for what they can never gain in that way. He gives rest to all who come to Him.

Further blessing He promises in the words, “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.” His yoke is submission to the Father’s will, and He desires us to enjoy the Father’s care and love in full submission to His will— “Learn of Me.” It was His path; it is to be ours, and rest is found in it. Ye shall find rest unto your souls. Submission to His yoke makes it easy and the burden light. It is rest indeed. (See Psa. 16:5, 6.)

Question 142: In 2 Timothy 2:26, we read, “who are taken captive by him at his will.” Who is meant by “him at his will”? B. M.

Answer: What is important in this passage is that each of us, as servants of the Lord, should in forbearance and meekness be watching, and ready to be God’s instruments to deliver such an one who has been opposing the truth, from the snare of the devil, who had taken him captive. God has allowed this dreadful chastening, but it may come to an end, and repentance come in to the acknowledging of the truth and to doing God’s will.

A Student Story: Bread Cast Upon the Waters

The shades of winter evening were rapidly deepening, and flinging obscurity over the subjects which lay upon the tables of a well-known dissecting room, as a group of medical students might have been seen standing round one of these tables, evidently, for the moment, deeply engaged. The fading light, shut books, closed dissecting cases, and somewhat grave faces of the dozen listeners, showed that anatomy was not the topic in hand, as a seated student, who had till then been busy with his part, replied to the queries that came from every quarter of the group.

The conversation had been begun by S—, a typically thoughtless and careless young would-be medico, who, in passing the seated dissector—known to be a Christian—had railingly said, “Well, Spurgeon, how many have you baptized lately?” Medical students are notorious for their love of bestowing a sobriquet on all and sundry, from professors downwards; so the student thus addressed had, soon after he joined the college, and it leaked out that he occasionally preached the gospel, been dubbed with the name of the well-known and popular preacher.

“I do not baptize; I only preach the gospel, when, and as best I can,” was the rejoinder.

“O! you don’t baptize, you only preach. Come, tell us what you say;” and the loud tone of banter in which this was said quickly gathered, as it was intended it should, a little coterie of kindred spirits, expecting some fun from the roasting of the young Christian. At that moment, however, the senior demonstrator of anatomy, a grave, demure man of whom the students stood rather in awe, joined the group, and took part in the conversation later on.

“You want to know what I preach, do you? I preach glad tidings; the love of God to ruined man; the death and resurrection of His Son the Lord Jesus, and that faith in Him alone secures salvation; that man is guilty, undone, lost; and that the ‘Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.’ Human efforts are all in vain. Man’s so-called good works are all valueless to win salvation. ‘Salvation is of the Lord,’ and ‘the salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles;’ whosoever will may have it, without money or price. ‘The gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord!’ The last time I preached I spoke on the 10th of Acts, where it says about the Saviour, ‘To Him give all the prophets witness, that, through His name, whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.’”

“And do you mean to say that your sins are all forgiven, and that you are saved, Spurgeon?” continued his first interrogator.

“Through God’s grace I can most certainly say so. I have had that joy for more than a year now.”

“Well, that is presumption, and no mistake,” “Did you ever hear the like?” “That’s rather good to believe,” put in a chorus of voices at once.

Nothing daunted, the assailed one replied: “How can it be presumption to believe God? If my salvation depended on my good works, I might well be filled with doubt and uncertainty; but if it depended, as it does, on the perfectly finished and accepted work of the Lord Jesus for me, it would be presumption to doubt that salvation, when God says so plainly in His Word to every believing soul, ‘Thy sins are forgiven. Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.’ (Luke, 7.) When an awakened sinner once asked, ‘What must I do to be saved?’ God’s Spirit replied, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.’ And further, He has said in Ephesianss 2, ‘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.’ It surely cannot be presumption to believe the God of truth, when He says He sent His Son to save me, and that when I trust in Him I am saved.”

“But you do not give sufficient place to our works,” put in the senior demonstrator, who had been listening quietly till now.

“If God gives them no place, sir, had we not better leave them out of consideration? It says in Romans 4, ‘If Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. But what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth in Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.’ Our works are either ‘wicked’ (Col. 1:21) or ‘dead’ (Heb. 9:14), and certainly they cannot save us. Christ’s work is finished, by it God has been glorified; and it is due to Christ that the one who forswears his own works, and trusts alone in Him, should partake of the benefits and fruits of that atoning work of His, by which alone can sin be put away.”

“Ah! that makes it far too easy,” said one “Depend upon it Spurgeon, you are all wrong,” said another; and with varying other such comments the gathering broke up, and the dissector was left alone to pack up his tools in quietness, wondering the while what God would bring out of the incident. The bread of life had been simply presented; whether any were hungry enough to eat thereof, was a question. At any rate, the young believer found comfort to his heart in the words, “Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days” (Eccl. 11:1), and “So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void; but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isa. 55:11).

Two days later this young student was again busy with his scalpel and forceps, sitting alone at a table, when one of his seniors, named J—, brought his part, instruments, and book, and seated himself opposite to him, and began to dissect. Work went on quietly for a little, and then J— said, “That was strange stuff you were telling the fellows the other afternoon. I said nothing at the time, but I don’t believe what you were saying. I don’t at all pretend to be a religious chap myself, but I am sure a man would need to work hard to get to heaven. Your way of it would not be mine at all, if I cared for that sort of thing, which I don’t.”

“It is not my way, J— , it is God’s, and that makes an immense difference. When the Lord was upon earth, and the Jews came and asked Him, ‘What shall we do that we might work the works of God?’ do you know what He answered them?”

“No. What?”

“‘Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent’ (John 6:29). To believe in the Son of God is all that you or I have to do to get saved.”

“But, man, it stands to reason that we ought to do something ourselves. Why, by your way everybody may get saved. Do you believe they will?”

“No, I believe nothing of the sort; for alas, all will not take the place of being lost sinners, and hence do not feel their need of a Saviour, and so do not trust Him. His words are true: ‘They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ The whole, the righteous—or those who think they are such—need Him not, but sinners are welcome to Him. As one of the latter, I have received Him, and He has saved me out and out, blessed be His name!”

“O, that’s easily said, but I don’t believe in your way of salvation at all, and you will never convince me that that is the way to be saved;” and so saying J— relapsed into silence, shortly after left the table, and for the rest of their student life took uncommon good care not to give an opportunity for a tête-a-tête with the man who knew Christ had saved him.

Some years rolled by; student days ceased, the ardently longed-for diplomas and degrees were possessed; and while J— went into practice in the far west, the other went north, to extend his knowledge, while filling the post of house physician in a large hospital. To that same city, in course of time, who should come but J—, attracted, as he supposed, by certain medical advantages of which he would avail himself; but led doubtless by the gracious hand of God, who had not taken His eye off him since the day an arrow, shot at a venture, had pierced the worldly coat-of-mail he wore in the dissecting room. Great was J—’s surprise to find his former acquaintance chief in those wards where he wanted to gather clinical information. Flung thus across his path again, J—’s friend felt greatly interested in him, and one Lord’s Day said, “Do you ever go to hear the Word of God preached now?”

“Sometimes; but I have not been since I came north. Where do you go?”

“I? O! I go to— Street.”

“Who preaches there?”

“The preachers are various.”

“Do they preach well?”

“That would be an open question. I believe they preach the truth, and that is what you and I want. You might do worse than come;” and so saying, a little notice of the meeting was handed to him, which he took, with the remark, “Perhaps I will turn in some night.”

That evening the preacher was reading the 7th of Luke, when the door gently opened, and the unbelieving, but evidently interested, young doctor entered. His surprise was not small to find in the preacher the one who had invited him; but the Lord’s sermon of twelve words: “Thy sins are forgiven. Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace,” soon riveted him; and though he did not go “in peace,” he left impressed, and aroused to a sense of his need and danger, such as he had never experienced before.

The next Lord’s Day found the doctor again present, as an aged and gray-haired servant of God sweetly unfolded the touching parable of Luke 15, and showed how, when man was lost, Jesus came after him; when he was dead, how the Spirit quickened him; and, when he returned repentant, how the Father welcomed and rejoiced over him. Conviction of sin was now evident in the young physician, and two Lord’s Days later, when he again heard his medical friend preach from the words, “Wilt thou go with this man?” he felt he must decide for Christ that night. He stayed to the second meeting for anxious inquirers; and then in converse with his friend, as they walked towards the hospital together, admitted that he had never been easy since the conversation in the dissecting room. Persuaded in his mind that what he had heard was not true, he had gone home, searched the Bible for support, only to find that he was wrong himself, and that what he had heard was the truth. Convinced that he was wrong, and that God’s salvation was free to all, by simple faith in Jesus, he had balanced the blessings of the gospel against “the pleasures of sin for a season;” the devil had kicked the beam the wrong way, so he shut up the Bible, and turned again to the world with its sin and folly, but had never had an hour’s peace. Now he saw he was lost, and was asked, “Do you believe that Jesus came to save the lost?”

“I do; I believe He came to save me, and I believe in Him.”

“Then are you not saved?”

“That is just the difficulty. I don’t feel sure.”

“Well,” said his friend, “if God is worth believing on two counts, why not on the third? When God says in His Word you are a lost sinner, what say you?”

“I believe Him.” he replied.

“Good. And when He says He sent His Son to die for you, and that if you trust in Him you shall be saved, what do you say?”

“I believe Him, with all my heart.”

“Quite right. Now then, when He says, ‘He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life’ (John 3:36), are you going to doubt Him?”

“That won’t do. If He speaks truly on the two counts, He must speak as truly on the third. Yes, I see it. I believe in His Son, and I have everlasting life. He says it, and it must be true. Thank God, I am saved, forgiven—without any works of my own—by simple faith in Jesus.”

“One question more: ‘Wilt thou go with this Man?’” “I will go!” was the emphatic reply; and the doctor started for glory, and is yet on his road, sure of the end through grace.

Reader, have you started yet? If not, just start at once.

“We know there’s a bright and a glorious home,

Away in the heavens high,

Where all the redeemed shall with Jesus dwell;

But will you be there, and I?

Will you be there, and I?

Where all the redeemed shall with Jesus dwell;

But will you be there, and I?

In robes of white, o’er the street of gold,

Beneath a cloudless sky.

They walk in the light of their Father’s smile;

But will you be there, and I?

From every kingdom of earth they come

To joie the triumphal cry,

Singing, ‘Worthy the Lamb that once was slain’;

But will you be there, and I?

If you take the loving Saviour now,

Who for sinners once did die,

When He gathers His own in that bright home

Then you’ll be there, and I.

If we are shelter’d by the cross,

And through the blood brought nigh,

Our utmost gain we’ll count but loss,

Since you’ll be there, and I.

All My Class for Jesus

I cried when first my Saviour did all my guilt remove,

“What can I do, Lord Jesus, my gratitude to prove?”

And soon there came a message, in answer to my plea,

“Teach thou this class of children, and train them up for Me.”

I listened to the message, I listened and obeyed,

And “all my class for Jesus” my motto then I made;

Knowing far whom I labored, my way was very plain;

This thought, in all my efforts, did nerve me and sustain.

I taught and prayed and labored to do what Christ had set,

And though I’ve oft grown weary, the work employs me yet;

For since I work for Jesus, Why should I turn aside?

No; boldly I go forward, in strength by Him supplied.

