Young Christian: Volume 29, 1939

Miss S. as a child was very much alarmed at the thought of death; and tried hard to make herself fit to meet God. As she grew up, a strict life of religious profession marked her. Each day seven chapters of Scripture were read; whole Epistles were committed to memory, and she went frequently to church.

The time at length came for her to be confirmed. Through the good providence of God the aged clergyman, whose ministry she attended, was obliged through illness to leave the care of the Bible classes preparatory to confirmation to his curate; a man known as “Holy Mr. Deck,” a brother of the well-known hymn writer. He took earnest care of the girls who went to his house for Bible study. These classes were continued for six weeks, and from the first Miss S—was softened.

The last meeting came, and the tickets for candidates for confirmation about to be given. Mr. Deck was in the habit of giving questions for home study, and the last list of questions was put into her hand.

She has told me of her interest, as sitting Bible in hand, and writing materials before her, alone in her bedroom, her eyes fell on the last of the questions,

“Have you any reason to believe you are a child of God?”

Poor Miss S—had never had such a question asked her before. She had been looked upon as a Christian—a good religious girl. Her concordance could not help her here, search it as she might. Her long prayers and seven chapters of Scripture read every day could not give her a reason for saying “yes” to the interrogation. How every false prop passed away as she vainly endeavored to find an honest answer.

“I am not a child of God,” she said to herself. “I have no reason to say that I am,” and she therefore wrote “No” to the clergyman’s query.

Scarcely had she finished writing that word, when another question at once rose in her heart, “Then what are you, if you are not a child of God?”

“Nothing better than an undone, lost sinner,” was her response.

At that moment the blessed words came to her memory, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15); and “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).

O! what a revelation was this! “I receive Christ as my Savior now,” she said. “I believe in Him, and I am a child of God.”

Taking up her pen, she erased the word “No,” and wrote “Yes, (John 1:12).”

Her load was gone! She bounded down the stairs, confessing Christ as her Savior that very day. Many years have passed, but her joy remains.

Reader, can you say “Yes” to that question, or have you to say “No” —which?

Extract: The Life of Jesus

What was then the life of Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief? A life of activity in obscurity, causing the love of God to penetrate the most hidden corners of society, wherever needs were greatest.

Separation

In the Word of God we find separation from evil, and separation to God.

“Ye turned to God from idols.” 1 Thessalonians 1:9.

Our calling and relationship to God is to order for us the character of our walk. So we find it in Romans 12:1. The apostle beseeches them by the mercies of God, that is, all that is contained in the blessings, they have already received as described before in that Epistle. Young and old Christians are alike in this. None of us can walk aright, but only in the measure that we are enjoying our portion in Christ. God said to Abraham:

“I am the Almighty God: walk before Me, and be thou perfect.” (Gen. 17:1; also 12:1-3.)

He was the head of the family of faith. Israel was also called out by Jehovah (Ex. 6:2-8) as a nation. Their separation was to Him, and from evil, according to His holiness, and in each case the needed instructions go with the calling.

Christians have the highest place, and the nearest relationship, and unless we seek, by His grace, to apprehend, and to enjoy the love that is ready to be shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us, we will not be able to “walk worthy of the Lord unto all well pleasing.” The blessed Lord in the glory is now our hearts’ object. The One the Father would occupy us with. “Hear Him,” is what He says still.

To instruct the soul so that it enjoys the Lord Jesus as its Savior and Lord, and to be thus practically near to Him, is the only right way to wash each other’s feet. (John 13.) It was the way the Lord took for us when He unfolded the truth in John, chapters 14, 15, 16, 17, and there we see, the measure of our separation from the world, is Himself in the place where He is up there.

“Sanctify” means “to set apart.” John 17:19. And this He has done that we also might be sanctified, “set apart,” by, or in, truth.

“Sanctify them through Thy truth, Thy Word is truth.” John 17:17. This is practical sanctification, or separation.

“By one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14. That is absolute. We are His forever.

The instructions and exhortations at the ends of the Epistles, are helps for us to see what is consistent with our calling as children of God the Father, and members of the body of Christ.

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 8:5-13

Chapter 8:5-13

The presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit gives a special and peculiar character to the Christian’s position in the world; so it is said in verse 4 that believers walk after (according to) the Spirit, and in the fifth verse that they, being after, or according to, the Spirit, mind the things of the Spirit. We do not find here a statement of what a Christian ought to be; that will come in its place; nor are we given instruction regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit for witnessing in an unbelieving world, or for edifying the saints; this we find elsewhere. Instead, what we have here is the characteristic state of the believer, that he is led and energized by the Holy Spirit.

As to the unbelieving, still in the state before God of children of Adam, “in the flesh” (see chapter 7, verse 5), and “after (or according to) the flesh” —verse 5 of our chapter—they mind the things of the flesh; the affections, the desires, and the will of the old nature are theirs and characteristic of them.

The old nature, “the flesh,” is truly in believers, but the doctrine of death with and life given through Christ allows no place for it to act; they that are after the Spirit (the position of the believer) do mind the things of the Spirit.

Not always are the marginal notes in our English Bibles safe to follow, but those given for the 6th verse, are sound. The verse has been translated, “For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit life and peace” (N.T.) These are the certain results of the action of the nature within the breast of the unbeliever in the one case, and the believer in the other.

The mind of the flesh (see marginal note for the 7th verse) is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be; and they that are in flesh cannot please God. There is no room here for hope of improvement for man “in the flesh”; the language is plain, and admits of no modification.

O, that many who trust in themselves for acceptance with God, would but heed this solemn, this awful conclusion regarding man; that they would seek mercy while it is called today! Salvation is free!

“But ye,” verse 9, “are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you.” And, if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him. The Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Christ are different applications of the truth of the same divine Person. He is the Spirit of God in contrast with man in the flesh; the Spirit of Christ because in Him was displayed in perfection a life here below. The believer is not “in the flesh,” though “the flesh” is in him; through death with Christ he has passed into a new standing in Him where there is no condemnation; and this position was formed by the action of the Holy Spirit, so that those who are spoken of in verse 1 as “in Christ Jesus” in verse 9 are “in the Spirit.”

Verse 10. What a precious and privileged place is the believer brought into! He is “in Christ Jesus” when it is a question of his acceptance before God; condemnation cannot reach him, because of the work of Christ in dying for him, and now He is living for him above. The Holy Spirit has been given to him to dwell in him, to guide and energize him in the paths of life and peace; and now it is said,

“If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” I am in Christ, and Christ is in me! No doubt His being in me is by the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Christ, dwelling in His people. But what weighty instruction is here: Christ thus dwelling in me, is to be the power of my life.

How wonderfully I am provided for! Shall I, in whom Christ dwells, allow the old nature which (though I have a new nature) is yet in me, free rein, to lead me into thoughts and ways and words that are part and parcel of what I was before I was converted? Would not this be most dishonoring to Him, as well as contrary to what I have learned; contrary too to what the new nature desires?

What then am I to do? Reckon the body —the old natural will and desires and inclinations—dead. Do not yield to it, for to do so is to let the body be the instrument of sin. I am enabled to refuse it; then comes in the latter part of verse 10: “The Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Righteousness, then, is not only in the standing I have before God as accepted in Christ; it is connected with my daily life. And it is important that I should remember this. It brings before me the need of constant watchfulness against the activity of that enemy within me, the deceitful old nature, and it shows me the key to a life that is according to God.

Verses 10 and 11 go together, the one treating of the believer’s life down here in this world, and the other of that culminating event of Christian joy, the resurrection morning, when the dead in Christ shall rise and we, the living who remain, shall be changed; together with them shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air; and so forever be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57).

It was God the Father who raised our blessed Substitute from the dead; “Jesus,” His personal name, “Christ” a name of His position and office—the Anointed One. Man refused Him, put Him to death, and God raised Him up from the dead. You and I, dear young Christian, have been identified with Him in His death, and we have life through Him; we are to live forever with Him. Here, in verse 11, we are given the pledge of our resurrection, and in language which speaks to the heart.

“If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

What an answer to the cry of Chapter 7, verse 24; Then we shall enjoy perfect and final deliverance, the old nature gone, and our bodies made fit for our eternal Home. Well may the apostle add, (verse 12),

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors.” May there be more and more in our souls a deep sense of our indebtedness to God. It will be our theme in eternity, together with His praise.

And now as we pass on our way through time, in the hope of the realization of verse 11, what shall be our answer, dear young Christian, to verses 12 and 13? We owe nothing to “the flesh,” to live according to it, for that way leads to death. The way of life is ours if we, through the Spirit, put to death the evil deeds of the body.

(To Be Continued, D.V.)

"I Come Quickly"

“Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20.

The conviction grows deeper and deeper in my soul that the Lord is coming quickly, and that the Father and God is separating a people down here to meet Him at His coming. Happy they who, alive and seeing Him, are able to say,

“This is our God; we have waited for Him.”

And if I love any down here, no wish can be so good for them as that they may be ready in heart and in their circumstances to welcome Him, and have nothing about them practically inconsistent with the hope, unworldly, so that they can amalgamate with the scene then opened to them.

Prayer Answered

Mr. X had lived out his four-score years, and was still without Christ. He had a praying daughter. Tenderly had she sought to lead her aged parent into the paths of peace, but finding her efforts fruitless, she asked a Christian friend to unite with her in praying for his soul. This earnest man was given the promise from Mr. X. that he would read the Bible straight through.

His loving daughter watched him from day to day as he continued to read. No word was spoken till a considerable time had elapsed, and he had come to the last chapter of Revelation. Imagine her joy, when, on her father, closing the book, he said with emphasis:

“Yes! there is a God; and Jesus Christ is His Son; and He died for me!”

Take courage, praying friends, and bring your loved ones before the Lord. Seek, too, to bring them in contact with His own Word. The sword of the Spirit has penetrated many hearts as hard as his about whom I write. Remember, too, that we have a God of love to count upon.

“The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9.

“Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” James 1:6.

Extract

Think of the angels who witnessed the creation, and the flowing out of the Creator’s power in the perfection and beauty of Eden, having the thought that the One putting forth all this beauty and goodness would be the One to be nailed to the cross as a malefactor, and put into a cave in the earth, and nothing too bad for man to say of Him!

Again, could there have been such a thought in heaven as that One treated like a malefactor, would not only be raised up and be in heaven, but be seated on the throne of God—God’s delight? No! Never!

And it is one of the most difficult things for me to get the thought that according to what I was in nature, it was as unlikely for God to work in me, and out of such materials to fashion a perfect, vessel, as for His Son to come down and die.

"Consider Him"

“Meditate upon these things.” 1 Timothy 4:15.

While walking through an oat field I saw an artist painting some sheaves of oats. He had just begun, and I noticed with great surprise that instead of painting the oats yellow and the shadows gray, he was laying on blue, green and red, though I could not see a trace of any of these colors in the object.

“How is it,” I remarked, “that you use so many colors for such a simple thing; there is no blue, or green, or red, in those sheaves.”

“Indeed there is,” he replied, “and many more colors, too, but I dare say you cannot see them.”

“No, I can see nothing but yellow and a little gray.”

“That may be true,” he said, “for I painted for a long time, and only saw what you do. But by constant practice and study, I noticed many colors which I did not at the first. In that sheaf now there is a red mingling with the yellow, and in the gray shadows I see a blue most distinctly. I know it is there, because, if I were to paint my picture all yellow and gray, you would tell me it was a bad painting, very flat and dead; whereas, now, if I finish it successfully, you will say it looks life-like. Anyone can see the general colors, but the tints that give a picture life and reality, and the object all its beauty, are only seen by close and constant observers.”

Well, I thought I never knew before how much in painting depended on close and accurate observation! No doubt I had seen as many sheaves of oats as my friend, but I had not observed them, for I had no interest in them.

That evening I read a chapter in one of the Gospels. Being very tired, although the chapter was a favorite one, I am sorry to say it did not interest me much, and I felt disappointed. Ah! I thought, I must take a lesson from the artist. The reason I see so little beauty in Jesus, so little to attract me in a chapter that is full of Him, is because my eye is not educated.

Dear friends, this is the secret of finding beauty to satisfy the heart in Christ. We must have two things—interest and close study. As the painter said so truly,

“Anyone can see the general colors; but the tints that give the object all its beauty, are only seen by close and constant observers.”

“Consider,” says Paul, “the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.”

It is only as we consider Him, that we find how He grows upon the soul, till soon His beauty seems too much for our hearts, His glories more than our aching eyes can bear.

I remember an instance of this not long since. I was staying for the night at the house of an old friend that I had not seen for years. In the morning there was family prayer. The chapter read was John 5, about the impotent man, a passage I had often read, but in which I had never seen anything very striking. I did not, therefore, expect to be much interested in any remarks that might be made upon it. But my friend had “an educated eye;” where I could discern nothing but the general outline, he could see the hidden beauties, and wonderfully he brought them out. It was all Christ. The lowly quiet way in which He enters unnoticed the scene of suffering; He, the Jehovah, the Lord Almighty, led there by His tender heart. How touchingly and simply He comes up to the sick man’s bed, singling out the one whose need was greatest, and saying, in the full consciousness of His divine power,

“Wilt thou be made whole?”

With what calm authority He commands the man, and at the same time enables him, to do that which in itself was an absolute impossibility. And then, His work finished, the quiet way in which He disappears; all this and much more I heard with a delighted heart, wondering, as color after color appeared in the picture, that I had never seen them before.

Beloved reader, no object in heaven or on earth so well repays study as the man Christ Jesus. Read through the Gospels again, slowly, carefully, endeavoring to catch the spirit, the exquisite grace, in which the Lord spoke and acted. Surely we have an interest in Him that we have in none other. He has redeemed us, loved us with an everlasting and costly love, and even now is longing to make Himself known in deeper measure to our poor careless hearts. Let us, then, “Consider Him” who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself; and bit by bit His beauties will appear, until in the pages of Scripture we see Christ Himself in all the loveliness of His perfect life.

"If Any Man Thirst"

“If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink.” John 7:37.

Think of poor things like you and me sitting down before Christ as an open fountain, saying, “I am athirst;” and then your heart gets full of happy thoughts. You see another coming in, a poor, weary old saint—well, he gets happy too, Christ letting happy thoughts into his mind, and he begins to talk of those thoughts to a neighbor coming in. Such thoughts are a river of living water flowing out; and it is Christ in heaven who gives the water to thirsty souls. Is it not enough to make the heart leap for joy to hear Christ saying,

“Come to Me and drink: I am come for thirsty people”? Let your first thought be to drink in before giving out; not occupied with brethren, not about gifts, nor of having a place in the body, but of living waters flowing out.

Have you no truth? Whatever little bit you have, tell it out— “speaking the truth in love, that we may grow up into Christ into all things.”

This is quite apart from gifts. If you have Christ, you have to tell out what He bestows to every saint as a member of the one body; there is positive responsibility to do so. The smallest bit of truth tasted from Christ is not for yourself only, but to be handed out for others. Suppose there is a poor bedridden saint, and he were to say,

“Don’t pity me, I am Christ’s, and he is the very gate of heaven to my soul;” would you not like to go and talk to that poor saint, and so make your soul happy?

Fragment: Right or Wrong?

It is not a question of whether a thing be right or wrong, but what savor have the things of Christ in it? It may be a very small thing, If we find the reading of a book makes the manifestation of Christ to become less precious to us, we have got away from God, and we cannot tell where the next step may take us. Satan often cheats us in this way. If anything comes in and takes the freshness of Christ from your soul, take heed.

"What Has Become of Hell?"

This is the heading of an article which appeared in one of the popular magazines. The writer of the paper dwelt at considerable length on the fact that the mention of hell, or future punishment, had almost dropped out from the preaching in nearly all the pulpits throughout Christendom; eternal punishment had, he said, almost universally disappeared from the vast majority of the sermons now to be heard in our churches.

It is unnecessary here to enter further into the particular views of the writer of this article regarding eternal punishment; but the fact that it is seldom heard of, and indeed boldly denied, is plain to every thoughtful person. How are we to account for this fact? Is it not mainly because preachers like to please their hearers, and they know that warnings of judgment to come are an unpleasant sound in the ears of men bent on making life as pleasant as they can.

Another cause is doubtless to be found in the growing infidelity and unsettling of the authority of the Word of God in the minds of a vast number in the theological schools and institutions which profess to train men for what is called the Christian ministry. Satan’s aim is to lull people to sleep with the delusion that all will come right in the next world, or that they will attain happiness after some temporary retribution, or perhaps that they will be annihilated and cease to exist. How could a God of love, they say, punish any one eternally? And so the enemy of souls whispers into the ear,

“Peace, peace, when there is no peace.”

Now all these false doctrines strike at the root and foundation of true Christianity. Man estimates sin according to the poor false estimate of fallen man; he does not view sin as it really is in God’s sight. In like manner he estimates God’s justice and holiness according to the puny standard of his own reason, and his estimate is therefore shallow and altogether short of the mark.

The soul taught by the Word of God sees in the cross of Christ the true measure of sin as God sees it, on the one hand, and of God’s infinite and perfect righteousness and holiness on the other. Listen to Jesus saying in the garden of Gethsemane,

“O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me,” as He anticipates the awful cup of God’s judgment against sin, the extent of which He alone knew. On the cross He says, as the victim, the holy sufferer,

“My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me,” when He was bearing sin. And why was He forsaken? The answer is given a little lower down in the Psalm,

“But Thou are holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”

God’s infinite holiness and righteousness demanded that He should hide His face from the One who became, in divine love, the Sin-bearer in that awful hour when judgment was being meted out against sin according to the righteousness and holiness of an infinitely holy Being. None but an infinite Being—Jesus, the Son of God—could exhaust the judgment of God draining the cup of His indignation against sin, and then say, “It is finished.” No mere man could ever exhaust the judgment of a holy God, or say, “It is finished;” the punishment of the lost must therefore be eternal according to the measure of God’s holy indignation against sin.

It has been truly said that there never was anything like the cross in the history of eternity—never could be or will be: it stands alone. There all man’s sinfulness and hatred against God was brought to a climax and fully demonstrated; and there, too, God’s perfect righteousness, holiness, majesty, and truth in His judgment of sin in the person of the Substitute, as well as His perfect love to the sinner, in making even sin’s worst act the occasion of blessing and salvation, was perfectly and fully manifested.

In the cross was demonstrated before the whole universe the solemn fact that God could not possibly tolerate sin, when Jesus, the Son of man, gave Himself up in perfect love and devotedness, for the glory of God and the sinners’ salvation. Therefore the cross is eternal in its issues, by that work “eternal forgiveness” of sin is secured, “eternal redemption” is accomplished, a sacrifice of eternal value has been offered through the “eternal Spirit,” an “eternal inheritance” has been promised, “eternal life” is the possession of all believers, and we are passing on to “eternal glory.”

But if the results of the cross are eternal in blessing to the saved, they are none the less eternal in judgment to the lost. Thus we read of “eternal fire,” “eternal destruction,” “eternal judgment.” And as it is the very same word for “eternal,” in the language in which the Scriptures were written, which describes the blessings of the saved and the judgment of the lost, as well as the “eternal God,” “eternal Spirit,” etc., it must, therefore, mean “eternal” in the most unlimited sense.

Man possesses an immortal, a never-dying spirit. When God created mere animals, He said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creatures,” etc.; but not so when man was created; then He said,

“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” and He “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” Genesis 1:26; 2:7.

These things could not be said of any mere animal which dies and perishes. Man has spirit, soul, and body: his body may die and go to decay, but his spirit lives eternally. The body is mortal, that is subject to death; the spirit is never said to be so in Scripture.

The annihilationist idea that the unsaved cease to exist when they die, or possibly after some temporary punishment, is totally contrary to Scripture, for death never means ceasing to exist; if it did the saved would cease to exist, and even Christ Himself. The “second death” is not ceasing to exist. Revelation 20:14 expressly says that it is the “lake of fire.”

How intensely solemn these questions are, and if we remember that the eternal destiny of the soul is settled here in this world, how anxious it would make us for the salvation of others. Everything around us in this world is passing and fading “the things which are seen are temporal;” in contrast with this, those things which belong to the next world are undying and unfading “the things which are not seen are eternal.”

What a debt of gratitude the believer owes to Him who has saved him from eternal wrath and for eternal glory.

"Till He Come"

“I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am there ye may be also.” John 14:3.

Only a few more burdens must we carry

In heat and toil beneath the scorching sun;

Only a little longer must we tarry—

Only a little longer “till He come.”

Only a little more of life’s rough journey

Through the world’s desert till the day is done;

Only a few more desert scenes of conflict,

Only a few more Marahs “till He come.”

Only a little longer, thinking gladly

Of the uprising of the brighter Sun;

Only a little longer, waiting sadly

‘Midst the deep gloom of midnight “till He come.”

Only a few more billows, wildly tossing,

Beating us backward from the longed-for shore;

Only a few more snares our pathway crossing—

Then all the trials of the way’ll be o’er.

So let our eyes be on Him in His absence,

Seeking to serve Him in this day of grace;

While the thought cheers us in our constant sadness,

Soon He will come and meet us face to face.

Correspondence: Mat. 12:30 & Mark 9:40; Rom. 8:5; "My People" in Rev. 18:4

Question: What is the point of difference in Matthew 12:30, and Mark 9:40?

Answer: Matthew 12:30 is the condemnation of those who said that “Jesus cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils.”

Mark 9:40 was a rebuke to John’s jealousy over someone doing miracles that he may have failed to do. and because it took away some of the reputation of his company.

The world is against Christ; these blasphemers were against Him. This man mentioned in Mark 9:38 was on His part. Christ is the test, and standard in both.

Question: Romans 8:5 to 9 is not clear to me.

Answer: Romans 8:5-7 speaks of the contrast between the flesh and the spirit. (Compare John 3:6.) So verse 8, the unconverted cannot please God. But the believer is now in Christ where there is no condemnation (verse 1); and also in the Spirit (verse 9); and the Holy Spirit dwells in him (verse 11). If the Holy Spirit does not dwell in him, he has not the true character of Christ in his walk and ways; so verse 9 says,

“Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of him.” (This is the true rendering.)

Question: Who are “My people” in Revelation 18:4? Is that call applicable now?

Answer: The call to “My people” in chap. 18:4 is primarily to those who are the converted ones in that day, that is: after the saints of this day are caught up to be with the Lord. There are others, both of Jews and Gentiles that own the name of Jesus and the Word of God (6:9; 7; 14:12), and these are warned to “come out of her.” The warning should be also useful to saints now to come out from all the babel of men’s arrangements and systems that are not in the Word of God, and are contrary to it.

Gospel Talks by the Wayside

“Well, friend, if it were raining showers of gold coins, what would you do; would you go on with your work, or make sure of the gold?” said an evangelist to an old man by the roadside, who was busily gathering rubbish in a pail.

“O! I should stop, and pick up the gold first,” he replied knowingly.

“To be sure you would. Now it has been raining gold these nineteen hundred years; do you know what I mean?” The old man looked up wonderingly. “I mean,” he continued, “all the unsearchable riches of Christ have been showering down on poor sinners all this time. Have you received them?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“It is high time that you had.”

“Yes, I know that; I’m eighty years, of age.”

“There now, and yet you are busily engaged, but forgetting the gold showers!”

“But it’s right to do this,” said he, turning back to his pail of rubbish, with apparently the greatest indifference.

“Surely; but you know men, as they say, generally look out for the main chance, and it is all chance in man’s world. But here is the main certainty; you had better look out for this. Make sure. If gold were falling, you would fill your pockets at once. Now, take your place as a guilty and lost sinner before God, and believe on His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will receive the remission of sins, and the gold showers, so to speak, will fill your heart. Accept this little book, and read it. Good day.”

How many thousands are to be met with on the high road of the world in the same condition, striving for a large fortune or for a little pittance, as the case may be, but deaf to God’s offers of grace, blind to their own eternal interests, and no heart for the unsearchable riches of Christ; knowing about it, probably, but yet not knowing Him!

Passing along down the road, an elderly woman came out of a house to post a letter.

Having remarked upon the weather, the evangelist said to her,

“Have you the grace of God?”

“Yes, I’ve had it for thirty years.”

“I am glad to hear that. Then let the living water flow out; tell all your neighbors; let them hear all you know about Jesus.”

Dear reader, do you know the grace of God? Grace is abounding, reigning through righteousness (Rom. 5:20, 21.) It brings salvation to the guilty and the lost. Grace is what you need. Your best works are mixed with sin; the law condemns you, but grace will set you free, and teach you the way of holiness.

What a contrast; an old man without God, and an old woman knowing His grace for thirty years! A short period at most must decide the eternal destiny of both; the former, if called away as he was, to find out his folly when it is too late; the latter, to reap forever the glory God gives with the grace.

A few hundred yards farther, a man sat at a cottage gate.

“A little book about Jesus,” said the evangelist, handing him one.

“Ah!” he replied, as he readily took the book, “we little know, when we see a stranger go by, that he is a Christian, till we speak together.”

A few words were exchanged about the Lord, when a blacksmith, who had been standing at a little distance, listening to what passed, drew near.

“And are you a Christian, too?” asked the, evangelist.

“I know whom I have believed, and when my sins were forgiven,” was the reply.

A similar testimony followed from the wife who came up just after. All three appeared to be rejoicing in the Lord.

“Well, friends,” continued the evangelist, “if you are Christians, everyone all round about where you live ought to know it. Your light should shine; and it will, if the lamp is well lit.”

“Yes, but we shall have trouble down here, but that’s to purify us,” said one of the three.

“Yes, it is cleaning the glasses for the light to shine out more clearly. Good day.”

Proceeding on his way, the evangelist came to a man resting by the roadside.

“The good old Book says that ‘the rest of the laboring man is sweet,’” was the present greeting. “I’m laboring now, and looking for eternal rest; are you?”

“I hope so.”

“I’m sure.”

“Sure?”

“Yes, sure. Jesus said, ‘Come unto Me,... and I will give you rest,’ and I came, and I have rest of conscience. Now I’m taking His yoke, and walking with Him, enjoying rest of heart by the way. And also waiting for His return, to see His face, and share eternal rest. And why not you?”

“I heard a preacher say that when we’d spent as many years in eternity as there are blades of grass, we should be no nearer the end.”

“Well, now is the time to make sure of eternal blessing, and the only alternative is eternal woe.”

“Ah! yes, there are only the two roads, the broad and the narrow,” said the man.

“Exactly. Then come as a poor sinner to Jesus, that is entering the strait gate; and walk under His yoke, that is treading the narrow way; and look for His coming, when you will have eternal rest. But you must come to Him first. I have the first, am enjoying the second, and looking for the third. Believe as a poor, guilty, lost one on Him, and the blessing is yours. Make sure. And read this little book.”

“Thank you, sir; I’d as soon have that book as my dinner.”

My reader, have you come to the Savior? Has He given you rest? Are you burdened and heavy laden with sin? He bids you come. All are invited.

“Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28. It does not say, Come, and ye shall find it. It is better than that: “I will give you rest.” You have not to search about for it; He gives it to everyone that comes to Him. Will you come? Come now, and rest most surely shall be yours; present, permanent, eternal rest. Come.

Distributing books right and left, the evangelist presently came to a place where a group of men were working and a man black from head to foot, who stood by, greeted him jestingly as he approached: “You aren’t afraid to come near us, are you?” alluding to his own condition.

“O, no!” replied the evangelist; and, handing him a book containing the gospel, he added, “that will tell you how you can become whiter than the snow, through the precious blood of Christ.”

The man was evidently taken aback at the unexpected response. The Lord grant that it may have impressed his soul.

Dear reader, all men in nature are blacker with sin than the blackest of men. Sin is blacker than dirt. The latter is but outward; but sin has affected man’s whole moral being, and he is utterly unfit for the presence of God. Nothing but the precious blood of Christ can cleanse him. Are you cleansed?

“It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” Leviticus 17:11.

None but those who are redeemed by His blood will ever escape wrath or enter the glory of God. No other passport will avail there.

Passing along a field just beyond, as the evangelist drew near to his destination, a young man crossed his path, carrying a large sack of fodder.

“You have a heavy burden there upon your shoulders.”

“Yes.”

“Have you got rid of the burden of sin? You would find a great difference going up yonder hill if I took the burden off, would you not?”

“Yes.”

“If you get rid of the burden of sin, you will travel much lighter through this world.”

“I expect I should.”

“Well, who can take it off?”

“Jesus Christ, I expect.”

“Then believe on Him, and He will do it. If I offer to take your burden, and you believe me, it is soon done. And if you believe on Him, He will take the burden of sin from your heart. Only trust Him.”

How blessedly simple the gospel is! Men have many devices of their own to reach heaven, but God’s way is Christ.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” John 14:6. He is, as another has said,

“The way to the Father; the truth of the whole thing; and the life to enjoy it.” Christ is all.

“If ye believe not that I am He,” Jesus said, “ye shall die in your sins.” John 8:24.

“Whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.” Acts 10:43.

Reader, how is it with you?

The encouraging word to the Christian is,

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

“My Word... 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.” Isaiah 55:11.

Confessing Christ

I notice that quite a number of our young friends who profess to be the Lord’s, are uncommonly shy in owning Him openly before the world. To be sure, they join in the singing of the precious hymn,

“I’ve found a Friend, O such a Friend,” and seem to enjoy it immensely, when they are in the midst of a nice, warm circle of believers, all of the same mind as themselves. It does not take much decision to do that.

But when there is to be an out-and-out testimony for the Lord, in the open air, or near the school, or the workshop where everybody knows them, I notice some of them are not nearly so bright about it.

A few of us were out the other day taking a walk. We met a Christian young man giving away tracts on the street, and speaking a word for the Master.

Another, who is not much of a speaker, was carrying a board with a large Text on it by his side. We shook hands, and stood talking together a few minutes; but I noticed some of the young believers in our company were very much afraid of being identified too closely with the “board.” They kept looking this way and that way to see if anybody known to them was within sight.

You may imagine their horror when I volunteered to carry the board along the street, if they would keep alongside me. They did not like to bluntly refuse, but after we had walked a few hundred yards, one after another of the “faint hearted” quietly decamped without saying a word; and I guess they will not “take a walk” with me for some time to come.

Only two young boys remained, who, after they were laughed at for a quarter-of-an hour or so, seemed to get quite happy, and before we had finished our walk one of them wanted to carry the board.

From that afternoon, these two young believers have made progress in the divine life. They have gone on “going and growing,” and are both able to preach the Gospel simply, and well.

Where are the rest—the runaways? Half in the world, neither one thing nor another. Converted they may be, but unless they get out of their respectable “grave clothes,” and take a decided stand for Christ, they will soon be so like the world, that nobody will guess they are on the way to heaven.

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

What Is That in Thine Hand?

Exodus 4:2

If He says, “What is that in thine hand?” let us examine honestly if it is something He can use for His glory or not. If not, do not let us hesitate an instant about dropping it. It may be something we do not like to part with: but the Lord is able to give us much more than this, and the first glimpse of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord will enable us to count those things loss which were gain to us. But if it is something that He can use, He will make us do ever so much more with it than before.

Moses little thought what the Lord was going to make him do with the “rod in his hand!” Henceforth it was “the rod of God in his hand.”

Casting All Your Care Upon Him

What! all our burdens—every little trial—

The cares that seem so very, very small!

We know that heavy griefs He soothes and lightens,

But does He note, and will He carry all?

When at our waking everything seems dreary,

And all day long our spirits are at strife,

with little, never-ending, ever changing

Annoyances that fill the thread of life,

And when we do our best, yet fail of pleasing,

And they to whom our very lives are given,

So little comprehend—so little heed us—

Do these things touch the heart of Christ in

heaven?

And may we tell Him all things nor offend Him?

Will He not weary of our ceaseless plaint?

And does He care to have us bring before Him

Our every need with child-like unconstraint?

O yes! thou never yet hadst any trial,

However trivial it seemed to be,

That did not hold the sympathy of Jesus,

And bind His heart still closer unto thee.

We sometimes wonder why our Lord doth place us

Within a sphere so narrow, so obscure

That nothing we call work can find an entrance—

There’s only room to suffer, to endure.

And in His word we have His own assertion

For every need shall full supply be given,

And to assure our timid hearts He tells us

That every sparrow’s fall is known in heaven.

He says that we out-value many sparrows:

‘Tis He appoints our way—our joy, our woe:

There’s nothing that we may not carry to Him—

The merest trifle that our lives can know.

Do mothers close their hearts to childish sorrow?

From baby’s trouble do they turn away?

Do constant calls upon their care estrange them?

Ah, no! the charge grows dearer day by day.

So we are dear to Jesus. Yea far dearer,

For even mother-love sometimes grows cold,

But O, the tender, tireless love of Jesus!

That love forever new—forever old.

Christian Service

During Paul’s voyage described in Acts 27, he said,

“There stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve.” (Verse 23) Again he says,

“Know ye not that ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price.” 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20.

Meditating upon the above scriptures we cannot fail to realize that with all the blessings that come to us as the children of God, there comes also a responsibility. A servant’s place is to please his master—not himself.

As children, loved with a love unspeakable, we should respond with willing service.

If exercised in regard to this question we will find many opportunities for serving God. Any service done to a fellow-member of the body of Christ, in His name, is a service to God Himself.

“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed toward His Name, in that ye have ministered to the saints and do minister.” Hebrews 6:10.

“For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also, by many thanksgivings, unto God.” 2 Corinthians 9:12.

The words in Matthew 25:40, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me,” are not directly applicable to us in the present dispensation. They will be spoken after the Church is taken away, to those who, during the time of tribulation, have befriended the Jews. But the principle holds, true now, and any loving service, done for the Lord’s sake, to one of His own, is very precious to His heart, and ascends as a sweet odor of incense.

The gifts sent by the Philippians to Paul (Phil. 4:18), are spoken of as “an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God.”