Now up to busy effort, let fears aside be laid,

For “all my class for Jesus” my motto I have made;

These precious souls entrusted by Jesus to my care,

Must be by grace converted, and led His love to share.

I bring my class to Jesus, that He each soul may bless,

Assured my loving Saviour will crown me with success:

I will not be discouraged, though barren all appear,

But pray for strength to labor, and grace to persevere.

“My word not void returneth,” thus hath my Father said;

I claim the glad assurance, I need not be dismayed;

‘Tis true I’m weak and helpless but I go not forth alone,

And the Lord who worketh with me, can soften hearts of stone.

Yes, “all my class for Jesus” my motto still shall be;

For this I’ll pray and labor until the fruit I see:

Discouragements confront me, yet still I’ll persevere,

And bread cast on the waters, in hope and not in fear.

If one among my scholars has listened to His voice,

And trusted in the Saviour, I cannot but rejoice;

I take it as an earnest of what my Lord will do;

He who turns one scholar’s heart can change the others, too.

Still I am not contented with what the past has brought;

I can’t forget my motto, nor do I think I ought;

O, Father, cause Thy Spirit to enter every breast,

Bring ALL my class to Jesus, let none remain unblest!

O, let me meet my scholars around Thy heavenly throne;

Let not ONE soul be missing, but there be every one:

So entering into glory, their blood-bought souls shall meet,

And in my Saviour’s presence the CLASS will stand complete.

Ready for the Rapture

I find the Lord never ends a dispensation without giving a close worthy of Himself. How beautiful it is in Luke to find hearts brimful of God’s thoughts, and looking out for the Messiah. Mary and Elizabeth talk of Him, and His ear is close down to hear, as in Malachi 3:16. If Christ acts now as He always acts, we may expect, despite all the ruin, to have some with whom the Spirit can say to Him, “Come.”

What is the great thing that we have to do in our day? Why, to live for Christ. People have a vague idea of living for the glory of God; but the only way of living for the glory of God is to have the love that is in Christ’s heart, so dwelling in us, as it dwelt in the soul of the Apostle Paul, that he said, “That Christ should be magnified in my body.” Is that my “earnest expectation and hope?” If, instead of living for myself, those around must see that the light is marred, it does not shine out; and they would say, “If all the light that shines out is the measure of the Christ that shines in, He must have very little.” It is the One whose love has never passed from me for a single moment, who wants me to live for Him, whatever comes.

It is impossible to go through this world without suffering. You may choose which kind of suffering you will have—suffering for Christ, or suffering for yourself. If you are living for Christ, you will suffer for Him. If you are living for yourself, you will have God’s rod close behind you. Lot had God’s mark, as well as Abraham. He had not forgotten Lot any more than He had Abraham; but which of their troubles was it better to have? Is it better to have one’s heart tried as Abraham’s was, or to be chastened as Lot was? Abraham’s son was the center of the promises. Would he reckon that God was the keeper of the promise, and not himself? Would he trust God to make good His promise, while God was teaching and testing his heart? Yes! And can I not say, “O, Lord Jesus, give me Abraham’s trial and his portion, and not Lot’s trial and his portion”?

My conviction is, that it is the mind and purpose of God to make as complete a split between flesh and Spirit in these last days as He did in the days of Pentecost. The question is, Who is living for Christ and who is not? If your heart is set on Christ, you will have the enjoyment of Christ before He comes, and you will meet His face with joy. The Father’s thought is, that as His Christ is up there absolutely for us, He will have us here absolutely for Him. Do not then be picking up things around you. Do not pick up curiosities out of the gutter, but say, “Through His grace, I will work out what He has worked in; I will live to the Christ whose eye is looking down from heaven on me, and I will make manifest to others the One to whom I live.”

Practical Conversations With Our Young People.

When the Lord Jesus shall return, there will be two distinct classes of Christians on this earth. One class we get in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, —those who were waiting for God’s Son from heaven. With these dear saints it was a reality, an actual expectation. And what a blessed effect it had on their lives! The word which they heard did not fall on dull ears, but it was “received not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” (1 Thess. 2:13.) They were characterized by lives of faith and charity (3:6), and from them the power of this wonderful life sounded out through all the surrounding region. (1:8.) They knew in a practical way what it meant to have brotherly love to one another. (4:9.) With what joy the Apostle could exclaim, “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” (2:19.)

What a contrast now as we turn to the second class of Christians. We find them mentioned in several places in the epistles, but most startlingly characterized in these solemn words, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from (among) the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. (Eph. 5:14.) To such the blessed hope of their Lord’s coming means very little.

Christ’s interests dwindle in their souls until self reigns supreme, amid the spiritually dead around them. The sense of self-sacrifice is largely lost and self-gratification takes its place. No clothing is too expensive, no style too new, no sweetmeat too dear, no journey too far to be had for self; but how much is given for the Lord? O! dear young Christian, in the name of the priceless love of Christ to your soul, we beseech you to think on these things. If self is the center of your life, don’t mock the truth by saying you are expecting the Lord to come. It is an untruth. But regardless of your indifference to the fact, Christ is coming back again very soon. Everything points to His speedy return—blessed be His name. Dear young Christian, in which class will you be at His coming?

“And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” (1 John 2:28.)

Questions for October

Always give Scripture for answers, as well as your own expressions.

21. What ordinance is connected with the mention of the Lord’s return?

22. What important change in translation should be made in 2 Thessalonians 2:2? (See J. N. D.’s New Testament or the revised version.)

23. What does Peter refer to in 2 Peter 1:16, when he speaks of the “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ?”

24. Explain Revelation 12:5.

25. What does the word “lived” in Revelation 20:4 mean?

Answers to Questions for August.

11. In body. Acts 1:11.

12. Forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

13. With Him, for we shall never for a moment be separated from Him. 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

14. Come up hither. Revelation 4:1.

15. Four and twenty elders. Revelation 4:4.

The Unequal Yoke

“Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.” (Deut. 22:10.)

An important principle lies here, inattention to which has caused hundreds of children of God to go astray. The passage speaks of the unequal yoke. Leviticus 11:3 teaches that an ox is a clean animal, and is thus a type of a true believer who is made clean through the precious Word (John 15:3). The ass, being an unclean beast, typifies an unbeliever, as we read in Job 11:12, “For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt. In Exodus 13:13, too, we find the firstborn son and the firstling of an ass must alike be redeemed with a lamb, for the unregenerate sinner is as stiff-necked, stubborn, and rebellious as this brute beast.

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

The children of Israel had been separated from the nations by God. Four times Balaam sought to curse them, and when this failed he succeeded in getting them to mingle with the Moabites, and to join themselves to Baal-peor (see Num. 22:25), and thus ruined the people who had been called out to be a living witness to the one true God.

Many Christians who once were bright, earnest, separated, and devoted children of God, have been ensnared by Satan, formed an unequal yoke, their testimony spoiled, and they are today total wrecks, and a danger to all who come near. Satan ever seeks to get the thin end of the wedge in first, and few see where it all leads until too late.

You, my true fellow-believer, have been marked off from the world, and bound with indissoluble ties to every child of God, but as surely separated from the unbeliever as Israel was from the nations. Christ has won your heart, and this world you can only know as the place where He was crucified. Grace has taught you that you no more belong to it than does your rejected Lord, and to be a friend of the world is to be false to Christ. An unbeliever has taken his side with the world and against Christ, for “he that is not with Me is against Me”; he hates His name, despises His Word, and tramples His blood under foot.

Of all evils the saddest consequences come from the unequal yoke. A young man or woman becomes engaged to an unconverted person, and often deceive themselves by the fact that they are very moral and upright, and thus seek to persuade themselves that they are not doing wrong; but the truth is, they are being joined to an enemy of God, a hater of Christ, and a child of wrath. There is no middle path, and bitterest sorrow is the only harvest that can be reaped, for “can two walk together except they be agreed?” Useful lives have been ruined, and much dishonor brought upon the name of the Lord Jesus through his unequal yoke. It is neither faithfulness to Christ, love to them, nor justice to yourself to continue for another moment such an unholy path. O, “ponder the paths of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy feet from evil.” (Prov. 4:26, 27).

The enemy may also allure the Christian by the cycle, football, cricket, and many other clubs where the unequal yoke is formed under the plea that (1) “Recreation is needed”; (2) “What harm is there in this?” (3) “May I not by joining be an influence for good?”

Let us openly and honestly face these queries.

(1.) Recreation is necessary, especially for the young, but is there none better than that which is in disobedience to the Word of God?—

(2.) The “harm” lies, not in riding a cycle, or playing at football, but in the unholy alliances with the world.

(3.) Are you really sincere in your plea that you may be an influence for good to others? Is this your real and sole object in joining? Do you seek to embrace every opportunity of speaking for Christ, or is it not true that you dare not introduce Him because you know He is not wanted? O, be real before God! These things are not the trifles they at first sight appear. Beware lest you so become one of the world that, like Lot, your testimony is not believed.

Then, again, there are religious associations where believers and unbelievers are joined together, and some, alas! go so far as to include every parishioner—regardless of new birth—and oftentimes immoral persons are allowed to take the sacrament professedly in remembrance of the Lord’s death. This is the very worst kind of evil. How can they remember a Person they know not? God says to His own people who thus mix with what is so false, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” (2 Cor. 6:17.) Again, “Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins.” (Rev. 18:4.)

Dear fellow-believer, ponder these things well. They are not small and insignificant matters. Not only your blessing, but the glory of Christ is at stake. The unequal yoke includes every association, religious, commercial, or otherwise, where believers and unbelievers are joined together by common ties. “Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:20).

Scripture Study: Mark 5:24-43

Verse 24. Jesus went with Jarius, but before He gets to Jarius’ house another incident comes in: “And much people followed Him, and thronged Him. And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched His garment. For she said, ‘If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole.’ And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.” Here is a case of need; a woman with no name, and no claim, except that He is the Saviour and she is a needy one, and she has faith in Him. How all this answers to the present time. Now, it is individual salvation, not national. We have no claim as Gentiles but our need. No doctors can work improvement of our hopeless case. Only Jesus can do helpless sinners good. It must be nothing short of personal faith in Christ that can meet our desperate case.

Verses 30-34. “And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press, and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ And His disciples said unto Him, ‘Thou seest the multitude thronging Thee, and sayest Thou, who touched Me?’ And He looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth.” She was healed; that was all she wanted, but that was not all He wanted. He wanted her to know His love and grace, as well as His power to heal. He wanted her to know His heart, as well as His hand. And so He called her out in confession before Him, so that He might speak to her His words of grace. “And He said unto her, ‘Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.’” Is this not another likeness to the present time? In no other period of time was the Lord revealed as now. He called her daughter. We are the children of God the Father; we are members of the body of Christ; we are sealed with the Holy Spirit; blessings only known during this present time on earth, yet they will be ours for all eternity. Full assurance of faith; full assurance of understanding; full assurance of hope, given to us now by His word and Spirit.

This story of the woman suddenly ends and the narrative returns to Jarius again, so when the church is completed and taken on high to be with the Lord, the prophetic clock will start again just where it left off, to complete Israel’s story also. We must not look for the fulfillment of prophecy during the period when the Lord is calling His bride out of the world.