A service to a member of the body of Christ is, through that member, a service to Christ Himself.

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

“Be not forgetful of hospitality; (N.T.) for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Hebrews 13:2.

But just as truly as we rejoice the heart of the Lord by showing kindness to one of His own, we cause Him pain by acts of unkindness.

When Paul was arrested, (Acts 9), in his persecution of the disciples, the Lord said to him,

“I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.” Let us not grieve the heart of that blessed One by causing pain to the fellow-members of His body.

But there is perhaps a deeper, richer service mentioned in Romans 12:1, 2,

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”

Thus one’s own will is kept under, and the will of God becomes supreme. The vanities of this world lose their attraction and the renewed mind finds its delight in the divine perfections.

The Lord rejoices in a faith and subjection that desires naught but His perfect will.

Christ Loves Me

To us it is not the great white throne, not the coming of the Lord to take the place of a Judge, but His rising up to come and claim us, and take us up to be with Him.

God’s first mark of approbation for His work on the cross, was that He should not be alone in glory, but should have a people, the bride, the Lamb’s wife, with Him there, in the midst of whom He will be; the light of His glory being enshrined in them, and reflected by them: He in them.

And also, that till He comes He should have a people down here who can look up to Him there, and know the character of His love for them. That is what we want for our comfort. Who are they that can say,

“Christ loves me, and He is going to glorify me, and I am waiting for Him”?

Ah! they are those who have passed clean off the ground of the first Adam. A people, not only washed and forgiven, but where they can say they know nothing like Him; that One who, through death, delivered them from him who had the power of death; He, the holy, harmless One, having been made sin for them, that they might be entirely free.

Where Is Thy Talent?

“How much owest thou unto my Lord?” Luke 16:5.

Many talents are being hid “in the earth” today, and it is not alone the one-talented men and women who are doing so.

“Afraid” of being considered peculiar, and unwilling to be reproached for Christ’s sake, countless numbers are letting the “earth” have their ability.

Living for the things of this world, which must end with time, is as surely hiding talents in the earth as literally burying them far beneath the surface of the ground would be.

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

Sent Forth Lacking Nothing

During a Scripture lesson given to a class of children, not long ago, the question was asked,

“When the Lord Jesus sent out His disciples two and two into the world, as we have just been reading, to preach the Gospel, and to work for Him, did He give them any directions? Did He, for instance, say anything to them about their luggage, about what they would have to take with them?”

“O! yes, He did,” promptly answered a bright little fellow, “the Lord Jesus told them that He would see that they had all they wanted, so they needn’t trouble themselves about taking anything at all with them, and their clothes and shoes would do.”

The child stroked his own clothes down complacently as he spoke, evidently with a boy’s thorough appreciation of the feeling of relief which it must have given to each of the disciples to hear that he might thus start off at once, just as he was, free from all encumbrances.

O! that all disciples of the Lord, in this our day, whether evangelists, or those serving in their own home circles, may drink more deeply into this child-like spirit, this true idea of service, entire dependence upon the One who sends them forth, and freedom from all that would distract the heart, or hinder the feet.

If encumbered by seeking riches, surely “the cares of this world,” or “the lusts of other things” may prove to be an equally ensnaring and impeding burden. It is enough for every disciple that he be as His Master, who sought no accumulation of treasure for Himself on earth, but simply to do the will of Him that sent Him.

With this object in view, and this only, we shall find that what we have “will do,” will suffice for our need, and, “looking off unto Jesus,” happy lightness of step, and an unhindered walk, will be the result.

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2.

Search the Scriptures

“Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.” Psalms 119:11.

The Word of God is sufficient for every possible condition. Acquaintance with it is the one way of being fortified against every insidious effort of the enemy.

May God in His mercy cause us to direct our attention to it more and more with unceasing prayer.

Let it be the subject of meditation day and night while, with unremitting desire and patience, we study and search the sacred page. It is the diligent soul that is made fat.

"This Do in Remembrance of Me"

Think of all the variety of glories attached to Him who brings a people to Himself thus! Whom do I do it in remembrance of? Whom? What human mind could frame an answer? Who could speak of a glory so all-surpassing, when it comes to who and to all that He was and is! First, eternal life in Himself before all worlds, He the only-begotten Son in the bosom of the Father; and then turn to look at what He was down here.

In the gospel of John, the glory of His person is first spoken of, then all the different offices blending in His person, and then of eternal life brought by Him to bear on a thankless world. But that which carries to our souls the earnest of the living affections of the Lord Jesus towards His people is not the thought only of who and what He is—unspeakably blessed as that is in itself; but a fount was unsealed and flowing forth from His heart, showing the fullness and the divine unselfishness of His love.

See Him, just before going into the depths of His own sufferings, turning to His own and saying,

“Now My love can flow out.”

He knew that His people needed to have what would enable them to carry constantly in their hearts the thought of His love; therefore,

“This do in remembrance of Me.”

And now, above in the glory, He is looking upon us, caring for our love; thinking of poor things down here, and caring to be remembered by them, all these nineteen hundred years past; and in all freshness at God’s right hand, He cares for our love today. The real living affection in Him is not satisfied without the thought of His people being occupied with Himself.

Fathers, Young Men, and Babes.

The “fathers” are they who “have known Him that is from the beginning.” They abide in “the doctrine of Christ,” having “both the Father and the Son.” The unction is powerful in them, if I may so express it. They have listened, as it were, with deep attention of soul, to the declaration of the Father by the Son (John 1:18). Having seen the Son, they had seen the Father (John 14:7-11). They keep the words of the Son, and of the Father (John 14:21-23). They know that the Son is in the Father, they in the Son, and the Son in them. They are not orphans. (John 14:18-20.)

The “young men” are they who “have overcome the wicked one,” that wicked one who animates the world with the denial of the mystery of the Christ (1 John 5:1-6). But they are not in the full settled power of that mystery, as the “fathers” are, and they need exhortation; so that the apostle goes on to warn them against all that belongs to the world, as they had already stood in victory over that spirit in it which was gainsaying Christ.

The “little children” are they who “have known the Father.” But they are only “little children,” and need warning, teaching, and exhorting. Their knowledge of the Father was somewhat immature; not so connected with the knowledge of the Son, of “Him that is from the beginning,” as was that of the “fathers.” He, therefore, warns them of antichrists, describing them as set against “the truth,” or “the doctrine of Christ.” He teaches them that “whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father”; that if the anointing they have received abide in them, they will surely abide in the Son and in the Father; and that the house of God was of such a character as that none who savored not of such anointing could remain there. He reminds them that the promise which the Son has promised, is eternal life. And, finally, he exhorts them so to abide in what the “unction” teaches, that they may not be ashamed in the day of the Son’s appearing.

"Rejoice Evermore"

It is the Lord’s mind that His children should now, even in this world of sorrow and death, be happy. He has not only created us in Christ Jesus, but we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Him, and the Holy Ghost says, “Rejoice evermore,” “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice.”

The source of our happiness, then, is the Lord Himself, and the secret of happiness is believing on Him whom we see not (1 Peter 1:8). The measure of happiness we are entitled to enjoy is as unlimited and boundless as glory itself, “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Jesus desired that we might have His joy fulfilled in ourselves, and Scripture is written that “our joy may be full.”

Fragment: Amen

“AMEN” is a prayer after prayer, a prayer that prayer may be answered and our abridgment of all that hath been prayed for.

Correspondence: Religious Societies?; ROM 15:5-6 & GAL 4:10-11; ROM 15:13; 144000

Question: Is it wrong for a Christian to join a religious society?

Answer: There is only one society for the Christian recognized in Scripture; it is the Church of God. No membership of anything else is there found for the Lord’s people besides “members of Christ.”

“We are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” Ephesians 5:30.

This positive side of divine truth should be enough to deter us from becoming a member of anything else. But we have more than this. We are solemnly charged to keep in a path of separation from unbelievers. This is a sufficient answer to the question as to co-operative and all other societies, where members are made up of both saints and sinners.

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive on, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.

Question: Please explain Romans 15:5, 6; and Galatians 4:10,11, which seem to be contradictory.

Answer: We must read the context of both passages. In Romans 14 the apostle bids us respect the weak conscience of our brother. He does not here set one day above another, but says that the conscience of the man who does so is to be respected, while seeking at the same time to instruct him (15:2.) In Galatians, on the contrary the apostle is attacking a relapse into Judaism that was threatening to sap the whole foundation of the Christian faith, keeping days being here an integral part of the Jewish religion. Hence the apostle denounces it unsparingly.

Question: What does Romans 15:13 “that ye may abide in hope” mean?

Answer: In verse 8 the apostle points out the connection of Christ with the Jews, and in verse 9 with the Gentiles, which he proceeds to prove in verse 10 from the Law, in verse 11 from the Psalms, and in verse 12 from the Prophets, and then he sums all up with a prayer to the God of hope that they might be filled with joy, peace, faith, and hope through the Holy Ghost.

Question: Are the 144,000 in Revelation 7:4 the Church?

Answer: There is no difficulty in the use of the word translated “Church” in Acts 7:38, when we remember the simple meaning of the word is “assembly,” as may be seen in Acts 19:32, 39, 41. It is the same word in each case. But “the assembly which is His body” could not have existed, before Christ, as man, ascended up on high, was given to be Head (Eph. 1:22, 23). There was an assembly truly in the wilderness, the nation of Israel. But Jesus had not yet died to gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. And when Jesus was on earth, He distinctly spoke of His assembly as a future thing (Matt. 16.18). The assembly His body, had not then been revealed (Eph. 3).

The 144,000 do not appear to be Christians at all. The Christian period closes at the end of Revelation 3— “The things which are.” Chapter 1:19.

In chapter 4 we come to the things which shall be after these things; after therefore the translation of the saints as revealed to Paul (1 Thess. 4).

The opening of the seals then in chapter 6 must be after the translation of the saints; and also the sealing of the 144,000, not Christians, but from the tribes of Israel; sealed for future blessing on the earth, but no intimation that either they, or the innumerable company, will form part of the assembly, His body.

The 144.000 in Revelation 14 contrast with those who worship the beast (Chapter 13). They hear and learn the heavenly song which is sung before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders. This proves the present period of Christianity had closed; for the elders take their seats after the present things have closed (Rev. 4:1, 4). It is a most precious scripture, and shows how God will have this blessed and holy remnant. even when the earth seems entirely given up for a short moment to the dragon to the beast, and to Antichrist. O, the riches of His grace!

Instead then of the 144,000 being caught up, there is no evidence that they form part of the translation at all, but are a blessed first-fruit remnant during the days of tribulation and unparalleled evil.

Do You Want to Be Really Wealthy?

Steven Marsh was the sole legatee of his aunt’s will. The will was short and to the point. It ran as follows:

“To my beloved nephew, Steven Marsh; I will and bequeath my family Bible and all it contains, with the residue of my estate after my funeral expenses and just and lawful debts are paid.”

The residue of the estate amounted to a few hundred dollars. This was soon spent, and for something like thirty-five years Marsh lived in poverty, his chief means of support being a small pension from the United States Government.

All this time he had never taken the trouble to unclasp the brass clasps of the family Bible. At last, when packing his trunk, preparatory to going to live with his son, with whom he was invited to spend the few remaining years of his life, he opened the Bible.

Judge of his intense surprise when he discovered scattered through the book no less than $5,000 in notes.

How bitterly he regretted that he had never opened the Bible till then. How often the pinch of poverty would have been relieved in past years had he only known of his wealth. Vain regrets were his.

But sadder, infinitely sadder than this, was his neglect of the Bible itself and the message it contains. He practically missed a fortune for this life, by neglecting to examine the Bible; but what will a man miss by neglecting the Bible itself? Words cannot answer this question fully.

To miss salvation, forgiveness, eternal life, glory, the knowledge of God’s love, were loss indeed, and the soul who, by deadly indifference, loses these wonderful blessings, must learn, slowly, surely, and bitterly what his loss is, as the uncounted ages of a lost eternity speed their dreary way, without bringing the soul one whit nearer to the terminus of its woe.

For forty years the notes in the Bible had lain idle, but late as. Marsh was in discovering them, he was able in the close of his days to enjoy ease and comfort. But once the soul is in eternity, the discovery of what might have been, will be all too late. O! the unutterable pity of it.

Marsh did not notice the wording of the will— “the family Bible and all it contains” —hence his neglect. But what is infinitely more serious is the neglect of the true riches of the Bible. The Bible is the only book in the world bringing an authoritative message from God, and we neglect it at our eternal peril. That message is as plain as possible. God in pity warns as well as woos.

He tells us plainly:

“The soul that sinneth it shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4.

“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27.

“Fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28.

How mercifully plain are the warnings of Scripture.

And, thank God, the good news of salvation is just as plain. Was there ever such a story? The very greatest event in the history of this world, completely eclipsing and throwing into utter insignificance the greatest events, as men speak, is the death of the Son of God on the cross. There we behold the righteous foundation laid whereby God can justly forgive the repentant sinner.

We see there in the inimitable and beautiful language of holy Scripture how

“Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Psalms 135:10.

If the truth comes out, how can mercy be shown to us? The truth concerning our lives is sufficient to banish us a thousand times over from the presence of a holy God.

Well might Charles Wesley sing,

“Depth of mercy! Can there be

Mercy still reserved for me?

Can my God his wrath forbear—

Me, the chief of sinners, spare?”

Yes, God’s mercy is greater than your sin, but God’s mercy must flow righteously. The riddle is solved in the atoning death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Either that death will, if accepted by you, be the means of your eternal blessing; or else, despised, will call for unsparing and everlasting judgment to fall upon your head.

How, then, can the sinner appropriate these blessings, without which he is poor indeed? The answer is, by simple faith in and acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as a personal Savior.

Here are the very words of Scripture. What more do we want?

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:31.

“Through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.” Acts 10:43.

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

Trust that Savior here and now, and you will be rich indeed.

Satan’s great effort, where he cannot destroy, is to seduce.

Work for the Lord

Now, as to work for the Lord. The simple inquiry, and recorded as the first utterance of Paul to our Lord,

“Lord, what wilt Thou have me do?” is the duty and expression of every one distinctly awakened to the claim Christ has on him. This inquiry cannot be too earnestly instituted, or the reply to it too rigidly attended to. The inquiry is the offspring of a soul sensible that the Lord has entire and full claim on me, without the knowledge which authorizes it. The soul feels

“I am taken out of the world, and I am given to Christ, and hence I look to Him for my place and occupation in future in it.”

If we are given to Christ “out of the world,” it is evident that it is He alone who has right to determine our way and course in the world.

I could not say, if I believe that I am given to Him “out of the world,” that I have any right to re-occupy any place or engagement which I had previously held in the world. True, He does not require or permit me to infringe on any legal lord under whom I was held before I was given to Him—but, excepting where the rights of others would be compromised, I am Christ’s bondsman—vested legal rights are not to be compromised because of my being given to Christ; but I am Christ’s bondsman, and necessarily if I am, both from duty and inclination, my inquiry ought to be

“Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?”

The more I own and realize the relationship which now exists through grace between us, the more simply and continuously will this be my whole-hearted cry to Him. Now, if it is, I will, of course, accede to and attend to whatever He may intimate to me, and this only. That is, the heart true to Him, and devotedly making this request, will wait on Him for guidance and counsel, and would find no real satisfaction in being anywhere or doing anything which was not according to His mind; our place and our occupation here would be only determined by the pleasure of Him whose we are and whom we serve; any departure from the tie or rule of this relationship would sensibly interfere with the mutual satisfaction therein known, there would be a break in on, and a disturbance of, the true order of life, and the blessings connected with it.

Nothing so simple and nothing so important in our walk down here! I belong to Christ, and I find it my happiness and His pleasure to do nothing but as He desires and instructs me. I live where He likes, and I do what He likes.

If we did this there would be no mistakes one side or the other. But we do make mistakes on both sides; on one side at one time, and on another side at another time. At one we plan out work for ourselves, and at another we do none at all.

Now the first is the most difficult to deal with, simply because the counterfeit deceives one, and hence, while it is comparatively easy to convict the idle and slothful, it is not so easy to convict the Martha that she is unwisely occupied. The work seems so right and necessary, that it appears almost impossible that there could be any plan in it. Nothing so deceives and leads astray as the conscience working at a distance from Christ; for instance, if I feel in my conscience that I ought to be Christ’s servant (true enough, I am His bondsman), but if I am not near Him, if I am not in His confidence, and I begin to do something to satisfy my conscience, there is no doubt I am doing it legally, and not as simply suits Him. It is to make myself easy and satisfied. When this is the case I do not consult what He would like me to do, but I do what I think best to be done. It is not His pleasure guides me, it is my own mind, as to what is suitable and proper. It may be quite necessary, as Martha’s service, but Martha was evidently thinking of the services which were incumbent on her to render, and not governed by the pleasure of Christ.

Here is where we fail, undertaking to serve where it is in a degree creditable to ourselves, or we get disappointed (if we are true-hearted) because we have not the acknowledgment of His pleasure. How can He acknowledge what we have undertaken and done to satisfy our own conscience and to please ourselves therein? It is evident that when I am occupied with services, however useful and necessary, which I have undertaken of myself, feeling they devolved upon me, that I must lose the sense of His presence.

Sitting at His feet, Mary-like, is lost and neglected. There is no growth of soul in Christ. Self is in the service from beginning to end. It is most blessed to work for Christ, it is fruit-bearing; but if my work engrosses me more than Christ, there is damage to me, and I am not working for Him,

“Without me ye can do nothing.” If I am really working for Christ, I am getting from Christ, and growing up into Him. Sitting at His feet is the natural posture of my soul. Whenever you find any one serving without sitting at His feet, you may be assured they are Martha-like. When any are sitting at His feet, hearing His word, they will not be behind in true and pleasing service. If you begin with serving (as many do now-a-days), you will never sit at His feet, whereas if you begin with sitting, you will soon serve wisely, well, and acceptably. The serving quiets the conscience, and the sitting is overlooked and neglected. The enemy gains an advantage, for it is at the sitting the conscience is more enlightened. and the pleasure and mind of the Master are better known; and hence there is damage done, and loss sustained by the soul when service pre-occupies one to the exclusion of sitting at His feet, or where it is most prominent.

I never met with any one making service prominent who knew what it was to sit at His feet; but, thank God, I know indefatigable workers who enjoy sitting at His feet above any service, and it is clear that they who sit most at His feet must be most competent to serve, and most in His confidence, which, after all, is the clue to all efficient service.

Israel

The history of Israel, in the past; their condition, at present; and what they are yet to pass through, in the future, all goes to prove in the most impressive manner that “our God is a consuming fire.” No nation on the face of the earth has ever been called to pass through such severe discipline as the nation of Israel. As the Lord reminds them in those deeply solemn words,

“You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore will I punish you for your iniquities.” Amos 3:2.

No other nation was ever called to occupy the highly privileged place of actual relationship with Jehovah. This dignity was reserved for one nation; but the very dignity was the basis of the most solemn responsibility. If they were called to be His people, they were responsible to conduct themselves in a way worthy of such a wondrous position, or else have to undergo the heaviest chastenings ever endured by any nation under the sun.

God will not permit the nations to behave themselves strangely toward His poor erring people. He will use them as His rod of discipline, but the moment they attempt, in the indulgence of their own bitter animosity, to exceed their appointed limit, He will break the rod in pieces, and make it manifest to all that He Himself is dealing with His beloved, though erring people, for their ultimate blessing and His glory.

Men may think, in their pride and folly, that their hand is high, but they will have to learn that God’s hand is higher still.

The Scripture

All that it outside of the Bible, all that presumes to come into competition with it, and challenges the ears of men, is but a sea, an unformed mass, of opinions and reasonings. How welcome therefore to the soul, wearied in its quest after some stable foundation on which to rest, in view of death and eternity, is the immutable basis laid for faith in the infallible Scriptures.

Lord Jesus, Come!

Lord Jesus, come!

Nor let us longer roam

Afar from Thee and that bright place

Where we shall see Thee face to face

Lord Jesus, come!

Thine absence here we mourn;

No joy we know apart from Thee,

No sorrow in Thy presence see.

Come, Jesus, come!

Lord Jesus, come!

And claim us as Thine own;

With longing hearts the path we tread

Which Thee on high to glory led.

Come, Savior, come!

Lord Jesus, come!

And take Thy people home;

That all Thy flock, so scattered here,

With Thee in glory may appear.

Lord Jesus, come!

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 8:19-27

Chapter 8, verses 19-27

When the head of the old creation fell (Gen. 3), he dragged down with him the creatures who had been made subject to him; and God has not either with the present blessings of Christianity or with any prior dealing with mankind, delivered them from suffering and death. Yet has He fixed the time of their deliverance, and described its character in Isaiah 11:6, 9. It is part of His purpose for the day of the Lord, for the thousand years’ reign of Christ which occupies so large a place in the prophetic books of the Old Testament, and is referred to again and again in the New. Among many passages, the most extended references are to be found in Isaiah chapters 25, 35, 60 to 65; Jeremiah 31 and 33; Ezekiel 36 to 48, and Zechariah 8 to 14. Fitly here in Romans the emancipation of the creature is connected with the display of the glorified heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ (2 Thess. 1:7-10; John 17:22, 23) which will take place in that day; for, when the Heir of all things takes His inheritance, He will not take it alone.

Who but God could know, and tell us, out of knowledge altogether beyond man’s, that the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the coming day of the display of glory? It was not of their choice to be made subject to vanity, to the bondage of corruption, with its accompaniment of groaning and travailing together in pain; no, it was because of the first man’s ruin that the dumb creatures were made to suffer; and they must continue to suffer until the Second Man, the last Adam, appears; yet, the suffering is in hope, the hope of deliverance. In that coming day they will be delivered into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. (“Glorious liberty” is not an exact translation in verse 21). We, believers are now in the liberty of grace, as freed from sin’s slavery; then we shall be in the liberty of the glory, and the creation will share in that; it cannot share in the glory which belongs to the heirs.

How wonderfully these verses (18 to 22) lead us into an understanding of the present condition of the suffering creation! What passions and what misery man’s sin has brought in! Sickness and death abound. The strong take advantage of the weak. And the cruelty of man to the creatures is often very painful to behold. As another has said,

“The more my heart understands what God’s presence is, the more deeply my soul will understand the place the creature has got into. What a wonderful position this puts us into—one of association with God!”

In our bodies we are connected with the creation, and so are subject to vanity, to decay, disease and death, even as they are; but groaning within ourselves, we wait for the redemption of our body. Though the groaning and travailing of the whole creation be unintelligent and selfish, verse 23 gives a different character to the believer’s groans; the Holy Spirit dwells in him, and his distress is consequently associated, not so much with his own personal suffering, as with a realization of the bondage of corruption that is upon all here; his groaning is thus according to the mind of God.

It has been remarked that we have no word of Scripture to tell us that Jesus ever smiled, and in Isaiah 53:3 and 4, He is spoken of as in His earthly path a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; “Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” He wept at the grave of Lazarus, though in Him there was power to raise the dead, as He presently did (John 11:33, 35, 38, 43, 44). He wept again over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). Disease and death had no claims upon His holy body, but He could enter into the state of things which sin has brought about in the world, in wondrous sympathy, and in grief beyond anything we may feel.

In verses 24 and 25 the Christian hope comes in to lighten our burden: We are saved by, or in hope, and are to patiently wait for the promised redemption of the body, then to be in the glory of which we have been told. Our title is complete, our souls are saved, and we know what lies on before.

“Happy they who trust in Jesus;

Sweet their portion is and sure”

the words of a hymn we some times sing.

We have had the indwelling Holy Spirit presented in so many precious engagements for and in the believer; yet is there anything more precious than what is brought out in the 26th and 27th verses concerning His work for us? He joins help to our infirmities, or weakness, for we do not know what we should pray for as is fitting; in this felt need the Spirit intercedes with unutterable groanings. If what has been before us is really the character of our lives (shame upon us if it is not!) we feel, as God would have us feel, the state of bondage shared by everything animate here; yet what should we ask for? For immediate personal deliverance out of this scene of groans? That would be unworthy of the Christian’s character as here on earth; have we not just read that we are to wait with patience for the Lord’s good time to ransom our bodies?

For judgment on the wicked? But this too is contrary to what we have learned. We rest therefore in His. Word, groaning because of the effects of sin seen all around us, and not knowing what we should pray for with respect to it; but the indwelling Spirit condescends to give our groans a form altogether beyond us to feel or express.

Verse 27 is exceedingly precious. First we have God searching the hearts of His children; and what does He find? As a writer already quoted, has said,

“It is a sweet thing to know that the Searcher of hearts finds the Spirit’s mind and intercession in us, in place of sin and the flesh.”

Searching my heart and your heart, dear young Christian, He knows what is the mind of the Spirit who dwells there; this is according to what we found in verses 5 and 6 regarding the character of a Christian. God looks in your heart, and there He finds the mind of the Holy Spirit wrought in you, in intercession for the saints according to God.

Does it not draw out your very soul in gratitude, indeed in worship to God, as you take in the depth of the grace that is His, in looking in your heart for what is after all the work of His Holy Spirit, and crediting you with those desires of the new nature which the indwelling Spirit has Himself produced there?

(To be continued, D. V.)

When the storms of life are o’er,

And I have reached the other shore,

In the Home of perfect day,

Where all tears are wiped away,

I shall praise Thee face to face,

For the riches of Thy grace.

The Unity of the Church of God: Part 2

Part 2

Why, here is a peculiar thing: on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended and baptized a hundred and twenty immediately into one body. After this, persecution arises and the Church is scattered from Jerusalem. One of the evangelists, Philip, goes to Samaria, a distance of perhaps thirty miles from Jerusalem, and starts to preach the gospel and many get saved. Why don’t they get the Holy Spirit the way those at Jerusalem did on the day of Pentecost? There must be a reason; there was a reason.

God, from the very beginning, had been very jealous that there should be no schism or division in this Church which had been established here to the honor and glory of Christ. Read a verse in 1 Corinthians 12:25,

“That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.”

That is God’s ideal, and all the splendid energy of the Spirit of God is directed towards maintaining the unity of that testimony here below.

Why was not the Holy Spirit given immediately after these believers accepted Christ? Because hundreds of years before there had come in an estrangement between Samaria and Jerusalem. That is brought out in the 4th of John’s gospel when the woman is surprised that the Lord Jesus being a Jew, will have any dealings with her. It was an age-old feud, a bitter one too.

Suppose Philip had gone down to Samaria and preached and they had received the Holy Spirit totally independent of the work begun in Jerusalem; how natural it would have been for them to have risen up and said, “We now have a Samaritan Church; you at Jerusalem have a Jewish Church.” The old feud, the old time bitterness would still be there. No; the Spirit of God is going to see to that. You can see how careful the Spirit of God was from the very beginning, to guard against division. That should be instructive to us in seeking to maintain the unity of the Spirit in this day of confusion that exists in the house of God.

So Peter and John go down from Jerusalem and lend their sanction to the work of God. They lay their hands on those believers and in response to that, they receive the Holy Ghost, and the moment they received the Holy Ghost they were just as much members of the one body as the one hundred and twenty that received Him on the glorious day of Pentecost. They were not second-rate. They had all the dignity and privileges of that original group. Was there now a Samaritan Church and a Jerusalem Church? No; they are all related; bound together by that same bond; baptized into one body by the Spirit of God.

If, afterward, there should arise a time when the Samaritans would seek to establish their independence, and say, God gave us the Holy Spirit the same as He did Jerusalem, they would have to acknowledge that God didn’t give them the Holy Spirit until the apostles from Jerusalem came down and laid their hands on them.

Supposing the Church in Jerusalem should arise in its dignity and should attempt to disown this Samaritan Church because of the old feud that existed, those prejudices that were so deep-rooted? They couldn’t do that, because Peter and John could say, “No, you can’t disown them, because when we put our hands on them, immediately God put His sanction on them in filling them with the Holy Ghost.” All that antagonism was gone and gone forever; what a unity to swallow up an old hatred, an old feud that had been ripening down through the ages. In one moment it was all gone, and wiped out by the indwelling power of the Spirit of God.

In the next chapter we find a chosen instrument, the apostle Paul is converted—is brought to God. When presenting his apostleship in Galatians, he says,

“For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

So he had, yet there is one thing Paul could never say, and that is that he got into fellowship of the Church of God independent of all human instrumentality. Though greatest of all apostles, and greatest of all the servants that God had in the dispensation, in the ways of God, he had to come into fellowship of the Church of God on earth just like any other believer. Through the humble ministry of a simple child of God, he had to be introduced into that which already existed before he was ever converted. We see that in the following,

“And there was a certain disciple in Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.”

“And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.” Chapter 9:10-12, 17-19.

Why did not God give Saul of Tarsus the Holy Spirit the moment Christ struck him down on the way to Damascus? He appeared to him in that marvelous glory cloud, smiting him to the earth and converting his dark heart and letting the light stream in, showing him his condition and causing him to own the Lordship of Christ. Why didn’t God finish the work? God has His own ways. God was mindful of the fact that this man, though he was to be the greatest of all servants, needed to have brought home to his own soul in a practical way the unity of the Church of God here on earth.

We are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit. God was giving what we might call laboratory lessons; demonstrations of what the unity of the Spirit is. Saul must learn that others were there before him, and he is linked with what already existed through the ministry of a simple humble disciple of whom we know nothing, other than the fact that God picked him up and used him to introduce Saul of Tarsus.

Having thus come into what already existed, he finds himself in fellowship with the disciples of that place. He identifies himself with what God had previously done by His Spirit in that city of Damascus.

(To be continued)

In Thy Youth

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.” Ecclesiastes 12:1.

Yes! in your youth, in the bright, fresh springtime of your life, while all is sunny before you, and while you are strong, remember your Creator. Give God your early days, your best days. How many a one has lamented in middle life that he did not give himself up to God in his youth!

“I am brought to God,” said one to us not long since, “but I have one deep regret, I have lived till my hair has grown gray and my strength has failed without Him. O, that I had turned to God in my youth.”

A few months afterward this man told us he was unable to fulfill his little service in helping on the work of the gospel, as age was telling on him. His heart was sound, but his strength had failed.

“In thy youth—in thy youth.”

Alliance with the world prevents our overcoming the world (2 Chron. 16:2-10).

Alone With the Lord

“Let Me see thy countenance, let Me hear thy voice.” Song of Solomon 2:14.

Solitude is of the deepest importance, because it is then that the soul renews its acquaintance with Him who only has entrance into our most solitary retreats. When we are thoroughly alone for Himself, He delights to be our Visitor. It is a good thing to habituate oneself to sit before the Lord. It may appear to be wasted time to some, yet it is only as we do this that we are prepared for service to Him.

Correspondence: Christ not a Man? Length of "Day" in Gen. 1?

Question: Is there any scripture to say that Christ did not become a man?

Answer: Christ was the Son “in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18), and “that Eternal Life which was with the Father” (1 John 1:1-3), and was manifested to us. He was the Eternal Son of God.

Both Old and New Testaments conclusively affirm that from His birth into this world, He was God and Man in one person here on earth, He is now God and Man in glory, and will ever be God and Man.

“In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Colossians 2:9.

“Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” Hebrews 7:26.

Question: What was the length of the “day” in Genesis 1?

Answer: We understand the word “day” in the first chapter of Genesis to mean simply our ordinary 24 hours; and we do not consider it scriptural to believe that each of these days may include a long period of time. But we must remember that, between the first verse of Genesis 1, and the commencement of the actual six days’ work, millions of years may have intervened, leaving ample room, most surely, for all the facts of geology.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Then we are told, “the earth” —not the heavens— “was without form and void.”

We are not told how long this was after it was created, nor how it fell into this state; but most surely, God had not so created it. And then begins the record of the six days in which God prepared the earth for man to dwell upon.

It is not the object of the Bible to teach us geology or astronomy, but we may rest assured that there is not a single sentence in that divine volume which collides with the facts of geology, or any other science.

We must, however, draw a very broad line of distinction between the facts of science, and the conclusions of scientific men. Facts are facts wherever you find them; but if you follow the conclusions of men, you may find yourself plunged into the dark and dreadful abyss of universal skepticism.

A Joyful Surprise

An old man named Robert J. living in a certain village was poor in earthly goods, but rich in faith. He had known his Lord and Savior for many years, and sought to live well-pleasing to Him. The poor, far and wide, knew the simple old man who had always a kind word ready, and when necessary did not think anything of sharing his last piece of bread with the needy. He was so faithful and earnest in visiting the sick, that even the danger of infectious disease could not keep him away. Where others drew back for fear, there he was, consoling dying believers, or pointing the unconverted to their lost condition, and to the crucified Christ.

One day he came home very tired. He had been wandering about for hours, and was glad to have the chance of resting his weary limbs, but scarcely had he sat down, when someone called for him to visit a dying man in the next village. Our friend at first felt little inclined to go. His weary body seemed to say:

“I can really walk no more”; an inner voice whispered. “Try it, the Lord will give strength; it is for a dying man.” At length he got up and said to himself: “I shall go; it is written:

“‘Let us not be weary in well-doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.’” Galatians 6:9.

Arriving at the village, he soon found the house he had been directed to. It was a poor dwelling enclosed in a little garden. At his knock, the door was opened by a cleanly dressed woman who said,

“Come in, the sick person will be real glad to see you. He has asked for you repeatedly. The doctor has just been here and thinks he will not live over the night.”

Robert entered and found the sick man very weak indeed. After a few questions about his bodily condition, he said:

“My friend, it is a very solemn thing to lie there with the consciousness of having to appear soon before a holy God to give account for every word, thought and deed.”

“Yes, it is a very solemn matter,” replied the sick man; “but I know Whom I have believed.”

Robert was greatly surprised, for such an answer he seldom met. Indeed he was not quite convinced for he knew how often many rest on false hopes.; he put a few more questions, therefore to the sick man, but the answers proved beyond a doubt that he had come to Jesus with his sins and had found forgiveness and salvation through His blood.

“How long is it since you have found the Lord?” asked Robert overjoyed.

“About twenty years ago. Yes, my conversion was quite a wonderful one. It happened through an extraordinary miracle.”

“A miracle?” asked Robert; “every true conversion is an extraordinary miracle. Is it not the greatest miracle, that a man who is dead in trespasses and sins, becomes born again through the Holy Spirit?”

“Yes, indeed,” said the man, “that is true; but my conversion was an extraordinary miracle like those in the Old and New Testaments.”

“Impossible, my friend,” was Robert’s answer, for he feared that the sick man was putting his trust in the remarkable manner of his conversion, instead of the work of Christ.

“You may think so,” replied the sick man, “but you will judge differently when you have heard about it. Till about twenty years ago, I had lead a godless life. I drank, I swore and made Sunday especially a day of sin. One day I was sent into a field to mow hay. Before that I had promised some comrades to spend the evening in a saloon, drinking.

“I went to the field, taking my lunch with me, for my house was too far away to go back for it. It was only bread and cheese, for I was too poor to buy better food. Arriving in the field, I sought a place to hide my stock of food. I tied it in my handkerchief and put it in a hole in the hedge. There was nobody besides myself in the field.

“When midday came, I went there to eat my scanty meal. My little package still lay in the same spot as I had left it. Carelessly I unwrapped it; but what was my astonishment, when I found a tract inside! At the first glance I could scarcely believe my eyes; but it was actually so.

“I opened the tract and read it, and then my whole body began to tremble. I knew that no man had been in the field. If so, I would have seen him. God himself, I thought, had sent me this tract by an angel. I read it and read it again. The tract spoke of my sinful and lost condition, and warned me to flee from the wrath of God. I fell on my knees and for the first time in my life, cried from the depths of my heart:

“‘God be merciful to me a sinner.’

“I resolved firmly, as God himself had sent me this tract, to begin a new life from that hour and only live for the Lord. You can easily imagine that I did not go to the saloon that night. I was very unhappy and felt all broken down.

“I knew the greatness of my sins and my crimes, and it was a long time before I found peace and forgiveness. But the Lord had mercy on me, and at last granted me the grace to accept the Lord Jesus through faith, and from that time my heart was filled with peace, joy and thankfulness. I was a new creation, as it is said in 2 Corinthians 5.

“I have since then been much persecuted and through it have unfortunately experienced much weakness, but the faithfulness of my heavenly Father has sustained me, and I rejoice that I shall soon be up there with my Lord, and praise Him throughout eternity for His unspeakable grace. Now, can I not say truthfully that my conversion was brought about through an extraordinary miracle?”

With these words, he looked at Robert questioningly, who, however, seemed to be deeply moved with the account and remained silent for a time, till finally he asked:

“How long did you say it was since this happened?”

“It will be twenty years next month,” replied the sick man.

“Was the place where the field lay not called Ponder’s Bush, and the owner’s name Jonas?” questioned Robert with an agitated voice. And when the sick man answered in the affirmative, he continued:,

“Praise the Lord! I can explain the miracle. On that morning, I was taking a walk near the field. Through the hedge, I noticed a man hiding something. I was curious to know what it was, thinking it might be something stolen. When the man had departed, I went and examined the little bundle, and found it to contain only bread and cheese. I was about to go away, when it occurred to me that I had some tracts in my pocket and thought it might do no harm to place one inside. I did it, and thought as I went away: ‘Who knows whether the Lord will not bless the reading of this tract to the heart of that man.’”

It was now the turn of the sick man to be astonished. Indeed, it was a striking moment. Old Robert was moved, because he had found the fruit of seed he had planted twenty years before; and the sick man was moved, because that God had made known to him before his death, the man who had been the means of his conversion.

Old Robert went again with renewed courage to his work of making souls acquainted with salvation through Christ.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, 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 Corinthians 15:58.

Reader, have you like the sick man been going on in a course of evil and disregard for God? Or has your conscience heard the warning to flee from the wrath to come?

Do not delay to find peace and forgiveness, for the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners, says:

“The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10.

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

"Careful and Troubled"

“Careful and troubled,” Is that true of thee?

“Careful and troubled,” Why should’st thou be!

Faith in His wisdom thy Savior desires;

Trust in His guidance He always requires.

“Careful and troubled,” but that is not “trust”;

“Trust” means to leave it all, happen what must.

“Trust” means to live free from worrying care,

Casting on Jesus thy burden to bear.

“Careful and troubled” dishonors His love;

Do not His past dealings all faithful prove?

“Careful and troubled,” dishonors His power;

Will not His strength hold out hour after hour.

“Careful and troubled” just means “unbelief”;

Thou wilt not trust Him, and that gives Him grief.

“Careful and troubled” just means “disobey”;

“Bring here thy burden!” “I will not,” you say.

And yet “He careth, He careth for you”;

Have you not tried it, and found it is true?

Have you known one of His promises fail?

Have you not proved that His strength does prevail?

Alter thy motto; then, “trouble” no more;

Go to the old Book of heavenly lore.

“Careful for nothing,” there written I see,

Savior, I thank Thee; make that true of me.

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 8:28-39

Chapter 8, Verses 28-39

There is a lovely connection between the words of the 26th verse, “We know not,” and the 28th, “And we know,” or more exactly translated, “But we do know.” What we should pray for as we ought, we do not know; and that is where the Holy Spirit helps our weakness, as we have seen. But that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose, we can say, on the authority of His word, we do know. Precious fact, secured to His people by God Himself, who cannot lie (Titus 1:2). He watches over His own that are in the world; some of them are passing through grievous trials, and the trial that presses upon you is part of the “all things”; in its results for good, this trial may affect others (“those who love God”), and not yourself alone.

There is a lovely connection, too, between verses 27 and 28. In the 27th we read of God looking into the hearts of His people, there finding desires which are produced by the indwelling Holy Spirit; and from the 28th we know that He finds love in our hearts too. We speak not of the measure of the love; surely no child of God can rightly boast of that. But it is not possible to be His without having love to Him in our heart; we love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). “Them that love God” means then all Christians, all true believers in the Lord Jesus.

If verse 28 had been limited in its scope to those of God’s people who devote their lives to His service, that would be wonderful enough; but mark, dear young Christian, the precious truth here set out for you and for me, that (quite apart from anything we may be privileged to do for Him) all the circumstances of our lives, be they pleasant or painful, are made by God to work together for good to us. O, we should never grumble, or be discontented, with our lot, since such a God is ours!

Without its last clause, which divine wisdom has put there, some might be tempted to read the 28th verse as though it rested upon something in us, even our love to God. All is, however, of His grace, and we are directed to Him as the source. Believers are called according to His purpose.

For the most part the Epistle to the Romans looks at man in responsibility to God, and presents His way of deliverance through Christ from the bondage of sin and of Satan; but at this point the Epistle takes up what was before the foundation of the world, before ever man was—the purpose of God. This is where the Epistle to the Ephesians begins; 2 Timothy 1:9 and Titus 1:2 may be profitably referred to, also.

It has been aptly said that the 8th chapter of Romans has three main divisions, the first presenting what God has done with me; the second, what God is in me; and the third, what God is for me. Said in another way, the chapter makes known not only that God has worked in me by the Holy Spirit, and thereby put me in relationship with Himself, but that the Spirit is with me in that position before Him; and, finally, what God is for me, in purpose unchanging, in power and love that will not rest until I am conformed to the image of His Son, glorified with Him. The third division of the chapter is now opening before us.

Verse 29: There was foreknowledge in Him; foreknowledge, you will note, of persons, and not, as some have said, merely of what some would be, or do, or believe; it is “whom He foreknew.” These He predestined, foreordained, to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn, the chief, among many brethren. This blessed purpose of God’s own will still awaits fulfillment. 1 John 3:1, 2, among many Scriptures, speaks of it and points to the time of its being fulfilled.

Verse 30: Having foreknown the objects of His grace, and predestined them to glory in connection with His Son, God has called them. He is calling them, we may surely say, for the work of the gospel is still going on in the world and sinners are being saved. The called ones are justified (see verse 33); indeed the present justification of all that believe is clearly set out, with the divine ground of it, in this Epistle, as witness the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th chapters. And whither do these blessed counsels of God lead the believer? Our verse tells it: “And whom He justified, them He also glorified.” The work is looked at from God’s side as already accomplished, that no link in the chain may appear to be missing, from the purpose formed in past eternity to the coming glorification of the redeemed ones in and for eternity to come. As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly One (1 Cor. 15:49).

Verses 31, 32: “What shall we then say to these things?” The language of inspiration is here for faith triumphantly to make its very own: “If God is for us, who shall be against us? He who spared not His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Yes, when He did that for us, there can be no limit to His kindness to us, both in this world, and forever in the glory we are to share.

Verses 33, 34: Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God that justifieth; who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, but rather was raised, Who is also at the right hand of God, Who also intercedeth for us. Christ who has borne the judgment which belonged to us, and has risen in triumph over all that was against us, is now in manhood in the place of power, and is there for us. The very fact of His ascension from the place to which our sins brought Him (in love to us), to the throne of God, is our assurance, our guaranty, of the full, blessed results of His cross. But we have more than His presence at God’s right hand; He is there concerning Himself with all that comes in our path, making, still, our cause His own. Thus does the Holy Spirit meet the questions: Who shall accuse? Who condemn?

Verse 35 brings the final inquiry: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” His love led Him through far more of trial than we shall ever know, and it has been asked, To which of our afflictions was He a stranger? Psalms 44, quoted in verse 36, and written of faithful ones of old, and for others to come, in the day when Israel’s race will be dealt with in a special way, speaks of sufferers even to death for God’s sake; such has been the portion of some Christians, and we have no promise that it may not be again, before the Lord comes.

But in all these things, we more than conquer through Him that loved us. These trials, these afflictions, are to be passed through victoriously; but also in them, and through them, in the purpose of God, the believer is to taste the preciousness of the love and faithfulness of Christ, and thus to realize better the heavenly portion that is ours through divine grace.

Still greater difficulties are brought out in the last two verses of the chapter, and not now so much the seen as the unseen. Nothing that might strike fear into the believer’s heart, or give rise to anxious thoughts concerning what may lie ahead, is omitted; and language is, exhausted in order that the fullest assurance might be given that there is no possibility of his separation from God’s love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We have seen Christ’s love presented in its infinite preciousness; at the close of the chapter it is the love of God who planned this wondrous grace for the unworthy, and has forgiven us, made us His children, that is the Holy Spirit’s theme. How blest are we who have been taken into favor! Once poor lost sinners, without a single merit of our own; now by believing the gospel of God’s grace, brought into the circle of blessing for eternity! What a story this epistle has told; and it is all yours, young Christian!

(To Be Continued, D. V.)

The Lord Is at Hand

Inquire, my soul, inquire,

What doth the watchman say?

To the one object of desire

Upon his way.

What doth the watchman say,

Whose cry the slumberer wakes?

“The night hath nearly passed away,

The morning breaks.”

“The night is coming, too—

A night of speechless woe,

But there shall be no night to you

Who Jesus know.”

Take up the watchman’s word,

Repeat the midnight cry:

Prepare to meet your coming

Lord; The time draws nigh.

Come, whosoever will

Ere God’s right hand He leaves:

He waits till He His bosom fill

With all His sheaves.

Make ready O my soul,

Make ready, brethren, dear;

Send up the heart’s burnt offering whole,

Your Lord is near.

Be found of Him in peace

Hush’d be the sounds of strife;

Come quickly! Bring us full release

O, Lord, our life.

The hours with eager flight

Pass on till Thou appear—

That moment of unknown delight

Will soon be here.

And in that blessed day

When we around Thee dwell,

It will be bliss to hear Thee say,

“They loved Me well.”

Submission

If the soul walks with God, it is not hard, but it is submissive; and there is no softer spirit, nor one which is more susceptible to every feeling than submission; but then it takes the will out of the affections without destroying them, and that is very precious. So was it with Christ. He felt everything; His tenderness was perfect, and yet how perfect His submissiveness!

The Unity of the Church of God: Part 3

Part 3

Not long after this we find Saul down at Jerusalem. When he gets there he tries to join himself to the disciples (Acts 9:26).

“And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the Name of Jesus. And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.”

They were under no obligations to receive him in Jerusalem on his own testimony. They could reject him and be justified in doing so. But dear old Barnabas, well known to them, takes Saul and brings him to the saints, and says, “Brethren, you don’t understand,” and then he told them how God had wondrously converted this man, and how he had been used of God in preaching the gospel around Damascus; then the brethren most happily received him. Paul, as he is now called, is getting some demonstrations of the practical working out of the unity of the Church of God.

In the next chapter we find a new epoch in the history of the Church. Up to this time we have had the Jews at Jerusalem, and the Samaritans who were a kind of hybrid Jew. These latter maintained the Jewish religion; they went by the Septuagint, the five books of Moses, and they were proud of it too. They were not Gentiles, but when we come to the next chapter, we find a man of the name of Cornelius living by the seaside in a town called Caesarea. God had been working in his soul. The Word of God calls him a “devout man”; he had not heard the gospel, but he longed to know more; and may I just make this remark in passing: there is never a hungering heart anywhere on the face of the earth—one who longs to know more of God—but what God is going to meet that soul. If there is any real soul hunger in your heart to know the truth of God, and to know more of the things of God, according to the mind of God, God knows the desire is there and He is going to see to it that it is met, and He will meet it abundantly. It matters not if it be a heathen Chinese on the continent of 500,000,000, if the heart yearns for the knowledge of the truth as to God and His claims, He will send someone there to meet it.

Here is a man; there is already a work begun in his soul, but he needs to know something yet. God tells him to send to Joppa and there he would find a man called Peter who would tell him what he wanted to know. Why did not God finish the work apart from any human instrument? Was He dependent upon Peter? Not at all. But this man was a Gentile, and up to this moment there was no Gentile in the Church of God; they had not come in thus far.

In the 16th of Matthew our Lord had given to Peter the administrative “keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Not one key; at least two, for it is, plural— “keys”; Perhaps he gave him three. He uses one in the second of the Acts when he points out to the Jews the way of salvation, and opens the door for them to come into the Church of God. In the 8th of the Acts Peter is one of those who laid his hands on the Samaritans, and they received the Holy Ghost. Now, he has use for the third key. He goes up to Caesarea, perhaps thirty miles from where he was staying at Joppa, and preaches the gospel there to Cornelius and those he had gathered into his house. When they hear the gospel from the lips of Peter, the whole company find themselves indwelt by the Spirit of God, and Peter, in response to that act, immediately orders them to be baptized, and they, too, are received into the fellowship of the body of Christ.

Now see what we have! We have Jews, Samaritans, Gentiles, all united in that body, and how careful the Spirit of God has been that it shall all be done in a consistent manner. If the Jews tried to raise objection to the Gentiles coming in, God had already seen to that. He knew that objection would arise, and when Peter is challenged as he returns to Jerusalem, as to having admitted the Gentiles into all the privileges of the house of God, he replies with dignity and fearlessness,

“This thing is of God, and beware, lest ye be found fighting against God. What could we do? God had received them; we must receive them.”

Peter’s testimony is accepted. Now the questions are all nicely adjusted, and you have the Church formed of Jews and Gentiles going on in unity here below! How wonderful! how blessed that is!

After we have the unity established, now the practical responsibility lies at the door of the saints to maintain that unity. It wasn’t left as a haphazard kind of affair—not just a free-for-all. There is divine order in maintaining that unity.

If you look at Acts 18:24, 28, there is another object lesson:

“And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the Spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Acquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: for he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ.”

There is a practical object lesson in maintaining the unity of the Spirit.

Here is a man mighty in the Scriptures; he is an eloquent, gifted man, but he couldn’t walk into a company of saints unknown, unannounced and just begin to minister on his own recommendation. He may be a great man, and he may be able to go to Achaia and tell those simple ones a lot of things, but before he goes he finds it necessary and orderly that he carry with him a commendation from the brethren where he was at Ephesus.

Why does the Spirit of God put these things in the Word? That we, upon whom the end of the ages are come, might learn from the Word what is the mind of God as to these practical questions. There is nothing too small for God to take note of that has to do with the welfare of the Church of God. It is very dear to His heart. As we learn more of the Church of God, its preciousness to Christ, we are learning that which will put us in tune with the mind of God.

Take another example in the 16th of Romans—a woman going from Cenchrea to Rome. It is a long journey so the apostle writes a letter for her:

“I commend unto you Phebe, our sister, which is a servant of the Church which is at Cenchrea: that ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succorer of many, and of myself also.”

She came from Cenchrea, going to Rome: the saints do not know her, so she goes in possession of a letter signed by the apostle and other brethren giving witness to her faithfulness, and her services in the Church of God. So as she came in among the saints at Rome, she not only came in, introduced as one entitled to fellowship among them, but as one valuable in the Church of God—helpful—a succorer of many, etc. That shows, does it not, how anxious the Spirit of God was that that unity He established should be thus maintained? So the need for letters of commendation.

“Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?” 2 Corinthians 3:1.

That shows, does it not, that it was the custom at that time for believers passing from one assembly to another, to carry with them letters of commendation?

(To Be Continued)

Fragment: Fruit for the Father

“Fruit for the Father is really the reproduction of Christ, in a practical way, in the Christian; and that reproduction is brought about by the sense in our souls that without Him we can do nothing. The Father is the judge of what is fruit for Him, and whatever to Him, in us speaks of Christ, is fruit.”

Be Ye Kind

O! dear friends, let us learn, through grace to be kind, for I think if there is anything we are deficient in it is just in that—kindness. I fear there is a solemn lack of it among Christians, a sorrowful want as to it somewhere. Indeed, some people seem to me to think that there is some sort of merit attached to being kind—where it is, I cannot understand. It requires no great effort or self-denial to be a stick or a stone. I doubt not it is more or less according to our nature: but, O to be like Jesus Christ! O to have the compassions and the tenderness of Himself in our souls, and to have been so touched by it ourselves, to have come so in contact with it ourselves, in our own histories, that we understand what it is to deal with others in the same way that we ourselves have been dealt with by Him. Let us ponder these words,

“He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” Luke 6:35.

“Be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32.

Correspondence: 2PE 1:10; 1PE 4:8; JAM 5:20; MATT 11; Punishment of the Heathen

Question: Will you please explain “make your calling and election sure.” (2 Peter 1:10).

Answer: If we follow on after God, adding to our faith as in verses 5-7, we shall make our election of God certain to all (who have to judge us by our fruits), and as to ourselves, shall avoid stumbling and straying.

Question: What is meant by “covering a multitude of sins?” (1 Peter 4:8; James 5:20).

Answer: These are very precious passages; somewhat, though not altogether, similar to the truth in John 13. They are quotations from Proverbs 10:12. As to their meanings we cannot do better than condense the valuable remarks on the subject made by another,

“Love in the Church suppresses the sins which would otherwise destroy union. They are put away by the love which they could not vanquish. This is not as to ultimate pardon, but the present notice God takes in government. If there is variance, if there is little love, if the intercourse is bad, the existing evil and the mutual wrongs, subsist before God; but if there is love which neither commits nor resents these things, but pardons them, it is then the love that God sees, and not the evil.”

In the case of positive evil, it is love that leads us to wash another’s feet, and so the evil is removed and the sin covered.

Question: What is Christ’s yoke? (Matt. 11). Do we get it from Christ or go under it with Him?

Answer: The yoke is entire submission to God’s will, which Christ had manifested so perfectly in this very chapter. Christ asks us to take it; so that it is His as given to us, but also His as having borne it. When we bear it, we have the consciousness that we are walking with Him in His path.

Question: Please explain clearly about the punishment of the heathen (Hindus, Brahmins, etc.) who have never heard the gospel?

Answer: We quote as follows from a well-known work,

“The Gentiles will be judged according to the light of nature and of conscience, neglected and resisted. Paul’s sermon in Athens is no less clear as regards the condition of the heathen. As he said at Lystra (Acts 14:8-18) they were not left without a witness, in that God did good and gave rain and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts with food and gladness. By such things he declares again in another place (Rom. 1:20), God’s eternal power and Godhead are clearly seen, so that they are without excuse, and so here (Acts 17:22-31). God left the heathen to themselves, not that they should forget Him, but that they should seek Him, even though it were in utter darkness, so that they should need to grope for Him, ‘to feel after Him and find Him,’ and though there was ignorance of God, He could wink at the ignorance, and give blessing notwithstanding, for ‘He is a rewarder of diligent seekers.’

If it be asked, whether any have, in fact, been saved thus, I turn from the question, though I have no doubt as to the answer.” (See Acts 10:34, 35).

With Joy Received Him

At the close of a gospel service, the preacher asked such as knew the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, to speak to those near them about their souls!

O! how I longed that evening to tell others how much the Lord had done for me, but more courage seemed needed than I could muster, and the company began to disperse. Left almost alone in the great building, very much depressed at my faint-heartedness, I sauntered to the door, purposing to seek grace to be a more faithful servant in the future.

A woman with a little girl stood in the door, but I was so occupied with myself that I had almost passed them, when I felt constrained by one word— “now.” This word in a moment so filled my mind, that I turned to the woman, and asked if it were well with her soul.

She burst into tears, and in her distress said that she dared not leave the place without having the question of her soul’s welfare settled, and that she was lingering in hope of someone speaking with her. Reentering the hall, we sat down, and on hearing again the glad tidings of the Savior’s finished work, the woman with joy received Him, and went away praising God.

This poor woman was a seeker. She knew her need of a Savior; she knew what it was to be lost; she knew something of the reality of eternity, and so she realized the truth of that passage in Proverbs 8:17.

“Those that seek Me early shall find Me,” and, to her joy, she learned that the blessed Son of Man came into this world “to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10.

Let me ask any reader, who is still undecided, to go back to the time when first the strivings of the Holy Ghost with him were known. How long ago is it? And are you yet unsaved? How often since that first awakening has the tender, pleading voice of Jesus been heard at the door of your heart? Yet, again and again, you have answered,

“Not yet—not yet—a little more delay, a little more pleasure.”

But what shall it be when this little more time is spent? What then, when this life is gone by? The rich man said to himself, “Soul, take thine ease,” and God’s words to him were, “Thou fool,” and he died, and was lost.

For a few moments, calmly and soberly look the matter of eternity fairly in the face. What are you doing? Resisting the Holy Ghost. Terribly solemn is the position in which you, who once were near the kingdom, stand at this moment. Sins and iniquities are piled up like a great mountain, and the wrath of God is abiding on you (John 3:36), yes, abiding on you—and yet—O! miracle of grace!—within your reach, as it were, are shelter, peace and rest.

O, come to Jesus now—just as you read these lines—tell Him all you know yourself to be, a guilty wretch, deserving nothing but an endless hell, a sinner without strength, and with no merit and no hope but in Him, and just cast yourself, in all your helplessness, upon Him, and here is His blessed word,

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

"I" in the Midst

To the thoughtful Chinese, many of our customs are strange and grotesque, for example—Imagine any civilized being attacking his food with a great knife, having a blade four or five inches long, then spearing it on a three or four-pronged spear, and sticking this savage looking weapon right into his mouth How much more peaceful and harmless, are two prettily carved ivory chopsticks, and even if they should be only bone or bamboo, they have none of the offensive qualities of our knives, and forks.

But of all our strange customs, perhaps none calls forth more contempt and disgust than our extraordinary habit of always writing about ourselves with a capital “I”. We are perfectly satisfied to address you, our readers, with a small “y” in the “you,” but I must be written with a capital. Now our Chinese neighbors, even our heathen neighbors, would not do a thing like this. When they must write of themselves, the character is written smaller—not larger—than the rest of the letter.

I have wondered if we Christians might not do well to stop and consider whether their views of the matter may not have some justification. The Word says,

“He that speaketh of himself, seeketh his own glory.”

But to speak of oneself with a capital “I” does seem to be even worse. I am afraid that our Chinese neighbors believe that it is a clear demonstration of the pride which marks us nearly all. Pride of race, pride of education, pride of birth, pride of color, pride of religion, pride of sanctity. Pride of anything.

“I am rich, or wise, or holy,

Thus and thus am I!”

I am a little inclined to fear that we English-speaking people are the proudest of all people, though we excuse ourselves by frankly stating that we have the most to be proud of. I wonder if the truth of the matter is not that we have the most to be ashamed of—to have had so much committed to us, and to have failed so miserably.

Have you ever noticed the middle letter of the English word PRIDE? I have wondered whether it is altogether an accident that right in the heart of pride, I find I, myself. May it not be that the Lord is seeking in that very word to say to us English-speaking people; Beware, there is that I putting itself in the midst again. We call it “Self-centered,” and look on it as a slight failing—but may it not be one of those things which are “an abomination” unto the Lord? (Prov. 6:16, 17.)

A good many years ago a friend remarked, “The Word says, ‘Only by Pride Cometh Contention.’ It does not say ‘Sometimes by pride; or, Usually by pride cometh Contention’, No, the Word is clear, ‘Only by Pride Cometh Contention’,” and do not our contentions, and quarrels, and strife, and divisions, cry against us with a mighty voice as to our pride?

How often our thoughts, our words, our deeds, center round ourselves: I is the center of most of them: how often we boast, though we grow weary of hearing others boast. And yet, strange as it may seem, the Bible does give us liberty to boast, and even tells us that the humble (the ones who hate boasting most of all) shall hear, and be glad. But our boast in that case is not about I, but, “My soul shall make her boast in the Lord” (Psa. 34:2), and turning to the New Testament we find that of which we may glory to all eternity:

“God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Galatians 6:14. Look at that cross for one moment:

“They crucified Him, and two other with Him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst” John 19:18.

True they were thieves on either side, but, O, beloved friends, if our eyes are filled with that sight, Jesus in the midst, even at the Cross, then pride, with I in the midst, will just wither up, and the sins and failings of those about, will not fill our eyes. And though, to all eternity, we will never weary of glorying in that Cross, we may turn our eyes upward from the Cross to the Throne, and there “in the midst of the throne, and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain” (Rev. 5:6). Yes, whether at the Cross, or in the glory, the Lamb is in the midst. That is His rightful place, and how gladly by word of mouth do we accord it to Him! May we with equal gladness by walk and ways see to it that He, not I, is in the midst!

And, praise be to His Name, we need not wait till the glory to have Him in our midst. Even now, down here, He deigns to honor with His presence, the two or three who are gathered together in His Name. “There” the Lord says, “am I in the midst of them.” We would often substitute a man whom we can see, a doctrine, a creed, even the blessed Bible itself, anything rather than give the Lord Jesus Christ, His rightful place in the midst.

And we see Him again, in His bright glory in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, in Revelation 1:13. We see that glorious One, with eyes as of a flame of fire, “who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks,” and judges what is pleasing to Himself, and what He hates. O, may we heed Him more in this character and more earnestly crave His approval, seeking with all our hearts to keep His Word, and not deny His Name.

In all things He must have the preeminence. Let us each one see to it, that in every aspect of our lives it is “Not I, but Christ.”

The Love of Christ

The pattern characteristic of Christ’s love was service. “I am among you as one that serves.” Selfishness likes to be served, love likes to serve; that is one characteristic of Christ’s love.

Another is, that it is a companionable love. How free the Lord was going in and out among them, sympathizing with them, when they had no sympathy with Him!

Another, that it was above all the evil that it met with. We have not to go with the evil, but rise above it with patience, as Christ did, because our love, as His, has its spring from a source which is not dependent upon the thing that it loves, and which is above all the things that hinder. It goes on and abides, because its spring is in God.

Another characteristic of Christ’s love is that it is thoughtful and considerate of us, and consequently adapts itself in the way of love to my condition, because it is entirely above it.

Another, that it esteems others better than self. Christ could go and take up these poor wretched disciples as those who had been faithful to Him, and say, I will give you a share in My kingdom. He picks up every heart by the good He can say of it, lays it open to receive rebuke.

Another, is the anxiety of love. In this world, where evil is, we cannot have love without anxiety. The heart yearning in love is drawn out in anxiety; an anxiety that looks to the Lord, and finds an answer there.

The measure and extent of the love of Christ was the total giving up of Himself to die for us. If I want to have a love that will do for a world of evil, it is the giving up of self for everybody, a love that is above the evil.

“Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.” John 13:1.

Extract: Only One Word to Say

I have only one precious word to say to you: keep close to Jesus, you know you will find there joy, strength, and that consciousness of His love which sustains everywhere, and makes everything else become nothing; there is our happiness and our life.

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 9:1-16

Chapter 9:1-16

The eighth chapter marked the close of the doctrinal part of the Epistle, and the Holy Spirit in chapters 9, 10 and 11 gives attention to the past, the present and the future of the Jews. On what footing, or ground, did the sons of Jacob stand before God after Sinai? Has He cast them away forever? Or will they again be His people as a nation, as once they were? These and other questions are answered in the section of the Epistle upon which we now enter.

The Acts, from the beginning of Paul’s preaching (chapter 9:20-30) abounds in evidence of the bitter opposition of the Jews who rejected God’s offer of salvation through Christ for themselves, and would not hear of His favor going out to the Gentiles equally with themselves. Regarding the apostle as an enemy of his nation, they once and again planned to kill him, and repeatedly stirred up persecution against Paul and his fellow laborers in the gospel. Rightly, then, this part of the Epistle, which deals with the Jews, is introduced with an expression of the apostle’s true attitude toward his race.

Verses 1-3. What he says is truth in Christ, not a lie; his conscience bearing witness with him in the Holy Spirit, that he has great grief and continual pain in his heart on account of his brethren, his kinsmen, according to flesh. Paul had even wished (for it is believed that the correct reading of the third verse is “For I have wished, etc.”) to be a curse from Christ for the Jews; in this he was like Moses in Exodus 32:32. What love this was, for kinsmen so unresponsive, so unworthy; yet altogether beneath the measure of the love of Him who endured the cross for His enemies (Rom. 5:7-10)!

In the fourth verse seven privileges, divinely given to Jacob’s children, are named in an order for the most part historical, that is evidently of God.

The first of them goes back to their beginning; they are Israelites—the offspring of the patriarch whose name was changed to Israel, meaning “Prince of God” (Gen. 32:28).

Secondly, theirs is the adoption, as it is said in Exodus 4:22, 23, “Israel is My son, My firstborn”; this was the word Moses was to deliver to the ruler of Egypt who held the Israelites in cruel bondage.

Thirdly, theirs is the glory; to them God made manifestations of His glory constantly during their forty years’ journey from Egypt to Canaan (Ex. 40:34-38, Num. 9:15-23, and other passages referring to particular occasions); afterward the glory was displayed at the dedication of Solomon’s temple (2 Chron. 5:13, 14, and 7:1-3): later in the Old Testament it was seen only in visions of the prophets (Isa. 6; Ezek. 1; 8:4; 9:3, 10; 11:22, 23; 43:2, 5, and 44:4; the last two passages referring to the temple to be built at Jerusalem in the Millennium).

Fourth in the list is “the covenants”; these were made with Abraham (Gen. 15:18-21 and 17:10-14), and confirmed to Isaac and Jacob (Ex. 2:24; Lev. 26:42); with the nation at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19 to 24); and with David (2 Sam. 7:8-16, and 23:5; Psa. 89:3; Jer. 33:20-22). The new covenant to be made with Israel in the coming day (Jer. 31:31-34) completes the list.

The giving of the law, and the service, were God’s wise provision for His earthly people. No other nation has ever been able to boast of a code of laws and a system of religious observance which, down to the smallest detail, were given to them by God. “The promises” speak of His faithfulness, as well as His grace. Open your Bible at Genesis 12 and read the promise to Abraham at the beginning of the chapter. Turn to the 22nd chapter, and read verses 15 to 18. Pass on to 2 Samuel 7, and consider the promise therein made to David concerning his throne. These are but three of many precious unconditional promises made by God concerning Israel; every one of them will be carried out in the coming day of that nation’s rebirth.

Verse 5: “Whose are the fathers,” —the men of faith who in Israel’s early history believed God and walked, as the habitual rule of their lives, before Him: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David and others. “And of whom, as according to flesh is the Christ, who is over all God, [or, is God over all] blessed forever.” (N.T.). Father, Son and Holy Ghost, all three Persons are God, one God; so the Scriptures unvaryingly declare, while pointing to the Son’s having become man, and of Israel’s race, through birth of the virgin Mary. Nor did He, in becoming man, partake of man’s sinful nature, or cease to be God.

Verses 6, 7. It is not that the word of God concerning Israel has failed. It might have been said that the Jews owe their present state to the rejection of Jesus as their Messiah, but though this is implied, the direct statement of it is not made, while with gracious forbearance the objections of the Jews are inquired into. Did they claim that all of Israel should be blessed? Not all are Israel which are of Israel, nor because they are seed of Abraham are all children, for Abraham had Ishmael as well as Isaac, and no Jew would admit that the Ishmaelites (Arabs) were within the enclosure of the favored people. The word indeed was, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called” (Gen. 21:12).

Verses 8, 9. Then the favor of God was connected with His promise, not with natural birth; it was God’s sovereignty, to do as He pleased.

Verses 10-13. But it might be said, Ishmael was the child of a bondwoman, a slave; while Isaac was Sarah’s (the wife’s) son.

The twin births of Jacob and Esau are therefore cited, and God’s purpose according to His own sovereignty appears more plainly in the word to Rebecca which is next quoted, “The elder shall serve the younger” (Gen. 25:23)—uttered before the children were born. Thus is it shown to be not of works, but of Him that calls. Concluding the reference to Rebecca’s twins, a passage in the last book of the Old Testament (Mal. 1:2-5) is named. There, nearly fourteen centuries after Jacob and Esau had died, God reviews their lives, the one, though with much of the strength of nature about him, that had to be broken down, keeping God before him; and the other, looking not to God at all, a man of the flesh was Esau. “Jacob have I loved.” God could then say, “but Esau have I hated.” Long before this Esau, or Edom, the nation which sprang from Jacob’s brother, had taken their stand in unrelenting hatred of Israel.