Verses 35-43. “While He yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, ‘Thy daughter is dead: Why troublest thou the Master any further?’ As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’” Here we see how He encourages the believing remnant of the Jews in the coming day, and will recognize them as those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29). “And He suffered no man to follow Him, save Peter, and James, and John, the brother of James; and He cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.” Just as the Jews do now at certain seasons, but they are just as ready to laugh the next moment. So when the Lord said, “Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth,” they laughed Him to scorn. To Him she was but sleeping, awaiting the time when God’s promises to Israel would be fulfilled (Ezek. 36). “And He took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, ‘Talitha cumi,’ which is, damsel, I say unto thee, ‘Arise.’ And straightway the damsel arose, and walked, for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And He charged them straightly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.” So, when Israel is restored again, the Lord will see to it that she will be cared for. His covenant with them will be a covenant of grace. His law will be written in their hearts, and their sins and iniquities will He remember no more (Heb. 8:10-12). But He does not speak to Jairus’ daughter as He spoke to the woman. Israel will be His earthly people, but the church is His body and His bride; she will share His heavenly glory (Eph. 5:25, 26, 27). May our souls enter into His love for us now.

(Continued from page 239.)

To the Anxious and Inquiring

Satan’s first effort to destroy souls is with the “wayside” hearer (see Matt. 13). He catches away the Word of Life which may have been heard or read, and that before either the conscience or understanding is reached. In this way thousands are lulled to sleep and callous indifference.

His next effort is with the “stony place” hearer. In this case the Word is heard and received with joy. “Forthwith” sprung up the seed; but this very suddenness is Satan’s snare. It is rarely a good sign to find souls, without much trouble or exercise, instantly springing into joy, for be it remembered, that joy is not peace, for there may be the former where there is not the latter. Now, it is peace the sinner needs, and many a quickened one, too. The want of “root in himself” is the cause assigned in Scripture for this premature condition. There must be a thorough work done in the conscience ere peace can be had. Let the work be as speedy as you like, only let it be real and thorough. Now, peace with God is the knowledge that what I am, as well as what I have done, has been fully gone into, and righteously set aside; so that I can stand before God in Christ, blameless and undefiled. Thorough conscience work therefore is essential to peace with God. Joy may be founded on many things, without the question of sin being raised at all, the conscience searched, or the depths of one’s moral being reached.

Satan’s third effort is with the “thorn” hearer. Here the Word is heard, but choked, and unfruitfulness is the result. Satan is a perfect master in deluding and destroying souls. The poor are no more safe from his subtle wiles than the rich. With the one class he employs the gilt, glitter, and butterfly joys of the world, and alas; but too successfully, in neutralizing the power and effect of the “Word.” The Word is choked with riches. With the poor it is the “cares of life,” such as one’s family, business, daily toil, and so on. All, of course, right and proper in their place, but used by Satan as of last importance, whereas they are trivial matters compared to the great questions of the soul and eternity.

Now, all these attempts of Satan’s are, if possible, to prevent the conscience being plowed up by the sense of sin and its awful consequences; but should he be thwarted in this, he changes his tactics, and his subsequent efforts are directed to cloud the gospel, to dilute it—to dim and darken the mind of the seeking one; and this he endeavors to do by presenting an object to the soul of his own creation—anything, of course, save Christ and His finished work, the alone and sure resting-place of faith.

Christ alone is the object of faith. To Him the Holy Spirit points. To the inquiring and anxious, one unvarying testimony is ever rendered. It is to “look up”; not within, for Christ, faith’s object, is not there; not abroad, where all is distraction and confusion; but “up,” for the Christ who died and was buried, has been raised and taken to heaven. Yes, no one, save the Man Christ Jesus, reposing on the throne of God, is presented to the anxious inquirer. “Jesus only” is the utterance of the Holy Spirit, and the sum His, testimony to every seeker.

Now, one would suppose that nothing were easier or simpler of comprehension than this question of “believing,” or “looking.” But, so cunning is the arch-enemy of men, that he actually turns the simplest truth of Scripture into a positive hindrance and stumbling-block to souls. Many have been plunged into a perfect “slough of despond,” and for months, and even years, go on in deep perplexity and distress. I am quite satisfied that, in the majority of cases, it arises from not rightly understanding what faith is, and its relation to Christ. Let me give a simple illustration of this: I was lately visiting a young person supposed to be dying, and had no doubt whatever, from a little conversation, that the person had life, though not peace.

“Why have you not peace?” I said.

“Because I am so troubled.”

“What are you troubled about?” I inquired.

“Well, I don’t know whether I have faith or not, and if I have, whether it is the right kind—the faith of the head, or the faith of the heart.”

“And is this question of faith very much before your mind?”

“It is,” was the reply.

“Then I am not surprised that you lack peace, for your grand blunder is, that you are substituting faith, for its object, namely, Christ; now, the Holy Spirit does not witness to your faith, but to Christ and to His finished work. Who died for you?” I continued, “Christ, or faith—a principle, or a person? Where there is faith the soul sees only Him who bore its sins, and made peace with God. Faith looks at the gift, not at the hand stretched out to receive it. It is finely illustrated in the well-known wilderness scene referred to by Christ— ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life’ (John 3:14, 15). The bitten and dying Israelite might have pondered long enough, both with his head and heart, and after all, the sure and certain result would have been death; but the moment he looked away from himself to God’s remedy—the brazen serpent—he lived. He got life in looking, but it was God’s remedy and object he looked at. Now, this is faith. Faith is looking off from self, from others, from all, to Jesus.”

No soul can have peace where faith assumes the prominence of a question before the mind; faith never thinks of itself, hence, when there is occupation with self (unless, indeed, to judge it), faith is not in exercise, and Christ is little thought of. All anxieties as to faith and such like questions, are proof that self is not done with, and, of course, until I am prepared to drop self, I am not sufficiently free to have Christ before me.

O, anxious one, look straight off from all below the sun, to Him who is above the sun! He is surely entitled to your heart’s confidence. Believe and live.

Correspondence: James 5:14; Lev. 1:4; Luke 18:22

Question 143: What is the meaning of James 5:14? Did the anointing of the sick only apply in those days? S. C.

Answer: James 5:14 may be used in faith now. If a child of God recognizes God’s hand upon him in chastening, he may ask those whom he has confidence in, as men of God, to take up his case in prayer before the Lord, and count on God’s forgiveness and restoration.

Question 144: Leviticus 1:4. What should we learn by the offerer laying his hand on the head of the burnt-offering, and why is atonement mentioned here? Is it sin-bearing? M. L. E.

Answer: The laying on of the offerer’s hand expressed identification with the victim.

In the burnt-offering it is the question of glorifying God in the place of sin itself—Christ “made sin” to glorify God there. Christ was made sin of His own voluntary will, and yet it was obedience. He was perfect in obedience and devotedness unto death, and that the death of the cross; it is all a sweet savor to God and for us. A man’s bringing a burnt-offering is as good as coming to the Lord, and saying, “I have no devotedness to bring; but all is due to the Lord, and I bring it in the person of my sacrifice.” We have nothing of our own but what is bad, but we are accepted in all the value of what Christ has done. The burnt-offering has more to do with the nature; the sin and trespass offerings with offenses. The great thing with the burnt-offering is that it, meets all of God’s holy requirements, and glorifies Him, and in the place of sin.

Question 145: What is the meaning of Luke 18:22? Is it to be fulfilled literally now? M. L. E.

Answer: It is for us figurative language, but easily understood. Our blessings are heavenly and spiritual. These are “our own” things and the “true riches”. (Luke 16:11, 12; Eph. 1:3.) We are stewards of all the Lord has entrusted to us; if our hearts are taken up with them as if they were our own possessions, we are, worldly. (1 John 2:15.) We are then living in them instead of the things of Christ. Luke 12:15, (new trans.); Luke 12:33; and 18:22, put things in their right places. Selling is getting rid in our hearts of what would keep us from Him. 1 Timothy 6:17-19, with 1 Corinthians 7:30, 31 (new trans.), help us to see how we can use the world without counting it our own. We are to let nothing hinder us from following Christ.

I Don't Want to Be a Christian

“I don’t want to be a Christian,” I said, “to be obliged to give up everything that makes life pleasant, and go about with a long face, all the rest of my days! No, thank you! I am very happy as I am.”

So saying, I turned away from the earnest pleading face of my sister, and banished the disagreeable thought from my mind.

Alas! how little I then knew, how little I realized what an awful sin I was guilty of in deliberately refusing to listen to God’s message of salvation.

No! I was perfectly content to go on with the life I had hitherto led. Why should I give up the world at nineteen? I had all that any girl could desire—a happy home; plenty of friends, and balls and parties without number. If I became a Christian, I should have to relinquish the latter, so of course it was absurd to think of it!

Just about this time some gospel meetings were being held at the Assembly Rooms, and were crowded to excess each day. I heard of one or two “conversions” among the young girls whom I was in the habit of meeting in society; but when told of the wonderful change that had come over these gay worldlings, I laughed, at the idea, prophesying “It would soon wear off!”

“Won’t you come and hear for yourself?” entreated my sister. “It can do you no harm to go, for once.”

But I steadily refused, and plunged deeper than ever into a whirl of gaiety.

One day, however, my mother asked me to leave a note at the house of a lady who lived close by.

“I think you may have to wait for an answer,” she said, as she sealed and handed it to me.

At first I rebelled. I knew the lady to whom the letter was addressed was one of those whom I dreaded to encounter; but at length I consented to go, determining in my own mind, to let her see that I had no intention of being spoken to about my soul, should she attempt to broach the subject.

So feeling no doubt very grand and superior, I set off.

“Mrs. C— was at home. Would I please walk upstairs?” was the answer to my inquiry. I followed the servant, inwardly resolving to “hold my own,” whatever happened.

To my horror, when we reached the parlor, I found myself in the midst of one of the dreaded. “meetings” I had heard so much about.

There was a look of surprise on the faces of all the occupants of that room, as I entered, which brought the hot blood with a rush to my cheeks. Mrs. C— rose to meet me, and in her gentle way, motioned me to a seat near the door; and the reading continued as before. I shall never forget my feelings as I sat there! Fear and indignation strove for the mastery. I saw it all! I had fallen unsuspectingly into the trap that had been laid for me by my mother and Mrs. C—. Now there was no escape. Gradually the words that were being spoken forced themselves on my hearing.

Curiously, and critically I listened, wondering what there could be in that dry and uninteresting book, to light up the faces of one and all; then, somewhat wearied with listening to what was so much Greek to me, I set to planning how best I could slip out of the door and run downstairs without being noticed.

During the prayers that followed the reading, a lady who had been sitting close beside me, pleaded with God for “the one outside the fold,” entreating that the Lord would not let me leave the room without a blessing, and oh! How wonderfully He answered that prayer!

Deeper and deeper those words sank into my wretched, sinful heart. I felt as I knelt there that a holy God was searching me through and through, and all my sins like a great wave came sweeping over me, carrying all else before it!

What had I been doing? How had I dared to turn away from the God who was at this moment reading my very soul?

Terrified, I arose from my knees, and stood as though in a dream, while all the others, with the exception of the one who had prayed for me, left the room.

She came across to me, and asked me that question I had always dreaded “Are you saved?”

“No,” I answered abruptly.

“Do you want to be?”

For a moment I hesitated.

“I am too wicked,” I said falteringly. “O! you don’t know what I am and all the dreadful things I have done,” I continued, battling with the great choking sobs that would come, in spite of my efforts to keep them back.