Verses 14-16. What then is to be concluded? Is there unrighteousness with God? Far be it. He is sovereign, and will have mercy on whom He chooses, and will have compassion on whom He will. Never does the Word of God say or even imply, what men have said of Him, that He predestinates any man for the lake of fire, for eternal judgment. The words quoted in the fifteenth verse, are taken from Exodus 34:19, uttered after the people had turned (after witnessing God’s power and love for them in delivering them out of Egypt) from Him to idolatry, to worshiping a golden calf. He might well have consumed them all, but in grace, falling back upon His own sovereignty, He declares, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.” So then, as verse 16 concludes, it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy.

(To Be Continued, D.V.)

Grace

“The grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared.” Titus 2:11.

Grace in this distinctive way did not come till Christ came. The law was given (John 1:17), but grace, when it came in, was not given, but came, subsisting in the Blessed Person who was there; not simply a message of grace from God, but all His words, all His actions were grace, so that the vilest could come to Him, if they had confidence to do so.

The poor woman who was a sinner came to Simon’s house. Simon scarcely thought the Lord a prophet, but she came and bathed His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head (Luke 7:36-50).

He came to win the confidence of these poor creatures; God Himself, and perfect grace manifested in Him.

Some people say, “I am not afraid of the Savior, but I am afraid to meet God.”

The reason is that they have never beheld the Divine glory of that Blessed Person who was God, the image of the invisible God.

How do I know what God is like?

By looking at Jesus in all His actions, all His ways.

I was asked to visit a woman whose husband had lately been converted. She had seen the change in him, but was herself afraid of God. She said she was afraid of meeting God, she did not know what He was like. I read with her Luke 7. We went over every detail of that beautiful picture, and at last I said,

“That is God.” With tears running down her cheeks she said,

“If that is God I cannot help trusting Him.”

The Lord came to win the confidence of sinners. God is often presented as at an awful distance, and His Son as coming to reconcile Him to us; but it is an immense thing when we come to see that the invisible God is there! The One we shall know in eternity is the One we have known in time.

“He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.” John 14:9.

Extract: Under the Protection of Unbelievers

How far the child of God may go astray when he puts himself under the protection of unbelievers, instead of relying on the help of God in all the difficulties which beset the path of faith!

Satan gets entrance for his full power in the soul, the moment there is a shade of distrust in God.

The Unity of the Church of God: Part 4

Part 4

That raises a point on the negative side of this question. Suppose one is not entitled to a letter of commendation. Such a case comes before us at Corinth. The Corinthians were exhorted to put away from among them “that wicked person.”

About ten miles away at the seaside was a little port town called Cenchrea (where Phebe lived about which we have just been speaking). In obedience to the apostle’s exhortation in the 5th chapter of 1 Corinthians, they had put away a man living in sin; they had cleared themselves by putting him out. Suppose he had taken a stroll of ten miles down to Cenchrea. He might say, “Well, they put me out here, I think I will go down to Cenchrea; there is a church there,” and so he goes down and breaks bread there. That shows the necessity of these letters. What a breach of the unity of the Spirit such a thing would have been. The folly and inconsistency of it is apparent on the face of it. Such cannot be of God.

“Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit.” This unity is not a unity man-formed; it is the unity of the Spirit. The Spirit of God has a unity down here. What are its limits? Most of us here have heard it said that the unity of the Spirit is that oneness into which the Spirit of God leads us according to the truth of God. I believe, brethren, that that is right. The Spirit has a unity, but it is limited by the truth of God.

In the 2nd of the Acts, you read that the disciples in the beginning “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

What was the apostles’ fellowship? It was that which was established on the ground of the truth of the apostles’ doctrine. That was the fellowship owned at Jerusalem, based upon the truth of the Word of God; and the only fellowship that can have the sanction of the Spirit of God is the fellowship according to the Word of God.

We have been speaking at length of this unity of the Church as established by God, but the Spirit of God anticipated the fact that that unity would be broken.

If I had come to Chicago today after nineteen hundred years of the Church’s, history on earth, and found all believers going on happily together, all meeting together, all of one mind, we could just take this book and say to the man preaching from it, your book isn’t true; I can’t trust that book. Why can’t you? Because that book says that this testimony would go all to pieces, and that this unity would be broken, and that men were going to arise speaking perverse things, and draw away disciples after them; that there would be evil men, trouble makers, defilers and antichrists who would work havoc in the outward unity of that Church here on earth, but here you are going on after nineteen hundred years.

No! the enemy got in his work; it has come to pass as was prophesied over and over again. Paul lived to see it. Before he was beheaded, he bowed his head in sorrow and wrote, “All they which are in Asia be turned away from me.” He lived to see the unity broken. It grieved his heart that the saints were not going on in that unity established by the Spirit of God.

Now the question arises, does the fact that men were to arise and draw away disciples after them, does that negative the fact that the unity still exists—render the unity powerless—non-existent? Has that unity completely disappeared? Is there no unity left that we can keep?

When we read the 4th of Ephesians, it still reads as it read the day Paul penned it, “There is one body,” and it also reads as it read then, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bonds of peace.”

The obligation and privilege lies before you and me today, just as real and precious as it did when those words were penned, that we too may recognize that there is one body, and it is our privilege and our obligation to endeavor to keep that unity.

That necessarily is going to mean separation. Separation is a word people do not like, but God’s Word all down through the dealings of God with man has insisted upon it; it is not peculiar to Christianity; to be in the mind of God has always involved a path of separation. Back in the days of Jeremiah, 15th chapter, 16th verse, we read:

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart; for I am called by Thy name, O LORD GOD of hosts.”

Note this for a moment; here is a soul in communion with God. “Thy words were found and I did eat them.” Feeding upon the Word of God; it is sweet to him; the name of God is precious to his soul. He is rejoicing in the fact that that name had been placed upon him.

That state of soul is followed further on in the chapter by a path of action; 19th verse:

“Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before Me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth; let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.”

That man, feeding upon the Word of God, and going on in communion with God, receives the power of discernment in divine things; and beloved, to discern the path of godly separation, is dependent upon state of soul. That is exemplified beautifully in this case of Jeremiah.

“Then shalt thou stand before Me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth.”

(To Be Continued)

The Truth

It is deeply interesting, and most profitable, to mark the varied lines of truth laid down in the Word of God, and to note how all these lines stand inseparably linked with the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the divine center of all truth; and it is as we keep the eye of faith steadily fixed on Him, that each truth will find its right place in our souls, and exert its due influence and formative power over our course and character.

There is in all of us, alas! a tendency to be one-sided—to take up some one particular truth and press it to such a degree as to interfere with the healthy action of some other truth. This is a serious mistake, and tends to damage the cause of truth, and hinder the growth of souls. It is by the truth, not some truth, we grow; by the truth we are sanctified. But if we only take a part of the truth—if our character is molded, and our way shaped by some particular truth, there can be no real growth—no true sanctification.

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby.” 1 Peter 2:2.

“Sanctify them through Thy truth! Thy Word is truth.” John 17:17.

It is by the whole truth of God, as contained in the Scriptures, that the Holy Ghost forms, and fashions, and leads on the Church collectively, and each individual believer; and we may rest assured that where some special truth is unduly pressed, or some other truth practically ignored, there must be, as a result, a defective character, and an inadequate testimony.

Make Christ Known

“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15.

O, that in the last remnant of time, before we hear the shout of our descending Lord, we might come back with holiness of heart to the simplicity of our mission! Let us leave the government of the world till the King comes; and let us give our time, our strength, our money, our days to make Christ known “to every creature.”

Correspondence: GEN 4:12, 5:16; Judge/Adversary; 2CO 13:5; Church in Tabernacle

Question: Does not the marginal reading of Genesis 4:13 suggest the idea that Cain was really sorry for his sin? and yet in 5:16 we read that he “went out from the presence of the Lord.”

Answer: Whatever inference we might draw from Cain’s apparent sorrow when he hears of his punishment, it is evident that the sorrow soon passed away, for only in a few verses lower we find him building his city, and making himself thoroughly comfortable away from God.

Question: Who are the “judge” and the “adversary” spoken of in Luke 12:58, 59?

Answer: God was then pleading with His people by His Son; but if they refused to hear Him, He would judge them. Hence He is both judge and adversary.

Question: Are we to understand from John 17:12 that Judas was to be lost from the beginning?

Answer: We are to understand that he never was saved, but not that he was lost for the purpose of fulfilling Scripture. “That the Scripture might be fulfilled,” should be read in parenthesis.

Question: How can we examine and prove ourselves whether we be in the faith? (2 Cor. 13:5) If we believe in Christ, is there any doubt of it?

Answer: Verse 4 is a parenthesis, and the reason they were to examine themselves is given in the first part of verse 3. There was no doubt at all as to their being in the faith, but inasmuch as they were the seals of the apostle’s ministry, their being in the faith would be a proof that God had spoken to them by him. He who knows himself to be saved, does not doubt that the message that reached his soul was of God.

Question: What will God use the New Earth for?

Answer: It will be the habitat of all who are living on the earth at the close of the 9th verse of Revelation 20. All distinction between Jew and Gentile ceases with the introduction of the new earth. “The tabernacle of God is with men,” not Jews or Gentiles.

Question: Will the Church dwell on the New Earth?

Answer: No. The Church is always a heavenly company (Heb. 3:1; Phil. 3:14; 1 Peter 5:19).

Question: Will the Church be included in “The tabernacle of God is with men?”

Answer: In my judgment, Yes, though I do not say that the meager reference in Revelation 21:3 definitely settles the point.

Question: Does God, in the Old Testament, mean “Father” or “Son”?

Answer: God, in the Old Testament, means neither Father nor Son specially, but the triune God. There is abundant evidence, however, that “LORD,” or “Jehovah,” means the One whom we know as Christ the Son.

Sow Thy Seed

Having some time to spend at the waiting room where I was taking a car, I gave out some tracts to the people around. I had just sat down when a fresh lot of people came in. So I got up to give out more tracts. My attention was drawn to one poor man whose face and hands were terribly disfigured. He wore large dark glasses. I hardly liked to go up to him for fear he would think it was curiosity on my part. Lifting my heart to God, Who always gives wisdom in time of need, I went forward to him, and holding out a tract, said,

“Will you take this?” At once a glad smile passed over his disfigured face, as he held out what was left of his poor hand, and said,

“That I will, I have so often wished to see you again.”

“Indeed,” I said, “but I don’t remember having met you before.”

“No. I expect not” he said. “When you last saw me, my face, and indeed my whole body was covered with bandages. But you will remember coming to the Emergency Hospital at the time of the great explosion; then it was I saw you, and being afraid I could not recover, and dreading to die, I believed what you told me about the Savior, and I trusted Him, and He did save me. I got well again after many months, and now I am so glad to see you, and to tell you what the Lord has done for me.”

I asked how he was provided for, seeing he was not fit for work. He told me that the house he worked for gave him enough to keep him from want, and that they had promised to give him this as long as he lived, and that if he was ever able to do anything, they would find something for him, so that he could add a little to his income.

“Now that I am converted I do not need much. I neither drink nor smoke. My friends ask me how I can be so happy when I have so little, and am so terribly disfigured. Then I tell them of the Lord Jesus Christ
Who was marred more than any man, and ‘Who loved me, and gave Himself for me’ (Gal. 2:20). Praise His Name.”

Such a glad surprise encourages the worker and confirms the Savior’s worldwide invitation:

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

“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.” Ecclesiastes 11:6.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, 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 Corinthians 15:58.

Practical Effect of Expecting the Lord

How often worldliness unjudged in a Christian’s heart betrays itself by want of relish for God’s unfolding of what He is going to do! How can I enjoy the coming of the Lord if it is to throw down much that I am seeking to build up in the world? A man, for instance, may be trying to gain or keep a status by his ability, and hoping that his sons may outstrip himself by the superior advantages they enjoy. On some such idea is founded all human greatness; it is “the world,” in fact.

Christ’s, coming again is a truth which demolishes the whole fabric; because, if we really look for His coming as that which may be from day to day if we realize that we are set like servants at the door with the handle in hand, waiting for Him to knock (we know not how soon), and desiring to open to Him immediately (“Blessed are those servants!”)—if such is our attitude, how can we have time or heart for that which occupies the busy Christ-forgetting world? Moreover, we are not of the world, even as Christ is not; and as for means and agents to carry on its plans, the world will never be in lack of men to do its work. But we have a higher business, and it is beneath us to seek the honors of the world that rejects, our Lord.

Let our outward position be ever so menial or trying, what so glorious as in it to serve our Lord Christ? And He is coming.

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 9:17-33

Chapter 9, verses 17-33

The haughty ruler of Egypt had said to Moses and Aaron when they made known to him God’s claim to the children of Israel,

“Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.” Exodus 5:2.

After he had seen Aaron’s rod become a living serpent, Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn; then followed five inflictions from God, and after each, though for a moment softened, he hardened his heart against God. On the first occasion, chapter 7:13, the common translation would indicate that another (“he”) hardened Pharaoh’s heart; but it has long been known that the correct reading is “Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn.” At length (chapter 9:12) the time for patience was past; the Lord hardened the wicked king’s heart, and in the message Moses was then told to deliver were the words quoted in our 17th verse. Five more plagues fell on Egypt, but Pharaoh never repented, though Israel was redeemed, delivered out of his power, out of his land.

Who would deny to God that He may, if He chooses, harden those who refuse to heed His Word? We sometimes speak of the “gospel-hardened” —some who have often heard the message of God’s salvation, and seem to be unmoved by it. Are they, perhaps, like Pharaoh of old, fully determined that they will not listen to the call of God, and are they now subjected to a hardening of the heart which proceeds from Himself? Let him who has not put his trust in Jesus make haste to do so, for mercy is for those who will receive it. Solemn is the verse,

“Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.” Acts 13:41.

Verses 19, 20: Man cannot escape responsibility for his sins by pleading the sovereignty of God.

“Shall the thing formed say to him that has formed it, Why has thou made me thus?”

We have seen in the first three chapters of this Epistle God’s arraignment of mankind, culminating in verses 19 and 20 of the third chapter, with every mouth closed and all the world subject to His judgment. Only unbelief would say, Why doth He yet find fault? The potter has the right to do what he will with the clay, out of the same lump to make a vessel to honor and one to dishonor (verse 21). The Creator has the fullest right over His creatures. You often find people talking about their rights, and they will contend for them; but God’s rights are but little discussed, though they are far beyond and above any rights we may have. God may, and without doubt He does, assign to everyone such a station in life as it pleases Him to give, but He is never the author of evil, and none are predestined for hell.

The next verses, the 22nd and following, throw a flood of light on this subject of God’s rights, and in what way He exercises them. Minded to show His wrath, and to make His power known—and these two subjects were introduced in the beginning of the Epistle, chapter 1, verses 16-18—He has endured with much longsuffering, vessels of wrath fitted, or made fully ready, for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy which He had before prepared for glory. Here we have again, those two classes that we have before noticed in the Word of God—unbelievers, and believers. There is no third class; you are either in the one or in the other. “Vessels of wrath”, or “vessels of mercy”; this is very solemn, or very precious, depending upon the class you are in.

If you have put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are a vessel of mercy. Think of His patience, His “much longsuffering”, with the vessels of wrath, who are fitting themselves for destruction, or loss, the loss of all that God freely gives to all who come to Him through Christ. (“Destruction” in the Scriptures never means annihilation; here it means loss; eternal loss; every human soul will exist eternally.)

Forbearance, longsuffering, with the vessels of wrath until a decreed day of judgment; what of the vessels of mercy? For them the riches of His glory. God delights to give. These “vessels” have done nothing to earn God’s love. They have opened their hearts to receive Christ, confessing themselves to be lost, undone; and all the riches of the glory of God are theirs now and eternally. The same expression, “the riches of His glory”, you will find in Ephesians 3:16; Philippians 4:19, and Colossians 1:27; and in Ephesians 1:7 and 2:7 it is “the riches of His grace.”

While we are on the subject of God’s riches for poor sinners who come to Him, let us look at Romans 2:4: “the riches of His goodness, and forbearance, and longsuffering;” at Ephesians 2:4, “rich in mercy” Romans 10:12, “rich toward all that call upon Him”; and Romans 11:33, “O depth of riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.”

May He give to you and to me to know and enjoy these riches now; depend upon it, that if earthly riches fill our hearts with desire after them, God’s riches will have little attraction; and if His riches engage the believer’s heart, what this world has to offer will not draw away his affections.

Now these vessels of mercy, of which you are one, dear young Christian, were before prepared for glory by God Himself. Little did you know, when you came to Christ, confessing yourself a sinner, that God had you in mind long before. So little a share in your salvation had you, that you had only to believe His word; perhaps you hardly realized that the Spirit of God had been speaking to you, calling you to receive of the free grace of God. You believed, and confessed Christ as your Savior; you were saved. Yes, the work of salvation is all of God, and both the ancient people, the Jews, and the Gentiles are being saved on the one common ground of grace, God’s free favor, offered to all.

Verse 25. Had God said anything to the Jews in Old Testament times about showing favor to the Gentiles? He had; undeniably their Scriptures spoke of blessing for the nations, though the proud sons of Israel, blind as to their own evil state, would have shut them out of God’s favor forever (Luke 4:25-29; Acts 13:45; 22:21-23, etc.) The prophecy of Hosea, first of the so-called Minor Prophets, chapter 2:23, is the first reference given, and this is immediately followed by chapter 1, verse 10 (latter part). A Jew might say of these passages, They refer only to Israel; but the Holy Spirit being the author of both Hosea’s prophecy and the Epistle to the Romans, we are assured that a Gentile reception of the favor of God was reflected in the Old Testament passage. Other passages in the Old Testament prophecies speak of blessing for the nations as well as for Israel (for example, Joel 2:28-32; Zech. 2:11; Isa. 65:1).

In verse 27 a passage in Isaiah 10:22 is quoted, followed by one in the same book, chapter 1:9, both showing that in the face of Israel’s utter failure as God’s earthly people, deserving only judgment to the full, He will save and bless a remnant of them. Thus is God’s sovereignty again shown, working for the eternal good of man, whether Jew or Gentile.

Verses 30-33. In view of all this that has been set before us in the chapter, what shall we say? It is very plain that Gentiles who followed not after righteousness, have obtained righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; while Israel, following after a law of righteousness, attained not unto a law of righteousness. And why did Israel fail? Because they sought it not by faith, but as by works of law, for they stumbled at the stone of stumbling—CHRIST. The reference is to Isaiah 28:16,

“He that believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.” But is not the case the same now with the Gentile as with the Jew? Man today clings to his works which can never save him; neglects, rejects, even despises, God’s salvation, which is obtained by faith alone.

(To be Continued, D. V.)

A Letter to a Young Christian Couple

In starting a new home there is one verse to which I want to call your attention and that is,

“In the beginning God.” Genesis 1:1.

Very much of your happiness or success in all your future life will depend on how you begin. I do not mean financially—that is of little importance. God can bless little or blow on much. The all-important matter is to begin by making God’s things first in the new home. That should be the center around which all the new duties and responsibilities take their places. It is much like an arch with every stone in its proper place, but if the center or keystone is missing, the whole will be confusion. Begin by “seeking first” the things that are first (Matt. 6:33).

After the proper start is made and a good foundation laid, you will find differences of opinions, thoughts and desires. In this there will have to be bearing and forbearing, but there is one sure way of always arriving at the same conclusion. That is by being of “the same mind in the Lord” (Phil. 4:2). There is always a mind and will of the Lord in all matters, and whenever two people agree to seek His mind and His will, they will of necessity arrive at the same point of view and decision.

The words: “if thine eye be single thy whole body shall be full of light,” not if thine eye be keen or far-seeing. There must be the single purpose of desiring to see the Lord’s will that it might be done.

Do not neglect your daily and habitual reading of the Word of God, and also make time to read other profitable, sound writings on the Word. You will find that it will be a good investment of your time. I sincerely hope that you will not be satisfied with just knowing your sins forgiven, but will “grow,” and to grow there must be suitable food.

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

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15.

The Unity of the Church of God.: Part 5

Part 5.

In the 1st of Philippians we read, “increasing in the full knowledge of God,” we are enabled to distinguish the things that differ. That is only found and had by going on in communion with God, seeking His mind as revealed in His Word. Discerning the path of separation is dependent upon a state of soul.

Look at Mal. 3. Malachi was written at a time when the returned remnant of Judah who came back under Ezra and Nehemiah had fallen into confusion and sin and worldliness; they were even saying, as we see in the 1st chapter and the 7th verse:

“Ye offer polluted bread upon Mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted Thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible.” And further down in the 12th verse.

“But ye have profaned it in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even His meat is contemptible.”

They had sunk so low that they even despised the table of the Lord. That was the condition in which the returned remnant found themselves at the time Malachi prophesied.

Now in the 3rd chapter, notice this precious little remnant:

“Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God, and him that serveth Him not.”

It takes state of soul to be able to discern what is of God and what is of man. No question but that the great bulk of those in Malachi’s day despised that little remnant; they were small and weak, but what characterized them was, that they feared the Lord and thought upon His name. When the Lord Jesus was born into this world that little remnant were not surprised. They were still going on, a poor remnant, but when the Lord was born in Bethlehem, and when He was presented in Jerusalem in the temple as a little babe, you will find the remnant knew about it. They had that discernment that came from going on with the mind of God.

Dear friends, is this worthwhile? is it worthwhile in a day of confusion and brokenness to try to find the mind of God?

In closing I want to call your attention to a scripture in the 28th of Job, 7th verse:

“There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen: The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.” Job 28:7, 8.

There is that path, no fowl knows it; the keenest eye or intelligence cannot see it. The vulture (unclean bird) cannot find it—discern it—and the fierce lion doesn’t know it. Strength and energy of nature can never find it. Look down at the end of the chapter, 23rd verse:

“God understandeth the way thereof, and He knoweth the place thereof. For He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; To make the weight for the winds; and He weigheth the waters by measure. When He made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: Then did He see it, and declare it; He prepared it, yea, and seached it out. And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” Job 28:23-28. There is the secret of discerning that pathway.

Most of you here this afternoon are younger folks. Some of us who are older, have the greater part of the journey behind us. With you, if our Lord tarries, and you are spared, the greater part of your journey lies ahead. Your life is going to be seriously affected by what value, or lack of it, you place on the line of truth we are having this afternoon: the truth of Christ and the Church. Are you going to drift with the tide? fall in and resign yourself to a path of denial of the precious truth revealed in connection with the Church of God?

Dear young people, let me exhort you in closing, it is worth the sacrifice, worth real effort and purpose of heart to get the mind of Christ as to that path through the confusion of Christendom. There is that path; there must be that path. God wouldn’t leave us without a path through. The 6th of Jeremiah tells us how to find that path; 16th verse:

“Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the way, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16.

Young Christian, notice that verse; don’t forget it. Memorize it now, where it is in your Bible, so that if I ask you at the close, where is that last verse we read, you can tell me—Jeremiah 6:16,

“Ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.”

There is a path through the confusion. The Church is dear to the heart of Christ; the truth never changes.

“Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8.

One of these days we are going to hear that assembling shout, and we are going to find ourselves in His presence, and how glad we will be—how thankful we shall be—that we sought to walk in that path of separation; that we were in the secret of Christ; that we had the mind of Christ; that we sought with a pure heart, a sincere heart, to find that path that pleased Him. It is worthwhile dear young soul. It has its difficulties. It is a trying path in many ways, but it has compensation; remember that. I can say for one, that I sought, through God’s grace, to find that pathway, for over thirty years. I want to tell you, I have never regretted for five minutes that I sought grace to go on in it. I thank Him for it, for His keeping power, and I need it for the rest of the journey; and we all need it. Who knows that before we come together again as we are here, if another year rolls by and we come together again, who knows how many of us may have missed the path, been thrown into confusion, drawn away from that precious place: Christ the Center in the midst of the two or three gathered to His blessed name.

“Head of the Church, Thy body,

O Christ, the great Salvation!

Sweet to the saints It is to think

Of all Thine exaltation!

“All power’s to Thee committed,

All power on earth, in heaven;

To Thee a name

Of widest fame

Above all glory’s given.

“With Thee, believers raised, In

Thee on high are seated;

All guilty once,

But cleared by Thee;

Redemption toil’s completed.

“And when Thou, Lord and Savior,

Shalt come again in glory,

There, by Thy side,

Thy spotless bride

Shall crown the wondrous story.

“At length the final kingdom

No bound, no end possessing;

When heaven and earth—

God all in all

Shall fill with largest blessing.

“All root of evil banished,

No breath of sin to wither,

On earth—on high—

Naught else but joy,

And blissful peace forever!”

(Concluded)

The Shipwreck

In the twenty-seventh chapter of the Acts we have the record of a shipwreck. The story is related towards the end of the book, and is full of significance. One point in the narrative we will dwell on—the courage of the Apostle Paul.

For some fourteen days the ship in which he was, had been driven by the storm, and when, at midnight, the sailors sounded, and found they were nearing shore, they feared falling on rocks. Then it was that the apostle, captive as he was, a prisoner among prisoners, on his way to trial before Caesar, took the lead and controlled, not only the ship’s crew, but the centurion and soldiers under whose charge the prisoners were. As, seemingly, death stared them all in the face, Paul so comforted their hearts that, when he took bread, they ate; and so fruitful was his courage, that the two hundred and seventy-six souls on board became of good cheer.

The secret of his calmness and courage was the word that had come to him at the angel’s hand from heaven:

“Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar; and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.”

He believed God, and, with this assurance, neither storm nor darkness; neither soldier’s counsel nor the danger of reaching land, occasioned him dismay. And, as the event proved, all that had sailed with Paul reached the shore safely, though the ship was lost.

Now in this day, when, like the ship in which Paul sailed, the Church of God seems to be “falling into a place where” the “two seas” of infidelity and superstition meet, let us hear the Word of God, which says,

“Fear not!” for there shall not be lost one true believer in these tempestuous waters, but they will come all safe to land—our eternal Home.

The “land” is in view, the everlasting shore appears, and soon the trials and the tempests shall be over for all who are Christ’s. And as that day is so near at hand, our privilege is to bid all who sail with us to be of good cheer, and to comfort their hearts, and to give them to eat. This is the most gracious occupation in a day of distress! An occupation followed by those who heed the voice of the Word of God, so full of comfort and rest to the hearts of true believers. His Word never changes, and He ever abides faithful, and while His Word clearly shows what our own day so painfully illustrates, the falling of the professing church into terrible unbelief, it speaks in unvarying assurance to each faithful heart.

Let us then be of good courage, and by a brave example, stimulate those about us to rest on His Word, and to be strong in His grace.

One Thing I Know

“One thing I know,” replied the poor beggar to the scribes and the doctors, who sought to make him deny his faith,

“One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” John 9:25.

Not all the learning of his judges could drive this knowledge out of him! Arguments, threats, persuasions, could not shake him out of the belief in the sight which he possessed, and, therefore, in Jesus, who had given him sight. And by his assurance Pharisees and Scribes were confounded. No one could gainsay the fact that the man had his sight, for he stood before the council with his eyes open, and the efforts made to disprove his ever having been blind were in vain; his testimony was his victory: “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”

It is ever a refreshment to read the story of this man’s simplicity, to note his wonder at the folly of the wise men who examined him, and his amazement at their ill-speaking of Jesus, who had opened his eyes! Holiness, power, and grace, he was assured, dwelt in Jesus, for to none but One who did God’s will would God give such power; and since the world was, who before had had the power to give sight to one born blind; and who but One of perfect grace would have condescended to give sight to a blind beggar?

“I received sight,” “I.... do see,” “I see,” “He hath opened mine eyes,” were the glad words of the man, which character of argument, all advance, who have had their eyes opened by the Lord. Each truly converted person can and does say, “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see”; and saying this, he utters his faith in the mighty power and grace of Christ as wrought in himself.

Jesus is the light of life, and He opens our eyes to see the reality of our sinful state by nature—of God’s hatred against sin, and of the preciousness of the blood which cleanses us from all sin. It is most comforting to get back from the dust of the conflict, and the clamor of controversy, to this exultant point, “One thing I know”! “I” know—I, myself, for myself—for Jesus has done a great work in me, as well as for me. He bade me obey His Word; I obeyed, and I see!

Such faith as this is not easily disturbed; modern infidelity has no more influence upon this simplicity, than an army of locusts upon an iron wall; weak and feeble reasonings may go down and perish before its advance, but no infidelity can disprove to a man who sees that he has his sight.

Let our dear young readers assure themselves that simple faith in Jesus is a stronghold for the soul. How often has the testimony of young and old to what Jesus has done for them, broken up the ranks of skeptics! The poor man, of whom we speak, had his sight, and he rejoiced in it. True, the doctors of the law cast him out of the synagogue, but they were the blind—the spiritually blind—and this the man felt and saw; he had light. After he had been cast out, Jesus found him, and He said unto him, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?”

Jesus ever finds and comforts such as suffer for His Name; He would not have it that the man should be the loser, for, having lost his parents, and the advantages of the synagogue for His sake, He revealed Himself to the man, who became a worshiper of Himself. To belong to the synagogue when Christ was outside it, was indeed but a poor honor; to belong to Christ, and to worship Him and the Father, is honor indeed.

"In the Mighty Waters"

“The Lord maketh a path in the mighty waters.” Isaiah 43:16.

Though all unknown thy pathway,

O, be not thou afraid!

The Lord shall go before thee

Whose word the sea obeyed!

For thee He hath the future

In perfect wisdom planned,

Although from thee is hidden

The purpose of His hand.

Though dark the night and stormy,

And raging is the sea;

In deep and mighty waters

He’ll make a path for thee!

No waters shall o’erwhelm thee,

His power shall all withstand—

Sufficient grace He giveth

For all that He hath planned!

Unknown thy way, it leadeth

To yonder peaceful shore,

Where thou with Him in glory

Shalt dwell for evermore.

Correspondence: Devil a Man? Better/Lower than Angels?

Question: Please explain Ezekiel 28:2. In verse 2 the devil seems to be called a man.

Answer: Ezekiel 28:2 is a description of the King or prince of Tyrus, and the parallel, or symbolism to Satan does not begin until we get to the 12th verse. Here the Spirit of God evidently seizes on the proud monarch of Tyrus to clothe him with a description that evidently goes far beyond the king personally, but gives us a view into the past history of that august, but sinister being—Satan. Another has remarked,

“The higher we climb in the ranks of the great in this world, the nearer we get to the one who is the god and prince of this world—Satan.”

Question: Why is Christ said to be “better than the angels” in Hebrews 1, and “lower than the angels” in Hebrews 2:7.

Answer: God had spoken in the past by prophets, and in these last days by His Son. What a wonderful Person He is! What depths there are to each of the sentences in those chapters.

In the first chapter, we see Christ in deity, and as such He is higher than the angels.

In the second chapter, we see Him in humanity, and there we see Him in a place lower than the angels. What grace! As God, higher than the angels; as Man, lower than the angels.

In chapter 2, redemption is brought in. Had He been only a Man, He could not have redeemed us, but being God He could, but He became a Man.

"A Debtor to Christ": Part 1

On a bright summer day, when the air was sparkling with sunshine, there was to be a large ball given in honor of some royal personages who were to be present.

Gay friends had asked me if I were going, and represented to me what a loss I should have if not there. Though much against the wishes of my nearest friends and advisers, who reasoned with me that such public scenes were of no advantage to young persons, I was determined to go to this ball.

A lady of fashion had promised to allow me to accompany her; and nothing now remained but to procure a card for the entertainment.

I opened my portfolio, and sat down to write to a friend to procure me one. It was Sunday afternoon; for so anxious was I for this gratification, that to wait until Monday to write seemed waste of a day, and I feared the tickets might be all disposed of. I had attended church that morning, and was nominally a Christian, though certainly not a real one. If anyone had spoken to me of acquaintance with the Lord Jesus as a personal Savior, or pressed on me that “now was the day of salvation,” it would have been to me an unwelcome theme, apparently too visionary for me to grasp, suited to preachers, Sunday-school teachers, or saints of by-past days.

I turned over the blotting leaves to find some notepaper, and as I did so, something fluttered from the sheets, and fell into my lap. I took it up; it was a leaflet, which had been sent to me in a letter, doubtless months, or perhaps even a year, before; for I could not recollect how it came into my book. The heading caught my eye,

"A Debtor to Christ": Part 2

I read the verses all through, and as I did so, a feeling of awe, mingled with bitterness, arose in my heart. Those lines of Robert M’Cheyne’s:

“When this passing world is done,

When has sunk you glorious sun,

When I stand with Christ in glory,

Looking o’er life’s finished story—

Then, Lord, shall I fully know,

Not till then, how much I owe.

“When I hear the wicked call

On the rocks and hills to fall;

When I see them start and shrink,

On the fiery deluge brink—

Then, Lord! shall I fully know,

Not till then, how much I owe” —

wrung from me the mournful feeling, In that hour, I shall owe nothing; there will be for me but a fearful looking for of judgment. I paused, and a wail seemed to rise in my heart. O! why cannot I be “A Debtor to Christ,” as well as others? Why not have the sweet assurance—amid this world’s uncertain, and often, as I had even then found them, unsatisfying pleasures—that when all will be over, and one’s senses hushed to its enticements forever,

“Then, Lord! shall I fully know,

Not till then, how much I owe”?

I sat for some time irresolute, dissatisfied with myself and my thoughts, and finally closed my portfolio. I will not at least add to my other sins, I thought, by writing this worldly letter on Sunday; for in spite of my carelessness, I always knew and felt the hours of that day ought to be regarded as sacred; I then believed it to be the Sabbath, I had yet to learn that it is, in a higher and holier sense, the Lord’s Day. So I put off my letter writing, and wandered out into the garden, to soothe my ruffled mind and still the voice of conscience.

Well, dear reader, in spite of this message from God to my soul, I went to that ball; and what a scene of unsatisfying pageantry it was: brilliantly illuminated and decorated, and graced with the presence of royalty and rank; yet so overcrowded and overheated, that dancing or pleasant conversation was almost out of the question; and when the hour came to return home, it was with soiled and torn dresses and wearied limbs that the poor guests departed.

I did not recover the over-fatigue of that night for some time, besides catching cold while passing through the drafty halls. So much for the world and its joys!

One night, a short time after, I had the following strange dream:

I was again decked in the dress and rose wreath I had worn on that evening, again I mixed in the mazes and heard the music of the dance; a friend, full of gay life, advanced and solicited me to join with him in a waltz. He offered his hand to lead me on, and I gave mine, willing to participate, when suddenly my lively friend became metamorphosed into a Black Spectral Shadow! The hand so full of eager buoyant life which had met mine, became a cold skeleton, and tightened with a frightful and iron clasp round mine. Everything faded round me, and I felt myself drawn irresistibly from the scene by this awful figure, while my very being seemed frozen with terror and despair, at finding myself in what appeared to me the grasp of the Specter of Death. In vain I endeavored to break from its hold, and cried aloud for aid; it drew me on, until, in an outer passage of one of the halls of the palace, it pointed to a deep, dark staircase, which it told me I must descend. I gazed down its perpendicular descent, and saw the steps apparently unending, while a fearful black chasm lay beneath. Terror gave me new strength, and again I struggled to free myself. Just as the phantom drew me on to the first step of the descent, I succeeded in breaking from its power, but, in so doing, fell with frightful noise and rapidity down the staircase, dashing against every step as I fell until I reached the blackness below. With the fear and shock of this dream I awoke. It filled me with dread and awe, and I believed it to be a presage of death or some great calamity.

I have never been at a ball since. Two months after, a severe illness laid me on a sick bed, which might have seen the fulfillment of that dream, and proved a bed of death to me, but from which I was raised up by the One who had loved me with an everlasting love, and Who, through a course of after discipline, bearing on the gracious work of awakening, commenced during that illness, was teaching me the meaning of those lines,

“When I stand before the Throne,

Clothed in beauty not my own;

When I see Thee as Thou art,

Love Thee with unsinning heart—

Then, Lord, shall I fully know,

Not till then, how much I owe.”

When I look back on that period of my life, my love of the world, and my utter distance from and rebellion against a tender Savior God, I am filled with wonder and gratitude at the way in which He led me to Himself and taught my cold heart to bow in adoring homage, and utter the joyful acknowledgment, “How Much I Owe!” He has indeed shown me, ere it was too late, that this world’s pleasure is, at best, a deluding phantom, leading its votaries with remorseless and skeleton grasp down a rapid declivity, into an abyss of darkness and destruction!

How many loving messages are slighted, and solemn warnings put aside or misinterpreted, and the poor soul goes on, its outer form decked with the rose wreaths and flimsy trapping of a hollow mirth, playing its short part in the exciting drama, until suddenly, and amid circumstances the least expected, the dark shadow of death enters and snatches its victim from health, friends, and pleasures, casting it into outer darkness, an exile forever from the presence of the Lord.

Dear thoughtless one! do not think I am writing romance: it is strict truth. When I read in God’s Word of “the worm that dieth not,” and “the fire that never shall be quenched” (Mark 9:43, 44), I long to be the means of bringing some troubled, or perhaps even careless soul, to know the blessed privilege and liberty (if I may use a paradox) of being “a debtor to Christ.”

Hear the gracious words of God the Holy Spirit speaking through the beloved apostle John:

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins... We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is Love” 1 John 4:10,16. And again by His servant Paul it is written,

“God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8.

Dear reader, if still unsaved hear His own words:

“I am the door: by Me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.” John 10:9.

Again, a debtor: Be saved, find pasture! Blessed liberty, yet true security, and full promise of food for all spiritual need.

Poor soul! not until you have had your sins washed away in the precious blood of the Lamb of God will you know what it is to have sure peace and happiness amid the unsatisfying and death-shadowed vanities of this earthly scene of change and transition. Then will you with heart-flowing gratitude be able to take up the joyful strain of the ransomed debtor,

“When the praise of heaven I hear,

Loud as thunders to the ear,

Loud as many waters’ noise,

Sweet as harp’s melodious voice—

Then, Lord! shall I fully know,

Not till then, how much I owe.”

Extract: Happiness

“If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I... go unto the Father.” Inasmuch as He has exercised love to us, He associates us with Himself, and expects us to rejoice in His happiness. What a place to give us: to be able to say, “I am happy because He is glorified;” our hearts satisfied that Christ, who has loved us and made us happy, is contented! We see Him in the glory due to Him, and we are satisfied. He expects us to be glad in His happiness!

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 10

Chapter 10

It has pleased God to give us a further testimony from the apostle of his love for his nation, following that with which the ninth chapter began. The delight of his heart and his, prayer to God for Israel was for salvation for them. This affection for his kinsmen according to the flesh persisted, though they hated him as they hated his Master. Nor does the Epistle at any point speak of the persecution Paul had to endure from the Jews. Here, as in the ninth chapter, they are spoken of in grace, with tender regard for their feelings.

The apostle bears witness (verse 2) that his nation have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. Such had been Paul, when as Saul of Tarsus he persecuted the followers of Christ (Acts 22:3-5; 26:9-11). The third verse, describing in few words the position of the Jews, is equally true of many Gentiles:

“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”

The gospel reveals God’s righteousness, as we saw in the comprehensive statements of the third chapter. But ignorant man in his pride clings to works as the means of establishing a standing before God, forgetting, if he has ever known it, that all who come before Him as their Judge on account of their works, are condemned. So declare chapter 3, verse 20; Galatians 2:16, and Revelation 20:12-15.

What marks the Christian is that he has submitted to the righteousness of God, knowing that he has no merits of his own; all the merit is in Christ, who is the end, or termination of law for righteousness to every one that believeth (verse 4). It is through the cross of Christ that God can act according to His righteousness in conferring righteousness on us who believe.

Verse 5. The apostle now turns to the law itself, where in Leviticus 18:4, 5, God said to Israel:

“Ye shall do My judgments, and keep Mine ordinances, to walk therein; I am the Lord your God. Ye shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which, if a man do, he shall live in them. I am the Lord.” This was uttered many years before Israel entered the promised land of Canaan.

Next, Deuteronomy 30 is referred to, for in it there is foreseen the total failure of the nation, resulting in their being put out of that fair possession, and carried away as captives to be scattered among the Gentiles. But in the future day, bearing the curse of the broken law, all hope gone of attaining righteousness by keeping the law, this Scripture declares that Israel may look in faith to God, and that He will have mercy on them.

The last verse of Deuteronomy 29 shows that the purposes of God in grace were not yet made known; “the secret things belong unto the Lord our God”; and the ground upon which a righteous and holy God might deal in mercy could not be revealed until His Son had died, the Just One for the unjust. It is in this way most interesting to compare the 6th to 10th verses of Romans 10, with verses 11 to 14 of Deuteronomy 30, realizing that the same Holy Spirit wrote through Moses in the one case, and through Paul in the other. Christ, once crucified, now glorified, is seen to be the key to the present dealing of grace.

Not works, but believing His Word is what God laid before ruined sinners in Deuteronomy 30:14:

“The Word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart”; so near has He brought His word of truth, suited exactly to the need of man; yet how few believe it!

In Romans 10:8, with the utmost suitability that verse is quoted, and then it is added, “that is, the word of faith which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

The mouth is to be used to tell what is believed in the heart; and I own the Lord Jesus as my Savior, believing that God has raised Him from the dead Who died for my sins; my sins are gone, then, never to be brought up again for my condemnation. How preciously simple the gospel is!

You will notice that “mouth” and “heart” are in these verses in clear contrast with works. “Heart” here refers to an inward conviction: “with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” Yet something more goes with salvation: “with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Have you confessed your Savior to others? You are not truly on Christian ground until you have announced His title to you. Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed; it takes courage to confess Him, but there is not the slightest reason to be ashamed of Him, or what He has done for you; rather, on the contrary, is there every reason to be confident and to rejoice in Him.

The apostle has been quoting from the Old Testament Scriptures which the Jews acknowledge, in order to show that what God is now doing is not contrary to, but in fullest harmony with what these Scriptures declare. That there is no difference, for all have sinned, and come short of God’s glory, was proclaimed in chapter 3, verses 22, 23; here, in the 12th verse, it is said again,

“There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek (or Gentile); for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.” Did the Old Testament say this? Yes, for the 13th verse is a quotation from the prophecy of Joel, chapter 2, verse 32.

There it stands, undeniably, in the Jewish Scriptures. They would have limited God’s mercy and blessing to Israel’s race, but “whosoever” means every one, whether Jew or Gentile. “How then”, the apostle proceeds, “shall they call on Him in Whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (verse 14). Was it not in every way right that the good news should go out to the Gentiles? the apostle and his companions and fellow laborers were then after all doing the work of God.

“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.” This is, quoted from Isaiah 52:7—not the whole verse, as you will see, but enough to show that it is of God to spread good news from Himself; the preachers who faithfully publish His word have a commission from God.

Then follows a further reference to the Old Testament. O, it is good to have the written word of God to depend upon, whether it shows me myself in the pride and naughtiness of the natural heart, or points me to Christ the Savior and the Lord. They have not all obeyed the gospel, says the apostle. Indeed this is a gracious, a tender way to speak, for as far as we can gather from the Scriptures, few only of the children of Israel knew God by faith in Old Testament days. Esaias (Isaiah) said, in chapter 53 of the longest of the prophetic books, “Lord, who hath believed our report?” What then could a Jew say to this?

In these two chapters God has been showing that neither birth nor position give salvation to the soul, and so verse 17 follows,

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

How simple is God’s way, the only way, I need not remind you, of salvation! And how precious to us who believe; but how costly to Himself! Does some reader of this page say, I have not faith to believe what you believe? O, then, I would say, just read the 17th verse again: So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Open your ears to hear His Word; open them wide, and it will find its way to your heart. Then you will be ready to confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus.

Verse 18 brings in another Old Testament Scripture; it is Psalms 19, in its first part, verses 1 to 6, where it is shown that God’s testimony is not to be limited to Israel’s land, but to cover the whole earth. That testimony, it is true, is of God’s creation power, but the Psalm illustrates the principle that He proposes blessing for Gentiles as well as for Jews, who would selfishly keep it for themselves alone.

And so we pass to the 19th verse. “But I say, Did not Israel know?” Was the grace of God overflowing the boundaries of their race and spreading out to the distant and darkened nations a total surprise to the sons of Jacob? What saith the Scripture? Turn to Deuteronomy 32:21 for the answer, quoted in this verse, and next (verses 20, 21, to Isa. 65:1,2). And so we reach the end of this wonderful chapter of God’s Word.

(To Be Continued, D. V.)

Knit Together in Love

Look at Paul on his knees in agony of conflict, praying for saints he had never seen, and who were the fruits of another man’s labor. May the apostle’s tears affect us! He bade the Ephesian elders on the seashore of Miletus on the occasion of that memorable journey to Rome, “remember that by the space of three years he ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears” (Acts 20:31).

I confess that Paul’s tears affect me, and my great desire for our young brethren is that they may affect them. I cannot in sight of those tears treat the truth of the Church lightly.

In Colossians 2:1-3, we read, first of all, that Paul prays that the hearts of the saints might be comforted. We often say people do not get converted when they have cold feet; so saints need to be comforted in their hearts, that is, happy, quiet and undistracted in their affections. When saints are troubled by difficulties, and harassed by Satan’s onslaught, they are not in that frame of mind to receive these great communications.

Next, he prayed that they might be “knit together in love.” Look at the dear old grandmother knitting placidly at the fireside. How closely related the one stitch is to the next. How they follow one another in uniformity. God would have the hearts of His people knit together in love. Brethren, we want more of this. Is it not true that if we do not see eye to eye, coldness often comes in, distance, suspicion? This is not the way to settle things. The tears on the apostle’s face are better than that. What produced those tears? The love of the Spirit. Let us bear with each other. Ephesians 4:2, 3, says,

“With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Thus the apostle besought the saints to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they were called. May our spirits be saturated in this.

And all this—their hearts comforted, and knit together in love, was “unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God.” How the apostle piles up the language. The situation demands it. The scene of ineffable glory, purposed by the blessed God in the past ages of eternity, all held in the pierced hand of the risen Christ, and shortly to be manifested in all its fullness, is a theme before which language is struck dumb. Here we have “full assurance of understanding to the full knowledge of the mystery of God” (N.T.) May we let our little vessels dip into this mighty ocean.

The Lamb on the Other Side.

At one of our coast towns I was holding a big Mission on the sands, and a lady, dressed in black, used often to come to the meetings. One morning, at the close of the service, she wanted to speak to me, and she looked so miserable.

The lady told me that God had taken away her baby, and she was very angry with Him for doing so. She said,

“I have given up all religion; I don’t go to church at all now; and never read the Bible, and never pray; and your services on the sands are the first I have been to for a long time.”

“O, I will tell you a little story,” I replied.

“There was once a shepherd who had a fine flock of sheep, but some very hot weather came, and the grass where they were feeding got very dry and parched. Along the side of the field a river ran, but the water was very low on account of the dry weather. Just over the other side of the stream there was some far better pastureland, so the kind shepherd wanted to get his flock over the stream, but they hesitated, and did not appear willing to cross. So the shepherd took up a little lamb, and began to cross over the stepping stones, carrying it in his arms. The old mother sheep followed after him, bleating, and looked at the shepherd as if she would say,

“‘What are you doing with my lamb?’ Soon all the flock followed them to the other side, into the good pasture.”

That was my story, and I showed the lady how Jesus, the Good Shepherd, had been obliged to take her little lamb over the narrow stream of death into the Heavenly pastures; and that He had done it in great love to her soul, to lead her to set her affections on things above.

I believe it was just the turning point in that lady’s life, and I prayed that it may be made a blessing to many souls.

“As for God, His way is perfect.” Psalms 18:30.

"Trust in the Living God"

Who yields his will to God’s good pleasure,

And hopes in Him, whate’er betide;

To him is grace in ample measure,

Through every time of need supplied.

Secure shall his foundation stand;

He hath not built upon the sand.

What gain we when we faint and languish?

What gain we by our dismal sighs?

What gain we if we tell our anguish

Abroad beneath the morning skies?

More heavy grows the cross we bear

For all this weary load of care.

To God thy whole desire confiding,

O! rest thee in His sovereign will;

His grace is for thy good providing,

Though sorrow’s draft thy cup may fill.

He Who thy captive soul hath freed,

Hath pondered well thy present need.

He knows the fitting time of gladness;

His love appoints both tear and smile;

Be true to Him through days of sadness;

Maintain a spirit free from guile.

So will He come, ere we suppose,

And joy shall follow all our woes.

Think not, when furnace fires are round thee,

That God hath left thee to their rage.

Say not, “Did wealth or power surround me,

His praises should my lips engage.”

The rolling years are fraught with change;

Each sorrow hath its narrowed range.

Give thanks, and pray, while onward pressing

In wisdom’s path, with purpose true;

And God shall send thee showers of blessing;

Rich mercies every morning new.

The feeblest saint who trusts the Lord,

Hath present help and sure reward.

The Magnet

We remember once hearing a very interesting account of a conversation between two little boys, on the subject of the Lord’s coming. They had just been put to bed, and ere their kind attendant had left the room, she overheard the conversation which, in substance, we now relate.

T.: “I do not understand, H., how the Lord will catch up His people. How will it be? Can you tell me about it?”

H.: “Yes, A., I can tell you. Did you ever see brother R. playing with his magnet? Did you ever see him holding the magnet over the needle, and bringing it nearer and nearer until the needle was drawn up to meet it? That’s how it will be when the Lord comes. He will descend into the heavens and draw up His own people to Him, just as the magnet attracts the needle.”

The little brother understood the simple illustration. As the needle springs up to meet the magnet, so will all who belong to Christ, however weak, however ignorant, however failing, spring up to meet Him when He comes. There is an affinity between the needle and the magnet, as there is between Christ and His people; and, hence, the moment He comes, the dead saints shall be raised, and the living saints shall be changed. and all shall spring up to meet the true magnet—Christ.

But we may apply the illustration of our dear little boy H. in another way. Take a number of steel filings and mix them with a quantity of sand in a bowl or saucer, then introduce a powerful magnet and what follows? Why, all the steel filings immediately fly to the magnet and adhere to it, while all the sand is left behind.

Thus will it be when the Lord comes for His people. They may be found here and there mingled with the people of the world—sitting in the same room, standing behind the same counter, traveling in the same train, sailing in the same boat, writing at the same desk, walking in the same street. But the very moment that Christ, the true magnet, descends into the air, all who belong to Him, all who believe in His Name, all who partake of His resurrection life, will rise, in the twinkling of an eye, to meet Him. They will be drawn up by the powerful attraction of His Person, and in virtue of the moral affinity subsisting between Him and them; while, on the other hand, all those who do not belong to Him, who do not know Him, who do not trust Him, who do not love Him, who do not serve Him, will, like the grains of sand, be left behind.

Dear reader, how would it be with you, if the Lord were to come, while you are reading these lines? He may come at any moment. His promise is sure. He has said,

“I will come again.” And, “Behold, I come quickly.”

His people are taught to look for His coming daily and hourly. There is no intervening event. They wait for no sign. They wait for the Son from heaven. Their hope is not affected by any prophetic announcement; indeed, prophecy has nothing to do with the Church’s hope. Prophecy has to do with Israel and the nations, with events that are to take place on the earth; but the Church is called to wait for “the Morning Star.” Her hope is heavenly. She looks for the Savior from heaven, and the moment He comes, all true believers will rise to meet Him, while all false professors will be left behind for judgment.

This is deeply solemn for all who are out of Christ. We would seek to press it home upon all such. We would earnestly entreat the reader to weigh it seriously. Christ is coming for His people. That events stands out, in its own divine clearness, before the heart of the Christian who bows to the authority of Scripture.

He does not look for the conversion of the world by a preached gospel. He does not believe in any such thing. He believes that the world will grow worse and worse, its night grow darker and darker. He believes that superstition and infidelity will yet bear sway throughout the length and breadth of Christendom, and that judgment will close this present scene, and clear the earth for Millennial glory.

All who know the grace of Jesus are imperatively called to stand apart from everything that does not bear the stamp of God’s truth.

He, blessed be His name, is for us above, and we ought to be for Him below. May it be so, through the powerful ministry of the Holy Ghost! May we be marked as, those who have, in reality, “turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven!” 1 Thessalonians 1:10. God in mercy grant it, for Jesus’ sake!

Correspondence: Gospel Preached?; EPH 6:12; LUK 19:12-27; Practically Sanctified

Question: By whom will the gospel be preached after the Church is translated?

Answer: The present gospel will no longer be preached, the door of grace being then shut; but the Everlasting gospel will be proclaimed to every heathen nation, as we learn in Revelation 14:6, 7, probably by Jewish messengers whose treatment by these nations will form the ground of the judgment of these, according to Matthew 25:32-46.

Question: What are the principalities and powers in Ephesians 6:12? Are they the same as in Ephesians 3:10, and Colossians 2:10?

Answer: It is evident that those principalities and powers of which Christ is the Head (Col. 2:10; Eph. 1:21) cannot be the same as those in Ephesians 6:12, of which Satan is chief. The meaning of the word “principality” is “rule” (1 Cor. 15:24). Of course, there is both good and bad rule in the spiritual world.

Question: Please explain the parable in Luke 19:12-27.

Answer: It shows forth man’s responsibility until the Lord’s return; just as Matthew 25 (the talents) show forth God’s sovereignty. The former says, “You have all got something; whatever it is, use it to the best advantage for God’s glory, and you will be rewarded accordingly.”

Matthew says, “Although one may have far more brilliant gifts than another, yet all who are equally faithful shall alike enter the joy of their Lord.” The wicked servant is a professor only. The pounds are the gifts God gives us.

Question: How are believers practically sanctified.

Answer: By becoming servants to God according to Romans 6:22, yielding their bodies a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1, 2), and by cleansing themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit inwardly, as well as ungodly connections outwardly (2 Cor. 6;7:1).

"I Want You to Know My Savior"

A man, whose heart was unmoved by the love of Jesus„ resisted every effort made by his minister and friends to convince him of the truths of the Bible.

At last all gave up the hope of his conversion but one humble Christian, who continued to pray for it. After some time it came into this poor man’s heart to visit his rich neighbor. He thought of what he would say, and even prepared a suitable argument; but on arriving at the house and being shown into the man’s presence, words failed him: he broke down utterly, and could only exclaim with tears,

“O sir, I want you to know my Savior!”

Then he turned and left the house; but what a fine speech might not have effected, the tears had done. The poor man’s anxiety touched the unbelieving heart, so that it became anxious too, and was led at last into “repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Readers, have you ever asked yourselves why so many preach to you? why so many gospel stories are written for you? why friends and relations are praying for you? It is because we want you to know our Savior. God wills your salvation; Christ died for it. His messengers are pleading with you. All are in earnest. Won’t you be in earnest, too?

“I have a Savior, He’s pleading in glory,

And O, that my Savior were your Savior too!

For you I am praying, I’m praying for you.”

“God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.

Fragment: Liberty of Will

Liberty of will is just slavery to the devil.

Extract: What God Has Need Of

God has no need of us, but He has need of a people who walk in the truth and love and holiness. I find in the Old Testament,

“I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the Name of Jehovah.”

And I find the same spirit in Jude, who speaks of the mixture which would bring on judgment,

“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

The gospel we may and must rejoice in, yet it only makes the testimony of brethren outside the camp more necessary than ever; but it must be real.

May they indeed be waiting for the Lord, and as men that wait for their Lord! His love is not wanting. May we, in earnest love to Him, be waiting for Him, because we do so love Him, and be found watching!

Extract: Acting in Our Own Will

There is nothing that forms the heart, breaking down the will in us, like the delight that we have in Christ, in fellowship with the Father.

Whenever I act in my own will in anything, I am wronging God of His own title through the blood of Christ.

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 11, Part 1

Chapter 11

Part 1

In this chapter the subject is still that which first engaged us in the ninth chapter, namely, How is the gospel which God is making known in our day, reconciled with the special promises He made to Israel in Old Testament times? In chapter 9 the claim of the Jews to be God’s people by birth was considered, and it was shown that the Old Testament Scriptures had foretold the blessing of the Gentiles. The 10th chapter made known how it was that Israel lost the blessing, and the chapter we are now to go over together, asks and answers the question, Is their present state of rejection as God’s earthly people final?

The tenth chapter closed with a very solemn word quoted from Isaiah 65:2, and if you will turn to that passage, you will see that God had much more to say about His people Israel, whose ways had provoked Him to anger continually; yet in His grace, He speaks of a future day of restoration for a remnant of them. Turning to our chapter in Romans we read,

“I say then, Hath God cast away His people? God forbid.”

Paul himself was a proof that the nation were not altogether forsaken. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.

Elias (Elijah), that faithful prophet of a dark day in the history of the ten tribes of Israel, had pleaded with God against the people (1 Kings 19) when the dark shadow of idolatry had settled over the land; other prophets had been killed, and his own life was sought; God’s altars were destroyed What an answer the, discouraged prophet was given!

“I have reserved to Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal!” Was this not a beautiful evidence of God’s favor? He had kept a remnant from the service of the devil, though they were hitherto all unknown to Elijah. So in the present time there has been a remnant according to the election of grace.

Verse 6. “And if by grace, then is it no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace.”

This theme of the free, unmerited favor of God, man’s “works” being totally rejected, is the theme of the Gospel as expressed in the Epistle to the Romans. Israel then had not obtained what it sought for, but the election, the spared remnant, had, and the remainder of the people were blinded, or hardened. For this, two Old Testament Scriptures are referred to in verse 8, where Isaiah 29:10 and Deuteronomy 29:4 are put together (Psa. 69:22, 23 is also quoted in verses 9 and 10).

A second proof that Israel is not finally cut off is given in verses 11 and following: The gospel was going out to Gentiles to provoke Israel to jealousy. And for this we have the striking prophecy of Deuteronomy 32:21. If (verse 12) Israel’s fall is the world’s wealth, and their loss is the wealth of the Gentiles, how much rather their fullness?

The apostle is referring first to the blessing that followed the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles, when Israel would not listen; and afterward to the worldwide blessing which will come in after Israel’s turning to God at the dawn of the Millennium.

Verse 13: The apostle is writing to Gentiles; he tells them that “inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office” (or, glorify my ministry). It was to the Gentiles he was sent (see Gal. 2:7-9), but his heart went out after his own nation too, that by any means (verse 14) he might provoke them to jealousy, and might save some from among them. For if their casting away be the world’s reconciliation, what will their reception be, when they truly turn to God, but life from the dead? Actual resurrection from the grave is not here referred to, but a national spiritual awakening resulting in the salvation of the remnant of Israel, which the Old Testament prophecies abundantly forecast.

In the 16th and following verses the figure of an olive tree is brought in to illustrate a principle of God in connection with the earth, and particularly with Israel. Three trees are used in the Scriptures in this way: the vine, the fig tree, and the olive.

The vine, as to which see Psalms 80:8-11; Isaiah 5:1-2; Jeremiah 2:21; Hosea 10:1, John 15:1-6 and Revelation 14:18, represents a religious system in professed connection with God, with the bearing of fruit as its proper function. Israel was the vine, but it was set aside; Christ, as He walked this earth was the true vine, and now the professors of Christianity, real and false, are the branches. Revelation 14:18 presents the end, in a day yet future, of the empty profession of religion—the vine of the earth, without any true knowledge of Christ in it.

(To Be Continued D. V.)

Alliance of Jehoshaphat and Ahab

The reign of Ahab, looked at historically, was in general prosperous and glorious. Moab was tributary, Syria subject and quiet. The king had an ivory palace, and built fresh cities: a new motive to own Jehovah; a snare to one who worshiped Baal. God did not regard all this prosperity. In a moral point of view, this reign stamps its character upon the kingdom of Israel. It is apostasy and iniquity, but at the same time, the testimony of a faithful and patient God.

The last chapter (1 Kings 22) presents another element of this history, namely, the guilty alliances which were formed between the royal families of Israel and Judah. Both of them prosperous at this period, they seek the establishment and increase of their power by peace and mutual alliances. On Jehoshaphat’s side it was nothing but unfaithfulness and forgetfulness of God. And, if God did not forsake him, Jehoshaphat saw the commencement of chastisements, the results of which were deeply disastrous to his house.

But what was morally the character of this alliance? It is Jehoshaphat who comes to Ahab and not Ahab to Jehoshaphat. The latter asks, as a favor, that Jehovah may be consulted. After this request the false prophets make use of Jehovah’s name to announce the success of the enterprise. This was natural enough; for the Syrians having been overcome, and having failed in performing the conditions of peace laid upon them, Ahab was going to assert his rights with the help of the king of Judah.

In short Jehovah’s name is in the mouth of the false prophets, Micaiah (for the king of Judah was uneasy)—Micaiah, being come, announces misfortune. But Ahab’s mind was made up; and the king of Judah was bound to his engagement. It was no longer time to consult Jehovah: to inquire after the truth, in such a position as this, was but to learn a judgment which they had resolved to contemn. Ahab was more consistent than Jehoshaphat. The conscience of the latter only made every one uncomfortable, and proved his own folly. To please Jehoshaphat by speaking to him of Jehovah was no more than decency required; but it was all that Ahab did for Jehoshaphat, except that he unwillingly sent for Micaiah.

Jehoshaphat helped Ahab against Syria; he helped Jehoram against Moab; but neither Ahab nor his son helped Jehoshaphat in any one thing, except to be unfaithful to Jehovah. Ahaziah was willing indeed to go with him, but it was in order to obtain gold from Ophir. It would rather appear that this alliance was the cause of that between Moab, Ammon, and Seir against Jehoshaphat. Happily it was no question then of assisting Israel.

Such is the history of the alliances of believers, not only with unbelievers, but with the unfaithful. The latter, are very willing that we should go with them, but to walk in the ways of truth is another thing. This is not the question with them; if they so walked, they would cease to be unfaithful. A true union would necessarily have made Jerusalem the center and capital of the land: for Jehovah and His temple were there. The alliance took it for granted that Jehoshaphat had given up all such idea, since it showed that he recognized Ahab in his position. There is no equality in an alliance between truth and error; since, by this very alliance, truth ceases to be truth, and error does not thereby become truth. The only thing lost is the authority and obligation of the truth.

All Things Are Ours

Every possible glory is ours. The blessedness that is in God Himself, as far as can be communicated, for we dwell in God and God in us.

Relative blessedness, for we are children.

Associated blessedness in union with the blessed One, for we are the bride.

Official nearness and glory, for we are kings and priests.

Human blessedness, for we shall be perfect men after the image of the second Adam.

Corporate blessedness, for we shall have joy together.

Individual, for we shall have a name which no one else knows but he that receives it, and we shall have the fullness of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, unhindered by these poor bodies; yes, clothed upon by a vessel suited to the power of the divine inhabitant, so as to be able, in full largeness of heart, to enjoy all this.

The Remnant Testimony: Part 1

Part 1.

“Who hath despised the day of small things?” Zechariah 4:10.

The testimony which the Lord’s people are called to maintain in these last days has a twofold character:

First: The unity of the Church—the body of Christ—constituted by the personal presence of the Holy Ghost, sent down from heaven at Pentecost; and,

Second: The character of a Remnant who have emerged from the ruin and devastation into which the Church has lapsed, who are maintaining this testimony with uncompromising purpose and devotedness of heart.

To this Remnant character I desire to draw the attention of my readers, and to trace from Scripture some of the characteristics which distinguished the faithful from time to time, in periods of declension from the first calling of God; or marked the paths of individuals who typify or personate a remnant in days of failure and ruin. They afford much instruction and example, as well as warning, to those who now, through mercy, occupy this grave and yet deeply blessed place.

We shall find another feature, too, of marked and painful interest; i.e. how soon failure came in, and energy flagged, after the first fine efforts of faith, which had extricated itself from corruption, and returned to a divine position. Alas, man fails—the saints fail in the things of God in every way. Still there is no failure which can break the link of faith with the power of God; and the brightest exhibitions of faith are ever found where all around is darkest. It is not to serve, or love the saints of God, to sink to their level, and be submerged in the confusion.

We never can cope with the evil that has flowed in by letting go first principles. In no place do we find such strong injunctions to hold them fast as when all was darkest, and the failure most apparent. Witness Paul’s instructions in 2 Timothy:

“Hold fast the form of sound words.”

“Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

“Continue in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them,” etc.

He serves the Lord’s people best, who, while he follows them as long as there is an ear to hear, never himself loses his liberty, or enfeebles the truth by identity with that which is not according to God.

A Gideon must first throw down the altar of Baal before “Abi-ezer” is gathered after him.

A Lot may preach true things to his circle, but it was truth without the power of God, because he had not first extricated himself from Sodom:

“He seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law” (Gen. 19).

It is clear that there must first have been the calling of God announced and accepted; something set up of God from which the general mass had departed, in order that there should be a holding fast of the fundamental calling, by a remnant; or a return to original principles, when all had lost the divine place of testimony.

I think that the first remnant having this character, is Caleb and Joshua.

When God came down to deliver Israel out of Egypt, He announced His purpose to Moses in Exodus 3:8,

“I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Here was the purpose distinctly enunciated. Not one word about “the great and terrible wilderness” which lay between.

I pass over their deliverance, and subsequent history, till we come to the moment when Israel, about two years after, were to go up to the mount of the Amorites, and take possession of the land of Canaan. Their faith was not up to the call of the Lord, and they begged that some should be sent to spy out the land. To this the Lord assented, commanding that twelve men—out of every tribe a man—(see Num. 13; Deut. 1) should go up. Among them were “Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.” The spies returned with a good report of the land; but ten of them caused the unbelief of the heart of Israel to manifest itself by their own fears. At this critical moment we find Israel slipping away from the call of Jehovah, and the solemn words were then spoken,

“Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.”

They “despised” the pleasant land! Here one of these two faithful men—men of “another spirit” —who had “wholly followed the Lord God of Israel,” stilled the people with his words,

“If the Lord delight in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.”

He “held fast” the calling and purpose of Jehovah at this critical moment. Israel had to go back and wander for the rest of the forty years in the desert, till all the men of war died that came out of Egypt.

Joshua and Caleb, too, had to accompany them in their sorrow and toil, yet not in their sin. But there was not one in that great company who with more firm unfaltering tread, and cheerful heart, wandered for that forty years. True to the purpose and call of God, they hoped for what they saw not, and in patience waited for it. They got their portion in the land they looked for, when the time came; and the testimony of Moses was that Caleb “wholly followed the Lord” (Josh. 14:8-14).

(To be Continued)

Extract: What the Heart is Set On

Can we honestly say, with glory before us, with Christ before us: “This one thing I do”? Which way does your eye turn? Which way are you going? God has only one way—Christ.

Paul saw Christ on the way to Damascus, and he gives up his importance, his Pharisiasm, his teaching, his everything else, and he counts all but loss that he may win Christ. People talk of sacrifices; but there is no great sacrifice in giving up dung. If the eye were so fixed on Christ that these things got that character, it would not be a trouble to give them up. The thing gets its character from what the heart is set on.

Stand Fast

If ever there was a day when it was important for every professed follower of Christ to stand fast and to be true to his profession, I believe it is the present day.