“Never mind what you have been, or what you have done, child,” was the quiet rejoinder. “If you know yourself to be a sinner, just listen to what God says to you.” And opening her Bible she read— “When we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6); and “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

“But,” I said doubtfully, “how do I know that was meant for me? How can I know God wants me?”

My companion did not answer, but turned again to her Bible, and from the last chapter of Revelation read this verse, “Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.”

“Now,” she said, “do you suppose God has left you out in that ‘whosoever’?”

“No,” I answered slowly, while the wonderful truth began to dawn across my mind.

“Then if you believe it was for you as well as for the rest of the world that Christ died, you are saved. ‘Verily, verily I say unto you, he that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.’” (John 5:24.)

I needed no more! I saw it all as clearly as possible, and a joy I had never experienced before, even when I had imagined my happiness complete, flooded my whole being. O! the wonderful grace of God to a wretched sinner!

I had entered that room, proud, rebellious, stiff-necked; I left it humbled and broken down by the sight I had had of the love of Christ which led Him to lay down His life for me. From that moment I believe the current of my life was changed.

Old things passed away, and all things became new. With a sort of horror, I turned from that which I once imagined was “happiness.” Nothing but the grace of God could have made me do this; good resolutions, and “turning over new leaves” are worse than futile. O! how often we make good resolutions! I wonder who has not. But when temptations come, are we able to resist them?

Never, in our own strength. We can alone be conquerors through Him that loved us.

Ah, dear young people (to whom I am especially writing), have you never felt, in the midst of the giddy whirl, a sensation of dissatisfaction and discontent, as if everything was not quite as it should be?

O! the heart-aches, jealousies and bitter feelings that exist in this great weary world! Christ alone can satisfy and fill the aching voids. Will you not come to Him? There is no question of “giving up” this thing or the other. When Christ enters the heart all else sinks into utter insignificance, so that one gladly and willingly turns from what fails to satisfy, to rest in that great love, the length, breadth, depth and height, of which no mortal can fathom.

Who Has Charge of Your Money Box?

“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet and it tendeth to poverty” (Prov. 11:24).

I fancy I hear the reader exclaim, “What a funny title! Whatever can it mean?” Just listen to me while I relate an incident that happened some years ago. A Christian father had in his keeping the money boxes of his two little children. They were kept locked, and the children did not know how much money was in them. One of the children came to his father one day and said that he would like to get a present for his mother on her birthday, which was drawing near. His father explained to him that it would not be a present from him unless he paid for it out of his own money. The child was quite willing to do so.

Soon after, the father took the boy to the store to buy the present. They looked around, and at last the little fellow selected an article. On hearing the price, the father told him he had not enough to pay for it and that he must choose something else. In a short time he did so. When the price was known, the father told the child he would be able to pay for that, but it would take the most of his money. The dear little fellow did not mind that in the least, but said he would like to get it for his mamma.

It was bought, paid for out of the boy’s money, and given to the mother on her birthday.

The father was so much pleased with the unselfishness shown in the matter, and at the affection manifested by the boy for his mother, that he determined that the child should not be the loser. From time to time the father slipped into the money box a penny, or sometimes more, till, without the child knowing it, the amount was more than replaced.

Dear fellow-believer, is there no lesson in the foregoing for you and for me?

If the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and (through grace) our God and our Father (John 20:17), sees us spending on ourselves, and our own interests the most of what He has entrusted us with (1 Cor. 4:2), Will He not very likely do what He did as recorded in Haggai? (1:3-11, 2:15-17). Then Haggai 1:12-14 and 2:18-19 show us the result of the word of the Lord having taken effect in the hearts and consciences of the people, and His consequent blessing upon them.

If our God and Father sees you and me diligent in caring for the interests of His blessed Son, Jesus our Lord, will it not delight His heart more than that of the father in the incident we have referred to?

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things (temporal things) shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33), which means that if we seek His things, He will look after our interests.

In 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 we read, “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him. give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”

We trust each one of our young friends will weigh this matter before the Lord; but be careful that nothing is done in order to get something in return.

Let everything be done simply and solely for the Lord and His interests and He will never let us be the losers.

“Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).

“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 live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:14-15).

“O, what a debt we owe

To Him who shed His blood,

And cleansed our souls, and gave us power

To stand before His God!

Saviour and Lord, we own

The riches of Thy grace;

For we can call Thy God our God—

Can bow before His face.

Thy Father, too, above,

We worship as our own,

Who gave with Thee the Spirit’s cry,

To us His sons foreknown.

Again, ponder over this magnificent verse, “My God shall abundantly supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19 N. T.)

What an inexhaustible amount in such safekeeping, and in such a money box!

Your Father Knoweth

“Your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things,” says the Lord to us. Now, the fact of our Father’s knowledge of our needs should satisfy us as to them, in the same way that the knowledge by a little child of its mother’s eye being upon it rests its heart. The child is quieted because it is aware that its mother knows its need. Now, are not our prayers at times rather giving our Father information upon matters, than the outcome of our trust in His knowledge of our needs, and of His love to us? A fretful state of mind betrays a lack of confidence in our Father’s love and care towards us. “Your Father knoweth that ye have need” —what rest for the soul is there in this assurance! Let us quiet our souls as does the little child who rests in its mother’s knowledge of its need.

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: Our Daily Walk

“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be?” (2 Peter 3:11.)

Dear Young Christian: If you really believe that the Lord Jesus is coming back again soon, how practical for your daily walk is the above question! Let us consider four scriptural admonitions which answer the question.

First, we ought to be SEPARATE Christians. (2 Cor. 6:17.) What would you think of an English soldier who liked the companionship of the Germans so well that he enjoyed fighting in their ranks part of the time, although he knew he was a part of the English army, and proud of it, too? You can easily see how impossible such a condition would be in human affairs. How much more impossible then ought it to be for the Christian to be found joining the world’s ranks in its pleasures and companionship. We ought then, young Christians, to be separate in our walk.

Second, we ought to be SOBER Christians. (1 Thess. 5:6.) No railroad company will employ an engineer who uses intoxicating liquor, because he has in his trust the lives of hundreds of human beings who might be sacrificed by his lack of sobriety. So with us, God has entrusted to us, in great measure, the eternal welfare of those with whom we are thrown in association. How important then that our conduct should be such that those about us will have confidence in what we say as to eternal things. But if our attitude is light and trifling most of the time then, when we want to seriously impress others with the solemn reality of having to do with the Lord, they will doubt our words. We will be like Lot in Sodom when he warned his sons-in-law, “Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law.” (Gen. 19:14.) How important, then, that we be sober.

Third, we ought to be SIMPLE Christians. (2 Cor. 11:3.) God never requires superior intelligence or special gift in order that His children may walk in living daily communion with Himself. In fact, there is nothing more pleasing to the Father than to have His simple-hearted child lift his voice in guileless confidence and talk to his “Father.” We may know very little, and yet be happy in our confidence in the Lord; or we may get much truth, and become cold and legal in our souls. O, let us seek then to cultivate a childlike simplicity before the Lord.

Fourth, we ought to be STRONG Christians. (Eph. 6:10.) What need there is in this day of lukewarm indifference to the work of the Lord Jesus, for strong-hearted young Christians to boldly and fearlessly stand for Christ. Stand for Him everywhere and all the time: in school, in shop, in recreation, in the home and on the street. What cowardly soldiers we often make, don’t we? There is nothing that helps a Christian so much in boldness for the Lord Jesus as to show where he stands at the first opportunity. Never compromise the truth the first time you meet another, thinking to let your stand be known later. No! fly your colors all the time, come what may, and you will find, by God’s grace, new power and courage given you for each new occasion as it arises.

In these closing days may He find standing for Him a company of separated, sober-minded, simple-hearted, strong young Christians!

Questions for November

Always give Scripture for answers, as well as your own expressions.

26. Why is it wrong for Christians to set dates for the Lord’s return?

27. What is the first thing Revelation gives us in time order that takes place after the church is caught up.

28. What is meant by each of the four horses Revelation 6?

29. What is meant by the “great tribulation”? Revelation 7:14.

30. What is generally the symbolical meaning of sun, moon and stars in Scripture?

Answers to Questions for September

16. That those who are alive when the Lord returns shall not have to pass through death at all.

17. This hour covers the whole Christian dispensation from the time of the descent of the Holy Spirit to His removal with the church. (Acts 2:1-4; 2 Thess. 2:7.)

18. It is the present gospel hour when those dead in trespasses and sins are hearing the gospel and receiving eternal life. (Eph. 2:1.)

19. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and Revelation 20:13.

20. (1) Those raised when the Lord Jesus comes again. (1 Thess. 4:16-17.)

(2) Those that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held. (Rev. 6:9.)

(3) Those slain in war with the beast. (Rev. 13:7, 17.)

Scripture Study: Mark 6

Verse 1. Jesus now comes to His own country where He had been brought up, and His disciples follow Him.

Verses 2, 3. On the sabbath day He began to teach in the synagogue. Words of wisdom flowed from His lips, and many, hearing Him, were astonished, and question, “From whence has this man these things? What wisdom is this which is given unto Him, that even such mighty works are wrought by His hands?”

They call Him the carpenter; that is all He is to them. They know His family, but they care nothing for Him; they are offended at Him. What unbelief; what hardness of heart; what a display of the flesh that profits nothing! The carnal mind is enmity to God; the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. (Rom. 8:7; 1 Cor. 2:14.) He did not flatter their pride. He did not come with earthly glory, but as a lowly servant. Quite true, He manifested the character of God, but they did not want that. Worldly power and glory would suit their taste, but not a humble servant like Jesus. They were offended at Him; they reject Him, and He will reject them.

Verses 4-6. Jesus said unto them, “A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house, and He could do no mighty work there.” What a loss to them!

Their unbelief lost the blessing He had for them, and only a few sick that He laid His hands on, were healed. They were needy, and love will work where it can. The few sick folk profit by this love that seeks their good, but the rest go empty away. What a lesson for us all not to hinder the work of God by our unbelief.

What will He do now? If He can do nothing there because of their unbelief, He will seek a wider field: “And He went round about the villages, teaching.”

Verses 7-11. He now shows His power in calling others into the work, and gives them power over unclean spirits, and sends them out on a mission entirely dependent on Him to supply their every need. They take nothing but their staff for their journey: no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse; sandals they would need, but not two coats. Luke tells us, they lacked nothing. (Luke 22:35.) Those that would not receive them, would receive judgment worse than Sodom and Gomorrha. The house they entered into, there they were to abide while they were in that place.

Verse 12. They went out and preached that men should repent. Doubtless, many did repent and turn to God, and thus escaped the terrible judgment Israel’s sins, their sins, deserved.

Verse 13. They cast out many devils and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. What grace is here seen, not only does He send good news, but uses men to carry it. May we, too, have our hearts filled with the Saviour’s love, so that we may tell others what we have received, and thus be used of Him to carry blessing to others.

Verses 14-29. We are here told how John, the Baptist’s ministry came to an end, a foreshowing of what the Lord’s ministry would come to also. (Matt. 17:12.) John rebuked Herod’s sin, and he threw John into prison. Herodias would have killed him, but she could not. Herod’s respect for John sheltered him from her, but pleasures and excitement laid the snare, and Herod promised with an oath to give the dancing girl what she wished. Her mother told her to ask the head of John the Baptist. The king’s false oath bound him, and John was executed. The story shows the heartlessness of Israel’s ruler. His disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse and laid it in a tomb. Matthew 14:12 adds, “and went and told Jesus.”