There is no answer to infidelity like the life of Christ displayed by the Christian, nothing puts the madness of the infidel, and the folly of the superstitious more to shame and silence than the humble, quiet, devoted walk of a thorough-going, heavenly-minded, divinely-taught Christian. It may be in the unlearned and poor and despised; but, like the scent of the lowly violet, it gives its perfume abroad, and both God and man take notice of it.

In the experience of almost every believer, there is some turning point, when he either goes onward in devotedness to the Lord, or sinks down into a mere common-place Christian. Not one of us is too obscure to be tried as to whether we will seek God’s honor, or present things, first.

God is very jealous of all man’s, substitutes and imitations of the power of the Holy Spirit. In stripping ourselves of such things, we may seem to others to be throwing away our influence and our usefulness. But what is usefulness? What is “doing good?” It is doing the will of God.

“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.” Romans 12:2.

The Disappointments of Life

“This thing is from me.” 1 Kings 12:24.

The disappointments of life are in reality only the decrees of love. I have a message for thee today, My child. I will whisper it softly in thine ear, in order that the storm clouds which appear, may be gilt with glory, and that the thorns on which thou mayest have to walk, may be blunted. The message is but short—a tiny sentence—but allow it to sink into the depths of thine heart, and be to thee as a cushion on which to rest thy weary head:

“This thing is from Me.”

Hast thou never thought that all which concerns thee, concerns Me also? He that touchest thee touchest the apple of Mine eye (Zech. 2:8). Thou hast been precious in Mine eyes, that is why I take a special interest in thine upbringing. When temptation assails thee, and the “enemy comes in like a flood” I would wish thee to know that

“This thing is from Me.”

I am the God of circumstances. Thou hast not been placed where thou art by chance, but because it is the place I have chosen for thee. Didst thou not ask to become humble? Behold, I have placed thee in the very place where this lesson is to be learned. It is by thy surroundings, and thy companions, that the working of My will is to come about.

Hast thou money difficulties? Is it hard to keep within thine income?

“This thing is from Me.”

For I am He that possesseth all things. I wish thee to draw everything from Me, and that thou depend entirely upon Me. My riches are illimitable (Phil. 4:19). Put My promise to the proof, so that it may not be said of thee,

“Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord thy God.”

Art thou passing through a night of affliction?

“This thing is from Me.”

I am the Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isa. 53:3). I have left thee without human support, that in turning to Me thou mightest obtain eternal consolation (2 Thess. 2:16,17).

Has some friend disappointed thee? One to whom thou hadst opened thine heart?

“This thing is from Me.”

I have allowed this disappointment that thou mightest learn that the best Friend is Jesus. He preserves us from falling, fights for us in our combats; yea, the best friend is Jesus. I long to be thy confidant.

Has someone said false things of thee? Leave that, and come closer to Me, under My wings, away from the place of wordy dispute, for I will bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday (Psa. 37:6).

Have thy plans been all upset? Art thou crushed and weary?

“This thing is from Me.”

Hast thou made plans and then coming, asked Me to bless them? I wish to make thy plans for thee. I will take the responsibility, for it is too heavy for thee, thou couldst not perform it alone (Ex. 18:18). Thou are but an instrument and not an agent.

Hast thou desired fervently to do some great work for Me? Instead of that thou hast been laid on one side, on a bed of sickness and suffering.

“This thing is from Me.”

I was unable to attract thine attention whilst thou wast so active. I wish to teach thee some of My deep lessons. It is only those who have learned to wait patiently, who can serve Me. My greatest workers are sometimes those who are laid aside from active service, in order that they may learn to wield the weapon of prayer.

Art thou suddenly called to occupy a difficult position full of responsibilities? Go forward, counting on Me. I am giving thee the position full of difficulties for the reason that Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all thy works, and in all the business of thy hands (Deut. 15:18).

This day I place in thy hand a pot of holy oil. Draw from it freely, My child, that all the circumstances arising along the pathway, each word that gives thee pain, each interruption trying to thy patience, each manifestation of thy feebleness, may be anointed with this oil. Remember that interruptions are divine instructions. The sting will go in the measure in which thou seest Me in all things. Therefore set your heart unto all the works that I testify among you this day. For it is your life (Deut. 32:46,47).

Extract

“Arise, depart, for this is not your rest,” says the Spirit by the prophet. And why? Why is it not to be our rest?

“It is polluted” he adds. He does not say,

“It is sorrowful; it is disappointing; it is unsatisfying, but it is polluted.”

The quickened soul is to gather from the moral, and not from the circumstances of the scene here, its reasons for cherishing within it the power of Christ’s resurrection.

The dove outside the ark did not fear the snare of the fowler, but found no rest for the sole of her foot on the unpurged ground.

"But for a Moment"

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” 2 Corinthians 4:17.

“Now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations. That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, Whom having not seen ye love.” 1 Peter 1:6-8.

“But for a moment,” the trial,

Only a moment ‘twill last,

Soon in the glory with Jesus,

Each trial and sorrow past.

“Now for a season,” if need be

Temptation, heaviness, pain,

Proving thy faith most precious,

Gleaning eternal gain.

Faith in a Father’s wisdom,

Faith in His heart of love,

Faith through the worst affliction,

Faith that looks up above.

Faith that will stand His testing

Though it be tried with fire;

Trusting His love and goodness,

This is His heart’s desire.

Testing is just for a season

Later its purpose is known

After the trial, comes blessing

After the cross, comes the crown.

Divine Authority

If there is, one feature more characteristic than another of the present hour, it is in subjection to divine authority—positive resistance of the truth when it demands unqualified obedience and self-surrender. It is all well enough so long as it is truth setting forth, with divine fullness and clearness, our pardon, our acceptance, our life, our righteousness, our eternal security in Christ. This will be listened to, and delighted in. But the very moment it becomes a question of the claims and authority of that blessed One who gave His life to save us from the flames of hell, and introduce us to the everlasting joys of heaven, all manner of difficulties are started; all sorts of reasonings and questions are raised; clouds of prejudice gather round the soul, and darken the understanding. The sharp edge of truth is blunted or turned aside, in a thousand ways. There is no waiting for the sound of the trumpet; and when it sounds, with a blast as clear as God Himself can give, there is no response to the summons. We move when we ought to be still; and we halt when we ought to be moving.

Reader, what must be the result of this? Either no progress at all, or progress in a wrong direction, which is worse than none. It is utterly impossible that we can advance in the divine life unless we yield ourselves, without reserve, to the Word of the Lord.

Saved we may be through the rich aboundings of divine mercy, and through the atoning virtues of a Savior’s blood; but shall we rest satisfied with being saved by Christ, and not seek, in some feeble measure to walk with Him, and live for Him? Shall we accept of salvation through the work which He has wrought, and not seek for deeper intimacy of communion with Himself, and more complete subjection to His authority in all things?

Somebody Else

“God wanted me to do something for Him,

I heard His call, but delayed;

Then He ceased pleading, for somebody else

Had heard that same call, and obeyed.

“Somebody else took the task meant for me,

Somebody else proved more true;

Somebody’s doing, with patience and love,

The task that God asked me to do.

“Somebody else won the prize meant for me,

Somebody else earned my crown;

Somebody’s doing the God-given task

That carelessly I had laid down.”

Correspondence: 1 Cor. 11:30; Luke 16:1-12; Jepthah's Daughter Sacrificed?

Question: Please explain, “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” 1 Corinthians 11:30.

Answer: These persons had failed to judge themselves—failed to discern the Lord’s body in the broken bread—they had eaten in an unworthy manner, though they were true Christians, and hence God, in His government of His house, had to chasten them by bodily sickness even unto death, in order that they might not be condemned with the world. No doubt others were called to learn and take warning from the discipline exercised upon those erring ones.

Question: Please tell us about the “Unjust Steward.” Luke 16:1-12.

Answer: As to the unjust steward, the moral is this—use the present with an eye to the future— “The Lord commends the unjust steward” not for his honesty surely, but because he had dealt wisely; and the wisdom consists simply in providing for the future. This is the point of the parable. The lesson it teaches us is to use this world’s riches—which are not what properly belong to us, as Christians—in the service of Christ—to do good—to distribute and communicate—to open our hands wide to every form of human need—to lay up in store a good foundation against the time to come (1 Tim. 6:17-19).

Question: Was Jephthah’s daughter really sacrificed—killed?

Answer: The margin in Judg. 11:31, reads “or” instead of “and.” Jephthah’s daughter was dedicated to God in being a virgin to her death. We do not believe she was offered up as a burnt offering. No human sacrifices were ever offered to God.

My Brother Charlie

I sat by the fireside with my widowed mother, waiting for the homecoming of my only brother. He was a medical student in E., and was expected home that night, on his usual vacation. There were no railways in those days, so Charlie had to come by the mail coach which took the greater part of the day to make the journey. I was looking forward to his homecoming with great delight, and had a long program of “events” drawn up for the following day, in which was included a supper and ball.

My mother was very indulgent, and allowed us to do very much what we liked in these matters, and of course Charlie and I took full advantage of her liberality, and went into the thing in grand style. The hours passed on, and still there was no coach. It was late in the afternoon. I fretted at this, and feared that all my plans for the morrow might be upset.

“What if he should not come?” I said, “that will spoil the whole thing.”

Just then the “horn” sounded, and the big mail coach rolled into the village amid clouds of dust, crowded with passengers, and with Charlie among the rest. I clapped my hands in glee as I saw his well-known form, on the driver’s seat, and in a few minutes more he stood in the old parlor, where he and I had together as children spent so many happy days. He was taller and thinner, but the old happy smile dimpled his cheek, and I never felt so proud of my brother as I did that day. I was so eager to inform him of all my plans, that I accompanied him up to his room, and began at once to tell him who were invited, and what was to be the program for the following day. He listened to my story patiently, but without the manifest interest I had expected. When I had finished, he gave a pleasant laugh, threw his arm around my neck, and, kissing me affectionately, said,

“Maggie, my dear, you will not be offended if I tell you, these things are no longer any enjoyment to me. I have something infinitely better.”

I looked at him in amazement, and thought he was joking, for no one had enjoyed a dance more heartily than Charlie. He saw I was puzzled, so drawing me to his side, he said:

“Do not be alarmed, Maggie, I have not turned a monk, but I have Christ as my own Lord and Master, and He is more to me now than all these follies use to be; but come on, mother will be waiting, I will tell you all about it again.”

That night by the fireside, Charlie told our mother and me the story of his conversion, and how he had longed to get back to his native town to tell his old associates the story of redeeming love.

“What shall we do about tomorrow?” asked my mother. “Our preparations are all made, and there are about twenty invited.” Charlie laughed heartily and said:

“Let them come by all means, mother, I shall be delighted to meet them, and it’s just possible that we may have some music and dancing after all before the night passes away.”

A goodly company had gathered at Rosemount the following night, and after supper, the company called for Charlie, as was their wont, to entertain them with a song. He was a splendid singer, and never was his voice in better trim than it was that evening. A moment’s pause, and Charlie rose, not without a quiver passing through his manly frame, and in a voice of thrilling sweetness, sang—

I’ve found a Friend, O such a Friend!

He loved me ere I knew Him;

He drew me with the cords of love,

And thus He bound me to Him.

And round my heart still closely twine

These ties which naught can sever,

For I am His, and He is mine,

Forever and forever.

I’ve found a Friend, O such a Friend,

He bled; He died to save me;

And not alone the gift of life,

But His own self He gave me,

Naught that I have, mine own I’ll call,

I’ll hold it for the Giver;

My heart, my strength, my life, my all,

Are His and His forever.

I’ve found a Friend, O such a Friend,

So kind, and true and tender,

So wise a counselor and guide,

So mighty a defender.

From Him who loves me now so well,

What power my soul can sever?

Shall life or death, shall earth or hell?

No; I am His forever.

A look of blank amazement settled on the faces of the company as the words fell on their ears. Every eye was fixed on the singer, spellbound. Tears were seen in the eyes of most, and as the singer reached the last verse, his voice increasing in power and sweetness, he sang the thrilling words with great effect—

I’ve found a Friend, O such a Friend,

All power to Him is given,

To guard me on my onward course

And bring me safe to heaven.

The eternal glories gleam afar,

To nerve my faint endeavor;

So now to watch, to work, to war,

And then to rest forever.

Some of the company rose and left without uttering one word, but the greater part remained, and to them Charlie in his winning, hearty manner told the simple story of his conversion, ending up with,

“You won’t be angry at me for telling you, will you? The truth is, I could not keep it, my heart is full of it, and I thought the least I could do was to tell you of my newfound treasure.”

That simple testimony to the saving power of Christ, the beaming face of the speaker, so well-known to all the company; the genuineness of the change; the absence of all affectation, and the earnest closing appeal to accept the gift of God, His own beloved Son, to be your Savior and know true happiness for time and eternity, was owned of God to the conversion of at least five of the company that night.

Charlie spoke in the schoolroom on Sunday evening to a crowded congregation, and several others were won for Christ. A great ingathering followed. And among those who were saved, and who sang the new song, were my mother, and me.

Part of that happy company after witnessing a good confession have gone to heaven; others of us are still on earth, still singing of Jesus, and were Charlie by my side, as I write, he would join me in saying to all who read my story, what he said that night,

“Accept the gift of God, His own beloved Son, to be your Savior.”

“Be it known unto you, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from all things.” Acts 13:38, 39.

God's Great Gift

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” 1 John 4:9.

Who can tell what it cost God to give this great gift? Mark well how language labors and strains to express the preciousness of God’s Son to Him. He is spoken of as

“His only begotten Son.”...

“Thou lovest Me before the foundation of the world” are the words of Jesus to His Father.

There never was, and never shall be a moment in eternity or in time when He did not dwell in the bosom of His Father. The Father’s bosom was, and is, His dwelling place. It is by such language that we are told how dear, infinitely dear He is to the Father, and worthy of that Father’s love. But He came forth from the Father to be the Savior of sinners.

"Coming"

“He that shall come, will come, and will not tarry.” Hebrews 10:37.

“Surely I come quickly. Amen.

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20.

Perhaps when the morn is dawning

Of some glorious summer’s day,

When the sun’s bright light is gleaming

Right along the darksome way,

When the birds begin to twitter

From their shelter in the tree,

Perhaps, then, our own dear Savior

Will return for you and me.

Perhaps on a lovely morning,

When everything seems bright,

When the earth is wrapped in splendor

From the sun’s strong powerful light,

When busy with daily duties,

His face I then may see,

Perhaps on a glorious morning

The Master may come for me.

Perhaps in the burning noonday,

When the morning’s toil is o’er,

The sun is high in the heavens,

On the earth its rays doth pour.

The workmen rest from their labors.

Under the shade of the tree,

Perhaps in the heat of the noonday,

He may come for you and me.

Perhaps when the shadows darken,

And the sun sets in the west,

In the quietness of the twilight,

When the earth prepares for rest,

When the birds leave off their singing

And the little stars appear,

Perhaps in the quiet twilight

His voice I may gladly hear.

Perhaps on a starlight evening,

And when all around is still

When the moon shines in her splendor,

Fulfilling His holy will,

When the evening psalm is rising,

There’s a hush o’er land and sea,

Perhaps in the holy stillness,

The Master may call for me.

When the earth is wrapped in darkness,

And the wind is strong and wild,

When the tempest rages fiercely,

Perhaps He will call His child.

In the dark and stormy midnight

He suddenly may appear,

To welcome His blood-bought children

To His own blest home, so dear.

Perhaps when a deep, great sorrow,

As a dark cloud doth appear,

When the storms do thickly gather,

And the way seems very drear,

When overwhelmed and weary

For the wilderness is wild,

Perhaps then, when trouble rages

The Father will call His child.

Perhaps when I’m in the schoolroom,

In the midst of busy life,

Teaching the children their lessons,

Or quelling a petty strife,

Yes, occupied with my classes,

With the children all around,

In the very midst of a lesson

Then the trumpet note may sound.

Perhaps when far from the loved ones,

When a stranger and alone

And I miss the dear home faces,

And all seems out of tone,

Perhaps then, in that lonely moment

My Savior’s face I shall see,

To Himself and the many mansions

He has come to welcome me.

Perhaps, and t’would be far better,

If my loving Lord would come,

When surrounded by my dear ones.

In our happy little home;

For then one united gathering

We together would arise,

“In a moment” changed and glorious,

Then would meet Him in the skies.

Perhaps on a Lord’s day morning,

As with hearts and minds set free,

We keep His own sweet commandment

“This do, remember me”

As around Himself we gather,

Then our loving Lord may come,

To receive His blood-bought treasure

To His happy, happy home.

While I tell the little children

On a Sunday afternoon,

Of the tender loving Savior,

Who will come so very soon,

As I seek to lead the dear ones,

To the Savior’s blessed feet,

Perhaps then, O, joyful moment!

My loving Lord I’ll greet.

Perhaps on a Sunday evening,

When the gospel note is clear,

And God’s servant preaches “Jesus”

Then the Savior may appear;

While the word is being spoken,

The archangel’s voice may sound,

In a moment with their Savior,

The blood-bought Church is found.

Then remembering will be over,

We shall see Him face to face,

We shall praise Him, yes, forever,

For His boundless, wondrous, grace;

We shall be with Him forever,

And never grieve Him more

Then we’ll worship and adore Him,

Who all our sorrows bore.

O, surely it does not matter,

The moment, day or hour,

When our Lord will gather His loved ones,

And reign in strength and power,

But until that moment cometh,

May we ever faithful be,

Yes, watching daily, hourly,

His own blest face to see.

"Poor-Yet Possessing All Things"

The Lord was “poor, yet making many rich”... “having nothing, yet possessing all things.” 2 Corinthians 6:10.

These high and wondrous conditions were exhibited in Him in ways that were and must have been peculiar altogether His own.

He would receive ministry from some godly women out of their substance, and yet He could minister to the need of all around Him, out of the fullness of the treasures of the earth.

He would feed thousands in desert places, and yet, Himself be hungry, waiting for the return of His disciples with victuals from a neighboring village thus “having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 11, Part 2

Chapter 11 Part 2

The fig tree, for which turn to Hosea 9:10; Matthew 21:19, 20; Mark 11:13, 14, 20, 21; Luke 13:6-9, represents the people of Israel as a nation, cultivated by God, but in vain as far as any fruit for Him was concerned. The fig tree’s fruit appears before its leaves come out; Christ, in the Scriptures referred to, came to the fig tree, which under its foliage should have had a full yield of fruit developing for the coming harvest, but not a fig was there. Abounding in the appearance of life before men, (but it was only outward profession), Israel had no fruit for God, and was now rejected.

The olive tree, for which see Psalms 52:8; Jeremiah 11:16; Hosea 14 (particularly verse 6) and our chapter in Romans, refers to the promises made by God to Abraham (Gen. 12:2, 3; 13:14-17; 15:5, 18-21; 17:1-7), and treasured by his descendants, the natural trunk or branches of which Abraham was the root. But the Jews rejected Christ, and were in consequence set aside; the Gentiles on the principle of faith were grafted into the tree of promise in the place of the broken off natural branches. And how have the Gentiles treated the singular blessing of God which has accompanied the spreading of the gospel? Has their course been better than that of Israel, when they enjoyed God’s favor? Surely not; and the end of it will be reached when the natural or Jewish branches are restored to their own olive tree of promise, and the Gentile or wild olive branches are cut off under the government of God. Christendom is on trial now, as Israel was of old, and it will issue in the apostasy, foretold in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12. This event will be shortly followed by the reception of the Jews, and the lost ten tribes—the new Israel, born again.

Now in all this that we have been considering, the subject of the believer’s eternal security has not once been touched upon. The theme all the way through is the responsibility of man to God. Thinking little, if at all, of that responsibility, the Gentiles in large numbers look down upon the Jews, and they are hated and persecuted, but the day is coming when the tables will be turned, and the Jews will have the first place in the world, as of old. Blindness, or hardness, in part, is happened to Israel, until the fullness, or full complement, of the Gentiles—all the Gentiles whom God purposed to have part in the blessing—will have come in (verse 25); and so all Israel shall be saved. This is part of the determined purpose of God which the will, and the works of man cannot alter.

You will notice that the expression, “all Israel” in the 26th verse is in contrast with God’s present saving of a few Jews among many Gentiles who are saved. In the coming day, Israel as a nation will turn to God and be saved. This has never been the case heretofore, but when His judgments have been executed in the earth at the beginning of Christ’s Millennial kingdom, there will be no unsaved ones left among the children of Israel. Among many passages which tell of God’s dealings with Israel in a day now surely very near, we need name only two, Zechariah 13:8, 9, relating to the two tribes known as the Jews, and Ezekiel 20:33-44, which speaks of the now lost ten tribes. When the unrepentant have been purged out of the two tribes, and out of the ten tribes, all Israel, reunited in the land of their forefathers, will be saved.

In verses 26, 27 the quotation is purposely not an exact one; chiefly taken from Isaiah 59:20; it expresses the substance of what several Old Testament passages tell, of a deliverance, or rather a Deliverer, to come for Israel. This is the third ground of assurance that Israel has not been finally rejected. Bitterly opposed to the gospel, as we may readily see in the Acts, they became open enemies of the believers, but, because of God’s purpose to bless a chosen (elect) remnant of them, the Jews are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. The gifts and the calling of God are not subject to repentance; that is, He does not repent of His purposes. On this faith rests.

A rather more exact, and more readily understood translation of verses 30, 31 and 32 follows:

“For as indeed ye also once have not believed in God, but now have been objects of mercy through the unbelief of these; so these also have now not believed in your mercy, in order that they also may be objects of mercy. For God hath shut up together all in unbelief, in order that He might show mercy to all” (N.T.)

God had acted in grace toward the unbelieving Gentiles; the Jews had no taste for this, and the consequence was that they lost all right to the promises made to Abraham. For them, therefore, the effect of the promise could only be known through God’s mercy, the same for them as for the Gentiles.

Now the consideration of all these marvelous ways of God leads out the apostle’s heart (verses 33-36),

“O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”

You and I, dear young Christian, do we not enter in heart into this outburst of praise?

“For of Him and through Him, and for Him, are all things; to Him be glory forever. Amen.”

(To be continued, D.V.)

The Remnant Testimony: Part 2

Part 2.

In Ruth we get a touching picture of what a remnant should be. Her history lay in the dark day of Israel’s ruin in the time when the judges ruled; Israel had proved totally faithless to their calling; and the Philistines devastated the land of Jehovah; and every man did what seemed right in his own eyes (Judg. 21:25). The first associations of the poor Moabitess with Naomi were in the day of her prosperity and gladness of heart. But Naomi’s dark day came; the widow of Israel—a widow in heart and fact—Naomi (now become “Mara” — “bitterness”), set out to return to the land of Israel. Joys and relationships which once she knew had gone forever. Ruth, a widow in heart, too, as in circumstances, clave to Naomi. She had known her in her prosperous day, and in the day of her sorrow she made the widow of Israel the object of all her care. She could not restore the past to her—it was gone forever. But she devotes herself in the present to this widowed heart, and follows her, thoughtless of self, to the land of Israel.

“Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried!” But the day of reward and recognition came. To her question to Boaz,

“Why have I found grace in thine eyes that thou shouldst take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?” The answer was,

“It hath fully been showed me all that thou halt done unto thy mother-in-law.” This was the ground of her reward.

If we have glimpsed what the Church was in the day of her Pentecostal blessedness, and discovered that the divine principles then enunciated have never changed, shall not our language be in the dark day of her shame and ruin,

“Whither Thou goest, I will go, and where Thou lodgest I will lodge: Thy people shall be my people,” etc.

If the poverty of our services are not worthy of recognition when the day of rewards shall come, we shall have the satisfaction and joy to know that we bestowed all (shall we say?) our attention and care on that for which Christ gave Himself, that He might sanctify and cleanse her, and present to Himself a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing (Eph. 5:25-27).

I turn to a darker day of Israel’s history. The ten tribes had long since gone away captive to Assyria. Judah had filled up the measure of the long-suffering of Jehovah, and had gone captive to Babylon. Jerusalem was solitary, devastated, and in ruins, and the land was wasted and without an inhabitant. Hardly a trace that it was Jehovah’s now remained; but that it was keeping its Sabbaths—not from the faith of the people, but because upon the people had been written “Lo-ammi” (Hos. 1).

Far away in the land of the Chaldean, a faithful heart might sigh, and open his window and pray—straining his eyes towards the long-loved city; and confess as his own, the sins of his people (Dan. 6:9). By the rivers of Babylon, too, those who could sigh and cry for the abominations which were wrought in the house of God at Jerusalem, could hang up their harps on the willows, and refuse to sing the songs of Zion in a strange land. How could He be worshiped unless in that spot where He had chosen? There was but one spot where they could strike their harps to His praise!

“By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down; yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For they that carried us away captive required of us a song: and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying,

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” (Psa. 137).

In the book of Ezra we find a remnant of the people extricating themselves from Babylon, and returning to a divine position before the Lord. Care, lest any but those whose title was distinctly of Israel, should be mixed up with the work of the Lord, marked these faithful men. They did not disown them as of Israel, but they could not recognize their claim. God might discern them as His; they could not pretend to divine discernment when they had not the Urim and the Thummim (see Ezra 2:59-63). In this we have an instructive lesson for our own day.

When the Church was in divine order, each took his place, like the priesthood of Israel, without question as to title to be there. But meanwhile Israel had become mixed up in the corruptions of Babylon, and disorder reigned supreme. When Paul contemplates the total disorder of things in the Church which never could be remedied (2 Tim.), he instructs the remnant who had departed from iniquity, and purged themselves from the vessels of dishonor in the Babylon of the professing Church (ch. 2:19-22), to “follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” They did not deny that those who were still in the corruption were children of God, but they had not extricated themselves from the evils there; and, if knowing the corruption, they had not departed from it, the conscience was defiled and the heart impure. The remnant are careful then, only to walk with those who call on the Lord “out of a pure heart.”

The seventh month came (Ezra 3), the moment for the gathering of the people (the Feast of Trumpets). The remnant gathered themselves “as one man” in the only divine city in the world—the only platform where they could take down, so to say, those long silent, unstrung harps from the willows, and worship Israel’s God! They might pray with the window open toward Jerusalem, and confess their sins in Babylon, but they could not worship Him there.

It was impossible to reconstruct the order of things as they had been in Solomon’s day—that day had passed away forever! The ark was gone—where, none could tell. The glory had departed from Israel—and the sword was in the Gentile hand. The Urim and Thummim was among the things of the past. Yet, outside all these things, which belonged to a day of order, the Lord had not forgotten those faithful men, and His Word and Spirit remained. “They built an altar to the God of Israel” —though all Israel was not there. They did not pretend to be “Israel” —yet they could contemplate all Israel, and in Israel’s city worship Israel’s God, in the way that Israel’s God had written. As a remnant who has escaped, they occupied this divine platform, and sang the praise of Jehovah,

“O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endureth forever.”

(To Be Continued)

Christ's Cross and Our Cross

Christ’s cross was His own, and none but He could bear it. Upon that cross was made by Him full and complete atonement and satisfaction for our sins, and as in that work, He bore all the burden, so He has had, and ever shall have, all its glory.

It is perhaps merely an act of forgetfulness on the Christian’s part that leads him to speak of His bearing Christ’s cross. The cross the Christian has to bear is his own cross.

“If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me,” the Lord says (Matt. 16:24).

The burden of this cross is a man’s own—particularly and peculiarly his own, though borne for his Master’s sake. The Lord may appoint the cross, and He will fit the burden to the back of the bearer. He has His own ways of wisdom, which none can equal, and He knows exactly what is the suited cross for each of His people.

The Lord’s way to the cross was upon the path of rejection and shame, and He calls His disciples to follow where He has trodden, and no faithful disciple need distress his heart as to what His cross shall be, for but a few steps trodden in the pathway of the Lord, will make clear what is the cross to be taken up.

Mount, Run, Walk

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31.

If only we would take more heed unto these exhortations. If we would “die daily” thereby entering more into the enjoyment of Christ. How hard Satan, yes how very hard he seeks to keep us from entering into this enjoyment and surely because he knows that the “joy of the Lord is our strength.” It is only when we enjoy one that we can give up the other.

It is first the mounting up with wings as eagles, viewing the wonderful counsels, purposes, and blessings of the Lord with His own, then the running to obtain the prize, without becoming weary, and then the walking, the routine of our daily life, without fainting or becoming discouraged. Surely it all lies in the mounting up first.

How hard it is for the flesh to “walk.” Just as sure as one becomes occupied with circumstances he becomes discouraged also. O, for patience to learn those much needed lessons. It’s a blessing to know that the One who allows them, never makes any mistake. May we ever praise Him for all His goodness and blessings bestowed upon us.

Fragment: Unbelief vs. Faith

Unbelief says, “How can such and such things be?” It is full of “hows”; but faith has one great answer to the ten thousand “hows”, and that answer is God!

Fragment: My Lord's Plow

Why should I be startled at the plow of my Lord that make the deep furrows on my soul? I know He is no idle husbandman. He purposeth a crop.

Fragment: Weight

Blessed is any weight, however overwhelming, which God has been so good as to fasten with His own hand upon our shoulders.

Correspondence: Nicolaitanes; Women Taking Part in YP Meetings/Teaching S.S.

Question: What does the “Nicolaitanes” refer to in Revelation 2:6,15?

Answer: The word means “conquering the people.” It points to the time when clerisy (clergy distinguished from laity) took its rise. It began by the deeds of some in Ephesus setting themselves up as the spiritual ones, who were more fitted to take part in the assembly. “Which thing I hate,” says the Lord, for it hinders the people’s worship and the Spirit’s leading, and robs God of the worship due to Him. In no place in Scripture do we find the Lord setting one or more men over a congregation to order their worship.

The Church at Pergamos was dwelling in the world where Satan’s seat or throne is, and there in that worldly condition, we find Balaam’s doctrine that seduced the people into fornication, that is, linking the world and the Church together in the world’s idolatry. And the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, that they taught as the truth, was the very thing that God hates, and set up a system entirely contrary to God’s Word.

Ministry, that is, evangelists, pastors and teachers are given of God to minister to the Church; true ministry comes from Christ in glory, but they are never appointed by men. (Gal. 1:1; Eph. 4:8, 11-13.) There is no such thing as ordination of the clergy in the Word of God.

Elders and deacons, offices, but not gifts, were appointed by the apostles. (Titus 1:5.)

What loss to God and to His people, the rise of Nicolaitanism has been. And let us beware of this very danger rising up among those gathered to the name of the Lord. (Matt. 18:20.)

Question: I would like to know if it is scriptural for women to take part in any meetings, such as so-called Young People’s, or so-called informal meetings, and also is it scriptural for women to teach Sunday school classes? If so, please give Scripture References.

Answer: “In the reply as to woman’s preaching, there is not the most remote reference to the blessed work of Sunday school teaching. God forbid that any one should think for a moment that we could pen a line calculated to discourage a Christian woman from such an interesting service, provided she be fitted for it, and can engage in it without interfering with necessary home duties.

We consider Sunday school teaching to be just one of the very things in which ‘women can labor in the gospel.’ It is not speaking in the assembly. It is not teaching or usurping authority over a man; but teaching children the Word of God. It is not assuming the place of a public speaker—so unseemly for a woman. In short, it is a work in which she can most suitably and blessedly engage; and we can say, with a full heart, may God’s richest blessing rest on all who are so engaged.”

(Copied from “Correspondence” in “Things New and Old”, Vol. 19; year, 1876.)

The Clown's Conversion

At the corner of a street a crowd of people were gathered. In their midst was a clown, who was amusing them greatly. A Christian passing by, saw the people and their entertainer. He was filled with longing desire for the blessing of the unsaved, and with earnest prayer, he pressed through the crowd and gave a thoughtfully chosen tract to the man.

Many would think that such zeal was misdirected. However, the sequel proved the contrary.

The clown, accepting the leaflet, thought to make a laugh among the audience by reading it aloud. And thus, with clear voice, he went through it. The words at its close checked him, however, for he read,

“Thou fool! this night thy soul shall be required of thee.” Luke 12:20.

That sentence reached his conscience. His life stained with sin came before him, and his imminent danger.

Immediately, he left the crowd to themselves, and quickly walked away to the astonishment of the people. He was followed by the soul-seeker who had given him the little messenger, and he endeavored to enter into conversation with him. All he could get in reply to his advances was,

“I’m lost, I’m lost.”

The Word of God had done its work. The conscience was reached. The soil of the sinner’s soul was plowed up and ready for the seed of the gospel.

With great joy the Christian told of the frank and free and full forgiveness, which was proclaimed today through Christ and His finished atoning sacrifice.

As cold waters to a heated, thirsty traveler, so was the gospel story to the convicted sinner. Before long, he saw that the message of grace was for him, as the warning of danger had been. He believed on the Lord Jesus Christ unto salvation.

Thank God it is still true that whosoever believeth in Him—in the Lord Jesus Christ—shall receive remission (forgiveness) of sins. The door is opened wide for all. None are too far away for grace to reach.

Be your sins never so great, fear not to come: for He Who calls you has stretched out His arms of mercy, and they are wide open to receive you. Mercy is ready to all who will receive it, and to those that need it most, most ready.

Go on with your work, tract distributor—through evil report and good report. What does it matter if your labor is thought little of by others? Do your service under His eye, seeking His glory, and He will reward you with the sense of His approval, and give you to reap in due season, if you faint not.

Confess the Lord

“Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 10:33.

If any of our dear young friends who know the Lord Jesus as their Savior, have been timid about confessing Him before others, I beg of you to do so now.

Go to the Lord alone first, and tell Him all the truth, then go to others. Like the man in Mark 5, begin at home.

“Go home to thy friends,” and tell them first. Also write to your friends, and tell them of what the Lord has done for you.

Confession of Christ will often meet a difficulty felt by many young converts, a difficulty, which was once expressed to me by a young man in these words,

“I do want to follow Jesus, but how shall I get rid of my old companions in sin, for they seek to draw me aside?”

I advised him to tell them gently and lovingly of the Savior, and invite them, in the spirit of the hymn, to come to Him,

“O that my Savior were your Savior too!”

“You may be sure,” I said, “the result will be this: you will either win them to Christ, or they will leave you entirely.”

He promised to adopt this plan.

Now I would like to have you try the same thing, and you will find that those who care nothing for the Lord will drop off like autumn leaves.

How sweet, on the other hand, if you should thus be the means of leading a companion to Christ. You will find, as I have found, that if a bold, decided confession of Christ in your home, school, or business is unhesitatingly made, it will give glory to Him, and save you a great deal of sorrow and remorse.

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 12:1-8

Chapter 12, Verses 1-8

The apostle has completed the doctrinal part of his letter to the Christians at Rome, and now turns to the practical application of it in their lives. What follows is not what one needs to do, and to be, in order to be saved; in order to go to heaven; O no; we have already seen in God’s Word His way of salvation.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:31.

Faith is reckoned as righteousness to us who “believe on Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Romans 4:22-5:2.

The 12th chapter opens up a subject of very great importance for young Christians: the subject of how a Christian should live, if he or she would please God. And should we not seek to please Him who has done everything for us?

“I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies (or compassion) of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

So the chapter begins. The apostle is laying before the children of God an earnest desire that the truth they have learned in the 6th chapter should be put into full practice. You will always find in the Scriptures that connected with the unfolding of doctrine, there is an application of it in a practical way to the believer’s life.

So it is here. Consider the mercies of God, as we have seen them portrayed in this Epistle: man, a guilty sinner, under condemnation, yet the object of divine mercy; mercy, or compassion so great, so wonderful, that to get its measure, we have to compare Romans 3:9 to 20, with 5:1-11 and 8:1, 16-39; and again, looking at the Jews in chapters 9 to 11, what mercy is there made known! Now in view of these deep compassions of God, ought not every Christian, reckoning himself, according to the 6th chapter, dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus, to refuse to allow sin to reign in his mortal body to obey its lusts; and never to yield his members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin; but rather to yield himself to God as alive from among the dead, and his members instruments of righteousness to God?

It is this, then, to which our thoughts were already directed, as we read chapter 6, that the Spirit of God brings afresh before us as we begin the 12th chapter. A dozen times in the Epistles we find “I (or we) beseech you,” addressed to Christians about their ways. In a few cases the translators have used “exhort” instead of “beseech” for the same Greek word in the original.

A servant of the Lord who knew the ancient Greek well, has said that the word may indeed be rightly translated “beseech” and “exhort” where fitting, but the full meaning attached to it is the calling upon a person so as to stimulate him to anything.

God is not content to give us only forgiveness of sins, and eternal life; He loves us so much that He would have us like Himself in our ways. And the wish expressed in the first verse is particularly for young Christians, though it is for old Christians too. If you have never given your body to God, a living sacrifice, won’t you do so now? His Word says “holy”, and if it is to be “acceptable to God”, your body must not be a place where sin is allowed. He has told you of His love for you, from which nothing can separate you; now let that house in which you live be devoted to Him from henceforth until the Lord comes. “This”, the verse tells us, “is your reasonable (intelligent) service.”

Verse 2. Not conformed but transformed; the two don’t go together; they are as, opposite as the north and south poles. H am going on with the present order of things, seeking what the world can give me of pleasure and satisfaction, I shall not know the transformation that the renewing of my mind should have wrought in me, and the peace and comfort which every Christian may have, by living according to God’s good and acceptable and perfect will. Happiness, it has been truly said, comes to the believer through obedience. Let us thank God for this precious verse, and make its truth a ruling principle in our lives.

Verses 3-8. If in the second verse we are reminded of the Son of God, who, as He passed in manhood through the world which He had made, never did His own will, was ever the obedient One, in the third verse we are reminded that He, the meek and lowly One, never needed, as we do, a warning word against high-mindedness.

Low thoughts of ourselves become us; we are to think soberly (or so as to be wise, to have a sober judgment), as God has dealt to each of us a measure of faith. And in speaking of this, the apostle manifests that he has learned the lesson for himself, for it is, “through the grace given unto me”, he says, that he addresses the believers at Rome regarding it. How different all this is from the character of the world in which we live! We are in another atmosphere altogether, here.

At this point (verse 4) a subject which has an important place in 1st Corinthians, in Ephesians, and in Colossians is introduced—the “one body” of Christ. We read in 1 Corinthians 12:13 concerning all true Christians,

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

This divinely made organism cannot be destroyed; but as a truth of God it may be, and sad to say, it has been, by many given a secondary place.

In the Epistle to the Romans the truth of the “one body” of Christ is brought in to teach believers some primary lessons which belong to their new relationship one to another. In verse 4 the natural body is referred to; it has many members, and they have different purposes. With our eyes we see; with our ears we hear; with our tongues we speak; with our feet we walk; and so on. What a wonder that God should show us in the example of our human body the working of the unseen, but not unknown, body of Christ, His people, made one by the coming of the Holy Spirit. One body in Christ, though we be many, is a marvelous fact; would that all God’s children knew it, and gave it its true place in their lives!

And, in verse 5, we find something we could not say of our natural bodies; it is only true of the spiritual organism, the body in Christ into which all believers are formed by the Holy Spirit. We are members one of another; each separately a member of that body, and all of us members of each other. Does this not tell us of a wonderfully precious relationship in Christ?

The sixth verse speaks of gifts, God’s gifts; or we may say Christ’s gifts, for the riches of the heart of God are ours through Christ and in Christ. The gifts here mentioned refer to this new relationship of which we have been speaking, and all of them are to be used for the good of one another. So we have “prophecy”, “ministry” (referring to service for God’s people, not exactly speaking to them in exhortation, but serving them in love); “teaching”, “exhorting”, “giving”, “ruling”, and “showing mercy.”

(To be continued, D. V.)

The Bright Side

A gentleman went into a solicitor’s office in the City to transact some business. He was asked to take away with him some deeds in respect of which a payment had to be made.

“No,” he said, “I won’t take them until I have paid the money. I don’t know what might happen. I might be with the Lord tonight.”

“O!” said the man to whom he spoke, “you need not look on the gloomy side of things.”

“The gloomy side!” he exclaimed, “I am looking at the bright side. If I were to be run over and killed tonight I should go immediately to be with the Lord.”

And so he would have done, for he was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the word of God says of such that to depart and be with Christ “is far better.”

But do not forget that Christians should not be looking for death, but for the return of the Lord Jesus. Should we be called upon to die, Scripture says,

“We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Corinthians 5:1.

But those who believe in Jesus may not die at all; for the apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonian saints,

“We which are alive and remain (unto the coming of the Lord) shall be caught up together with them (the raised ones) in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

Fellowship in the Gospel: Part 1

(Part 1)

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you... for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.” Philippians 1:3, 5.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians is in response to the help they had sent him. His opening utterance after the salutation and benediction, is thanksgiving to God for this fruit of the Spirit. This of itself marks the importance of the subject. This precious Epistle of Christian experience is a song of praise and thanksgiving drawn out by the Philippian’s gift. His heart was full, for there was fruit that would abound to their account:

“I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable well pleasing to God... Now unto God and our Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Chapter 4:18, 20.

They had communicated with him in the beginning, when (alas!) no other church had, but now also their care of him was revived; they had lacked opportunity, but “where there’s a will there’s a way,” and God opens the way to the willing heart. Epaphroditus had risked his life to convey the gift, according to the word, “we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren,” and God had shown mercy to him, and so increased the blessing, in drawing out their hearts to one another with new thanksgivings. Thus does our God multiply the seed sown, and cause thanksgivings to abound. The love of God was at work.

Fellowship with the gospel is a high and holy thing. It is fellowship with Him who died for sinners, but not too high for us. It becomes us and belongs to us,

“Freely ye have received freely give.” Matthew 10:8.

This whole Epistle and its circumstances, is the Spirit’s testimony that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. He delights in the fruitfulness of love—of faith that has works, and that works by love.

“For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessings from God.” Hebrews 6:7. And so in Malachi He challenges them to offer tithes, that He might bless them:

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Mal. 3:10.

And in Paul’s forewell words, we may call them, to the saints, we find this simple and impressive exhortation:

“I have showed you all things how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus (may His words abide in us), how He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all, and they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more, and they accompanied him unto the ship.” Acts 20:35-38.

This affecting farewell gives a character of special importance to the final exhortation that it might, as it were, ring in our ears and in our hearts—the affectionate farewell appeal of an under shepherd and an apostle—our servant for Jesus’ sake: calling attention to the words of Him who died for us, who could command, but who also exhorts, and incites, and encourages our hearts by the word,

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

(To Be Continued)

The Remnant Testimony: Part 3

Part 3

That chorus had been sung in the bright day of David’s success: when he brought up the Ark of God from the house of Obed Edom, the Gittite, to Jerusalem (1 Chron. 16:41). It had again resounded when the house of the Lord at Jerusalem was filled with the cloud, and the glory of His manifested presence in the days of Solomon (2 Chron. 5:13). When the glory and brightness and successes of those days had passed away, and the failure and ruin of Israel was complete, the returned remnant could raise the very same old note of praise,

“O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endureth forever!” Ezra 3:11.

They had been faithless, but He was faithful. The fathers of Israel who had seen the house of the Lord before the captivity, could weep when they thought of the unfaithfulness of the people. The younger ones could sing with joy when they celebrated the faithfulness of the Lord. The weeping and the rejoicing were both good—to weep was right, when they thought of the failure of the people to Jehovah; but to rejoice was right, when they thought of the faithfulness of God!

Others, too, who called upon the same Lord, as they said, claimed the right of being with them in the work (Ezra 4). But this could not be. They who were careful that even a priest of Israel, who could not show his genealogy, should not eat of the holy things in the day of extrication from Babylon, were careful too that those who had mixed up the fear of Jehovah with the service of idols, should have nothing to do with them in His work. It was not a question with them of having people together; but, with widowed hearts as to the past, their fixed purpose remained to strengthen the things that remained, but to strengthen them according to God—refusing all cooperation with those who could not have the same end in view in the Lord’s testimony. Thus it was pure and unmingled;

1st, To Israel as it had been—God’s separated people on the earth;

2nd, This testimony maintained by a remnant whose sole trust was in God, and whose guide was His Word.

All this has its instructive lessons for us. The unity of the Church remains. It is maintained by the Spirit of God. Tongues have gone—apostolic power has gone—signs have passed away; also healings and gifts of adornment to call the attention of the world. Still the Word of God abides. To it, God has directed us in the last days. Were the tongues, etc., here now, the Word would apply, for “the Word of the Lord abideth forever.” But they have all gone. Still the faithful can take that Word and walk in obedience to it, when all these things of the former glory of the Church have passed away forever.

The remnant extricated from Babylon, as it were, and gathered together to the name of the Lord (Matt. 18:20), on the divine basis and never-failing principle of the Church’s existence— “one body and one Spirit” (Eph. 4:4)—do not by this pretend to be “the Church of God;” that would be to forget that there are children of God still scattered in the Babylon around. They can set up nothing—reconstruct nothing. But they can remember that “He that is holy, He that is true; He that shutteth and no man openeth, and openeth and no man shutteth,” is with them. He is ever to be trusted and counted upon. If He sends a prophet or a help among them, they can thank God, and accept it as a token of His favor and grace—they can appoint none. To do so would be to forget the total ruin which never can be restored, and to presume to do that for which they had no warrant in the Word of God.

If a fresh action of the Spirit of God causes a Nehemiah-like company to follow from Babylon, they are glad to welcome them to the divine ground they occupy themselves. If the Nehemiah-like company comes, they find before them a remnant who had previously, through grace, occupied the divine position. They must gladly and cheerfully fall in with what God had wrought—there was no neutral ground—no second place. They dare not set up another it would be but schism. It was the same Spirit who had wrought, and who, if followed, could not but guide them to the same divine position to which He had guided others. How completely this sets aside the will of man; and independency of the movements of the present day which stop short of that to which God has called His people to “endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace;” for “there is one body and one Spirit.” and only one!

How fully too this meets the questions which so agitate souls in the movements of the day. How impossible for this fresh company of Jews, (Nehemiah), if led of God, to assume that because they were of Israel, they could gather together in some other city, apart from those who went before, (Ezra); and take up divine principles in the letter, and to claim that because they were Jews, and had separated from Babylon, that they could act independently of those who had gone before, and had preoccupied that divine position. It was wide enough for all of Israel, and surely contemplated (as faith ever does) them all. But as it was a return, they were careful to maintain it intact in its purity and divine character, refusing entrance to all that was unsuited to the presence and Name of Israel’s God.

It has been a successful device of the enemy—sad to say—to use the divine and blessed truths of the Church of God to cover what is really schism; and to support a counterfeit and, Jannes and Jambres like, to deceive. For this is not a day of violence—but of deception and resistance of the truth by counterfeits in divine things.

It is simple and plain, that those who have had grace to separate from the evils of the professing Church, even though members of Christ, cannot use this fact to the disowning of that which God had wrought in others in this way before them. If led of “one Spirit,” they cannot but link themselves practically in the unity of the Spirit, with those who had preoccupied the divine platform; cheerfully and thankfully owning what God had wrought, and following where “one Spirit” had led their brethren before them, to the Name of the Lord, as “one body,” to break “one loaf” in remembrance of Him!

(To be continued)

A Word to Christians

Speaking to the Lord in a prayer meeting, a young brother expressed himself thus,

“In regard to the Magazines, Lord, stir up more to write for the young. It may be, Lord, that those who are engaged in Thy work among the young are more suited to write to those who are young. Stir up such then, Lord, to this service, we pray Thee.”

One cannot help thinking that by most Christians the Magazines are regarded as something like field mushrooms—appearing with a monthly growth without any special care or effort on the part of anyone. The idea of prayerful labor, much exercise of heart, and particularly of any difficulty in procuring suitable matter on the part of those who have the care of them, does not seem to enter the minds of most Christians.

Now, matter suited to the capacities of, either children, young Christians, or unsaved—matter to strike their intelligence, touch their consciences, reach their hearts, is extremely scarce, because writers are so few. But why are they so few? Does not our young brother’s prayer supply the answer?

Ponder that prayer, fellow Christian, and see if you are included in its petition? Have you ever written the account of your own conversion? Have you passed on in this way to others that striking incident that came in your way recently? Or have you committed to writing that simple talk you had with some which resulted in one at least being led to the Savior? Perhaps you are like a young brother who remarked,

“I never thought of writing, till Mr.— asked me to give him an article.”

But then he did think, and he did write, and wrote acceptably, too.

“Tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee.” Mark 5:19.

“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19.

The more we magnify Christ, the more we are in communion with the mind and heart of God.

Keep close to Christ, and you get strength for everything.

A Tear

At the close of a busy day a tailor was seated at his work, when the door opened and a fine looking young man walked in who was wishing a new suit of clothes. The tailor took down his tape line and began measuring him. In looking over this handsome young man, he thought,

“I wonder if in this fine body there dwells a soul that possesses the assurance of eternal life, both for this life and the life to come?”

He was so taken up with this thought, that unconsciously a tear dropped from his eye.

“What is the trouble,” asked the young man.

“Dear sir, please do not misunderstand me,” answered the tailor, “but in looking at you, it gave me pain to think you might not have the joy of being a Christian.”

The young man left without replying, but he could not forget that tear. He bought a New Testament, and in reading and meditating upon what he read, he was converted, and became a devoted servant of Christ.

He was attending a University of medicine, and while there this dear man, a child of God, was a faithful witness for the Lord, who had done so much for him.

He wrote a number of books, which were used of God to bring others to Christ, so it can be truly said that the tear of the tailor accomplished great things.

Dear readers, who belong to Christ, did you ever shed a tear when meeting a soul that does not know the Savior, and did you ever lead one to seek the Savior by the life you witness for Him, and the interest you take in their never-dying soul?

Kept

“Kept by the power of God.” 1 Peter 1:5.

“That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:10.

Kept for the Lord Jehovah,

Kept for His use alone,

Kept evermore rememb’ring

That we are not our own.

Kept to go forth and serve Him—

It may be in irksome ways,

Kept to be always living,

That we may bring Him praise.

Kept to reflect His image—

More like Him daily grow,

Kept to be all for Jesus,

In this dark world below.

Kept for His name and honor,

Kept for His glory now,

Kept as the jewels gathered

With which to deck His brow.

Kept to be used by Jesus

Just when and where He will—

Kept as a vessel emptied,

Made meet for Him to fill.

Kept for the Lord’s good pleasure,

That we may give Him joy,

Kept that our highest glory

Be in His best employ.

Kept till the Heavenly Bridegroom

Claims us His chosen Bride,

Kept then to be forever

Close to His blessed side.

Kept His “peculiar treasure,”

Ransomed by precious blood—

Kept to be found well-pleasing

In everything to God.

Correspondence: 1 Cor. 11:5, 10-11; Memorial in a Book; Mary Don't Touch?

Question: Please explain 1 Corinthians 11:5, 10, 11.

Answer: From verses 3-16 we have God’s order in creation. The man was to have his head uncovered when praying, because he represented authority. The woman was to be covered as a token that she was subject to the man, her covering being a token of the power to which she was subject. Angels learn by object lessons given by the redeemed, so the man and the woman cannot do without each other. Her hair is the sign of the place which God has given her.

“Given as a veil, her hair showed that modesty, submission—a covered head that hid itself, as it were, in that submission and in that modesty—was her true position, her distinctive glory.”

Both man and woman should also read 1 Peter 3:1-7.

A hard spirit in a man against his wife under any circumstances is forbidden of God. (Col. 3:19.)

Question: Why was Moses to write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua? (Ex. 17:14.)

Answer: Because Amalek, the active enemy of the people of God, can never be forgiven. (Compare Deut. 25:17-19; 1 Sam. 15:2, 3, 18, 32.)

It is the power of Satan in the enemies of God’s people seeking to destroy them. So it is from generation to generation.

Question: Why did the Lord hinder Mary from touching Him? (John 20:17).

Answer: Mary, in this passage, represents the new position and relationship given to the believing remnant of the Jews, and so to Christians everywhere. He was now taking His place as a risen and ascended One to the Father’s right hand. Therefore she is not to know Him any longer after the flesh, but by faith, and their relationship is a new one that could not be known before Christ died.

“My brethren.” “My Father and your Father, My God and your God.”

Inside the Jewish sheep fold this could not be known. No Old Testament saint ever called God, “Abba Father.” This belongs to saints of this present time only. (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6; 2 Cor. 5:16.)

In Matthew 28 the women hold Him by the feet, yet He did not rebuke them, for there He appears as the Messiah. So also in John 20:27 with Thomas.

Eighteen Today

It was Alice M.’s eighteenth birthday. She lingered over her presents, and it was late when she went upstairs to get ready to go out. It struck 11 before Alice left her looking glass. She was sorry to be late on her birthday, and when she got sight of the town clock it was 20 minutes past 11 A. M.

Very quietly she opened the door of the meeting place she attended every Sunday, and determined to wait till they were singing before she went in. A Scripture was being read, and as she stood with her hand on the door, closing it noiselessly, the first words she heard were,

“Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, to be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” Luke 13:16.

The Holy Spirit sent those words of the Savior right home to the heart of that young girl standing at the door.

“Whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years,” she said to herself, “that is me. I am eighteen today, and I know that I am not serving God, and they say if I am not, I must be serving Satan; and if so, I am his slave.”

Little she heard that morning except these words. She saw she had spent all her life—those eighteen years—in which God had given her health and comfort and countless other blessings, in forgetfulness of Him. She remembered He had often called her, and she had refused to listen. Yes, she saw it all now; she had been bound by Satan for eighteen years—she was bound still. How could she be “loosed”?

The meeting ended, and Alice returned home. Still those words filled her mind. She went to her room; not now to spend her time at the looking glass, but on her knees before God. Earnestly she prayed,

“Lord, I am bound; I am all wrong. O, show me what to do!”

Even as she prayed, a ray of God’s sunshine shone right into her soul. “Ought not this woman to be loosed?” came to her mind. “She was loosed,” she said, “O, that I might be!”

More and more God’s blessed light shone into her dark heart, showing her that though she was a captive to sin, bound by sin for eighteen years, yet that “One mighty to save,” had come “to preach deliverance to the captives, and to set at liberty them that are bound.”

When Jesus was on earth, He said to that poor woman, “Woman, thou are loosed from thine infirmity.” He laid His hands on her and she was made straight, and glorified God. How very simple and natural it all was, Alice thought to herself, and why should He not do the same for her, and even more, now that He was in heaven? She would trust Him.

And so it came to pass that though she had been bound by Satan’s fetters for eighteen years, she too was loosed that very day!

Can you imagine her joy when she realized that she was really set at liberty? And my reason for telling you this story of Alice is, that I so long for you also to know the gladness of being made free from the dominion of sin, and thus free to serve your Deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Ye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven.” 1 Thessalonians 1:9, 10.

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 12:6-21

Chapter 12, verses 6-21.

Of seven gifts named in verses 6, 7 and 8, “prophecy” heads the list. Commonly in our thoughts we connect it with the foretelling of events, but in Scripture the word has a wider meaning—the telling out of the mind of God. Surely this is a wonderful gift, to know on occasion what God would have to be said, and to tell it. There is, however, a danger that he who prophesies may intrude his own thoughts, speak them as from God; so we have the exhortation here, that prophecy should be according to the proportion of faith given to the speaker.

The second gift, “ministry” or in modern English, “service”. We might, if left to ourselves, have given this a place lower down in the list; but God thinks not as men do. If one’s gift lies in serving His saints, it is a precious thing to God, though it may at times appear little to us.

The sixteenth chapter begins with the commendation to the saints at Rome of Phoebe, a sister, servant of the Church, or assembly, in Cenchrea, the port of Corinth. This was good employment, indeed, that Phoebe had, in serving the believers where she lived. Is it perhaps your gift, Christian reader, where you live? Then practice it faithfully.

“Teaching” and “exhorting” come next; to be taught out of the Word of God, and to be stimulated to apply the teaching practically in our lives, are what every one of us greatly need. So God has provided these gifts, and He has sometimes let us see them in exercise in young Christians, too; generally they are developed through perhaps years of training; not as teachers but as learners, in the school of God.

Every one of His children, whether he knows it or not, is in God’s school, to learn lessons that men with all their learning can never teach; some Christians, you may have noticed, appear to make but little progress in that school. May you and I, then, dear young Christian, be apt scholars in God’s training school at all times, whether or not it is given to us to tell others, as “teachers” or “exhorters”, what we have learned in our souls from Him.

The next gift in this remarkable list is “giving”. The aim of so many in the world is to get all they can, and perhaps to give only under constraint; but these are not principles of Christianity. The principle of this world is not, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35)—words spoken by the Lord Himself. Was there ever another giver like Him? Never, indeed, nor could be.

In 2 Corinthians 8 the apostle lays before the saints at Corinth the case of their poor brethren in Macedonia, not to ask help for them, but to tell “how that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality”, in providing for others more needy than themselves. Presently, too, the apostle brings before them the example above all others:

“For 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 Corinthians 8:9.

But we must return to our chapter. Among the members of the body of Christ (verse 5) God’s gift of giving is found; it is to be carried out “with simplicity” (verse 8); that is, the saint should not allow himself to be turned away from giving by one excuse or another that the old nature within might suggest. The word in the original translated “simplicity” in this verse is in 2 Corinthians 8:2 made “liberality”; in the one case it is a literal translation of the original Greek, and in the other the practical meaning of the word in English is given.

Next we come to “he that ruleth” (or takes the lead); for God provides leaders for the help of the body of Christ; they are to be diligent. Last of the seven gifts is “he that showeth mercy”, or compassion; such a gift is to be used cheerfully, not grudgingly. How good of God to provide all these gifts! May we each be exercised about the use of them that they be not left dormant or little used.

Verse 9 commences a veritable guide book of Christian conduct and motives and the spirit that should actuate every believer. First is love; it should be without dissimulation; that is, it should be unfeigned, genuine, sincere. Love is a part of the believer’s new nature; it is of God, as we read in 1 John 4:7. Let it then be maintained in purity according to its divine source; so is it said here, as closely following and guarding the reference to love, abhorring evil, cleaving to that which is good. This admonition from God was never more needed than now, by young Christians and old, applying as it does to each of us in thought and word and action. Be on your guard, dear reader!

Verse 10 is the first of six passages in the Epistles in which brotherly love is referred to. The others are 1 Thessalonians 4:9; Hebrews 13:1, 1 Peter 1:22 (“love of the brethren”), and 3:8 (“love as brethren”); and 2 Peter 1:7 (“brotherly kindness”). One word suffices each time in the original language—the well-known “Philadelphia”, from which a great city in the United States has taken its name; but of much moment to believers is the letter to “Philadelphia” in Revelation 3:7-13. There we may plainly see that brotherly love is not to be separated from what is due to the Lord Who is the Holy and True One. If we would please Him, we must abide by His word and His name.

In our chapter, brotherly love is to be shown out in a practical way, in kindly affection one toward another. This is pleasing to God, and cheering and encouraging to His people. Then, too, the same verse (10) gives direction as to honor; is it due to one or another of my brethren because of faithfulness, or some other reason? The natural heart would shut itself up in self-love; but for us the word is “each taking the lead in paying honor to the other.” Next in verse 11, is, “not slothful in business”. Some would take this to mean that a Christian should be diligent in the service of his earthly master, and surely this is to be commended, but it is not what is referred to here. The “business” in this verse is God’s, not man’s as may be seen from another reliable translation known to many, which reads for this passage, “as to diligent zealousness not slothful”; and from the remainder of the verse, “fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.”

Verse 12: In the last two verses we have been looking at the outward man, so to speak now we turn to what God desires in the inward man. In the former we had the public life; and in the latter the private life is referred to; depend upon it, service for God and for His people will amount to little unless there is a going on with Him in the heart and in the conscience. So we now come, first to hope, then to trial and lastly to prayer; often in a believer’s life these three are together. Hope is of course the Christian hope, which is the coming of the Lord with all that will bring in its train. About thirty times in the Epistles from Romans to 1st John this hope is spoken of, and in such a variety of ways. Indeed we have seen it already in our progress through this Epistle in both the 5th and 8th chapters, and it is found again in the 15th. What would life be for the believer if it were not for the Christian hope?

As regards this hope, then, we are to be rejoicing. Tribulation, or as we often say, trial, comes; well, God has prepared His children for that too. In John 16:33, Acts 14:22, and in chapters 5 and 8 of our Epistle help and encouragement are there for us in that very connection. Here in verse 12, as in the fifth chapter, we are to be patient, or enduring, when trial comes in our paths. Prayer is a necessary and practical support of the Christian hope, and without it we never could endure trial. In prayer we are to be persevering.

Verse 13: God would have us warm hearted toward His own. If I should say, referring to the 8th verse, I have not been given that gift of giving; and it is perhaps true, still the 13th verse confronts me because it, like the other verses we are now examining, is addressed to all the people of God, whether gifted in a special way or not. What are the necessities of the saints? Whatever they need. Indeed, the word here translated “necessities” is commonly made “need”. You will find it so translated in 1 John 3:17, Philippians 4:19 and Ephesians 4:28. “Freely ye have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8), surely has an application to all the followers of Christ. And as to hospitality, which is expressly laid on us in this verse, will you turn the leaves of your Bible to the four other New Testament passages in which it is expressly mentioned? They are, 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8; Hebrews 13:2; and 1 Peter 4:9; the first two might be said to be limited in their application, but not so the last two! Of course what is referred to is hospitality toward the saints of God. It may be a real question at times how these Scriptures can be complied with, because of a small income, but just put together Philippians 4:19 and 1 Peter 4:9, and you will find God’s blessing.

In verse 14 the view is outside of the little circle of those that are “His own” (John 13:1). Bless them that persecute you; bless and curse not. Here we are reminded of Him in whose steps we are to walk, Who being reviled, reviled not again, when suffering threatened not (1 Peter 2:20-24).

Verses 15 and 16 lead us to sharing one another’s joys and sorrows, not respecting one more than another; not minding what is regarded highly in this world, but going along with the lowly. Is it not precious to have these instructions from God for our guidance in a world whose hopes and plans are often far removed from the Christian’s? You will notice that “rejoice with those that rejoice” is first, and “weep with those that weep” follows. It is often a real test of one’s spiritual state when another has occasion for rejoicing, for the natural heart, even in a believer, will entertain envy at another’s good. There is little difficulty in sharing another’s sorrow, as a rule. “Condescend” is not the true sense in the 16th verse, and the marginal note shows an endeavor to correct the defect. A still better translation of the clause is, “but going along with the lowly.” Surely this becomes us all.

“Be not wise in your own conceits” (eyes). Now this is not “wise” in the sense of possessing much knowledge, but “prudent”, or “provident”, as in Matthew 25:2, 4, 8, 9, and 1 Corinthians 10:15. God would have us realize that wisdom for our path through life is in Him, not in us; may He keep us His children in dependence on Himself!

In verse 17 we enter upon a subject the consideration of which occupies the greater portion of the next chapter: the Christian in his relations with the world. Are you shown unkindness, shamefully treated? Do not return evil for evil. “Provide things honest in the sight of all men”, is more than paying one’s bills; it takes in all that the world can see of the Christian; one has expressed the meaning of this portion of the 17th verse as “taking care by forethought that there should be what is comely and seemly before all men.”

It may at times be impossible to live in peace with all, but the blame for it is never to rest with the believer: “If possible, as far as depends on you, living in peace with all men”; but to allow our adversaries room for their wrath. Toward those who are determined to be our enemies there is to be no retaliation, no avenging of ourselves; no resistance (“give place to wrath”); for it is written, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. The quotation is from Deuteronomy 32:35. It may be, too, that your enemy may be won over by kindness (verse 20). The last verse of our chapter is a very profitable admonition for the believer’s guidance, is it not?

The Remnant Testimony: Part 4

Part 4

I pass on to another interesting scene when a faithful one is standing fast alone, unsupported by the fellowship of his brethren, where his testimony is rather the refusal to act so as to deny fundamental truth, than actively to engage himself with others in extricating themselves from iniquity. I allude to the case of Mordecai the Jew (Esther).

Far away from the land of Israel, the people were subject to the powers of the world. An Amalekite, named Haman, wielded the power next to that of the king. A poor Jew, “an exile in the strange land,” refused to bow his, head to the Agagite. To be faithful, when all were unfaithful, is a great thing in God’s eye.

“Thou hast not denied My Name,” is great commendation when all were doing so. To keep one’s Nazariteship in secret with God, when no eye sees but His, is never forgotten. To stand firmly for Him in an evil day of temptation, is to do great things!

“Yet I have left Me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal,” shows that God’s eye saw and valued their faith, where even Elijah had not discerned them. They had refused to do that which all others had done, in that dark day.

Mordecai was ready to give a reason for the hope that was in him; and his simple answer was, I am a Jew! God had not forgotten His oath of old (Ex. 17), even if Israel were reaping the fruit of their sins under the Eastern Kings. He had said,

“Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, when thou wast faint and weary, and he feared not God... Thou shalt not forget it.” Deuteronomy 25.

Therefore the Lord had sworn that He would have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Mordecai refuses to surrender this fundamental truth in the calling of Israel. You may say, He is a stiff-necked man, and is imperiling the lives of his nation. I admit it: but his trust is in God! Firmly did this man, trusting in God, and refusing to surrender fundamental truth, stand singlehanded against all the malice of the enemy. Post after post was dispatched with the orders to smite all the Jews. Still no faltering in his faith—his head bowed not as the son of Amalek passed by! He had counted upon God, whose Word never alters; and God had tried his faith, but it stood the test; and, when the day comes for having faithfulness owned, it will be found, through grace, that Mordecai had had an opportunity for faithfulness to the Lord—that he had stood firm, and God has not forgotten it.

What cheer of heart his story must afford to those whose path is isolated; when they have not even one faithful companion, yet are enabled in an evil day to be firm and faithful in their solitary pathway, sustained and owned by God.

In Daniel, Hannaniah, Mishael and Azariah, we find another striking example. Faithfulness and standing fast in trial and temptation, shows the power of the Spirit, quite as much as energy in action. They were at this time captives in Babylon; the necessity of faithfulness seemed to have passed away. Where was the profit of standing fast when all their hopes were gone? But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s meat, or his wine. He would drink water, and eat pulse, and nothing more. He kept his Nazariteship in the land of captivity; and he kept it according to the thoughts of God (compare Ezek. 4:9-13), and the time came when God stood by him, and made him the vessel of His mind and will, revealing to him the history of the times, and end of the Gentile in whose grasp he was for his nation’s sin.

I might go on with many other examples; such as Jeremiah, the Five Wise Virgins, etc., etc.; but I pass on to notice another solemn lesson. How soon the thing failed, and the energy flagged, which supported the emerging remnant in extricating themselves from the evil, and regaining a divine position. Failure and weakness thus ensued once more.

It is a sad but common case. You will often see the lovely efforts of faith struggling to win a divine position through difficulties and dangers and trials without end. Yet when the goal is won, the zeal grows cool, self is remembered, God forgotten, and the blessing is gone. Alas! one trembles, when one sees these first lovely efforts of faith, lest the day should come when they are seen no more. It is much harder to keep what we have won in divine things than to win, because it must be by the winner abiding in the energy by which he won. The fear of man comes. Self-interest, self-sparing, and self-indulgence enter. God in mercy interposes at times, and stirs up the sleeping energy, and is ever ready to bless; still it is painful and humbling to think of it. We see a sad example of this in Israel when gaining the land under Joshua, and then sinking into premature decay.