When Herod heard of Jesus, it came into his mind what he had done. (He will never forget it to all eternity.) He thought God had raised John from the dead, and therefore mighty works showed themselves forth in him. Others thought Jesus a prophet, such as Elias, perhaps from Malachi 4:5.

(To be Continued).

Outward Adorning

O think of God’s beloved daughters

Here on earth a little while,

Spending all their precious moments

After fashion, dress and style.

See how like the world they’re getting,

Only look upon their head—

See what should be in the garden

Fixed up to adorn their pride.

See the little wings and feathers

On their hats and bonnets worn;

These are only second handed,

Worn by the birds before.

Nice to see them on the birdies,

God Himself did put them there;

None would care for wings and feathers

On their head instead of hair.

How unlike the lowly Jesus,

His dear head was not adorned

With the Devil’s pride and fashion,

But was decked with cruel thorns.

Gather all your flimsy decking,

Lay them down beside His blood,

Ask thy heart this solemn question:

“Can I wear such things for God?”

Dear redeemed and blood bought sister,

Look upon thy Saviour’s brow,

And receive His grace sufficient

To make full surrender now.

Can you meet Him at His table

On each blessed Lord’s Day morn,

Look to Calvary through your fixings,

His dear body thus discern?

O, how quick the separation

When He cometh in the air,

All our trinkets left behind us;

No such things are needed there.

God would have His daughters tidy,

All they wear both good and plain,

Wearing naught to be ashamed of

At His coming back again.

A Letter From a Soldier at the Front

The following letter published originally in the “Messager Evangelique” is given to show the grace and care of God over His own, even when they have placed themselves in positions contrary to His Word. No doubt many Christians who have gone into the war have used the scripture, “Be subject unto the higher powers” (Rom. 13:1), but when subordinate authority tells us to do that which the Supreme authority tells us not to do, then we should be subject to the Supreme authority. “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

When Peter used his sword, the Lord Jesus rebuked him, saying: “Put up again thy sword into his place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” (Matt. 26:52).

Jesus said to Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight” (John 18:36).

“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:16). We are heavenly citizens (Phil. 3:20) with a heavenly calling (Heb. 3:1) saved by grace (Eph. 2:8) and told to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44), resist not evil (Matt. 5:39), suffer wrong (Rom. 12:19), and do good unto all (Gal. 6:10). All this is the opposite of killing our fellowmen, and those who do, know not what manner of spirit they are of (Luke 9:55).

But God is using the wrath of man to bring glory to His name. We hear of a great number of conversions on the battlefield—men turning to God and accepting Christ as their Saviour. And those who are the Lord’s, are learning what He is to them and for them in the time of their deep need.

Let us pray earnestly that many more may be brought to the Lord through this dreadful calamity.

Dear Brother:

If I speak of the four months of winter in the trenches, the sufferings gone through, the last terrible attacks, the furnace where God has seen good to place some of His well-beloved ones, it will be to tell of the, marvels of God’s grace, of His mercies renewed without ceasing, of His all-powerful protection. It will be to tell what, for the redeemed one, is the presence of his Saviour; of Him who will always be there, as formerly “the fourth like unto the Son of God,” with the three young Hebrews. Yes, by His grace I can say, as I praise Him, “He has indeed been all that He has promised to be! And how little I know Him—how little I did know Him! But in those terrible moments, in the midst of all sorts of dangers, in the frightful nights in the trenches, under the rain, in the liquid mud, without rest, Who but He could have helped me? I felt Him there, quite close. It was no longer for me a vague knowledge, a theory, of His person, but a presence blessed, well-proved. I needed to be brought to this; and alone, experiencing my absolute weakness, having no recourse in anyone else; in the depth of the trial it was my Saviour only whom I needed. Then, in the midst of the suffering, what precious moments were passed with Him, the faithful friend only too little known, whose love and heart so tender were better revealed to me. Dear Lord! He might have said to me: “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me?”

How many precious passages of the Word, which I had quoted before, even meditated over, without ever having felt their power, have now become for me like His living voice, and have taken an unthought of value. “Fear not, for I am with thee.” By His grace I could answer with the psalmist, “I will fear no evil for Thou art with me.”

Pardon me if I speak at such length of my experiences. I should only like to be able to express what all our brethren at the front can say to the glory of the Lord; what He has been; what He is, and continues to be in help, in grace, in love for all His well-beloved ones; how worthy He is of all our confidence, worthy that we should serve Him better, that we should redeem the time—we, who are still young and sleep so well. He is worthy of all our affection, worthy that our hearts should desire Him. Is it not to know Him, to desire Him, and for one who knows Him what happiness to think that we are going to see Him and praise Him always!

I did not give you any details on what brought about my departure. The week of Easter was a terrible one for us. We had to go to the assault of some German trenches, well furnished with machine guns and situated on a crest about 80 meters from ours. After a night under the rain the arrangements were made, and the hour of attack fixed. What hours of anguish! Yes, then I needed the Saviour, Himself. I needed to feel Him very, very close.

How sorrowful it was, too, to see so many souls, indifferent, terrified, and perhaps near death. I reminded several of former conversations when I had been able to speak to them of the love of God. They remained deaf, as if unable to think of anything else but the horror of the present hour. How solemn it is to refuse the grace which is offered to man, and to look back on it too late.

The cannonade preceding the attacks, and supposed to destroy everything in the enemy trench, began; a formidable cannonade! Forty pieces, each giving about ten discharges a minute. The Germans replied furiously. There was an infernal hurricane of iron and fire. The hour drew near and I prayed the Lord to spare me the horror of that attack with the bayonet. It was what I had constantly been praying about.

Suddenly I received a violent blow on the head. A stone had struck me, thrown violently by the explosion of a shell. I fell unconscious. They carried me away and in the shelter of the second line of trenches, my prayers answered, and delivered, when I came to myself, I could bless the Lord. Very tired, I was startled at every explosion of the shells which rained around me. My chief (sergeant-major) passed at that moment leading the second company which had to follow the first to the assault. I heard him say to an under officer, as he pointed me out: “Some men are happy enough to have faith in God.” I had often presented the gospel to him—particularly two days before, when, much affected, he said: “Think! Is it not frightful! I and my young wife are everything to each other. We are an artist household, all for the joy of living; no material cares; a mother who spoils us, like two big children; and I have to leave all that! Be killed!” I showed him the nothingness of everything here below, but the eternal happiness of the redeemed, the love of God in Christ.

“I cannot believe; my reason does not admit these things,” was his answer. On his remark about me—although very dizzy from my blow—I was still able to say to him: “Think of our conversations, chief; there is still time, but the hour is solemn.” “Good-bye,” he said, holding out his hands to me. An hour afterward he fell mortally wounded.

The assault was made, the trenches were taken; the wounded streamed in. The night drew in, and through the narrow passages, in the mud, holding each other up, we went towards the hospital of a ruined village about a kilometer off, to a cellar where the doctors worked by the dim light of candles. Yonder on the crest of the hill the rifles crackled, the wounded called desperately for stretcher bearers. Shells rained around us on the earth.

Our Brother X, who, in a neighboring company to mine had been obliged to go to the assault, has also been marvelously kept. Could it be otherwise? Is not God our help, our shield, feeble though our confidence may be? It is written: “I will be with thee; I will not leave thee nor forsake thee.” We have both experienced it.

Since that terrible day I have been taken from ambulance to ambulance, and finally sent to the south. The brothers at the front count on the prayers of the saints. I do not doubt that in all places many requests rise to God. The news is good; all are sustained, God be praised.

May this terrible trial purify us; give to our hearts the freshness of a revival of love and zeal; give us to know Christ better, in an intimate and personal way, growing in that knowledge till the day when we shall see Him.

Responsibility and Privilege

In Titus 2 there is a very striking and forcible illustration of each of the above. May the Spirit of God drive them home to the conscience and heart of every reader.

In verses 4 and 5 the aged women are exhorted to teach the young women; and I want you to notice what they are to teach them, and why. What they are to teach them is how to behave in their everyday life; the life in the home and before their neighbors. It is summed up in a very few words. They are to be sober (not light and giddy), to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet or wise. Keepers at home and obedient to their own husbands. “O! that’s what everybody knows!” someone may exclaim. “There’s not much in that!” No! these prosy everyday things are apt to be despised and overlooked simply because they are everyday things. But look at the second point: why these are to be taught. “That the Word of God be not blasphemed.”

Did you know that such fearful consequences were wrapped up in these everyday things? Have you remembered that your neighbors and acquaintances know you are a professed follower of Jesus, and that when they see you coming short in these simple, practical, everyday matters, it causes them to reflect upon and speak against that “Word” that you profess to obey? And thus through your carelessness in little things, God’s doctrine is blasphemed. O! what a responsibility is ours! Just as upon the pillars of the court of the tabernacle were hung, in the sight of everybody, those spotless curtains of fine-twined linen, so upon us is hanging, in view of the world, the spotless character of pure and undefiled religion. And if we stain it, what then?

O! be faithful, young believer, in every little detail of life, for everything counts.

So much for responsibility. But there is another side in this chapter, and it is enough to make one leap for very joy to know our glorious privilege.

In verses 9 and 10 we have again some exhortations concerning everyday life. This time it is to servants (bondsmen); and they are urged to be obedient to their masters, and to please them well in all things, not answering again, not appropriating their masters’ goods to their own use, to be faithful to them in all things. And the reason now given is, “That they may adorn the doctrine of God, our Saviour, in all things.” Is not this a privilege? Think of being an ornament to the doctrine of our Saviour! People often speak of ornaments in the church, but they generally mean some talented and gifted person whose name is known everywhere. But God takes up the very humblest, even a bond-slave, and shows how he, in the very commonest everyday actions, may be an ornament to His doctrine. Now, isn’t this real encouragement? And it is not merely that he may be this or that. No! each one of us is either the first or second. That is, we are all either causing the Saviour’s Word to be blasphemed, or we are an ornament: to it. Which is it?

Jesus Only

(Matt. 17:8.)

“Lord, to whom shall we go?”

To the law? That curses us.

To the world? That is a delusive bubble.

To sin and corruption? It has polluted our minds, and done us mischief in abundance.

Whither can we go?

“Thou halt the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” (John 6:68, 69)

Correspondence: Mark 9:43; Luke 9:24; Deut. 13:6-9; James 5:7

Question 146: Please explain Mark 9:43; Luke 9:24; Deuteronomy 13:6-9. M. L. E.

Answer: Mark 9:43. The Lord tells them to let nothing be spared if it stands in the way of their eternal life. If it costs a hand, a foot, an eye, or anything as dear, it is better to be maimed or halt or half blind, than to go into eternal fire.

Luke 9:24 is in view of Christ’s rejection. The follower must take up his cross daily. There is no profit in gaining the whole world for a moment, and then be lost for eternity. It is giving up life now in the world for eternal blessing; or saving it now, but soon to have eternal misery.

Deuteronomy 13:6-9 is part of a subject that showed how jealous Jehovah was over Israel, lest idolatry should take their hearts from Him. They must judge the idolater.