It comes out strikingly in the after history of this returned remnant in Ezra, etc., to which I have referred. The fear of man stopped the work of the Lord (Ezra 4:4, 5, 24.) The energy and beauty of their first efforts of faith were gone. God sends the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to stir up the people to the work of the Lord. They had begun to settle in their hearts that the time had not come to build the Lord’s house (Hag. 1:2); yet they had ceiled their own. Thus stirred up, we find that they obeyed the voice of the Lord, and did the work of the Lord. The fear of man gave place to the fear of the Lord; and God was there to own and bless the renewed efforts of faith.

If we follow their history, we find their faith again grew dim. In Malachi the state of things is painful and depressing. The blind ones of the flock, and the sick, and the lame, were offered in sacrifice to Jehovah. What man refused—what was worthless to him, was good enough for God! (Even Saul, in his worst day, reserved the best of the sheep and oxen to do sacrifice to the Lord). No one would open the doors of the Lord’s house for nothing, nor light a fire on His altar for naught (ch. 1:7-10). They robbed God in tithes and offerings (ch. 3:8); called the proud happy; and said,

“It is vain to serve God, and what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?” This, too, sad to tell it, when in a divine position. It was not when

far away in the land of the Chaldean, but in the city of the great King! Still we find a remnant within a remnant, if I may so say, faithful to the Lord.

The persistent aim of the enemies of the truth, is ever to blot out if possible the fact of the Church of God, as to its practical bearing on the saints. It is not that there is a denial of the existence of the Church of God here upon earth: but that such a truth is binding on the saints in gathering to the Name of the Lord, even be they but a remnant at best.

(To be continued)

Fellowship in the Gospel: Part 2

Part 2

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

Such, then, is the exhortation and teaching of Scripture upon our subject, and such the example of the Philippians.

And now as to ourselves, are we obedient to the Word in this, and are we giving glory to God? How is it among us, brethren? Have we not to confess much failure? Taking the evidence that comes in one way and another, there is positive need of definite and special confession and humiliation. There is too little giving by assemblies, and brethren going forth bearing precious seed are hindered in the work, at times, and no doubt filled with sorrow, whatever be the supporting grace of God to help in time of need. No doubt at such times He comes specially near, and gives rich experience of His love, and the living character of His Word to be forever trusted. But our failure remains—it is well-known and commented on, and painfully humiliating.

“May we be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves.” James 1:22.

There is also a lack of care bestowed, and a lack of interest shown in assemblies in the gathering and use of money. The gathering generally, as a rule, knows little or nothing of what is done with money gathered, at least at the time, and little or no pains is taken to stir up one another, and acquaint the brethren generally with the object of a particular collection, in a way that would draw out all hearts, and make it a true service to the Lord, and a manifestation of fellowship in the gospel, and of love to the Lord’s servant—a love so deeply cheering to the servant’s heart amid the trials of the way—a service too, tending so to unite the hearts of those who join to render it.

Because our giving is not to be by law or of necessity, we have been a good deal ensnared into a sense of lack of obligation, but brethren, we know the obligation is surely upon us, only the cheerful response is called for,

“Not grudgingly or of necessity, for the Lord loveth a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7.

Let the obligation be considered, and let us pray that a better state may prevail among us than has hitherto, and we shall have the Lord’s blessing.

It would be error surely, if individual giving, especially by any leader or leaders in a gathering, were to hinder the promoting of assembly giving or render any one indifferent about it.

Giving both by individuals and assemblies, simply to assist a brother when he is laboring among us, and not at other times, is a danger to be guarded against, and tends to the narrowness of paying for service to us, rather than fellowship with a servant of the Lord in his service to the whole Church and to the world, in whatever field he may be at work, though we may never have seen his face.

Let us beware in the matter of giving, or in any other way of unwittingly but selfishly seeking to draw aside the Lord’s servant into a line of work that interests us, but may not be a field to which the Lord would send him.

“Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that built it.” Psalms 127:1.

Let us study to be quiet, and to go on in patience, and in the joy of the Lord, not in haste for anything, surely, lest we have to be held in with bit and bridle, for we have no wisdom of our own; but on the other hand, not in slackness of spirit or coldness towards the gospel, or towards those who preach the gospel.

May that love be found in us all, that abounds in knowledge and discernment (Phil. 1:9). And let us remember that each one has an account to give of his stewardship at the Lord’s return. Who knows how soon may end this time of our responsibility and opportunity? Therefore let us make haste to set our house in order as to all things.

May we be ready for every good work.

One more word as to method, or rather as to pains-taking. We take pains in worldly matters, why not in the things of God? Is it not offering the lame and the blind to lack diligence of spirit in what we do in these things? May nothing indeed be done by mere human system, however efficient in collecting money, but may we have diligence and wisdom as individuals and as assemblies, both in laying by in store, and in collecting what we have to offer.

May not a week pass without exercise and prayer as to this, and God will bless us, and we shall glorify Him.

Dependence

Two things are implied in dependence: first, the sense that we cannot do without God in a single instance; and, secondly, that He is “for us.” In other words, there is confidence in His love and power on our behalf, as well as the consciousness that without Him we can do nothing.

Honor the Lord

“Them that honor Me, I will honor.” 1 Samuel 2:30.

“Sing forth the honor of His Name.” Psalms 66:2.

“If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, and shalt honor Him, not finding thine own pleasure, nor doing thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.” Isaiah 58:13, 14.

“Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.” Proverbs 3:9, 10.

God promises to honor all

Who seek to honor Him;

His precepts are infallible—

Naught can His promise dim.

To honor Him in everything,

His Word, His Name, His Day,

With blessings showered abundantly

He surely will repay.

In “Holding forth the Word of life”

That ever shall endure,

It tells of His redeeming love

Unchangeable and pure.

“Sing forth the honor of His Name”

Who left His throne on high,

And to this world a ransom came,

For us to bleed and die.

To honor with thy substance, too,

By giving to the Lord,

Will meet with richest blessing, and

Will bring a sure reward.

The Lord delights to honor those

That will His Name confess,

And all who choose to put Him first,

The Lord will surely bless.

An Unusual Incident

While touring Palestine, W. E. Smith, a minister of the gospel, had the rare privilege of seeing the alligator which had been unearthed by an excavating party while removing the remains of one of the ancient cities. Some one noticed that the alligator had been cut open, and sewed up. The stitches were cut, and to the surprise of the entire party, the gospel of Matthew was found. Surely God, through human instrumentality, was preserving His Word and work for future generations.

Correspondence: Rev. 7:14; Matt. 12:30, Luke 11:23 & Mark 9:40; 1 Tim. 4:14

Question: What is the difference between those in Revelation 7:14, and of those converted in this present period?

Answer: They and we are both saved through the death and blood-shedding of our Lord Jesus. They are saved through believing the gospel of the Kingdom (Psa. 2:12). We are saved through believing the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24). We are saved, and shall reign with Christ in heavenly glory. They are saved, and will be God’s people on earth; they are saved Gentiles. The Church, though composed of Jews and Gentiles, are now neither Jew nor Gentile, but Church of God (1 Cor. 10:32). These faithful Gentiles have won a place as servants of God in His temple on earth, and their blessings are on earth.

The Church, and all the saints who pass through death from first to last, will reign with Christ, the Lord, in heavenly glory.

Question: Matthew 12:30, and Luke 11:23, and Mark 9:40. To what does each refer?

Answer: Read the context, and you will see that Matthew 12:30, and Luke 11:23 both refer to those who were saying of Him, It is by Beelzebub, the prince of devils, that Jesus cast out devils. The Lord traces this to the deep malice of their wicked hearts.

In Mark 9:38 John said, “We saw one casting out devils in Thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbade him, because he followeth not us.” The disciples were jealous of their own importance, but Jesus said, “Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in My name, that can lightly speak evil of Me. For he that is not against us is on our part.” There is no opposition in true service for Christ, and each one who serves Him will be rewarded (Verse 41).

Question: Will you please explain: “Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery”? 1 Timothy 4:14.

Answer: Paul, the apostle, tells Timothy not to neglect the gift God had given him for his service among the saints. (See also another instance of this in Col. 4:17).

Not alone was it given by God to him, but Paul was given a prophecy about it; and further, the presbytery, or elderhood, had laid their hands also on him, identifying them with his work, and showing their approval and fellowship with him in it (See also 1 Tim. 1:18; 2 Tim. 1:6).

Both Timothy and Titus were delegated by the authority of the apostle to set things in order in the assemblies, and to appoint elders (Titus 1:5).

We have no such authority now, to appoint elders or deacons, and since the Church, the house of God, is broken up into sects or denominations, which are carnal (1 Cor. 3:3), there is no place for them, but in the gatherings we find God raises up men who in love can do the work.

Ruth and Jane

Christ, or the World?

A Solemn Warning to Young Christians

She was only a little girl of five when I first met her. She was pretty, almost beautiful, and one could not help being fascinated by her innocent blue eyes. Ruth, for that was her name, was an only child—hence the place she had with her father and mother almost made her a spoiled child. Both parents were Christians, and had remembered the Lord in the breaking of bread for a number of years, and both looked forward to the time when Ruth would also take up her privileges. Ruth, however, had learned to love the Lord, and could relate many of the incidents in the Lord’s pathway here. I think I can hear her yet repeating in her sweet childish way,

“Suffer the little children to come unto Me... for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Mark 10:14.

In such a congenial atmosphere little Ruth grew up, always desiring to hear more of Jesus.

I had occasion to be called away from the district, and for many years never heard anything of Ruth 1 have subsequently learned her history, and shall just repeat it.

Ruth grew up midst her girl companions, seeking here and there to put in a word for her blessed Master. Later we find her launching out on a new pathway in life. She had left school, and again, after a year or so of training, we find her an accomplished typist with a good position. Her parents still loved her, and let her have pretty much her own way. She had by this time got a girl companion, Jane, who was the daughter of godly parents and herself a Christian. They both attended the meetings regularly, and seemed to enjoy all that was said, and indeed could converse intelligently on things pertaining to the Scriptures.

One of the brothers took a very great interest in both girls, who were never away from one another. This brother had often talked to them and brought before them the truth of the Lord’s Supper. Both girls seemed to understand it fully, insomuch that some said,

“I am surprised that Ruth and Jane are not breaking bread.”

But was there not a cause? Perhaps partly from the free hand both girls had from their parents, or perhaps from the influence of office companions, we cannot say, but both were sadly mixed up with the world.

Now before I proceed, let me say a word to you, dear reader. You have taken Christ as your Savior. Is He everything to your soul? Or are you content, like the children of Israel, to “beat the manna in a mortar”? You want to make Christ palatable. A little bit of Christ and a little bit of the world. Ah, pause and consider. You are on dangerous lines. Is it not so with Christendom today? The so-called churches are introducing things of the world to try and catch people’s eye, but there is a day coming when the whole system will be “spued out of His mouth.” But to the overcomer, what a blessed prospect!

“Fear not,” He could say, “I have overcome the world.”

But to proceed. The moment comes when Ruth is tempted. The Devil comes to her as an angel of light, and says to her,

“Now look here, Ruth, there is a splendid picture showing in such-and-such a show tonight. Come along and see it. There’s no harm in it. It will help you to pass your time.”

Alas, poor Ruth succumbs to his wiles, and not only so, but persuades Jane to accompany her. Is it not always so? When one is going on with the Lord, it is, then that the Devil comes. Depend upon it, if you are going on with the things of the world and only a little bit of Christ, the Devil will leave you alone. And so we find these two poor girls making their first step on the road to “see life.” Do you think they were satisfied that night? By no means. One wrong step leads to another, and here we find the two, having tasted, as it were, for the first time, the things of this world, have now an insatiable thirst for more. The worst part of it all was, that when questioned by their parents as to their whereabouts, they always invented some excuse. And, mark you, they never missed a meeting; but whenever they got the chance and thought they would be undetected, off they went to a picture show.

Being a large city it was quite easy to attend these places unnoticed and unrecognized, at least they thought so. But had they not forgotten that

“The eyes of the Lord are over all the earth?”

Poor deluded creatures. Things went on like this for quite a time, and still the question was being put to them as to why they did not break bread. At last they got so wearied by the incessant pleadings of some of the brethren that they both decided once and for all to throw the world at their back and go in for things that “really matter.”

Both individually, therefore, made their desire known to the brethren that they would like to remember the Lord. Nobody could doubt their conversion, and, matters being considered, they were both proposed for fellowship in the breaking of bread. Without a doubt they really understood their position and what they had committed themselves to, and both enjoyed the happy fellowship of the saints, together with the joy of remembering the Lord in His dying love. But it was observed by some that their interest began to slacken. Why? And here, dear reader, let me interpose. Can you indeed drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils? (1 Cor. 10). Nay! We see what a terrible state the Corinthians were in at the time when Paul wrote to them concerning the matter. But is it not so that many of us are only halfhearted in the things of Christ? Depend on it, God will not allow things to go on in a careless, heedless way. As has been said,

“He will rather take you away by death than allow you to become a hindrance to the testimony.”

Well, the Devil had got busy again. The moment there was a movement towards God, he comes and says to the girls again,

“Come with me and enjoy life. Keep going to the meetings, keep breaking bread, but don’t forget that I have plenty of harmless amusements to offer you.”

And again, sad to relate, the subtle influence has effect. We find Ruth and Jane again appealing to the world for nourishment. And despite a guilty conscience—for could they have a good conscience?—we find them now and again paying a visit to a picture show. Nor did it stop there, but from that they went on to theaters, etc.

Many a time in the early morning if you had looked into Ruth’s office you would have seen her busily scanning the newspapers in search of the latest amusements, and planning as to where she and Jane could go next night.

Ruth afterward said that her greatest fear was than an accident or illness might overtake her in one of these places, and she have to be carried out of a theater to her home. Poor girl, her fears were to be all but realized.

The excuses to their parents still continued and this state of affairs went on for a number of months undetected, the girls breaking bread as usual on the Lord’s Day mornings. But is the Lord not jealous of our affections? Yea, rather, and He will see to it that He has the whole of our heart’s affections for Himself. The weaning process is often very testing, but it is all for our good.

At last Ruth began to be exercised as to the path she and her companion was taking; so one night, coming out of a theater in which the name of God had been more than once mentioned sneeringly, she turned to Jane and said,

“I am absolutely finished with the whole thing, and I shall not enter a theater again. I can see we are certainly on wrong lines.”

Jane concurred, but did not say much. But they had not yet felt the healing hand of the Lord. They thought by giving up this lust they would go on now uninterruptedly in the things of Christ. And so they did up to a point, but they had reckoned without the Devil.

About a month after, there were placards all over the city advertising a performance to be played during the week in the Theater. It appealed to the girls very much, and they could not resist the temptation. So accordingly one night they set out for the theater, which was situated in a very busy part of the city.

I think I see Ruth’s face yet, as she related the circumstance afterward. After the performance was over, the girls made their way out of the building, and Ruth, being very sick at heart as to what excuse she would give her mother when she got home, was unmindful of her surroundings. Fearing lest someone should see her, she made a dash to get clear of the building as soon as she could, and then came the fateful moment. She forgot the passers-by, she forgot the theater for the moment, and rushed right in front of a passing motor car. The poor girl was at once rendered unconscious, and was taken direct to the hospital. Her worst fears were realized. Picked up in the midst of a crowd of pleasure-seekers, unconscious.

Jane, of course, with every presence of mind, went straight to Ruth’s home and there found the parents anxiously awaiting the return of their daughter. Jane told the tale as best she could, and all three lost no time in reaching the hospital. It was now late at night, and when they reached the sufferer’s bed, it was only to find her still unconscious. The physician attending her, looked anxiously on awaiting developments. When asked as to the nature of her injuries, he replied by saying there was practically no hope, and that a few more hours were all that she would have in this life.

Presently Ruth bestirred herself and looked around bewildered. Suddenly everything became clear to her, and she uttered a groan. Intense as her bodily suffering was, her remorse was even greater. Her agony of mind was terrible. The fond mother leaned down and asked if there was anything she would like or desired to say. She seemed to be a little better, but it was a calm before a storm. Why the worried yea, pained, look on the sufferer’s brow? Ah! she knew there was something which must be confessed.

Turning an anxious face to her mother, she slowly related to her all the incidents leading up to the accident, telling how she had deceived her brethren, her parents, and tried to deceive her Lord. She humbly pleaded their forgiveness. Then turning to Jane, she said,

“My dear Jane, we have been lifelong friends, but the time has come when we now must part. I have been dreaming that I was in heaven, and everything seemed so strange to me there that I almost felt lost. But the Lord took me and showed me those who had been faithful to Him on earth, and I felt almost ashamed of my life here as I looked up into His loving face. That was just when I awoke, and it seems to me, Jane, that my dream is coming true. Take a lesson from me, Jane. I have thrown my life away on the baubles of this world, and I feel now that, looking back on my pathway, I have nothing but regrets. Ah! it is a cold, cruel, remorseless world, Jane. Nothing to carry over.

“I feel the Lord is more precious to me now than He ever has been, but He is going to take me to Himself. Promise me, Jane, you will cling to Christ and let the gaudy elements of this world go by unnoticed. And now, mother—kiss me good-bye.”

The brokenhearted parent knelt down to kiss the lifeless body of her daughter. The restless spirit was now present with the Lord, to be planted by Him in another scene, never more to wander.

Need I add that Jane took the lesson to heart. Although feeling the loss of her companion keenly, it was the turning point in her life, and she has since been a bright testimony to her Lord.

And now, my dear young believer, I have finished. May I ask the all-important question, “Is Christ everything to your soul?”

Perhaps you have broken bread for a number of months, like Ruth, but have not partaken of it in real remembrance of the One who so loved you as to give Himself for you. Why? Because you have an eye on the world.

“For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” 1 Corinthians 11:30.

You know you will go to heaven one day, but don’t you think it is better to live here in the meantime amid the adverse circumstances, than to go to heaven to get rid of them, for there will be no trials there. The test is here and now. Do you realize it, that it is only as we “live” here that we will “live” there? Then let us go in for what is “really life.”

Perhaps you do not frequent picture shows or theaters. But these are not the only evils. You may have companions who are not of the same mind as yourself. In fact, there are countless things that can be done apart from the knowledge of your brethren, and you will still be able to pass muster; but be assured, there is, nothing done in secret which shall not be made manifest. The Lord is jealous of our affections, and either He will remove the hindrance, or He will remove us ourselves, as He did in the case narrated. Have you ever sat down and counted the cost? It is worthwhile. This world—a vast system of sin engineered by the Devil—is very soon going to be “wrapped up as a garment.” God will have done with it forever. But ere that moment the Lord Himself will come and take those redeemed by His precious blood to be forever with Himself. That day will soon be here, and may the Lord so wean us from this “present evil world,” and engage us with Himself, so that we may respond,

“Come, Lord Jesus.”

Tell me of earth no longer,

Tell me of earth no more—

The mighty love of Jesus

Has made my heart run o’er.

O, it is all so wondrous,

It doth my thoughts confound,

I can but bow and worship,

With reverence profound.

Now dim are earth’s attractions,

Now dark are sunlit skies,

All earthly charms and beauties

Must fade before mine eyes.

The mighty love of Jesus,

The ties of earth have riven,

And leads my heart right upward

To Him enthroned in heaven.

Away with every rival,

However dear or fair;

No one but Christ in glory,

My heart, my love shall share.

He loved, He loves, will love me

To all eternity;

O, the mighty love of Jesus

Shall ever, ever be!

The Lord grant we may each be able to say this from the depths of our souls.

The Night Is Far Spent

“Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep.” Romans 13:11.

The day of God’s longsuffering is rapidly drawing to a close, and the day of wrath is at hand. The wheels of divine government are moving onward with a rapidity truly soul-subduing; human affairs are working to a point. There is an awful crisis approaching; precious souls are rushing forward along the surface of the stream of Time into the boundless ocean of Eternity. In a word, “the end of all things is at hand.”

Now, seeing these things are so, let us ask each other: How are we affected thereby? What are we doing in the midst of the scene which surrounds us?

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 13

Chapter 13

With the weighty words of the last verse of the 12th chapter in mind, so important for every young Christian, and every old Christian too, we enter on chapter 13, where is more on the theme of Christian conduct, the first 7 verses shedding divine light on the proper relation of believers, to their governments, called “the higher powers”, or more simply “the authorities that are above them.” To these every soul (not only every believer) is to be subject.

When this Epistle was written, the ruler of the Roman Empire was the outstandingly wicked young Nero under whom both Paul and Peter are believed to have suffered martyrdom about 9 years afterward. The Roman governor Pilate, contrary to law, delivered Jesus to death, while pronouncing Him just, or righteous (Matt. 27:24, 26).

Felix, another governor, 29 years later was a corruptible Roman officer (Acts 24:26).

Christians are nevertheless to be subject to the existing authority or government, whatever be its form or character; thus in 1 Peter 2:13-14 the word of God tells us to.

“Be in subjection therefore to every human institution for the Lord’s sake; whether to the king as supreme, or to rulers as sent by Him for vengeance on evil doers, and praise to them that do well.” (N.T.)

It is of God that there shall be rule, or authority, in the earth, and so our first verse declares: “for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are set up by God.” (N.T.)

Without government, how long would life or property be safe in this world? One who sets himself in opposition to the authority, resists the ordinance of God, and such persons bring sentence of guilt on themselves. (“Damnation” here is a translator’s error.) What is in view in these verses is very plain; the subject of what is due to God is not referred to; we may find that in the Lord’s answer to the Pharisees and Herodians in Matthew 22:15-22, and in Acts 5:17-29 in the words of the apostles in the last of these verses. In John 17:16, too, an important truth often overlooked by young Christians is stated, which should govern all the children of God in every detail of their lives.

Verses 5, 6, 7. The believer’s subjection to authority is not only on account of wrath—to avoid the consequences of incurring the displeasure of the government, but for a higher reason than actuates the world: and that is because of conscience, since all authority is from God. “Tribute”, or taxes on property and persons for the upkeep of the government, must be paid, too, and the collectors are “God’s ministers” (or officers), as the ruler or magistrate in verse 4 is “the minister” (or servant) “of God.” To all their dues are to be rendered; tribute to those to whom it is due; custom (taxes on merchandise) where required; fear to whom fear is due; honor to whom honor is to be paid. The seventh verse covers a wide range. And you will observe that in all this instruction from God there is no provision for the believer’s seeking any advantage, any recognition, any place for himself in the world. Indeed the whole of it is outside of what belongs to the believer, except that in observing what is laid down in verse 1 to 7 he is honoring God.

Verses 8, 9, 10. The Christian should have no debts in this world, except one which can never be paid in full, but on which we should always be paying—to love one another. He that loveth another, hath fulfilled (or fulfills) the law. As another has said,

“By the conduct which flows from love, the law is already fulfilled before its requirement is applied.” And the eighth chapter has already been before us with its declaration in verses 3 and 4 that,

“What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness (or righteous requirement) of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.”

This, then, is normal Christianity; a high standard of walk, but one that God has made possible for us, His children.

The ninth verse quotes from the ten commandments given at Sinai (Ex. 20, Deut. 5), those of them that have to do with man’s attitude toward his fellows, which are comprehended in the words found in Leviticus 19:18,

“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” The commandments Godward are comprehended in the passage in Deuteronomy 6:5,

“Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” It was to these two verses that the Lord Jesus referred in speaking to the lawyer in Matthew 22:35-40.

In the tenth verse the paying of the debt of the eighth verse is shown for us to carry it out: Love worketh no ill to the neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling, or literally translated, the fullness, of law.

The closing verses of this chapter bring out another motive that must actuate believers, in addition to love, which alone will not do. In expectation of early deliverance from the present scene of Satan’s power, we are to be aroused out of sleep; the “works of darkness” are to be cast away, and the “armor of light” is to be put on. Morally, the night began when Christ was rejected and crucified; it will end at His appearing, when the day of the Lord begins, which is so often referred to in both Old Testament and New (one Scripture reference must suffice here: 2 Peter 3:10).

The night was already “far spent” when the Epistle to the Romans was written, and believers were even then to be aroused to a realization of this. God, with the purpose of saving souls, even now, has through the past centuries restrained the characteristics which mark the near approach of the day, so that we also may say, “the night is far spent; the day is at hand.” Our salvation, each believer can rejoicingly say, is nearer than when we believed; salvation here takes in the whole result, as regards us who have trusted in Him, of the cross of Christ, when at His coming for us salvation will include the body, our souls being already saved (1 Peter 1:9; Phil. 3:20, 21).

Though the character of things all around us speaks of the night, we, aroused by the Word of God to a realization of the time, the day being drawn nigh, are enjoined in the 13th and 14th verses— “As in the day, let us walk becomingly; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and lasciviousness, not in strife and emulation. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not take forethought for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.” (N. T.)

"Near Me All the While"

“I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5.

At early dawn a little child

Woke with a bitter cry;

Her mother started up in haste

To ask the reason why?

When suddenly the bitter cry

Was changed into a smile;

And this the little one’s reply,

“Near me all the while.”

The child had missed the mother’s arm

On waking from her sleep;

This was the cause of her alarm,

‘Tis this that made her weep.

But on her mother’s breast the cry

Was changed into a smile;

It was enough to know that she

Was near her all the while.

The mother, by the infant taught,

Suppressed a rising tear;

And thus, it is with me, she thought,

When I have doubt or fear.

And be it simple thus to turn

The tear into a smile,

With this assurance, blessed Lord,

Thou’rt “near me all the while.”

My heart has questioned of Thee, Lord,

In dark and dreary day;

Is thine ear heavy, Lord to hear?

Or, art Thou far away?

Thine arm was stretched,

Thine ear had heard,

Thy heart was free to smile;

And Thou hast stilled me with the word,

“I’m near Thee all the while.”

But not alone in bitterness

My heart would know Thy love;

The hand that dries the mourner’s tears

Will tune the harp above.

If it be sweet while here below

To live beneath Thy smile,

‘Twill be the joy of heaven to know,

Thou’rt “near me all the while.”

"Unspotted From the World"

“Let thy garments be always white.” —Ecclesiastes 9:8.

The only real and Christian way of purity is to live in the open world and not be of it, and keep the soul unspotted from it. There are no fires that will melt out our drossy and corrupt particles like God’s refining fires of duty and trial, living, as He sends us to live, in the open field of the world’s sins and sorrows, its plausibilities and lies, its persecutions, animosities and fears, its eager delights and bitter wants.

The Remnant Testimony: Part 5

Part 5

In the Reformation (as the word implies) there was no such a thing as a regaining of the divine position and principles of the Church of God—lost since apostolic days as a practical truth. There was but a re-formation of the existing bodies, which the Reformers supposed were the Church, into the National Establishments, and Reformed Churches.

It was a marvelous work, in that day of darkness most surely; a work for which we have ever to bless our God. Still it was far from perfect. The distinct personal presence of the Holy Ghost upon earth, constituting Christ’s body, the Church, was never seen. His personality and deity, etc., all Christians own, most surely; but I speak of His distinct personal presence on earth, as dwelling in the Church, and constituting her unity, in contrast to His working in various ways before He came to dwell. I might also mention other great truths which were not then known, but this is sufficient for my present purpose. Consequently, until the last one hundred years there were no saints gathered together “in assembly,” to the Name of the Lord, recognizing and acting upon the never-failing principle of the Church’s existence— “One body, and one Spirit.”

To seek to misapply the principle or type of the returning remnant in Ezra and Nehemiah to the day of the Reformation, is but to mislead and deceive. These remnants did return to a divine position. This no body of saints ever did at the Reformation. They were then on the platform on which all Israel could be with them, and the only one. This did not make them “Israel:” still none but they were on Israel’s ground.

When this remnant is described in Malachi—sad and humbling as is their state, they were still on that divine platform, the City of Jehovah. “The remnant within the remnant,” as I have described them, did not withdraw from that divine platform—that were fatal to their own faithfulness. But they were the more encouraged to earnest faithfulness in strengthening the things that remained.

The lessons we gather from these Scriptures teach the very reverse from what some have sought to draw from them. Such is the effect, first of slipping away from, and then resisting the truth of God.

“They that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His Name.” Mal. 3:16.

The faithfulness of the few was the channel of sustainment to the others from a faithful God. We trace them further, till we find them in Luke 2, represented by old Simeon and Anna, who knew “all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” The same faith that could keep them waiting for the Lord’s Christ, could keep them alive till He came. The old prophetess, too, who could fast and pray, and live for, and in that spot which still was owned of God, found her fastings and prayers ended in praise, when the Lord she had looked for, came.

The last link in the history of this returned remnant which we find in the Gospels, we have in the solitary widow of Luke 21. A few verses further on in this chapter the Lord pronounces the final judgment on that temple at Jerusalem. It was still, however, in a certain sense, owned of God. This widowed heart had but one object now on earth she could do but little, for all she possessed was a farthing! “Two mites,” as the Spirit of God lets us know. Devotedness, in the estimate of man, would have been great indeed if she had appropriated half of what she possessed to the interests of God which engrossed her. But self was forgotten with this widowed heart, and she cast into the offerings of the Lord her two mites. The Lord’s eye saw the motive from which this offering sprang, read the action as He alone could read it:

“Of a truth,” said He, “I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.”

He judged aright—but He did not judge by what she gave, but by what she kept; and that was nothing.

It is humbling to trace this decay of the mass, yet touching to contemplate the increased and increasing devotedness and purpose of those true hearts; but it is useful to face the dangers from which we are never free. Worldliness, self-seeking, and forgetfulness of the things of the Lord, all are among us, and are signs and sources of weakness. The Lord grant us to be warned, and to distrust ourselves the more. The Lord encourage the hearts of those who love His. Name and testimony, to be increasingly faithful. To keep the eye filled with Christ, and thus to be still more the channel of the Lord’s sustaining grace to the rest, till that bright and longed-for day arrives, when He will come and gladden our hearts forever.

It is easy to remark how in all those times of failure and ruin, the hearts of others were stirred up by some faithful one, in self-sacrificing energy, who would pray and work—and sigh and cry—who could spend and be spent on the Lord’s interests at the time. Through such the Lord wrought and delivered, and led and blessed His people. It might be by some lone widow who could agonize in prayers and fastings night and day. The answer came, and the blessing was poured out, and none knew what the occasion was through which the blessing came. But in the day when “every man shall have praise of God” it will be known; for His eye marked it and answered it, and that heart was, perhaps, unwittingly, in communion with His—the vessel for the intercession of the Spirit for the saints according to the will of God!

(Concluded)

He Lives

A scoffer asked an elderly man,

“How do you know Jesus rose?” The old saint answered,

“I had an hour with Him this morning.”

Friend, do you know that Jesus lives, not only because you read it in the Bible, but because you are enjoying fellowship with Him as your living, loving Friend and Savior.

Correspondence: Does "Church" Always Refer to the Same People?

Question: Does the word “Church” always mean the same people?

Answer: The word “Church” means “assembly.” It has two distinct aspects. The one is called the “House of God which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15).

The other is “the Church which is His body,” the fullness of Him who filleth all in all. The first is put into man’s responsibility, so failure and corruption have come into it (1 Cor. 3:10-17; Eph. 4:5; 1 Peter 4:17, and many other passages).

The second depends on God, and is built by the Holy Spirit, so none but saved ones are in it. Such verses as Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 12:12, 13; Romans 12:4, 5; Ephesians 4:4; 5:25, apply to it. All who are saved shall be caught up to be forever with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:15-16). All who are only professors, without the new life, shall be left behind, forever lost.

Young Christian: Volume 29, 1939

Table of Contents

Are You a Child of God?

Extract: The Life of Jesus

Separation

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 8:5-13

"I Come Quickly"

Prayer Answered

Extract

"Consider Him"

"If Any Man Thirst"

Fragment: Right or Wrong?

"What Has Become of Hell?"

"Till He Come"

Correspondence: Mat. 12:30 & Mark 9:40; Rom. 8:5; "My People" in Rev. 18:4

Gospel Talks by the Wayside

Confessing Christ

What Is That in Thine Hand?

Casting All Your Care Upon Him

Christian Service

Christ Loves Me

Where Is Thy Talent?

Sent Forth Lacking Nothing

Search the Scriptures

"This Do in Remembrance of Me"

Fathers, Young Men, and Babes.

"Rejoice Evermore"

Fragment: Amen

Correspondence: Religious Societies?; ROM 15:5-6 & GAL 4:10-11; ROM 15:13; 144000

Do You Want to Be Really Wealthy?

Work for the Lord

Israel

The Scripture

Lord Jesus, Come!

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 8:19-27

The Unity of the Church of God: Part 2

In Thy Youth

Alone With the Lord

Correspondence: Christ not a Man? Length of "Day" in Gen. 1?

A Joyful Surprise

"Careful and Troubled"

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 8:28-39

The Lord Is at Hand

Submission

The Unity of the Church of God: Part 3

Fragment: Fruit for the Father

Be Ye Kind

Correspondence: 2PE 1:10; 1PE 4:8; JAM 5:20; MATT 11; Punishment of the Heathen

With Joy Received Him

"I" in the Midst

The Love of Christ

Extract: Only One Word to Say

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 9:1-16

Grace

Extract: Under the Protection of Unbelievers

The Unity of the Church of God: Part 4

The Truth

Make Christ Known

Correspondence: GEN 4:12, 5:16; Judge/Adversary; 2CO 13:5; Church in Tabernacle

Sow Thy Seed

Practical Effect of Expecting the Lord

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 9:17-33

A Letter to a Young Christian Couple

The Unity of the Church of God.: Part 5

The Shipwreck

One Thing I Know

"In the Mighty Waters"

Correspondence: Devil a Man? Better/Lower than Angels?

"A Debtor to Christ": Part 1

"A Debtor to Christ": Part 2

Extract: Happiness

The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 10

Knit Together in Love

The Lamb on the Other Side.

"Trust in the Living God"

The Magnet

Correspondence: Gospel Preached?; EPH 6:12; LUK 19:12-27; Practically Sanctified

"I Want You to Know My Savior"

Fragment: Liberty of Will

Extract: What God Has Need Of