This illustrates for us, that no teacher (1-5), nor relative, however dear (6-9), nor company of associates, is to be allowed to come between our souls and the Lord. If they are false to Christ we cannot have fellowship with them, without being untrue to Him who has bought us at the cost of His own life. How keen the enemy is to ensnare our souls, is seen in that chapter. (Also 1 John 5:21.)

Question 147: Please explain James 5:7, “The early and latter rain.” W. W. H.

Answer: It is God that giveth the increase. The husbandman plowed and planted and cultivated, then waited with patience for the precious fruit of the earth; the rains give the increase.

Jehovah promised these rains if the Israelites were obedient (Deut. 11:13, 14), but because of their wickedness the rains were withheld. (Jer. 3:3; 5:24.) On Israel’s repentance they are encouraged to expect these rains again. Hosea 5:15; 6:1-3; also Joel 2:23-32, and Zechariah 10:1, connect the fulfillment with the “Day of the Lord” when Israel is restored. James 1:1 has Israel in view, and so looks on to the coming of the Lord for their blessing. The Christian waits to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. (1 Thess. 4:15-17.) He looks for no signs.

On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came. (Acts 2:33.) He formed the House of God of those one hundred and twenty, and baptized them into one body. (1 Cor. 12:13.) The Holy Spirit came then, and never went away again. He is here still dwelling in every saved one, and also in the House of God. Since then everyone that believed the gospel of his salvation, has been added to that one body. The baptism of the Spirit took place then, and can never be repeated. Christ is not said to have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, nor is any individual. It reads, “By one Spirit are WE all baptized into one body.” Individuals are sealed, and so added to the body formed at Pentecost. The Gentiles are also included in this action of the Spirit. (Acts 11:15, 16.)

Joel’s prophecy (2:28-32) was not fulfilled at Pentecost, but will be, to usher in the Day of the Lord, for Israel’s deliverance. Peter quoted it to show that what was happening was not from men drunk with new wine, but like what Joel spoke of.

The church is not waiting for the kingdom with blessings on the earth, but for the coming of the Lord to meet us in the air—not on the earth. (1 Thess. 4:15-17.)

The woman in Revelation 12 is Israel, of whom Christ, the man child, came.

We are now in the last days (2 Tim. 3). In subjection to God’s Word increases. Paul said by the Spirit, women were to keep silence in the assembly (1 Cor. 14:34), and adds (verse 37), “Are the commandments of the Lord.” (See also 1 Tim. 2:11, 12.) They take off their hats, yet the Spirit says, Women should have their heads covered. (1 Cor. 11:5, 6, 10, 13.)

Speaking with tongues is mentioned three times in Acts. The hundred and twenty spake with tongues, and were understood. The converts did not speak with tongue’s as far as we know, The Samaritans did not, nor the Eunuch, nor Saul when he received the Spirit. The Gentiles in Acts 10:46, did, to confirm Peter and those with him, in admitting the Gentiles into the House of God. But notice, they magnified God; it was intelligent, not jabbering. Acts 19 is the other place, and there they prophesied, again it was intelligent, giving out the mind of God.

The gift of tongues is different in 1 Corinthians 14. Directions are given that such a gift is not to be used in the assembly, except someone can interpret. (Verse 28.) The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. But this new, so-called speaking in an unknown tongue, comes on those who have given themselves up to it when in their families or alone, when it can have no meaning, and some say they cannot help it. What power is behind such ways?

In Acts 2:22, God bore witness to Jesus, with power, and signs, and wonders; but we find in 2 Thessalonians 2:9, that one is coming after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders. God’s signs were at the beginning; Satan’s signs are at the end. And the mystery of iniquity is working already, even now are there many antichrists. (1 John 2:18.) There is a demon or evil spirit behind every evil doctrine, giving it power in men’s souls to hold them enthralled. (1 John 4:1-3.) Our only safety is to act on the Word of God. “Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” (2 Tim. 2:19.)

Opportunity Lost Forever

Mrs. C. was once known in her native town as fond of the world in its dress and vain pursuits. She was elegant in appearance, and full of life in society. But the Searcher of hearts knew that under all this, there was a conscience which filled her with misery, even when to those around she seemed to be the merriest of the merry.

At about the age of ten she had been placed with a Christian lady for two years, when she was taught to search the Scriptures, and to commit portions to memory. This lady was eminent in her day for devotedness to her Saviour, and the child was deeply impressed through her teaching and example. But the parents did not appreciate this, and Sarah was removed to a school, where all that ministered to personal vanity was cultivated. The result was an early marriage with a man who had no object beyond the passing scene.

Mrs. C. was almost beyond middle age, when the writer first spoke to her about her soul. A secret spring was touched which brought out an opening of her heart to the deep wretchedness which had been hidden so many years, and which had never been confessed before to another.

Earnest desire was expressed to be able to surrender herself to God, and to take her place among the people of God, whom she had been accustomed to hear ridiculed by her thoughtless friends. But fear of losing her social standing among her friends was with her a sad hindrance, and so she despaired.

One day she sent for the writer and her first words were, “The Lord has laid hold of me at last.” She then expressed a fear that she was suffering from an internal disease. A medical consultation was held, and she was pronounced incurable. What agony then seized her in the remembrance of a life spent in pursuing this vain world, while she knew in her heart that God’s Spirit would have led her heavenwards from childhood. But grace triumphed, and after a period of deep exercise, she found rest and peace through the blood of Christ. The Scriptures learned in childhood were brought vividly to mind by the Holy Spirit, and when intense suffering shut out the ministry of others to her, she was fed and comforted through what had been so deeply rooted in her young memory.

Disease made rapid strides, and in a few weeks, during which she labored to warn all her friends not to throw life away, as she had done, she departed to be with Christ, in the full assurance of perfect redemption.

There was, however, one special source of regret, and she many times expressed it even to the last, “If I could be permitted only once to take my place among the people of God before all the town, I should esteem it my highest honor on earth.” These were her words, spoken with solemn emphasis. It was too late. The opportunity for confessing Christ before men, according to His Word, was lost forever.

Reader, consider this; and if you are one who cannot surrender position in life, even for His sake who died for you, let this account speak to your heart and conscience.

“Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 10:32, 33.)

“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” (Rom. 1:16.)

Footprints of God

Some years ago a Frenchman, who, like many of his countrymen, had won a high rank among men of science, yet denied the God who is the Author of all science, was crossing the Great Sahara in company with an Arab guide. He noticed with a sneer that at certain times his guide, whatever obstacles might arise, put them all aside, and kneeling on the burning sands, called upon God.

Day after day passed, and still the Arab never failed, till at last one evening the philosopher, when he rose from his knees, asked him with a contemptuous smile: “How do you know there is a God?”

The guide fixed his eyes on the scoffer for a moment in wonder, and then said solemnly: “How do I know there is a God? How did I know that a man, and not a camel, passed my hut last night in the darkness? Was it not by the print of his foot in the sand? Even so,” and he pointed to the sun, whose last rays were flashing over the lonely desert, “that is not the footprint of a man!”

Ye Must Be Born Again

(John 3:7.)

The words heading this article were addressed to “Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.” From all found in Scripture, we would gather that this man lived a blameless life, very religious, and a reader and expounder of the Old Testament; besides all, a person exercised in spirit, having a sense of need in his soul. How leveling, then, to every kind of human and religious pretension— “Ye must be born again.” To come to the point with you, dear reader; your life may be a blameless one, but God will not have it. God says to you, “Ye must be born again.” You may be a competent scholar, a diligent student of the “Word,” an able expounder of Holy Scripture, but God says to you, “Ye must be born again.” You may be a religious person, a praying one, but “ye must be born again.” You may eat of the “Lord’s Supper,” be a preacher, deacon, priest, or minister, but God says to you, “Ye must be born again.” You may be an “anxious inquirer,” an earnest seeker, a man of an exercised spirit but God says to you, “Ye must be born again.”

Jesus did not say, “ye ought,” or “ye should,” but “ye must.” The new birth is an absolute necessity for the kingdom of God. It is not the old life improved—it is not the old nature sanctified—it is not the Adam-life bettered. It is not anxieties, exercises, or experiences which constitute the new birth, but it is a new life given—a new nature imparted. It is effected, not by the doings or feelings of the sinner or anxious inquirer, but by the “Word” and the “Spirit.”

The Spirit of God implants the “Word” in the soul, and thus a new nature is given, born of the incorruptible seed of the Word; this “seed” produces life in the soul. Bow to the “Word of God” then, accept God’s judgment upon the nature and its fruit executed upon Christ on the cross. Own yourself a sinner in truth and reality.

Now I See!: John 9

O Lord, to Thee my heart would raise a song,

Worship and praise to Thee, O Lord, belong,

For O, what love, what grace to me Thou’st shown,

In making all the Father’s glory known

To one who once in nature’s darkness lay,

Blind, yea, thrice blind, without one cheering ray

Of love’s blest light to chase my soul’s deep gloom

(For yet more dark the inmates of the tomb),

Who in deep solitudes of darkness dwelt,

Yet by myself the darkness ne’er was felt

Until Thy voice, that voice which wakes the dead,

My conscience roused, and filled my soul with dread—

Dread of the yet unseen, the dark unknown,

The chilly grave, the awful judgment throne;

Until again that still, small voice I heard,

And then no more I death or judgment feared.

Open mine eyes—the light of life supreme

Burst on my soul with its effulgent beam,

And Thou—Thyself the Son of God, disclosed,

The darkness all dispelled, my fears composed;

My heart, lit up with the bright glory beam,

Nor yet repelled by its refulgent gleam,

Nay, in that light doth find its rest, its home,

Nor from this center may it ever roam,

But so enthralled by its surpassing light,

With steady gaze behold the glorious sight,

Until transformed to Thy blest image, Lord,

Performed in me that precious, glorious word,

Conformed to this image of His Son,

And so in me the Father’s will be done;

Yea, even now my spirit longs to know

The mighty power of that transforming glow,

That so my path be that which Thou hast trod,

The path that leads to glory and to God.

A Willing Heart and a Wise Heart

“Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart let him bring it.” “And the children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring.” (Ex. 35:5, 29)

“And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the Lord hath commanded.” “Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, every wise hearted man in whom the Lord put wisdom and understanding, to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the Lord had commanded.” (Ex. 35:10, 36:1.)

The difference between a willing heart and a wise heart appears to be that one is qualified to give and implies devotion, the other is fitted to work and requires divinely given wisdom.

As God expects from each young believer “a willing heart”, and as to many He has given “a wise heart” as well, this chapter (Ex. 35), will furnish us all with much instruction and encouragement.

We find three things connected with the first service here spoken of: first, it must flow from true devotion, “a willing heart;” secondly, it was accepted equally, whether little or much; and thirdly, it was all done “to the Lord.” Now this service does not flow from gift; (“wise-hearted” service does) but is within the compass of the little child just saved or of the aged Christian, of the most uninstructed or the most enlightened child of God. It does require a heart for the Lord.

It may consist in little things or great, giving one tract or a million; contributing some mite towards the fund of a preaching room, or hiring a dozen gospel halls; giving a cup of cold water or feeding five thousand. The amount of the gift is not the question, but what is of all importance is whence it comes and whither it goes. It must proceed from a willing heart and it must be done to the Lord, and thus the fragrance of the gift will reach far beyond the recipient, right up into the presence of Him to whom it is done. Think of this, dear young believers, and study well the lessons of this chapter. Surely, some timid retiring souls will be comforted and encouraged when they read of the man who brought his humble offering of shittim wood and goat’s hair, and they may be led to consider if there is not some little work they can do for Christ. I am persuaded that none are exempted from this service.

There is a service, as we have seen, dependent upon gift (Ex. 36:1), and a very blessed one; a service in which women are included (Ex. 35:25, 26); but there is also a service not dependent on any gift (save that of “eternal life”) and which God expects from each of His children. It is interesting, too, to see that the “wise-hearted” service depends in measure upon “willing-hearted,” as the former brought the materials which the latter used; so now, many a young believer cannot preach, that can yet invite souls to the gospel and visit them afterward; many are not able to write a tract, yet can assist to circulate it. Those who are not able to lecture or speak to Christians, can still help to provide a room for those that can; they may not even be able to teach a class, but yet can visit the scholars. The great secret is not to be above doing little things. Many a one brings nothing because he cannot bring gold and precious stones, and has nothing but goat’s hair or badger’s skins. Let such learn a lesson from the study of this chapter, and not wait for great things or a “wise heart” before they render the service of a “willing” one. “The Lord loveth a cheerful giver.” “For if there be first a willing heart, it is accepted according to what a man hath, and not according to what a man hath not.” (2 Cor. 8:12.)

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: "Even So, Come Lord Jesus"

The close of the year has come, and what a year it has been! The air has been thick with “wars and rumors of wars”. Nation has arisen against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. Thousands have died of famine and pestilence; earthquakes have carried off thousands more, and tornadoes, tidal waves and awful catastrophies have greatly added to the toll of human life. What does it all mean? Is God in it, or is it only the working out of natural laws and political crises? Thank God, those of us who are in His secret, know that “the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?” (Amos 3:8.) Nor is this the end. God has said, “I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold, even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” (Isa. 13:11, 12.)

To young people the world sometimes becomes tinged with a rosy hue, and their hearts become taken up with its promises of success and happiness. But remember, the Lord Jesus said three times that Satan was the “prince of this world.” The Apostle Paul called Satan the “god of this world,” and tells us that “Christ gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from this present evil world.”

A young man spoke to another on the street car recently, saying, “Well, how is the world treating you these days?” The reply was made, “I’m not expecting much from this world, for the Lord Jesus said, ‘Because I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.’” (John 15:19.) The world hates the Lord, Jesus and God allowed it to go on in its ungodly, worldly, infidel, blasphemous, pleasure-mad course, until His holy hand could be stayed no longer. The year just closing tells its tale of what it means when God turns man over, for a little while, to his own depraved schemes. The world stands aghast at the result, and the great men, in awe, begin to ask, “What will be the end?” “What can stop this ever growing conflagration of war?”

We have now searched our Bibles for a year in connection with the subject of the Lord’s coming, and, we trust, the result has been to kindle in each of our hearts a burning expectation that He is soon to appear and put an end to the reign of blood, and usher in that year of jubilee which shall envelope this gladdened earth for a millennium.

Everything points to His speedy return. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” “And they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage.” (Matt. 25:10.)

Questions for December

Always give Scripture for answers, as well as your own expressions.

31. Who is the woman of Revelation 12:1?

32. When will the Devil be cast down to the earth?

33. Who are the two beasts of Revelation 13?

34. What people will be cast into the lake of fire without a throne trial.

35. What is the final proof that man cannot be improved?

Answers to Questions for October

21. The Lord’s supper. 1 Corinthians 11:26.

22. “Day of the Lord” instead of the “day of Christ.”

We should never be troubled because the “day of Christ” is approaching. That is the day for which we look and long. But the “day of the Lord” is the day of awful judgment for this poor world.

23. The transfiguration. (Matt. 16:28; 17:1-8.) It was a miniature picture of His future coming in glory to reign over Israel.

24. This verse refers to the ascension of Christ back to heaven, (Acts 1:9), but it also includes the catching up of the church as the mystical “body of Christ.”

25. Resurrection. (John 11:25.)

Scripture Study: Mark 6:30-56

Verses 30-34. The apostles now return and tell the Lord all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. Likely they were full of the excitement of their mission. He says: “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile.” How kind to them this was, and they needed it so much, to take away their self-importance, and to remind them where the blessing came from, and that they were but His instruments to carry out His will, so that there in His presence in retirement they might find out what they were in truth, and enjoy His love without being puffed up by their usefulness. Notice He does not say, “Go ye yourselves apart,” but “Come.” It is being in His company that is the rest He desires for our souls; away from others, a desert place in His company.

For there were many coming and going so that they had no leisure so much as to eat. This coming and going does not tell of needy ones sitting at Jesus’ feet, and the Lord gets away from them. They departed into a desert place by ship privately. The people saw them departing. He was recognized. The news quickly spread, and out of the cities came the crowd together unto Him. The love of God breaks through His repose to meet man’s need again. Jesus coming out saw a great crowd and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and He began to teach them many things. What a true, faithful, loving Servant we have here. He saw their sad moral condition, and ministers to them the teaching He knew they were most in need of. Their leaders had already rejected Him and blasphemed the Holy Spirit. (Mark 3:22-30.) But His heart goes out to the needy ones in deep loving compassion.

Verses 35, 36. The disciples at length remind Him that the day was far spent and that it was a desert place and advises sending the crowd away that they may go where they can buy themselves bread; for they had nothing to eat. Could He send them away? No, indeed! His compassion on them was greater than that. If He detained them to teach their souls many things, He will also prove Himself able to meet this need also. He will testify that He is the Great Messiah of Psalm 132:15, who of old said, “I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.” He will also teach His disciples, what they failed to learn in their mission, that they were His administrators (but see verse 52).

They do not understand this when He says, “Give ye them to eat.” They speak about buying bread. He said, “How many loaves have ye? Go and see.” And when they knew, they say, “Five, and two fishes.” He will use His disciples to arrange them in ranks of fifties and hundreds. And He will also use them to distribute what His fullness provides. He now takes the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke the loaves, and divided the fishes, and gave them to His disciples to set before them, and they did all eat and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fishes. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men. What proof this was that Jehovah was in their midst blessing the poor of His flock. In this we have a foreshowing of the Messiah’s glory and of the place His disciples have with Him. But it is only a picture, He is yet the rejected One.

Verse 45 begins another picture. In figure He dismisses the Jewish nation, constrains His disciples to get into the ship (the Jewish remnant became the church at Pentecost), while He goes up into a mountain to pray. A picture of this present time when the church has to face contrary winds and trials, but He is interceding for us on high, and though we are apparently left alone, He is with us now by the Holy Spirit. (John, 14:18.) This time will end with His coming to meet us, not on the earth, but in the air.

His coming to them walking on the water, pictures His coming to the believing remnant of Israel, and calming their fears, and delivering them from the oppressors—the winds and waves of the great tribulation. His coming for us has no signs. His coming to Israel has many signs. He watches over them, and says “Be of good cheer: It is I; be not afraid.” And coming up into the boat the storm ceases; but with the church it is taken up out of the storm. Our rest is not here. In Him we have peace. The disciples were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered, the miracle of the loaves had only hardened their hearts.

Verses 53-56. They now land at Gennesaret, or Gadara, where the man that had the legion cast out was left. Now, what a change! They besought Him to depart before, now they recognize Him and run to bring all their sick to Him, where they heard He was. And besought Him that they might touch if it were but the border of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made whole. This pictures the future blessing of Israel when they are restored to the Lord. God’s purposes will be fulfilled without fail, and He knows the end from the very beginning. What a blessed portion is ours now, as saints in light. May we walk according to it!

Continued from page 296.

My Heart Is So Hard

She Has Chosen the World: By Robert Murray M'Cheyne

(Written on hearing of the choice of a young relative who expressed herself as determined to stand by the world.)

She has chosen the world,

And its paltry crowd—

She has chosen the world,

And an endless shroud!

She has chosen the world,

With its misnamed pleasures;

She has chosen the world,

Before Heaven’s own treasures.

She hath launched her boat

On life’s giddy sea,

And her all is afloat

For eternity;

But Bethlehem’s Star

Is not in her view;

And her aim is far

From the harbor true.

When the storm descends

From an angry sky,

Ah! where from the winds

Shall the vessel fly?

When stars are concealed,

And rudder gone,

And Heaven is sealed

To the wandering one!

The whirlpool opes

For the gallant prize;

And, with all her hopes,

To the deep she hies!

But who may tell

Of the place of woe,

Where the wicked dwell—

Where the worldings go?

For the human heart

Can ne’er conceive

What joys are the part

Of them who believe;

Nor can justly think

Of the cup of death

Which all must drink

Who despise the faith.

Away, then—O, fly

From the joys of earth!

Her smile is a lie—

There’s a sting in her mirth.

Come, leave the dreams

Of this transient night,

And bask in the beams

Of an endless light.

She Chose Christ

A Personal Testimony by Miss Frances Ridley Havergal.

I could not do without Thee,

O Saviour of the lost,

Whose precious Blood redeemed me

At such tremendous cost;

Thy righteousness, Thy pardon,

Thy precious Blood must be

My only hope and comfort,

My glory and my plea.

I could not do without Thee:

I cannot stand alone,

I have no strength or goodness,

No wisdom of my own;

But Thou, beloved Saviour,

Art All in All to me,

And weakness will be power

If leaning hard on Thee.

I could not do without Thee:

No other friend can read

The spirit’s strange, deep longings,

Interpreting its need;

No human heart could enter

Each dim recess of mine,

And soothe, and hush, and calm it,

O blessed Lord, but Thine.

I could not do without Thee:

For years are fleeting fast,

And soon in solemn loneness

The river must be past;

But Thou wilt never leave me,

And, though the waves roll high,

I know Thou wilt be near me,

And whisper, “It is I.”

Who Shall Deliver?

Jonah was anxious to be saved. He wished deliverance out of the fish’s belly, so he set himself to the task of delivering himself. But what was his condition? “The waters compassed me about even to the soul; the depth closed me round about; the weeds were wrapped about my head.” Now comes the question—Who can work deliverance out of this awful state? Jonah tries it; he prays; then he vowed and said, “I will pay that I have vowed.” Still God would not let him out. Vows and prayers won’t do—they won’t deliver from death—they can’t unwrap the “weeds of death” or deliver from the “belly of hell.” Jonah is not delivered yet; he has to learn what every delivered one must learn, that “salvation is of the Lord.” Poor Jonah is brought to own that, and Jonah is saved. He is cast out on dry land. The fish yields its prey at the voice of God; so Satan has to yield many a victim. Only confess and believe that “salvation is of the Lord,” thus renouncing all thy vows and prayers, and God will effect deliverance for you.

Troubled saint, not fully delivered in soul, art thou saying, “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Have you given up all struggling, praying, and vowing, and thus owned your need of a deliverer? “Who shall deliver?” Listen to the answer. “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Is it so with you, beloved reader? Have you been brought practically to own that if deliverance is to come in, it must be by another, even by Jesus Christ? Then “thank God,” the work is done. You are delivered.

Consecration

There are two questions which must arise in the mind of every Christian who is true in heart to Christ. The first is: “Why am I left here?” This for the most part is easily answered: “I am to be here for Christ.”

The other: “HOW am I to be here for Him?” is not so easily answered. Consecration is, I consider, the correct answer to the second question.

Aaron and his sons were consecrated, and in imitation of this, it has been too generally thought that only ministers and one here and there who were more specially devoted, were to consecrate themselves to the Lord. This ignorance has of late very much disappeared, but having done away with the thought of consecration to only a few, there has come in another misapprehension; and that is the notion that something is to be made of oneself; that is to say, that one is to assume some form or mere manner of life, as if the consecration were some kind of self-surrender or self-imposition; and thus while consecration may be admitted to be Christ’s claims on the youngest lamb in His flock there is no correct idea of what it really is according to Scripture.

Consecration as we see in Exodus 29, follows the robbing of the priests, and there it is in figure, and in type set forth. The ground of acceptance is first assured. There is the bullock for the atonement. First of all, guilt is cleared away. There must be an atonement. “He gave Himself a ransom for many.” We are saved from judgment by the blood, as the Israelites were in Egypt. This necessarily comes first in divine order: but the sins having been atoned for is not the only thing. This the bullock typifies. Then there are two rams. These rams typify Christ as He now is before God, and as He is with His people on earth. The one (see verse 18) is offered up whole. Christ in the presence of God in all the fullness and perfection of Himself; and our acceptance there is, as He is. When in spirit we pass through the rent veil into the holiest of all, we have the sense in our souls of the full beauty and perfection of Christ in the presence of God. Not only has the blood of His cross freed us from everything that would hinder, but we have entered on new ground; not a carnal ground, but by the Spirit, we are in fellowship with the Father and the Son. This is the ram which has gone up whole.

But there is another ram, and this is called the ram of consecration. This ram was divided into three parts. The first part consisted of the fat and the right shoulder—the excellency of Christ and His strength. This part was placed in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and sets forth the perfections of Christ in nature and power, which we ever contemplate in communion with Him as our High Priest: and which we wave before God, by whom it is all appropriated, as the fire indicates. The filling of the hands of the priests, sets forth that the only thing to be offered is Christ. The only consecration fit for God, is entire and exclusive occupation with Christ, with no thought at all about oneself. It is simply what was most excellent and powerful in Him, and this we present to God by Him therefore, “Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” (Heb. 13:15.)

The second part was the wave breast. It was Moses’ part (Lev. 8:29), and I suppose typifies the sympathy of Christ; the remainder was then food in the holy place. Thus, we in spirit in the holiest of all, have the sense of Christ being there in all His perfection and fullness; and we taste of what it is to be accepted in the Beloved.

But as we are here on earth, left here to be for Him, we are consecrated, when we are waving Him in our hearts and works before God, when nothing comes from us in our contemplation or offering to God but the ram offered up, or the ascended Christ; and this with the sense of His sympathy; and then there is also the feeding upon Him. We must maintain the three in order to fully be for Christ here. Our secular employments or relations, when ordered of God, are only a continuous discipline, subserving to a more effectual consecration.

We may all be painfully conscious how imperfect is our consecration, but yet it is a great thing to understand clearly what it is, and when we know what it really is, we can comprehend the Apostle’s prayer, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may he able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3:17-19.)

All the devotion and self-surrender possible is not consecration; no doubt consecration will lead to devotedness and self-surrender; but consecration is acquired and derived from Christ, and from no treatment or adjustment of myself.

May our hearts so delight in Christ that He may eclipse all else; and while sustained by the assurance that He is thinking of us, sympathizing with us, may we so feed upon Him, that His life may be manifested in our bodies.

Spiritual Nourishment: Fragment

“Rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith.” (Col. 3:7.)

Is not the root of an apple tree concealed from the eye, and does it not go away down silently into the soil, feeling its way after earth, food and water, and drawing up nourishment for every limb and leaf? So a truly converted soul learns to go down into Christ for his spiritual nourishment. As our bodies are kept, strong by our daily bread, so our souls feed on Jesus, as the “bread of life.”

Learning, Ever Learning

“There are eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea.” (Deut. 1:2.)

“Eleven days,” and yet it took them forty years? Alas! we need not travel far for the answer. It is too much like ourselves. How slowly we get over the ground! What windings and turnings! How often we have to go back, and travel over the same ground again and again. We are slow travelers, because we are slow learners. Our God is a faithful and wise, as well as a patient Teacher. He will not permit us to pass over our lessons hastily.

Sometimes, perhaps, we think we have mastered a lesson, and we attempt to move on to another, but our wise Teacher knows better, and He sees the need of deeper plowing. He will not have us mere theorists or smatterers; He will keep us, if need be, year after year at our scales until we learn to sing.

The Only Begotten Son

O Man, God—Man! The Peerless Man!

Jesus, my Lord, God’s Son,

Perfection’s perfect in its height,

But found in Thee alone.

Of Abba’s love, of God’s great claims

Thou com’st not short at all:

Perfect in everything art Thou,

Alone since Adam’s fall.

O matchless, peerless Man! Shall we

Begrudge to Thee this praise?

Perfect alone, Thou cam’st in love,

From ruin us to raise.

Peerlessly spotless Man! ‘twas Thou

Wrath’s cup did’st drink for me.

Peerlessly righteous Man! I’m made

God’s righteousness through Thee.

Peerlessly glorious Man! How soon

Shall I be like to Thee!

Thy very glory then reflect,

Thy matchless beauty see.

Correspondence: 2 Cor.5:10; Worship Meeting; 1 Thess. 4

Question 148: At the “Bema” or judgment seat of Christ for the saints, is it before others, or to ourselves alone, that we are manifested? (2 Cor. 5:10.) T. N. L.

Answer: The judgment seat of Christ is to show to each of us the true character of our walk and ways as it appears in the sight of the Lord. Thoughts of what others may think of us, cannot come in there. Each one will be filled with praise and thanksgiving for the grace that bore with us through all our wandering and changeful ways, and led us on. God’s grace will be realized as never before, and the Lord will speak to us approvingly of all that He can, and disapprovingly of what was contrary to His mind and will. The thought of this was meant to exercise the saints at Corinth to walk in His ways. May it exercise us too.

Question 149: Is the meeting for remembering the Lord really the worship meeting? T. N. L.

Answer: Yes, it is characteristically the “worship” meeting. We speak of the “prayer” meeting, and the “reading” meeting. At each of these the exercises may be varied; instruction and worship might be at the prayer meeting, but we come together for prayer. And at the meeting for reading or instruction, prayer and worship are not out of place. So in the Lord’s day morning meeting we might have ministry and prayer at the end; but our one thought should be that we have come to meet the Lord in the midst of His gathered saints, and to remember Him in His death; this is worship and calls from our hearts increased adoration as we thus ponder His wonderful love that gave Himself to glorify God and to bear His righteous judgment for us. If we are indeed subject to the Spirit’s guidance, our hymns, or scriptures read, before the breaking of bread, will tend to lead our thoughts thus out to Him.

There is room after the breaking of bread, if the Lord should give a word of ministry, but we do not come especially for that, but to give to the Lord our heart’s adoration, and this is expressed in our act of remembering Him in the bread and wine.

Question 150: After the Lord comes and has taken up His saints—changed the living and raised the dead saints, and they are caught up to Him, to be forever with the Lord, as in 1 Thessalonians 4—Who are to be saved into the kingdom that is to be set up on earth?

Answer: There will be three classes of people on earth after the Lord has taken away His heavenly saints. Jews or Israel; Gentiles or nations or heathen, and the apostate church, the tares of Matthew 13, or the foolish virgins of Matthew 25.

The Jews, that is the two tribes, and the ten tribes afterward, will be brought to know Jehovah, and He will make His new covenant with them. (Heb. 8:8-12.) The nations will be brought to own and fear Jehovah also. (Ezek. 36:36; 37:28; 38:23; and many other passages.)

But the Lord will gather out of both, Jew and Gentile, all things that offend, and them that do iniquity. (Matt. 13:41, 42.)

There is nothing but judgment for the apostate church, and for those who have not obeyed the gospel. When the Lord comes with His saints, He will judge all such. (Jude 14, 15; Rev. 2:21-23; 3:3, 16:2 Thess. 1:8; 2:10-12.)

The judgment of the great white throne is at the end, and is for the dead only. (Rev. 20:12.) The Jew will be judged by the law; the Gentile will perish without law, (Rom. 2:12); and the Christless professor because he has not put on the wedding garment. (Matt. 22:11-13.)

Courtesy of BibleTruthPublishers.com. Most likely this text has not been proofread. Any suggestions for spelling or punctuation corrections would be warmly received. Please email them to: BTPmail@bibletruthpublishers.com.

Young Christian: Volume 5, 1915

Table of Contents

My Heart Is So Hard

The One Who So Loved Me

Tract Distribution: Is There No Hell?

The Dying Man's Persuasion

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: Zeal

Questions for January

Scripture Study: Matthew 27

Salvation

Freely! Freely!! Freely!!!

Correspondence: Matt. 24:6-7; Gen. 9:6; John 1:9; Phi 3:2

Faith

What Should I Read? A Question for the Times

Tract Distribution: Twenty Years of Service Lost

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: Keeping Our Mouths

Questions for February

Answers to Questions for December

Scripture Study: Matthew 28

A Letter to an Evolutionist

Salvation

Lost

Correspondence: The Spirit - Sending and Quenching; Heb. 10:23-25

The Church Hastening the Coming of the Lord

It Is Finished

Tract Distribution: The Dropped Sack

Take the Brake Off

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: Meditation

Questions for March

Answers to Questions for January

What Think Ye of Christ? Matthew 22:42

Sanctification

Scripture Study: Mark's Gospel

Scripture Study: Mark 1:1-20

Burning of the Books

The Living Link With a Living Christ

All Things Work Together for Good to Them That Love God

Correspondence: Matt. 12:31-31; The Gospel; Acts 20; Rev. 14:6

The Subject of the Bible

Jealous of the World

Tract Distribution: Love for the Perishing

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: The Coming of the Lord, Part 1

Questions for April

Answers to Questions for February

Christian Love

Scripture Study: Mark 1:21-45

Surely I Come Quickly

The Christian's Receipt: The Proof of His Acceptance

On Evolution

Are You a Dead Sea?

Fruitfulness

The Voice

Correspondence: 2 John 8-11; Matt. 24:40-41 and Luke 17:34-36

Give Ye Them to Eat

Sin Put Away

Tract Distribution: Suffering at Home

Helps to Young Christians: Part 1

The Fragrance of a Lump of Clay

Practical Conversations With Our Young People.: The Coming of the Lord, Part 2

Questions for May

Answers to Questions for March

Christ Is Risen

Scripture Study: Mark 2:1-17

Choose Thou for Me

King Jehoshaphat: Be Careful in Your Choice of Companions, Part 1

Purpose of Heart

Victory Over the World: 1 John 5:4-5

Correspondence: Heb. 10:25; Hab. 3:3; Iniquity, Transgression, Sin; Genealogoes

Remarks on Infidelity

His Guiding Hand

Tract Distribution: What One Tract Did

Helps to Young Christians: Part 2

In Thy Youth

Practical Conversations With Our Young People: The Coming of the Lord, Part 3

Questions for May

Answers to Questions for April

Grace

How Do I Know My Sins Forgiven?

Scripture Study: Mark 2:18-28

King Jehoshaphat: Be Careful in Your Choice of Companions, Part 2